Exhausted Summer June

EXHAUSTED

Basil Milkshake?

Being a ClientStorytelling’s Out

Personalised Travel – alteringbehaviour

Technology helping

DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS

Issue 6

at the WheelAsleepIS Sharing a bit Hippie

Holacracy– in your company?

2 DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS

We are excited to announce, that due to popular demand, we are increasing the number of Exhausted issues you can enjoy throughout the year. Instead of quarterly, Exhausted will now be released bi-monthly (that’s every two months to you and I!).

In this first additional issue, many of you may find the articles are slightly more meaty than usual, it’s simply because with the topics we’ve chosen there’s a lot to cover and we didn’t want to miss out any of the good bits! It’d be good to know what you think though – whether you prefer the shorter articles or like more information, there’s no wrong answer. But if we know what you like we can make sure we continue to give you a magazine you want to pick up.

I must admit my favourite article in this edition is ‘Basil milkshake anyone?’ (check out page 11) it’s amazing what we’re coming up with these days to try and

help the environment. And technology is playing a huge part in how we’re managing the future, find out how it can help us get out of our sustainable mess in the article on page 8. If you’re looking at how you can learn from other companies, check out the article on page 12 which highlights a small number of businesses who are being brave. We’re always trying to shape and improve the e-mag and we hope you still find the content lively, engaging, informative and relevant. Please write or send an e-mail to let us know what you think or to share an idea for a future story.

and we’ll see you again in a couple of months.

Jemma [email protected]

CONTENTS

EDITOR’S NOTE

Happy reading...

Asleep at the wheel 12

How to be a responsible client 7

Technology and our sustainability 8

Storytelling’s out 3

Holacracy – in your organisation? 4Personalised travel plans cause shifts in travel behaviour 6

Web:www.liftshare.com/business

Linked-inwww.linkedin.com/company/liftshare

Is sharing a bit hippie? 10

Basil milkshake – anyone? 11

3DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS

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Storydoing’s IN

Whilst we all love a good story, it’s no longer enough to just tell it!

Leading organisations today can no longer just declare their mission or values in a splashy ad. Instead the most effective way to tell a business story is through “storydoing”.

Organisations that “do things” are said to be more successful than companies that merely “talk” and now there is proof. In a study of storytelling v storydoing companies – storydoing companies have a bigger impact despite spending 170% less on paid media. The study of 42 companies across 7 sectors, ‘doers’ outperformed ‘tellers’ in all aspects; financial growth, social media engagement, sentiment and even the valuation of their organisations.

A “storydoing” company uses stories to drive product

development, produce rich experiences, and create world-class customer service. Too often, storytelling is seen as the role of the marketing and communication team. In comparison, storydoing companies create compelling actions and experiences that put the corporate story to the test in everything they do – across all departments.

As a result, customer stories don’t come out of nowhere; rather, they happen because companies are fulfilling their brand promises, their larger purposes, and are consistently acting on their own core story by backing it up with great products and service.

So the question is what are you doing to become a storytelling and storydoing organisation?

“ In comparison, storydoing

companies create compelling actions

and experiences that put the

corporate story to the test... ”

“Hola-what?”

What Is Holacracy, Exactly?

Holacracy does indeed have de facto bosses or managers, albeit ones with circumscribed power. These roles are called “lead links” and they set the priorities and control resources in an organization. Holacracy also does have an explicitly defined hierarchical structure. It’s not one big kumbaya free-for-all. And when it comes to titles, well, Holacracy can either support or not support the use of titles. The key point here (with which I agree wholeheartedly) is that individual roles in an organization can and should shift over time and, as a result, job titles more often cause harm than good.

The headlines rolled across my feed like the credits on a blockbuster movie. Something big seemed to be

happening but I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. It seemed that Zappos—the popular business management

poster child for happy employees and customers—just announced it was adopting some new-fangled “boss-less,” “hierarchy-less,” “structure-less” management

system called Holacracy.

Would you consider a

in your organisation?holacracy


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How Does Holacracy Work?

