Corporate Knights & Innovest released their new list of The Global 100 Most Sustainable Brands.  For the record, I am not opposed to recognizing the efforts of large cap corporations, but I think it falls woefully short in terms of addressing those that are the real leaders in this movement.  Hence the concept of THE REAL 100.  That said I think it would be interesting to ask ourselves the following:

If the future of our culture and sustainability were on our shoulders, where would we look for inspiration and guidance?

Why is it that some brands always seem to be one step ahead?  What creates the possibility for them to work in the future today?  

A good part of the answer…they have a strong sense for the emerging future.  

To better understand let me share a quick analogy…

Imagine you’re in the hills of your favorite park reveling in glorious sunny skies and spinning hard on your mountain bike.  You’re heading downhill on a single-track trail and you have two options.  You can focus your eyes and mind on the trail immediately in front of you OR you can look ahead.  If you choose the former then there is a good chance that you will be a little slower, more apt to stop and start, less courageous and pretty frustrated. Why?  Because you are blind to what lies ahead and as a result you are constantly reacting and less confident.  Now consider the latter where you look ahead.  Not only are you more efficient, but also you are more than likely having a lot more fun riding the bike.  And why is this?  Because you are simultaneously navigating the trail below as well looking ahead.  Those ruts and roots and twists and turns are subconsciously eliminated and you live in a proactive courageous mindset.

Great brands ride while seeing the trail ahead.  How?  By consistently having the discipline and courage to allow time for observation and reflection.  Simple thing really - taking the time to look up and sense what lies ahead.  Unfortunately, what normally tends to happen is that we get caught in the vortex of reacting to things.  Why?  Often it is function of lacking simple frameworks and fundamentals such as vision, guiding principles and positioning.  In addition, we tend to create from a point of desperation versus inspiration (something I see all too often in the world of sustainability) and as a result, we lose the ability and discipline to sense the emerging future.  Oh yeah, and god forbid you become transfixed on what others around you (i.e. competitors) are doing because then all hell breaks loose.  Trust me.  I lived both the good and bad and I can tell you with unabashed zeal that it is simple things like fundamentals, discipline and process that make the biggest difference.  

So look out on the horizon.  What do you see?  What insights and observations can you sense that give hint to the impending future?

Here’s my sense for the emerging future…

• Social media will redefine how we discover and hold brands.  Marketing as we knew it is officially deceased.  

• We are going to see an abundance of smaller bonfire brands dominate our landscape.  A strong entrepreneurial spirit is going to ignite a new generation of brands and companies that are driven less by their size than by their ability to be a catalyst for new possibility and positive systemic change.  That said I see a mosaic of  $25-200MM privately held companies that will reshape our landscape.

• Brands that consider HUMANITY and LIFE’s PRINCIPLES  in their every deliberation will thrive.  

• Creating a great product is no longer good enough. EVERYTHING matters - you will be defined by everything you do well and by everything you do not do well.  It is your fate.

• We will stop creating with a goal to be green, eco or sustainable and shift the thinking and design to be creating conditions conducive to life.

• The I will be overtaken by the WE.  As a culture we quickly recognize how we are all connected and that we truly do live in an eco-system or inter-dependent living system. 

• There will be a greater openness for collaboration and collective thought.  Great brands will actively seek symbiotic partnerships.

• Transparency and traceability will be a tenet of every great brand.   

• The journey will become greater than the reward.  Individuals will choose a place of work based on how vibrant, responsible and passionate the workplace environment is versus simply looking at pay.

• Human capital will be viewed as the best capital.  It will be positioned as an investment rather than an expense

• It will be okay to smile and laugh a lot at work. 

Without question, working in the future takes courage.  But look at the alternative.  Would you prefer to react to everything that comes your way or lead the way?

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. 

Do you hear that? 

It’s the sound of a herd of brands sauntering together on the range.  At a time when we should be watching horses run we’re watching cows graze!

Sustainability is often a misunderstood, misused, ubiquitous, complex and daunting subject matter.  Most brands play it safe and simply strive to get on base.  As a result the sustainability movement is in danger of adopting a ‘herd mentality’ whereby we become a sea of sameness without fully understanding or grasping the full scope of the work, urgency, connectedness and ultimate possibility.  

So how can we separate from herd when it comes to sustainability and watch the horses run?  What do we need to do to liberate and inspire brands to create anew?

For starters, look at five simple principles towards unlocking your potential:

HOLD SUSTAINABILITY IN THE WIDEST POSSIBLE CONTEXT

Forget what you know and allow yourself to see the whole by thinking systemically.  Look at sustainability through a new lens that considers more than simply environmental issues. Position it as an ethos for you entire culture and not simply as a division or department.  Ask yourself, what will it take to design an effect that creates conditions conducive to life?

FOCUS ON CREATING NEW POSITIONING AND GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Positioning informs strategy, product and brand - without it you’re a ship without a rudder.  Design a positioning and ethos that considers your strengths, those you serve and the emerginging future in a way that creates conditions conducive to life.  In addition, embed new brand principles into your every deliberation.  

BE TRUE TO YOUR ARCHETYPE

Be yourself!  Create a positioning and ethos based on YOUR strengths and core values that work from the heart as well as the head. Stop looking at your neighbor for the answer.  The answer lies within!

