John Elkington is an advisor on sustainable development and corporate responsibility, an area he’s been working in for almost 40 years. He is the author of 20 books on this topic, and he has given a remarkable contribution to shifting capitalism and business towards a more balanced and sustainable path. We talk about his new book called "Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism," we also talk about wicked and super wicked problems, exponentials, why he reads Chinese science fiction books, his visit with past guest Kevin Kelley and what he's both terrified of and excited about in the coming ten to fifteen year.
What is Covered:
- Who or what are ‘green swans’ and where the idea came from
- Human struggle with exponentials and the role of technology in systemic change
- Wicked and super wicked problems, and what is unique about them in today’s world
- The issues with discounted cash flow in today’s economy
- The role of young generation and why we need intergenerational cooperation to solve existential threats we’re facing
Key Takeaways and Learnings:
- The green swans are very often market or societal or political shifts. A company or an individual could play into those changing realities, but it’s not about individuals as such.
- Super wicked problems, such as the climate emergency, make us see our future ahead of us, but we seem to be completely unable as a political species to address the challenge in a sufficient scale and with sufficient urgency.
- Reengaging young people in a multigenerational and intergenerational battle for a systemic change at the right time and in the right way is a major opportunity in the next 10 to 15 years
Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- “Green Swans: The Coming Book in Regenerative Capitalism” by John Elkington https://www.amazon.com/Green-Swans-Coming-Regenerative-Capitalism-ebook/dp/B086BJF1FQ/
- Volans Ventures https://volans.com/
- Connect with John Elkington by email, LinkedIn or Twitter
- “The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable” by Nassim Nicholas Taleb https://www.amazon.com/Black-Swan-Improbable-Robustness-Fragility/dp/081297381X/
- UN Sustainable Development Goals https://sdgs.un.org/goals
- “Exponential: How to Bridge the Gap Between Technology and Society” by Azeem Azhar https://www.amazon.com/Exponential-Bridge-Between-Technology-Society/dp/B094DK3NG7/
- “New Rules for the New Economy: 10 Radical Strategies for a Connected World” by Kevin Kelly https://www.amazon.com/New-Rules-Economy-Strategies-Connected/dp/014028060X/
- “Out of Control: The New Biology of Machines, Social Systems and the Economic World” by Kevin Kelly https://www.amazon.com/Out-Control-Biology-Machines-Economic/dp/0201483408/
- “Ministry for the Future: A Novel” by Kim Stanley Robinson https://www.amazon.com/Ministry-Future-Kim-Stanley-Robinson/dp/0316300144/
- “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” by Thomas S. Kuhn https://www.amazon.com/Structure-Scientific-Revolutions-Thomas-Kuhn/dp/0226458083
- “Regeneration: Ending the Climate Crisis in One Generation” by Paul Hawken https://www.amazon.com/Regeneration-Ending-Climate-Crisis-Generation/dp/0143136976/
- “Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming” by Paul Hawken https://www.amazon.com/Drawdown-Comprehensive-Proposed-Reverse-Warming/dp/0143130447/
- RethinkX https://www.rethinkx.com/
- “The Wandering Earth” by Cixin Liu https://www.amazon.com/Wandering-Earth-Cixin-Liu/dp/1250796830
- “The Postman” by David Brin https://www.amazon.com/Postman-David-Brin/dp/B08GLSY8R6/
- “Dune” by Frank Herbert https://www.amazon.com/Frank-Herberts-Dune-6-Book-Boxed/dp/0593201884/
- Jim Mellon: Moo’s Law and Investing in Cellular Agriculture https://outsidelens.com/jim-mellon-moos-law-and-investing-in-cellular-agriculture/
- Kevin Kelly: The Formula for the next 10,000 Startups, Failing Forward and Becoming a Teaching Organisation https://outsidelens.com/kevin-kelly-the-formula-for-the-next-10000-startups-failing-forward-and-becoming-a-teaching-organisation/
Connect with Mark Bidwell:
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbidwell/
- Twitter https://twitter.com/markehb
- OutsideLens https://www.outsidelens.com
My guest today, Jack Weatherford, is an anthropologist and author of several books, including one on money, a number on indigenous cultures in North America and beyond, and a revisionist and very thought provoking history of Genghis Khan, called “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World.” Tom Morgan, who is a successful fund manager, described this book on Jim O'Shaughnessy's podcast Infinite Loops as the best business and investing book that he'd ever read. That got me curious, so I grabbed a copy, changed my mind about almost everything I believed about Genghis Khan, and invited Jack onto the show.
In this conversation, rather than talking about investing, we explored the impact that Genghis Khan had on the modern world, how he introduced the rule of law, meritocracy, paper based money, religious freedoms and international trade routes. In fact, even though he was a genuine pioneer in many of these arenas, and this was 800 years ago, listening to the news today, it feels like we're going backwards in a number of these topics.
What Is Covered:
- How the practical side of Genghis Khan produced revolutionary cultural innovations
- The role of Genghis Khan in the evolution of money
- How the adaptivity of indigineous people can serve as an advantage in today’s world
Key Takeaways and Learnings:
- Governments are allowing for the development of digital currencies until these systems start to work, and then they’ll want to gain control over it. It’s not the technology, it’s the people.
- There was nothing ideological about Genghis Khan, there were a lot of practical decisions, and we can learn from that kind of thinking, because it’s not tied to one religion or one way of life. It’s more adaptable.
- Indigineous people are often better at handling crises and the skills of hunting and gathering can be better for the use of the internet than knowing how to farm.
Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- “Genghis Kahn and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FCK206/
- Tom Morgan - Curation in the Age of Information Abundance https://www.infiniteloopspodcast.com/tom-morgan-curation-in-the-age/
- Mohnish Pabrai: Cloning, Learningg from Charlie Munger, 100 Baggers on OutsideVoices Podcast https://outsidelens.com/mohnish-pabrai-cloning/
- Wade Davis: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in Today’s World on OutsideVoices Podcast https://outsidelens.com/wade-davis/
- Anthro-Vision: Shifting the Perspectives on Business and Life with Gillian Tett https://outsidelens.com/gillian-tett-anthro-vision/
Connect with Mark Bidwell:
- LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/markbidwell/
- Twitter https://twitter.com/markehb