To accomplish its purpose, Holacracy focuses on five key elements, what it calls the Holacracy Operating System:

The Holacracy WayHolacracy works by first having the CEO give up all legal authority to a new organisational structure. Holacracy provides a blueprint for the structure that the organisation can modify for its particular needs and situation. This is where I warn you that you should not try to understand Holacracy by reading texts. That would be like trying to learn a very complicated board game by reading the rule book. Instead, Holacracy encourages you to implement and learn how to “play the game” and then refer to the rule book when you have questions.

Organisational StructureThe organisational structure in Holacracy is constantly evolving. It’s created and reinforced through a series of special meetings called the governance process. The key organising element of a Holacracy structure is a circle that is made up of one or more organisational roles. The highest-level circle is the General Company Circle (GCC), which consists of all of the main roles or functions being performed in the company.

Operations Meeting ProcessOperations is how the day-to-day work of an organisation is managed. In Holacracy, the focus of operations meetings is to synchronize information flow and quickly triage what it calls “tensions.” A tension is a perceived gap between what is and what could be. Any member of the circle can bring a tension to the table and have it addressed. What’s peculiar to the Holacracy approach is that the circle doesn’t try to find the best way to solve an issue, nor does it attempt to do so holistically by gathering data on all the issues related to that tension. It simply tries to resolve that one particular tension, in isolation, for that one role in the circle.

Governance Meeting ProcessGovernance is where the organisational structure is created and evolved. Here the intent is to distribute authority and create organisational clarity about which roles are accountable for what. Holacracy doesn’t dictate what the structure should look like. It only stipulates how a role should be defined in the structure and how the members of a circle can adapt or change the roles within that circle to better serve the organisation’s purpose.

Glass Frog SoftwareGlass Frog is like a corporate wiki designed specifically for Holacracy. Glass Frog contains a description of all roles, and the output of all governance and operations meetings. There is an overwhelming level of detail within Holacracy. There’s no way to track and manage it without a good system in place to do so, especially in a distributed environment.

“ If Holacracy was a board game, this is the stage when the players would get out the rule book... ”

6 DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS6 DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN BUSINESS

How a personalised travel plan created a

in sustainable travel behaviour

The new home for the Council, Eastleigh House, was a refurbished office block renovated to achieve BREEAM

‘Excellent’ standard for sustainability. The office move took place during March 2014, the same time the floods occurred.

To help with the move Eastleigh Borough Council used myPTP. Using the ‘opt-in’ methodology, the Council produced 160 plans using the 1:1 function. This meant that they could produce plans for a date three weeks in advance when transport infrastructure had recovered from the flooding.

Staff members were given the chance to receive a personalised travel plan to the new office by way of a tick box on the annual travel survey. The information needed to generate a travel plan had already been collected by the travel survey making plan generation easy for the myPTP administrator.

A mass notification was also sent to staff giving them another chance to ‘opt-in’ to receiving a myPTP. The email included a link to an online form where staff could enter their details. The myPTP administrator was then able to download the information and upload it to the myPTP system.

Plans were processed and sent to staff, later followed by the myPTP survey. The follow-up survey was automatically sent to members of staff that had received a plan and was able to gather

Eastleigh Borough Council decided to move office as part of a long-term vision to relocate closer to the town centre to better serve residents,

become more visible and accessible to the community.

25% modal shift 25% modal shift

MY PTP

myPTP, developed by Liftshare, is the first ever planning tool to integrate data for all modes of transport including walking, cycling, public transport, car-sharing and single occupancy car journeys. Park and Ride is offered as an additional option.

It delivers a detailed and interactive personalised travel plan in less than a minute, which can be emailed directly to an individual or viewed online through an interactive page of results.

data about their past travel behaviour, if they found their travel plan useful in any way, and how they are travelling now.

The survey email included a link to the staff member’s travel plan, allowing them to look at their options again. The customisable text section explained that the first 10 people to complete the survey would win a £2.50 voucher to use at the restaurant on-site. This, along with the notification sent to staff the day before the survey went out, helped encourage a response rate of 29.4%.

Results showed that 34% of respondents said they had considered changing the way they travelled as a result of receiving their myPTP. This led to a modal shift of 26%, which saw Single Occupancy Vehicle journeys reduced by 32.4%. The number of those that cycled increased by 80% and train use more than doubled.

