ASIDE FROM THE POLITICS – THE FUTURE GLITTERS WITH POSSIBILITY

Wake up and smell the scent of a new dawning

We live in extraordinary times. Above-the-line, too many leading politicians are, and let’s be honest here, making a pig’s ear of their responsibilities but, largely out of sight (Why report positive news?) is a wealth of ideas and activities starting to improve our world.

Many of these are driven by young people tired of a status quo, surely only the extreme cynics want to retain, and energised by the possibility of eradicating those problems that persistently beset us. Do you sense that what we are seeing in the US and Britain especially is the last desperate stand of the white and privileged classes? I believe their days as unchallenged rulers are now numbered. In the meantime, each of us has a responsibility to stop escalation of the damage being wreaked. I want this article to celebrate progress being made and to inspire more of us to step up to the plate.

 The digital revolution still in its infancy

 Technology is, of course, playing a massive role in developing solutions – from managing our personal health to 24 hour access to learning and inspiration. There is the rise of 3D printing - now being used to build homes and virtual reality programmes able to transport us in real time to other worlds and experiences. I won’t even mention robots programmed to perform many of the tasks we currently leave to experts – that is for another blog.

The message here is that those of us fixated on conventional news channels should really diversify our sources of influence. Don’t dismiss the new. Understand it and harness it.

One parent said to me at a school prize-giving that she and her husband were so worried about their daughter’s recent online fixation that they tentatively raised the issue with her. Turns out she was learning Spanish on Babbel and You Tube and was now almost fluent. Or, take fantastic young opera singer Ciara Harvey from East Lothian whose learning and inspiration came entirely via You Tube.

 There really is a rich seam of new ideas and ways taking hold across the world.

 Tackling water scarcity and the rise of new values

How about the Billboard in Peru that gathers moisture from the often toxic atmosphere and turns it into gallons and gallons of fresh drinking water? This is a merely a foretaste of what’s to come. Futurologists now predict that by 2050 at least one large city will get all of its fresh water from the atmosphere.

There is also a seismic shift in values – especially among the young. I am in the privileged position of being able to address young audiences in schools, colleges and universities up and down the country. That my message resonates with them pleases me greatly.

But, it is the conversations and emails that follow that inspire me the most.

Here is a generation with skills and insights I wouldn’t have dared to dream about in my youth. Whilst, we had the luxury of political ideologies and protest movements, they are focused on real world solutions.

They eschew greed and see greater equity as the foundation of a robust and growing economy. What sensible economist will disagree? They are more likely to chase their passion than stuff their pockets. They are less likely to join a company whose values and practices conflict with their own.

Speaking at a Fund Managers conference in London two years ago the big challenges attendees talked of were around recruitment and the rise of ethical investment companies. This is happening and it's happening now. Banks also know they have to change or be damned. Ethical banking is on the rise and companies like Triodos and CAF (Charities Aid Foundation) Bank are taking on more and more ￡multi-million portfolios. These were previously held by high street bank and building societies.

 This generation is also more likely to see those seemingly intractable problems as solvable. Loneliness and isolation are seen as needless when we have people around willing to help but don’t know how to go about it.

 Schools – a rich source of ideas

In schools, pupils envisage their towns and cities as profoundly different to what they are today. They want our current focus on a rich quality of life for the car, to be replaced by a focus on people – brilliant public transport, ample cycling lanes and pedestrian friendly walkways. They also want more aesthetics around them – imaginative green spaces (not scantily clad), empty shops in use, more coloured buildings, more affirmative signage, and incentive based behaviour change campaigns. They want their neighbourhoods to look and feel good and when they step out of their homes they want their environment to be an extension of home – not an alien territory.

(above: Curitiba in Brazil - a city designed for people)

Finally, this a generation that values our place in a progressive Europe and thirsts for new economic models and business approaches. From highly localised currencies (expendable only locally) to the circular economy. The latter offers a real alternative to a traditional linear economy (which makes, uses, disposes) to one in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.

The inexorable rise in social enterprises should also give us enormous hope. Social enterprises now contribute ￡24 billion to the UK economy and growing. They are proving that there is a business model that can aim high, deliver well and contribute to enormously to our economic and social wellbeing.

Forget that restructure and get on with it

There is much to be done but, there is already a wealth of inspirational and life enhancing ideas spreading across the Globe. Celebrate them and spread the news. Doom and gloom and the acceptance of inevitability and fate induces paralysis. We have that too. In the midst of this revolution of ideas is the timidity of many organisations who have the tools and the resources to deliver major transformations in housing, health, education and regeneration but obsess about restructuring and realigning their processes and procedures – where is the big picture and where is the creativity needed to do more and better and make ever more ambitious gains.?

Nothing that stands still wins the race. We are on the cusp of something extraordinary – but time doesn’t allow us to dwell on how we do things today or prevaricate on decisions. To put our foot on the accelerator of progress we need our young people involved in shaping our economic and social future. Do we really expect a generation that understands the new world order better then we do to simply inherit what we leave them?

That is so short sighted as to be criminal.

Mike Stevenson is a formidable speaker, writer, trainer and facilitator who helps businesses and public services lead the charge towards the future. He leads away days, facilitates creative workshops and provides learning experiences that embed new skills, ideas and practices. He is neither a box ticker nor a box inhabitant. Ask him to help you address your big challenges and raise performance levels ambitions and he will. It all starts with your ambition.