Series 2 Preflight Checklist - Introduction

The Hidden Power

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הוסף לפני five שנים

תוכן מסופק על ידי Ed Straw and Philip Tottenham, Ed Straw, and Philip Tottenham. כל תוכן הפודקאסטים כולל פרקים, גרפיקה ותיאורי פודקאסטים מועלים ומסופקים ישירות על ידי Ed Straw and Philip Tottenham, Ed Straw, and Philip Tottenham או שותף פלטפורמת הפודקאסט שלהם. אם אתה מאמין שמישהו משתמש ביצירה שלך המוגנת בזכויות יוצרים ללא רשותך, אתה יכול לעקוב אחר התהליך המתואר כאן https://he.player.fm/legal.

The Agile Brand with Greg Kihlström®

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#669: It's already time to start planning for the holiday shopping season with Carey Cockrum, Cella by Randstad Digital 28:52

לפני 11 ימים28:52

הפעל מאוחר יותר

רשימות

לייק

אהבתי

28:52

Retailers are facing a rapidly evolving landscape where consumer expectations, AI advancements, and social media platforms like TikTok are redefining engagement. It feels like the holiday shopping season just ended, but when do retailers start planning for the next one, and some retailers already behind the curve for this season? Joining us today is Carey Cockrum, Director of Consulting at Cella by Randstad Digital, where she helps major brands and marketing teams optimize their strategies with data-driven insights, AI-powered content creation, and cutting-edge retail marketing trends. With the holidays just around the corner, she’s here to share what’s next for retail marketing, campaign optimization, and how brands can stay ahead in a hyper-competitive space. ABOUT CAREY COCKRUM Carey has been a part of the Creative Agency space for nearly 30 years. She has served as Designer, Creative Director, Creative Operations Lead and Agency Lead in both internal and external agencies (big and small). Carey has worked directly with C-suite stakeholders to understand organizational strategies that inform effective creative solutions. She is a bit of a data nerd and loves demonstrating results. Brands she’s supported include Fruit of the Loom, Wendy’s and Humana. In her free time, she enjoys going back to her creative roots through painting and drawing. She also spends her time improving upon the house she lives in today in Southern, MI - inside and out. RESOURCES Catch the future of e-commerce at eTail Boston, August 11-14, 2025. Register now: https://bit.ly/etailboston and use code PARTNER20 for 20% off for retailers and brands Don't Miss MAICON 2025, October 14-16 in Cleveland - the event bringing together the brights minds and leading voices in AI. Use Code AGILE150 for $150 off registration. Go here to register: https://bit.ly/agile150 Connect with Greg on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gregkihlstrom Don't miss a thing: get the latest episodes, sign up for our newsletter and more: https://www.theagilebrand.show Check out The Agile Brand Guide website with articles, insights, and Martechipedia, the wiki for marketing technology: https://www.agilebrandguide.com The Agile Brand podcast is brought to you by TEKsystems. Learn more here: https://www.teksystems.com/versionnextnow The Agile Brand is produced by Missing Link—a Latina-owned strategy-driven, creatively fueled production co-op. From ideation to creation, they craft human connections through intelligent, engaging and informative content. https://www.missinglink.company…

לפני 4 שנים 21:53

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Welcome to The Hidden Power Podcast, Series 2 - Pre-flight Checklist, where we - Ed Straw, and Philip Tottenham - examine conditions necessary for a comfortable and flourishing life on Spaceship Earth, on the far side of the current climate emergency.

In this nice, concise episode we revisit and draw some of the connections from series one - governance, systems thinking - and explore how, through this medium of a constitution, or "preflight checklist," as we frame it, we can alleviate some of of the pressures we face, and enhance the joys of the apparently unique paradise we find ourselves living on.

Listeners have expressed how much they enjoyed series 1, but still were not clear about what we mean when we talk about systems thinking - so we also try to frame this complex but powerful subject in simple terms.

Any questions or comments? Please email us at thehiddenpowerpodcast@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

46 פרקים

#Society #Politics #Conversations #News #Government #Ed Straw and Philip Tottenham #Ed Straw #Philip Tottenham #Power #Think #Action Enquiry #Social Learning #Activism #Astip #Leadership #Compassionate Communities

Series 2 Preflight Checklist - Introduction

The Hidden Power

published לפני 4 שנים

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Any questions or comments? Please email us at thehiddenpowerpodcast@gmail.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

46 פרקים

כל הפרקים

The Hidden Power

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Special Episode - Old Tory 36:08