Eastleigh Borough Council are now implementing myPTP as part of their New Starter process, encouraging staff to travel more sustainability from day one as they work out their new commute.

FAST FACTS

160 plans delivered

29.4% response rate to the follow-up survey

34% of individuals considered changing their mode of travel as a result of their myPTP

Modal shift is 25.5%

Staff travelling by SOV reduced by 32.4% – before myPTP, staff travelling by SOV was 78.7% – after myPTP, this reduced to 53.2%

Cycling increased by 80% – going from 10.6% to 19.1%

Train use more than doubled - going from from 4.3% to 14.8%

Walking went from 2.1% to 8.5% - Eastleigh Borough Council decided to move office as part of a long-term vision to relocate closer to the town centre to better serve residents, become more visible and accessible to the community.

“ This meant that they could produce plans for a date three weeks in advance...”


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7

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How to be a good client

1. Set mutually agreed, realistic and quantifiable objectives.

2. Instigate a regular 360° review of progress against these objectives.

3. Push for directness, trust and chemistry between both teams.

4. Make sure there are equally talented people on both sides that are motivated by the same shared goals.

5. Demand ongoing, transparent feedback in both directions.

6. Always respond with the positives first. Get cycles of positivity going, then turn the conversation to more critical feedback if necessary.

7. Treat those you work with as you would want to be treated by them. Respect their expertise and empathise with their pressures. Care about their issues and celebrate their achievements. Forgive them their foibles and try to see things from their point of view.

8. Create an atmosphere of excellence. Demand excellence. Inspire excellence. Recognise excellence and reward it.

… and while we’re at it, how to be a good partner/supplier (which here at Liftshare we keep front of mind)

1. Adopt a mindset of active selection, not passive inheritance. Client churn or changing positions is so frequent that no relationship can be taken for granted.

2. Great work is the outcome of a great relationship. One depends on the other. There is no point in having a good partnership if there is nothing to show for it. Work that works seals partnerships and provides great momentum to a relationship.

3. Total honesty at all times. All good relationships are built on trust.

4. Show you genuinely care about how

your client’s business is performing.

5. Fair remuneration. If what is being paid does not match what is being delivered, something is going to break sooner or later.

6. The ability to disagree without falling out.

7. Never get complacent. Think of all others who would love your client. Keep this image in your head. It will stop you becoming complacent.

8. Keep regular communication with your client.

9. Have a “yes” attitude. Sort out problems immediately. If you say “yes” nine times out of 10, when you say “no”, your client will believe that whatever it is really cannot be done.

10. Do good work.

The responsibility of being

Have you heard the quote

“ Clients get the advertising they

deserve.”

a clientHe should have added that clients get the design, PR and media they deserve - because great work starts with a great relationship, and if you want good work from the partners/suppliers you work with, you must first be a good client – follow our quick guide and make sure you’re on track…

- David Ogilvy


As a result, there is already a strain on the planet’s essential natural resources, particularly food and

water, which population growth can only exacerbate.

Meanwhile, our demand for energy – and the life enhancing technologies it powers – has led to the plundering of the earth’s hydrocarbons - oil, gas and coal, ultimately leading to potentially catastrophic climate change.

Most companies are already being affected by climate change today, directly or indirectly.

Extreme weather, drought and flooding can disrupt production, capacity and affect supply chains for a whole range of businesses.

In an increasingly globalised economy, few businesses can isolate themselves from the impacts of climate change, population growth and resource depletion.

The business imperative is about mitigating risk and making your business more resilient against resource scarcity and energy insecurity. But a persistent problem for many businesses has been putting a value on “going green” and justifying the expense of investing in new technologies.

A major survey of 1,000 global chief executives by United Nations Global Compact and Accenture found that nearly two-fifths of bosses thought that the failure to link sustainability with business value was hampering progress.

This is despite the fact that the vast majority understood its importance and the new business opportunities it presented, the survey suggested.

TECH-NOLOGYhelp us get out of

our sustainable mess?

Can

Sustainability means many things to many people, but it boils down to saving Planet Earth. Mankind, as a species, has been too successful for its own good – the global population is forecast to top nine billion by 2050.

