Evolutionary Provocateur

Furniture for Effective Use of Space

While finally getting around to writing my 2012 blog (been travelling constantly) I came across this video on a Facebook feed. Love this furniture for fitting into small places and for effective use of space.

Monetary Resilience + Urban Gardening + Community Building

Last spring I interviewed Bernard Lietaer about how the principles of nature apply to creating resilient monetary systems. At PopTech 2011, Bernard explains how you combine the principle behind complementary currency (resilience) plus urban gardening being institaged by community  building using a non-monetary currency. Money, as an abstract value, is not resilient enough to survive the speed of changes. Rather than explaining why here, suffice it to say that monopolies don't have the resiliency to respond to systemic crashes. Good will does. Take a look at this and see how we can reclaim power by taking action to do what comes naturally.... collaboration. 

 

Combine this interview with Bernard Lietaer with community building and empowerment with urban gardening and it all winds up being summarized in this presentation by Bernard Lietaer at PopTEch.

Jay Leno demos the Tesla roadster

For those of you who realize that the supply of petroleum will soon not be able to meet the demand, take a look at this car alternative from Tesla Motors. Jay Leno speaks with Elon Musk to talk about the car and what it can do. See Jay's Garage for more videos!  

http://www.jaylenosgarage.com/video/2008-tesla-roadster/229709

With Gratitude to Change-Makers in 2011 (Business Podcast)

The Evolutionary Provocateur podcast was started in 2008 to help us all achieve the capacity to perceive the whole system and our place in it. By doing so, the idea is that it will instigate a level of inspired innovation we have not yet seen. There is no shortage of issues to apply our collective talents too. 

The complexity and uncertainty business leaders and people in their personal/professional lives are experiencing is creating confusion because linear thinking can't conjure up a logical scenario for the future. This is more exciting than it is scary because it means we are treading into territory where we truly can in the truest sense of the word co-create the future one thought, one enlightened action at a time. 

2011 was a major year for change.. a word some find irritating but not to worry! We have a lot more going for us than we'd care to acknowledge. To help us realize the opportunities we have before us, I am grateful to an impressive list of individuals who stepped up to be interviewed for the Evolutionary Provocateur podcast. We talked about everything from leadership to sustainable monetary system. The threads that unify these and the other interviews on the podcast, hold the keys to being able to be effective, to innovate over implode and to engage creativity rather than depression. We are indeed the ones we've been waiting for. 