לפני 45 weeks36:08

36:08

"There's a class war alright," chirruped Investor Warren Buffet recently, "But it's our class making war on yours. And we're winning." It reminded me of the Lao Tsu, where he says that the Way of Heaven is to take from those with excess, and give to those who do not have enough. "The way of man is different," the sage quips. "He takes from those who have nothing, in order to give to those who already have too much." When did the worm turn? When did the liberal centrist consensus become this nightmare of neo-feudalism? How did the Tories, in particular, drift from their one-nation, Compassionate Conservatism to the libertarian bandits who rarely miss an opportunity to darken our media with stirring xenophobia, and hallucinations of Getting Things Done? Was this written into economic neoliberalism from the outset? In this episode we rehearse the history and make some observations, not least the upcoming opportunity to vote. Talking Points: Some context of the Centrist Consensus How the worm turned: Brexit Empire and Old Tory Feudalism in Britain and Russia The Thermocline of Truth: erosion of the middle class The Irish answer to Neoliberalism and inequality Will they ever learn? Links: Ed's Cris de Couer - Old Tory Start the Week - Left Behind But Not Forgotten Ireland and Neoliberalism - David Mc Williams Podcast John Pilger - Governments and Media roles in War Propaganda | The War You Don't See - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mDuxFnn2RY Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Special Episode: Democratic Yorkshire 52:33

לפני 1 year52:33

52:33

In this special edition of The Hidden Power podcast for Democratic Yorkshire , Philip Tottenham talks with Ed Straw, and Professor Malcolm Prowle on the subject of the day and panacea England's ills - Regionalisation. Talking Points: - The experience of government: consultancy, Thatcher, Blair, powerlessness at the centre of power - Problems with centralisation. How we experience it. - Devolved parliaments and regions. Wales, Switzerland, Germany - How this might look for Yorkshire. Some of the challenges and pitfalls. - What’s the next step? Talking about it. Taking an interest. The long road ahead. Links: Wikipedia on Regionalism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regionalism_(politics) Localism - a tangible route to Regionalisation: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Localism_(politics)#:~:text=Localism%20can%20also%20refer%20to,power%20becoming%20centralized%20over%20time. From the time of the Scottish referendum on independence: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/sep/17/scotland-independence-referendum-england-counties-devolution Widely respected community action group Locality : https://locality.org.uk/ Some links from Malcolm: Has Devolution Worked - a 2019 Institute for Government report reflecting on the first Twenty years: https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/sites/default/files/publications/has-devolution-worked-essay-collection-FINAL.pdf Some reflections on Government dysfunction (Malcolm Prowle, LinkedIn): https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7130931236369231874/ Ed Balls and others on regional inequality in the UK for the Centre for Economic Policy Research https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/how-tackle-uks-regional-economic-inequality-focus-stem-transport-and-innovation From Ed: Northern Independence Party: https://www.freethenorth.co.uk/ourfuture Charter to End Westminster Rule : https://citizen-network.org/library/charter-to-end-westminster-rule.html A Nation Trapped Inside England (YouTube): https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=C2DFTj0Ot2o Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Is God the Biosphere? - 6 - Sense-Making 32:49

לפני 3 years32:49

32:49

Philosophy, famously, will not get the washing up done. And it will not fix the crises of climate and biodiversity. So what can I do? An individual amongst Billions? In economics, a basic unit is - The Household. And while economics tracks the flows of goods and services, it is striking that both goods and services require energy and other resources. Therefore The Household is an important unit to think about in terms of how we metabolise - exhaust and pollute - the planet. Confronted with countries and large companies, we all have recourse to wringing our hands - but the Household is a strikingly accessible unit for pretty much everyone. So - having surveyed, in Series 1, Proof of Concept, just how effective Systems Thinking can be; having rehearsed in Series 2 Preflight Checklist the principles that would see us through the climate and biodiversity crises; having explored in Series 3 - Is God the Biosphere? - how making the Biosphere a central partner in our governance systems requires us to rethink our religious demeanour - what next? Given our relative entrapment in what are in many ways systems of extraction and poisoning, what levers might be available to a Household to minimise harm while maximising the best life has to offer? This episode is a call to action to all our listeners - Can you articulate your household constitution? Can you produce a suitable systems map of the flow of goods, services and ideas passing under your roof? Send your household constitutions and household systems maps to thehiddenpowerpodcast@gmail.com or tweet a link to Ed @EdAStraw - we are v excited to see what people have to show, and will set up a Google Doc to exhibit any responses. Talking points: Model of change in the 1850's Convening as accessible - Systems convening event SCIO - t https://youtu.be/vdohTndxWSM Our innate Systems Sensibility, governance as adequate development and mental health Religion, science, commerce, a moral code - and consumer power The migration from past state to future state - in increments - awareness beyond the bin The power of collective action - The Preston Model https://www.uclan.ac.uk/articles/research/preston-model-community-wealth-building https://cles.org.uk/publications/how-we-built-community-wealth-in-preston-achievements-and-lessons/ Family constitutions: some relevant points - News media: Preferential Lobbying (articles) voting Proportional Representation (podcast) https://theconversation.com/how-to-express-yourself-if-you-want-others-to-cooperate-with-you-new-research-182705 thehiddenpowerpodcast@gmail.com Ed @EdAStraw Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Is God the Biosphere? - 5 - Superstition 26:21

