Giving Your Inner Operating System an Upgrade

Earth4All, an international collective of economic thinkers, scientists, and environmental advocates, has posited that the current dominant economic model and its focus on gross domestic product growth is destabilizing our societies and planet. Earth4All describes two possible scenarios the world is heading towards as “Too Little Too Late” and “Giant Leap.” The former depicts a world where societies continue to fail to counter economic, political, and social polarization, food and energy insecurity, climate change, and ecological collapse. The Giant Leap scenario envisions a fundamental reconfiguration of global economic, energy, power, and food systems. But why does “Too Little Too Late” behaviour continue? According to Earth4All, the prerequisite internal dimension of systemic change has been underestimated or ignored by business leaders. Earth4All proposes that leaders move away from a short-term method of dealing with challenges; see humanity as part of nature and recognize interconnectedness; and embrace the need for five turnarounds related to poverty, inequality, gender equity, the food system, and the energy system. The article concludes with various techniques to help individuals and teams develop their inner dimension, including using embodied/mindfulness techniques; redesigning meeting spaces to encourage people to move around; turning off all phones/devices during meetings; and using the UN Inner Development Goals in 360 evaluations and reward and recognition initiatives.

• systems change, global warming, leadership paradigms, Earth4All