Yes, another post about Drawdown – but this time about the fundamental mindset Paul Hawken brings to the challenge. Here’s someone who’s been working on solutions for 40 years – and who is still constructive, positive, engaging and inspiring.
There is a growing wealth of tools available for getting change happening in human systems. They come from a range of fields from education to linguistics. If you’re serious about sustainability, then you know that the real work isn’t in the technology – it’s in changing human systems. Some great tools that I keep coming back to are: The fundamental …
If you’re into influencing and personal effectiveness then you’re in the conversation game. It’s a game that many of us learned like we learned walk – by copying others without too much conscious consideration of the specifics of what we were doing. For some of us, even the suggestion that there are different types of conversations with different purposes …
At the heart of all sustainability challenges is the core system requiring an upgrade – the human system. “Business”, “the economy”, “the supply chain” etc. are ultimately processes where human beings act and interact in social systems. Understanding HOW humans go about the process of organising themselves as individuals and in groups (their ontology) is critical to sustainability at all levels – from personal …
There’s a proverb from Zimbabwe that my singing teacher quoted a lot: “If you can walk you can dance. If you can talk you can sing.” Not so many years ago, how humans went about the business of behaviour change was pretty much a mystery. Those who could do it and do it well were considered to have ‘a way …
Many years ago, the subject History and Philosophy of Science was a required subject in my undergraduate degree. In it I learned about Galileo – the Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who championed heliocentrism – the then controversial proposition that the earth went around the sun. The mindset change he championed resonates strongly with the shift to regenerative thinking.
Let’s talk about the ‘what’ and ‘how’ of profitable sustainability – because “why we should” has been done to death… Humans need more than why stuff for behaviour change. If a good reason why was enough to create behaviour change then we wouldn’t have problems with smoking, obesity or any number of other ‘challenges’. To make effective change, most of us need more than …
What’s beyond ‘someone should do something’??? OK, so you want a change in your world – what’s that change going to look like? Do you know ? Can you describe what you want instead? A web post I was referred to recently said that: “Those in charge of our world currently are clearly not doing the job that needs to …
“By continually expanding the distinctions available to observe and participate in the world in a myriad of ways, humans increase the diversity of ways they can coordinate their actions. Humans are continually inventing new ways of doing things together and so bring forth new creations, whether it is a new dance, more ecologically sustainable buildings or new forms of communication …
In an earlier post “Conversational practices for smart sustainability professionals” I outlined four types of conversations that contribute to effective communication and collaboration. The most overlooked type of conversation is a conversation for clarity, where we articulate and test our understanding of a situation; explore the understandings of others; and develop a shared understanding. Conversations for clarity eliminate misunderstandings, build …
How we understand and explain the world (our assessments) controls what we see, how we act and how we feel. If our beliefs and opinions are inaccurate or out-of-date we can find ourselves expending enormous amounts of energy without getting the results we want. We can find ourselves feeling powerless, resentful and on the road to burnout. If …
“It is through conversations that we interact with each other, coordinate actions and get things done. Conversations underpin and accompany everything we do, and what we do and do not accomplish.” -Alan Sieler, ‘Coaching to the Human Soul. Volume 1’ p.249 Getting things done in the world – and particularly in business – happens through conversation. Yet how many of us …
In a recent post, I summarised the 4MAT learning styles model and its application to effective communication. One well-documented regenerative business success story is Ray Anderson’s “Confessions of a Radical Industrialist” – from 1996 to 2008, Interface cut their greenhouse emissions by 71% while doubling their earnings. It’s a great story and a useful way to explore 4MAT too. 4MAT revisited… First a quick refresher. …
In thinking about the quality of our communication, making sure we cover 4 key learning questions can make a big difference. Reflecting on mainstream sustainability messages, many of them are really heavy on the “Why?” question (potential ecological catastrophe) and have limited “What?”, “How” or “What Else?” content. Sustainability practitioners can increase their effectiveness by understanding the basic learning styles …
At a networking event the other day, we were talking about business sustainability. Somebody asked me what I’d say if I found my ideal CEO client next to me in an elevator. KNOW / FEEL / DO One great tip I work with (from Bill Jensen’s Simplicity Survival Handbook) is about being clear in your communication. Do you have the answers …
“Business doesn’t listen!” is a regular complaint that I hear in environmental circles – but what IS business? Essentially, business is a group activity – a process. There is no physical thing called business that we can put in a wheelbarrow. We may be able to put a building, a product, a machine or a person in a wheelbarrow – but not “business”. At …
Can you make an offer too good to refuse? When you make a request for something to be done, do you get the result you want when you wanted it? If you want to get better results, there are ten things to consider in how you make your requests. Making offers (and requests) is a key skill for regenerative business entrepreneurs …
On 30th August, I listened to Malcolm Deery of Pilkington Glass speak at a breakfast on “The Economics of Climate Change” at the Shire of Yarra Ranges. Malcolm told an amazing story about the positive, strategic approach to sustainability taken by Pilkington, and how it had benefited the business: major savings in energy and water costs the smart products that …