For my forthcoming second book, The Green Executive, I interviewed 18 senior managers and executives with green business responsibilities. The one key theme that shone through the interviews was perseverance. Don’t give up, don’t despair, keep on at it, they said.
Why?
That might seem a really stupid question. Green business is challenging, so you have to persevere to succeed. Obvious, innit?
Yes, but there’s more to it than that. If you are a green business champion of any ilk, your job is to bring other people with you. If you are seen to give up, or needlessly compromise, you will send out the wrong message to all the other stakeholders in the process, be they colleagues, potential new recruits, cynical observers, customers, investors, suppliers, partners, other businesses and pressure groups. If you give up, your believers will too and your detractors will grow in strength.
So zero pressure then, you only have the future of the planet on your shoulders. But seriously, no matter how hard it gets, just keep going!