About the author
Eller Everett has a PhD on using the concept of permaculture to cultivate a sense of hope in environmentally conscious professionals by using it as a regenerative strategy. Her work involves teaching companies key tools to develop regenerative business strategies. She is the co-creator of the Think Differently programme for impact leaders, decision makers, entrepreneurs and anyone who’s ‘stuck’ and looking for new perspectives and solution-focused ways to create impact.
She is also a sustainability consultant trained in CSRD implementation management, Carbon Literacy, B Corp, and SDG impact measurement. She supports companies in developing solution-focused regenerative business strategies to maximize their impact, favoring an approach that expands impact and innovation possibilities by integrating a new way of thinking.
Why we need to think differently
We are living in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) times. We often look to past knowledge and understanding to deal with difficult situations, such as looking to economic growth as the answer to our problems, despite it often being at the expense of environmental and social degradation. Being fixed on past understanding and its priorities means that we have handicapped ourselves from making any real change. And businesses that have found the sweet spot of delivering win-win-win solutions, are few and far between.
Companies are facing change at an unprecedented rate and it can be difficult to know how to move forward. They are facing multiple objectives: to be successful, gain revenue, innovate, and retain their employees, whilst they are under the pressure to reduce emissions and impact, and comply with strict regulations such as the CSRD.
It is more important now than ever for companies to be able to move forward in times of such complexity. To deal with such pressures, remain competitive, AND be a positive beacon for change. To achieve this, we need a new way of thinking. A way of thinking that disrupts our past assumptions, and increases possibilities and opportunities for solution-focused ways to move forward.
What is a new way of thinking?
A new way of thinking involves a few key components. We need to challenge our past knowledge and assumptions, and to do so requires being reflective. This means questioning our activities and what we are doing and thinking. ‘What is the impact of this action?’ ‘Is this actually having the intended impact?’
Being reflective bridges the gap between thinking and doing, which avoids unintended negative consequences. It also leads to ethical decision making, which is key to ensuring that we are not reinforcing and adding to the crises of today.
A new way of thinking requires looking at your business from different angles. This is the part that disrupts our typical way of thinking, and highlights alternative options and opportunities that we may not have considered. Strategies that develop from such ways of thinking are inherently more holistic, as they take a wider perspective. They consider the interrelated parts of the business, how parts interact, and the outcomes of business activities.
How to think differently and become ‘un-stuck’
Here I will share a few simple and practical ways to start thinking differently, in order to become un-stuck.
Ethics alignment
The first step to thinking differently is to look at the current situation of your business and how it is contributing positively (and negatively) to the world and society. To do this you should consider how your business impacts the planet, people, and future, and identify opportunities to create win-win-win situations. Carrying out a current ethics alignment is important, as it highlights what activities should be changed, and can then be used as a compass for creating positive impact.
8 forms of capital
When running a business it can become easy to get stuck on only recognizing financial profit as an outcome, as it tends to be the only form of capital that is considered important. However, whilst financial capital is undoubtedly key to running a business, it is not the only key. Recognizing additional forms of capital that your business may have can also lead you to reduce your costs and increase profit margins. Capital refers to ‘wealth in the form of money or other assets’ yet ‘other assets’ are rarely deemed important. Ethan Roland developed eight forms of capital. Some of these include:
- Social capital (e.g. connections, your business influence and network)
- Material (e.g. raw and processed non-living resources)
- Experiential (e.g. knowledge from doing, the stuff that cannot be taught)
These forms of capital interact with each other and, when recognized and valued, can lead to a more holistic, and resilient form of wealth. They can also help you to see the real value of your business, and strengthen the capital of your products/services.
Patterns
Using patterns is a way of harnessing natural patterns of energy to create beneficial outcomes. This may include looking at the patterns of: human behaviour, the market, the energy within your company, or within your network. By noticing these patterns we can see how they can be used to benefit the company in ways that save time or financial investments.
A second point with patterns is to notice negative and positive feedback loops, e.g. does the time of a meeting negatively or positively impact the mood of the workforce that day? How does the local community respond to your company? Is this creating barriers to business? Consider how negative patterns (such as a negative impact on the local community) can be converted into beneficial action loops (by engaging positively with local stakeholders and understanding their worries and needs).
Yes and
This is the most basic and simple, yet incredibly effective tool. By switching ‘yes but’ to ‘yes and’, you can expand creativity and potential. This switch also lets others know they are heard, and leads to creation of the most innovative ideas that are built on multiple perspectives.
Even in cases when ideas may at first seem ridiculous, working with the principle of ‘yes and’ can take you to important ideas that initially did not seem possible. Using ‘yes and, how’, can also be useful when planning strategies. Try it out during director’s meetings or during interactions with staff and see the immediate impact it can have!
Thinking differently and becoming un-stuck is gold for developing innovation through new perspectives. By using techniques like the ones discussed above to see businesses from a different perspective, we can begin to see whether we are going in the right direction. Allowing us to maximize our impact, and discover additional opportunities.
Doing so also ensures that we are not harming society, the environment, or our reputation, without even realizing.
