Archive for the 'Sustainable Living' Category

Greetings from France.  I arrived here yesterday to do some client work, and am writing to share an interesting conversation I had with the gentleman who picked me up at the airport on Wednesday morning. 

Among other things, we were talking about the high price of oil these days (who isn't?).  

The gentleman I was speaking with runs a car service, ferrying people back and forth from Charles de Gaulle airport mostly in a fairly new Mercedes.  He is the person who generally picks me up when I come to work with this client, so I've gotten to know him a little bit.  I asked how his business has been affected by the high oil costs and slowing economies.  The good news is that his revenues have not dropped (at least yet), but needless to say his net income certainly has.  

I was just about to say, "You know, part of me is happy that oil prices are this high", when he preempted me by saying essentially the same thing.  This, from a man whose living has already been adversely affected by this change, and for whom more damage is almost sure to come.  I was delighted by his ability and willingness to see beyond his own circumstances, to the bigger picture.  

The discussion that ensued was mostly connected to the impact on our environment and, therefore, our wellbeing, brought about by our  continued heavy reliance on burning fossil fuels to meet our energy demands.   

There I sat, saying to him that perhaps I wouldn't be flying to client sites as often anymore, and saying that this was ok.  In fact, I've already reduced my travel from previous years, and now when I fly, I purchase carbon offset credits that fund initiatives such as tree planting, biodiversity, watershed preservation, and other such practical steps to help offset my impact.  See www.zerofootprint.net for details. 

Whatever your take on the global warming issue is, one thing people ARE in agreement about is the daily impact of smog in thousands of large cities.  So, reducing our oil consumption will help this on a day-to-day basis. 

While oil was cheap, the economics were not favourable enough to encourage most of us - the masses - to make more than partial moves toward changing our consumption habits.  Now, we're being pushed towards it out of greater economic necessity.  I think that's a good thing.

Yes, there will be pain for most of us because of the changes this will bring.  But, the pain can bring growth - growth of a different kind.  

Just two days ago I posted an entry about this new topic I will be writing about. 

I described my definition of "Sustainable Living" as including much more than "simply" living in a planet-friendly way (as if that weren't already enough of a challenge).  I defined it to include every aspect of how we live our lives.  I'm specifically thinking about what I call "human-friendly" practices, like taking care of our body, mind, and spirit (aka life force), eating well, having leisure time, getting rest and exercise, and so on.  

Given that my firm's work lies in the fields of negotiation, conflict management, and relationship building, one could quite fairly ask the question: why are you writing about this?  What the heck does this have to do with what you, your colleagues, and your company do for a living?  

I would have no problem simply answering, "Nothing.  It's a personal interest, not a business interest, and it's one I think people are interested in hearing about".  But, that's not what I believe to be true here. 

My goal when I'm working with clients is to help them discover that the best business deals generally aren't actually the ones where they "got one over on" their "opponent".  Instead, we illustrate - through real-life examples and exercises - how they can generally do much better over time if they create business arrangements that work for ALL parties.  These deals are robust and SUSTAINABLE, as are the relationships they help build.  This applies equally well to political or trade agreements within, between, or among countries.  We work in settings like that as well.  

So, my belief is that there is a direct connection between the notion of sustainable living and one's approach to negotiations and relationships.  If you pay attention to the themes we highlight in articles, book reviews, or in the "Negotiation Advice" section of my blog, you will see the link between the two, I believe. 

Here's to outcomes that work for all parties involved. 

Today I am adding a new category to my blog: Sustainable Living.

I know, this sounds like yet another "Green" initiative.  That is partially true: I DO want to do my part to keep our planet livable, but the story doesn't end there. 

I am talking about "Sustainable Living" in a much broader sense.  I am referring to every aspect of how we live our lives: food, hobbies, sleep, social time, work, and so on.  I am introducing this category because, in the past two years, I have done a lot of intentional work on making my life more sustainable.

Today, it seems as though everyone is on a treadmill, and few of us know how to navigate it properly.  Beyond that, even fewer people know how to stop it, or take control of their own lives long enough to step off the treadmill and look at where, why, and how fast they were going.  

This category will focus on any ideas I come across that I think could help us live more sustainable (aka "human friendly") lives, and will include thoughts and reflections I have about walking this path in my own life. 

One of the best ironies about this whole topic is that I intended to post this entry last week, but because I was too busy getting ready for a 4-day ski vacation (and working late into the night to be "ready"), I ran out of time to complete it to my satisfaction.  So, here it is, being posted 5 days later, again late at night as I wind up 2 days' work and prepare to "unplug" for a further 5 days "off", during which I plan to focus on home organizing projects.  Ah yes, who is it that needs this column badly?   

To balance.