לפני 3 years26:21

26:21

It is no secret that the various tribes and bubbles of our world have wildly differing beliefs about things. Why can't people just accept the truth? But the truth is so contentious. And framing is so contentious. And all these people seem to have the most outlandish superstitions. An abiding feature of these podcasts, as we've highlighted many times, is this thing called Systems Thinking , and while this is a broad enough discipline to be fairly tribal in its own right, one key feature of this Systems Thinking is thinking about your thinking. In this episode we review some of the things in normal western life that have the character of superstition, and explore to what extent our innate capacity for gullibility and naïvity might be used to our advantage, in evolving a more constructive mindset; in connecting better with Nature, and specifically in nurturing the health of our habitat. Talking Points: An experience with a palm reader The power of belief and ritual in performance Listener comments - a bishop, a yogi, and a reflection on who we are Some superstitions - recognisable, and hidden Like Science - eg impact of false HRT Study warning cancer To what extent are your superstitions working for you? Heuristics and humility regarding knowledge Good and bad fairy-tales What you do and what you think about it Whatever gets you through the night We all need superstitions Faith as an alternative to cynicism Faith in your own human system Faith in our project of a viable habitat The Good Place - it's impossible to be "Good" The system is fundamentally bad The challenge is bigger than all of us And that is why we need faith in a higher power to sustain us Links: Fundamentalism as a superstition about text: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/a/armstrong-battle.html?_r=1&oref=slogin On the placebo effect: https://www.health.harvard.edu/mental-health/the-power-of-the-placebo-effect On a scientific Truth that turned out to be untrue - HRT and cancer - https://www.nursingtimes.net/clinical-archive/cancer-clinical-archive/study-linking-hrt-to-breast-cancer-was-wrong-26-01-2012/ William James (Philosopher and psychologist) On pragmatism: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James#Pragmatism_and_%22cash_value%22 On the Variety of Religious Experience (Wikipedia preçis) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_James#Philosophy_of_religion Timothy Morton: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timothy_Morton#Ecological_theory Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Is God the Biosphere? - 4 - Rituals 33:39

לפני 3 years33:39

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The late Ken Robinson, in one of his TED talks, tells the story of a child who was drawing with wild strokes. The teacher asked - What are you drawing? And the child replied "God". The teacher said, "But nobody knows what God looks like." And the child said, "Well. They will in a minute." Badum Tshhhh. Last week we explored what people are talking about when the talk about gods. But for most people, this is a secondary aspect of religion - the primary aspect being the rituals. So what are rituals, and why are they so powerful? In this episode we look at some rituals, religious, secular, useful, destructive, and start to imagine what rituals might help us to place the biosphere at the pinnacle of our aspirations. Talking Points: Listener Email - A moral revolution is possible Rituals. What are they? Ablutions, Jewish weddings, Christian signs of peace Conscious and unconscious rituals in daily life: focus and distraction Positioning the biosphere and political will Rituals of nurturing and kindness Waste is an affront to nature, not wasting feels good Gods - conscious and unconscious Addiction and deification Human power - like a bull in a china shop Possible futures Possible rituals - the 12 step recovery process as a route out of the addiction system When things change, we'll be happier! Habits as the b-side of ritual - and their power Getting past the Doom Bar - learning to love stress Links: Peter Oborne - the Triumph of the Political Class (review/Guardian) https://www.theguardian.com/books/2007/sep/30/politics Water and religion ( incl Ablutions) - BBC podcast "How Water Shaped Us" - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5NURa5GgoD7PxTzJQNrjzG?si=0hgb5f6hQkuo4Oc_XbleqA The 12 Step Program (Wikipedia) - main points: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program Dr Alia Crum on mindsets Excellent paper on the subject: https://mbl.stanford.edu/sites/g/files/sbiybj9941/f/2014_mindful_stress_chpt_crumlyddy_handbook_of_mindfulness.pdf And podcast on mindsets in general,( 1:04:50 - The three step process: 1 Acknowledge; 2 Welcome; 3 Utilise): https://open.spotify.com/episode/3ELdxrMTQum8E4ulpMSb2J?si=HGPXTCRiR9ykMy-UOdn2qw&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A79CkJF3UJTHFV8Dse3Oy0P The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Wikipedia summary): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_7_Habits_of_Highly_Effective_People Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Is God the Biosphere? - 3 - The Nature and Meaning of God 25:02

