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Archive for 'sustainable values'
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The Magic of Limits
Posted on June 3, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 Most people resist limits. I believe that it is our resistance to limits that makes us feel justified in trashing the planet. We don’t like no stinkin’ limits!
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Authenticity – Being Real
Posted on May 26, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 Is it strange that I should write a business blog on authenticity? Why should even seem like an oxymoron? I think one reason why we are so far from being sustainable is because we have allowed ourselves to tolerate our own in-authenticity.
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How Does Business Practice Reciprocity?
Posted on May 20, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 One of the prime sustainable values is reciprocity. Reciprocity speaks to the cycle of giving that is how nature remains resilient and it is a key factor in why life persists. All organisms give back in exchange for their life. Reciprocity happens whe
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Speaking of Mother’s
Posted on May 18, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 Why do you make your mother cry? What is the perverse delight taken in those sad tears? Why, when she says, No” do you think, “She’s not the boss of me!”? What is it about setting limits that makes you so mad?
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Is Your Culture One of Promise or Catastrophe?
Posted on May 16, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 We think of natural selection as the mechanism of Darwin’s theory of evolution, but it is at work in our organizations as well. It starts with hiring, when hiring mangers or the Human Resources department looks for ‘fit.’ In trying to find someone who will ‘fit’ in with the culture or with their perspective manager
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What’s the Purpose of Business?
Posted on May 13, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 I have asked this question in most of the classes I’ve taught for the past 15 years. The most common answers have been jobs and profit. Jane Jacobs, however in her research around values, explored how business arose and saw it differently.
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Structure: Hidden Agent of Change
Posted on May 11, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 David Brooks, in his recent article in the New York Times addressed an issue that has been totally ignored – structure. We talk of change, but mostly we just rearranging the chairs on the Titanic. A delicious case in point are the recent Banking scandals.
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Can We be Sustainable without Reverence?
Posted on May 9, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 I've been watching a DVD made to share the wonder that was Thomas Berry. The first Geologian, he spent his life working to bring back or reignite the wonder of nature that lies latent in our hearts.
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Natural Selection and Your Company
Posted on May 6, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 In nature natural selection is a process that is seen as something that increases what works by eliminating that which doesn’t work. In nature what ‘works’ is what can survive to reproduce. How does that apply to business and specifically to your organization?
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Loyalty – The Achilles Heel of Leadership
Posted on May 2, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 We love loyalty. It pops up everywhere. Companies want loyal employees, employees what loyal leaders, companies want loyal customers, nations what loyal citizens – what are we really looking for?
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Locality – A Natural Law
Posted on April 27, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 My community is fighting fracking, is yours? This is an issue that seems to cross party line and bring even Libertarians and Democrats together. My city is being told that the state laws limit what the city can do and banning fracking is not permitted.
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Corporate Social Responsibility Wave of the Future?
Posted on April 24, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 I was going through the website for the 2011 Corporate Citizenship Conference and the various video clips submitted by organizations on their corporate citizenship projects. Corporations are going all over the world to help people in developing nations in all sorts of ways. It is heartwarming to see the good that companies can do if they try.
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Respect and Reverence: Managing Boundaries
Posted on April 23, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 A big part of learning to live effectively on this blue ball of ours has to do with understanding the gift life here is. We take both our lives and the Earth for granted, as though both will last forever. That is the illusion of youth, but when elders share it, disaster is not far behind.
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Ethical Culture – Oxymoron?
Posted on April 20, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 For those who are in the compliance game having an ethical culture can be a safety net. The Federal Sentencing Guidelines specify up to $75,000 per infraction. What can save you is having an ethical culture.
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What Actions Would Make the Biggest Sustainable Difference?
Posted on April 12, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 Part of the struggle to be and act sustainably is the difficulty of deciding what to do. The reduction in the use of resources is easy to see and understand and it give companies a place to start. In terms of long-term sustainability, the biggest impact this type of action has is on changing our habits. It’s our life style dummy – that’s the most in need of change and every way we can impact that has GOT to be good!