“ ...nearly two-fifths of bosses thought that the failure to link sustainability with business value was hampering progress. ”


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But it is possible to put numbers on the risks and opportunities associated with sustainability. Retailer Marks & Spencer has achieved net savings of £135m through its Plan A sustainability programme.

So what technologies will be key to helping business around the world address the sustainability agenda?

Mobile is having a profound impact – it is enabling data transparency and giving far more information to consumers who are beginning to think about the provenance of materials and products a lot more. This, in turn, is encouraging businesses to believe it is worthwhile developing more sustainable products.

Mobile is also facilitating “the sharing economy”.

By some estimates sharing just one car takes another 20 off the road, with the reduction in CO2 emissions that entails. And DIY retailer B&Q’s Streetclub concept is encouraging local communities to co-operate and share more, to make better use of existing assets rather than wastefully buying new ones.

A big contributor to climate change and resource depletion is transport. It accounts for about 35%-to-40% of global total energy end use. The switch to more efficient petrol and diesel car engines, as well as the move towards electric vehicles, should make a big difference, but Liftshare can have an immediate impact which can apply to more efficient vehicles making even more of a positive impact in the future.

But unless we approach the whole topic of energy in a holistic way – applying smarter technologies to generation, transmission, storage and end usage - sustainable goals will not be reached.

The growing number of devices generating digital data – known as the internet of things – coupled with greater computer power to analyse this explosion of data – is another crucial element helping companies and people operate more sustainably.By employing sensors and harnessing big data analytics we can

drive 20%-to-30% of energy usage out of buildings simply by optimising how air conditioning and heating systems are being operated.

Traditionally, manufacturers have had limited insight into how customers use the products they make, but now sensor-laden products, from cars to kettles, wind turbines to widgets, are enabling much more data to come back so it’s possible to design much more sustainable products.

Data – and the insights it delivers – will be integral to a more sustainable future. Technology will play a key role in helping businesses operate more efficiently and sustainably. But equally as important will be the collective will to change.

“ By employing sensors and harnessing big data analytics we can drive 20%-30% of energy usage out of buildings... ”

“ Mobile is having a

profound impact – it is

enabling data transparency

and giving far more ”


Today it’s seen 11 million guests staying in 34,000 cities, not to mention 600

castles. Far from diminishing in influence as the global economy has shown signs of recovery, the likes of Airbnb have strengthened. Temporary blip this is not.

Although the increasing strength of the sharing economy is anecdotally evident and working out precise ways of measuring the sharing economy’s size and impacts may take years.

Rachel Botsman, author of What’s Mine is Yours, and founder of Collaborative Lab, is in no doubt about the progress made since her renowned 2010 TED talk, The case for collaborative consumption. In Botsman’s words, we have reached the “fight stage”, where everything from regulatory legal battles to competition between start-ups are markers of the movement’s successful evolution. However, there is still a long way to go in terms of deeper change to consumer behaviours and business systems:

“Scale is critical to change and ‘big’ does not have to be the foe, but we have to be careful not to dilute the humanness and empowerment that lies at the core of collaborative consumption.”

So how do you scale up while maintaining “humanness”? What barriers prevent people from shifting to their peers, from the default of going to the shops?

And what behaviour change mechanisms can encourage sharing?

Let’s start by thinking about money. While monetised peer-to-peer services such as Airbnb enable hosts and guests to feel that they offer and gain something, it is less immediately clear how gift exchange systems such as Freecycle and City Dog Share benefit both parties.

Rather than direct reciprocity, these systems rely on a broader exchange community in which people contribute to a network from which they might later benefit. One obstacle to the rapid uptake of gift exchange systems therefore is a cultural expectation that offering something requires an immediate return. Interestingly, the reluctance is as much, if not more, on the part of the recipient of the free sofa or the Spanish lessons.

Sam Stephens, CEO of sharing network Streetbank explains that for the sharing economy to flourish, it’s critical to communicate that it’s not only okay to ask for a favour, it’s valuable:

“There’s a feel-good factor when we fulfill a request

for help, not to mention spin-off benefits such as de-cluttering. When there’s no direct reciprocal benefit such as money

For anyone under the impression that the rise of the

sharing economy is simply a blip reaction to the recession,

consider this: on its first birthday in 2009, Airbnb,

which lets people rent out part or all of their homes,

was a tiny start-up many had never heard of.

