Wednesday, March 30, 2011

With a Little Help From My Friends


Today, more than ever, hospitality industry professionals are producing green meetings and continuously evolving their green meeting practices. Yet, there are still many more just starting out, collecting information on how to begin. Each of us has the opportunity to pass along our knowledge, but do we always take it?

What is your reaction when you are asked, “Could you help me get started with green meeting practices, I don’t know where to begin?”

Do you demystify the process by saying something like, “That is exciting news, I am glad you are taking the initiative to be more sustainable. Let’s grab a cup of coffee and I will tell you about our first steps and some of the resources we used along the way…”

Or

Do you reinforce the idea that it is difficult by saying something like, “Well you have a long journey ahead of you if you are just starting now. Make sure you have management approval and plenty of time for this process. Not to mention, standards are being released soon which will require you to report in nine sectors for a score on four levels…”

Demystify or reinforce? The choice is yours and mine. As much as I want to believe I only demystify the process, I know there are times when I have reinforced the complexity too. Guilty. Unintentional perhaps, but still guilty.

It is important for me to keep in mind there is nothing to lose and everything to gain by helping someone else gather the tools and skills to make our world more sustainable. My words and actions need to reflect that. Anyone else need the reminder too?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Guilty as well I’m afraid. While I encourage people to start with just one thing and build on it, I realize that often in my next breath there’s an “and”…Here are all the other steps to consider. Thanks for the perspective check!

Nancy J. Zavada, CMP said...

From the emails and twitter posts professing guilt on this subject, I realize we are in good company. All agree, it is time to demystify sustainable meetings.