July 27, 2024 marked the sixth anniversary of Blue Monarch Management. When I first launched Blue Monarch Management in 2018, my inspiration came initially from wanting to surround myself with smarter, principled management consultants who were driven by something larger than power and profit, with purpose that could grow beyond themselves and frankly, who could help me to step up my own game into a larger world of building companies and communities. I also saw the opportunity to move beyond simple project delivery with clients – many of whom did not want to work with consultants – to one where the work would be pulled to us by clients aspiring to change, thrive, and be different – to lead. Over the last couple of years, we started to shed the textbook management consulting practices in favour of introducing new language and values around building sustainable companies and communities while we walk alongside our clients, helping them to navigate their own development journeys. In a world where 20% of new businesses fail in their first year and a mere 50% survive to celebrate their fifth birthday, I am incredibly proud to arrive at this milestone anniversary with a team who possesses the courage to be different.
Sustainability is a complex concept that has implications and applications for businesses and society. Sustainability can be understood as the ability to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs, and as a balance and integration of the environmental, social, and economic dimensions of human activities and outcomes. As a former colleague rightly described it, we are future-proofing ourselves and developing the experience to guide our clients towards long-term viability through sustainable business practices that start today.
I believe sustainability can also be seen as a strategic advantage and a moral obligation for businesses that want to create value and impact for themselves and their stakeholders, and who want to contribute to the global goals and challenges. We often work with our clients early in our engagements to help them connect their purpose to more globally-recognized needs and priorities, such as “solving world hunger”. Sustainability has both costs and benefits, which can be direct or indirect, tangible or intangible, short-term or long-term, and which require a holistic and long-term perspective and assessment.
The research is certainly mixed around whether “sustainable companies” are more profitable – though that is only one dimension of long-term viability, and in my opinion, no longer the most important way to measure the impact companies have on the world around them.
We have begun to shift our recruitment practices to bring on management consultants with high acumen, training, and experience around the dimensions of governance, social impact, and the environment – while still knowing how to interpret the construct, health, and performance of a company. I am pleased to see a selfless culture building in our organization centered around how to do right in the world, and demonstrated repeatedly by small acts of kindness, a sense of fun and play, and a natural curiosity around the work of our clients and partners. We are intentionally upgrading our language to align with the needs of our community, clients, and network stakeholders, and we are learning from each other.
Sustainability for Blue Monarch Management will intentionally encompass the dimensions of ESG (environment, social, governance), corporate social responsibility, and long-term viability for us, and importantly also as part of our core playbook working with clients who are trying to grow and compete in world markets. We have embarked on a journey to create awesome career pathways for those who work closely with us. Careers of significance, learning, empowerment, autonomy, wealth, and impact. With all the ego I can muster, we must be leaders in authentically applying high moral and ethical standards to the growth and transformation of competitive businesses and communities. We will advance our development around tightening our ecological footprint; improving our human development and our happiness indices; and building our social capital – all core measures of sustainability. Continuing to shape Blue Monarch Management around these dimensions will award us the street credit to advise in today’s increasingly disruptive and competitive world.
The first six years introduced powerful learnings about the growth and development of Blue Monarch Management. We have learned some important lessons from our own successes and failures, and as a firm staffed with assertive, quiet, thoughtful leaders who read, engage, ask tough questions, and work closely to understand our clients, we have learned much that will help to shape the growth and navigate complex change with inspiring companies and communities in the next leg of our journey.
About
Jeff Peterson is the Founder and CEO of Blue Monarch Management and is a professional Management Consultant specializing in Strategy, Governance, and Organizational Development for companies designing and driving transformational investments.
