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Getting vulnerable at TEDxAustin

Monday, February 21st, 2011

This past weekend I attended the TEDxAustin conference. I want to share what the whole day collided to provide for me. The theme that emerged and united the best of what I heard: Vulnerability.

To be open to learning we must, in some ways, make ourselves “liable to succumb, as to persuasion”. In this way I began the day desirous more for a learning experience than wanting to have my own world view neatly reinforced. Is this not a vulnerable approach? But it is in the context of another denotation of the word vulnerability, one provided in relation to the game Bridge, that I find the true hope with which I approached the day ,”in a position to receive greater penalties or bonuses”. Who doesn’t want a bonus?

Here are the quotes that spooled up vulnerability for me in hopeful new ways: (includes some gentle paraphrasing)

  • “Any one stakeholder with primacy can cause system failure.” Sunny Vanderbeck, Satori Capital, describing why old capitalism has broken fundamentals.
  • “GDP…measures everything except that which makes life worthwhile.” David Cameron, via video archive, quoting RFK.
  • “Sixteen percent of U.S. GDP goes to managing disease.” Robyn OBrien, illuminating the opportunity for America to clean up our food system and begin healing our nations economy simultaneously.
  • “Run your life with JOY!” Gilbert Tuhabonye, recounting his sprint from tribal genocide in Burundi and invoking the power God gave him to forgive and run joyfully through his life.
  • “We’ve only had three payment advances in the last 5,000 years: barter to coins, coins to paper, and paper to plastic.” Osama Bedier, eBay/PayPal, on mobile and e-payments and their power to restructure global commerce.
  • “Language and culture are the software of the 21st century. While English may be the dominant language of business, service and sales happen in the local language.” Sylvia Acevado, CEO of communiCard on the ‘wave of opportunity’ Texas has in relation to its explosive population growth and the need to incorporate bilingual education for students in Texas.
  • “What energy experts from a variety of backgrounds told us is – we are going to have to use all of the sources of energy we have now just to give us time to innovate to larger solutions we’ll need later.” Gregory Kallenberg, Director “Haynesville”, on the need to come to “rational middle” on energy policy and pursuit.
  • “I got on the ground and photographed up at her, the light on her face, showing her strength, grace and beauty in spite of her circumstances.” Esther Havens, humanitarian photographer, on the process of humbling herself to her subjects in service of conveying their strength to draw philanthropists in without pity.
  • “Don’t measure me by my tax bracket because I make poets, dammit!” Joaquin Zihuatenejo, Poet and high school teacher. Everything he said was profound to me. Wait until they post his talk on the TEDxAustin site. Could become legendary.
  • “May your greatest longing be met by your greatest gift.” Flint Sparks, Zen Psychotherapist, breaking it down with Zen calm and circular brilliance.
  • “Let ourselves be seen. Love without guarantees.” Brene Brown, Researcher Storyteller, via video archive but she brought it all together for me. As she says at the end of her talk she always wants to put a “bow” on things. She did. Her entire speech was really about, you guessed it – vulnerability.

We are all connected. And these days our greatest advances and greatest foibles only prove to us how connected we are. We are indeed more vulnerable than we would like to imagine. But there is opportunity in acknowledging our vulnerability, joining it in service of solutions that promote true prosperity for human and environmental stakeholders. And while that may seem like a pollyanna statement, I am feeling more confident that it’s the only basis for 21st century innovation. At worst it’s an honest starting place.

Thanks to the TEDxAustin team for serving this all up with grace.

For everyone reading the post, especially those who attended, please share your thoughts about what you took from the day by clicking the post title to submit a comment.

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LIVE FROM LOHAS

Friday, June 25th, 2010

A few ideas from the soup I swam in yesterday. First and foremost the tenor of LOHAS is one of action. It vibrates with the feeling that doing good is great but that even great isn’t good enough. It’s about constantly examining your practices in the name of green, sustainability, and holistic health. This mindful way of being is perhaps the opposite of leading an unconscious existence whether corporately or individually. This is why the sustainability movement often takes on spiritual tones. There is meditation in the search for a truer, higher path. But make no mistake this is a rigorous exercise that takes equal parts left and right brain. Maintaining the status quo may be easier and more profitable but it is also fraught with danger as the natural world and consumer consciousness crush in on the “way things were”.

The gusher in the Gulf only fuels the fire of innovation. What I am seeing here is a very Jedi like attempt to channel the rage / fear / confusion into kindling for a bonfire of solutions. Call it the fire under our collective ass. You get it, metaphor extended. Yesterday the entire conference sat in a room with Stephanie Owens from the EPA, Charles Hambleton producer from The Cove film (who is now working the Gulf region camera in hand), and Philippe Cousteau via Skype. The dialogue was very real but carried reason over reaction. It was heart wrenching to hear Philippe describe his dives into the spill site. “Looking up from under the plumes, the sun shines through, turning the sea a red color and outlining dead sea life.” He then spoke of visiting the Exxon Valdez spill site and spoke of the ongoing devastation to the ecosystem these many decades later. The takeaway – this isn’t going away in our lifetimes. The conversation then turned to action – Charles and Stephanie both made a great point about not punishing private owners of BP stations saying that it only hurts locals, not the company who trades fuel anyway. My take – retribution made in individual acts that curb personal consumption of petro products is the first order. Use this as a personal call to action. First look within, then look out. We finished this session with a moment of silence guided by Dr. Larry Dorsey. I prayed that I would have the perseverance to make personal change and the wisdom to teach my children a better way.

This takes me to the last thought on yesterday which spawned while listening to a man named Tom LaForge, whose company puts a drink on the lips of billion people everyday. Tom is Global Director of Human and Cultural Insights for Coca Cola. You can follow and inspire him on twitter at @otama Tom is smart and affable. He carries a massive corporate line on his shoulder when he comes to a conference like this. He tows it well. Coca Cola does some good. Does plenty of harm too. Not going to get granular here but I will share what I believe the most powerful thing Tom shared with us. It felt more like a poker tell then a direct call to action but still he said it though I am paraphrasing here – “the most important thing consumers can do is organize and speak to companies in a compelling collective voice.” The mandate for massive change will be an external force. Seems to me like he was asking for help, blinking morse code at the audience.

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