Centering on Excellence
Web version – Climate_Project CPA Centering on Excellence Sydney NSW 12 May 2010 A great title for an excellent program CPA Australia are hosting over the next few weeks in several centres around Australia. This morning I had the privilege of speaking to a group of CPA’s in Sydney on climate change and sustainability. The PowerPoint slides that generated some conversation are attached to this post. A couple of things that we did discuss: The use of language – what does sustainability really mean? There seems to be a push for sustainability to mean financial viability, social involvement and a …
Consultant as advisor, how should the model work?
I heard it again today, and you’ve probably heard it a hundred times as well. The adage/definition – a consultant is someone who uses your watch to tell you the time. I’ve nodded agreement and wondered about the truth underlying the humour. And I wonder if that truth is a bad thing. How often do we make time to look at our watch, not only to tell the time, but to maximise the functionality we get from the watch? I am currently doing a lot of work looking at businesses in the sustainability space, and while almost all are doing …
Sustainability, carbon accounting and action
I understand from a range of press reports that the current Australian government has shelved plans to introduce a proposed Carbon Reduction Trading Scheme (CPRS or ETS (Emissions Trading Scheme) depending on the reporting journalist) and any scheme is unlikely to be introduced until 2013. So what does this mean for business? There has been talk in the media that business is unable to act because the legislative framework is too uncertain for business to act. Since when did business need certainty to act? While a clear CPRS may drive all businesses to take carbon accounting seriously, there are many …
So what is value?
I believe that depends on where you sit from the customer’s point of view. While there are many different value points along the way to delivering a service or product to a customer, it is the customer that will determine the value by what the customer is prepared to pay. I’ve looked at several business plans in the last week. The plans are great on describing the business idea – the technology, product or service that will be taken to market. The analysis seems right, the descriptions of how things work and will be delivered are passionately explained. The strategic thinking …
Taking the first step
With so many blogs on the web, and so much information available to businesses, it seems unnecessary to create a unique place for an additional point of view. So why start something? Market Gap is being commercialised to help businesses implement strategies. Our focus is on taking the step from knowing to doing. We also want to help our clients contribute to the communities they operate in and to make conscious positive decisions about the environment. In our experience, most businesses have a good grasp of their initial strategic direction, an awareness of what is happening in their community and a …
