Leading chaos, paradox & dysfunctionality in sustainable development.

Thank you, and I am honored to speak with on this morning on a global topic that has a profound impact on our lives today, and on the lives of future generations.

When Cathy Colglazier from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment invited me to be your keynote speaker I was honored.

While researching my speech, I noticed that some of our agenda topics embrace sustainable development, business integration and leadership. Also, the vision statement of the KDHE states, "healthier Kansans living in safe and sustainable environments." (Robert Bramby, Secretary KDHE). Today's conference topics such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, Alternative Fuels, Environmental Management Programs, and other strategic issues dominate this conference and relate to my keynote address.

The Kansas Public Advocate's Office, in organizing this conference, also is a prime example of EH&S leadership.

Now you may ask yourself, how did Jack arrive at his topic? In order to determine the volume of information on the topic of leadership and attain my goal of presenting to you original intellectual content, I "Googled" the net and found the following:

Topic                             Number of References

Leadership                             21.6 million

Sustainable Development
Leadership                             1.4 million

EH&S Leadership                        6,200

Leading Chaos, Paradox
and Dysfunctionality
in Sustainable Development             15

Leading Chaos, Paradox and
Dysfunctionality in Sustainable
Development in Kansas                  1

I now can feel confident that I am able to be creative and unique in presenting original intellectual content and thought.

I want to take an audience survey and ask you some questions to give me a gauge of your demographics. So just raise your hand if you can recognize or associate with the following. You can cheer or boo if you wish, just don't throw anything, as I mention the following:

1. Benjamin Franklin (Businessman, statesman, 1706-1790)

2. Gene Simmons (Rock star, KISS)

3. November 22, 1963 (JFK assassinated)

4. Frank Sinatra (Singer 1915-1998)

5. Howdy Doody (Children's TV Show, 1950's)

6. Walter P. Chrysler (Ellis and Wamego, Kansas, founder Chrysler Corp.)

7. Pine Tar Incident (George Brett, Kansas City Royals vs. New York Yankees)

8. Dick Vermeil (Kansas City Chiefs football coach)

9. Bob Dole (Former U.S. Senator Kansas)

10. "Fish and visitors stink after three days" (Ben Franklin Almanacs ca 1723-1748)

Now let me ask you another type of question and I will give you another type of test. If I were to ask you to give me the names of the top 100 most influential people or leaders of the past 1000 years, whom would you put on that list? Take a minute to write down 3 to 5 names. According to a poll done by A&E Network, here are some names from the list:

89. Susan B Anthony

87. Rachael Carson--author of Silent Spring which launched the grassroots environmental movement

62. Walt Disney

58. Joan of Arc

44. Alexander Graham Bell

39. Dante Alighieri

23. Abraham Lincoln

19. Michelangelo

11. Leonardo da Vinci

In the interest of time I want to end here with the list and at the end of my talk I will give you the top 10 most influential people and leaders of the past 1000 years. In analyzing what made these people leaders, we'll see if we can determine what the attributes of future leaders might be.

All of these people displayed leadership, good or evil, and generated a legacy, good or evil. They saw the relationship of many elements, and were able to integrate those elements. Henry Ford, for instance, saw the power of technology and people, in the mass production of automobiles. Look at how personal mobility has profoundly changed not only commerce, but sheer quality of life.

Today, we are in the position of having a vision for a set of issues, which will affect humans one thousand years into the future. Our focus today is "Leadership in Environment, Health, and Safety and Global Sustainable Development".

Now I will discuss the Importance of Business Integration and Leadership:

Of immediate importance are the issues of EH&S business integration and leadership.

I will be presenting some of my views based on my actual experiences in working for a $33 Billion dollar global manufacturing corporation, working for a large and a small non-profit, and my own consulting company. I will discuss how an organization can understand, embrace, and eventually fully integrate leadership and EH&S in overall business strategy. Throughout my presentation you will hear the concepts of (a) sustainable development, (b) business integration, and (c) leadership.

Speaking of Leadership, the best definition that I have heard comes from Joel Barker, a foremost authority on leadership, who stated, "Leadership is taking people where they would not ordinarily go by themselves." Leadership and business integration are certainly not new concepts. What is new for the twenty first century is the vital role leadership and integration must play in building a sustainable future.

The concept of business integration and leadership, as part of the business strategy, needs to be recognized when we consider that major conflicts arise as we compete for the planet's resources such as: water, energy, fertile land etc. Having the vision of a sustainable planet becomes essential. Therefore, the EH&S component of a business strategy is on equal footing, and at times superior, to other components of the business strategy such as finance, legal, manufacturing, distribution, human resources, and so on..

