I am not a Futurist.  I am not even sure what a Futurist is or does.  But I can tell you one thing I feel certain about…

Tomorrow will look nothing like today.

More than simply a new type of brand, there is a new emerging zeitgeist.  It contains a collective of bonfires that are igniting a new dialogue, a new set of principles and a whole new behavior.  In many ways it is as if an old light is dying and a new light is beginning to burn bright.  I affectionately refer to this new light of bonfires as THE REAL 100 - progressive thinkers, social catalysts, entrepreneurs and pioneers who are reshaping the cultural landscape and creating positive systemic change.  They are certainly not the masses (at least not yet anyway), but they represent the harbinger of things to come.

Why the shift and what insights suggest this new ethos of light in the emerging future?  There exists a myriad of things to consider, but one thing in particular stands out.  Generation WE.  A bonfire of compassionate youth that is almost 100 million strong.  A passionate posse that will have tremendous impact on our behavior and every deliberation.

And here’s what is fascinating.  They are not like us.  In fact, they are a lot different.

•    Success is more than simply a financial number.  They have a healthy and holistic perspective on happiness that goes well beyond financial boundaries.
•    They hold environmental stewardship and social equity and justice as core tenets.
•    They embrace, love and cherish open collaboration and collectives.
•    Technology is their friend…their best friend.
•    My personal favorite.  They have essentially flipped ‘the man’ the bird and said thanks but no thanks…I’ll take the entrepreneurial route.

So what does it all mean and where does one begin?

It’s simple.  There is a revolution underfoot that is reshaping our landscape.  New principles that go well beyond being green and sustainable are giving rise to a new breed of brand and culture.  It’s about inspiration versus desperation, ethos versus tactics and leadership versus compliance.  Simple shifts in thinking are creating positive systemic change and making things happen.

So begin by inspiring an openness to adapt and evolve. Begin by opening our eyes to a new world order and possibility.  Begin by quieting our cleverness so that we can see the beauty and abundance in the blind spot. Begin by taking the time to understand the essence of Generation WE (look what it did for Obama!).  Be open to adopting new guiding principles that appeal not only to those we serve, but inspire and empower our internal culture as well.  Begin by appreciating the essence underscored in the values and principles embedded in THE REAL 100 and watch the shift happen.

THE REAL 100  / Top 10 Principles

1.    IT BEGINS INSIDE - It’s simple really.  Great bonfire brands have great cultures.  Cultures where there is purpose, vision and a palpable heartbeat that brings everyone to this common place of not work but adventure.  An environment where the best capital is human capital.  A community that promotes autonomy and accountability over micro-management.  A place that trumpets and promotes glorious mistakes because safe is indeed risky.  A place where passion meets compassion.   In essence, cultivating the inside so that we can nurture and grow the outside.

2.    GREAT BRANDS ARE A REFLECTION OF THOSE YOU SERVE - Look under the hood of THE REAL 100 and you’ll see a collection of folks that are a mirror image of those they serve.   They do not need focus groups to tell them the pulse of things.  They are the pulse of things!  The ultimate litmus test – can someone you serve meet you, your culture and your environment and feel your verve?

3.    BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, NOT THINGS - THE REAL 100 is not about buying things.  It’s about building relationships inspired by mutual respect, honesty and service.  There is a connection that you cannot find in a transaction.   Evangelists nurture your missive in a way that creates an effortless loyalty.  It takes time.  It takes hard work.  Most importantly, it requires us to hold those we serve less as consumers and more as partners.

4.    A BRAND IS A PROMISE.  KEEP IT - Like any great relationship, trust is the foundation. For THE REAL 100, trust is currency.  Sharing transparency.  Providing traceability.  Opening the onion of their brand.  Keep the promise and you will flourish.

5.    HUMANITY IN YOUR EVERY DELIBERATION - In the words of Barry Schwartz, it is imperative that we imbue a higher level of integrity and moral jazz.  Corporate responsibility is a non-negotiable.   We need humanity in our every deliberation.  The reality is that what plagues our world is not climate change, biodiversity, deforestation or market malaise, but rather a lack of appreciation for humankind.

6.    INSTANT KARMA - There is a spiritual quality embedded in THE REAL 100 and it manifests itself in a couple of ways.  The first is the recognition that cultural shifts start with us.  Not government, not large organizations, but passionate and brilliant individuals.  We alone can create the change we wish to see.  The second element is the belief that our actions affect our future lives and the lives of others. Good deeds will have a positive effect while bad deeds bring negative consequences. That said this principle speaks to the belief of an immediate concept of accountability for our actions.   We reap what we sow.

