If it seems to you that the things around you are changing at an ever-increasing rate, you may take some comfort in the thought that much of it is probably illusory…likely the result of dragster-like acceleration into our penchant to achieve higher and higher states of information overload. But real or illusory, the consequences of inattention or ignorance are the same.
The only thing you need to establish the velocity of change in all walks of life is to pick any convenient date in your personal history and compare your vision of the world then and now. Even if your rearward horizon is only a year or two, isn’t it amazing how few things have remained relatively static?
When you focus minutely on your role within the confines of waste management, you may even be shocked to see what activities have emerged, grown, mutated, and perhaps even died in what in perspective is the mere blink of an eye. Care to count a few venues? For starters, contrast today’s wastestream compared with that of only a decade ago. Then look at our approach to its collection, sorting, processing, diversion, and even disposal in just half that period of time. Now consider the societal milieu in which we operate and the public’s expectations for how waste is managed and the extent to which it feels compelled to be affected by the process.
And finally comes the time not only to confront those exigencies whose full characteristics are for now enshrouded in the mists of an uncertain future, but to assess the abilities of you and your staff to do so. Just as you brought with you an array of knowledge, skills, and social agenda different from that of your predecessors when you arrived on the scene, so will those who follow in your footsteps. But is it enough to say “good luck” when the time comes for you to step down and pass the torch? If there is one thing that really stands out as a difference between now and decade ago, it’s that the margin for error has shrunk to almost nothing.
With this in mind, I’d like to propose that you have no more important task today than helping to prepare those who will follow to take your baton and race confidently into the future. What does this entail? I can think of no surer way than exposing your people to the decision-making process at every opportunity and giving them increasing responsibility for making at-risk decisions as part of their fleeting-up experience.
SWANA has spawned what its members call the Young Professionals Group, which should stand as a reminder to us all of the momentous changes that are taking place around us and the need to prepare to meet them head on. How can you take advantage of this initiative? If you are a member of the organization, give SWANA a call. If you are not a member, give SWANA a call.
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