The New Leadership Paradigm with Richard Barrett http://www.management-issues.com/2011/1/21/podcast/the-new-leadership-paradigm.asp	A new type of leadership is appearing that parallels the emergence of organizations that operate as a living system focussed on life-creating value rather than simply on profit. In this Podcast - the first part of a two part interview - Dawna Jones talks to Richard Barrett about his new book "The New Leadership Paradigm" and about fifteen years of results that come from applying a values-centred approach to how individuals, organizations, communities and nations lead themselves. His work profiles organizational consciousness and makes the invisible tangible enabling cultures to be managed and individuals to expand their consciousness to fit the times. Leaders at all levels can see what to focus on and where energy is being wasted. The new paradigm for leadership applies to all, from entrepreneurs to nations. Richard Barrett works with leaders and senior executives world-wide to develop values-drive cultures that build human capital, strengthen financial performance and support sustainable development. He is a visiting lecturer at the Consulting and Coaching for Change, leadership course run jointly by HEC Executive Education in Paris and the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. He is also an adjunct professor at Royal Roads University, Institute for Values-based Leadership in Canada. Richard's learning lab is the application of his creation, internationally acclaimed Cultural Transformation Tools, which have been used to support more than 2,000 organizations and 3,000 leaders on their transformational journeys, in more than fifty countries. Richard is a Fellow of the World Business Academy, and former Values Coordinator at the World Bank. See: www.valuescentre.com
Evolution, Self-leadership,Cultural change with Richard Barrett http://www.management-issues.com/2011/2/23/podcast/evolution--self-leadership-and-cultural-change.asp	The second half of Dawna's discussion with Richard Barrett continues with an exploration of the practice of personal transformation. Rapidly-changing external conditions impact everyone, be at the level of your personal life, organizational life or, as events in Egypt illustrate, larger structures that guide Nations. Mastery of our inner world, right down to clearing the lens we perceive the world through is requisite to achieving higher levels of consciousness; the tool, the enabler for successfully collaborating on complex issues at any level, from global to personal. Commitment to self-actualization by consistently transforming to higher levels of consciousness becomes the tool for staying functional, engaged and achieving fulfillment for the common good.
The Competitive Advantage of Sustainability with Chris Laszlo http://www.management-issues.com/2011/3/22/podcast/the-competitive-advantage-of--sustainability.asp	Embedding sustainability into business operations is finally catching on with mainstream business as they realize that if offers a very real competitive advantage.  In part 1 of this interview with Chris Laszlo, author of "The Sustainable Company" and "Embedded Sustainability", Dawna Jones explores the changing reality of sustainability and the emergence of radical transparency that isn't compelled by regulators. Chris Laszlo is Managing Partner of Sustainability Value Partners, a consultancy that provides advisory services to senior leaders in some of the world's largest companies on sustainability for competitive advantage. He is also an Associate Professor at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Management and has taught at INSEAD, CEDEP, Darden, Cornell, and many other leading business schools. He is the co-author of Embedded Sustainability: The Next Big Competitive Advantage (2011), Greenleaf Publishing and Stanford University Press, and Sustainable Value: How the World's Leading Companies Are Doing Well by Doing Good (2008), Greenleaf Publishing and Stanford University Press, and The Sustainable Company(2003, paperback 2005), Island Press.
The C-Suite and Sustainability with Chris Laszlo http://www.management-issues.com/2011/4/15/podcast/the-c-suite-and-sustainability.asp	In part two of Dawna's interview with Chris Laszlo, they explore how to engage the C-suite in sustainability initiatives, moving it past narrow notions of economics or environment and towards an acknowledgement of the value of disruptive innovation.
The Power of Eco-preneurism with Kemp Edwards http://www.management-issues.com/2011/5/10/podcast/the-power-of-eco-preneurism.asp	Kemp Edwards is a Canadian Gen X eco-entrepreneur who started out in the action sports industry before acting on his inspiration to merge his business interests with his desire to create a world he wanted to live in and leave to his two kids.  In this interview, he shares with Dawna Jones how his inspiration lead to the growth of two his two eco-businesses: www.Ethicalprofiling.com and www.FuGenDesign.com. Ethical profiling helps companies make ethical purchasing decisions through sourcing high quality socially and environmentally friendly products. FuGen matches charitable organizations and causes with retail partners to bring eco and socially conscious products to the consumer.The network of benefits means everyone wins. It is the model of partnerships between businesses, consumers and non-profit activists co-creating shared value through being environmentally and socially responsible.
Acting Local; Thinking Global with Kemp Edwards http://www.management-issues.com/2011/6/6/podcast/acting-local--thinking-global.asp	In part two of her interview with ecopreneur Kemp Edwards, Dawna Jones explores whether using sustainability as a strategy is about being ethical or recognition that nature's principles apply to business. They also discuss how service to community impacts employee engagement, what power consumers have to affect business accountability and what businesses can do to restore credibility when it comes to reporting social and economic responsibility. As Chris Laszlo stated, "millions of minds are now dedicated to measuring, recording, making very visible, and ultimately improving the social and environmental well-being of society at large." Kemp Edwards is one of those minds. His two companies: www.ethicalprofiling.com and www.FuGenDesigns.com merge a flexible style of doing business with a vision to reinvent the consumption and economic model.