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Sustainable Capitalism
Posted on April 8, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 What changes are needed to make capitalism sustainable? Is it even possible? Al Gore and David Blood have been making suggestions about just such an approach, standing on the shoulders of Hazel Henderson and Woody Tasch.
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How Important is Culture to You?
Posted on April 3, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
One of the biggest hurdles leaders have to get over is learning to hire effectively. Most people hand the responsibility off to the human resources department and pray. This is a bad idea for many reasons.
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Term Limits from a Systems Perspective
Posted on March 31, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 Few would argue that most of our systems need an over haul. Certainly, with the recent shenanigans in Congress the political system is one of these. The Occupy Movement has created the 99% Declaration as a list of changes they would like to see. Grievance Number 4 is Term Limits. Here is why this is a bad idea.
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Deep Green: Making the Planet a Partner
Posted on March 29, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 We are off to a good start in taking sustainability seriously. We are beginning to take nature's cues and starting to understand that it is the long-term intentions that will make this shift happen.
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Reciprocity – What We Miss by Hording
Posted on March 25, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 When I talk to people about reciprocity as a value they rarely know what I mean. When I ask, people will say it means give and take, a sort of mutual exchange. Yes it does, but those definitions do not do it justice. Reciprocity is a natural value, one that is inherent in nature.
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Sustainability and Social Benefit Companies
Posted on March 23, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 How do entrepreneurs see sustainability and social benefit? What kinds of companies are being created in these areas?
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A Species of Inconsistencies – Why do We Not Act on What We Know?
Posted on March 21, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
I’m starting to see some dissatisfaction with how well we are dealing with this climate thing. Since the Kyoto Protocol emissions have gone up 40%. It seems we are not only not paying attention we are ignoring what we actually know. Why do we do this?
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Real Leadership
Posted on March 19, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
The path of self-discovery can be painful and surprising, yet there is nothing like having your eyes opened! Real leadership is hard to come by, a rare and unusual gem.
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Money – It’s All About the Budget – Right?
Posted on March 5, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 One of the elephants in the room, in this case the closet, is the cost of climate change. Ask the insurance companies, they keep excellent records, as you know. As storms of every shape and size increase and become more destructive the cost of repair goes up
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The Future of Democracy and the Middle Class
Posted on March 2, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
Is capitalism the cause or destroyer of democracy and the middle class? Are they in trouble? If they are can we save them? Should we save them?
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Brave New World
Posted on February 29, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 I’ve always paid reasonable attention to what I put in my mouth and since my dance with liver cancer (no chemo, no radiation) in 2005-2006 I’m mostly organic. I cook – so there are no processed foods to speak of. I live in Boulder...
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Our Thinking Shapes Our Reality
Posted on February 26, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 I often talk about ‘thinking differently’ and people sagely nod their heads, but I always leave feeling that no one understood. ‘Thinking differently’ is a little like pulling one’s self up by the proverbial bootstraps. How do you do it and were do you stand?
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What can Business Learn from the New Cities?
Posted on February 24, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 The wise use of technology, sustainable values and common sense can resurrect cities and with them give the human species a new chance at Life.
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The Heartland Institute’s Climate Change Debacle
Posted on February 21, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 Chicanery in the name of free speech to undermine science is dangerous, corruptive and confusing. Why would people play games with other people's lives in such a fashion?
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Limits to Charity
Posted on February 18, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
 Which will save the world: charity or capitalism? Neville Isdell, former CEO of Coke a Cola, says it's going to be "Connected Capitalism."
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Triple Bottom Line – CSR & Greenwashing
Posted on February 17, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
The Triple Bottom Line and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are pieces and parts - when will we begin to see the whole so we can keep our integrity intact?
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Whitney Houston and Viktor Frankel
Posted on February 12, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
People say they want to live, but their actions are all about ‘being saved,’ they are not taking action from their own convictions, and in some cases they even avoid acting in ways that would heal them. Why? Why does life seem devoid of meaning?