לפני 3 years25:02

25:02

What are we talking about, when we talk about God? There's no doubt that something has been lost with the pervasive decline of religion in the modern world. Society is fractured. We lack a shared framework. We're tired of trying to work everything out. It's easier just to avoid thinking at all. Which is in some ways the point of religion - to avoid having to reinvent the wheel when it comes to purpose and morality. In its absence, we are adrift. Here at the Hidden Power Podcast one thing has been clear all along: we need to put the Biosphere at the centre of our governance models, and as Lynne White proposed over Fifty years ago - religion may be the key. What is a governance model, if not the prioritising of what is important? In this episode, Ed sets out various ideas about God, laying them against the Biosphere like a series of well-formed suits. Talking points: Context of this episode: nature in its maternal aspect What are we talking about when we talk about God Some theologies - Scott Littleton, Monotheism, Carl Jung Worship is for the Worshipper Gods as forces of nature, as the highest thing Explanation - God vs Science God as unifying moral compass The symbol of human value Spirit - team spirit Faith - God as purpose, God as love Accountability - God, People Communication - the golden rule and the biosphere God the fixer and the prime minister of Australia Deism vs Pantheism What is God? Why can't He be the biosphere? Links Erasmus https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erasmus#The_first_translation Scott Littleton on God https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deity Carl Jung https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung - read by Alan Watts, shortly after Jung's passing in 1961 (YouTube) https://youtu.be/15pjQRA80bs Accountability buddies (NY Times) https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/08/well/live/habits-health.html A workable version of pantheism (podcast): https://open.spotify.com/episode/7w2IJE332ztKAnglGjxohf?si=iFn5qW9eQO68jr-IC150VA&context=spotify%3Ashow%3A6NOJ6IkTb2GWMj1RpmtnxP Water and God (The Compass - podcast) https://www.airr.io/episode/605aae14439f559d6a5c52f0 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Is God the Biosphere? - 2 - The Power of Nature 30:42

לפני 3 years30:42

30:42

We left off at the end of the last episode wondering what might make the Biosphere a compelling object for our attention; this in the context of the all-too-human reality of our challenges - the tragedy of the commons, the addiction system, the psychological imperative of avoidance. In listening back over this episode, I'm reminded of two things: one, Edmund in King Lear - "Thou, Nature, art my Goddess!" And the other, Fidel Castro: if he was to go through the revolution again, he said, he would select just twelve highly committed comrades - echoing, no doubt, the twelve disciples of Christian mythology. In this episode we start to feel our way into our relationship with the Biosphere. In particular Ed takes a cue from Lynne White, who argued in the 1960's that Western religion was a root cause of environmental degradation, but - controversial! - a religious way of thinking might be the way out. Talking Points - Context: the Tragedy of the Commons, the Addiction System, Avoidance etc We are an emergent property: nature is an absolute, there's no escape But the relationship has broken down. How can we restore it? Lynne White and Environmental Ethics, Human Ecology and Beliefs What is religion? Was there a good idea behind Christianity? Earth Mother as a mind-set Purpose and fly-fishing on the Danube Nature as a hedonistic giver Biophilic design What should we give to nature? The two way relationship Biomes Purpose and change in organisations Links Article on Lynne White in Nature : https://ecoevocommunity.nature.com/posts/14041-the-long-reach-of-lynn-white-jr-s-the-historical-roots-of-our-ecologic-crisis Original (pdf): https://www.cmu.ca/faculty/gmatties/lynnwhiterootsofcrisis.pdf Jesus - a Buddhist Monk - YouTube/ BBC https://youtu.be/FsN4zE2yilo Kindness is the opposite of stress (Dr. David R. Hamilton) https://drdavidhamilton.com/kindness-is-the-opposite-of-stress/ And podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/a-scientists-case-for-woo-woo/id1081584611?i=1000548804097 - Biophilic design - Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biophilic_design Video 8 mins- sound cuts out between 0:45 and 2:05, but still interesting: https://youtu.be/MJ6fbYz-x04 Fly-fishing on the Danube (BBC): https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0015qj3/earths-great-rivers-ii-series-1-2-danube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Is God the Biosphere? - 1 - Avoidance And The Addiction System 37:00

