Leading Change

June 2025 edition

Exclusive to “Master Slide Decks” subscribers

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7 Potential Uses of the Master Slide Decks

1. As a quick and easy way to build your own slide decks for presentations on sustainability-related topics. That is their main purpose, and why the ready-to-use slides are provided in .pptx format. Plagiarize like crazy. ☺
2. As micro-courses / tutorials / refreshers on key aspects of sustainability. Use the slides’ footnotes to further explore source documents of interest.
3. As learning resources. Subscribing teachers can use the slides in their presentations, upload the decks to the database of student materials, and require that students use the slides as resources in assignments. �(See the 7 Learning Prompts on the next slide for some ideas on how to do that).
4. As Coles Notes / Cliffs Notes of the key points in Bob’s six books and two whitepapers.
5. As an overview of over a dozen free, open-source tools downloadable from sustainabilityadvantage.com/
6. As a way to stay current and credible on hot topics. The “What’s New” deck in subscribers’ quarterly updates includes slide-summaries the latest articles and reports about a variety of sustainability-related topics.
7. As conversation starters with senior management. Share a subset of the slides with them with a “What do you think …?” invitation, and follow up with a meeting to discuss the relevance to the organization.

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How to find slides on a specific topic within a Master Slide Deck

• Use the Table of Contents to find the most likely subset for your topic of interest.
• In “Normal” display mode, use PowerPoint’s “Find” function to search for a key word.
• Quickly scan thumbnails of the slides in PowerPoint’s “Slide Sorter” view.

User Tips & Reminders

1. From your experience, which 2 steps in the 7-step change model are the most challenging? Why?
2. From your experience, which 2 of the 7 leadership practices are the most important? Why?
3. From your experience, which 2 of the 7 leadership paradoxes are the most helpful? Why?
4. From your experience, which 2 of the 7 derailers are the most important to avoid? Why?
5. From your experience, which 5 attributes of successful leaders are the most important? Why?
6. What are the 5 most helpful tips on how to handle pushback or objections to your proposed change?
7. What would it take to have a higher success rate on sustainability-related projects / changes?

7 Learning Prompts - Use the deck as a self-study micro course on this topic.

Table of Contents

7-Step Change Model

Earn proactive buy-in from senior leaders

Lead It Like Any Culture Change

Engage and educate others in your enterprise

Earn proactive buy-in from senior leaders

Align management and reward systems

Our VUCA World

“VUCA and What It Means for Leaders Right Now,” NextGenCenter, .

Wake up and decide

Inspire vision(s)

Assess current realities

The Big Picture

Build case(s) for change

Mobilize commitment

Develop strategies

Embed and align

7 Leadership Paradoxes

7 Steps

sustainabilityadvantage.com/leadership/leading-change/

7-Step Change Process

Wake up and decide

Inspire vision(s)

Assess current realities

Build case(s) for change

Mobilize commitment

Develop strategies

Embed and align

Continuously�Learn and �Adapt

Kotter’s Change Process

8. Anchor new approaches in the culture

7. Communicate gains; produce more change

6. Generate short-term wins

5. Empower broad-based action

4. Communicate the change vision

3. Develop a vision and strategy

2. Create the guiding coalition

1. Establish a sense of urgency

Mapping Kotter’s Steps

8. Anchor new approaches

7. Communicate; more change

6. Generate short-term wins

5. Empower broad-based action

4. Communicate the vision

3. Develop a vision and strategy

2. Create the guiding coalition

1. Establish a sense of urgency

Wake up and decide

Inspire vision(s)

Assess current realities

Build case(s) for change

Mobilize commitment

Develop strategies

Embed and align

Based on “Applying the ABCD Method,” The Natural Step.

TNS A-B-C-D Change Process

Mapping the A-B-C-D Process

Wake up and decide

Inspire vision(s)

Assess current realities

Build case(s) for change

Mobilize commitment

Develop strategies

Embed and align

Hitchcock / Willard Steps

Darcy Hitchcock and Marsha Willard, The Step-by-Step Guide to Sustainability Planning, 2008.

