The themes of technological innovation, entrepreneurship, and organizing

The Means: Sustainability and Sustainable Development

Sustainability is the overarching constructs that includes the philosophical perspectives, theoreti­cal constructs and practical approaches for lead­ing change in global corporations and managing their businesses, enterprises, and organizations. The intellectual challenges include determining the vision and strategic direction and the strate­gic leadership philosophies and constructs for leading change. The simple yet most compelling philosophical perspective is putting the business environment or external context first before think­ing about internal context. This fits the concept of “people, planet and profit,” (Bergmans, 2006, pp117-119). It is based on the recognition that people and the natural environment are the over­arching considerations and that profit is important for sustaining companies, but profit is really a derivative of good analysis, decision making, strategies and actions.

Sustainability is a continuum of strategic thinking and actions that is internally driven by visionary strategic leadership. Strategic leaders have to have the courage and dedication to take on incredible challenges, to think about radical ways of providing solutions, and to use preemptive strategies for realizing extraordinary outcomes. Without direction from strategic leaders, sustain­ability and SD do not get traction. They require concerted efforts and significant investments. Strategic leaders have to provide the resources and commitments to implement the revolutionary ways to do more good and less bad as Peter Senge discussed in his book, The Necessary Revolution (Senge, 2008, pp33-41))

SD is often conceptually accepted by global corporations. While the underpinnings and aspira­tions are often clear, it involves a complex array of solutions, systems, structures, processes and techniques. Unlike most of the major initiatives of the last century like strategic planning and total quality management, SD cannot be implemented on a project basis, in which significant efforts and funds are allocated to create the systems and then one can enjoy the results at completion. SD involves a long-term approach for transforming the corporation and its enterprise(s) into an integrated and innovative entity.

SD requires an embedded structure that is parallel to the salient factors associated with the transition from national and regional markets to global ones as portrayed in Table 1. The key ele­ments for being successful in national markets are also necessary for success in the global economy. As depicted in Figure 1, strategic leaders have to provide the key elements for establishing the basic foundation and the strategic direction. They define the values, principles and ethics of the organiza­tion based on the broader social, legal, ethical, and environmental responsibilities. Strategic leaders and the directors of the corporation determine the governance structure and company policies. They must set strategic direction, the missions and the objectives. These elements are translated into strategies and action plans that are implemented by the organization and its enterprise. Strategic leaders ensure that the capabilities and resources of the organization are aligned with the strategic direction. Moreover, strategic leaders allocate the resources and provide learning opportunities for employees and contributors across the enterprise.

Operational management engages in the imple­mentation and execution. It includes a myriad of the critical systems and processes that a used to realize outcomes and achieve success. They in­clude, but are not limited to, marketing, finance, quality management, supply chain management, environmental management, health and safety management and waste management. Results are accomplished through support systems and struc­tures, programs, protocols, and tactics. While most global corporations have well-functioning operat­ing systems and reasonably effective processes, the management constructs are often based on twentieth century requirements rather than on the current realities or future ones. Like many of the military situations and organizations of the past, strategic leaders are often well prepared to fight the battles of the past, instead of being proactive and contemplating what is necessary for the future. Strategic leaders too often think about what their organizations are instead of what they must be. Understanding the past is important because it gives us insights about the social and economic dimensions, but transforming the corporation and organization to lead change and being ahead of mandates and expectations is the essence of SD.