A Climate for Change

Over the last 60 years or so carbon dioxide (CO²) levels have risen more sharply and consistently than at any time over the previous 650,000 years.  Whilst there are many reasons for the rise and fall of CO² levels, there is only one factor that can account for the current and unprecedented rise in CO² in the atmosphere – human activity.

250 years from its inception, the industrial revolution continues to spread across the globe and when you see the abject poverty that millions of people live in, who can deny them the opportunities that industrialisation creates?  But is an 18^th century business mode, one that we should be still using today?

Energy drives industry and we are still a carbon based society.  Everything we do takes resources out, increasing CO² levels.  Whilst politicians and scientists argue there is no doubt that without action, the whole world faces a man-made, natural catastrophe.

The more advanced industrial nations have got better and taking less out but what is being put back?

I am reminded of the book “The Man Who Planted Trees” by Jean Giono.  The story is about a shepherd named Elzéard Bouffier who commits his entire life to cultivating a forest to restore the natural beauty of a ruined landscape.  Over a 40-year period Elzéard achieves his goal through planting by hand thousand of acorns, beech and other nuts one by one.  He receives no reward or recognition other than the personal satisfaction of seeing the forest grow.

Organisational Leaders are constantly looking for greater outputs.  They want more engagement, raised productivity. They want more out, but what are they putting back? 

At a recent networking event, the symbiotic relationship between trees and people was highlighted to me.  Trees absorb CO² and give out oxygen – the air that we breathe.  As we breathe, we give back CO² to the trees.  

The same is true for effective leadership.  It’s vital to give as well as to receive.  So what can you do today to give something back? Seeking out a balance between giving and receiving brings harmony, increases your value and the worth of those people with whom you have a brief or a long-term relationship.