Forward Permaculture Presso Sg

c r e a t i n g p o s i t i v e f u t u r e s . n e tVision + Development | Performance Optimisation | Project Management | Content + Communications

Using Permaculture (+ Other Wisdom) to Reshape Life and Work

The Systematic Approach:

Presented by Chris Tobias, Lead Strategist

Quick Outline

What we’re talking about

1) The need2) Overarching issues3) Patterns to details4) Change isn’t bad.5) Introduction to Permaculture6) Forward Case Study: 12 Principles in Action7) Business as a tool for change8) Wrap up and conclusion

The most harmonious life is the one in which theory and practice are

unified. – Helen + Scott Nearing

Life as we know it needs to be redesigned to:

Why?

… so what are the main problems we are facing?

- solve the problems we created- to be more enjoyable- live in a balanced way in the world we inhabit

Macro level

“Girl, we got issues!”� We’re impacted by these…

- climate change- peak energy- mismanaged financial systems, etc.

- inadequate design - over consumption of resources- short term outlook, etc.

Systemic problems

Individual issues- selfishness + greed- laziness- debt + consumerism cycles- disconnection from our environment- isolation from our community- wrong values, lost morals, confusion with complexity

� Which are enabled by these…

� And rooted here.

Save the planet? The real Earth does not need saving. It can, will and always has saved itself and it is now starting to do so by changing to a state much less favourable for us and other animals.

What people mean by the plea is “save the planet as we know it”.

That is now impossible. – James Lovelock

It all starts with us. It will all end with us.

Working From Pattern To Detail:

- Elevate personal responsibility - Take individual initiative - Stop making excuses for the things that don’t work- Be bold enough to change and adapt

Time is not on our side.

If our pattern of existence is killing us, is change really that scary?

Business as usual isn’t doing us any favours.

… or is it just a matter of perception and priorities?

This is a case study of proactive action.

This is not about gloom and doom.

This project looks at how permaculture principles can be applied to solve problems and affect the bigger picture, using a business as a case study.

Oxymoron, or possible reality with better

planning?

Permanent Culture.

Permaculture is a design system based on ethics and principles which can be used to establish, design, manage, and improve all efforts made by individuals, households, and communities towards a sustainable future.

-- David Holmgren

Permaculture was co-originated by David Holmgren and Bill Mollison in the 1970s. The system was originally applied to agriculture, (permanent + agriculture = permaculture) but has evolved for use in society and business. It uses patterns and logic found in nature to solve problems.

For more information, visit www.permacultureprinciples.com

Personally and professionally we do this in person and online.

Observation + Interaction = Involvement

We believe interaction is better than advertising.We do this in a number of ways.

- Green Drinks + networking- Leading community projects like UHS- Mentoring groups like Nexus- Learning through workshops- Sharing information on Forward Thinking,Twitter, Celsias, LinkedIn, etc.

From a business point of view, this

enables us to:

- Be visible- Meet people- Help others - Share expertise- Keep knowledge current- Understand context - Grow and influence culture- Take leadership opportunities

… and also means:

- No need to waste money or material in advertising or excessive marketing.

Energy comes in many forms.Let’s be energetic.

- as information- as interest, curiosity, and catalyst- in human relationships- in money

For example:

- We use website mechanisms to capture contact information and interest from visitors, and to publicly archive beneficial information

- We use an energy strategy and efficient equipment to save power and money

- We deliberately make the conscious effort to connect with people

- We use a financial plan to help grow earnings and strategically use what has been earned

- We spend with locally owned businesses that support our ethics

- We invest locally to contribute to financial sustainability

Are you making a life, or earning a living?What are you working for?

It’s about:

- finding and seizing new opportunities- developing skills- creating goodwill - improved satisfaction- maximised tax benefits

- efficient business processes- reduced stress- improved quality of life- empowerment and control- realising dreams- learning through success and failure- freedom- exploration- experimentation

…in short, experience is the best yield.

For Example

A business enables yields of many kinds:

- Positive lifestyle changes (enabled by implementing a “Results Only Work Environment” or ROWE)

- Focused, meaningful way to “make a living”

- A way to progress ethics, values, morals, and goals

- Visible way of “walking the talk” through client projects that reinforce values and brand

… $$$ does come into the mix.It just isn’t the primary driver or reward.

What the hell would I want with $50 million compared to the satisfaction

of putting together something worthwhile? – Sir Angus Tait

Systematically design the process from the ground up.

Control what develops.

Enable critical examination and judgment by implementing

- business plan and practices- quarterly and annual reviews- feedback from clients, website visitors, and the general public- personal development log

Source renewable, ‘carbon-neutral’ energy.One obvious decision.