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Water - Bastion of Life
Posted on February 9, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
What 'counts' more - financial value or our religious and emotional feelings? What works best to help us resolve this horrible tension between "I want" and "I need?"
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Green - Really?
Posted on February 8, 2012 by Kathryn Alexander
I’ve long felt that there is a sort of collusion as the Fortune 500 get ‘recognized’ for being 'green' but no one else seems to be doing anything. I also have some huge concerns about these big folks really doing much.
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Ecologically Sustainable - Is It Really Urgent?
Posted on July 12, 2011 by Kathryn Alexander
I'm passionate about sustainability for many reasons. First and foremost I LOVE the planet = nature is a source of life to me. Secondly I've more than excited about what rethinking business can do for business while doing good things for nature. Third, I like change. I really do! I see change as a creative edge that brings forth new possibilities and since I'm a variety junkie, change rocks!
For all of the reasons listed above I've had my antennae up around the issue of climate change for some time. Talk about depressing! Really looking at this and knowing what's coming is enough to drive anyone to drink.
I don't talk much about climate change, and that's why. I'm not about putting my head in the sand, but you can only take so much, you know? That being said, today I DO want to sound the alarm! View this video and get ready to recommit to the fight!
She's Alive...Beautiful...Finite..Hurting...and Worth Dying for!
The planet IS worth saving! My home IS worth saving! People I love and care for have died in this fight and many more will die before it's over, but this fight IS worth it! We have to remember, though that it is not just about fighting! This change IS about possibilities! It IS about a new way to live in harmony and have the time and sensitivity to enjoy nature and her bounty!
Harmony...Walter J. Stahel wrote a paper called the "Five Pillars of Sustainability" in the early 90s. He saw sustainability in this way:
- Pillar of nature conservation
- Pillar of limited toxicity
These form the domain of environmental protection
3. Pillar of Resource Productivity
These three form the basis of a sustainable economy
4. Pillar of Social Ecology
5. Pillar of Cultural Ecology
The last two, however is really what is meant by the People piece of the triple bottom line. Without peace we will continue to devastate the natural world and our own history and legacy as well. War is destructive - it destroys everything in its path. It is not sustainable. It never was, but now we destroy on such a scale and with such thoroughness that damage is immense and it must be stopped.
We will only stop our squabbling when we learn to respect others and allow others to make decisions about their own future, with or without our input. We must evoke the inherent dignity and worth of every person, valuing their contributions and being willing to learn from them when we differ. This includes repairing the rift between genders. Ethical Impact L3C supports the Satyana Institute for just that reason. Until we respect and honor the feminine we will not be able to respect and honor nature.
The stopping of war speaks to the fifth pillar - culture; ethics and values. We are an amazing species - so willing to destroy that which we love. We rationalize it in all kinds of ways, but I have marvel at how often and how thoroughly we do that. Our rape of nature and women is testimony to that. Our destruction of the buildings and monuments that form our human legacy on this planet rationalized by war is testament to that. That 20% of Colorado children do not know where their next meal is coming from is testament to that. I could go on. We pay CEO's enormous sums and fuss about raising teachers salaries. We do NOT honor what we say we love.
Sign up for the Meet the Reality Project on September 14 at 8 pm MST (check for other times in other areas) as Al Gore makes the case, one more time, for urgency.
Sign up for the Webinar, Our Values Our Choices if you want to explore Pillar number five. 
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Would an Ethical Business have Sustainable Values?
Posted on February 25, 2011 by Kathryn Alexander
Posted by Kathryn Alexander on Fri, Feb 25, 2011 @ 07:47 PM
Are sustainable values inherent in an ethical business? I became incensed when reading a recent article in AARP (yes I AM old enough). Titled "The Time Bomb In Your Nest Egg." The article is about how small investors - mostly seniors - are being duped by structured products. In case you don't know what 'structured products' are, they an investment whole yield depends on the performance of underlying financial instruments such as stocks, stock indexes and unsecured bonds - in essence the very same kind of stuff that caused the 2008 collapse.
