The Missing Element in Protecting the Environment We have the science and technology. We’re missing effective leadership. Let’s learn from past success. Who would expect an insight on how to protect the environment to come from hookworms? I recently saw Zia Khan, the Rockefeller Foundation’s Vice President of Initiatives and Strategy, speak at the New York Academy of Science‘s Summit on United Nations Strategic Goals. That’s a high-level group of organizations and people. He didn’t speak on[…] Keep reading →

Enron Environmentalism Enron looked profitable when it compartmentalized and hid its losses. Do you compartmentalize and hide your pollution? I just had lunch with a man who described himself as fanatical about the environment–in particular, about water bottles. He illustrated by describing how fastidiously he handled them. As he started his story, I expected him to describe how he never used water bottles. Americans have such clean and drinkable water that water made unclean makes front page[…] Keep reading →

Remember the Single-Tear Anti-Litter Ads From the 70s? You’ll Cry Too at Our Pollution Levels Today The chart below puts Keep America Beautiful’s “Crying Indian” public service announcement in today’s deplorable context A headline in The Guardian two days ago, “$180bn investment in plastic factories feeds global packaging binge” led me to some statistics about plastic production. Plastic Production Then The chart I saw, reproduced below, showed dramatic increase around[…] Keep reading →

Start a Sidcha! Resolutions and short-term thinking create short-term results and long-term failure. Start a Sidcha to last a lifetime. I just read yet another thread of people pledging resolutions, suspiciously many being ones they failed last year. This year they really meant it, though. Right. I had to comment on what works and doesn’t. Habits that work The day Nelson Mandela walked free for the first time in 27 years–a day of global importance[…] Keep reading →

Lies We Tell Ourselves When We Pollute We all want clean air, water, and land, yet pollute more than necessary. Leaders act with responsibility, accountability, and self-awareness. Our leadership vacuum on the environment I hook my audiences easily in my workshops on my podcast, Leadership and the Environment, by saying, Raise your hand if you like pollution, rising sea levels, and more plastic in the ocean than fish. No hands ever go up. I continue, Now raise your[…] Keep reading →

Morning Routines and Success You show me a successful person and I’ll show you one with daily habits. MyMorningRoutine.com brings today’s successful people’s habits. You show me a successful person and I’ll show you one with structured daily habits. The more successful, the more self-imposed, challenging, relevant, and active his or her habits. Even bad-boy athletes, apparently self-indulgent rock stars, and counter-cultural artists have habits. Rather, the long-term successful ones do. The[…] Keep reading →

My Inc. post today, “The 20/80 Rule, Leadership, and Integrity,” begins The 20/80 Rule, Leadership, and Integrity In a leader’s relationships, the 20/80 rule counts, not the 80/20 rule. Leadership means people watch you–not to what you want to say or do, or mean to, but what you actually say and do. Attention to detail counts. Not sometimes, but always. What Vince Lombardi said about winning applies to leadership: Leading is not a sometime thing; it’s an all the time thing. You[…] Keep reading →