Sustainability isn't for everyone, and even in the firms that we have come to recognize as leaders, there are internal struggles over who is going to own what program and plan of action. This is particularity true in firms who are adding on top of, versus integrating, sustainability to the existing responsibilities of the individual (or department), and it is usually that I find myself often takin…
One of the key stakeholders and primary drivers of a firm are its consumers, and regardless of the issue that is being discussed, the role of the consumer has been almost always seen as the change agent. Once "consumers" wisen up, change will happen. Over the last few months, this conversation has taken on a particular interest with representatives from consumer brands that I have been s…
Over the last few months, I have begun to sense a change in the way that firms view sustainability at the strategic level. It is a sense that comes from the firms that I have been speaking with, but also in the depth of conversations that we have begun to have about how to move their firms forward in the face of the challenges they face. To give you an example, I received the following email fr…
Thoughts from Marjorie Yang, Chairman of the Esquel Group and featured in Fortune's Most Powerful Women of the Asia-Pacific: Esquel Group has matured into a company that competes in a global market and no longer relies on the traditional strength of cheap and efficient labor. Under such a situation, I believe transparency, accountability and discipline are the key elements of leadership. We do…
When speaking in front of large groups, particularly those where future leaders are in the room, I often go out of my way to point out that no CEO on the planet is going to recalibrate their firm to save the polar bears. Even if the, as many would, feel strongly that they are an important icon. And it is not because they don't care, or that they are evil. It is just a simple matter of fact tha…