Is regulation the answer to greed and hubris?
Many of these 'structured products' are offered by Lehman Brothers who don't seem to be suffering much, even though bankrupt. Lehman claims to have followed all regulatory requirements, well-established sales practices and client dis-closer guidelines, and I'll bet they did.
When making money is seen as a good, it is easy to rationalize behavior.
What's wrong with this picture? First is a confusion of ethical with legal. Second is how much do Lehman's and other such firms now about the products they are selling? If they don't know how dangerous these produc
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Ethics for a Green Company - Are They Different?
Posted on February 24, 2011 by Kathryn Alexander
Posted by Kathryn Alexander on Thu, Feb 24, 2011 @ 03:36 PM
 Ethics for a green company are often stated as People, Planet, Profit as a way of framing ethical concerns using the triple bottom line. This us usually measured by contributions to charity, reduction in energy use and an increase in profit. If a company is good to its people is that a part of the triple bottom line? If the company invents a way to produce its product with less pollution is that part of the triple bottom line? If the company chose to invest a system that will reduce its water use so it didn't show a profit this year is that part of the triple bottom line? More importantly, how would you know about these things?
Ethics
The point of the triple bottom line is to provide a framework for thinking about sustainability. Is sustainability inherently ethical? I do believe we think so, at least to some degree, or the FTC wouldn't be so concerned about greenwashing. When a company claims it is green, then we make an assessment of its ethics - intentional or not.
I believe that there is much more to this. At Ethical Impact L3C we see sustainability as following the Earth's Prime Directive - always create the conditions that support Life. For us this is a moral imperative. Framed in this way the ethical considerations become more clear - and so do the management issues.
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Triple Bottom Line: Unintended Consequences?
Posted on January 19, 2011 by Kathryn Alexander
Posted by Kathryn Alexander on Wed, Jan 19, 2011 @ 09:33 PM
People, planet, profit is the way the triple bottom line is usually phrased. The difficulty in implementing a three-pronged approach is that we usually do two out of three. The problem with that is the whole point is all about the necessity doing all three all of the time.
What is often not considered, however are the implications one aspect may have for the others. I was struck by this as I was reading an article about Masdar City, an 'adjunct' to Abdu Dhabi, but a city designed to be green. What they are doing there is exciting and their experiments will become models for other cities, I have no doubt, but some of what they are doing is thought provoking in an unexpected way. Consider this:
"There is a human experiment underway, too. It's testing the willingness of the students who reside in Masdar City to change their attitudes and lifestyles to fulfill the city's aspiration for carbon neutrality. Running up the slide of the courtyard cooling tower is a strip of LED lights that change colors to alert everyone when energy is being wasted somewhere. Water and energy meters tattle on exactly where, and perhaps who, is being wasteful. Some would call this Orwellian. Others would call it the Prius effect at city scale ? instant feedback designed to modify behavior."
The colored lights are cool. Ho
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Is There a Global Ethic for Sustainable Business?
Posted on January 11, 2011 by Kathryn Alexander
Posted by Kathryn Alexander on Tue, Jan 11, 2011 @ 02:19 PM
 For centuries people have searched for ethical constructs that would be applicable world-wide. Some ethical framework that all people believed in and practiced. That has always seemed like a logical search to me. However even simple ethics like don't steal and don't kill generate exceptions, even in my own culture, let alone world-wide.
Paul F. Buller, John J. Kohls and Kenneth S. Anderson in their work ?The Challenge of global ethics think leaders need to begin to create just such an ethic. I smile as I write this, for the idea that a few ?good' people can just create ethics is a bit amusing. I can agree, however on the need for such an ethic, especially in this time of global commerce.
The other issue I see is the tendency to create medical ethics; marketing ethics; business ethics; etc. This seems to suggest that there are different ethics for different situations. That's rather confusin
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