The solution in video 3—the Spodek Method—creates a new, more effective situation than anything I know of in sustainability. People act on their own motivation that they felt before I met them. Instead of me motivating them, it was more like I unleashed and inspired them. That’s the difference in acting on intrinsic motivation instead of extrinsic. Every other sustainability effort I’d ever come across convinced, cajoled, coerced, lectured, manipulated.[…] Keep reading →

Now that we understand our environmental problems as cultural, proposals based in technology, market incentives, and legislation don’t address the problem. They generally won’t achieve the desired outcome and will often achieve the opposite. I share my path toward discovering a solution that works, now called the Spodek Method. Changing culture requires many things, and leadership is one. The Spodek Method is an experiential leadership technique that prompts people to[…] Keep reading →

Do you think our environmental problems are rooted in greenhouse gas levels or emissions? Or biodiversity loss? Or any of what makes the headlines? They are symptoms. They all result from our behavior, which results from our beliefs, stories, role models, images, and what makes up our culture. If we magically fixed all of the environmental conditions making the headlines, but didn’t change our culture, we would recreate them. Every[…] Keep reading →

Many people see whatever part of what I do, think that’s everything, and conclude I’m just doing some personal action or other form of spitting into the wind. I don’t like wasting my time any more than anyone else does, nor do I want to see people continuing to I’m partly insulted that they think I’m wasting my time or that I haven’t developed a comprehensive plan that stops all[…] Keep reading →

Our third conversation matches the first two in intrigue and quality. We talk about the things that came up for Dr. Bob that got in the way of his commitment. These issues come up for nearly everyone (implying they aren’t personal, but cultural beliefs): politics (including reacting to Trump), family, and race. This conversation was one of my first engaging on race unscripted. It’s tempting to see some issues as[…] Keep reading →

Tina is one of the central characters in that group that everyone knows (another is Kevin Fucillo, also a podcast guest). We go back a few years. She was born in the south in 1933, so you can do the math, but you’d never guess. She’s at times a firecracker, full of life, ready to handle anyone. She’s friendly to all, but ready to police anyone overstepping bounds. She’s always[…] Keep reading →

In our second conversation, Giora reveals more about his developing as a leader. If you listen for it, you can hear the vision he had for himself and his profession, but also the development he needed to realize it. This podcast is about sustainability leadership. You probably envision a sustainable world, or at least trying with everything you can to help achieve it. Maybe you’ve adopted my vision and mission.[…] Keep reading →

I found Alex when listeners sent me an opinion piece in the New York Times he wrote, The Story You’ve Been Told About Recycling Is a Lie. Getting to where I take years to fill a load of trash means I’ve researched waste a lot, so based on the headline, I thought, “yeah, I’ve read this story before. I’ll skim it so I can say I read it and then[…] Keep reading →

Silvia created the course Sustainable Marketing at Columbia. It’s an elective and has become the class at the business school with the most students from other schools at the university. In looking for a guest speaker on sustainable consumerism, she found the New York Times profile on me. She decided to invite me before realizing I’d gotten my MBA where she teaches. Only when we spoke did she learn I[…] Keep reading →