Top 10s
Questions and Answers
Recommended Reading



TOP 10s




QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Question:
What exactly is a "Sustainable Workplace?"

Answer:
That's a really good question and I'm still struggling to discover the words which will describe it succinctly. My short definition is that in the private sector it's extraordinarily profitable, in the public sector it's extra-ordinarily effective but both of them get there by growing their people instead of consuming them like fossil fuel. Some of the characteristics which they demonstrate are these:

• a 15 year record of profitability
• a vision, mission plus values which inspire, motivate and empower
• a leader who is more focussed on the organisation than herself/himself
• the organisation monitors new technology for its efficacy but doesn't jump onto every new fad
• facilitation of productive and co-operative relationships which transcend interpersonal friction and turf-protection
• fosters friendship between staff
• frequent expression of appreciation
• in manufacturing, familiarity with the "Theory of Constraints." (See "The Goal" by Eli Goldrat)
• they pay fairly

I first expressed my ideas in "The Top 10 Ways to Create a Sustainable Workplace" and research based characteristics followed in the books "First Break All the Rule"s and "Good To Great" which I would suggest are required reading for anyone interested in this area.

There's a month of free Alberta Business Executive Coaching going to whoever can suggest a concise expression of the idea which inspires and excites!


Question:
What is the intent of the "Altitude: the Magazine of the Sustainable Workplace™" newsletter?

Answer:
It seems to me that in the last 30 years the workplace has taken a giant leap back into the dark ages in terms of workplace conditions and that the change is reflected in increased stress, reduced creativity, broken relationships. The research now indicates that what I call The Sustainable Workplace™ is associated not only with greater success in financial terms but also with the workplace in which most of us would like to work, the workplace which grows, honours, respects and develops its people instead of consuming them like a fossil fuel. I cannot think of a better legacy to leave than workplaces like this.

The intent of "Altitude" therefore is to create a community of people who care enough to work towards creating Sustainable Workplaces™, to spread the word about the research connecting positive workplace culture with better bottom line results, to become a hub if you like for all those who are passionate about fostering the corporate culture mutually consistent with corporate success and personal fulfilment .

As a Alberta Business Executive Coaching Consultant,  I invite and encourage contributions to "Altitude" from those of you with stories of success and transformation, stories of businesses which you believe to be sustainable or approaching sustainability.

My vision is that together we can establish The Sustainable Workplace™ as the international designation of corporations which meet its criteria … and please understand, I have no ambition to be the CEO of the administrative organisation, my only interest is to be the catalyst which makes it happen.




RECOMMENDED READING
Coaching-Works recommends …


1. Good to Great:
Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t
Learn how great companies triumph over time and how long-term sustained performance can be engineered into the DNA of an enterprise from the very beginning.

Buy it Online


2. First Break All the Rules
What makes a great manager? Is it something innate in a person, or can people learn great management skills? First, Break All the Rules is an insider's look at successful managerial behaviour.

Buy it Online


3. Synchronicity - The Inner Path of Leadership
Synchronicity is an inspirational guide to developing the most essential leadership capacity for our time: how we can collectively shape our future.

Buy it Online


4. The Goal by Eliyahu Goldratt
The Goal is a gripping, fast-paced business novel about overcoming the barriers to making money. You will learn the fundamentals of identifying and solving the problems created by constraints. From the moment you finish the book you will be able to start successfully addressing chronic productivity and quality problems.

Buy it Online