As a prime example of strategies and challenges, I compared the state of New Jersey with the state of Kansas. As Cathy Colglazier and I were discussing this conference for nearly one year, we discussed various issues and challenges of our respective states. New Jersey is a dichotomy and a paradox. New Jersey is called the Garden State because of our lush vegetation, natural Pine Barrens encompassing 20% of our state land, and the Atlantic Ocean coastline of beautiful sand and beaches. At the same time, unfortunately, we lead the league in Superfund sites and environmental issues.

As a comparison between New Jersey and Kansas I found the following government statistics:

                            Kansas        New Jersey
Population                  2.7 million   8.6 million
Registered Vehicles         2.3 million   6.4 million
Median Home Price           $83,000       $171,000
Land Square Miles           80,000        8,000

As a matter of fact, Kansas has so much land that the town of Marquette, Kansas, is giving land away. Now, I have never been to Marquette, Kansas, so I don't know what happens in that part of Kansas, but anyone who builds a home within one year and stays in Marquette for one year receives free land. Here in Overland Park the Kansas and Missouri Rivers separate us from Kansas City, Missouri. In New Jersey, the Hudson River separates us from New York City. The main point is, although the challenges may be different, the constant is leadership and a sustainable development approach to resolving challenges. As your theme states, "Kansas Don't Spoil It."

Speaking of leadership, now we ask the question, what is the new role of future leaders and sustainability?

Future Leaders and Sustainability

Even before the age of downsizing, reengineering, rightsizing, wrongsizing, or mergers and acquisitions, organizations have had few leaders with a vision for sustainability. In today's environment of continuing reengineering--and I say continuing reengineering, because it's part of the business culture, as evidenced by continuing mergers and acquisitions--even fewer leaders with vision and creativity exist today. Gone are the days of managing a totally aligned, organized and simple organization. The evolution of business management or management systems evolved by starting simple, and moving to organized, to complex, to ambiguity, to chaos, and ultimately to paradox. Today, we must learn to manage chaos and paradox, and at times dysfunctionality.

In order to integrate EH&S with other functions, the rare EH&S leaders need to be aligned with the rare leaders in finance, legal, manufacturing, and so on. Leaders must confront and at times accept the penalty of leadership--that is accepting the risks of introducing new ideas and crossing traditional boundaries within an organization.

A prime example of leadership and accepting risks is Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan. In his recent July testimony to the U.S. Senate, Chairman Greenspan spoke of integration and sustainability and maximum sustainable growth for the US economy. In your organizations, nurture and encourage sustainability, EH&S leadership and creativity.

Part of an effective environmental management system is obtaining commitment from senior management. However, the challenge is how to manage and lead with a routine changing of senior management in part due to unacceptable business results, ethics, or criminal conduct. As an example of unethical or criminal conduct, recent newspaper headlines such as: "Enron Ex-CEO Indicted", "FBI Probe Worries Governor's Allies" and "Official's Extravagance Probed" underscore the dysfunctionality of leadership. Another role that is changing and increasing in importance is that of stakeholders. Employees, suppliers, customers, government and community are all vital stakeholders. Today, stakeholders will not tolerate criminal behavior from business executives, government office holders, community leaders, etc.

Now, you may ask, how complex is the role of EH&S becoming? Not only the issues, but also the solutions to those issues, are more complex than many of us have experienced. However, I believe this is a positive evolution for EH&S.

As the concept of "Sustainable Development" or "Sustainable Growth" becomes more prominent, leaders need to recognize and manage the convergence of many different ideas, backgrounds and orientations, may they be scientific, economic, or social. Did any of the leaders on your written list recognize the convergence of many different ideas? This convergence or diversity of thought is challenging many organizations. The idea of integrating EH&S with economics and society is not new to some organizations. What is new is the acceleration of scientific, economic, and societal pressures to integrate, and have solutions to all of the issues for all stakeholders. We live in a 24hr/7day global news cycle and leadership is essential to accurately answer stakeholders.

As a politician once told me, "democracy will not work without participation." Simply stated, decisions are made by the people who show up! My message today is, although EH&S is becoming global, complex and challenging with many different ideas, solutions cannot be found without participation.

Previously we discussed the "Importance of Business Integration" as well as "Future Leaders and Sustainability".

