LESSON: To work in the 21st century, we need to navigate through complex challenges and implement radical changes. To thrive, we need resilience, continuous learning, interconnectivity, creativity, discipline, innovation and courage.
About the speakers & Mediation:
Mediator: Cassia Moraes, Youth Climate Leaders
Special participation: Fritjof Capra, Scientist and Educator Activist
Speakers:
Alex Bretas: writer, designer of self-directed learning communities, singer in his spare time.
Tom Moore: managing Director of Mandalah Innovation Consultants
Fritjof Capra presented a quick and systemic analysis of the pandemic. In his opinion, the pandemic is a biological response of Gaia, our living planet, to the ecological and social emergency that humanity has brought to itself. Massive intrusions into ecosystems have fragmented the web of life. Viruses that live in symbiosis with other animals and cause them no harm are reaching humans in a deadly way as a consequence of that. The health crisis is walking side by side with the economic and social crisis, and now social injustice is no longer a political debate, but a matter of life and death. On the other hand, the climate crisis is the biggest threat against humanity. And when the world stopped due the pandemic, ecosystems quickly flourished again, and the COVID-19 has already been more effective in reducing the emissions of CO2 than all the world's policy initiatives combined. This doesn't mean that we want to continue to live in the current situation. We achieved that and reduced our emissions by radically reducing human activity. We could achieve that same result by radically changing human activities. The world's COVID-19 response has shown us what is possible when people realize that lives are at stake. Will we have the wisdom and the political will to apply this to the climate crisis? If we are successful on this, future historians will conclude that the COVID-19 crisis may have saved humanity from extinction.
Alex stated that formal education is not being able to teach us how to deal with complex challenges, such as climate change, for example, that is innovative and transdisciplinary. Therefore the main trend to work in the future is becoming life-long and self-directed learners: that means knowing how to seek and create opportunities, understanding that they are the result of experience, people, empathy, networking and other resources. And do this in a continuous way, always updating and reshaping our knowledge and our connections with our community. To finalize, he listed with his community a list with 10 core skills or essential virtues to help us achieve our personal and professional goals: self-balance, empathy, courage, community building, trust, authenticity, creativity, influence, curiosity and self-directed learning. These skills are important not only to be hired, but also to have a meaningful life and tackle real and global challenges in an effective way.
Tom spoke about the wish of organizations to innovate. But if not done consciously, it can be really harmful for them, and create either toxic values or products that flop in the market and take them to failure. If businesses want to thrive in the future and make conscious innovation, there must be a symbiosis of profit and purpose, there is no trade off between profit and social value. Observing young people, they already acknowledge that, but do not know how to put in practice yet. This is understandable, as migrating to truly put purpose in practice is not an easy task: it requires practice, discipline, time and courage. But if done correctly, businesses can be profitable and help the world in dealing with complex challenges, and create an environment of innovation at the same time they take care of the team and concretely make the world a better place. Conducting an effective and innovative culture is mostly, among many other things, a mix of generosity, of taking really good care of the people, but at the same time holding each other to high standards and not letting that slip, making them responsible and accountable for their actions. A mix of rational and emotional that can no longer be denied in the future of organizations, and also provide a sense of belonging, as organizations are also changing and becoming more fluid -- we are living in a digital and interconnected world, and communities and organizations are merging to become one. Creating a place where people can be themselves and their best gives the organizations more chance to thrive in the future and deal with the digital transition and the other crises that are coming ahead, as Frederic Lalou brought in his book "Reinventing Organizations".
See the record of the talk below:
About the Day of the Climate Professional:
The Day of the Climate Professional (DCP), celebrated on November 24, is an annual date to celebrate and catalyse the professionals accelerating solutions to the climate crisis. The 2020 inaugural edition was marked by an all-day virtual summit—networking activities, workshops, keynote presentations, interactive Q&As, and more—fostering reflections and actions on the interdisciplinary of climate change, its urgency, and the importance of working to tackle it through varied professions and sectors of society. Learn More.