“ ...using a collaborative network becomes more of a community experience over time... ”

Is the sharing economy

just a

commune?hippie


feeding cattle a basil-heavy diet (it kills methane in the gut) and sticking tubes in bovine bellies and sucking methane into a backpack the animal would have to wear.

Although methane is only 9 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, the potent gas has 20 times the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide.

Of course, there’s another option. If more people become vegetarian, there will be less reason to raise such massive amounts of cattle. It’s just a matter of deciding, do you want steak, or do you want a better planet?

While scientists debate how many trillions of dollars it will cost the global economy if all the methane stored in arctic ice were ever released, other experts are exploring ways to curb the amount emitted by millions of cows. So how do you get a cow to stop producing what comes naturally to its digestive system?

By creating the cow of tomorrow, of course.

“We want it [the cow] to be more productive, we want it to be healthier, we want it to be a problem-free cow,” Juan Tricarico, director of the Cow of the Future project at the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy, told the Financial Times. The project believes taking better care of the animals and feeding them a healthier grain that’s designed to reduce methane could be the way to go. Other researchers’ ideas include

Basil milkshake

anyone?

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HAUS

TED

Is the sharing economy

commune?

“ Two important paths to substantial change are therefore to firstly indentify times when habits are in flux... ”

exchange, projects need to convey that receiving really is as important is giving.”According to David Golightly, senior research fellow in the Human Factors Research Group at the University of Nottingham, habit is one of the major barriers, underpinned by cognitive cost, perceptions of potential discomfort, risk and embarrassment. Two important paths to substantial change are, therefore. to firstly identify times when habits are in flux – house moves for example, are one of the best times to get people to join a

neighbourhood sharing project. And secondly to personalise the benefits in terms of immediate gains, and in terms of longer-term meaningful rewards; evidence from car-share schemes show that while people start out focusing on saving money, using a collaborative network becomes more of a community experience over time – and it can be a much more deep-rooted motivation.

The expansion of the sharing economy offers a more sustainable alternative to mainstream economics. It challenges growth as the marker of success and invests significance back into localised systems of exchange. In light of an impending energy crisis, a financial system that benefits few at the expense of many, and environmental degradation caused by unchecked, unnecessary consumption, it’s clear something has to change. The arrival of a set of systems that prioritise collaboration is most


– Are you –

Asleep at the Wheel

PEPSICO – GREAT AT STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

The food and beverage company presents its sustainability strategy and goals during its annual shareholder meeting and identifies and discloses climate change, water scarcity and public health issues as core sustainability challenges in its annual financial filings.

DELL – GREAT AT DESIGN

The computer company integrates alternative, recycled and recyclable materials in its product and packaging design, improvements in energy efficiency, and design for end-of-life and recyclability. One of the company’s commitments is to reduce the energy intensity of its product portfolio by 80% by 2020.

FORD MOTOR COMPANY – GREAT AT SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

The car company has established requirements for first-tier suppliers to drive its environmental and social expectations further down the supply chain and works with suppliers to establish GHG emission reduction and energy efficiency targets.

NIKE – GREAT AT INNOVATION

The sports-gear multinational integrates sustainable design across its product portfolio and created the Making app in 2013, allowing the data in its materials sustainability index to be public. This lets designers from across the industry and beyond make more sustainable design decisions, and ultimately, lower-impact products.

COCA-COLA – GREAT AT WATER STEWARDSHIP

The drinks company has improved the efficiency of its water use by 20% and identified the need for a rigorous third-party evaluation of its water management approach.

ADOBE – GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSION REDUCTIONS

The software company aims to achieve a 75% reduction, from 2000 levels, in company emissions by 2015. It is using renewable energy technologies, including hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels, and is also focused on reducing energy needs by improving the cooling efficiency of its data centers and “virtualising” many of its systems, platforms and devices - ultimately creating lower-impact products.

It’s astounding just how many companies are still shying away from sustainability challenges and not taking urgent action or doing

enough to adequately confront the issues. However, there are a small growing number of companies in the ‘top ranks’ that deserve

some praise and can help encourage others to be brave …

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