Dansk
Big changes require not only lofty visions, but also the will to bring them to life in the real world. When this fails, powerlessness sets in - for citizens and staff alike.
In January, DR published its annual media report.
It showed that more and more people are suffering from so-called "news-avoidance". Many people simply avoid the news because it makes them feel depressed and powerless.
The question is whether the phenomenon risks spreading. Could it be, for example, that at some point we as citizens or as businesses mentally log out of the climate fight because we feel powerless?
That would be a very bad thing. Especially if our many small and medium-sized enterprises end up in that ditch. Because their solutions are crucial to solving the green crises. Fortunately, the business potential of sustainability is huge. This continues to drive optimism forward.
But at the same time, I am often left with a sense of powerlessness lurking beneath the surface. How can our small business make a difference on a large scale? One of the reasons may be that the green agenda in the corporate sector often takes place in a theoretical air bridge between RUC and the auditing industry.
Our talented universities provide invaluable research, which skilled consultancies translate into important analysis and recommendations for businesses. The question is whether we are focusing enough on the engine room of companies and their ability to act. On the part of the chain where the concrete solutions are born, refined and scaled. Where we actually do something.
I recognize the trend from my own world: the strategy development industry.
Here, the air bridge is typically between CBS and a strategy consultant who is hired by a company's management to help with the strategy - but who does not always understand the reality of the company and therefore does not always manage to translate the high-flying strategies into concrete solutions on the production floor.
When this happens, apathy among employees grows. The brightly colored posters with beautiful visions are quickly forgotten - and perhaps the trust in management is even broken among employees. After all, what do employees actually need all those fancy words and clever slogans for in their everyday lives?
If we really want to succeed in bringing about the necessary changes, we need to be able to translate lofty visions into down-to-earth action. Otherwise, we will leave ourselves and those around us feeling powerless and frustrated.
Conversely. When we each feel we can contribute to a meaningful goal, we can create incredible change in record time.
One of the best proofs can be found in the higher altitudes. It took humans a long time to build the first flying machine. But from the time the Wright brothers cracked the code in 1903, it took just 25 years for Lindbergh to cross the Atlantic. And just over 40 years later, Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon.
It was not only the result of vision and daring. It was just as much the result of will, craftsmanship and drive. This is how visions become reality.
This column was published on Jyllands-Postens Finance and in Jyllands-Posten, Erhverv on May 1, 2023.
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