Now let's look at the changing role of leaders. Future leaders require not only a working knowledge of various functions, but an understanding of the relationships of these functions. For example, what is the relationship between employee health and safety, product safety, and marketing? Leaders need to manage the integration of functions, in order to deliver competitive products and services to customers. Leadership is not an either-or proposition today. Leadership is an "A-N-D" proposition that is inclusive: environment AND health AND safety AND society AND economics. Leaders must mesh or integrate and manage many functions concurrently. The question now becomes "what are some of the skills that leaders need in order to lead organizations through the twenty first century?"

I would now like to share with you my "Precepts of Leadership Needed for Sustainable Development." I have been discussing the What of EH&S leadership.

Now we will investigate the How and summarize the How as: Precepts of Leadership Needed for Sustainable Development:

1) Courage--Have the courage of your convictions and your principles. It may not be easy to tell your bosses that their vision is out-of-date. Also, it may not be easy to tell yourself that your own vision is out-of-date. Have the courage and conviction of your own abilities. No one can remove you from your abilities or talents. You can be removed from your job, but not from your abilities or talents. As an exercise in courage try delegating upward in your organization. Sometimes leadership and courage are thrown at us. When he was President, John F. Kennedy was asked how he found the courage to be a naval war hero. Kennedy simply replied, "It was easy--they sank my boat."

2) Integrity--In the final analysis people deal with people, not people with institutions, or institutions with institutions. Honesty and integrity are paramount, especially in today's fast-paced business world, where time is a valuable resource. Integrity is the link to open communication, which is the link to wisdom. Simply stated, if people trust you, they will give you their time and you can learn by communicating with people. Benjamin Franklin understood this when he wrote, "Glass, china, and reputation are easily cracked, and never well mended."

3) Business Acumen--Ask yourself: Do you run your companies to make profits, or make profits to run your companies? It is good business to think globally, since greenhouse gases do not have geographical boundaries. Smart business means increasing the bottom line and leaders must learn to recognize all available resources to accomplish this. Organizations today range from chaotic to dysfunctional and are too overwhelming for one person to lead. Recently a researcher defined this profound concept as "community cognition and collective smart." I simply say, chances are that if a leader does not utilize all available resources the leader will fail or end up in jail!

4) Define the correct question--Solutions are easy--the leadership becomes defining and understanding what the real question is.

The Environmental, Social, and Economic segments of the triple bottom line include many agendas, a nd many agendas may be hidden. Be sure to know what the real question may be. Classical composer Gustav Mahler said, "If you don't enjoy your body and mind being abused do not get into art." The same can be said about EH&S. We are constantly being bombarded and facing hidden agendas while solving problems which address the wrong question.

5) Passion--Passion leads to fun and motivation. Consider the skill sets and qualities you most enjoy and which you are happy doing. Can you then direct this passion and fun to support a lifestyle in which you will be happy? A prime example of passion is Ricardo Semler the CEO of Semco SA. Semco has 3100 employees, produces over 2000 diversified and integrated products, and has $160 million dollars in revenues. In Semler's passion to succeed, he developed a business model which has no organizational chart and no HR department. Managers are hired by higher ups and subordinates. Employees choose their own leaders, decide who is needed and openly discuss salaries. Semco utilizes peer control as well as a passion to succeed.

6) Have a life--Where do you do your best creative thinking? In the age of knowledge, "you can't think out of the box if you are always in the box." A large percentage of my thoughts today were conceived while engaging in two of my passions--music and sports.

So value your life and get a life. You do not necessarily need to find a job that is fun, but rather have fun at the job you are doing. As an example, in the year 1923 did you know that: the President of the largest steel company, Charles Schwab, died a pauper; the President of the NYSE, Richard Whitney, was released from prison to die at home; the great bear of Wall Street, Cosabee Livermore, committed suicide. However, in the same year, PGA Champion, hunter, fisherman and the U.S. Open winner was Gene Sarazen. What became of him? He hunted at 90, golfed at 92, fished when he was 94. He died at the age of 95 and was financially secure. The moral: screw work--golf, hunt, and fish.

7) Compassion--Remember, we lead people, not motors, turbines or valves. Current research has shown that showing compassion and empathy are vital in leading people. This research has further demonstrated that the bottom line performance is enhanced when compassion and empathy are displayed by leaders.

8) Think like a child--This is the basis for integrative thinking. Picasso said, "It took me four years to paint like Raphael but a lifetime to paint like a child." Integrate knowledge, stretch your mind, and try to match what traditionally does not align. Align environment with accounting, Legal with strategic planning, and history with science. Know the basics of divergent and convergent thinking.