8. Build supporting management systems

7. Build supporting organizational structures

6. Build supporting communications and training systems

5. Develop an implementation strategy and identify projects

4. Identify metrics to track your progress and do reports

3. Conduct an impacts assessment to identify priority areas

2. Choose the sustainability framework to develop a vision

1. Establish the business case for pursuing sustainability

0. Determine your current stage on the sustainability journey

Mapping Hitchcock / Willard Steps

8. Build supporting management systems

7. Build supporting organizational structures

6. Build supporting communications � and training systems

5. Develop an implementation strategy

4. Identify metrics to track report progress�3. Conduct an impacts assessment � to identify priority areas

2. Choose the sustainability framework � to develop a vision

1. Establish the business case � for pursuing sustainability

0. Determine your current stage � on the sustainability journey

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Wake up and decide

Inspire vision(s)

Assess current realities

Build case(s) for change

Mobilize commitment

Develop strategies

Embed and align

Top 13 Change Management Comic Strips, Torben Rick, 2015.

Wake Up And Decide

Waking Up / Deciding

John Fischer’s Change Curve www.businessballs.com

• Aspirational: What you want. The desirable vs. the possible. A real BHAG.
• Positive: What you want, rather than avoiding what you don’t want.
• Big picture / so what’s: The positive consequences of achieving the vision.
• Expansive / Feelings: Your values embodied by the vision. Pride / satisfaction when it is achieved. What would newspapers, employees, and other important stakeholders be saying about you / your organization?
• Present tense: So that you experience its power.
• Relevant: To the organization’s priorities and purpose.

Vision Criteria Guidelines

• Optimistic and aspirational
• Serves a higher purpose than business profitability
• Solves a great human challenge
• Drives excitement and passion in your organization�
• Applies across the enterprise
• Actionable by every employee, personally
• Connects to the core of your business
• Leverages your organization’s strengths�
• Achievable in 5-15 years

Adam Werbach, Strategy for Sustainability, 2009.

“North Star” Guidelines

V100

V30

V10

V3

V1

CR

CR

V1

V3

V10

Bryan Smith, as used in York University’s Sustainable Enterprise Academy, 2005.

A Portfolio of Visions

Department Visions = Facets Of A Diamond

Overarching Organizational Vision

Department / Team Visions

Department / Team Visions

Bryan Smith, as used in York University’s Sustainable Enterprise Academy, 2005.

Unaligned Efforts

Bryan Smith, as used in York University’s Sustainable Enterprise Academy, 2005.

Empowerment Without Alignment

Bryan Smith, as used in York University’s Sustainable Enterprise Academy, 2005.

Alignment Force Field

Shared Vision

Current �Reality

Bryan Smith, as used in York University’s Sustainable Enterprise Academy, 2005.

• Piper Alpha oil and gas platform exploded in the North Sea, July 6, 1988.
• Worst catastrophe in 25 years of exploration.
• The accident killed 165 of 220 crew members.
• Andy Mochan plunged 15 stories into a burning sea of oil and debris, knowing he would survive only 20 minutes in the freezing, flaming water.

Based on Daryl Conner, Managing at the Speed of Change, 1992.

He chose uncertain death over certain death.

“It was either jump or fry.”�He jumped because he had to, not because he wanted to.

“Burning Platform” For Change

Earn proactive buy-in from senior leaders

In Summary …

Engage and educate others in your enterprise

Earn proactive buy-in from senior leaders

Align management and reward systems

Wake up and decide

Inspire vision(s)

Assess current realities

Change Cheat Sheet

Build case(s) for change

Mobilize commitment

Develop strategies

Embed and align

Go small to go big

Go slow to go fast

One person’s dream is another’s nightmare

To get “hard results,” work on the “soft stuff”

Things need to get worse before they get better

Motivators inhibit commitment

Do it yourself; you can’t do it alone

Displaying hubris

Mishandling office politics

Being a “problem child”

Failing to produce results

Succumbing to stress

Changing everything at once

Getting off to bad start

Get credible / Stay credible

Dialogue

Collaborate / Network

Influence the influencers

Meet them where they are

Piggyback existing initiatives

Practice “planful opportunism”

