Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books; Or surely you’ll grow double: Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks; Why all this toil and trouble? …Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife: Come, hear the woodland linnet, How sweet his music! on my life, There’s more of wisdom in it. These verses from the Lake District poet William... Read more
TAGS: IFLAS, leadership Scotcoin – an answer to Osborne?Can Scotland keep the pound and leave the UK? The message from No 11 is that no it can’t. That position was presented by Chancellor George Osborne as technical, not political, and reported as such by UK mainstream media. For instance the BBC reported today: “There is no rule or principle in international law requiring the continuing UK to formally... Read more
TAGS: currency, scotcoin Letting Go Of 2012As the year ends, can you identify a personal transition you went through in 2012? What is it that you left behind? What is it that you brought more into your life? What is it that you committed to? Change requires letting go and letting come. I often ignore how difficult it is to let go. Economists call it sunk costs. Buddhists call it attachment.... Read more
TAGS: Creating Resilience – With Community Exchange SystemsHow can communities and local businesses be more resilient to those winds of global finance that influence our quality of life yet seem beyond our control? The answer is to create our own credit clearing systems; so suggested Thomas Greco, during his recent European tour. His latest book “The End of Money and the Future of Civilisation” lays down... Read more
TAGS: community exchange Elegant Disruption – how luxury and society can change each other for goodJust over five years ago I began working on the luxury industry. I thought, why cant these elite brands not excel in social and environmental performance? I researched, wrote and produced the report Deeper Luxury for WWF-UK, and it triggered a bit of a furore in the fashion press and wider luxury industry (about 8000 sites now link to the report).... Read more
TAGS: innovation, luxury Learn about alternative currencies and exchange systems for sustainabilityEnabling the more efficient exchange and sharing of products and services, in order to increase human well-being while reducing the consumption of natural resources, is a key dimension to the sustainability transition. A less understood dimension of this challenge is the role of alternative currencies and exchange systems in enabling that efficiency.... Read more
TAGS: community currencies The Time to Inspire: Insights from 50+20 on Transformative EducationRecently overheard at a business school: “Don’t worry, they won’t fail you, you’ve already paid”, from a student to another caught cheating during exams; “We’ve already accepted that we need to compromise our values to work in the business world”, from a business ethics student to his professor; “The business ethics course goes against... Read more
TAGS: Business Schools Sick of the financial crisis? Become the cure!Around the world, and somewhere near you, businesses and communities are creating their own means of exchange. They are realising we do not need to rely on banks and their costly credit to trade among ourselves. Your company and your community could benefit by participating in these schemes, or by starting one up. In the coming months, Lifeworth, in... Read more
TAGS: community currencies How your company can help create more jobsMass unemployment is becoming a headache for all world leaders. At the World Economic Forums (WEF) this year in Davos, Bangkok and Istanbul, I noticed the number one thing leaders were discussing was how to address growing unemployment. Globally, in the next 10 years there will be over a billion young people coming into the workforce and just 300 million... Read more
TAGS: Unemployment, World Economic Forum Collaborative Consumption and BeyondDo you have a car pool at work? Car-sharing revenues in North America have been predicted to reach US$3.3 billion by 2016. There are many start-ups in this field, including Zipcar, which floated last year for US $174M. Enabling the more efficient exchange and sharing of products and services, in order to increase human well-being while reducing the... Read more
TAGS: collaborative consumption, community currencies, sustainable exchange
