Embrace your Journey #14

“The earth is the very quintessence of the human condition.”—?Hannah Arendt*?

In the month of my birthday, as I reflect upon my past and future cycles, I receive a note from a friend who points me towards a political scientist I had been exposed to way back in college, Hannah Arendt. Despite having been one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century, she enlightened us about concepts that remain relevant to humanity in the 21st century, so I went to her for inspiration.

One of the concepts that called my attention for being so current is well stated in "The Human Condition", a book she wrote in 1958 which includes the quote I used to initiate this newsletter and also reminds us of the following:

Another important concept to keep in mind as we advance in the so called "Fourth Industrial Revolution", with science and technology being developed like never before in the history of mankind, and the possibilities of making life "artificial" growing exponentially all around us is the following:

Despite the fact that she was criticizing "modern age", the question she posed strikes me as being even more valid now. As we become more conscious of the interconnectedness and impact of our "speech and action", of our narratives, what must we be mindful of not to run the chance of giving room to “the banality of evil” as she pointed out we have done before and which she described in her work as the failure of thinking through what one is doing (thoughtlessness)?

We hope the videos and additional resources we share in this newsletter will inspire you to continue to reflect upon the concepts above as you embrace your journey as a leader. Leave us your comments and questions below and we will be happy to offer you additional insights.

Cheers,

Adriana Machado

Founder at?Briyah Institute

In light of the thought that we are "children of nature" and that "through life we remain related to all other living organisms", take a look at the TED talk by Janine Benyus** from 2009. She explains well what biomimicry is and how we can leverage it not only to enhance our consciousness of who we are, but also to come up with design that is regenerative and that may help us solve many of the challenges we currently face.

A lot was already possible then, and you may find insights to innovate out of the current pandemic in a way that is inspired by nature. For more on biomimicry you may always visit the Biomimicry Institute and their initiative called Ask Nature .

We learn from nature that we are living systems, we are complex adaptive or dynamic systems and for this very simple reason, good practices to deal with human challenges are better off if they are systemic. One successful systemic practice outlined in a study by Georgetown University is that of Dara Institute , formerly called Associa??o Saúde Crian?a. In order to tackle health, they developed a methodology based on a "family action plan" that effectively integrates healthcare with social determinants of health such as income generation, housing, education and citizenship.

Here is the policy brief of the study to learn more about the methodology:

You may also learn about it through the 3rd episode of Briyah's Leadership Lessons Series featuring Vera Cordeiro , the Founder and Chairwoman of the Board of DARA Institute. Through this conversation, you will be able to take away several leadership lessons as you learn about Vera, her unique journey, and her regeneration story, which has to do with effectively applying her understanding of the social determinants health to lift families out of extreme poverty. Enjoy!

Purpose is what drives us, and it is what drives leaders like Suzana Padua . In her trajectory, which you may learn about by watching the 4th episode of Briyah's Leadership Lessons Series, she found her passion for nature and for life and co-created Ipe Institute , one of the largest environmental NGOs in Brazil and a recognized civic organization.

Through this conversation we launch here today, you will be able to take away several leadership lessons as you learn about Suzana, her unique journey, and her regeneration story, which has to do with effectively applying her love for nature towards environmental education and regenerative environmental projects. Enjoy!

Looking for further insights???Join us for the CEO Meet & Master Program as a participant? or talk to us about sponsoring a group to promote diversity & inclusion by empowering leaders to apply systems thinking to business.??Registration for the November cohort?is open . We look forward to having you as a part of the Briyah ecosystem!

"Wherever the relevance of speech is at stake, matters become political by definition, for speech is what makes man a political being."?— Hannah Arendt

At?Briyah Institute? we bridge innovation, practice and purpose to inspire leaders to transform organizations co-creating an impact economy.

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*Hannah Arendt (1906-1975) -- author, political scientist, philosopher, one of the greatest thinkers of the 20th century was born in Germany and emigrated to the United States with the advent of Nazism, becoming an American citizen in 1951. Political theorist known for her critical writing on Jewish affairs and her study of totalitarianism, she also wrote "The Human Condition" (1958), where the top quote comes from. Brilliant and controversial, in 1963 she published what proved to be the most controversial work of her career: "Eichmann in Jerusalem", where she calls our attention to “the banality of evil” and the failure of thinking through what one is doing (thoughtlessness). Arendt was the first woman to become a full professor at Princeton University. She also taught at the University of Chicago, Wesleyan University, and the New School for Social Research.

**Janine Benyus -- biologist, author, innovation consultant, and self proclaimed “nature nerd.” An educator at heart, she popularized the term biomimicry in 1997 with her book?Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature . She is currently the president of the Biomimicry Institute, and in 2014 was featured in The Top 100 Global Thought Leaders.