There is a lot of talking about systems thinking, and how it can help to unlock sustainable solutions. 

But because of its very nature, systems thinking is difficult to grasp. 

We are so used to seeking just one solution or one explanation to a problem, but nothing in life (let alone in sustainability) works like that.

I find the Iceberg Model a really good initial approach to systems thinking.

When for instance we are thinking of changing careers (an event), what patterns do we need to put in place to make it happen? It could be changing the way we do things, perhaps in the way we look for work, how often we do it, where we look for it etc.

Underneath, we might discover that the specific actions we take (or we don't take!) are influenced by other factors, perhaps the networks we belong to, the social media platforms we use, and the systems we use. What happens if we expand our thinking to different networks, different social media structures, or different systems?

And, digging deeper, what do we really believe about our quest to find work in sustainability? 

That it's difficult, or that we are not knowledgeable enough, or that because we don't know enough people or we are not charismatic enough it isn't going to happen for us?

How can understanding (and reframing if necessary) our deeply ingrained beliefs and values change the outcomes we want?

Just Google (or Ecosia) "discourses of climate delay" and you'll see how many creatives have put their art at work to illustrate the massive BS excuses we get fed every single day:

The "passing the baton" of responsibility to individuals.

The defeatist doom-ism.

The belittling of activists' efforts and worries...

See below a fab poster I found that summarises them all really well. 

Why is this important for you?

Because if a client (or a family member... I've heard some of these coming from family before!) dishes out (knowingly or unknowingly) one of these excuses not to adopt sustainability, you can respond accordingly - if you do your research beforehand.

If you don't know WHAT to say, please spare a few minutes to watch these two short videos I found on LinkedIn which summarise perfectly the status quo and what we can do:

Al Gore on why there is so little political progress on the climate crisis

George Monbiot on how we can change the system

Have you ever considered at what stage of their sustainability journey your clients or audience are?

When you approach a new client, you might quickly establish whether they have any sustainability/environmental knowledge at all. You might be lucky and they might already have had experience of it and know their stuff.

But today I invite you to consider at which specific stage of their sustainability journey they are right now. 

The stages can be roughly split into three:

🗑️ Rejection / Denial

✅ Compliance / Risk mitigation / Opportunity maximisation

🦋 Proactivity / Transformation

Your mission will be to take them from one stage to the next. This way, your progress will be measurable and the results more obvious.

In the illustration below, which I drew for my book SustainABLE by adapting content from a Cranfield University paper, I also mapped what an organisation need to think about when they go from one stage to the next, e.g. if they are moving towards opportunity maximiser from risk mitigator, they have to start thinking long-term and become increasingly more transparent in their reporting, communications etc.

Well-known marketing facts of the last ten years are that:

• 70-90% of the buyer's journey is complete prior to engaging a vendor (Forrester)
• Consumer engages with 11.4 pieces of content prior to making a purchase (Forrester)
• Consumers are 5x more dependent on content than they were 15 years ago. (Nielsen)

How can we translate these into selling sustainability to your clients or board members?

You have to create valuable content on the advantages of adopting sustainability, specific to your audience. This is aimed at building trust and lowering their scepticism.

The challenge is that you have to educate and entertain them, not just tell them about the services you provide.

And your content has to be on your website, internal newsletters, LinkedIn, social media accounts... 

There are two types of valuable content you can share:

1. You can demonstrate that you are a thought leader and an expert in this field by sharing accessible, jargon-free guides and ideas. And because you'll need to appeal to (most likely) a non-expert audience, go back to basics and think about the wording and language you use.
2. Another powerful influencing type of content will be testimonials and case studies from people you served before. Take the time to create those and share them with your target audience to corroborate not only your expertise but also the results of adopting sustainability. Few people and companies are ready to invest in completely new ideas. 

This kind of content will take away their potential doubts that sustainability is still a risky gamble.

In the sustainability space, we have a tendency to hide behind jargon, and this has never been a good thing for divulgating important concepts.

Regeneration is suffering the same fate. 

Circularity....Systems thinking....Systems design...Degrowth...

It doesn't help that, in spite of the fact that regeneration is what nature does all the time, we, humans, can often think only in a linear manner. 

If we have a problem, we seek one solution. 

We don't see things as interconnected, because that would multiply the number of possible solutions and consequences and feel overwhelming.

But we need to stop thinking in terms of sustainability (which, by definition, means maintaining the status quo... that didn't get us far, did it?!), and start thinking in terms of regeneration.

And that also means that we have to 

a. understand it ourselves and 

b. communicate it to others.

How?

Let me simplify it for you.

Basically, we need to put in more than we take out, and because everything is interconnected, this will have a knock-on effect on multiple systems.

That's it.

