Sustaining Sustainability: Success Beyond the Starting Phase New Hampshire Businesses for Social Responsibility Webinar June 10, 2009 Alex Moss Praxis Consulting Group, Inc.

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability About Praxis Leadership CultureStrategy Employee- owned businesses Socially responsible businesses Non-profit organizations 1  What We Do  Who We Serve June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability What is Sustainability?  Meet present needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs World Commission on Environment & Development (Bruntland Commission), 1987  Seventh Generation: first an Iroquois philosophy, later also a company  Products and services …and organizations 2 June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability Assumption for Today  You are a founder, key decision- maker, or change agent in your organization 3 June 10, 2009  You are building or have built a sustainable enterprise  You are looking to the future

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability 4 June 10, 2009 Big Question for Today: Can Your Leadership Sustain Your Sustainable Organization?  Many organizations that are deeply committed to sustainability are entrepreneurial & founder-driven  Who will maintain and grow your enterprise and its impact in the future?

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability Entrepreneurial Succession Planning, With a Twist  All the benefits  Vision, focus, & drive  Passion for the Big Idea  All the challenges  Succession  Leadership development  Systems  Ownership  What’s unique?  Commitment & ability to achieve impact: money & mission 5 June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability Essential Future Competencies: “Buy or Build”? Current Strengths Emerging Needs Anticipated Losses Assessing Future Competency Requirements 6 June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability Implications  Understand your current skill sets –  Business and mission  Founders and middle managers  Build for tomorrow, not yesterday  External environment & strategy  Maintaining mission focus with growth  Focus: competencies, not cloning  Ok to be too dependent on unique leaders…now  Start early…now would be fine! 7 June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability What Can You Do?  Assess future growth trajectory: business & mission  Identify mission-critical Sustainability Competencies  Virus…or mitochondria?  Insert everywhere  Integrate inseparably into core functions 8 June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability What Can You Do? Integrate into all your systems  Systems examples  Recruitment & hiring  Training & development  Metrics & incentives  Performance evaluation & advancement  Succession planning for everyone  Ongoing: continuous monitoring & enhancement 9 June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability Bottom line  Idiosyncratic is fine, early in the life cycle  As you evolve, systematize & integrate 10 June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability Discussion: Your Questions…and Ours  Give & get: helping each other thrive  What practices would you be willing to share with others?  Where would you most like help from others?  How else can NHBSR facilitate?  Depth vs. breadth: what would you like to hear about in more detail? 11 June 10, 2009

NHBSR | Sustaining Sustainability 12 June 10, 2009 Contact Information Alexander P. Moss | Principal Praxis Consulting Group, Inc Germantown Avenue | Philadelphia, PA office | mobile |