7.    CONSIDER THE WHOLE & THE EFFECT YOU WISH TO CREATE - Recognize that sustainability and green go well beyond environmental issues and include social equity and justice as well.  As Buckminster Fuller would say, ‘look at things through the widest possible context’…that way you can see the whole.  Carbon footprint, water footprint, and human footprint – they all need to be considered.

8.    RESPONSIBLE CAPITALISM - Ray Anderson (CEO Interface Global) is fond of opening his presentations with ‘I am an industrialist’ followed by an intoxicating journey of how they are making the world a better place and earning a living.  We need to stop thinking that doing the right thing and doing well is mutually exclusive.  Responsible capitalism can trumpet over the tired capitalism.  We simply need to commit in a way the two are viewed as one versus isolating them from one another.  Lastly, it’s also about growing strong versus the insatiable hangover from the last century to grow big.  It’s about being the best, not the biggest.

9.    EMBRACE GLORIOUS MISTAKES - Pioneers do not know failure, for the adventure and drive to create a new possibility is progress unto itself.  They live inspiration not desperation.  Failure?  That’s accepting the status quo.  THE REAL 100 is a collective of pioneering bold thinkers who are driven towards creating positive systemic change.  There’s a lot that they do not do well and there are missteps along the way.  But those are not failures.  Those are simply glorious mistakes that deepen the inspiration.

10.  HONESTY VERSUS PERFECTION - It’s not important to be perfect.  It’s imperative that we are honest.  We’re going to make mistakes…cool.  So when we do, let’s lose the crisis PR team and instead, speak from our heart versus the head.  Seventh Generation is a resilient and pioneering brand that has made an array or mistakes in its twenty-year history.  It also is open and honest about when it falls short.  The irony.  The Seventh Generation Nation seems to grow with every miscue.  There is nothing more profound than a sense of humility and willingness to be open about errors.

 1.  DATA IS MY NEW FRIEND   For years I rebelled against statistics.  Perhaps it was because I got a D+ in Stats 101 at college or the fact that I saw data as something that neutered intuition.  Regardless, after seeing Sean Gourley’s presentation on The Mathematics of War, I am a new convert for data and statistics.  I now see a new world of abundance where intuition and statistics converge and inform each other.  Powerful.

 2. INSPIRATION VERSUS DESPERATION  As one TEDster said over lunch, “we don’t have time to be pessimistic”.   I personally am an eternal optimist obsessed with what could be and thus I found the verve that permeated the conference to be both magnetic and nutritious.  Negative visioning is seldom sustainable, so why not focus on possibility?  

3.  WHAT WOULD BUCKY DO   As someone who holds Buckminster Fuller as a borderline deity, I kept thinking over and over how cool it would have been to see him on stage.  His teachings and principles have never been more relevant than they are today.  TED and Bucky would have gone together like sweet ocean swells and empty classrooms.  So how about adding D.W Jacobs’s play R. Buckminster Fuller:  The History (and Mystery) of the Universe to TED 2010 Long Beach?

4.  FRUSTRATION IS A FUNCTION OF EXPECTATION   The aura leading up to the event is surreal.  You begin to feel as if folks will be walking on water.  TED has certainly mastered the art of creating your own buzz.  That said I had to reconcile my expectations with reality.  In other words, TED was fantastic, but the hype leading up to the event created a false sense of brilliance at every step and that is simply not realistic nor fair. 

5.  MARGARET MEADE WOULD BE PROUD   At a time when we seem to be looking at big brother to bail us out of this colossal market collapse, you recognize @ TED that it is individuals who can make the biggest difference.  TED was a beautiful mosaic of individuals who are out to change the world.  

6.  FOLLOW YOUR HEART NOT YOUR HEAD   While watching Sylvia Earle’s presentation, I kept thinking what a gift.  What a gift to discover early in life something that moves and inspires you daily.  Something that might not be considered cool to others or full of richness financially, but something that feels oh so right.  Her life’s message is one that we need to share with each other and especially today’s youth. Follow your heart versus your head. 

7.  PASSION / THE POWER OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT   I once watched my wife race in Ironman (1.2 mile swim, 116 mile bike, 26.2 run) after only having run a 10K.  For a year of training she had an obsessive devotion to making her dream come true.  I felt that same passion @ TED.  In a world of cynics and naysayers, the passion around creating a new world of possibility was palpable.   No better example @ TED than Ben Zander simply showing us all how to REALLY sing Happy Birthday.  Absolutely loved it.

8.  HUMANIZE THE BRAND   Tom Rielly, TED Community Director was a delight.  Loved his passion, compassion and zeal for living the extraordinary.  Funny dude who has done a magnificent job of creating something special with the TED FELLOW Program.  He also adds a great sense of humility to a program that sometimes borders on arrogance. 

