The Values Gals

Cooperation is Key

The Nature Conservancy has been the target of criticism recently due to its relationship with British Petroleum (BP). Many view their giving BP a seat on their International Leadership Council and their acceptance of land donations as well as millions dollars in cash donations is the equivalent of making a “deal with the devil”. Others abide by the saying that one should “keep their friends close and their enemies closer”. After receiving criticism about their relationship with BP, The Nature Conservancy's Chief Executive, Mark Tercek said, "Anyone serious about doing conservation…must engage these companies, so they are not just part of the problem but so they can be part of the effort to restore this incredible ecosystem." I think I have to agree with Tercek.

 

The Nature Conservancy isn’t the first group to partner with an opposing force. I think, as a matter of fact, our Government would be much better off if the Democrats and Republicans attempted to “do the right thing” even while holding differing opinions and even differing final goals. Surely there is a way to meet in the middle on several issues – they needn’t all be black and white and split down party lines. Isn’t a half step forward for both sides better than no progress at all? This oil disaster is a true tragedy but this isn’t about the tragedy itself and how it may have been prevented or handled differently. That’s an entirely different topic. It’s more about how organizations can work together towards mutual goals. Can The Nature Conservancy prevent BP from drilling? No, but they can educate them on the impact to the environment and work with them to help minimize that impact. I don’t see any conflict of interest in BP donating to the Nature Conservancy or giving them land to preserve. Can’t an oil company also care about the environment? Sure, although perhaps not to the extent environmentalists do. And while I know this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison, I eat meat but I do give to organizations that criticize that practice and encourage people to become vegetarians. I may give up meat one day but I have not yet. I don’t think being a vegetarian is a bad thing or something I don’t support, I am just not a vegetarian myself. I think I can be supportive of organizations who want everyone in the world to be vegetarians without being one myself. So, can’t an oil company also care about the environment while their whole reason for being is a substance that can be ruinous to it? It may seem implausible but it’s not impossible.

 

There are high profile partnerships that seem unlikely like that of The Nature Conservancy and BP Oil. They don’t seem logical to us as they seem to be in different camps. A while back The Humane Society of the United States partnered with Michael Vick after he was released from prison to help prevent people from participating in any way in dog fighting, the very crime for which he went to prison. Critics lashed out at the HSUS but the organization defended itself by noting how Vick would help them reach and influence an audience they would otherwise have difficulty reaching. And since it could do nothing but help Vick’s damaged image so it was a potential win-win. The same is true with The Conservancy-BP relationship. BP isn’t going to stop drilling for oil and The Conservancy isn’t going to stop their environmental work so why not find ways to work together to forge a win-win? Clearly no one is winning from this massive oil leak into our gulf waters but I’m certain that no one was working towards the creation of such a disaster.

 

We often hear about the partisan behavior of our politicians but in reality there is a lot of working together happening between Republicans and Democrats who are looking for a win-win for their constituents. If we heard more about those cooperative efforts it might better unite our country than divide it. They might have actual tea parties with one another rather than create movements and protests carrying that same moniker. So often we think it’s us against them – if they aren’t with us then they’re against us but that is not always true. We somehow feel this need to draw a line in the sand every time someone holds an opinion that is contrary to our own. But without cooperation we just spin our wheels. Without cooperation teams lose games, projects are delayed, meetings drag on too long, work doesn’t get done, deadlines are missed, businesses fail, friendships fall apart, marriages deteriorate. Without cooperation frustration mounts, anger sets in, people start choosing sides. Being uncooperative isn’t good for anyone.

 

Sure, sometimes we need to dig our heels in when it means sticking to our principles – our values. I don’t think we should do dishonest things to realize some personal or professional benefit or that we should act without integrity just to get to a desired end. I’m not a proponent of the Machiavellian belief that the ends justify the means. Sometimes, maybe, but not when the means have me behaving in a way that goes against my values. But I think we need to challenge ourselves more to find that common ground even when we think there is none. We need to think outside the box. I may be fundamentally opposed to the oil industry and their methods but still want to work with them. Why? Because maybe if I educate them on environmental matters they’ll work with me to change how they do some things. Because maybe we can collectively find ways to make what they do safer and less harmful to the environment (please let’s hope all oil companies are working in some capacity to realize those goals!).

