... mine by not falling for the bait of an argument, by taking the case for sustainability directly to the people by bypassing some of the usual media outlets, and never take any of the push back personally. Transition can be a more difficult journey for some more than others. By Chet W. Sisk
Tags: Sustainability | push back | Sarah Palin | Rush Limbaugh | Glenn Beck | practices |

When people mention Sustainability, they often think about things we can do to prevent the wasteful use of our natural environmental resources, but the truth is, that wasteful use wouldn't happen in the first place if there wasn't some knucklehead philosophy or idea to back it up. Let me share with you 6 of the most unsustainable ideas that have been amazingly costly, not only to the environment, but to society and the world as a whole. 1. God gave man dominion over the earth. It's a Christian phrase taken straight out of the Old Testament. Maybe they meant something else when they talked about dominion back in those days when they were writing the Old Testament, but modern interpretation ...
Tags: unsustainable | practices | chet w sisk | beliefs | modern society | |

I've been a volunteer Life Skills teacher at a homeless shelter in Denver for the past 10 years. My job was to help the students examine their beliefs to see how those beliefs directly affected their experiences and decision-making. If they could make that connection, they have a shot at changing the experiences from homelessness to hopefulness. I don't ask them to change their beliefs. I just ask them to examine them. My thought is that if we all do just a little examination of what we believe, we'll make better decisions on what to do with those beliefs. I keep my questions simple: 1. How's that belief working for you? 2. Where did it come from? 3. If it's not working for you, why do you ...
Tags: pastor rob bell | rob bell | sustainable society leadership | sustainable society | Chet W Sisk | long view |

Unsustainable Practices are practices, methods and approaches that simply cannot endure. Eating only Twinkies for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday is an unsustainable practice. Betting on the Cubs to win the World Series is an unsustainable practice (at least, that's how I feel). Exploiting our unrecoverable natural resources at the expense of the future of our children is an unsustainable practice, and future generations will never forgive us for it. Because there are so many unsustainable practices that are a part of our 21st century society, a form of leadership has emerged called Sustainable Society Leadership. These are the people that simply ask the questions: 1. What are we ...
Tags: Unsustainable | Sustainable Society Leadership | Leaders | Chet W Sisk |

... need not have old school references such as 'the box' we once used. These are new ways of looking and old problems and nothing is off the table, including the innovative success of Groupon. If Sustainable Society Leaders don't do this kind of wide open thinking, who will? By Chet W. Sisk
Tags: Sustainability | Groupon | Sustainable Society Leaders | backyard farmers | |

Sometimes we don't get clear answers to our questions because we're not asking the right questions. Take for example an incident between my oldest son and I during his teen years. I gave him money to get something from the store for me. He's usually a pretty honest fellow for a teenager, but as the teenage brain does, he leaned on the side of immediate gratification. In other words, instead of getting me what I wanted, he saw an opportunity to get something he wanted at my expense. Instead of getting the organic Fuji apples I clearly told him I wanted, he got the chemically farmed Granny apples that he loves so much, which I abhor. When he came back with the apples, and when I saw his ...
Tags: Sustainability | leadership | questioning | Chet W Sisk |

I've been hearing a lot of soothsayers and visionaries talk about the coming shift in the world where everything will change. I too, see a coming shift, but instead of reading tea leaves and tarot cards, I just pay attention to the world around me. As a journalist and educator, my job is to pay attention to the developments happening throughout humanity and help make sense of those trends for emerging leaders. Based on my observations, a significant shift in how we view ourselves and the world is definitely on the horizon. The problem we face as a society is that we are still using 20th century ideas, philosophies and concepts in a 21st century world that demands new approaches. The shift, ...
Tags: 2012 | Shift | Sustainability | Unsustainable | Leadership | Chet W Sisk |

What would cause people to strap on bombs and blow themselves up, shoot doctors at clinics, create cults that would kill it's members in the name of righteousness, mastermind holy wars, rationalize genocide and murder and seek position instead of common ground? If you said money, you'd be close. The easy answer would be religion, but that's not it either. It's really the lack of connection. I believe I can trace every form of what many would call "evil" in the world to someone, somewhere saying some form of a sentence like this: "I and that other person or thing are different, therefore, I am not connected to them or it. If I am not connected to them or it, I can do things to them or it I ...
Tags: Spirituality | Chet W Sisk | Deepest Values | Religion | Belief System |

I heard someone say that business entrepreneurs are people who solve other people's problems for profit. I believe that's accurate. Now let's take it to another level. A social entrepreneur solves societal problems on a large scale to create profit and social capital. Thus, the main aim of social entrepreneurship is to further social and environmental goals. Just a few years ago, social entrepreneurship was seen as a kind of fringe movement of talented business people who just wanted to do the right thing in the world. Now, social entrepreneurship is a booming growth movement, employing over 50 million people in the world with an estimated 300 million volunteers to extend their reach. Is ...
Tags: social entrepreneurs | | sustainable society | unsustainable | leadership | The Shift |

... system is not dependent upon a few companies that may be "too big to fail". Having more players spreads the risk and maintains a sustainability factor. Give this some thought as you till your backyard or neighborhood garden this weekend. Ubuntu. We are all connected. Let's act like it. Chet
Tags: Unsustainable | free enterprise | backyard gardening | practices | neighborhood gardening | social media |

I just returned from watching the documentary film "Inside Job". It's a movie about how the housing bubble and crisis was created. I couldn't get out of the theatre fast enough to take a shower and wash the nasty grime left on me from watching a bunch of grown men in suits act out their adolescent fantasies of power at the expense of others. The level of corruption in our financial and political institutions is stunningly amazing. What's even more stunning is the lack of collective outrage from the general public. It could be that we aren't asking the right questions. Instead of asking "why isn't anyone going to jail over the housing scam?", we're asking "where's Obama's birth certificate ...
Tags: sustainable society | leadership advantage | high road |

This is more than just wishful thinking. Sustainable Society Leaders, that is, those who can show a practical, tangible path to a more egalitarian, sustainable, responsible and personally empowering future for everybody, will be the rock stars of the 21st century. Current day 'haters' (particularly politicians and talk show hosts) ridicule anyone offering anything other than the game plan they've always known. As if their plan is working. Anyone paying attention to things in the US know the country is being run into the ground and that the current leaders don't seem to have a clue for a better way forward. Protest isn't leadership. It's a complaint. Cutting the budget is not a plan. It's a ...
Tags: Sustainability | rock star | President Obama | Sustainable Society Leadership | Environmentalism | |