Keep that halo burnished!
I had an informal meeting with the sustainability manager of a pre-eminent UK institution recently to discuss some collaboration. Like many big organisations, it had a very funky coffee bar/meeting area in the atrium so we parked ourselves there rather than a boring meeting room.
As we got up to leave, my companion got into a minor panic as she had let her tea go cold and couldn’t use the recycling bin until she’d found somewhere to dispose of the liquid. Quickly she remembered where a sink was, drained the cup and put it in the right bin.
“Even though I’m doing major projects, saving loads of waste and energy, I can’t afford to be seen to slip up on the little stuff.” she said as we walked back out to the door.
This reminded me of the old story of Walt Disney who would pick up litter in his theme parks rather than call for an underling to do it. The message was “We’re all responsible for keeping Disney World tidy. I do it and I expect you to do it.”
People believe what they see, not what they’re told. So we’ve got to lead by example and keep those halos burnished!