insight : luann nigara
Sustainability: Not Just for Mother Earth In the new year, think about how you can make your business sustainable over the long term BY LUANN NIGARA
Hello 2021! You sure took your time getting here. My word for 2020 was “intense.” In hindsight, I think I could have been more mindful when selecting my word of the year. In fact, 2020 was so intense that by November, I had sworn off selecting a new word for 2021. I am rethinking this now. I have had my holiday break and enjoyed time with the Vin Man, our kids, grandkids, family and friends. I am feeling more hopeful, so I am taking a shot at picking a word.
Let’s try this: sustainability. The quality of not being harmful to the environment, thereby supporting long-term ecological balance. Somehow it feels gentle, genial, generous even. (Hint, hint 2021.)
20 | JANUARY + FEBRUARY 2021
I am all for sustaining, supporting and saving our dear Mother Earth, the caretaker of us all. However, with my sincere apologies to you, my fellow global citizens, in regard to sustainability, my thoughts are a bit more egocentric. I am thinking, “Are we doing the activities that contribute to the sustainability of our business? Are our employees able to sustain the level of responsibility placed on them while feeling happy, optimistic and accomplished? Am I personally doing the activities that contribute to the sustainability of my health, both physical and mental, so I can sustain my business?” Just as our dear Mother Earth must be sustained in order to provide for all of us, we, as business owners, need to support the long-term ecological balance of our companies. And this means we are personally responsible for the sustainability
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of the business, the humans we employ and the CEO (aka ourselves). During the pandemic, we have grown our combined team at Window Works and the “A Well-Designed Business” podcast to 16. As I write this, we are actively pursuing two new hires. So, questions and concerns regarding sustainability of our environment are tippy top of mind for me.
We are asking ourselves these questions and I encourage you to do the same: •
Can we create enough leads to sustain the number of people on our sales team?
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Can our sales team sustain the pace of the leads we generate?
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Can we generate enough sales to sustain our entire installation team
