Can I have my cake and eat it too?

I shared in my previous post about the struggle for defining my work that lives up to a personal higher purpose. I flirted with a research interest, dated it for some time and now feel like am falling in love with it- the idea of sustainability. The thought is so beautiful that every space I get to share it I find myself talking about it with a racing heart! Simply put, the quintessence of sustainability is for organizations to find that sweet spot between concern for people, planet and (of course) profit. As I get to know it more it makes my knees go weaker with increasing excitement. Sustainability is more than businesses donating to charity or planting a few trees- its viewing every social and environmental issue as a business opportunity (Peter Drucker).

It involves innovation- how would an organization reinvent its products, services or processes to solve a social (say poverty) or environmental problem (say expanding landfills) and make more money. It also involves motivation- out of thousands of companies embracing sustainability as a business strategy there are millions who still don’t- it requires special people within the organization to realize the importance of walking on this path. And best still it requires coming a full circle- living the way we lived before we decided to mess up with nature’s perfect plan. For example, a great movement in sustainable product design is called ‘biomimicry’ (http://www.biomimicry.net/). This involves viewing nature as ‘model, measure and mentor’. This suggests that when I look for energy harnessing solutions I look at photosynthesis in plants, when I look to design a hammer I look at woodpeckers and when I look to design swimsuits or boats I look at sharks. This revolution has the potential to redefine technology and rewrite the rules of business. Benefits include efficiency in inputs at the time of manufacturing (reuse/less use of raw materials through better design and processes) and better outputs (like energy efficiency) for users and the environment.

In addition to such inspiring examples, there are many more that we collect as a group , write their stories up and put it together in an ‘Innovation Bank’ (http://worldbenefit.case.edu/innovation/) in the hope of inspiring the readers to take their businesses along this path. Each story that I write makes me more excited about the possibilities of making a difference via the growth of a business.

It also resonates with me because in less abundant societies like ours, reducing our personal carbon footprint is almost a way of life. Mothers will make sure that you do not waste, fathers will repair and reuse things till they can and the proximity to nature is much more than in a more developed world. When I hear speakers on sustainability share that their parents who went through depression realize the importance of reuse and recycle I understand how people in the less developed world have always lived their lives like that. It also is strange how the roles are being reversed- abundant economies are realizing the importance of getting closer to nature while not so abundant economies are in a mad race to become abundant and take over the task of marauding the planet. The idea of sustainability has the potential to stop this turn-taking. It shows promise to move all of us toward a longer and prosperous future.

Talking about wisdom, philosopher Confucius suggested three choices: to learn through reflection which is the noblest, to learn through imitation which is the easiest and to learn through experience which is the bitterest. We can exhibit wisdom when we reflect and engage in ‘anticipated learning’ rather than experiencing worsening climate change or wider spread of HIV. Businesses are alluded to be a powerful force- a juggernaut that can bring about the desired change. By viewing their growths and profits through a lens of sustainability businesses can have their cake and eat it too! And most importantly by the virtue of living in such an exciting time and employing the skills we have gathered all these years we can be a part of the movement to write an enduring and improvised tomorrow.

Making a List to Not Make a List

Even before the new year ushers in it’s the time for omnipresent lists- best this, top ten that , worst evers and the like. The phenomenon continues with the list of personal resolutions- no more this, much more of that. Makes me wonder if we are becoming a prisoner of lists and ‘To Dos’? Has it become imperative for our sanity to check off items continually – in worst case checking them off mentally for every chore accomplished!

I was struck by an interesting idea shared in one of my classes- ‘Functional Autonomy’ (Gordon Allport). It suggests that motives behind our behavior are independent of their origins- why I eat 3 meals a day, became an engineer or sleep for eight hours every day has little relation to the reason of its origin. It becomes a part of me- I continue to operate in auto mode. Although somewhat extreme, the idea sounds relevant in the light of many tasks in our every day life that have extinguished their original purpose. We still do them ‘just because’. And we tick them off our list without reflecting on why they are on the list.

At the other end of the continuum, everything becomes a purpose. I read so that I can write, I eat so that I can work out, I sleep so that I am energized to function at my full potential the next day! All activities become mini goals that give you an ephemeral kick when you check them off your mental list. In addition to being very exhausting this has its own vicious cycle of reinforcement. As you become better with each task, appreciation from others makes you want to jam in more in those 24 hours- you talk on the phone when you walk, you eat when you study and you solve problems in your head when you are running. Life soon becomes one big ‘To Do’.

I was frantically writing about ‘leadership and learning’ to meet a self-imposed deadline for a paper when the news about Mumbai attacks jolted me out of my surreal world. As I witnessed days of madness and suffering I asked myself many times if what I do every day with a passion that makes it feel life and death to me, can in any way make any difference to the tragedy that was occurring- or sadly to any issue in the world? The answer still disappoints me.

Before we ‘should’ ourselves even more or operate like human automatons I offer you a new to do for the new year- checking against your individual higher purpose when it comes to your broad life goals while being ‘in the moment’ for every day activities. So next time I bite into a scrumptious apple I am doing that to enjoy its taste and not to give me energy to run an extra mile. And next time I mold a research question to explore I check if what I find will make a difference to any of the inexplicable craziness in the world. Put that into your ‘to do’ so that you can scratch everything else off!