 

I believe that too often we make lists that separate things into good and bad. When we do this, however, we leave no room for middle ground, no room for compromise, no room for understanding or cooperation. To be sure, there are times when we feel we just cannot bend and that is okay but when we can bend, when it’s for the greater good, shouldn’t we try to be a little more flexible, a little more cooperative? Isn’t a step forward far better than standing still or moving in reverse even if what we really want is ten steps forward?

 

As is often the case I think others say what I think so much better and, quite obviously, more succinctly:

 

It is through cooperation, rather than conflict, that your greatest successes will be derived—Ralph Charell

 

If you want to be incrementally better: Be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better: Be cooperative.—Unknown

 

It is literally true that you can succeed best and quickest by helping others to succeed.

—Napoleon Hill

 

Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. —Helen Adams Keller

 

If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. —George Bernard Shaw

 

We should not only use the brains we have, but all that we can borrow. —Thomas Woodrow Wilson

 

I can’t say it any better than any of these folks. All I know is that as much of a lone wolf as I am, I could never do everything I need or want to do in my life or for my children if I didn’t cooperate with others from time to time. --AMB
Do you encourage cooperation at home or in the workplace? What do you think it takes to get the best out of a “team”?

Leave No Trace

My family and I recently visited Arizona for a short vacation while the kids had a few days off from school. We had five days that we basically split between Sedona and the Grand Canyon although we did have one “wind down” day in Scottsdale before flying home. A phrase we saw frequently out that way was “Leave No Trace”. Of course they were referring to respecting nature – to avoid going off-trail where vegetation might become damaged, to remember to clean up after yourself and/or your pets, to basically leave nature as much like it was when you arrived so that others would be able to enjoy it long after you had left. The natural beauty of the area was stunning – I loved the landscape – the colors, the mountains, the canyons, the vegetation – the way a sight looked different depending on how the light fell upon it – the views never got old. I truly appreciated not just what nature offered but all the people who help keep it the treasure that it is – be it the folks working for the National Parks or those who visit.

 

Now, we didn’t see all of the Grand Canyon, of course, but we saw a lot and one thing I never saw was a piece of trash. We were not there at the height of the tourist season but still, I was amazed there wasn’t some straw wrapper blowing in the wind or a cigarette butt lying on a trail. I did notice, soon after arriving home, that we – that people in general – are leaving traces of ourselves all over the place around where I live. It kind of bugged me. Do we somehow respect places like National Parks more so than our own neighborhoods? Clearly the Grand Canyon offers a view that cannot be compared to that of a shopping center parking lot but shouldn’t we strive to leave no trace in general? Isn’t that the respectful thing to do? And I don’t mean just mean in the physical sense, I think “leave no trace” can apply universally to our behaviors. This isn’t just a “green” message here.

 

Think for a minute about your impact on the world. What kinds of things do you do or don’t do that contribute to your “leaving no trace”? There are the obvious “green” things – do you litter, do you disturb nature when you are in parks or public, do you take care of your own little piece of earth, do you clean up after your pet, do you recycle? How about the way you leave others? Do you leave a positive or negative impact? What sort of “trace” are you leaving in your relationships? The way you treat the physical world around you is certainly important but just as important or more important maybe is the way you treat the people in your life.

 

When I read the phrase “leave no trace” I read it as “leave things the same as you found them or better if possible.” When looked at this way it can apply to every aspect of your life. When you leave people in your life – when you go off to work, send kids off to school, run errands, leave the office for the day, etc. – how do you leave the people you were with? Are they positively or negatively impacted by their interaction with you? What kind of trace are you leaving with them?

 

Would others say that, most of the time, you:

 

§       make them happy?

§       leave them feeling content or satisfied?

§       are an example to follow?

§       show respect and deserve it in return?

§       “get” them?

§       are a competent leader?

