Joe Biden can lead in a lot more ways than using authority, which is the least effective tool of a leader. The President of the United States is not some guy on the street. He’s at a leverage point of a system, with great influence. Imagine if Biden stood with the protesters of a pipeline. Imagine he simply took an inventory of his personal waste and minimized it and showed[…] Keep reading →

Anyone can do it. It cost me nothing. Cleaning my backup hard drive, I found a file with the text of how I started coaching professionally: by offering free coaching on Craigslist. Below is the text. It led to a few clients. One eventually told me he found it valuable enough he insisted on paying me. I insisted on staying with free, as that’s what I offered, but he said[…] Keep reading →

Picking up litter has its joys. A friend wrote about our meeting, in which we walked around Washington Square Park and picked up litter, also talking business. The meeting certainly was inspirational and I think back to it every time I see a piece of trash on the ground. So, you certainly made a difference in my life. I always tried to pick before, but now I make it a[…] Keep reading →

People say all the time that what we in the U.S. or anywhere to act sustainably doesn’t matter if China and Russia don’t act too. They say that they pollute so much that even if we don’t pollute at all, their pollution is enough to sink us all. Whether it is or not, to say they have to act first abdicates leadership. It says we choose to follow, not lead.[…] Keep reading →

A father in one of my online communities asked people for what advice they’d give to a twelve-year-old. I’m not a father and haven’t been twelve since the 1980s, so I don’t know how appropriate for that age, but here was my answer: Not knowing the kid (barely knowing myself), I can only guess at his interests and situation, but here’s what I would want someone to tell me if[…] Keep reading →

Nearly every effort I see for sustainability use methods that don’t work, that promote resistance. They don’t inspire. They tools like cajoling (“Here are ten little things you can do for the environment”), coercing (“people will suffer if you don’t act”), convincing (“If you value your kids’ future, you should change”), and authority (laws). Such methods imply nobody wants to do the things. You may gain compliance but reinforce the[…] Keep reading →

I’m not criticizing protesters at COP26. Maybe they’ll achieve more than I will, though the meaningful comparison is to what they could achieve optimally. It seems to me that flying to Glasgow to protest polluting is like PETA practicing animal sacrifice to help animals or the Pope worshiping Satan to promote Christianity. I’m not trying to be coy. I think you need to practice the values you promote if you[…] Keep reading →