Act Fast—and Smart

How much is sustainability a consideration during your product design and development programs? If it isn’t taking an increasing share of mind, it had better, because the fact of the matter is that “going green” is going to be more important for the sustainability of companies, as in allowing them to make money and prosper. As Adam Werbach, global CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi S, convincingly argues in Strategy for Sustainability: A Business Manifesto (Harvard Business Press; $25), there are several game-changing shifts occurring that companies cannot afford to ignore. For example, he posits that “natural resources will become increasingly scarce and expensive.” Try running a business, any business, when there is little access to potable water. He points out “massive demographic change is occurring.” Because of market shifts that are occurring in parts of the world that are heretofore not industrialized, “There, consumers will rightly begin demanding products made in ways that are culturally sensitive and keep a significant share of profits from their markets in the market itself.” He argues that “we are in a period of historic change, in which the pace and scale of those changes will dwarf our past experience,” and consequently, there is going to be a faster process of ideation and continued iteration: “Instead of trying to be right with every decision, organizations need to empower themselves to make thousands of decisions and accept that they’ll make some mistakes in the process.” But because they’re working at such a fast speed, there is the opportunity for correction. To make this possible, he points out, “To maintain internal flexibility that allows your company to be in a constant state of change, a strategy must engage every part of the system—every person on staff, every supplier in the chain.” [Emphasis added]

And write this down somewhere with indelible ink and in large letters: “Strategies fail more often because of poor implementation than because of poor strategic decisions. Yet, too often, organizations consistently agonize over choosing a great idea and not over implementing it.”

Implementation is key. Essential. Doing things—as in product development—is what we are here for.

But this should not be thought to be an anything-goes, scatter-shot approach. Far from it. Because in an era when there is greater concern with environmental issues among ever-growing segments of the market, spills—toxic or otherwise—aren’t going to be tolerated. Werbach has developed a tool that can be usefully deployed by anyone to help make a quick determination of the threats and opportunities that a company faces in the market, as well as a means by which actions can be identified to move in the right direction—actions that can be taken sooner rather than later. It’s called “STaR mapping,” with the acronym being predicated on: Social changes, Technology changes, and Resource changes. Figure those out and what you need to do becomes readily apparent. And don’t think that this applies only to companies that are ostensibly “green.” Examples cited range from Walmart to Clorox to Ford to Xerox, clearly mainstream competitors. Their development programs “get it.” How are you going to compete with them if yours don’t?