I'm Dr. Aurora Dawn Benton. No need for formality, you can call me Aurora or Dawn. I'll be here to coach you through the content and application of the concepts and ideas presented in this course.

My philosophy can be summed up by a quote from The Little Black Book of Entrepreneurship by Fernando Trias de Bes. He said:

"Better a mediocre idea with brilliant execution than a brilliant idea with mediocre execution."

Think about that for a minute. Can you think of ideas you've had or heard others have that seemed really great, maybe even brilliant? But then time passes, and it becomes a good idea you once had rather than an accomplishment you can point to. It happens all the time. Projects go unfinished, products lack features, implementations fail.

In corporate responsibility and sustainability, there are groundbreaking, brilliant ideas. For example, 100% Cradle-to-Cradle products, which is basically a waste-free approach to manufacturing products. Or solar powered hearing aids for people who live in areas with non-existent or unreliable power supplies.

But for most of us, sustainability will consist of simple processes that have come to be common place and expected, such as recycling or towel/linen reuse in hotels. Yet these "mediocre" ideas are often not well executed. Based on my personal observations and conversations I've had and online hotel reviews I've read, hotel guests are confused about what and where to recycle their water bottle, and the towel hung to save water still gets washed.

My goal is to give you tools and encouragement that enable brilliant execution of these basic ideas. Below is my bio so you can learn more about my background and qualifications. I want to get to know you too. In the discussion at the bottom of the page, please introduce yourself to me and other participants. Share anything you think is relevant and if you'd like, include links to your LinkedIn profile or any other website or social media link where we can learn more about you.

Learn more about me and my background on my LinkedIn profile.

Discussion Prompt (optional)

Take time to introduce yourself here. Tell me and others who you are, where you work, and what you hope to get out of this course. Also, tell us if you have experience (good or bad) working with a green team.