7 Steps

7 Practices

7 Paradoxes

7 Derailers

7 Leadership Practices

Wake up and decide

Inspire vision(s)

Assess current realities

7 Leadership Practices

Build case(s) for change

Mobilize commitment

Develop strategies

Embed and align

Get credible / Stay credible

• Honest. Leaders have integrity and are trustworthy.
• Forward-Looking. Whether it’s called a vision, mission, or a personal agenda, leaders must know where they’re going if they expect others to willingly join them on the journey.
• Competent. Whatever a leader’s role, people need to believe in the leader’s ability to get the job done.
• Inspiring. People want to work with leaders who are dynamic, uplifting, energetic, positive, and optimistic. The enthusiasm of leaders is contagious.

James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, Credibility, Jossey-Bass, 2011.

Credibility

Credibility is the foundation of leadership.

True Dialogue

Peter M. Senge et al., The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, 1994.

Collaborate / Network

Customers

Networks in Other�Departments

Your Inner� Circle

NGOs

Government �Agencies

Senior Executive

Network

Suppliers

Team Stages

Based on Peter R. Scholtes, The Team Handbook, 1991.

E F F E C T I V E N E S S

T I M E

Forming

“This is going �to be great!”

Storming

“Whose idea was �this, anyway?!”

Performing�“We’re on a roll!”

Norming�“I trust you and know how we can each contribute.”

Low

High

Influence the Influencers

Important �Senior Executive

“YES”

You

Important �Senior Executive

“NO”

Ineffective Approach

Effective Approach

Perception of Green Teams?

Market value

Supply insecurity

Cash flow

ROI

Innovation

Access to capital

Profit

Revenue growth

Expenses

Reputation

Risks

Talent wars

Productivity

(SUSTAINABILITY) STRATEGIES

Meet Them Where They Are

“Process Improvement”

“Capacity Building”

Sustainability / ESG

Bridging The Literacy Gap

1 2 3 4 5

a b c d e

Meet Them Where They Are

Asset Management

Financial� / Manufactured

Capital

Natural Capital

Human / Social

Capital

Factors Shaping CEO Thinking About Sustainability

Dr. Stephanie Bertels, Jess Schulschenk, Andrea Ferry, Vanessa Otto-Mentz, and Esther Speck, “CEO Decision-Making for Sustainability,” Network for Business Sustainability, South Africa, 2016.

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1. Pre-Compliance

2. Compliance

4. Integrated Strategy

5. Purpose & Values

Meet Them Where They Are

3. Beyond Compliance

Capture �opportunities

Mitigate�risks

Fulfill our� Purpose

80%

80%

80%

Meet Them Where They Are

IBM “Out of the Woods” TV Commercial, April 2008. www.youtube.com/watch?v=UITH_PnWtlQ

Whatever Works

“The way you get big change is �by getting the big players to �do the right things for the wrong reasons. �If you wait for everyone to �do the right thing for the right reason, �you’re going to be waiting a long, long time.

-- Thomas Friedman --

“Thomas Friedman talks COP15, Mother Nature, and Father Greed,” Grist, 2009

Slow Ideas

• If the new idea violates prior beliefs and mindsets, or corrects an invisible problem with a delayed impact, it is harder to embrace.
• Lasting behavior-change approaches that don’t work:
• Polite request: “Please do X”
• Penalize bad behavior: “You must do X or you’ll be punished.”
• Incent good behavior: “If you do X, you’ll be rewarded.”
• Training: “Take this course and do what it says.”
• Diffusion of new ideas is essentially a scalable social process through which people talking to people spread an innovation.
• Hands-on human interaction builds trust, the key force in overcoming resistance and speeding change.
• Use empathetic mentors: “It wasn’t like talking to someone who was trying to find mistakes,” she said. “It was like talking to a friend.”

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Atul Gawande, “Slow Ideas,” The New Yorker, July 2013.