Linear thinking is so last century.Waste = poor design.

Emphasize redesigning processes, reducing consumption, reusing, recycling materials and nutrients. Engineer out the waste to begin with.

Translating this into action:

- Consumption is de-emphasized. We do not need the latest, greatest everything simply because it has been made and we can afford to buy it.

- What we do buy, we handle responsibly. Our average weekly output profile: • 8L material to recycling (send the materials back to use)• 6L sent to compost (send the nutrients back to the soil)• 1L to landfill (usually food wrapping that cannot be readily reused or recycled)

- We purchased a perfectly good Aeron office chair (ergonomic, repairable, and able to be disassembled for end of life recycling) & deliberately bought it used.

- We avoid the temptation to needlessly print by not having a printer to begin with. Communications, invoices, and other materials are sent in electronic format via PDF and email.

- Ongoing reuse of packing supplies for moving and shipping purposes, reuse of scrap paper for notes and design exercises.

- Only printed marketing material is business card printed on recycled paper

- All hazardous materials (e.g. CFLs, electronics, etc.) are appropriately recycled in safe fashion.

Think it through, plan it out.It’s all in the details.

Relate individual choices and decisions to the big picture, think laterally, and seek to go with best practice at all times. Use creative thinking rather than cop outs. This presentation gives proof of possibilities and new ways of doing business.

Collaborate to problem solve and find new opportunity.

Stop ‘my patch’ mentality.

Less time competing, more time innovating. Blue Ocean Strategy.Focus on cooperation, synergy, and maximising benefits for everyone. This is key to a truly resilient economy.

How we did it:

We continually reach out to other businesses offering similar and complimentary services to ours. We seek to build relationships, arrange contra agreements, share information, swap expertise, and pass along clients. It’s about dovetailing and cooperation.

One successful partnership has evolved with our website development company, Netpotential.

We actively sell on each other’s behalf, assist each other’s clients, and help with in house questions and projects. Projects go smoothly.

It is a great example of a partnership based on mutual respect and maximising the benefits for all involved.

It’s about quality, not necessarily quantity.

What’s the big rush?

Why is bigger, better, faster, more still the paradigm?What really is a ‘career’? What is ‘progress’? What is ‘success’?

We’re about redefining ‘growth’ for its own sake. Let’s be adaptive in uncertain times, rather than rely on definitions from the past.

Only after the last tree has been cut down

Only after the last river has been poisoned Only after the last fish has been caught Only then will you find you cannot eat money

-- Cree prophecy

Diversify, diversify, diversify.

Maybe one rule holds true.

So it is in the natural environment, so too should it be in business. We actively seek:

- interdisciplinary projects - new colleagues and collaborators- ways to expand our network - diversity in clients (business, non-profit organisations, government)

…so far, so good.

We need to stop talking to ‘ourselves’ in the movement, and start influencing others.

Sustainability is stale.

That’s one of the main reasons we got started. There’s a limit on self-indulgent chatting and armchair solutions to major problems. Its time to take action, to carry the discussion and the solutions forward into a new era, and push the boundaries.

I believe that sustainability will not emerge in human affairs until we begin to conduct economic activity in harmony with the principles that shape all living systems on earth. Then we will view a business as a natural living system that thrives in a context of cooperation, restraint, and quality, not in a context of competition, growth and accumulation. That will be sustainability…

-- H. Thomas Johnson

Let’s use business to creatively tackle

these big problems. And let’s have fun doing it.

Peak energy and climate change:

There is no rule saying you cannot use business for

purposes other than financial gain.

Let’s show what’s possible. Our business plan serves our ethics and changes we’d like to see happen in the world. Rather than fund the purchase of company cars, high rise office space, expensive billboards, or promotional merchandise, profits are directed at long term goals like creation of a low-impact, integrated living demonstration site (you might call it our ‘corporate headquarters’).

You never change anything by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.

-- Buckminster Fuller

Remember this:If you remember nothing else

1) We are facing some significant global problems that will drastically alter our way of living.

2) The root of these problems can be solved at an individual level.

3) Change isn’t bad– in fact, doing nothing just might kill us.4) Permaculture is a design philosophy based on natural

principles.5) It is a useful strategy guiding our business.6) Business can be used as a tool for positive change.7) Ultimately, the answers and solutions come from us!

Starting from square one, we are the change our world needs.

Tomorrow doesn’t need to be another yesterday.

We’d like to hear from you.Contact Forward

Thanks for your attention. We’ve been…

Chris Tobias, Lead Strategist

E [email protected] +65 8406 2275 Skype Forward.net.nz

Visit the Forward Thinking Blog atwww.creatingpositivefutures.net

Presentation © 2009 Forward®