Reinventing the Financial System with Bernard Lietaer http://www.management-issues.com/2011/6/27/podcast/reinventing-the-financial-system.asp	In this episode of the Evolutionary Provocateur, Dawna Jones talks to Bernard Lietaer, author of "The Future of Money" and the forthcoming "New Currencies for a New World", about the root causes of financial uncertainty and what practical steps businesses can take to insure against it.  So just how can small and medium size business reclaim control over financial instability? At their heart, economic downturns and financial instability are symptoms of a financial and monetary system that is unsustainable. Yet nature shows us how to create a structurally stable monetary system and the same principles can help business survive the current turmoil. In this special half hour interview, we'll also how local innovations in currency serve to stabilize cash flow, local and regional economies. Apart from his books, Bernard Lietaer has been active in the domain of money systems for a period of 25 years in an unusual variety of functions including a Central Banker, a fund manager, a university professor, and a consultant to governments, corporations, and community organizations.
A Sideways Look at the Financial Crisis with Dr. Carl Calleman http://www.management-issues.com/2011/8/5/podcast/a-sideways-look-at-the-financial-crisis.asp	As the global markets suffer further jitters, Dawna Jones talks to Dr Carl Calleman about how the role of money as the sole purpose for business and enterprise appears to be changing. In this two-part interview, Dr Calleman puts forward an entirely new way of seeing the role of business in society. The aim of the podcast is to offer an alternative viewpoint that may help business leaders and entrepreneurs to better deal with the volatility, uncertainly complexity and ambiguity in today's New Normal. It highlights how the separation of money from tangible entities and the worship of maximizing monetary gain is arbitrary and cultural, linked to left-brain dominance and poses serious issues for Society moving forward. Carl's unique perspective offers a shift in understanding on how business leaders can perceive and lead in this environment, where he believes complexity and uncertainty can in fact become our allies.  Part two of the series will get in to more detail and specifics around what many are predicting will be a fundamental re-structuring of the financial system and how business leaders can make sense of this chaos. More at: www.calleman.com
A New Attitude Toward Change with Dr. Carl Calleman http://www.management-issues.com/2011/8/22/podcast/a-new-attitude-to-change.asp	What if our survival depended on seeing things differently? What if we could see reality through a clear lens that wove business, the economy and its role in our lives into one large tapestry? For business leaders, entrepreneurs to companies of all sizes, change can be daunting and overwhelming. But when you understand the mindset that is required to perceive the dynamic and direction with clarity, things become clearer. Then, comfort with ambiguity, thinking without boundaries, becomes a strategic ally. Join Dawna Jones in the second half of the interview with scientist Dr Carl Calleman who explains how a new mindset is emerging from a series of invisible changes to how we experience the world.  In particular, we talk about what it means for the role of business, for the economy, for survival, and for co-creating solutions. What will it take to participate rather than be passive observers?
Skills for Navigating Uncertainty  http://www.management-issues.com/2011/10/25/podcast/skills-for-navigating-uncertainty.asp	The Global Leadership Forecast presents five skills to address what their research suggests is a crisis of leadership. But these five skills aren't going deep enough to unleash real human potential. In this program, Dawna Jones outlines the five inner skills that equip leaders to navigate uncertainty with greater ease and to use it to their advantage.The Wall Street protests were easy to foresee yet only a very small percentage of business have been tuned into the emerging dynamic and are able to work as part of society rather than seeing itself as the economic engine driving poverty and wealth alike. Humans as change agents is the core force behind supporting creativity and innovation and with separating fear from leadership so that the economic role of business is in greater sync with emerging societal values.
Creating Resilient Companies Too Valuable to Fail with Dov Seidman http://www.management-issues.com/2011/12/13/podcast/creating-resilient-companies.asp	Dov Seidman, author of "How! Why how we do anything means everything", talks to Dawna Jones about what it takes for business to become resilient in a world where the Occupy movement raises fundamental questions about the role of business in society. Too many organizations are scrambling to cope with uncertainty and complexity by relying on old strategies, he says. But Dov's research explains exactly what companies must do in order to move away from measuring 'how much', to start restoring integrity and start understanding true value. Dov Seidman is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of LRN. He has been called by FORTUNE Magazine "the hottest advisor on the corporate virtue circuit." Leading companies such as Disney, Dow Chemical, eBay, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble, Raytheon, and 3M turn to LRN to help management govern more effectively and workers do the right things the right way, even in the most challenging of situations. Dov is a Harvard Law School graduate who also earned a bachelor's and master's degree in philosophy from UCLA, and a BA with honors in philosophy, politics, and economics from Oxford University.

