The Snowball vs. The Avalanche

I absolutely LOVE The Snowball Effect, especially when it comes to sustainability and getting everyone started. And the snowball has been pushed. Well actually, a really long time ago, but there must have been a, really – not so steep area first, as it has taken some time to speed up.

But NOW it has.

It Is definitely rolling now, at high speed.

 
And wouldn´t I be the first one to applaud this? As I am being contacted by companies to help them roll with that snowball and still maintain their business.

 Well, yes I am. I live and breath for helping my customers.

 An avalanche of requirements

But what I am also seeing is that this snowball is becoming an avalanche of requirements, paperwork, mapping, documentation, policies, certifications, that are simply just burying everyone. Requirements where it seems, that they do not know the reality of their supply chain. Requirements where it is actually an aspiration rather than an actual requirement.

I will explain further……

So what is the main difference between the snowball and the avalanche?

 Well, with the snowball, we are setting targets for our suppliers to meet at a certain time. But we are helping them to achieve it, while still taking responsibility ourselves. We know our requirements, and we have a solution, to how they can be reached.

And we can explain it well, so everyone understands them and are able to pass on that information further on in their supply chain:

“if you can´t explain it to a six year old, you don´t understand it well enough”
– Albert Einstein

The avalanche, is passing on requirements that you have received from someone else in your supply chain without knowing what the requirements mean, how they are to be implemented, what possibilities the business partners  have to meet these requirements.

And you probably received them with the : “just sign here” approach.
And you´ve signed.
You crossed your fingers.
You have no idea what actual steps they require from you.
And you are receiving no help (or are afraid to ask for it).
And then you pass it on to your suppliers with a “sign here”.

We then end up with either of these two scenarios:

Scenario 1: 
These requirements becomes pieces of paper that circles around in the supply chain giving a false sense of security from something bad to happen.

 Scenario 2: 
Companies are asked to document that they are paying a living wage, that they are not working long hours, that they are not mistreating animals, that they are not doing this, that they are not doing that.

They then show of an audit report that says that a Living wage was paid, that they are not working long hours.
But in many cases, these are falsified documents, fabricated to meet requirements from companies (industries), that are not taking responsibility themselves, and – frankly – have no idea how to.

So we are in a vicious circle.
Trying to do the right thing, but actually making it even worse.
If we could just seek to understand the role that we are all playing in this.
If we could just stand up to our customers and say: “HEY, we are on the same page here! But, can we just step back a moment and see what the real issues is and then we work together to resolve that”.
Instead of just pushing requirements out there….

 
Am I being naïve?

 Probably.

 But I am actually sick and tired of listening to companies that complains about their suppliers are lying to them.
That the audits are corrupted,
that the certificates are fake,
that they are all liars.

Because, all that the suppliers are doing is surviving in a world, where they are the last piece of the Domino game. And no one is ready to take on the responsibiity.
Set targets together,
work together to reach these targets
and accomplish real change.

So to sum up:

I love the snowball effect that creates cooperation, joint responsibility and actual change.

 Rather than the avalanche that causes false security and various bans on this and that.

We could create  solutions and change, but we have to work together, to create the REAL snowball effect.

What do you experience right now?

The snowball Effect or The Avalanche?