Humanity@Scale Update: From Definition To Footwear

As you may know, I'm in the middle of a process to define my next chapter, which has the ultimate vision of "Humanity@Scale (H@S)." I'm taking the time to thoughtfully identify the areas where I can have the most impact, the content that will support that focus, and the types of activities that I will undertake to drive towards the vision.

I'm really enjoying this period during which I'm interviewing a large array of great friends and colleagues who have provided amazing input. In addition, I'm doing a lot of secondary research and self-reflection. All of this is leading to an increasingly overcrowded whiteboard in my office.

While I am not yet ready to lock into my specific direction, I have made a lot of progress in my thinking. Here are some of my learnings:

What is H@S? A Movement!

People often ask me, "what exactly is Humanity@Scale?" Fair question, but I've lacked a concise answer. Instead of waiting until I have full clarity, I've developed this DRAFT definition for Humanity@Scale:

A movement to encourage the creation of mindsets and systems that propel the positive evolution of human engagement.

Here's what elements of the H@S definition mean:

• Movement. I want my work to have impact. And while I may be able to directly influence a number of people and organizations, that effect will not likely have the level of impact on society for which I am hoping. In order to drive change, I will need to engage the hearts and minds of many, many people around the world to inspire them to drive towards the H@S vision.
• Mindsets and systems. We need to change a lot of things, but they come down to two broad elements: 1) how people perceive humanity, and 2) how institutions (of all sorts) propel positive behaviors. We will need to address both of these areas in order to create a lasting impact.
• Positive evolution. I do not expect that the world will all of sudden jump towards the H@S vision. However, small changes in direction can have a large impact in the final destination of anything that is traveling for a long distance. So I will be looking for areas where we can even slightly change the trajectory of humanity in a more positive direction.
• Human engagement. Everything we do in society has an impact on other people, whether we recognize it or not. Every choice we make and action we take has a ripple effect that changes the lives of other people. So the ultimate measure of H@S' success will be the quality of human interactions, whether they occur directly between people or through technology developed by people to create those interactions.

Community, Identity, and the Path Forward

I've been studying humanity though a number of different lenses, including philosophy, psychology, sociology, and behavioral economics. Through all of my examination, a key theme keeps coming up: the evolution of our humanity is in a large part being driven by the "communities" we belong to that shape our self identity.

I put quotations around communities, because I'm not thinking about them merely as formal structures, but instead as the collection of groups in which people self-identify. For instance, it may include things like being an Australian, a cat lover, a Muslim, a liberal, or gluten free. People are heavily influenced by these communities, even if it's not a conscious or deliberate alignment.

The disparity between the information and trust that flows within and across communities is a key cause of today's problems, and thus likely a focus for solutions. Here's why this is so important:

• US versus THEM. The stronger that people identify themselves as being part of a group, the more likely it is to create an "US versus THEM" mindset. We start to see people outside of our group, or "others," who are either inferior to the people inside of our group (in terms of their knowledge, stature, values, etc.), or as being a risk to the well-being of members of our group. This mindset reinforces the disparity between inter- and intra- community information and trust, creating a reinforcing spiral of negative interactivity.
• Weakened institutional stability. If you go back 50 years, people strongly identified themselves primarily with one of more of a handful of institutions, including family, local community, political party, country, and religion. Given the relative stability of those institutions, people had developed relatively stable norms on how to interact within and across groups. With the rise of social media and highly tailored digital communications, there are now a vast number of communities with which people can align themselves. Additionally, even what used to be stable institutions are becoming fragmented (e.g., "Republicans" in the U.S. have more discrete affiliations such as "Reagan Conservative," "MAGA," "Tea Party," etc.). These growing numbers and types of "communities" create instability in intra- and inter-group norms.
• Community hierarchies and norms. You might be wondering how we might be able to control the burgeoning set of communities. I'm not sure that we can. However, I do believe that we can help people think about and prioritize the most important communities in their lives and establish some more positive inter-group norms. For instance, if we could get every person on earth to see themselves primarily as a member of the human race instead of being part of particular subgroups, then we could probably push more alignment around global issues like climate change and world hunger.

Enlightened Morality and Positive Engagement

One of the ways to examine—and therefore influence—how people think and behave (the instantiation of humanity) is to look at their underlying morality. If we view morality as an absolute structure, then humanity will always suffer from an impenetrable conflict between opposing views of right and wrong. So we need to have a much more nuanced view of morality.

I am starting to examine existing research on moral foundations theory. One of the most popular models is from Jonathan Haidt (I am a big fan of his work) who has introduced these six moral foundations:

• Care/Harm: This foundation centers around the sensitivity to suffering in others. It fosters virtues like kindness, gentleness, and compassion.
• Fairness/Cheating: This foundation revolves around concepts of justice, equality, and rights. It gives rise to virtues like fairness and a sense of proportionality.
• Loyalty/Betrayal: This foundation emphasizes the importance of group belonging and cohesiveness. Virtues like patriotism and self-sacrifice stem from this foundation.
• Authority/Subversion: This foundation focuses on social order and hierarchy. It leads to virtues such as respect for authority, tradition, and obedience.
• Sanctity/Degradation: This foundation touches on the concept of purity – both physical and spiritual. It can promote virtues like cleanliness and temperance, but it can also lead to disgust and prejudice.
• Liberty/Oppression: This foundation focuses on the importance of freedom and autonomy. It promotes opposition to tyranny and a strong emphasis on individual rights.

By understanding the moral foundations of those we disagree with, we can focus on shared interests instead of rigid positions. This helps us uncover needs, find creative solutions, and create win-wins.

What's Next?

I will continue my discovery efforts to further define H@S along with my ongoing activities, and periodically share what I'm learning. Here are some of the things that I'm currently working on:

• Speaking. I've already being engaged to give a number of speeches and will continue to entertain those requests.
• Podcasting. I'm starting to think about creating a podcast, trying to identify the content and format that would be informative, entertaining, and distinct.
• Conceptualizing. As you can see from this update, I'm examining a lot of content. One of my goals is to identify the core models that I will use to drive the rest of my efforts. These models may focus on things like evolution, competencies, principles, or ratings.
• Brand building. I'm working on the visual identity and online presence for both Humanity@Scale (the vision and mission) and TEMKINSight (the company I will be creating). I was able to acquire the domain humanityatscale.com to go along with humanityatscale.org that I already owned. And maybe my favorite brand building activity will be to wear my new custom-designed Humanity@Scale sneakers...

I welcome your thoughts! Let's discuss how we can collectively achieve the Humanity@Scale vision.