As our Project Management Methodology PRiSM or PRojects integrating Sustainable Methods is turning 10 years old this year, we are proud that it enjoys success in a multitude of industries; and project types. There is one area though that is commonly misunderstood as evidenced by the blog-o-sphere. We often get emails and requests to mention […]
Projectors, We need rethink a few things.
“The true definition of a project, according to modern acceptation, is, as is said before, a vast undertaking, too big to be managed, and therefore likely enough to come to nothing.” – Daniel Defoe, An Essay upon Projects (1697) This is one of my favorite quotes for a couple reasons. One being that it is […]
Why Your Sustainability Report Might be Awful?
If you parse through the thousands of sustainability (non-financial reporting) online either direct from websites from major brands such as Coca-Cola, Nestle, or Nike, or even the mid-major companies that are trying to do the right thing, you will see something missing; and it is glaringly obvious once you start looking for it. A common […]
The Playbook Series: Global Warming
This is a follow on post to “Keep on scammin’ on: The evil brilliance, success and recurrence of The Playbook.” The strategies from The Playbook have been employed by industries that are under threat of losing profits when scientific evidence proves that their product causes significant harm to the public, society or planet in some […]
A Warning about Models
Due to the complexity of sustainability and social responsibility, we use a lot of models. One of the key lessons learned though is that “colouring by numbers does not guarantee success”. It is important to realize the limitations and constraints of models, and the fact that they should always be re-evaluated, particularly when new information […]
How our Perception & Politics impacts our Understanding of Sustainability
Perception is reality. We have heard that many times. One definition of perception “is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information, or the environment.” The key with perception though is that people generally believe perception is fact, and not just an opinion or option. This […]
Evaluating Human Systems and Earth Systems – A Sustainability Model
I was reminded of a fascinating paper I read entitled ‘Modeling sustainability: Population, inequality, consumption, and bidirectional coupling of the earth and human systems.’ The graphic below from the paper shows the relationship of the human system within the earth system, not separate from it. The earth system provides the sources of the inputs to, […]
Focus on Strengths Not Just Weaknesses – the Value of Appreciative Inquiry
I always enjoyed the message from the featured image above. As a management consultant, validator, and assessor I am often engaged by organizations to analyze their operations and systems to identify opportunities for improvement. I have also spent a couple decades on advising on how to implement better practice methods and processes around various disciplines […]
Characteristics of a Sustainable Project Manager (3 of 9) “Change Agent”
This third installment of Characteristics of a Sustainable Project Manager focuses on the “Change Agent.” Peter Drucker is famous for many quotes, none more so than “The greatest danger in times of turbulence is not the turbulence; it is to act with yesterday’s logic.” Characteristic #3: Change Agent — challenges business-as-usual mindset, embraces change, seizes opportunities, develops […]
Does Big Business Care about Sustainability?
Does big business care about sustainability and social responsibility? I often ask attendees to my courses and presentations this question. In general, the response is a strong negative: “NO big business couldn’t care less about sustainability or social responsibility!” GPM’s experience though is the exact opposite: YES big business aggressively cares about sustainability and social responsibility! […]