 

The top five regrets of the dying: http://www.rense.com/general95/regrets.htm
When you read them, there are no surprises. It is all about living life being true to yourself, with love, appreciation and gratitude for the time spent with those who are important to you.

Creating Resilient Companies Too Valuable to Fail

There seems to be a lot of confusion in business right now about what to do, what lies ahed. Extrapolating the future based on the past certainly doesn't work because we are in all new territory. Yet, the answers are fairly obvious, just not to be found where we'd typically prefer to look. 

Dov Seidman in his book HOW: Why HOW we do anything means everything, describes why resiliency in tricky times is grounded in what we used to file as 'soft'. The emotional fluency and currency that enables quality high performing relationships define, in each synapse of interaction, the company's culture. 

The entire Occupy movement points to the HOW of economic prosperity, the structural inequity that separates rich from poor. 

Interestingly, we are in a time of WhY and HOW... the what we do is much lower down on the scale of importance because we are in a time where profound is simplicity itself. Simon Sinek's TED Talks video explains the WHY well and in terms that any visionary or want to be visionary entrepreneur can grasp. He provides us with visionary leaders, role models, ones we are familiar with and can emulate. I have no doubt posted this one before but place it beside Dov's observations and the picture becomes less random and more coherent and focused. 

 

Balance this information with my  recent interview with Dov Seidman and quite frankly, there should be no confusion. The role of business in society is changing and putting everything up for reexamination. 

Yesterday, Virgin announced the release of Richard Branson's latest book: Screw Business as Usual. It sums up in one title the opportunity business has to take advantage of the uncertainty and use it to innovate and create using change as the vehicle rather than the adrenline rush that keeps people busy but feeling confused because we are  now making up the new rules that guide the role of business. We had better become clear on what we want to be creating rather than what we don't want. 

The Message Underpinning the Occupy Movement

The Occupy Wall Street movement has caught the attention of the ordinary public- many of whom were activists in their youth; others just noticing that something about the world is changing and the Occupy villages represent it. As I travel in the US, even on the hiking trails I hear conversations about its meaning and the message. 

When in Vancouver I attended an event organized by Gen Why Media project which featured, among others, Judy Rebick, who had been advising demonstrators on how to handle specific situations that arose. That is one level of interaction but there is another operating at a deeper level. 

That is where you'll find the message. A blog post popped up on Facebook this morning that says it all. The energy that underpins the social statements that the Occupy movement represents can shift quickly and imperceptibly from being against something (for example, anti-war, anti-poverty) to being for something. It is the latter that represents the foundation for change making in this new emerging world of consciousness. Head over to Samantha Sweetwaters blog where you'll see how they successfully shifted the focus using dance and through that the message emerges. 

Meanwhile, enjoy Adam Lambert's amazing version of A Change is Gonna Come. 

 

Petroglyphs, World Views and Multi-dimensional Insights

While in Sedona for some regeneration I have been checking out the many petroglyph sites in the area. The best interpretation came from the interpreter at the V-Bar-V site where the southern Sinagua in area between 1150-1450 AD left a record of their world in the form of symbols and images. The V-Bar-V site is particularly complex and it appears as though this wall was used for a longer period than it might appear.

The interpreter understood the nature of petroglyph walls such as this one seeing beyond the archeological facts and temptation to stick with only what is 'known'. He recognized their fluid, dynamic nature, how they shift and change with the seasons, the sun and perspective. While listening to the interaction between interpreter and audience I couldn't help but notice our predisposition to stick to only the fact... just the facts. What is curious about that is that the message is in the eye of the beholder. 

Indigenous people used psychedelic drugs to achieve communication with the spirits or in more comtemporary terms, the other dimensions. This proved to be, for many cultures, an effective means of foreseeing the future, learning what to eat and not to eat and other knowledge. Now, when viewers look at the wall they are missing the value of being able to see multi-dimensionally so something that has story and meaning is catalogued as an image or a symbol with various meanings. 

The thought occurred to me that the world view indigenous people held at that time held was far more expansive than what many people today can hold within their consciousness. To many these were the scribblings of ancient peoples, flat without depth. But from what we know this is far from the case. 

It also made me think that as things get increasingly complex, the capacity to hold multiple possibilities in one's mind is becoming a requirement; the capacity to perceive multiple dimensions and through multiple lenses of perception. 

The ancient ones can teach us much about how to see the world through different eyes through their art if only to challenge us to see beyond the symbol; to (and I am reminded of an exerpt from the movie on Patch Adams) see between the fingers, by seeing past the fingers. It is a matter of what we chose to focus on what what we allow into our field of vision. Is it narrowly defined by what we think we know about the world? Or is it a field of possibilities waiting for discovery revealing insights in the process?   

Mayan Calendar Update from Dr. Carl Calleman-Ninth Wave Continues

There are many versions of which interpretation of the Mayan calendar to use. The one I prefer to go on is that of Dr. Carl Calleman whose understanding of the calendar from a scientific point of view, is deep and his methodology thorough. Spiritualists would argue that this is the version of a 'white western man' as I saw on a comment on a blog posting from a friend of mine, but that would miss the point while at the same time illustrate what unity consciousness doesn't look like. Unity consciousness in practise doesn't look like dismissing the credibility of an explanation based on geography or mindset. Anyone who has invested a modicum of time in Carl's work knows how careful he is to ensure that what he puts out is fair, researched and has peer support; in this case from the Mayan elders. 

