Promoting Dialogue and Problem Solving Among Sustainability Thought Leaders

• Antony Marcil (Past President of FSC)
• Nelson Switzer (President of asherleaf consulting)
• Jim Harris (Author/Change Agent)
• Wesley Gee (Sustainability, Stantec)
• Pamela Divinsky (Director at Junxion Strategy)
• Matt Loose (Director at Stratos Consulting)
• John Coyne (Legal & External Affairs, Unilever Canada Inc.)
• Brett Wills (Senior Sustainability Coach, High Performance Solutions)
  
  

Who should take this course?

• sustainability advocates within companies
• external sustainability consultants
• leaders wanting to be more effective at motivating colleagues and employees
• anyone wanting to drive change in an organization

What will you learn?

Are you able to drive your sustainability ideas forward in your organization or are you encountering resistance? Are you achieving the best possible outcome at your meetings? Do you ever wonder if you could have achieved a better result and why your ideas weren't resonating with your colleagues? Suppose you find yourself on an elevator with a senior executive and courageously decide that this is your opportunity to convince him/her to integrate sustainability into his/her core business strategies. How would you open the conversation? When he/she throws objections at you, how will you respond? What’s your value proposition? 

During this workshop Dr. Willard will share proven strategies and techniques on how to
overcome apathy, indifference, fear and cynicism when trying to move a sustainability initiative forward in an organization. The skills will be equally relevant and timely for both internal change agents and external sustainability consultants.

Over the course of the workshop attendees will learn:

• A clear understanding of your 3 biggest objections and why they occur
• How to handle those objections with confidence and grace
• Your own “elevator speech” sales call for senior executives
• Techniques to turn skepticsm into excited curiosity

Course details

Course Agenda

• 4:00 – 4:30     Registration and sandwiches
• 4:30 – 4:40     Introductions and announcements
• 4:40 – 6:40     Bob Willard (Presentation and group work)
• 6:40 – 7:00     Break (sandwiches/snacks)
• 7:00 – 7:30     Bob Willard Presentation continues
• 7:30 – 8:00     Q and A and final thoughts

• $35 per attendee until January 19th (Early Bird pricing)
• $45 Regular pricing starting January 20th
• $25 Student Pricing (with valid student ID)

Course Location

• Bennett Jones, 1st Canadian Place, 34th Floor, 100 King St. W., Toronto ON

If you’ve ever felt frustrated by the seeming apathy and indifference when it comes to sustainability, then don’t miss this opportunity to learn strategies and techniques from two leading experts on handling objections and overcoming cynicism.

Bob Willard is a leading expert on quantifying and selling the business value of corporate sustainability strategies. Willard applies his business and leadership experience from his 34-year career at IBM Canada to engage the business community in proactively avoiding risks and capturing opportunities associated with environmental and social issues.

Willard has authored three books: The Sustainability Advantage, The Next Sustainability Wave, and The Sustainability Champion’s Guidebook. In addition, his two DVDs, two spreadsheets, numerous webinars, and extensive Master Slide Set provide capacity-building resources for champions of sustainability. They provide quantified business justification for embracing sustainability strategies and proven guidance on how to transform organizations to sustainable enterprises. Willard holds a BSc from McGill University, and an MEd and PhD from the University of Toronto.

He serves on the advisory boards of The Natural Step Canada, Learning for a Sustainable Future, and Durham Sustain Ability. Willard is a member of the Education Alliance for a Sustainable Ontario, the Durham Region Roundtable on Climate Change, and the International Society of Sustainability Professionals.