Many companies are searching for a new business models for sustainable development. Business models for sustainable development aim to deliver economic, social and environmental benefits – the three pillars of sustainable development – through core business activities. In these models, the value proposition includes social, environmental and economic values, while value distribution within the whole market chain is a key feature.
According to the International Institute for Environment and Development, the center of any business model is the company’s ‘value proposition’ — the products and services that yield tangible results for the company’s target customers. A company’s value proposition distinguishes it from its competitors. The two main areas in which adaptation and innovation of a business model are talked about, are production and marketing. The production side comprises the set of activities, mechanisms and relationships for providing a good or service — in other words, ‘creating value’. The marketing side comprises the activities, mechanisms and relationships for selling that good or service — in other words, ‘capturing value’.
A company can use a new business model to pull a local farming community out of poverty, tackle climate change, protect a forest’s biodiversity -- and the IIED's ‘business models for sustainable development’ series (http://pubs.iied.org/17056IIED.html) shows you step by step how this can help to deliver on the Millennium Development Goals.
But there is one little yet essential element missing in all this talk about sustainable business models, marketing and production. And that is the human element, more precisely the leadership, the mindset, the me and the you who will take up a model and make the change. So how do you and I change our internal orientation, ramping up our own leadership so that any sustainable business model we use will work out well? Here are a few inspiring New Rules of Work for leadership:
1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable - and to pursue projects that scare you.
2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.
3. Lead yourself first. You can't help others reach for their highest potential until you're in the process of reaching for yours.
4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.
5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.
6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.
7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what's best for sustainable business, for your organization and the customers you serve.
8. Don't fall in love with the media. Greenwashing is the new Agent Orange.
9. Every moment listening to your customers is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess - or you don't).
10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.
11. Become obsessed with sustainability such that every touch-point of doing business with you leaves people in awe of the integrity of your company.
12. Read sources of information you don't usually read. Talk to people who you don't usually speak to. Go to places you don't usually visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh and free.
These point were inspired by http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/03/the-50-new-rules-of-work
According to the International Institute for Environment and Development, the center of any business model is the company’s ‘value proposition’ — the products and services that yield tangible results for the company’s target customers. A company’s value proposition distinguishes it from its competitors. The two main areas in which adaptation and innovation of a business model are talked about, are production and marketing. The production side comprises the set of activities, mechanisms and relationships for providing a good or service — in other words, ‘creating value’. The marketing side comprises the activities, mechanisms and relationships for selling that good or service — in other words, ‘capturing value’.
A company can use a new business model to pull a local farming community out of poverty, tackle climate change, protect a forest’s biodiversity -- and the IIED's ‘business models for sustainable development’ series (http://pubs.iied.org/17056IIED.html) shows you step by step how this can help to deliver on the Millennium Development Goals.
But there is one little yet essential element missing in all this talk about sustainable business models, marketing and production. And that is the human element, more precisely the leadership, the mindset, the me and the you who will take up a model and make the change. So how do you and I change our internal orientation, ramping up our own leadership so that any sustainable business model we use will work out well? Here are a few inspiring New Rules of Work for leadership:
1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable - and to pursue projects that scare you.
2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.
3. Lead yourself first. You can't help others reach for their highest potential until you're in the process of reaching for yours.
4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.
5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.
6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.
7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what's best for sustainable business, for your organization and the customers you serve.
8. Don't fall in love with the media. Greenwashing is the new Agent Orange.
9. Every moment listening to your customers is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess - or you don't).
10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.
11. Become obsessed with sustainability such that every touch-point of doing business with you leaves people in awe of the integrity of your company.
12. Read sources of information you don't usually read. Talk to people who you don't usually speak to. Go to places you don't usually visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh and free.
These point were inspired by http://www.robinsharma.com/blog/03/the-50-new-rules-of-work