1. Replace the GDP with a GPI.
2. Mandate a multi-stakeholder wellbeing purpose for all corporations
3. Implement sustainable procurement
4. Implement a fair, consistent global tax system
5. Ensure gender equality in public and private sector leadership positions
6. Implement a Green New Deal
7. Reform the banking and securities systems

“7 Bold Strokes …” White Paper

My To-Do List, if I were King for a day …

sustainabilityadvantage.com/2020/08/09/white-paper-7-bold-strokes-to-save-our-world/

“Force Field” White Paper

sustainabilityadvantage.com/2021/02/20/21st-century-sustainable-enterprise-force-field/

Bob Willard, “The 21^st Century Sustainable Enterprise Force Field,” Sustainability Advantage, Feb. 2021.

Planful Opportunism

  "Luck is a matter of preparation meeting opportunity.”

― Oprah Winfrey

The Synchronicity Factor�a.k.a. Planful Opportunism

“What seemed like a local, personal social �quest suddenly connects with larger forces.”

Frances Westley, Brenda Zimmerman and Michael Patton, “Getting to Maybe,“ Viintage Canada, 2007.

“It turns out that the timing is right, the moment has come, � not through planning, � not through rational goal setting, � not through careful management and forceful control, �but by being at the right place at the right time: �a historical moment made conscious and intentional (not simply accidental of serendipitous) by the prepared mind.

“Intentionality joins possibility joins historical forces.”

7 Leadership Paradoxes

7 Leadership Paradoxes

Do It Yourself; You Can’t Do It Alone

You

Kindred�Spirits

Their�Networks

Whole �Company

Whole

Industry

All

Industries

The �World

“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and �I shall move the world.”

― Archimedes ―

Leading System Change

David Grayson, Chris Coulter and Mark Lee, All In, Greenleaf publishing, 2018. Slide from GlobeScan webinar.

How To Change The System

“Story of Change,” The Story of Stuff Project, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIQdYXCKUv0

Tipping Point

• 51% in a political system.
• 5-10% in a social system.

Tipping point is a point in time when a group — or a large number of group members —rapidly and dramatically changes its behavior by widely adopting a previously rare practice.

Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point, Back Bay Books, 2002.

Pareto Principle

Go Slow To Go Fast

Leader’s�Idea

Leader’s�Vision

Sell / Communicate

Others’ Buy-in To �Leader’s Vision

Dialogue / Engagement

Others’ Buy-in To Shared Vision

X

X

X

X

X

Leader’s�Idea

“If you want to go quickly, go alone. �If you want to go far, go with others.” � ― African proverb ―

Go Small To Go Big

“You can get away with anything if you call it a pilot”

Small

Moves

Big

Shifts

Diffusion Of Innovations

1. Relative Advantage�Economic, status, and competitive advantage

Everett M. Rogers, Diffusion of Innovations, Free Press, 2003.

2. Compatibility

Aligns with values, beliefs and needs

3. Complexity (lack of)

Is easy to grasp the concept

4. Trialability

Easy to pilot

5. Observability

Benefits are evident and quickly achieved

Based on Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1989.

Leverage Points

Circle of�Control

Circle of �Influence

Circle of �Concern

Leverage Points�for Action

Be A “Trimtab”

“It’s a miniature rudder. Just moving the little trim tab builds a low pressure that pulls the rudder around. Takes almost no effort at all. So I said that the little individual can be a trimtab… Call me ‘Trimtab.’”

– R. Buckminster Fuller

“Something hit me very hard once, thinking about what one little man could do. Think of the Queen Mary — the whole ship goes by and then comes the rudder. And there’s a tiny thing at the edge of the rudder called a trimtab.

7 Derailers

Wake up and decide

Inspire vision(s)

Assess current realities

7 Derailers

Build case(s) for change

Mobilize commitment

Develop strategies

Embed and align

Mishandling office politics

Being a “problem child”

Failing to produce results

Succumbing to stress

Changing everything at once

Getting off to bad start

Getting To Maybe

“’Maybe’ is not a cautious word. It is a defiant claim of possibility in the face of a status quo we are unwilling to accept.”

“We are at a point in history when the need and desire for change is profound. Our current trajectory is no longer sustainable. We cannot ignore the compelling environmental and social challenges that vex today’s world because they will undermine us all.”