לפני 3 years37:00

37:00

When we finished series 2 - Preflight Checklist - one thing was clear, any governance for Spaceship Earth going forward must put the Biosphere at the centre. Governance models from households, up through companies and countries, to international bodies must include the Biosphere as their central partner. So far, perhaps, so obvious. We know we need to act, and in many cases, we know what we need to do. But it's not happening. We just can't seem to muster sufficient focus. In Series 3 - Is God the Biosphere? - we interrogate this state of play. In this episode we introduce the background and take a look a the systemic straight-jackets that contain us - politically, economically, psychologically - in a kind of trap that makes it almost impossible to avoid feeding the beast. But this is not doom and gloom, not at all. As we constantly reiterate, Change Is Possible - this is our purpose. And there can be no effective change without a frank assessment of reality, so this is where we start. And then. As the series progresses, we will explore the tranquil jungles of possibility, armed with the question: What, exactly, would make the Biosphere a compelling object for our attention? Talking Points: The attractions of Systems Thinking, and what it is The challenge - Biodiversity Revisited Urgency of IPCC report: what does Systems Thinking have to contribute? Why has the biosphere not proved a compelling object for our attention? 1 - The Tragedy of The Commons: shortsightedness 2 - The Global Addiction System: The monetary system, and the Technosphere 3 - Avoidance: The doom bar, the scale of the challenge, the vast constituency of the very rich, the fantasies Links: Biodiversity Revisited: https://luchoffmanninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/biodiversity-revisited-research-agenda-2020.pdf IPCC Summary - (MIT Technology Review) https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/04/1048832/un-climate-report-carbon-removal-is-now-essential/?truid=&utm_source=the_download&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=the_download.unpaid.engagement&utm_term=&utm_content=04-05-2022&mc_cid=1ab39c4971&mc_eid=24fa1486a0 Original Peter Haff article describing the Technosphere - Technology as a Geological Phenomenon: Implications for Human Well-Being : https://pne.people.si.umich.edu/PDF/Haff%202013%20Technology%20as%20a%20Geological%20Phenomenon.pdf Epic sweep of monetary system (book review): https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/the-financial-system-is-supposed-to-serve-the-economy--not-harm-it/2019/12/26/59c26028-1d0c-11ea-8d58-5ac3600967a1_story.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Check 26 - Companies - The Transition 40:25

לפני 4 years40:25

40:25

26. In transitioning from polluting to non-polluting activities, communities and companies shall be supported fairly. We have finally arrived to this episode, and this crucial check in our pre-flight checklist, as if through layers of an onion to its core, and yet - its as though we have arrived back where we started. It’s about the people. A good example of what not to do, in transitioning communities to the new economy, is simply shutting coal mines. This is what happened under Margaret Thatcher in Britain in the 1980’s, and many communities have never recovered. Glasgow, one-time ship-builder to the empire, lost ground to more dynamic economies around the world and for many years languished in economic depression - but in recent years has experienced a cultural renaissance. Could this have been brought about without the years of pain? Of course it could, and in this episode we rehearse these and other examples to see what is possible, and take a deep dive into the question of mind-set. Talking Points: Shipping as a case study People, feelings, abandoned communities Proportions and emotional impact of climate crisis Technosphere: human context Five stages of grief, communities and politics Individual acts, collective acts The need for political leadership Transition in Glasgow Coal miners eg. in Poland Change in organisations Links: Timothy Morton extracts , and wikipedia - Five stages of Grief (Kubler Ross Model) - look out for the visualisations Peter Haff - full paper on the Technosphere: Technology as a geological phenomenon: implications for human well-being David Pocock, rugby player and activist George Monbiot on mobilisation Zapatista Principles Clips: Gordon Brown saves the world financial system (48:00) Greta Thunberg goes to Poland to talk coal (15:10) Simon Sinek on the Law of Diffusion of Innovation (10:56) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Check 25 - Companies - Systems Thinking 31:16

