Do you often find yourself overwhelmed by your “to do” list? (Especially when your mission is big? Or very, very big?) If you’re inclined to systems, check out David Allen’s masterful book, Getting Things Done. Meanwhile, here are a few powerful tips that I’ve found particularly helpful: Name the “No”s…

From the archives. Originally published June 30, 2004. New Bottom Line 13.3 How does your organization set its sustainability goals? Are they sufficient to the challenge — and the opportunities — at hand? The sustainability challenge is daunting to many, in part because it seems so far away, in part…

The “panic now, it’s all melting down” tribe and “lol nothing’s happening, chill” tribes are in a mutual gaslighting equilibrium. Me, I’m above these simplistic either/or things, I’m in a complex superposition of chilling and panicking. — Venkatesh Rao What do I think about the pink trickle (previously known as…

…my life pivoted in profound and powerful ways. While most of my friends ran off to the Rockies for the first Rainbow Family Gathering (a sort of proto-BurningMan!), I ensconced myself in the libraries and campus of Southern Illinois University for the first World Game Workshop with the legendary Buckminster…

(I originally published this piece six months ago today, on Dec 8, 2021. In addition to posting new writings here, I’ll occassionaly bring forward some prior pieces from other venues that you may have missed.) TOUCH AND GO It’s a tough time to make assessments, or predictions. The widespread, justifiable…

As Andrew Winston (co-author of Net Positive) wrote recently: “A banker approached me after a talk and told me that it would be great to invest in the clean economy and other sustainability priorities, but the numbers ‘just don’t pencil out’.” His response: “Yes they do.” Which led me to…

(Originally published March 16, 2022) Remember Mystery Science Theater 3000? Yeah, wacky times. In our house we invented a variant called “Short Attention Span Theater.” It’s wildly on display in modern life. Yeah, wacky times. One way: the inability (or unwillingness) of our mass mediators and churnalists to cover more…

In this strange world we now inhabit in this unimaginable time when the world has stopped and broken When normal is no more when new patterns form and new habits take hold I wonder about the shape of the worlds to come carried by the winds of biology and the wisdom…

The pandemic’s risks arise in at least three dimensions: medical; psychological; social/political. And a challenge arises for each us in one very particular dimension: What do we do now, those of us who don’t hold front-line responsibility for pandemic response? What will we do, and who will we be? I…