To that end, he has just issued an article which further elaborates on what happens post October 28th, the end of the calendar. Bear in mind that the calendar itself is complex and therefore can be confusing at times. Here is the link to his latest update on the ninth wave and all that might evolve from this point forward. 

Hicksteads Death-11:11:11 and Change in the Wind

A lot has happened since the end of the Mayan Calendar October 28th, 2011. The world's greatest show jumper, Hickstead, died quickly and tragically after delivering another clear round in Verona, Italy. It is hard to process for me, let alone for Eric Lamaze who could only watch as his horse looked to make sure he was alright before succumbing to heart failure. How can one replace a horse like that? Horse and rider had a bond that is best described as love.

My only hope is that Eric is able to find purpose in Hickstead's death by using his instincts to find other horses like Hickstead; a horse who has been underestimated and overlooked, yet whose talent is
worthy of development. His experience with Hickstead as his partner can serve as inspiration, setting the bar for teamwork and performance to the highest level. 

On my drive to Sedona, I thought about my Dad, who has now passed over, and Hickstead who gave so much because someone trusted and believed in him. Everytime I saw birds I thought of my father. As I did the third day of driving the 26-2700 kms from Vancouver to Sedona, on the morning of the last day I spotted three hawks and then a golden eagle sitting on the fencepost. He was huge! 

Not only was 11-11-11 Veterans Day in the US and Memorial Day in Canada (my father was a vet with a DFC and bar) it was also an important day to follow the Mayan calendars shift in consciousness. It marked a day where, here in Sedona where normal conversations include vortexex, there was a collective awareness of the need to release all negativity, all focus on worst case scenario and shift to being at peace with oneself and be reconnected to the planet and all that she does to feed us, and provide us with a home. There is acute awareness that Mother Nature can kick us off at any time. Climate change is the logical catalyst but the volatility and complexity of all things we thought were stable, are also signals of impeding change. Democracy is getting an evolutionary push from GenYs and more who see a more transparent, more accountable alternative. Much is changing. 

This is the most exciting time ever to be on the planet. It my sincere hope that we can see ourselves as part of the larger system, so horses like Hickstead are understood and accepted as athletes not just to the equestrian community but to all people. By having reverence for all life, not just human, the door will ease open for us to do a much better job of stewarding the planet and of managing ourselves. Releasing all burdens of the heart is an essential part of the process. To put it in terms business should understand, we are expanding emotional and social intelligence to spiritual intelligence. This is not optional.  

 

Business Podcast on Inner Skills for Leading in Uncertainty

On another post I explained the inner skills required to handle the unexpected, close generational gaps, leadership gaps and other seemingly large conundrums. To take the conversation to businesses I put it into podcast format so Inner Skills for Navigating Uncertainty explains how surfing can teach outlook on life and develop sensory skills. If you aren't a surfer, no worries. Almost every sport has embeded within it the skills that now apply to working with the New Normal. 

Last night I attended the Gen Why Media Project 2nd event called Bring a Boomer which explored, through the perspecctive of Gen Y, Gen X and Boomers views on social innovation, social change and the Occupy Washington-Vancouver (and many other cities) Movement. Out of the panel with Phil Fontaine came the question along the lines of how can we close the gap between us?

Everyone will have their own answers. Mine was deep listening. Why? No matter who I sit and listen to: Gen Y, a street person and addict, a disenfranchised youth, listening is the highest way I can honor them. Does that mean i am a deep listener all the time 24?7? Nope.

It does mean that when I want to understand what is truly going on in any given situation deep listening is the way to clarity. Many ask what the Occupy movement is all about but it isn't hard to hear the message without demonstrators having to articulate it. In fact, in a recent interview with Dov Seidman soon to be posted on the Evolutionary Provocateur podcast, he said it well. "Lets get truthful, get real" about the role of companies, about the role we each play and how we can each contribute.

Separately in a different conversation today with a colleague, we discussed that many cannot see or work with the fundamental systems issues that underpin, for better or worse, many of the issues faced by countries, companies and by us all. The skills outlined in this podcast are the ones that, when mastered, reveal insight and a capacity to see what is going on underneath the surface so that even the most complex systemic issues reveal simple threads that will support effective action. Seems that we each hold the answers within but collectively, when we take down the walls of fear, doubt and judgement, we can do a whole lot more.