SIGNALS OF CHANGE
Catching social and environmental trends early
Newsletter December 2013 Vol. 1 Issue 4
About this newsletter:
We monitor the news flow from a wide variety of sources from the last 30 – 60 days for developments that could inform your organization’s social and environmental strategy which in turn could affect your overall business strategy.
The idea of this newsletter is to alert you to trends that you may need to be aware of in your leadership role. Once alerted, if salient, you will more easily be able to pick up on them in your environment.
Signals of Change Newsletter is produced in cooperation between the Institute of Swedish Safety and Security and Stephen Hinton Consulting with support from the Open World Foundation and the Water and Food Award.
THIS IS WHAT WE SAW:
SUSTAINABILITY GREW UP IN 2013. WHAT WAS ONCE “NICE TO HAVE” AND EVEN “GREENWASHING” HAS STARTED TO MOVE INTO THE REALM OF BUSINESS CONTINUITY PLANNING. SUSTAINABILITY, FROM BEING A MORAL OBLIGATION TUGGING AT LEADERS TORN BETWEEN SHAREHOLDER DEMANDS AND CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY HAS MOVED INTO THE ARENA OF RISK AND CONTINUITY PLANNING. SUSTAINABILITY IS WHAT TO AIM FOR ON THE WAY TO RESILIENCE.
For example, 2013 saw:
The Fukushama incident as evidence our industrial way of life has the potential to damage a large part of the globe.
Despite economic growth people do not get sufficient nutrition. Poverty in UK linked to twofold increase in hospitalized malnourished children.http://www.bmj.com/content/347/bmj.f7540
Warning from scientists that extreme weather will disrupt business operations more and more. See this article from the Guardian:
The economic system’s fragility will mean that despite much money being in circulation, people will not be consuming and businesses risk massive falls in sales.
http://bigstory.ap.org/article/ap-survey-us-income-gap-holding-back-economy-0
See for example the analysis of how inability of governments to collect enough taxes for expanded government services from increasingly impoverished citizens brings economies to collapse.
Taking all the signals from past newsletters (listed here) we suggest the following “reality check”
If you were to do one thing to have your organization respond to these signals – what would it be? Is a tweak in operations the reasonable response – to increase a bit here, decrease a bit there? Or is a totally new approach needed?
CREATIVE LEADERSHIP.
Creativity is needed when new challenges arise and the experience of the past provides no help. Leadership can be exerted when you are confident you know enough to move forward, even if that knowledge is limited to you knowing that creative solutions are needed.
Stockholm City has taken the brave decision to focus its cultural organization – libraries, theatres, etc – on connecting citizens to sustainability in creative ways.
(Read more here) http://stephenhinton.org/2013/12/20/case-study-bringing-citizens-closer-to-sustainability-in-creative-ways/
If you want to consider taking new steps to respond the changing situation, we want to support you. As a New Year offer we are offering a 10% discount on our regular consulting rates from now to the end of January 2014. Book a free consultation meeting already now. (Link) http://stephenhinton.org/the-one-hour-free-consultations/
JOINING THE DIALOGUE: Stephen Hinton Consulting, together with the Swedish risk management organization, ISSS and the Water and Food Award offers strategists and business leaders support in framing strategies for the new, resource constrained but connected world.
http://stephenhinton.org
http://ISSS.se
http://wafaward.org
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