When we begin to speak of resource life extension, many think of the circular economy. Here is a great explainer video from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. At its core, successfully converting to a circular economy requires that a business change their way of thinking. In other words, they need a paradigm shift.

Although there can be no serious argument, by any right-minded leader of their need to convert to a circular economy mindset, most are simply not ready. Asking most leaders to make the transition today would be akin to taking a high school football player and advancing them directly to the professional ranks. Frustration and failure most certainly will follow.

So if you and your company isn’t ready, then how and where do you begin the journey? How do you ensure that your move towards a circular economy is consistent with your need to reduce your business cost and increase profits?

Overcoming the circular economy challenge begins with a business leader adopting a zero tolerance for waste (#1), habitually overcoming limiting paradigms (#2), and then becoming a resource life extension champion (#3). There are four primary resource life extension categories to consider:

1. Human resources
2. Physical resources
3. Intellectual resources
4. Financial resources

The benefits of adopting resource life extension principles are numerous. For example, a study by Bain & Co of 308 organizations found that under performing companies can improve the productivity of their employees by 40% when unleashing their time, talent (intellectual resources) and energy. This is all about human resource life extension. In the category of physical resources, predictive maintenance practices can reduce maintenance cost by 25%, with a 50% reduction in major equipment failures and extending equipment life 20% to 26%. Most companies utilize a blend between preventative and corrective maintenance.

Becoming a resource life extension champion is a natural and easy fundamental to adopt if you are already committed to having a zero tolerance of waste and habitually overcoming limiting paradigms. Once a leader and their company have mastered the three fundamentals discussed in this document, the transition to a circular economy business will be an easier and successful endeavor.