לפני 4 years31:16

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25. Systemic inquiry shall accompany investment commitments in the technosphere; thereafter, end-to-end producer responsibility applies. Throughout Preflight Checklist , and our previous series Proof of Concept we have placed great hope on Systems Thinking. What is that, again? Yes, trying to see systems in their totality - but also: humility with regards to knowledge. In this case, rather than assuming you know enough (Facebook: "move fast and break things") to chuck out products and see how they boom, bust or blow up; instead, armed with this humility, and with eyes and ears open to the variety of impacted perspectives, companies can move more deftly and discretely to create sustainable, durable designs. Disruption, moving fast and breaking things, asking for forgiveness and not for permission, creating minimum viable products and trying them out on The Market - these things are fetishised in our intensely consumerist and wealth-focussed version of capitalism. And because importance is mainly attached to economies, economics and money, we are acculturated to the restrictive dimensions of this perspective. But such reductionism has landed us with outcomes we know well: the climate and biodiversity crisis, massive inequality, and more besides. It's not enough to wring our hands and look to the market in hope that an answer will appear - it hasn't so far. So we're back to the rails - constitutional change - and with this principle, a principle both of humility and an approach to reality, we have an important pre-flight check, as it were, for any durable, sustainable, economic activity. Talking Points: Technosphere, Investment Commitments, Systems Thinking Increased urbanisation as symbolic The internet creates monopolies Systems Thinking Design Principles, Dieter Rams Good intentions vs. Accountability Uber and The London Assembly: City pushes Back The casualisation of labour Airbnb and communities Links: On the Technosphere, Jan Zalaceiwicz ( Guardian, 2015 ) references Peter Haff, who coined the term for his 2013 paper - well worth a click, if only to read the abstract. McKinsey on The Business Value of Design (2018) Dieter Rams' - 10 Principles of Good Design (Wikipedia) On the casualisation of labour - "I could have been a somebody... instead of a bum, which is what I am." Marlon Brando On The Waterfront (1954 - IMDB trailer, 01:35): Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Check 24 - Companies - Information 26:06

לפני 4 years26:06

26:06

24. Company duty to inform: For each product or service, consumers shall be informed of the biosphere and human impact of its sourcing, manufacture, distribution, and post-use treatment. As consumers, we have more power than we might think. We not only vote with our wallets, but our consumption is conspicuous, and contributes to setting a tone across society - and this is a secondary and perhaps more powerful effect. And change is possible - look at how perception of veganism has shifted, in a relatively short amount of time, from being seen as a fringe activity paraded by the pious few, to a reasonable and accepted option for the main stream, who are now interested in personal and planet health. In thinking about this episode, three things struck me. Firstly - out of sight, out of mind. Beautiful products mask less beautiful realities involved in their creation. To make choices, we need to know about them. Secondly, the scale of the challenge. The vastness of it. When you research and think about the some industrial activities, the sheer scale of it is staggering. And thirdly - it's the job of the system to shove the big picture right in people's faces: if information is clear and present at the point of decision - which, for products means the point of purchase - then consumer choices are not only more straight-forward, but there is potential for a major shift in standards, both for us, and for our world. Talking points: This is not a guilt trip: it's about free choice Neo-freudian advertising and marketing Oil fields the size of France, undersea mining the size of Europe This principle is very simple: it's about attention It's not just the system, there's also just bad practice The world can't run on company lies Labelling can make the difference: it tells you what you are doing Carbon trading, bio-fuels and true effects Styles of labelling: medicine info, tobacco images, energy ratings Fourth separation of powers: holding large companies to account Gaming in the system - civil society, the media and change The other 25 principles will provide a strong context The Freedom Pollute in context: as a last freedom Systems thinking meets governance Links: Earthtime story on undersea mining (2019). View on a desktop, requires patience and engagement - but will be rewarded in spades: https://earthtime.org/stories/ocean_mining Other Earthtime stories: https://earthtime.org/#stories Economist podcast on the environment: https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2021/09/20/to-a-lesser-degree-a-new-climate-podcast-from-the-economist Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Check 23 - Companies - The Circularity 24:22

לפני 4 years24:22

24:22

End-to-end producer responsibility: Producers are responsible for all impacts of their activities and products, from raw material extraction to product recycling/disposal. There's no doubt that a single company can create and inspire change. But if all producers up and down the supply chain, and indeed across the economy, are holding each other accountable for all impacts by virtue of this principle, then we really do have the potential see the kinds of changes we need on a grand - global - scale. Effectively, a feedback loop. And let's not forget what Einstein had to say about about another feedback loop, compound income: it's "the most powerful force in the universe". In this episode we see in Fast Fashion Brand Boohoo a case in point of many of the things we have been talking about: the Global Monetary System at work, almost blindly driving profit, with scant regard for its vast impacts in human and ecological terms. And failure of consumer power, and tension between activist censure and investor appetite. In contrast we also consider Renault, a company that is embracing complete re-use and recycling. What would complete circularity look like? Talking points: The limits of limited liability Out of sight, out of mind - we don't want to know Fast fashion, Boohoo - and the Global Monetary System Contributory factors in the development of fast fashion Extended Producer Responsibility Plotting the chain - gouging and dumping vs circular process iPhones and the truth of supply chains Is this a basis on which the world wants to work? Renault transitioning to the new economy - PACE Respect and the biosphere Nature vs consumer culture Ethos and company culture as something accessible Community as a part of good business and good branding Neo-liberalism means - take and don't care Links Business of Fashion Podcast: https://www.businessoffashion.com/podcasts Greta Thunberg BBC series: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p099f58d/episodes/player PACE - Platform forAccelerating the Circular Economy https://pacecircular.org Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_producer_responsibility UK Govt/ recent DEFRA EPR Consultation: https://consult.defra.gov.uk/extended-producer-responsibility/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging/ ...+ consultation document pdf (06.2021/ 213 pages): https://consult.defra.gov.uk/extended-producer-responsibility/extended-producer-responsibility-for-packaging/supporting_documents/23.03.21%20EPR%20Consultation.pdf Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

