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"High achievement always takes place in
the framework of high expectation." * * * * * This newsletter is sent to you by Life Matters Coaching. Copyright © 2006, Benita Stafford-Smith and Life Matters Coaching. All rights reserved. Nothing in this newsletter may be reproduced or published without the written permission of the individual author and/or copyright owner. |
June 2006 Newsletter - Leadership Week One: You are the Leader You’ve Been Waiting For “This new take on leadership couldn’t come at a
better time. In the face of public outrage at CEO failure, it
offers hope
that the soul of leadership lies not in a powerful position
or impressive job title but in the millions of conscious acts
and
daily choices that grow out of the character of a leader’s
soul…. YOU are the leader you always wanted to follow.
Start leading by example.” As President of Women Business Owners of Manitoba I had the honor to attend the Manitoba Women Entrepreneur Awards of Manitoba last week. Women entrepreneurs were honored and received awards for their tenacity, passion and success in business. At the banquet Laura Kwiatkowski, General Manager, Mid West Region, for Rogers Communications spoke to the group about an award she was giving out this evening, the Rogers Random Act of Kindness award. This award is being given out at various Rogers events. The first person to come forward with their Rogers phone received a generous gift certificate from the BraBar. The Bra Bar, owned by Sharon Phillips, is a member of the Women Business Owners of Manitoba. Then Laura asked the winner to Pay It Forward! To me Laura displayed “being the leader you’ve been waiting for” through this conscious act of kindness! I’d love to hear your stories of being the leader you’ve been waiting for. * * * * * Week Two: Socially Responsible Company "What is a socially responsible company? It is a company that serves. It serves its customers by selling something of value, its workers by providing good jobs, its owners by generating profits and all of us by making the world a better place." Fortune, February 25, 2006 How do we define and quantify making the world a better place? How does this affect the bottom line? Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop in a recent interview said, "I would rather be remembered for my dedication to human-rights causes than for my business savvy." Roddick founded The Body Shop in 1976 then built it into an international network of more than 2,000 stores. The Body Shop has about 35 purchasing programs with impoverished farmers in countries like Nicaragua, Brazil, Peru, Pakistan and India to source ingredients for its shampoos and moisturizers. Roddick states, "I am a dogged believer in small-scale economic community initiatives which keep the community together and the culture intact. It is a little more complicated than going to the commodities markets, but you've got to realize maximizing profits isn't the answer in this case." Winnipeg Free Press June 7th, 2006. Roddick recently sold The Body Shop to L'Oreal in a deal worth more then $1 billion this spring. L'Oreal has left The Body Shop to run as a stand-alone operation with Roddick as a consultant. I believe Roddick's work is a great example of a socially responsible company that helps make the world a better place for all of us while serving customer by selling something of value, provides its workers good jobs and generates profits. Next week we'll look at a store recently opened in Calgary that sells environmentally sustainable building materials. Do you work for or own a business that you consider to be socially responsible? Email me with details please, benita@lifematterscoaching.com
Week Three: Home, Healthy Home The socially responsible business we are looking at today is The Healthiest Home and Building Supplies. This retail store was founded by a woman whose son experienced ongoing health problems related to the gases given off by traditionally manufactured home products such as paint, carpets and furniture. The owner, Roxanne Calver, provides products that are environmentally friendly and esthetically pleasing. The Healthiest Home and Building Supplies store is located in a building in Calgary, the Vento which is certified under the national leadership in energy and environmental design (LEED) program. Visit www.the healthiesthome.com for more information. In my home city of Winnipeg, Mountain Equipment Co-op built their retail store in the downtown area by tearing down an old building and using the materials to rebuild the new store. The MEC store is constructed of 75% recycled materials, boasts a rooftop garden and a radiant heat system. Two more examples of socially responsible companies. "Green buildings" are becoming more prominent in our landscapes. What do you think of this current move to environmentally friendly buildings and building products? On a more personal level here is an interesting idea, the Community Food Audit. Throw a party and invite each person attending to bring a locally grown organic food. The invited guests then give a report on who grew the food, where it was grown, how it got to market, etc. etc. This practice supports local organic markets and protects supports and honors those who provide it. * * * * * Week Four: The Five Dimensions of Sustainability This month we have been looking at a new model of leadership evolving along with the socially responsible business model. This leads naturally to a discussion on sustainability. Michael Ben-Eli, PhD, is working to create a shift in consciousness inside government agencies, international organizations and businesses large and small. (Original interview in Spirituality & Health, June 2006) When asked how healing and spirituality are connected to sustainable economic development Michael responded: "Even though it is rarely discussed in government or business circles, the connection is obvious: you can't have healthy humans on a planet where all key vital signs are registering significant decline." (I added the bold for emphasis). Here are the Five Dimensions of Sustainability developed by Michael: The Material Dimension, which provides the basis for regulating the flow of energy and materials that underlie existence. In practical terms this means ensuring that our resources are used as productively and renewably as possible, minimizing waste and gaining higher performance with each use. The Economic Dimension, which provides the guiding framework for husbanding and managing wealth, involves changing the way we do business, as well as the way we penalize and reward economic behavior. Companies, for example, would be valued in the market for how much wealth they generate by taking into account natural, human, social, and manufactured capital, as well as financial results. The Dimension of Life, which provides the basis for appropriate behavior in the biosphere with respect to other species and ecosystems. It involves harvesting only to regeneration capacity, preserving the gene pool, and utilizing effective land use management to ensure that encroachment on other species in minimized. The Social Dimension, which provides the basis for social interactions. It means universal rights for all citizens on the planet, social policies that foster tolerance, democracy, and mechanisms to enhance a high degree of international cooperation on managing global issues and global resources. The Spiritual Dimension focuses on the attitudes and ethics which foster sustainability. It recognizes the transcendent mystery which underlies existence, the essential oneness which bonds all phenomena, and the seamless continuum which links us, humans, with the rest of the biosphere and with the outermost reaches of the cosmos. Michael was asked, What is the significance of the spiritual dimension of sustainability? His response: "Remember, in a very practical, direct way, we are part of the whole universe. We are actually made of "star dust", molecules created in other parts of the cosmos. We should behave respectfully in accordance with its "way". The spiritual dimension has critical pragmatic significance since it holds all the rest together. It alone underlies the difference between a predatory, uncontrolled, destructive attitude, and one that acknowledges and honors the system of which we are a part and on which we depend for our very existence." A little wordy but strikes a cord with me. I would love to hear your thoughts on the five dimensions and the impact of the spiritual dimension on the other four, social, material, economic and life! Email me - benita@lifematterscoaching.com
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