9.  HUMANITY   TED was an affirmation that what really plagues our world is not the credit crisis or environmental issues, but rather our lack of humanity in our every deliberation.  I specifically loved when Barry Schwartz suggested we start to add a little moral jazz into our lives. 

10.  SYSTEMS THINKING  Have you ever noticed how there is this insatiable urge on behalf of all us to dictate what to do whenever there is an issue?  Asking questions has become a lost art. Why did this happen?  What is the systemic cause?  How can we reframe the issue to consider the whole?  It was therefore refreshing to attend a conference that shared HOW TO THINK versus WHAT TO THINK.  Nice.

NOTE:  This post first appeared on triplepundit

PHOTO: flickr.com/photos/wa-j

Dear Mr. President

Kudos!  

Your emergence as President of the US has given new meaning for living the extraordinary.  Stoked you made it. Now the hard part - igniting a nation to focus on what could be versus what is.  

I know your busy, but I simply wanted to offer up five quick thoughts for you to consider as you continue to build out your green team:

1. Call it Team Humanity and awaken us to the real essence of the green movement

2. Adopt Life’s Principles to inform your strategy

• Build from the bottom up
• Self-assemble
• Optimize rather than maximize
• Use free energy, cross-pollinate
• Embrace diversity
• Adapt and evolve
• Use life-friendly materials and processes
• Engage in symbiotic relationships
• Enhance the bio-sphere

3. Develop a Northstar (i.e. vision) for 2020 in a way that we are incredibly inspired and greatly empowered because we see our place and our contribution in the journey.

4. Break the rules that bind. Add an Anthropologist, Biologist, Humanist and representation from Gen Y (affectionately referred to as Generation WE) to the team. 

5. Cite Buckminster Fuller frequently and often so that his teachings and principles will be optimized.

Good luck!

Live, love & laugh,

Duke

PS.  I think it would be great if you built a local CSA farm on the White House lawn.  Cool?

‘The most pivotal environmental issue we’re faced with is not climate change or biodiversity or deforestation or any of those things.  It is our deeply felt ambivalence toward the human race and our presence here on planet Earth.’

-Bruce Sterling Founder Viridian Design Movement

Why? 

Why are we so inebriated with taking this subject called sustainability and making it so damn complex and difficult.  Why can’t it be a source of inspiration and empowerment versus desperation and isolation? 

What will it take to break the rules that bind and allow each of us to design, discover and create in a way that is liberating and rejuvenating?  And why is that folks like Interface Global can start from ground zero and create a cultural ethos that is hell bent on doing the right thing and others struggle to take the first step? 

It’s a design question that has become my obsession.   

Imagine finding the acupuncture point for sustainability in a way that unleashed a flurry of new and progressive thought.  In essence taking this over-hyped, misunderstood and complex topic and allowing the real pioneers and positive change-makers to shine while simultaneously exposing the myriad of imposters who dominate the landscape.       

Sounds cool, but how do we create this shift?

I’ve given it a lot of thought.  I’ve really tried to sit and observe in a way that uncovered the essence of it all.  To think systemically about what could spark a revolution of new thought.   And I constantly come to one simple thought…humanity.  

So imagine what would shift in our thinking if we considered the following…

WHAT IF WE CONSIDERED HUMANITY IN OUR EVERY DELIBERATION?

Seriously.  A pathetically simple framework that could be the catalyst that shifts your thinking in a way that gives you the freedom and latitude to interpret and design on your own accord.  No templates.  No checklists.  No ‘experts’ preaching ‘thou shall do this’.  Just pure unadulterated blue sky to create provided you consider humanity when you source material, nurture your culture, design product, buy product, grow your business in your EVERY DELIBERATION.  You cannot simply do the right thing in one area and discard the others.  It has to be all encompassing.  

I fervently believe that the net effect you would create is that sustainability would all of sudden become less about a thing and more about a relationship.  In a very natural and organic way you will shift in a way that you begin to create the Holy Grail…creating conditions conducive to life.   Challenging?  Of course.  But imagine if you could create a northstar that envisioned your preferred state and then set out on the journey to get there, step by step.  Wow.  Now that would be pretty damn cool.

So before you scoff at the idea look around.  What we thought what mattered most - personal gain, financial wealth (especially at the expense of others) doesn’t mean as much anymore.  Now look harder.  Look at the emerging future.  Brands and individuals that hold humanity at their core are starting to make a difference - a big difference.    

A simple shift to see that THE REAL 100 are indeed very real.