1
Check 22 - Companies - Purpose 27:34

לפני 4 years27:34

27:34

Companies shall act in the interests of people, and the biosphere. As we've mentioned in recent episodes, from the standpoint of the biosphere, humanity's existence is felt primarily through industrialisation. Resource extraction, pollution, as well as much monoculture in agriculture have taken their toll on both the biosphere and many of the people it supports. Indeed, while populations have been increasingly "farmed" over the decades, the characterisation by technology companies of humanity as end-users to be addicted and data to be mined is an obvious extension of this outlook. And these exploitations are often the preserve not of individual people but of companies, with their diffuse networks of responsibility and "the corporate veil." But things could be different. In this episode we re-imagine the role of companies in our world as inverted: from the current slavishness to the global monetary system and its obfuscating pipework of corporate ownership - to something that privileges human value in the context of our life-support system, the biosphere. Talking Points: Picking apart the principle: the real is almost the reverse of the ideal The corporate veil as central to the current version of capitalism The ethical drift in corporate behaviour over the last several decades Free-flowing capital before and after WW2: neoliberalism This is not an insurmountable problem: we can reinvent the system Crystallising public opinion Tomorrow's Company - since the 1980's A case in point: demutualisation of AA and RAC, submission to global monetary system Design- and Systems thinking vs the pressures of neo-liberalism: Other "tomorrow's companies" - The Body Shop - hinges on structures of ownership Japanese management in manufacturing: raising the global standard through competitive pressure W Edwards Deming Consumer power, shareholder power and greenwashing Paying the true cost is possible - if you can afford it Flooding brought people together, and they never felt happier What is it to be human? Community is a big part of it But also: diversity of experience within the community - or company Aligning the word Company with what it means Links: Alternative search engine to Google: Ecosia. They plant trees: https://www.ecosia.org W. Edwards Deming: "Deming's teachings and philosophy are clearly illustrated by examining the results they produced after they were adopted by Japanese industry:" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming Limited Liability - brief history: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limited_liability#History The Corporate Veil (wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piercing_the_corporate_veil Global Monetary System: "Leading financial journalist Martin Wolf has reported that all financial crises since 1971 have been preceded by large capital inflows into affected regions:" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_monetary_system The origins of "Tomorrow's Company" stem from a lecture given in 1990 by Charles Handy, Chairman of the UK’s RSA (Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce) on the question ‘What is a Company For?’. This led to the inquiry ‘Tomorrow’s Company – the role of business in a changing world’, led by Sir Anthony Cleaver, then Chairman of IBM, which culminated in a report of the same name published in 1995. Here's the original report from the RSA: https://www.tomorrowscompany.com/publication/rsa-inquiry-tomorrows-company-the-role-of-business-in-a-changing-world/ Its current incarnation, 30 years later - https://www.tomorrowscompany.com - Still interesting and forward looking, although their prioritising away from society and toward the embrace of disruptive innovation diverges from our ideal of systems thinking: "[...]In 2016, in the light of all the organisation’s learning and experience in working with companies and investors, Tomorrow’s Company report, UK Business: What’s Wrong? What’s Next? restated [their definition of a Tomorrow's Company as three principles. These are: A purpose beyond profit and a set of values that are lived through the behaviours of all employees to create a self-reinforcing culture; Collaborative and reciprocal relationships with key stakeholders – a strong focus on customer satisfaction, employee engagement and, where possible, collaboration with suppliers, alongside working with society; and A long-term approach that embraces risk – investing long term and embracing disruptive innovation. Community energy companies and projects http://awel.coop/ This is the largest employee owned company in Scotland: https://homecarescotland.co.uk/ Profiting from Integrity - Alan Barlow (book) https://www.waterstones.com/book/profiting-from-integrity/alan-barlow/9781138090613 There are quite a few surveys of staff as the best places to work (although - what these surveys show and mask is up for debate), e.g. for tech companies: https://blog.greatplacetowork.co.uk/uk-best-tech-companies-to-work-for Quakers Businesses - "Quakers didn't wring every last penny out of a business so they were appealing companies to be taken over." [ie - with the dawn of neoliberalism in the 1980's] - it looks like the great myth of Quaker businesses has struggled to stand the tests of neoliberalism: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-17112572 Couldn't find a list of Quaker company principles - rather, it seems they held each other accountable in the context of how they conducted their meetings. Forbes Magazine says: "..During early Quaker meetings, "the business activities of their members were scrutinized by their peers, not only for their soundness but also to ensure that the interests of the broader community--not just the Quakers--were protected,"...The Quaker congregation "would stand behind the activities of members who were in good standing, and if one of them got into trouble, they would supervise the liquidation of the business and make good the deficit." https://www.forbes.com/2009/10/09/quaker-business-meetings-leadership-society-friends.html Quaker Companies. Predictably enough, Quaker Oats was never a Quaker company. "This is a list of notable businesses, organizations or charities founded by Quakers . Many of these are no longer managed or influenced by Quakers. At the end of the article are businesses that have never had any connection to Quakers [3, to be precise - the first being Quaker Oats], although some people may believe that they did or still do." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Quaker_businesses,_organizations_and_charities Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Special Episode - September 2021 - Autumnal Thinking 41:50

