Keys to Green Growth:
Beyond Sustainable
Aim for regenerative systems.
If we aim for sustainability, we will not achieve it; if we aim for the more difficult goal of regenerative development, we’re more likely to be self-sustaining.
Focus on Systems
In business, the systems we establish determine behavior. If we want a sustainable business, we must set up its three main systems accordingly.
The system sets the behavior; the objective determines the outcome. To grow and develop beyond mere sustainability, we need systems that can regenerate their functions. From those functions, we can see what a sustainable system needs.
Scale-up the Systems Across the Value Chain
Establish systems that scale-up across a value chain. There is not “ready-made” recipe for this; establishing those systems is a “heuristic” process. We focus on learning & listening to out customers. First, help them find gems that can help them grow and scale-up. Then, find new information, and monitor while you implement, adjusting and tweaking.
One example is our approach to technology; we follow a deliberate approach. If it works, don’t rush to upgrade it. Strive to understand the technology used, what it is achieving, what it can achieve… and keep out the superfluous.
Antifragility: Design “for” Failure
If failure is inevitable, the solution is simple: design for failure itself.
This is counter-intuitive. Until now, many of our system designs simply transferred risks to others. But this approach exacerbates trouble; risk is never fully transferred outside the business. When problems occur, they often find their way back to the business itself.
This only increases the business’ Fragility, especially in our increasingly networked environment. Our focus is on Antifragile Design. We do so by establishing systems that emulate Nature’s design approach. When a shock happens, those systems go on. They even flourish; they are designed to account for the fact that, something can go wrong, it will go wrong.