William McDonough, author of Cradle to Cradle, spoke at Xavier last night to a packed house, including me. I was enlivened by his message of abundance, hope, and the promise of great design.
Below are some of the key points of his talk, as I heard and recorded it.
We need a Revolution. Revolutions are based on values. We need to change the way we act based on a new set of values, not a new set of metrics. To cause a revolution, you must have 5% of the thinking population aligned with your values. We are almost there.
New design is required. When we have regulations, it is a signal of design failure. Mr. McDonough is an architect, so he focuses on design. We have to ask ourselves, "What is our design for our species?"
Renewable energy is the answer. Sunlight is the only true income that the earth has. We need to celebrate renewable energy and get on it, now.
The earth belongs to the living. Life is abundant. We need to stop thinking in terms of limits of resources and design our world to mirror nature, a truly abundant renewable system. We need change now and we need it fast.
Nature is not a tool. We are part of nature. Nature is a treasure to be celebrated, not a resource to be used.
Natures design is:
• Waste is food
• Use
• Celebrate diversity
• Anticipate evolution
We can do better than recycle, we can upcycle. Upcycling is to take something toxic and make it pure.
Values are our starting point, followed by principles, goals, strategies, tactics and actions.
Monoculture is backward. Poly-culture is forward. Build the soil.
Be an optimist.
Don’t settle for doing less bad. Instead, actively strive to do more good.
I resonated with the values comments, as when we are taking clients thru The Prosperity Experience, we start with values. Everything springs forth from values and it changes the dynamics of everything that follows. If we lived all our lives that way, what a different world it would be.
What can you do? His answer was "Follow your bliss", but do it using the principles outlined. Use nature as your guide, celebrate abundance and expect evolution.
A new discovery is like fire, it has no chance but to spread.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Friday, October 22, 2010
Go Green this Halloween!
Holidays are a great way to spend time with your family & friends, but it is also a time for buying excessive decorative items & clothing you don’t need. Here are a few ways to green up your Halloween…
1. Instead of buying new costumes and decorative items this Halloween organize a swap with your friends, neighbors and family.
2. To reduce your carbon footprint take your kids trick-or-treating in your own neighborhood, or carpool if it is necessary to travel.
3. Use your plastic grocery bags, reusable shopping bags, or old pillow cases to carry the kiddo’s candy stash.
4. If you choose to give candy, try to buy locally! Check out Findlay Market, or Schneider’s Candy for some yummy Cincinnati treats. If you are looking for non-candy treats pick up some temporary tattoos, stickers, or crayons.
5. Keep Mother Earth clean and teach your kids a lesson in littering by having a separate bag to pick up rouge candy wrappers while trick-or-treating.
6. Make homemade Halloween decorations from household items like tin cans, glass jars, plastic containers and toilet paper rolls. Click here for some ideas.
7. And don’t forget the greenest decoration of all! Jack-o-lanterns!
By Gracie Mohr
1. Instead of buying new costumes and decorative items this Halloween organize a swap with your friends, neighbors and family.
2. To reduce your carbon footprint take your kids trick-or-treating in your own neighborhood, or carpool if it is necessary to travel.
3. Use your plastic grocery bags, reusable shopping bags, or old pillow cases to carry the kiddo’s candy stash.
4. If you choose to give candy, try to buy locally! Check out Findlay Market, or Schneider’s Candy for some yummy Cincinnati treats. If you are looking for non-candy treats pick up some temporary tattoos, stickers, or crayons.
5. Keep Mother Earth clean and teach your kids a lesson in littering by having a separate bag to pick up rouge candy wrappers while trick-or-treating.
6. Make homemade Halloween decorations from household items like tin cans, glass jars, plastic containers and toilet paper rolls. Click here for some ideas.
7. And don’t forget the greenest decoration of all! Jack-o-lanterns!
By Gracie Mohr
The Future
Mackey Advisors was pleased to host David Houle, www.DavidHoule.com for our Corporate Fall Education event. It is our goal to offer our corporate clients the best in innovative thinking so they can thrive and prosper. This is our fourth annual Fall Education Event, and David certainly delivered. Everyone left jazzed and with a bit of trepidation about the future.
After giving a review of the pace of historical change, David presents the current time as The Shift Age, a time when change becomes part of our everyday environment. In other words, the constant is change.
There are three fundamental forces in The Shift Age:
1. The flow to Global. More than ever before, we are global citizens. We are personally impacted by global events as never before due to instant access on the Internet. Our problems must be considered and solved on a Global level.
