At first sight, this seems obvious, but the reality is we've been treating Nature as if it were a machine we can take apart and learn how it works. Conventional science is reductionist and specialist in approach. We train scientists to delve into smaller and smaller niche subjects, so they know a lot about a little and precious little about the META, the big picture. René Descartes, in 'Treatise on Man', p.108, wrote: "I should like you to consider that these functions (including passion, memory, and imagination) follow from the mere arrangement of the machine’s organs every bit as naturally as the movements of a clock or other automaton follow from the arrangement of its counter-weights and wheels." We tend to operate in silos at the micro level and miss what is becoming clearer and clearer - Nature, and indeed the Universe is made up of systems, not moving parts. Our own bodies are systems. In the case of our bodies, a resilient system capable of fending off germs, functioning in a wide range of temperatures and variations in the food supply, repairing cuts, compensating in some cases for missing or broken parts, changing metabolic rate with an intelligence that can learn! Quite elegant! Deconstructing Nature to learn how it works can only take us so far. To really understand the nature of Nature, we need to start thinking in terms of systems within systems. In our Classroom, we will go into this in more detail in the Reframing Unsustainability course. As we seek to look at businesses and how they might be reorganized to become more sustainable, these distinctions in how we seek to understand Nature's sustainability and apply this to our unsustainable businesses is an important change in approach.

Here are additional resources to help build your knowledge and understanding of sustainability, sustainable business and the circular economy. - The Circularity Edge Podcast: LISTEN HERE - LIVE: Real Circularity Forum

My initial goal is to create a community of 1,000 "Sustainers" in this 'skool'. Who are SUSTAINERS? People, possibly like you who want to leave a legacy from their life and work that creates a lasting, BENEFICIAL IMPACT on the world we live on - Planet Earth. In my work I meet committed, conscientious people from all walks of life, all parts of the world, whose passion and purpose are to leave the world a BETTER PLACE because each of us is in this common quest to SUSTAIN LIFE ON EARTH whether we know it or not. If you are someone who seeks harmony been your life, work, and your personal VALUES, this community is for you. If you value life on Earth (for all species) and are ready to ACTIVELY change your personal and business way of life, this school is for you. As you go through the free courses in the CLASSROOM you'll start to see and hear some of the critical elements that I believe are missing in this URGENT and IMPORTANT global quest for Sustainability. There are reasons why we are still UNSUSTAINABLE, and I'll go over these with you. There are many misconceptions about sustainability, even at the fundamental level of what it is and is not. Old sustainability is dead. It hasn't worked. We are less sustainable today than we were when the concepts were first conceived and published. New sustainability is multidimensional, and you'll get to experience this in action in the Classroom. .

Here’s what the journey ahead looks like… Step 1: Be a lifelong learner. Step 2: Axis shift your paradigm from simplistic sustainability to multidimensional sustainability. Step 3: Inventory where you and your business are today. Step 4: Assess where you are now in your life and work and reset expectations of what’s possible. Step 5: Systematically uncover opportunities for continuous quality improvement and implement them. Step 6: Celebrate your sustainable business growth wins. A note about process: Achieving a more sustainable life and business is possible, but it’s a lifelong quest. If you are only doing this to make money, then you’ll probably fall at the second or third hurdle. As a global society we are deeply unsustainable. The transformations needed are significant, require new understanding and take time. A note about staying the course: Economy is one of the pillars of sustainability, so don’t worry about it. We will take care of finances. Your passion, persistence, and your ability to have fun while doing this challenging work and creating a legacy is what will keep you going. It’s my driver. It can be yours too. Final Notes: This roadmap is not final. It’s a work in progress as I continue my learning and growth. As a synthesizer of complex and sometimes conflicting information it’s my role to help you unlearn old, outdated vies of sustainability and replace them with tools and systems to move you and your business towards what Nature does automatically, without thinking. It’s time for us to think and act like Nature. That starts by gaining new insights and applying them to your unique situation. Start with our free Transforming Unsustainability course in the Sustainability School Classroom

Have you noticed how the negativity and aggressive nature of social media is spreading? Once confined to Twitter, Facebook and particularly on political topics, now that vitriol is becoming rampant even on the more professional social sites like LinkedIn. More and more often I'm seeing LinkedIn members just itching to fire back and contradict, or even slam well intentioned posts - all from their own ego-driven desire for self-promotion. It's what decided me to create this community. Consider this a SAFE place where professionals in small and medium-sized businesses can come together with a singular, positive or beneficial goal. Namely, to find ways to build successful businesses by transforming from traditional, unsustainable linear economic models to more sustainable, circular business models, learning from how Nature works.