March book reviews

"Making Sustainability Work"
By Marc Epstein
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RATING:

There are books on sustainability and there are books on implementing management practices to support sustainability in real organizations. “Making Sustainability Work” is in the latter category.

Marc Epstein authors the book with over 25 years of industry experience as a senior consultant on the topic of sustainability. His book begins like many others: with an introduction to the topic of sustainability and the customary follow-up discussion on how strong leadership and “buy-in” are must-haves for successful organizational change and implementation. It is at this point that the book separates itself from the pack.

“Making Sustainability Work” contains the most inclusive and comprehensive discussion of measuring, managing and quantifying all of the business risks, benefits and impacts to society and the environment I have seen in a book. A cautionary note to the small business reader: The discussion is derived from large organizations that often have resources dedicated to this type of strategic thinking and analysis that small and medium enterprises often do not.

It is often said that what gets measured gets managed, and what gets managed gets done. If this is true, then Epstein’s latest book is instrumental and indispensable for moving sustainability to the next level in business. Are you ready for that? Published by Greenleaf Publishing/Berrett-Koehler Publishers

"Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Adverse Conditions"
by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber
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RATING:

Ah, the fable. What a great way to share life’s lessons. We have grown up with them as children for centuries, so why abandon them as adults? I mean, are any of us really that much different from when we were kids? Most times I don’t think so.

“Our Iceberg is Melting” is a great story of a fictional penguin colony in Antarctica that realizes the iceberg it has inhabited forever is at risk of melting and breaking apart. The story begins with the discovery of the problem and proceeds to the penguins successfully finding a new home.

There are, of course, challenges from the very beginning, first for the pioneering penguin who discovers the problem and all the way to moving the children and elders to the new iceberg.

The book is written by the “leadership and change guru” at Harvard Business School, John Kotter, who has written previous best sellers on the topic. This story is effective in getting its point across and is supported by a Web site where a motivated reader can proceed to learn more on the topic. Dealing with change in your organization? Check it out. Published by St. Martin's Press