"Some look at things that are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not?"
~George Bernard Shaw

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A New Perspective.
 

Dear Readers:

My second future-facing experience defies simple description; I don’t have words big enough, with enough energy, openness and genuine graciousness to describe it. Or words to convey what it’s like to stand face-to-face with massive, mind-bendingly complex issues and begin to imagine the scope of actions needed to impact outcomes.

In early February I attended the inaugural meeting of Leading and Learning for Sustainability, a program of the Society for Organizational Learning. About 60 members and a few other interested parties came together from 14 countries around the world to explore what it means to create a sustainable world. These incredibly bright people had the courage and honesty to admit that they had at least as many questions as answers about the topic, yet that only propelled them to work harder. The three days were facilitated by an academic/practitioner who pioneered and popularized (in the best sense of the word) the idea of “organizational learning”, Peter Senge of MIT.

My own study leads me to believe we are in a long-term historic (and systemic) cycle. If this is correct, we are in a particularly precarious time. And not just the US, but in the world as a whole because of the degree of interconnection built into the world as demonstrated in the financial markets recently. At the meeting I saw this play out when participating in a simulation called Climate Diplomat that is based on materials prepared by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, observations of actual negotiating sessions at those meetings, interviews with country delegates and representatives of environmental NGOs as well as independent research and analysis. It put a specific face on my sense of precariousness. Based on this model – which like any is imperfect – and despite the fact that we “negotiators” could make any change we chose to without having to worry about implementation (those pesky inevitable economic, social and political impacts) we failed to generate a meaningful improvement in climate change in anything but multiples of our individual lifetimes.

Yet participants faced this dire realization with determination, energy and a will to get in there and continue to try. Those participants - psychologists and farmers, executives and activists, educators and NFP executives, and some governmental agency employees – talked about how to identify then pull and push the levers that may keep the world out of an ultimate ditch. There was a deep understanding that sustainability is not just about addressing climate change. To build a sustainable world issues like healthcare, education, agriculture, political instability and more all need to be considered. However, climate change can focus attention because it has numbers attached to it. The old “if it can be measured it can be managed” myth is helpful if not entirely accurate.

The three day program was split between getting clearer on “sustainability” and getting clearer on the relationship each person has to the problem and the search for answers (I am intentionally not saying “solutions”). And understanding that any answers will not be successful if the technological ones applied are not accompanied by larger behavioral/belief/attitudinal ones. In some ways the technology answers may be the really easy ones. Dialing down the thermostat is easy, changing the way we in the US think about mental models like what constitutes "the American dream" is far less so. The same is true for every country’s mental models.

There were stories about individual actions taken and personal journeys of learning that were breathtaking. I would like to share them, but we agreed to respect confidentiality and so I am hesitant to do so. However it was clear that immense courage is required to learn the way through this rat’s nest of problems and create a better world for everyone. We have to change ourselves and this can be a fear-producing step, easier to avoid than to tackle.

Yet this group shared not only energy and courage, but a vision of a sustainable world that they will be part of trying to ensure. One statement of this vision is taken from one of the books listed below, Sustainability by Design. It is “the possibility that humans and other life will flourish on Earth forever.” Even the vision implies uncertainty and hope that the conference embodied.

While I can’t recreate the experience for you, here are some resources that embody the philosophy and spirit I’ve tried to convey.

· The Necessary Revolution: How individuals and organizations are working together to create a sustainable world  – Peter Senge et al

· Profit for Life: Case Studies in Living Asset Stewardship – Joseph H Bragdon

· Sustainability by Design – John R Ehrenfeld

· Corporation 20/20 is hosting a conference on the Future of the Corporation: Restoring the Primacy of the Real Economy. On June 9-10, 2009, Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market, Boston, MA leaders from business, civil society, labor, law and the media in a dynamic, interactive forum will debate one of the most pressing issues of our time: How must financial markets be returned to their rightful role as servant to, rather than master of, the real economy?

Bottom line: we’re all in this together whether we like it or not. I hope we can learn our way to a sustainable future successfully. If you would like to attend a future Leading and Learning for Sustainability conference click here. I’m confident you will find it a stimulating and sobering, yet hopeful experience. I’m cautiously optimistic that we can create a sustainable future; it will take faith, courage and serious work. The more people involved, the better our chances.  To start a conversation about what sustainability means for your organization or community, contact me. It all starts when we talk to each other.