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A student’s opinion of Bob Willard’s talk on the Sustainability Advantage

Published June 20, 2011

by dbazely

Last week, here at the Institute for Research & Innovation in Sustainability (IRIS), we were very fortunate to be able to host a talk by Dr. Bob Willard and to launch his latest book, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook.  I enjoyed the talk very much because; this book succinctly explains the case for why a sustainable business is a smart business. What personally struck me was the fact that, being a Human Resources management student, I have been taught that change has to be top down in order for it to be effective. We learn in our course, that it is top management’s responsibility to create a vision and ensure that the whole organization shares that vision. Top management has to “walk the walk and talk the talk” to show commitment to any significant change. However, this perspective does not allow us to take into account of how change can be initiated at any level of the organization. Dr.Willard’s new book, The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook, calls for a paradigm shift and emphasize the fact that any employee, regardless of their position can encourage and initiate change. This book provides a step-by-step guide on how to inspire a shared vision and mobilize commitment and embed and align change within any organization. Dr. Willard kindly shared his slide show with us.

Posted in: Blogs | Students Speak

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