Sustainability it is a buzzword the last few years, however this term it is almost dangerous to be just a trend because trends usually have a life cycle and that life cycle lasts as long as the trend is profitable.

So, it is very clear that sustainability needs to become a key part of the culture in entrepreneurship as well as at all levels of society.

The first reason is that there seems to be no other way.

It is vital that companies and organizations adopt a sustainable business model in their culture because in this way they will be able to develop themselves as entities before reality brings them face to face with irreversible problems.

A very important reason is that through sustainable entrepreneurship organizations will be able to provide solutions to many problems that society is currently facing due to very harmful tactics used in past decades.

Last but not least to sum up, businesses and organizations in general act as an example for society. Having this in mind, it will be possible to achieve the maximum result so that the whole planet can avoid the destructive consequences of past actions.

The leaders can receive valuable support from Business or Executive Coach to manage to create in the shortest possible time a team that will be fully dedicated to implement the strategy together in the most effective way.

Whether it's a small business or a Fortune 500 organization, it's up to the leaders to strategize for this transition. As leaders we can recognize the people who represent leadership characteristics regardless of the position they hold.

It is a road with many challenges and certainly many resistances that will have to be overcome so that the leaders and their teams can carry out the strategic transformation.

Leaders face a difficult task by applying transformations of such a high level and intensity.

The priority of the leaders is to set the goals they want to achieve as well as the time horizon of the achievement which is usually “long term” for this kind of changes.

With the help of an executive coach the leaders will discover the appropriate way to communicate their vision and goals to their partners so that they can create an environment of trust and full commitment to the strategy.

The next step is to design the appropriate strategy taking into account all the data of the organization's environment. In this step the coach will help the leaders to discover creative processes to bring about change and achieve goals as well as to trust their instinct.

The effective implementation of the strategy is the most important stage of the whole process. In this phase the coach will hold the leaders and their teams accountable for the effectiveness of the implementation and will be present to help them make any modification needed so that in the end the organization achieves the goals in the best, safest for the whole society and more efficient way.

Coaches can help leaders use the following model/tool that Harvard Business School introduced in order to design the Sustainable Business Strategy for their organizations. The Wheel of Change model/tool for sustainable business transformation. The wheel consists of three elements: Shared Value, Industry Cooperation, Change Consumer and Investor Behavior.

1. Shared Value

The first section of the wheel of change involves making the business case for sustainability. Shareholders and business leaders need to recognize it's possible to adopt sustainable practices without sacrificing profits.

The triple bottom line demonstrates this by focusing on a firm's profit and the impact its actions have on people and the planet.

2. Industry Cooperation

If the business case for sustainability is compelling enough, competitors follow suit. This increases the speed the wheel of change spins because its positive effect rapidly spreads across an industry.

Harvard Business School Professor Rebecca Henderson explains this effect:” Individual firms can be an enormously important catalyst when there's a clear business case for change,” Henderson says, “when a single firm, acting against one of the big problems, can see a clear way to profitability.”

3. Change Consumer & Investor Behavior

The wheel of change’s third section is how it impacts the behavior and expectations of consumers and investors. When these groups realize sustainability’s benefits, they often demand it from all the companies they buy from or invest in.

Sustainable investing pressures firms that don't have sustainable business strategies to adopt them, producing an industry-wide ripple effect that spreads to multiple businesses and spins the wheel of change.