The Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University has launched a new executive program, Sustainability for Value and Profit, to take place on February 21 and 22, 2007.
Instructional leaders include David Cooperrider, professor and chairman of the department of organizational behavior at Weatherhead, and Chris Laszlo, co-founder of Sustainable Value Partners and visiting professor at Weatherhead. Cooperrider, world-renowned author, speaker and facilitator, is the co-originator of the concept of appreciative inquiry (AI), a positive, proven approach to change management. Chris Laszlo, author of the book, The Sustainable Company: How to Create Lasting Value through Social and Environmental Performance, has led over one hundred executive seminars and spoken around the world on sustainability.
The program was inspired by ideas shared by top business and thought leaders at the October 2006 international forum, Business as an Agent of World Benefit, convened by the UN Global Compact, the Academy of Management and the Weatherhead School of Management.
“Business cannot succeed in a world that fails,” said Bertrand Collomb, chairman of Lafarge, at the conference. The aim of the forum was to illuminate ways of doing business that are both profitable and succeed in addressing the world’s most pressing environmental and social needs.
The two-day program combines sustainability business strategy with the powerful organizational change methodology of appreciative inquiry. Participating executives will develop practical skills for integrating sustainability into the normal course of business. Using AI, they will learn how to engage multiple stakeholders to achieve rapid, dramatic and holistic change. The program will also provide an opportunity to network with other executives facing similar challenges across industries.
