Necessary Revolution What does necessary mean The Necessary

Necessary Revolution § What does necessary mean?

The Necessary Revolution The Author § Peter Senge – B. S. in Aerospace Engineering from Stanford University. – While at Stanford, Senge also studied philosophy. – MS in social systems modeling from MIT – Ph. D. from the MIT in 1978. § Director of the Center for Organizational Learning at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and is presently (2005) on the faculty at MIT. § Founding chair of the Society for Organizational Learning (So. L). This organization helps with the communication of ideas between large corporations. § He has had a regular meditation practice since 1996 and began meditating with a trip to Tassajara, a Zen Buddhist monastery § In 1997, Harvard Business Review identified The Fifth Discipline as one of the seminal management books of the previous 75 years. For this work, he was named by Journal of Business Strategy as the 'Strategist of the Century'. They further said that he was one of a very few people who 'had the greatest impact on the way we conduct business today

Links to the Past § Biomimicry/Cradle-to-Cradle/Natural Capitalism – May 25 th Fortune Magazine Paul Hawken – co-author of Natural Capitalism believes companies should integrate biomimicry into their products. He has launched a firm that will make cheap solar panels based in part on how the plant world converts sunlight into energy § When Rivers Run Dry – Coke, Alcoa – Blue Covenant: The Global Water Crisis and the Coming Battle for the Right to Water Maude Barlow § Water should be defined as a human right and public trust § Hot Flat Crowded and The Deep Economy – Systems focus on interdependence and communities

Necessary Revolution § A book with references! § A book that focuses on solutions. – Tools that can be used to make/save money – Tools that can be used to encourage discussion, remove roadblocks, build consensus § Nice flow – brief how we arrived here, followed by systems overview, then tools with mini-case examples, then case examples at the end

Systems Thinking § An approach to problem solving that views problems as part of an overall system and not one person/business’ problem – Chaos can result if you react to the immediate forces and problems around you § Feedback loops are present e. g. , global warming melts ice which reduces reflected light which leads to global warming. § Time delays and amplifications

Systems Thinking § Interdependencies – Issues – people (social, spiritual), profit (costs have gone up e. g. insurance) planet – Solutions – can’t just focus on one solution e. g. , ethanol has led to higher corn prices or deforestation. – Problems – C 02 rises come from multiple sources – Partnerships – innovative solutions will come from NGOs, corporate, academia – Channel members – value chains

Fish Game/Beer Game § The results are almost always the same § Teams focus on themselves and their own objectives § Ignore the impact of their actions on other stakeholders. Although they may, they don’t communicate § Results are catastrophic – Impact of decisions have time delays and amplifications – Bankruptcy, overharvesting and species extermination – Implications for social unrest and starvation

Notable Points Independent Actions and Collaborations § Why? – Risk Management § Head off regulation. Europe’s extended producer § Ensure resource availability – Business Opportunities § Explore new products. GE ecoimagination – NGOs understand may have access to base of the pyramid § § § Attract employees, enhance reputation Save costs It’s mattering to every part of the value chain – Problems are too large and complex for any one company to solve § Coke and WWF – Reactive – Companies need to overcome risk of opening up themselves to scrutiny – NGOs need to overcome risk of being perceived as bought by companies § Unilever and Rainforest Alliance § IKEA and sustainable logging, Nike and apparel makers

The Role For Calpoly What will Calpoly be like if we don’t do anything? How should we govern our “ 1000” acre island? Is Cal Poly slowing their drive south or are they ready to turn around? § We are in a great position – We work with our future – students – We help them learn to think and we now need to help them think differently that will lead to change – We have a lot of leaders who want to be proactive (not reactive or in crisis mode) § Tools used – Seeing reality through others eyes and Building shared commitment § Sustainability meeting in staff dining a year or so ago – Current Status – Prototypes § Solar Home, CSA, Biodiesel, Swanton Ranch § Tools to be used – Building the Case for Change – Hart’s sustainability matrix applied to Cal Poly – How do we break up the efforts between making Cal Poly a sustainable organization and those spent teaching students about sustainability – Learning journals – getting outside and experiencing The quicker we do something the more flexibility we have