“Getting to maybe has nothing to do with certainty and everything to do with serendipity, conviction, risk taking and faith.”

Frances Westley, Brenda Zimmerman and Michael Patton, “Getting to Maybe,“ Viintage Canada, 2007.

“’Maybe’ comes with no guarantee, only a chance.” It’s about hope.

1. Identify barriers and benefits … peer pressure
2. Use tools to change behavior
• Encourage written / public / group commitments
• Establish new community norms
• Make it convenient
• Provide vivid / timely / positive prompts
• Use existing personal contacts to make appeals
3. Pilot the strategy
4. Evaluate the strategy

Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Fostering Sustainable Behavior, New Society Publishers, 1999.

Social Marketing

Change Diagnostic Tool

Vision

Incentives

Resources

Action Plan

Change

Confusion

Anxiety

Gradual Change

Frustration

False Starts

Skills

Incentives

Resources

Action Plan

Skills

Vision

Incentives

Resources

Action Plan

Vision

Resources

Action Plan

Skills

Vision

Incentives

Action Plan

Skills

Vision

Incentives

Resources

Skills

George Manning, Kent Curtis: “The Art of Leadership” (2002). Courtesy of Kevin Brady, Five Winds International.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow, 1990.

Avoid Change Fatigue

Flow

Task’s Risk and Difficulty

High

High

Low

Low

Personal Skills and Abilities

Boredom

Anxiety and Stress

Leadership Attributes and Styles

Liz Lumley, “Trust – how to build a company that behaves,” FinTechTalents website, June 2018.

Trust

Fit-For-You Card

• Communications
• Support requirements
• Working relationship
• Feedback requirements
• Recognition and reward
• Things that motivate
• Work/life balance
• Interests – assignments/career

Avoids misunderstandings; sets expectations

“CEOs are Ready to Fund a Sustainable Transformation,” Google Cloud, April 2022. Based on a global survey of 1,491 executives across 16 countries

The Credibility Gap

trustedadvisor.com/articles/the-trust-equation-a-primer

Trust Equation

Credibility: Credentials and experience �Reliability: Consistency of our actions, and of our actions with our words�Intimacy: How secure or safe others feel sharing with us; protect confidentiality.�Self-Orientation: Selfish motivation for building trust, or to help others succeed?

High numerator scores build trust; high denominator scores destroy it.

Trustworthiness

Principle-Centered Leadership, as described in Stephen R. Covey et al, First Things First, 1994.

Personal Level

Interpersonal Level

Managerial Level

Organizational Level

TRUSTWORTHINESS: Character and Competence

ALIGNMENT of visions, values, systems

EMPOWERMENT of trusted people

TRUST between trustworthy people

To be credible and build trust, �do what you said you were going to do (DWYSYWGTD) … on time.�

• Follow through on your intentions
• Be consistent in word and deed
• Practice what you preach

James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, Credibility, Jossey-Bass, 2003.

DWYSYWGTD

• Be loyal, rather than duplicitous
• Empathize with others’ points of view
• Clarify and fulfill expectations
• Honor commitments
• Do little things / kindnesses / courtesies
• Apologize sincerely for “withdrawals”

Based on Stephen Covey, Principle-Centered Leadership, 1990.

How To Build Trust

Emotional Bank Account / �“Bank of Goodwill”

• Inspire a Shared Vision
• Challenge the Process
• Enable Others to Act
• Encourage the Heart
• Model the Way

James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge, 2007.

5 Leadership Practices

Based on Alan AtKisson website www.atkisson.com/wwd_codeofethics.php

Code of Ethics

1. Walk the talk
2. Keep up to date
3. Tell the truth about what is happening, as you see it
4. Share information, and credit
5. Prioritize cooperation over competition; impact over income
6. Make professional referrals wherever appropriate
7. When working, support students and volunteers
8. Explain your ethical choices
9. Consider systemic impacts of your advice and actions
10. Seek to do no harm

1. The power of invitation
2. The power of volunteering
3. The power of facilitating
4. The power of simplicity
5. The power of creativity
6. The power of patience
7. The power of not seeking power

Alan AtKisson, The ISIS Agreement, 2008.