   Audience Exercise--Take a pencil and piece
   of paper Here is your exercise--you have just
   inherited a warehouse full of wire coat hangers.
   Write down as many uses for these wire
   coat hangers as you can. You have 60 seconds--go!...

Count the number of uses you wrote. How many were between 0-5, 6-10, 11-20, greater than 20? I gave this test to fifth graders and CEOs. This was an exercise in divergent and convergent thinking. Think of as many divergent solutions as possible in order to converge on your particular solution. Distill the complex to become simple. Question: How is this as an exercise in thinking like a child? Can you sum up the beliefs of every major religion on the planet in four words? ... Do good; avoid evil. How about one word? ... Love.

9) Sense of Humor--He who laughs, lasts. It is scientific fact that tears of laughter wash toxins from the body vs. tears of anger, which contain other chemicals. George Burns and Bob Hope both lived to be 100. My research has discovered the fact that you Kansans are a hearty breed of people with a wonderful sense of humor. I found a Kansas Temperature Conversion chart which supports this premise. For example:

   At +50 degrees Californians shiver uncontrollably
   ... People in Kansas sunbathe;

   At +32 degrees distilled water freezes ... Kansas
   river water gets thicker;

   At +15 degrees Virginia landlords turn up the
   heat ... People in Kansas have the last barbecue
   before it gets cold;

   At -40 degrees Hollywood disintegrates ... The
   Girl Scouts in Kansas are selling cookies door to
   door;

   At -100 degrees Santa Claus abandons the North
   Pole ... KU students get frustrated because they
   can't thaw the keg; and finally,

   At -500 degrees Hell freezes over ... The Kansas
   City Chiefs win a Super Bowl.

10) Succeed & Fail--"Success is having failure after failure and keeping your enthusiasm" said Ralph Waldo Emerson. Thomas Edison said 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. He found 10,000 ways--failures--of how not to make light bulbs before he succeeded. Learn from failure, but do not depend on failure. Strive for success, but do not fear failure. Strive for success first, and the rewards will follow. In researching this speech I came across a Harper's Weekly story from 1864. The article described a leader who apparently ran into some problems and was characterized as a failure. The words used by Harper's Weeklyto profile this person were: filthy story-teller, despot, liar, thief, buffoon, monster, old scoundrel, tyrant, butcher, land-pirate and big secessionist. The person described as a failure in 1864 was ... Abraham Lincoln. I think it is safe to say that Lincoln's place in history is remembered as a very successful leader.

11) Vision For Legacy--Think in terms of legacy, not activity. Be remembered as the person who designed a society that is educated, environmentally friendly, safe, and economically sustainable. This is an example of a legacy vision instead of an activity vision. Bill McDonough, a renowned environmental architect, states that we should have a vision as a designer. One of his tenets is to design manufacturing facilities with the seventh generation in mind. The next time you design a car, instead of having the exhaust blow out on someone else, have the exhaust blow into the car. This will certainly change your vision. What are a few other examples of legacy vision?

Henry Ford certainly reached and affected future generations. In 1900 the US had about 8000 cars and 10 miles of paved roads. In 2004 the US has about 220 million registered automotive vehicles and about 4 million miles of paved roads.

Now let me ask you if you recognize the following as another example of a vision legacy.

In the year 1896 the number was 41.

   1929-300    1996-6000
   1955-400    1997-8000
   1972-1000   1999-10,000
   1987-2000   2001-11,000
   1991-3000

This is the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which definitely is reaching future generations. These examples demonstrate a leadership vision!

12) Recognize Window of Opportunity--There is no such thing as luck but rather combining experience with opportunity. Be aware of these windows of opportunity. Train your mind for success. Similar to an athlete training their mind for muscle memory, train yourself to mentally succeed. Practice small successes at first, so select something at which you will succeed.

13) Be Productive Not Busy--Ask anyone in the workplace today, "How is your business?" The answer in practically all cases is, "I'm really busy." As a leader this should be cause for concern because the next logical question is, "Busy at doing what?" Leadership requires inspiring and encouraging people to be productive rather than just busy. Ask yourself the question, "What are my people doing when I am not there?" Think in terms of being productive and not just being busy. Being busy and not being productive leads to chaos! Being productive while also being busy is leadership!