§       make them feel good in some way?

 

Or would they say that you often:

 

§       make them feel anger or disappointment?

§       are rude or short in your communications?

§       do not set a good example for others to follow?

§       bring them down?

§       leave them feeling incomplete or dissatisfied?

§       make them question your abilities or character?

 

How do you leave people feeling when you go? Whenever we leave something – be it for an hour, a day, a week or however long – we are leaving something behind, a memory of us or time spent with us. My general desire is to be, at a minimum, a benign force as I wander about my days. I don’t mind if the grocery store clerk doesn’t remember me as she recounts her day to her spouse at night – that’s better than being the rude, inflexible woman she did recall. Even better if I can be the kind, patient one who didn’t huff and puff and look at her watch when her register tape ran out – that I was the one who commiserated or didn’t make her think I was being put out. For those with whom I have closer relationships I want to leave those people having made a positive impact, that somehow my being in their day made it a better one. There are people in my life who have that kind of impact on me and I want to leave them feeling similarly.

 

I think it is important to remember that we do leave our marks on others. We may not realize it. We may not think that our flippant response even registers with the person to whom it is directed or that our stopping to help someone reach a can of soup on the grocery store shelf makes much of a difference but these things do matter. At our National Parks they request we leave no trace – that we don’t toss that wrapper to the ground because if one person does it, well, another might follow suit. There’s a domino effect – things catch on – good and bad. It seems “okay” sometimes to do wrong when we see others doing the same and if no one stops us or tells us otherwise. The same is true in our relationships. When we treat someone unkindly, leaving them feeling badly and out of sorts, the next person they come upon might be treated the same way by them because we’ve put them in a bad mood. And so begins the falling dominoes. I don’t want to be that person. I want to leave no trace where there should be none. But if leaving something behind is inevitable – if I’m putting my metaphoric “Amy was here” stamp on something or someone – then I want it to be all good. – AMB

 

What do you leave behind when you go? Do you think the impact you have on others is usually a positive or negative one? How do you feel about your answer?

 

Can food have integrity?

There’s a Chipotle Mexican Grill within about a mile of where I live. It opened maybe a year ago and is doing quite well. Often there are lines to or out the door. I have noticed while waiting in line that they advertise “F.W.I” or Food With Integrity. I’ve meant for a while now to look up what that meant exactly and I finally got around to checking out their web site. If you want to read what they mean go here: http://www.chipotle.com/#flash/fwi_story but I will nutshell it for you. To Chipotle founder and CEO Steve Ells it is a philosophy that “that we can always do better in terms of the food we buy.” He means better tasting, better for the environment, for the animals, the farmers who raise the animals. I still wasn’t sure after my first pass that I bought the idea that the food itself has integrity but it seems that Mr. Ells is trying to approach running his business in a way that isn’t all about profits, it’s about looking at all the ways in which his business can be better for everyone and everything it touches and for that I think you have to admire him.

The more I’ve read about Ells’ mission the more I respect him and what he’s trying to do. Animal lovers, vegetarians and vegans will say what’s best for the animals is to not eat them. I agree with that but if there are going to be meat-eaters then isn’t it best to find the most humane and natural way we can to raise them? Ells’ notes on his web page that part of his goal is “to help create a more sustainable food chain that emphasizes the welfare of people, animals, and the land.” If you read the detailed information on Chipotle’s web site it becomes easier to understand the F.W.I. philosophy. The transparency of his information sharing itself is impressive. If Chipotle is truly walking the talk, well, kudos.