DISCOVER YOUR TRIMTAB  

Identify the thing/place/initiative that will create the greatest impact with subtle movement and force. Death by a 1,000 initiatives is not the answer.

CREATE A NORTHSTAR VISION

Nothings starts without a vision and nothing lasts without a vision.  Create a Northstar that inspires and empowers your entire culture.  Design a vision that brings to life the effect you wish to create.  Let go and be bold!

So which one are you…a cow or a horse?

Crazy question but have you ever just stopped to observe the reality in which you live? 

Imagine if you could switch your life to slow motion.  What would you see?  

I am a dreamer obsessed with what could be.  So, in June 2007 I closed my Mac, shut-off my Blackberry and waved good-bye to conference rooms.  After almost twenty years of playing brand builder at wonderful places like Seventh Generation [amazing culture that inspired me daily] and NIKE [the human spirit should never be underestimated] I listened to my inner compass and went on a self-imposed spiritual journey. I call it my Forrest Gump moment.  Only rather than starting to run I simply stopped running.  Some called me crazy.  Others sighed in envy.  The truth is I simply felt this inner burn suggesting I needed to quiet my cleverness and create anew. More importantly, I needed to re-connect with my wife, two daughters and friends.  It was an odyssey informed by re-affirming what matters most and living the extraordinary.

Not surprisingly, the tranquility and calm gave me unabashed clarity for the first time in my adult life. 

So what is it that I was able to see? 

Here are my top reflections during my self-imposed sabbatical:

• There is absolutely NOTHING more important than family and friends.  A distant second are endorphin highs followed by  good local beer.
• I am half as good as I think I am.  Along the way I have abandoned the sense of inquiry and exploration I had during my youth and replaced it with thinking that has become trite.  In essence I discovered the need to quiet my cleverness and embolden myself with a new Socratic sense of inquiry.  What a gift!
• We’ve become a culture inebriated with tactics, the notion that more is more and playing it safe.  Imagine the possibility if we shifted the lens to systemic thinking/vision, doing more with less and courage!   
• Leadership requires the art of inquiry.
• Human capital is far and away your best capital.  I would much rather have scarce dollars and an amazing team than piles of cash with a weak roster.  That said great human capital should be looked as an investment versus as expense.  Behind every great brand is a great culture comprised of brilliant people.
• We need to de-emphasize words such as innovation, marketing, eco, green and sustainability and shift the conversation to what effect is it that we are trying to create?  Case in point:  At NIKE the emphasis was not on making a product innovative but rather it was focused on the effect…enhancing an athlete’s performance.  
• Strategic plans need to be simple in a way that they can be easily communicated, inspiring in a way that ignite one’s soul and empowering in a way that everyone can see their place in the journey.  Romance your culture with a northstar in a way that everyone can work in the future…today.
• Courage, humility and intuition are a lost art in business.  Work from the heart and be willing to make glorious mistakes!  Oops.  One more thing.  Who killed the ‘have fun’ button? 
• Fundamentals such as positioning, values, frameworks and vision are woefully lacking in the vast majority of brands.  Too bad because they are simple things that can create a significant positive impact.
• Brilliant people and amazing brands are successful because they are doing what they love to do and they are a reflection of those they serve.  
• Buckminster Fuller was brilliant.  His teachings have never been more relevant than they are today. 
•  The emerging future is going to be an amazing journey for those individuals and brands that show courage, transparency, humanity, patience and the willingness to focus on what could be.  Furthermore, it is my belief that purpose oriented brands, brands that hold humanity in every deliberation, will thrive in the next 5-10 years.

My friends at TriplePundit tell me that there are  100,000,000 blogs.  Make that 100,000,001.  

Tilting windmills?   Very well could be but why not?  As I see it there is a new world of possibility that has yet to be untapped.  And so my goal is simple - ignite a bonfire around progressive and provocative thought that speaks to the emerging future.  

THE REAL 100 is a celebration of progressive thinkers, social catalysts and pioneers who are reshaping the sustainability landscape and creating positive systemic change.  It brings in a Socratic sense to provoke and challenge us all to think anew and think differently.  And rather than applaud The Global 100 (Top 100 Most Sustainable Brands as determined by Corporate Knights and Innovest) I am saying we can do better…a lot better.  Not because the list is bad, but rather because it does not even begin to trumpet some of the best thinkers and bonfire brands in this space.  There is a voice out there that we are not hearing and a face we are not seeing.  Time to let it all shine!

My greatest fear is that we become complacent.  That we sit back and admire our work.  Truth be told, we’re half as good as we think we are, but therein lies the opportunity.  You see, many ideas have yet to be born.  They are still being nurtured in the minds and souls of brilliant individuals just waiting to burst out.  So the onus is on us to invite those new thoughts.  To inspire a new chapter.  To create a landscape of thinking that is hell bent on possibility and what could be. 

And so my premise is simple…

By expanding the lens to consider The REAL 100 we will awaken our senses and thinking in a way that inspires our soul and creates a whole new world of possibility.  

And so this blog is dedicated to the real 100 most regenerative ideas, individuals and brands that are pioneering a new path towards the emerging future. So who are THE REAL 100?  Defined less by their size than their ability to spark a revolution of new thought and possibility.  They provide us with nutrition.  They provide us with inspiration.  They break the rules that bind.  

They don’t climb mountains…they move them!