14) Lead--It's been said, managers manage things right but leaders manage the right things. Being a leader especially in EH&S will be painful at times. The EH&S leader will need to move out of their comfort zone. This will result in discomfort, fear of failure, becoming unpopular, realizing you may not even be a leader, ridicule, loss of status and severe career setbacks. Do not be fooled or disillusioned. A leadership role is not for the weak of body, mind, or soul. Now let me ask, how many people here want to be leaders? Let me put this question in family and parenting terms. Has anyone raised, or is raising, or will raise teenagers? We will pay a price for leadership, but we will also pay a price for lack of leadership. So when your opportunity presents itself to be a leader--lead!

15) Expect Ambiguity--Be prepared to lead ambiguity. Prepare to lead an organization or project with no budget, no people, and no direction but expected high results. Expect to receive no direction and no rules. Then expect to be severely chastised when you lead in the wrong direction or break the rules which you didn't receive in the first place. Don't be discouraged. Prepare for ambiguity, uncertainty, multiple interpretation, and lack of clarity.

16) Common Sense and Good Judgment--One of my favorite precepts to discuss. I am becoming convinced that these attributes are gifts and cannot be taught. My advice is to hire people and future leaders who posses these gifts. Leadership requires common sense and good judgment in many areas such as: ethics, integrity, business, people, etc. As an example of poor common sense and good judgment a recent news story explains the state official who had a $198 personal makeover before her official photo. She then put the expense on her expense account along with theatre tickets, limousine rides and office equipment for her home. Not too bright.

In all cases leadership requires common sense and good judgment, and is situational. A leader will do one of four things in any given situation: 1) delegate, 2) support, 3) coach or 4) direct, depending what the situation may be or in what state of mind the receiving person may be. As Ben Franklin said, "Many complain of their memory, few of their judgment."

   Exercise for Audience: Turn to the person
   next to you for about two minutes and discuss
   what both of you think about EH&S leadership
   today. Then come up with a newspaper
   headline about EH&S leadership today.
   Write down and pass up to the front....

Final Thoughts

I would like to share with you some examples of EH&S business integration and leadership. In general, the Chemical Industry demonstrated a vision leadership role by changing the old EH&S concepts of "the solution to pollution is dilution," and "confrontation" to the advanced concepts of "including societal needs" and "transparency" as part of the business strategy. Sustainable business and sustainable development are included in many business strategies.

In another example of leadership, how many people laughed at or even cared about one of the greatest integrators ill business when he said that there will be a computer in every home and office in the world and the computer will be using a Microsoft product? The person of course is Bill Gates. He truly integrated computer technology in the home and business. Bill Gates also sees the vision of philanthropy and integrated his business profits with philanthropy.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a $27 billion dollar endowment and is one of the largest foundations in the world. Truly a prime example of leadership and a legacy vision. So leadership and integration are the keys to sustainable business and sustainable growth.

Let me also mention, that today we all must be vigilant leaders against organizations and individuals who are involved in disregarding laws. Guilty individuals no matter if industry, government, NGO, academic, religious, military etc. must be punished and imprisoned. This is vital if society is going to continue the pursuit of sustainable development resulting in sustainable organizations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, leadership can be derived from anyone regardless of their place in an organization: shop floor, board room, lab or library. World class management systems require world class leaders.

If your vision encompasses the spectrum of sustainable development or sustainable growth, you will be on the road to leading your organization through the twenty first century. Leaders need to demonstrate attributes such as: courage, defining the correct question, vision legacy and the other precepts we discussed today. Those in leadership positions must realize that gone are the days of managing a totally aligned, organized and simple organization. Today, we must learn and manage chaos and paradox. And what is beyond paradox? Leaders will be challenged with managing dysfunctionality. As Winston Churchill said, "The farther back we look, the farther ahead we can see." So look back at your organization to learn and lead with a sustainable vision.

So now let's look back, and I will list for you from the A&E survey, the top ten most influential people or leaders of the past 1000 years and let's see if we can determine what they tell us about future leaders.

(10) Galileo

(9) Copernicus

(8) Albert Einstein

(7) Karl Marx

(6) Christopher Columbus

(5) William Shakespeare

(4) Charles Darwin

(3) Martin Luther

(2) Isaac Newton

(1) Johann Gutenburg

If you are a leader, and you must integrate the past with the future, keep in mind the words of John F. Kennedy who said about future vision, "For time and the world do not stand still. Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future."

Thank you!

Jack Giampalmi is president of Management Research & Consulting. His remarks were presented at the 2004 Kansas Environment Conference, Overland Park, Kansas, on September 1, 2004. The annual conference is sponsored by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 7.