A few examples:

• In sustainability, we talk about getting to net zero as the Holy Grail. In regeneration, we need to get one step further to net positive (absorbing more CO2 and greenhouse gases than we produce). If we do it in all our projects, that's going to benefit the whole planet.
• In sustainability, we focus on mitigating environmental impacts. In regeneration, we need to replenish the environment - restore lost habitats and create new ones. Again, the effect will be felt across multiple systems and locations.
• In sustainability, we think in terms of collaboration. In regeneration, we need to think in terms of interdependency of all systems (in nature as well as in business. Everything we do has a knock-on effect on everything else). This means that we need to co-create the future with the planet and with the original custodians of the ecosystems: animals, indigenous populations and communities.

When you talk to your clients about your next project, be brave. 

Ask more questions, and challenge the status quo.

• Think about how you can identify and take into account the interconnections between systems.
• Think about giving back more than we (collectively) took out. 
• Think about communities and ecosystems as active stakeholders in your project, not just you and your client. 
• Think about not profit, but green growth (i.e. innovative ways to provide a healthy business for your clients, while having a positive impact on people and the planet).

I created the poster below to remind you of the key characteristics of regeneration so that you can have an informed conversation with others. 

If you have worked with me in the past, or followed me on LinkedIn, you'll know I'm a stubborn optimist.

I work in the sustainability industry and hang on to the last bit of hope that we can change things with all my might.

I can see the hope fading rapidly in sustainability professionals' eyes, but it doesn't have to be like this.

Hope and positivity give new blood to your career and to your motivation.

The lack of either can take you down a slippery slope... and you don't want to go there.

So I always start any new coaching programme with strengths. 

I ask my client to carry out a strengths test (this is free and quite accurate) to find out what are their character strengths. 

These are the things that make you, you. 

The abilities that are natural to you and give you energy (as opposed to depleting it), from being analytical to creative to coaching others.

Focusing on what you bring to the party before looking at any gaps can give you a much stronger foundation and renewed confidence. That means being able to tackle the challenges that this industry throws at you like Popeye would.

If you need any help interpreting what those strengths actually mean to you and how to apply them to your life, just reply with STRENGTHS and I'd be happy to help (for free).

 Do you know that nagging sensation when you feel you are not up to the job? 

Maybe you have changed jobs recently and you feel like you shouldn't be there because you don't know anything...

Or that feeling of becoming part of the furniture of the place you have worked in for a long time, and that you could do your job with your eyes closed while catching up on Love is Blind (pun intended)?

These are symptoms that your skill level is not commensurate to the challenge you have been given.

Hungarian-American psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (it took me a year to learn how to pronounce his name. Google sorted it in the end) was known as "the father of flow". 

For most of his career, he studied what it means to find flow in the activities we carry out. 

Flow is that mental state of complete absorption when you forget the time and sometimes the space you are in and really enjoy the process of carrying out a task.

Csikszentmihalyi argued that when your task poses a high challenge that is proportionate to your skill level, it's enjoyable and the results are powerful (see the drawing below).

Spending regular time in a state of flow makes you happier and healthier in the long run.

So my question for you is:

How can you take yourself from either a bored or stressed state to a state of flow?

What do you have to change in your life to make that happen?

If you find it tricky, consider hiring a coach. 

Oh, I happen to be one 😬

In 1955 Cyril Northcote Parkinson wrote in a humorous essay for “The Economist” that 

"work will expand to fill the time allotted for its completion".

I'm sure you have experienced this in your own life.

You have a deadline to complete a piece of work. It's perhaps a couple of months away, and you might do some light research or reading on the subject; you might draft something and then put it aside, but you don't look at it properly until a week before the deadline (=procrastination). 

Or you might start adding scope to the initial assignment and go on tangents that aren't that helpful to address the initial challenge (=added complexity).

But what if your client told you that they need the same piece of work two weeks from today? You would panic and think there is no way you could do that! 

Now, arguably, some things just need to take a certain amount of time to be done to an acceptable quality standard - take a look at the video below as an example: you cannot expect the accuracy of the first SpiderMan drawing in 10 seconds.

But there is a point of diminishing returns after which you are not adding value to the project by working on it more.

So, how do you overcome Parkinson's Law?

By planning. Yep. 

• Start right at the kick-off by understanding the full scope of the project, including risks and opportunities; 
• Assign clear responsibilities and spell out expectations;
• Set out intermediate milestones to keep the project on track; 
• Have accountability buddies (if this is a personal project).

BONUS TIP: add 30% extra time on the schedule, because life happens.

You might know that your brain’s left half is primarily responsible for speech and abstract thinking (i.e. logic and language), while the right side of the brain is responsible for image processing and spatial thinking (i.e. emotions and creativity). 

It looks like, when we communicate sustainability, we tend to use only our "left side" thinking, our logic and rational side which focuses on data and facts.

However, there is evidence that our "right side" is a potent ally when it comes to influencing others: stories and images are memorable and impactful ways to catch someone's attention.

Additionally, every brain is wired in a different way and might prefer visuals vs. written/spoken language or vice versa.

How can we get the best of both worlds to ensure maximum impact?

Regardless of your communication's objective, whether to explain, enlighten, engage or change your audience, you need to give space to your right-brain wisdom.

A few years ago I came across these Forbes visuals which explains it all: