On the importance of knowing what we’re trying to change — Marketing folks talk about five stages of awareness in order to improve sales: problem-unaware, problem-aware, solution-aware, product-aware, and most aware.* This framing helps prioritize marketing efforts. But what happens if the seller doesn’t understand the problem they propose to solve? When it comes…

Top 10 things I already gave you — (This letter was first shared with subscribers of my website on Dec 19.) Greetings! I hope this finds you well as we approach peak darkness here in the North. I love this time of year because I am reminded that it is also peak lightness elsewhere. It’s also a time…

My journey into cultivating Actual Intelligence (the other AI) — Looking up close at something, quietly and patiently, brings perspective. Drawing what we see brings even more perspective, because it requires us to translate across senses into new forms. I think of this as one way to cultivate Actual Intelligence, the more delicious of the AIs in this writer’s opinion. …

How conversations with my feet keep me on track — [This is a direct transcript of a live pattern interrupt] The other day after I published my piece on pattern interrupts my friend Cameron, my companion in composting, reached out and said, “Yeah, that’s great and stuff. But what does that have to do with real life?” To me it was kind of obvious what it had to do with…

How I upped my game with pattern interrupts — We all have patterns in our lives — things that happen over and over. Some serve us well, others not so much. As I’ve pointed out before, as in running, so too in life. The (ahem) pattern holds with the technique known as a pattern interrupting, too. I tested this…

How to show up in an emergent system (versus complaining about it and making it worse) — I am learning as I go here, and I notice that Medium is learning, too. That’s the nature of complex, dynamic systems — they adapt in response to feedback. It’s kind of exciting when I think about it. It means that we readers create the conditions for a better reading…

A 4-step guide for ordinary people like us — This is the story of how I ran more than five marathons in five days and hosted a dinner party at the finish — an extraordinary feat. I share it because it gave me so much joy (except for that dark moment on Day 3 past Dorval) and yet it…

Begin with not exercising — proceed to everything else in life — Many of us are gripped by a burst of enthusiasm at this time of year. We take on new practices, habits, and goals. There’s often something related to fitness in that mix, maybe even running. I’ve logged a few miles over the years. And I hear a lot of things…

Three things I consistently do to keep going — and love the journey — During a talk I gave to some university students the other day, a member of the audience asked me, “How do you stay motivated?” We had been exploring the role of business in big global issues. I had just illustrated the gaping chasm between most company’s actions compared to what…

Asking what a company SAYS versus DOES versus IS — Purpose-washing is icky. When a company states a grand social purpose without backing it up, it adds to the rushing tide of greenwash, making it hard to navigate towards an economy that works in service of life. To tackle this, I offer three simple questions that can indicate if a…

A guided exercise to overcome algorithmitis — With great calm comes great power I can get pretty up in arms when I think about how much influence algorithms have over my life — these insidious bits of code designed by people whose intentions I don’t share or even know about. I call this algorithmitis…

Since launching this Medium channel in 2016 it’s been a fun writing adventure. My purpose in life is to support the shift to an economy that works in service of life, so that’s what I write about. …

Because I guess I’m modern*, western** and civilized*** — We interrupt our regular program to create a lot of dots! A friend said something the other day that made my chest expand with resonance: The more I try to control things, the worse I feel. Yeppers. Okay, so don’t control. Surrender. Sure. Got it. Or at least, this sounds familiar and I’m working on it. But then what? Take action…

“Where do you think I can make the most positive difference in my work?” It’s a common question these days, growing in urgency. I have more questions than answers in response when I get asked this. I recently found a memo to myself that I sketched out last year trying…

Unlike a bank, I would finance interspecies, intercultural, and intergenerational councils for the restoration of ecosystems — When constipated capital flows My friend Nick Parker asked me a few years back what I would do if someone handed me a billion dollars. Coming from the coiner of the term “cleantech” — and someone who has seen a few billions flowing — his question got me thinking. He pointed out, “There is…

Exploring direct dialogue with the Universe in the spirit of industrial healing — Several important guides in my life have been talking about the value of prayer. This is a big topic. For now I’ll just note: this is more about understanding my role than honouring a particular deity. …

Great lessons in innovation abound. We need to grant ourselves permission to see them — not to imagine the impossible, but rather to recognize the apparently unlikely yet perfectly obvious. — Take the acorn, for instance. If I arrived on Earth from outer space and someone asked me to organize an array of life forms by species, never would I imagine the acorn and the mature oak tree belonged together.