If you follow the green press, you may have noticed another spat between pro-nuclear (Monbiot, Lynas) and anti-nuclear (Friends of the Earth) greens. At the same time, the OECD’s Environmental Outlook has spelt out just how badly things are going in the global environment (see BusinessGreen’s summary here). This makes me immediately switch into Dad mode and shout “We don’t have time for this! Stop squabbling and get on with it!” Then I’ll go back to wandering around the house switching off lights and grumbling how I’m not made of money – ‘cos that’s what I spend much of my free time doing these days.

Inaction frustrates me. So much can be done so quickly if people put their mind to it. Even the Government managed to meet the 10:10 commitment to cut energy by 10% in the central Government estate when the boss said it was a priority. If they can do it, heaven help us, the rest of us can.

Instead we get caught up in bureaucracy, paralysis by analysis and procrastination. Permissions come slowly, relatively small investments take forever to get approved and responsibility gets ducked. Much of this is displacement activity, putting off the inevitable.

When I was writing The Green Executive, I had to research leadership theory to find a proven framework to hang green leadership skills on. I quickly came across Warren Bennis’ work as he is the godfather of leadership theory. Two of his four leadership qualities stood out: resilience and a bias to action. The successful green executives I interviewed for the book definitely showed those characteristics. Another quality I picked up off them was a willingness to ‘learn by doing’ – try stuff, make mistakes, learn, keep what works.

Or to borrow the famous marketing strapline “Just Do It!”