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Sustainability. The Jerry Maguire Effect.
by
David Kinnear, Expert on Global Sourcing & Sustainability; Founder & Chair Elect, The Global Sourcing Council – New York
You’ve heard them a thousand times – so here they are again; those priceless lines:
Jerry Maguire: I’m ready.
Rod Tidwell: I wanna make sure you’re ready, brother. Here it is: Show me the money. Oh-ho-ho! SHOW! ME! THE! MONEY! A-ha-ha! Jerry, doesn’t it make you feel good just to say that! Say it with me one time, Jerry.
Jerry Maguire: Show you the money.
Rod Tidwell: Oh, no, no. You can do better than that, Jerry! I want you to say it with you, with meaning, brother! Hey, I got Bob Sugar on the other line; I bet you he can say it!
Jerry Maguire: Yeah, yeah, no, no, no. Show you the money.
Rod Tidwell: No! Not show you! Show me the money!
Jerry Maguire: Show me the money!
Rod Tidwell: Yeah! Louder!
Jerry Maguire: Show me the money!
The delivery of these lines in the Jerry Maguire movie was arguably flawless. It was an overnight movie moment. But, just as it was funny, it had special significance in the storyline. It was at the heart of what made the difference for Rod Tidwell’s character. Flawed or not, their relationship had to make money.
The same is true of Sustainability and the business of Sustainability.
To get sustainability is to get that it does – and must – make money for organizations that commit to it. It’s far more than just filing a report and being green. Just like Maguire, government and the industry may have thought it was ready. But now it must commit. Organizations need to see savings, efficiencies, money saved and money made. As much as organizations may seek to be green, there’s something even more compelling about being fiscally smart and operationally efficient, developing new lean processes that generate next-generation products to compete successfully on a global stage. Who doesn’t like saving & making money..? That’s a healthy recipe for job creation also.
My view is we’ll see this realization in 2011.
Early evidence suggests this. And the impact of this outlook and activity will indeed be significant. As we enter 2011, there’s a growing awareness of Sustainability as a catalyst for change among many organizations. The move beyond just being green – to being smart.
Sustainability. Are you ready? Show us the money!
