What’s your ripple effect?

They say if a butterfly flutters its wings in Brazil, it creates a breeze, then a wind, eventually fuelling a storm on the other side of the world. Commonly known as “The Butterfly Effect”, it suggests that everything is connected to everything; where even the smallest change can have enormous consequences.

“Anyone who runs a business should see where our garbage goes,” says Remi Cormier, president of R.Environs, a sustainable landscape design company. “It will change the way you manage waste forever.” On a cold, rainy afternoon, we’re driving through mounds of debris. The smell is so putrid I clamp my nose to suppress my gag reflexes from actually doing their job.

Six months ago, the young entrepreneur challenged me to visit the city’s landfill so I could see what happens when my trash lands at the curb. He argued that, “Even though we’ve found creative ways to deal with waste, it’s not enough. Real change happens when we see how all of our actions are connected.”

Doing the right thing for your business…

…MEANS DOING THE RIGHT THING FOR YOUR CUSTOMER FIRST

One of the fastest growing priorities in the business world today is how companies can be more responsible. Even though people want to produce cheaper, faster, better and more efficiently, many are also asking, but at what cost?

In fact, the world’s collective consciousness is waking up to the enormous impact that capitalism is having on the environment and society. More and more, we are choosing to support companies that reinvest in the community, rather than those who simply seek profits.

Getting to the ‘root’ of the issue

Lately when I find time to read – which usually happens when I’m crammed into a streetcar on the way to work – I’ve been voraciously attacking, page by page, an excellent book by Michael Pollan called The Omnivore’s Dilemma.

While the premise of Pollan’s book has little to do with business, process or culture change, there is a fabulous little excerpt about culling wild pigs on the Island of Santa Cruz, a tiny island just off the coast of California (p.324-325).

In the book, Pollan relates this story to the debate that rages between animal rights activists and ‘others’ (aka carnivores), as to whether or not hunting is morally right. While I won’t even attempt to open this can of worms, I couldn’t help but see this story as a perfect example of drilling down to the root cause of a problem by simply asking “why?”

There’s nothing like real life to remind you of the importance of process

A month ago, my partner and I moved into a brand new home. We decided that to help pay off the rather daunting mortgage, we would rent out the top floor as a separate apartment. After carefully assessing the extent of the renos, we decided that we could probably do it ourselves. (If you feel like this is foreshadowing, you’re right!)

The first challenge was finding a tenant…which was surprisingly easy. An advance preview in the classifieds gave us a deluge of responses. One reliable tenant: check. The second challenge was configuring a tiny space into a kitchen. Thanks to Craig’s List and IKEA, we retrofitted a small nook. One cozy kitchen: check. And finally, the third challenge was putting together a spiral staircase to create the separate entrance. (You might be wondering, “why a spiral staircase?” The space was less than ideal for a regular set of stairs and we didn’t want a shared front entrance, so this was the best alternative.) One separate entrance: check.

The dreaded “P” word…

I have a confession to make: I’m addicted to finding new words.

Not just any words, but rather ones that are simple and elegant – like ‘august’, ‘brisk’ or ‘misanthrope’. They bring colour and life to any sentence without complicating it.

Yet despite my love affair with the thesaurus, I’ve managed to develop a strong disdain for pompous jargon. Among these words are “distribution channels” or “undertaken” or “procedure”. They sully our perfectly good language and provide little value to the message.

With a strong aversion to jargon, you can just imagine how I felt when I first started working for The Tatham Group. All day long I would hear the word “business process” and each time someone said it, I would cringe at the thought of having to discuss something so bureaucratic. I mean, could there be anything more…boring?

You’ve Got Mail!

Late one morning in the dead of summer, I checked the mail at the front door of our Madison Avenue office. Strewn among letters, flyers and magazines was a mysterious little black book with a bold claim: “Master your Whole Life” by Bob Reed.

Master my whole life in 120 pages? Yeah right. I can’t even master my day in 120 pages! Nevertheless, curiosity got the better of me and I flipped open to the first page.

Gobbling up customer-centric strategies

Just a few weeks ago, the leaves were turning from green into brilliant reds, oranges and browns; the temperature was a balmy 20 degrees celsius and there was not a cloud in the sky for three days straight – it was a perfect weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving.

For many of us, this holiday involves getting together with the family to enjoy the last few days of nice weather. It also means pumpkin pie, apples and spice, carving up a large bird, talking about the latest topic (politics, sports, trends etc.) and then proceeding to sleep off the fourteen pounds we just ate.

My strategy for getting through the weekend is usually balancing the copious amounts of food with just the right amount of physical activity. But mostly, I try not to think too hard about making the weekend perfect. I just got with the flow!

Tatham Group website 2.0

We recently met with our partners 4ward – the company that is developing our new website. We’re all very excited about the project, which we hope to launch at the end of the month. Standby for more!

Want to steer your company into clear waters? All hands on deck.

One summer, back in my university days, I joined a sailing club. The club’s boathouse was a modest little outfit perched at the bottom of a cliff along the lower Ottawa River, in the capital itself. Every so often, when the conditions were just right, I’d head down to the docks with my friends Grant or Roger and we’d sail off into the sunset with Parliament Hill as our backdrop.

Sounds magical, doesn’t it? Well, I suppose it would be if you were just a passenger. But sailing is hard work. First you’ve got to rig the boat. To do so, you’ve got to know how each piece fits and how to tie all the knots. Second, and more importantly, you’ve got to know how to read the wind. And once you’ve finally cast sail, you’re constantly watching what’s around you: the current, the waves, the wind and the shore.

The Almighty Break

This past weekend, I dragged my feet out of bed at 7 am on a Saturday morning to write a paper for a course in strategic management. And trust me – I must be pretty darn committed, because the only other thing that would drag me out of bed on a Saturday morning at 7 am would be to catch a flight to a remote and exotic vacation destination.

Nevertheless, I plowed steadily through the day. You see my strategy is simple: I stop every so often to give my brain a break. Sometimes though, these breaks lead to emails, the fridge, the TV or the phone. Before I know it, I’ve started five other things and forgotten why I took a break in the first place!

This got me thinking: the only way I can maintain focus for an extended period of time is to take breaks. But when do breaks provide the energy get the work done, and when do they lead to distractions that prevent you from getting the work done?