At this time of year, many organisations are preoccupied with formulating strategies and adjusting according to government budgetary pronouncements and economic reality. The aim of this action is sustainability. Businesses want to sustain market share, customer loyalty, profitability, and brand relevance. They also want to grow and exceed shareholders’ expectations. Therefore, business sustainability is not new but primordial to human existence.
Since the start of 2025, my team at Mentoras Leadership have been preoccupied with helping businesses develop sustainability roadmaps. Aside from the usual sustainability norm, defending the existing business, the new interpretation of sustainability must be considered and aligned with. In this dispensation, sustainability is meeting the business objectives with mindfulness, mindful of the effects of business activities on the environment and society. Sustainability is no longer an internal budgetary performance and appraisal issue. It has focused on broader external objectives, cutting across environmental, social and governance purviews.
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Thus, a sustainable business does well and does good. Doing well is what we are used to in measuring progress in sales and financial metrics; doing good is a social and environmental responsibility gaining traction. We are responsible for the planet, and business owners, decision-makers, and regulators are more mindful of the depletion of natural resources, climate change, income and gender inequality, racial imbalance, pollution and human rights issues. A change in business landscape and requirements are constant. That is why I have used the analogy of a moving lion to illustrate the volatility of leading businesses in my engagements with sales leaders. What would you do if you found yourself riding on the back of a lion?
“Aside from the usual sustainability norm, defending the existing business, the new interpretation of sustainability must be considered and aligned with.”
The business environment will keep changing. The demands from regulators, society, and customers, as well as the challenges posed by new workers, technology, and innovation, will consistently disrupt the existing level of thinking and ways of succeeding in every sphere of life. Adapting to changes and new requirements is not negotiable for any business that will survive and stand the test of time. A dynamic business that embraces both the internal and external demands for sustainability will benefit from creating a competitive advantage that will drive market growth and invariably protect the company’s brand. Therefore, making your business sustainable in whatever form it is required is non-negotiable.
The question is, what is the best way to ensure business sustainability? For centuries, companies like Coca-Cola, Yamamoto, and Kongō Gumi have had a significant strategy for business sustainability: the ability to change and evolve with time and seasons.
Business sustainability strategies vary from products to service offerings. Aligning your service or product to people’s wants and being mindful of the environmental effects is noble. Process sustainability ensures your process architecture supports your products and brand promise to the consumer. Your business communication is essential to keeping all the stakeholders informed and satisfied. However, business and nations’ sustainability is based on a primary factor-people driving other factors. Therefore, developing a leadership culture where everyone takes ownership and responsibility for the processes, services, and products is the most potent and primordial strategy for business sustainability.
A leadership culture supersedes every other culture, whether Clan, Market, Adhocracy, or Hierarchy. While I respect age and experience, I have a penchant for hierarchy, which stiffens innovation, limits communication, and creates a rigid environment where Gen Z and Alpha cannot thrive.
Therefore, creating a leadership culture is the primordial strategy for sustainable development for countries and businesses.
My new book, Uplifting Leadership, aims to help people imbibe a leadership mindset and help organisations create a leadership culture.
Everyone has a seed in them. The seed is the service, excellence, enterprise, and drive that need to be explored and exploited to maximise their productivity and sustain the outcome of working together with others. That is sustainability that will outlive everyone involved.
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At Mentoras, we have moved from coaching to helping our clients create a leadership culture that will guarantee the sustainability of their businesses, thereby helping society and the world at large.
Do you want to sustain the current level of results and develop new frontiers for your team, business, and organisations? The way to go is to believe in your people, value them, and love them unconditionally while tapping into their leadership potential through workplace culture and environment. If you want to go far sustainably, develop leaders as you focus on improving your business in 2025.
Babs Olugbemi FCCA, the Chief Vision Officer at Mentoras Leadership Limited and Founder of Positive Growth Africa. He can be reached on [email protected] or 07064176953 or on Twitter @Successbabs.
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