7 Secret Change Agent Powers

8 Attributes Of Successful Leaders

1. Courage
2. Conviction
3. Cleverness
4. Contrariness
5. Collaboration
6. Cheerfulness
7. Charisma
8. Humility

“The 8 attributes of successful sustainability leaders,” GreenBiz, July 2018.

Courage

“It must be considered that there is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle, than to initiate a new order of things”

“The reformer has enemies in all those who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all those who would profit by the new order; this lukewarmness arising partly from the incredulity of mankind who does not truly believe in anything new until they actually have experience of it.”

Nicolo Machiavelli 

Habit 1: Be proactive

Habit 2: Begin with the end in mind

Habit 3: Put first things first

Habit 4: Think win / win, or no deal

Habit 5: Seek first to understand, � then to be understood

Habit 6: Synergize

Habit 7: Sharpen the saw

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Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1989.

7 Leadership Habits

Leaders Are System Thinkers

“WWF Living Planet Report 2016.” World Wildlife Federation, Dec. 2016.

Top 12 Leverage Points For Action

Donella Meadows, “Leverage Points: Places to Intervene in a System,” The Sustainability Institute, 1999.

12. Constants, parameters, numbers (such as subsidies, taxes, standards)

11. The size of buffers and other stabilizing stocks, relative to their flows

10. Structure of material stocks and flows (such as transport network)

9. Length of delays, relative to the rate of system changes

8. Strength of negative feedback loops,

7. Strength of positive feedback loops

6. Structure and recipients of information flow
7. Rules of the system (such as incentives, punishment, constraints)

4. Power to add, change, evolve, or self-organize system structure

3. Goal of the system

2. Mindset or paradigm behind the system

1. Transcend specific paradigms … realize that no one paradigm is “true”

Key Competencies

http://voxglobal.com/2012-sustainability-survey/

Perception of the need for key competencies before and after taking a job as a sustainability professional

Top 10 Skills for Sustainability Managers

“State of Green Business – 2023 Report,” GreenBiz, January 2023.

CEO View: Attributes of Effective Change Agents

Dr. Stephanie Bertels, Jess Schulschenk, Andrea Ferry, Vanessa Otto-Mentz, and Esther Speck, “CEO Decision-Making for Sustainability,” �Network for Business Sustainability, South Africa, 2016.

Manager-Leader Blend

“Manager to Leader: Warren Bennis,” Management Pocketbooks website.

Based on Stephen R. Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, 1989.

Circle of�Control

Circle of �Influence

Circle of �Concern

Managers focus here

Leaders focus here

Leaders Influence; Managers Control

Growth Curve

Based on George Ainsworth-Land, Grow or Die, 1986.

Success / Growth

Time

Startup

Growth

Organizational �Death

Transformation

Need a different manager-leader blend at each stage of company growth

Leader

Manager

Berkana Two Loops Model

Screen capture from “Two Loops Model” on YouTube.

Situational �Leadership

Ken Blanchard et al, Leadership and the One Minute Manager, William Morrow, 1985.

“Different strokes for the same folks, depending on the situation.”

Situational Leadership

Directing

Coaching

Supporting

Delegating

Appropriate leadership style

GROW Coaching Model

John Whitmore, Coaching for Performance, Nicholas Brealey, 4^th edition, 2009

The coachee generates these and then chooses the best one(s)

Handling Objections

Barriers To CEOs Prioritizing Sustainability

Dr. Stephanie Bertels, Jess Schulschenk, Andrea Ferry, Vanessa Otto-Mentz, and Esther Speck, “CEO Decision-Making for Sustainability,” Network for Business Sustainability, South Africa, 2016.

Handling Resisters

• Use them as critics?

• Win them over?

• Fence them

• Ignore / avoid them?

Alan AtKisson, The ISIS Agreement, 2008.

