The New Frontier: Redefining Success with Sustainability
In my early years I struggled with reading. (Rather ironic, I know, given that I now spend much of my time reading and writing!).
I will be forever grateful to my 3rd grade teacher, Mrs. Bretz. She introduced me to a series of biographies that were available in the school library. I still remember how I was drawn to those books. I was fascinated. I couldn't read the books fast enough. The stories gave me my first glimpse into the lives of discoverers, inventers, Presidents, adventurers, and Civil Rights advocates. I was intrigued by the firsts, the inventions of progress, and the way those changes impacted my life.
This month two experiences reminded me of the innovation and discovery threaded through that biography series.
- The Story of US, a History Channel series that “tells the extraordinary story of how America was invented” through a fast forward scan of 400 years of history.
- The newly release Sprint ad that moves through human history from the stone wheel through various eras, including electricity, steam power, automobiles, televisions, flight, space travel, computers, telecommunications, until ending with the EVO 4G phone.
Innovation!
Throughout our history, the focus has been on Progress. Finding new and innovative ways to step into the new frontier of the day, whether it was striving to reach the New World, searching for a new passage, building transportation systems that connected our vast lands, or reaching beyond our world to new orbits.
Throughout our history there's repeated evidence that a single change served as a catalyst to spark entirely new eras.
Throughout our history, entrepreneurs have been tapping into economic shifts, pushing new technologies, and finding opportunities that lead to financial success.
Downside of Progress
Conquering new frontiers with little regard for the long term impact is costly.
- Human communities are changed forever
- Unanticipated ramifications pile up until breakdowns appear throughout
Ironic Outcome
We now find ourselves facing a new frontier… sustainability.
It's a frontier that requires just as much innovation, determination, and creativity as the frontiers of yesteryear. It requires that we look beyond business as usual to discover new ways to approach how we live and work.
But with this frontier, we must approach the leading edge with an entirely new mindset. Rather than searching for how much we can take from an environment, we must rethink inventions and discoveries of yesteryear to turn things around. We no longer have the luxury to use far more resources than the Earth can regenerate within a lifetime. Can we redefine progress as a society such that respecting the realities and constraints of nature is a measure of our success?
Opportunities
This coming era will be fueled by financial opportunities and realities, just as before. There is no doubt.
Someday we'll look back, perhaps through an ad or a television series, to discover which innovations were the catalysts for a new era, to witness just how one invention led to the next, and to celebrate the progress we achieved through sustainability.
Remember, you are part of history. You have a role to play in how our future unfolds. What you know, how you see the world, the problems you study, and your previous work history are the building blocks that produce the insights that lead to new discoveries, innovation, and solutions.
Copyright © 2010 Transition Dynamics Enterprises, Inc.
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