לפני 4 years41:50

41:50

The start of a new season is a good time to take stock, and as we look forward to the next series, on companies, we reflect on where we are now, nearly a year after the launch of The Hidden Power Podcast, on October 11th, 2020. But who has time to reflect? These turbulent years have been eclipsed by another Summer of wild fires and wilder floods, as the climate crisis begins to bite - presenting an appalling, stunning spectacle of human tragedy. So we have the IPCC report, with it's Code Red for humanity. And then there's Afghanistan, which one struggles to adequately describe. In this special episode, we assess the accelerating climate disaster and take a clear-eyed look at what next month's COP26 Conference in Glasgow has to offer. We have a think about whether the UK's "Levelling Up" can have any more meaning than previous political slogans like "Northern Powerhouse" or "Compassionate Conservatism". We also take a look at the storied link between war and business - and see yet again the dark fact of government capture at work. With all this darkness, we also look forward for some light. In the final series of our Preflight Checklist we will be examining the role of companies in shifting our societies to a sustainably happy future. Talking points: The IPCC Report The COP26 Conference Afghanistan and Preferential Lobbying Dominic Cummings Is Apparently Still Relevant Michael Gove is The Minister of Levelling Up - will he fake it or make it? What is working in Systems Thinking? Deliberative schema: DAD and EDD We Need To Talk About Companies. Links Structures and systems and thinking (Youtube, 10 minutes into an hour) https://youtu.be/A3P5XJJVN3I Here’s the Big issue piece explaining why the supermarket shelves are often empty, and why HGV drivers are scarce - fed up with being treated as low lifes https://www.bigissue.com/news/inside-the-uk-food-shortages-why-nandos-and-sainsburys-are-running-out/ Here’s a piece on the futility of the war in afghanistan https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/08/what-i-learned-while-eavesdropping-on-the-taliban/619807/ And here is a piece on what it cost and where some of it went: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/sep/11/us-afghanistan-iraq-defense-spending Foreign intervention (article, behind paywall): https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n16/charles-glass/hush-hush-boom-boom 'In 2011, as Obama was considering what action to take in Syria, some of his advisers urged him to support the rebels. Before making up his mind, Obama commissioned a report on the history of US covert operations. Robert Malley, then Obama’s Middle East adviser and now President Biden’s negotiator with Iran, read the CIA’s classified report. It was, he told me in 2019, a litany of failure. ‘I think there were one or two, out of I don’t know how many tens of cases, where you could, at a limit, say that there was a success by working through opposition proxies.’ The vast majority of the CIA’s secret wars had backfired, from Albania in the late 1940s through Angola in the 1980s to Afghanistan in the 1990s. Despite this, Obama ordered the CIA to arm and instruct militants in Turkey and Jordan under a programme that permits such activities in defence of American national security. The outcome was both predictable and tragic: the insurgents failed to overthrow Assad and Islamic State emerged.’ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

The Hidden Power

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Thought for the Summer 1:54

לפני 4 years1:54

1:54

We're off for the Summer! But - I found a great quote on the great _nitch instagram this morning, by the writer James Baldwin, who seems to be almost uniquely articulate when it comes to things that really matter. So I thought I'd read it out. We've finished the Governments section of our Preflight Checklist series - basically, a constitution to save the world - and in September we'll be back, tackling what seems to be at the heart of human activity from the standpoint of the planet - Companies . How should we think about them? What do companies look like on a sustainable planet? Find out in these last six episodes of Preflight Checklist, coming this September wherever you find your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.…

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