Focus

by Doug Wysockey-Johnson

He probably doesn’t know it, but New York Times columnist David Brooks recently wrote a great OP-ED piece on calling.  He was writing about something so many of us are feeling these days:  our lack of focus.  We are losing what he calls the “attention war.” 

Brooks confesses:  “I text when I should be paying attention to the people in front of me. I spend hours looking at mildly diverting stuff on YouTube. (“Look, there’s a bunch of guys who can play ‘Billie Jean’ on beer bottles!”).” 

And I confess that I relate to his confession. I haven’t seen the ‘Billie Jean’ video, but I have watched my share of funny cat episodes.   Not to mention whatever it is my friends on Facebook want me to read or watch.  Not to mention what ESPN tells me what is important news of the day.  Make room in the confession booth David, there are a lot of us who are feeling more than a little distracted these days.

But more than his confession, I relate to his conclusion:  the answer to our distraction is not sermonizing and prohibitions on screen activity.  “Just say no” has never been a great change strategy.  Brooks concludes:  “The lesson from childhood, then, is that if you want to win the war for attention, don’t try to say “no” to the trivial distractions you find on the information smorgasbord; try to say “yes” to the subject that arouses a terrifying longing, and let the terrifying longing crowd out everything else.”

I remember a time when I was asked to be on a volunteer committee.  I asked for a week to think about it. In that week, I noticed that ideas continually emerged for what we might do on this committee.  I couldn’t not think about it.  The ‘terrifying longing’ was crowding out everything else, and I said yes. 

I imagine the superficial chatter in our world is only going to increase. I predict more funny cat videos, not less.  (And lest you think I am a total scrooge, I hope to continue to enjoy internet fluff now and then.)  But it is worth taking time on a regular basis to get below the chatter, listening for what is a little deeper in us.  You want to be more focused?  Pay attention to what gets your emotions going and what you can’t help thinking about. Pay attention to your call.

“If not you, then who? If not now, then when?”

Guest Post by Polly Chandler

Hillel, a Jewish scholar scribed this great question.   I believe this questions pulls at the edges and core of sustainability.  It also pulls at my own sustainability champion self-identity.  As a person that has chosen a career of service, I am often pushing myself to fearlessly enter into the most challenging areas of an organization.  I am not afraid of asking the hard questions if it will push justice, change or equity for people in my community and workplace.  At the individual level, this question gets at the root of my calling. I can, with some reflection, answer at a very personal level why I step in and why I feel urgency on different topics, particularly advocating for the environment. This is not about my career, this is about my calling.

Do businesses and organizations have a calling?  We talk about their mission but I”m not sure that really gets at the essence of this issue.

I have recently attended a few conferences where there were great profiles on large corporations stepping up.  The stories of UPS, Proctor and Gamble, Waste Management, Xerox and others can be quite inspiring.  They’ve asked the tough questions, or the “heretical questions” as Andrew Winston of EcoStrategies calls them.  He speaks of Waste Management, a waste hauler, and the shift towards helping people reduce their waste stream instead of hauling it.  As he says….Can you imagine the discussion where someone asked: ”what if our business model was to help people reduce their waste instead of hauling their waste?”    These types of heretical questions are the ones that get that core of  “if not you then who?”.   He also gives the example of a floor cleaning company that asked the question…..”what if we offered a floor cleaning device that used no soaps or chemicals?”  Tennant has done just that; they have designed an industrial floor cleaner that relies on water and UV lights.     These two companies answered the question…If not you, then who?

“If not now, then when?”   The urgency of social and environmental challenges makes the timing of responding to the needs of individuals, communities, and regions even more imperative.   Proctor and Gamble has done ecological footprints on their products and found their greatest footprints is in the homes of their consumers,  in particular hot water for shampoos and detergents.   They see the need for reducing energy consumption and the shift towards more sustainable water use.  They are launching a campaign to get people to take shorter showers.   Who would have thought that Breck shampoo’s message would be take shorter showers!   P&G saw an urgent need and stepped up; ultimately this campaign may result in people using less shampoo.

The cynical side of me is climbing out of my chair about now.  These are massive corporations that are making giant shifts but their footprints are still enormous and they are dependent on consumer patterns.  They are dependent on an economy of growth. But that’s another blog.

When I deepen my pondering of the question, (“If not you then who?  If not now, then when?”) I am struck by the importance of the actions, behaviors, choices, and decisions of the individual.  Someone at P&G and Waste Management had to ask the question.  He or she had to step up and ask the hard question.  If we are to shift the way we communicate about sustainability, it’s critical that we create workplaces and communities where the tough questions are asked and addressed.  We need to look those tough heretical questions square in the eye. We need to create spaces where they are encouraged as part of the culture of communities and organizations.

So, I wonder if there is something else to add to these questions.  “If not you, then who?  If not now, then when?”   How about: ”if not fearless, then what?”   How do we make this statement a mantra for sustainability champions? What should we add so that more people feel free to ask these questions and to boldly champion a change forward?

About Polly Chandler

I am the Chairperson of the Department of Management and the Program Director of the MBA in Sustainability. Our goal is to help our students develop managerial and leadership skills to build sustainable organizations and communities. Ultimately, we hope our students will champion the changes needed leave the next generation with a healthier planet, a stronger global economy, and a more just society. Antioch University Website   Linkedin 

Neighborly Anxieties: Part Deux, or The Outcome

by Tom Pappas

I recently wrote about two situations that were hard for me to address involving neighbors. The outcome is worth mentioning and so I will. 


The troublesome rental: I contacted six of the neighbors who had signed a letter of concern – one in person and five by phone; that situation seems to be smoothed out. My energy was boosted to approach the people west of my house about the bushes that encroach on the sidewalk.


The trespassing bushes: It took three tries to catch the “Wests” but I looked over the fence and they were having lunch outside.  I scurried around to the gate unfolding my picture of the dangerous fallen branch suspended by their foliage over the sidewalk.


Their response is worth quoting.  “We never go out there. [duh] Thanks for telling us. Someone was scheduled to take care of that in May. We’ll call today.”  Clearly I went through a lot of anguish imagining possible negative responses.


Get ready for irony.  A week after the Wests liberated the sidewalk from overgrowth I received an official letter from the city engineer indicating that I would need to trim the junipers that crowded the sidewalk in front of my property. YGTBK. 


Laurel and I made separate trips to the end of the driveway and came up with this scenario that was agreeable to the city engineer. The violation belonged to the neighbors to the east.


We share a double driveway with them. Our house numbers appear two times - on both our side, and in between the driveways where they are separate. The East’s don’t have house numbers posted. The inspector assumed the address on the sign between the drives belonged to the Easts.


I shielded the Wests from a letter by my intervention, but I got the letter that should have gone to the Easts.  No good deed goes unpunished.


God is the God of everything. God is with my anxiety about the possibility of disappointing. God is with me in the tension that comes with confrontation. God is with me through the consternation of injustice. God gives me the satisfaction of looking back with a smile of contentment and being able to eventually laugh at this good and crazy world given to us to experience.