Coming Soon: "Sustainable Success: How Businesses Win as a Force for Good" by Paul Marushka
At Sphera's 2024 Customer Summit, currently taking place in Austin, Texas, Paul Marushka , Sphera's CEO and president, gave attendees a peak into his upcoming book, "Sustainable Success: How Businesses Win as a Force for Good."
In his keynote address at the summit, Paul said, "I’m someone who is naturally optimistic for the future. Why? Because when you look at all the struggles that humanity has faced, we’ve always found a path to the other side. Whatever the challenges of the future – and there will be challenges – I believe that business will find a way, as it has always done before."
In the book, Paul takes a look back through our industrial heritage, which shows that there’s a clear pattern of “good brings new” that repeats throughout history. This is a "Cycle of Good." The cycle starts with a major change in society, driven by the arts, sciences or cultural perspectives.
The first movers sense the winds of change. They see what the customers, employees and communities of tomorrow will need – and they start to innovate. They take the risk of investing in new ideas that might lead to dead ends – or might not. They make sure they’re in the right place when the right moment arrives.
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In his keynote, Paul noted, "I believe businesses can be a Force for Good in the world today. And enterprise sustainability management plays an important role in helping businesses achieve this goal. Sustainability is just like any other investment in that you aim to net a return."
For Paul, that’s the major tipping point for sustainability. Financial directors increasingly understand that sustainability is not a cost. It’s a net profit center over the long term. It’s business.
Paul added, "By viewing sustainability as another form of business innovation – a bet on the future – it shifts from being just another open item to an opportunity for advancing the company strategy."