Remember the ground breaking movie ‘The inconvenient truth’ - telling the story of Al Gore – the man who would be president but instead returned to the most important calling of his life – our sustainable future.

With an emphasis on hope, An Inconvenient Truth ultimately shows us that global warming is no longer a political issue but rather, the biggest moral challenge facing our civilization today.

President Al Gore's fervent crusade to halt global warming's deadly progress by exposing the myths and misconceptions that surround it, have brought about a climate of change.

As owners and managers of Sunshine Coast Businesses you’ll all agree that times are really tough in our market, times that force us to be smarter, more savvy and better than ever before at our game. A good business just isn’t enough anymore – we have to be great.

The state of the market at present is an ‘inconvenient truth’ for we who’ve ridden on the back of phenomenal growth of the Sunshine Coast, and is forcing our own ‘climate of change’.
How will you do it differently this financial year? What are the things in your business that need to go from Good to Great?

Jim Collins, author of same – makes some interesting points after surveying over 1400 good companies over five years;

“Companies that make the change from good to great have no name for their transformation—and absolutely no program.
They neither rant nor rave about a crisis—and they don't manufacture one where none exists.
They don't “motivate” people—their people are self-motivated.

“There’s no evidence of a connection between money and change mastery. And fear doesn't drive change—but it does perpetuate mediocrity.

“Nor can acquisitions provide a stimulus for greatness: Two mediocrities never make one great company. Technology is certainly important—but it comes into play only after change has already begun. And finally, dramatic results do not come from dramatic process—not if you want them to last, anyway. A serious revolution, one that feels like a revolution to those going through it, is highly unlikely to bring about a sustainable leap from being good to being great.”
(Jim Collins, 2001)

When interviewed recently on the subject of doing business in the current climate, Jim was asked the question
“ What does your research suggest about the best way to respond to the current economic slowdown? “
Jim responded  “If I were running a company today, I would have one priority above all others: to acquire as many of the best people as I could. I’d put off everything else to fill my bus. Because things are going to come back. My flywheel is going to start to turn. And the single biggest constraint on the success of my organization is the ability to get and to hang on to enough of the right people.”

So, do what you need to do to lead your business through these tough times – and if you do it well, it will be like ‘climate change’ – your staff and your customers will wake up to it eventually. Unlike the climate change however, for your company, there will be nothing but positives to look forward to.