Nature Works - Activating Regenerative Leadership Consciousness

'The worlds problems stem from the gap between the way people think and how nature works.' - Gregory Bateson.

The latest book by Giles Hutchins seeks to close that gap and aid the cultivation of life-affirming futures for our leaders, our organizations, and our civilization.

'NATURE WORKS is so much more than a book! Its wisdom in text, conveying a richness of life beyond words. Truly profound - in fact, life-changing. Read it!' J. Harris

This short article is a precise of Giles Hutchins’ latest book Nature Works by independent journalist, Aidan Williams

NATURE WORKS is an urgent text that discloses and activates regenerative leadership consciousness for our future-fitness.

You rarely see a cover summarise a book so well while saying so little. This is a fascinating read which will challenge your approach to life and the way you consider every action. I loved reading this because it didn’t just throw out a statement or idea and expect you to merely react. It guides you through each thought, consistently delving deeper. As much as the book will speak about a journey, it is also your guide because an idea will never truly be lost on you. It’s very well researched but also you get a personal sense of the journey the author himself has been on.?

?“We are living through a once-in-a-civilization moment. We are at an inflection point with profound consequences for the future of humanity and the very fabric of life on Earth. Time is not on our side.”

These are the first words of Nature Works, by Giles Hutchins, Coach, Speaker and author of titles such as Leading by Nature, Future Fit and Regenerative Leadership.

This book looks to expand your mindset and provoke new ways of living and leading while seeking to explore and transform the Western mindset. To challenge the predominant ways of thinking that, without realising, those of us in the West slip into. It isn’t a call to arms, it’s a call for inward reflection, about how we act and think to provoke better action and to consider wider possibilities.

He describes his work as ‘regenerative leadership consciousness’ or: “the developmental cultivation of a quality of awareness that overcomes the root problem at the heart of our myriad crises.”

Giles has no particular issue with the West and nor is this some ‘East versus West’ battle, it is with a problematic worldview which has no borders. It is with an almost complete sense of separation from nature that the Western mindset has brought about. It has brought changes in science and medicine which have benefitted the world, but the book delves into the destructive downsides that can so easily be naively forgotten.

Addressing the issues with this way of thinking, Giles writes: “Yet, due to its built-in sense of separateness, it is a mechanistic mindset with an insidious and malignant quality that undermines our very existence. Its historic tendency has been to colonize new lands and ‘markets’ using methods that are fundamentally destructive to its host. It’s like a cancer, causing a rapid demise of life on Earth, which extends well beyond the hot topic of climate change.

“Take our planet’s biodiversity, for instance. Biodiversity loss is now assumed to be happening at a rate of 100-1000 times faster than normal. I invite you to pause for a moment. Reflect on that. A mass extinction of life on Earth is happening right now. Not in 2050 or 2030, but today.”

This example is an accessible way for Nature Works to start challenging your perceptions. It makes the message hit harder, the consequences that our lifestyles in the West have but which far too many of us tend just to accept. This is just the first bend in thinking that helps guide you to the more personally reflective elements later in the book.

The book is not the presentation of an idea that you either like or hate, rather it’s a mental and psychological exercise – an activating and deepening process - whereby you gradually stretch your mind and deepen your psyche into new ways of thinking and being. This is the first foot in the water that begins your wading into the regenerative river of the more complex concepts the book reveals. The river certainly gets deep in parts yet always remains deeply practical and applied – bringing the philosophy back to what this all means for how we lead and operate in business and beyond.

“The coming age of regenerative consciousness enables us to solve ‘wicked’ systemic challenges amid increased volatility and uncertainty.”

While the opening chapter starts with warnings of the dangers of this Western mindset, this first chapter also ends with moments of optimism and the first of many insights that this book provides.

“Welcome to the Regeneration Revolution. It’s time for humanity’s upgrade— enhanced creativity, embodied empathy, increased resilience, and improved agility. We have at the ready all we need to shift our mindset to one which is more future-fit for ourselves, for those around us, and for the organizations we serve.

Given how the world has shifted over the last 10 years, it’s hard to disagree.

This isn’t a light read, but then I wasn’t looking for that, I wanted my perceptions to be challenged and to expand my mind. This 100% delivered on that front and I cannot recommend this work highly enough. It will change how you look at life.

- Aidan Williams, Independent Journalist

Extracts from Forewords in NATURE WORKS: "Giles’ philosophy and coaching has been a strong rudder and regular sounding board over the last four years of Vivo’s evolution and for my own development as a leader."-?Galahad Clark, CEO, Vivobarefoot

"There is an urgency to the regenerative approach that Giles is facilitating, and Nature Works is another vital piece in the jigsaw of how to align heart, mind, gut, and soul with nature’s wisdom, walking with Mother Earth, not against her."-?Dr. Carolyn Eddleston?, Founder, Cycles of Change

?"Nature Works and the wisdom of Giles will transform and regenerate our organisations"?–?Paul Hargreaves, Founder & CEO, Cotswold Fayre & Flourish

?"Journeying with Giles reshapes our leadership paradigms and enriches our daily lives with depth and purpose. His mentorship has not only guided me through the practical aspects of integrating regenerative practices into my work and leadership style but has also strengthened my spiritual connection to the world around me." –?Veronique Letellier, CEO, Butterfly & Head of Culture & Regenerative Business, AXA Climate

NATURE WORKS is now available direct from the publisher here https://www.wordzworth.com/sales/authorbooks?ISBN=9781783243112

And from Amazon here

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Nature-Works-Activating-Regenerative-Consciousness/dp/1783243112

as well as other book providers and all good book shops.

For more on coaching with Giles, visit his website here .

You can also sign up to his newsletter here .

There is a special one-off one-day immersion with Giles at Springwood Farm on 19th September 2024, see here for more details.