Amoeba of Culture Change

Amoeba of Sustainability Culture Change

INNOVATION:�“Sustainability”

INNOVATORS: �Discoverers; need help

CHANGE AGENTS:

Sustainability champions

TRANSFORMERS:

Gatekeepers; influencers; middle managers

MAINSTREAMERS:

“Normal” people; need aligned incentives

CONTROLLERS:

Senior executives

ICONOCLASTS: Vocal critics of the status quo; may attack Reactionaries

REACTIONARIES:

Protect vested interests

LAGGARDS: Prefer status quo; resist as long as possible

CURMUDGEONS: Jaded;

pessimists; negative; may be failed Change Agents?

SPIRITUAL RECLUSES:

Driven by ethics, morals, beliefs

Alan AtKisson, The ISIS Agreement, 2008.

Top 10 Objections

1. It’s not one of our current strategic objectives.
2. The benefits are too intangible.
3. The return on investment is too low for our stakeholders.
4. We see a lack of political will / leadership, so why should we care?
5. We see no hard financial justification to do more than we’re doing.
6. We’re too busy, there’s just no time.
7. We can’t afford it right now.
8. We don’t know where to start.
9. It’s not going to make a difference to the world.
10. Our customers don’t care.

Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series, “Handling Objections: A Professional’s Guide to Overcoming Objections to Sustainability Adoption and Implementation,” April 2012. �https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/documents/TSSS-Objection-Handling-Paper.pdf

12 Objection Handling Tips

Toronto Sustainability Speaker Series, “Handling Objections,” April 2012. �https://sustainabilityadvantage.com/documents/TSSS-Objection-Handling-Paper.pdf

1. Clarify the “it”
2. Trial close
3. Identify what they do care about
4. Watch your language
5. Play the risk-of-doing-nothing card
6. Build on the cultural / strategic base
7. Keep their defense mechanisms down
8. Be gracious
9. Protect your business credibility
10. Tell stories – personal and business
11. Ask, don’t tell
12. Do your homework

7D Anti-Change Tactics

1. Disparage the messenger�Discredit critics; character assassination; hoax by “special interests”
2. Deny / Deflect the blame�Something is wrong, but it is being caused by something / someone else.
3. Sow seeds of Doubt �Scientists are uncertain; evidence is inconclusive; no causal link.
4. Denounce the press �Moan the lack of fair, balanced coverage; accuse truth being suppressed.
5. Predict a Disaster if the change happens� Focus on lost jobs, economic hardships, slow growth, social chaos.
6. Delay the change� Commission a study to ensure an “balanced / informed decision.”
7. Be Duplicitous after the change�Never apologize. Say you always wanted the best for everyone.

“Complainers are just housewives, not doctors or scientists.”

“The is no scientific evidence that tobacco is unsafe. � Everyone knows cancer is genetic.”

“OK, tobacco can cause cancer, but not those cancers at those � exposures. No scientific causal link between tobacco and cancer.”

“We are being unfairly maligned by the left-wing press / elite. � We need more balanced coverage.”

“Hundreds of farming jobs will be lost. � Whole rural economies will collapse.”

“We need more research to hear all points of view, � make a more informed decision, and plan for how � to help tobacco addicts.”

“We’re delighted with smoking cessation assistance. � We’ll produce nicotine patches and e-cigarettes to help.”

7Ds FOR TOBACCO

Discredit

Deny

Doubt

Delay

Dishonest

Disaster

Deplore

“Complainers are just lefty, anti-business treehuggers. � The IPCC scientists created a hoax so they’ll get rich doing more studies.”

“CO2 doesn’t cause climate change. It’s caused by sun spots.”

“Climate change is normal. Blame volcanoes and flatulent cattle.”

“Contrary views are silenced by the left-wing press. We need more� balanced coverage of real climate science.”

“It’s unfair to developing countries. Our quality of life will be ruined. � Thousands of jobs will be lost. Economies will collapse. We can’t afford it.”

“We need more study so we can make a more informed decision, � and plan for an orderly transition to a fossil fuel-free economy.”

“We’re delighted with the accelerated transition to 100% renewable� energy. We always wanted the best for everyone.”

7Ds For Fossil Fuels

Discredit

Deny

Doubt

Delay

Dishonest

Disaster

Deplore