When it comes to targets, I’m a big proponent of zero: zero waste, zero carbon, zero persistent toxins. Zero focusses the mind in a way that, say, a 2% cut in carbon every year, never will. Zero simply demands attention.

On the flip side, I’m also a big fan of the 80:20 rule – focus on the small number of issues which will have biggest effect on the results (20% of inputs generally cause 80% of outputs), rather than sweating the little stuff. I’ve also been known to say ‘perfection is the enemy of success’. A lot.

Yesterday, for the first time this year, I plonked a deckchair on my lawn and drank a cup of tea and thought. And I thought about whether these two mindsets are contradictory (not for the first time).

And there’s an important difference. A goal of zero isn’t really about absolute zero. 0.01% is definitely as good as zero, 1% is as good as zero, and, let’s face it, even 10% isn’t really a disaster. What really matters is the mindset change that zero drives through an organisation. With zero, you can’t tinker endlessly with quick wins, you have to go for the big wins and that pushes you to the 80:20 Rule. Once you’ve got those balls rolling, you can go worry about whatever little stuff is left.

Zero means: ‘no more business as usual, things are going to change around here.’