2. The flow to the Individual. The power of institutions is in decline. We no longer define ourselves by the institutions we belong to. We want our products and services personalized.
3. Accelerated Connectedness. Particularly from the rise of the use of cell phones, we can be connected to virtually anyone in the world in just a few seconds.
Change equals disruption, confusion, chaos and a tremendous opportunity for wealth creation. But to gain wealth, not lose it, we have to lead with more vision than ever.
David gave us five attributes leaders need to use and master to navigate The Shift Age with success. Below are the five attributes along with my personal take on what we as CEO’s can do now to embody them.
Adaptability
-With the speed of change increasing, every CEO needs a daily, weekly and monthly score card. Historical and trending key performance indicators are a must. Your numbers will give you guidance on the changes needed.
-Know your core business and align your marketing with that core.
-Set aside time to work ON your business. As the CEO, you cannot adapt without being aware of the big picture.
Resilience
-Lower your fixed cost, and keep your capacity strong by replacing those costs with variable costs. Design a business that can ebb and flow with change and be profitable on many levels.
-Monitor your liquidity You must know where you cash is at all times. You cannot afford to be asset rich and cash poor.
Collaborative on-going reorganization
-Transform your business. If you have a buggy whip business, you can be the best one ever and still have no market.
Trust and change of “authority”
-Social media is here to stay. Learn it, love it and use it.
-Make your product custom and personal
-Adapt to the new work force; it won’t adapt to you.
The Morph Corp
-Know the emotional content of your brand and your intellectual property value.
-Treat your business like your greatest asset (it probably is) and look at what needs to happen to maximize its return on investment.
-Look global.
If you missed this event, I encourage you to pick up David’s book, The Shift Age and make time to read and understand the new future. We cannot afford to be complacent or static.
Natalie, Karen, Andy, Grace or I would be happy to meet you at your office or for lunch to talk about these changes and how you can ready your business for the future.
As your wealth advocate, we are committed to your prosperity, now and in the future. Onward!
By Mackey McNeill
After giving a review of the pace of historical change, David presents the current time as The Shift Age, a time when change becomes part of our everyday environment. In other words, the constant is change.
There are three fundamental forces in The Shift Age:
1. The flow to Global. More than ever before, we are global citizens. We are personally impacted by global events as never before due to instant access on the Internet. Our problems must be considered and solved on a Global level.
2. The flow to the Individual. The power of institutions is in decline. We no longer define ourselves by the institutions we belong to. We want our products and services personalized.
3. Accelerated Connectedness. Particularly from the rise of the use of cell phones, we can be connected to virtually anyone in the world in just a few seconds.
Change equals disruption, confusion, chaos and a tremendous opportunity for wealth creation. But to gain wealth, not lose it, we have to lead with more vision than ever.
David gave us five attributes leaders need to use and master to navigate The Shift Age with success. Below are the five attributes along with my personal take on what we as CEO’s can do now to embody them.
Adaptability
-With the speed of change increasing, every CEO needs a daily, weekly and monthly score card. Historical and trending key performance indicators are a must. Your numbers will give you guidance on the changes needed.
-Know your core business and align your marketing with that core.
-Set aside time to work ON your business. As the CEO, you cannot adapt without being aware of the big picture.
Resilience
-Lower your fixed cost, and keep your capacity strong by replacing those costs with variable costs. Design a business that can ebb and flow with change and be profitable on many levels.
-Monitor your liquidity You must know where you cash is at all times. You cannot afford to be asset rich and cash poor.
Collaborative on-going reorganization
-Transform your business. If you have a buggy whip business, you can be the best one ever and still have no market.
Trust and change of “authority”
-Social media is here to stay. Learn it, love it and use it.
-Make your product custom and personal
-Adapt to the new work force; it won’t adapt to you.
The Morph Corp
-Know the emotional content of your brand and your intellectual property value.
-Treat your business like your greatest asset (it probably is) and look at what needs to happen to maximize its return on investment.
-Look global.
If you missed this event, I encourage you to pick up David’s book, The Shift Age and make time to read and understand the new future. We cannot afford to be complacent or static.
Natalie, Karen, Andy, Grace or I would be happy to meet you at your office or for lunch to talk about these changes and how you can ready your business for the future.
As your wealth advocate, we are committed to your prosperity, now and in the future. Onward!
By Mackey McNeill
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