Volume 9, Number 2

Of Interest

Where do “we” end and “they” begin? No matter how good we believe we may be at thinking systemically, it’s hard to resist the habit of categorizing others as irrelevant, alarming, or just incomprehensibly different. I’m sure you’ve had days when even those you know and care about most suddenly seem like strangers, and the ranks of “them” appear vast – surely not part of your system. In his classic work, I and Thou (1923, English 1937), Martin Buber posed a more intimate way to appreciate the distinction. He suggested that we can experience ourselves as separate from the world (I-it) or as an inseparable part of it (I-thou), with the expected consequences. His most striking examples challenge our belief that the I-thou relationship is limited only to those we know well. I’m sure you’ve had that experience, too: there is a flash of deep connection and commonality with what first appeared foreign. Buber documented the value of each perspective and our capacity to choose our experience. In this issue of Reflections, we are fortunate to have a number of illustrations of new partnerships that emerged when action was taken from the perspective that there’s only “us” and there’s no “away.” (If you would like to see a short artistic rendition of this, I highly recommend this video: http://www.globalcommunity.org/flash/wombat. shtml.) I encourage you to read this issue with attention to the connections between action and the state of being they reinforce. In some cases, deeply held beliefs inspired action; in others a more naïve curiosity about “the other” opened up new possibilities. Read Full Article

Feature

At SoL’s Global Forum held in Oman last year, Nobel Prize winner Muhammad Yunus, the founder of Grameen Bank, joined Roberto Bocca, director of emerging consumer markets at BP Alternative Energy; Lynne Dovey, director of strategic planning at the Ministry of Economic Development in New Zealand; Shaikh Saleh Al-Turki, the chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Omar Shaban, director of operations at Cisco NetVersity to look at the ways in which business can be modeled in order to help the poor. Muhammad Yunus related the story behind Grameen Bank and shared his concept of “social business.” Moderated by social researcher Laurent Marbacher, the panel also explored the idea of what human beings are capable of doing for local development, as well as how systems can enhance these capacities so that they can flourish. Read Full Article

Feature

One of the most highly rated sessions at SoL’s 2008 Global Forum in Oman was a presentation by Roberto Bocca, the director of Emerging Consumer Markets for BP Alternative Energy, and Prema Gopalan, the founder and executive director of Swayam Shikshan Prayog (Self Education for Empowerment, or SSP), a non-governmental organization (NGO) in India. The two organizations partnered to look at solving the problem of bringing clean energy to some of India’s poorest people. This took the form of creating a market together for an innovative, affordable cooking stove that uses pellets made of agricultural waste as fuel. The following is adapted from that session, which addressed the unique nature of corporate-NGO partnerships. Read Full Article

Feature

An “intelligent” organization is one that makes systematic use of the intelligence of all its players in order to become ever more efficient. This article, based on an empirical study carried out over three years, traces the development of Matrix Sales University (MSU), which is part of the L’Oréal organization. It outlines the factors of MSU’s success and the difficulties of developing a learning organization with concrete operational aims. In view of the decline of traditional solidarity within business and the risk of geographical break-up, belonging to a profession with a strong identity and tradition is seen as the basis for establishing a professional community on a global scale. Read Full Article

Feature

Something important has happened in the last stage of the industrial era that sets it apart from the past: Globalization has brought a level of interdependence between nations and regions that never existed before, along with truly global problems that also have no precedent. The Industrial Age isn’t ending because of a decline in opportunities for further expansion. It is ending because individuals, organizations, and governments are realizing that its side effects are unsustainable. But endings are also beginnings. In The Necessary Revolution, Peter Senge and his coauthors share the guiding ideas that are essential for creating a more sustainable future: seeing systems, collaborating across boundaries, and moving from problem solving to creating. The book is full of stories and examples of individuals and organizations who are putting these ideas into action, many of whom are associated with SoL. This excerpt explains “how we got here” and lays out the case for urgency in radically shifting the kind of thinking that has made the industrial era so successful, and so disastrous. Read Full Article

Feature

In 1972, three scientists from MIT created a computer model that analyzed global resource consumption and production. Their results – published in the bestseller Limits to Growth – shocked the world and created stirring conversation about global “overshoot,” or resource use beyond the carrying capacity of the planet. In this update, published 30 years later, they offer an analysis of present and future trends in resource use, and assess a variety of possible outcomes. The authors believe that humanity can still reverse some of its damage to Earth if it takes appropriate measures now to reduce inefficiency and waste. In this excerpt, they lay out five tools that will be necessary for our survival over the long term. Read Full Article