Hi, I'm Ken Bettenhausen, Professor of Management and Co-Director of the Managing for Sustainability Program at the University of Colorado Denver. You saw me last at the beginning of the second class of this specialization, where I explored the political side of implementing change. As you can see, I taped those lessons a few months ago. And while I've had time to let my beard grow, you've been learning a lot about sustainable business and sustainable business practices. The goal of this specialization was to prepare you to be a change agent. To unleash the power of one, to introduce, support, and enhance sustainability initiatives where you work and live. This is the final class in the specialization. Your final product is to write a proposal that you can actually present to the people who need to say yes. If you're ready, we'd like you to focus on something that would make the place you work more sustainable, in the broadest sense of that word. If you aren't currently employed or if you want to practice first, we have a case. The Snowflake ski area that provides a rich context for you to explore and to base your proposal upon. Now I'd like to reach back to our very first class and review the elements of a good proposal, the things you need to think through, and the questions you need to answer. First, what do you propose doing? State your goal in a single sentence. Then in a short paragraph, describe exactly what's being proposed and the problem or opportunity it addresses. Next, describe exactly what has to be done and who's going to do it. Explain how big the project is and how long it will take to implement, include a implementation schedule. If it can be completed in stages, describe each stage separately. Now ask yourself, can the first stage stand alone? If it can, consider the pros and cons of focusing your formal proposal on just that first stage of change. Success with the first stage change project makes it easier to gain approval of subsequent proposals that build upon and then extend that success. Provide as much detail as possible. It shows that you've thought things through and builds confidence in your ability to meet your stated goal. Finally, include a budget that lists all the costs of the project and don't underestimate the cost. You don´t want to be in a position of having to ask for additional funds or risk not being able to implement a critical part of the proposed change. Next, you have to justify the change. Include a financial analysis that shows the economic benefit of the proposed change or the cost of not implementing it. This analysis should show the full cost of the project, the timing of future benefits, the net benefits to the company, that is, the benefits less the cost incurred to actually achieve them. And the payback period, that is, how long will it take to break even. As important and sometimes more important than the financial justification, are the nonmonetary benefits of the change. Things like reducing risk, creating revenue opportunities, or enhancing the company's reputation. These are fuzzier and harder to nail down. But they do need to be included, just not at the expense of the financial analysis. Finally, the proposal should explain how you are going to measure whether the change was a success. Ideally, you can measure where the company stands prior to implementing your initiative and report where it stands when the initiative is fully implemented and even years later. This is important so you can build credibility in the organization. You want to be able to show that the changes you propose do exactly what you claim they will do so your boss approves your next proposal. Now I just said finally because those are the things that are part of a good proposal. But there's another set of things to consider now that you've thought about and described what your initiative entails. They are the things you need to do to get the proposal accepted. If your proposal takes the form of a memo, who will you send this memo to? Who you send the memo to is easy, your boss. But even if you controlled all the resources you need to implement the change, and especially if additional resources are needed, you need to share your ideas with and address your proposal to your boss. She needs to know that it's a good idea that won't embarrass her if people elsewhere in the organization hear about it. And she may have insight based on her position in the company about how it fits with other company-wide initiatives that are being discussed or being advanced elsewhere in the firm. Before you present the formal proposal to your boss, share your ideas informally. First with your boss, and then with others who are directly and indirectly affected by the change. Put yourself in their shoes. What are the driving forces that they will embrace? What are the resisting forces that act as a break and/or to fuel their resistance to your proposal. What roles do they play in the organization? How do those roles shape their support or their resistance? Based on that, use language carefully. Look for the right angle for each audience and frame your discussion using the words and ideas that they find most meaningful. Now get to work, write that proposal. >> Your successful proposal is the payoff for you and for us. Our goal has been to support you and give you the tools you need to be a sustainable business change agent. We want you to add your efforts to the examples we've shared. That power of one begins with you and the proposal you write and then present to your boss. We really want to hear what you've done and what you've accomplished. Here's my email, I'll figure out a way to share your successes with the rest of the class and with future classes. And both Ken and I want to thank you so much for being part of the MOOC. >> Yeah. >> And good luck in your careers, the world really depends on you. >> Amen. >> Thanks.