I have to be honest and say that even after I delved through the site, I still had a tough time with the term “food with integrity” so I went back to the book that Liz and I wrote and looked at what we wrote about integrity. Here is an excerpt from that section of our book, Maximize Your Values – They Count in Everything You Do: “We think of integrity as the sum of the constructive values we practice. It is an unwavering adherence to a moral or ethical code. …people with integrity tend to demonstrate the courage of their convictions by doing what they think is right even when there is great pressure to do otherwise.” After rereading that section of our book it does seem that Mr. Ells’ approach to running his Chipotle chain of restaurants, including the way in which he procures the food that is served, is one that is founded in integrity. At least in the way we defined it. There is surely an easier and more profitable way for him to go but he has chosen to demonstrate the courage of his convictions by not wavering on his mission. I wish more businesses took this approach. I think businesses would feel better about themselves, as would consumers if we all took our integrity to another level. What if we all started doing business with integrity the way Chipotle does? What if we sought out doing business with companies that made us feel like whatever product or service they were selling and we were buying embodied integrity? I think we could all use a little more of this “global” approach to integrity, don’t you? - AMB

how deep do our values run?

i'm a runner. i'm currently training for a marathon in may. and i used to think that running perfectly suited my environmental values as it didn't involve driving to work out, or the manufacture of equipment, or the use of a gym (which would eat significant resources in climate control alone).

however, recent articles and podcasts have drawn my attention to not only the environmental challenges in the manufacture of running shoes but to the moral challenges inherent in their current production practices. most running shoes are manufactured in china and third world countries. the production of many of their parts and pieces involve components that can be hazardous to breathe and that create toxic waste that ends up un landfills or water supplies. shoe manufacturing companies are definitely exploring and implementing greener ways to produce running shoes, but the current production methods still involve environmentally unfriendly practices and byproducts.

additionally, all the major running shoe manufacturers have room for improvement on enforcing fair labor standards for the workers they employ, particularly in asia and mexico. specifically, there are numerous violations relating to child labor laws, paying wages below the minimum, giving business to contractors who do not allow workers to file anonymous complaints or grievances, forcing workers to toil excessive hours each day and week, etc.

now, some companies are more focused on building ethically robust environments and relationships than others. but it doesn't leave me with a confident feeling that my cushy running shoes were fabricated under ethically responsible working conditions.

which brings me to a rather serious stumbling block. i think of myself as a person who lives by my values. but to what degree? how deep do my values run? do i know all the details about the companies i do business with and the products i consume? i choose to eat organic, vegetarian and kosher foods, and opt for local foods when i can. but what about, for example, all the clothing brands that hang in my closet? are there sweat shops in their history? is the production of my running shoes a threat to the environment?

i do attempt to give my business to companies i think are ethically responsible, who embody many of my same values. but i confess i don't do the research on every company i do business with. it would take a full-time research assistant or 12 to figure out who would be in the yes column and who would fall into the boycott column. still, if not us as consumers, who is to hold businesses accountable for their values or lack thereof?

how deep do your values run?--liz

values add up

living mindfully, conserving resources, eating organically and locally--these are all values i espouse. at least i think i do. as with most perceptions, looking at the actions we take is a quick and easy way to show us if we practice what we value. listing the small and mostly cost-free green steps i take along these lines will paint the  picture for me to see whether i live up to the image i have of myself in my head.

i'd love for this list to be a starting point, for me and for all of us. please chime in with ways (little, big, in-between) that you practice conservation of resources... together, we can (i know it sounds corny but it's true) change the world for the better. so feel free to add to the list... and i will, as well.--liz

to conserve water, i always:

• water my herbs with water i collect when i take my shower
• bathe quickly--which means no more meditating in the shower
• wash my hair every other day
• turn the faucet off while i'm washing my face and turn it back on to rinse
• let my dog pre-rinse the dishes before they go in the dishwasher
• allow the rainwater to wash my car instead of a carwash
• (if it's just me around) if it's yellow let it mellow... and i think you know the rest
• run the dishwasher only when it's stuffed to the rafters
• run the washing machine only when i have a full load--and sometimes urgency necessitates mixing whites and colors

 

to conserve fuel:

• i only drive when i can accomplish at least 3 errands in an outing
• i map my route so that i go the shortest distance possible
• i travel to offices and shoots only when necessary and work from home via the internet whenever possible
• i walk where i can, and i bought a bike but the haphazard drivers downtown make me nervous to be out in traffic in a car much less a bicycle

to conserve utlities (electricity and gas):

• i keep the air conditioner at a constant temperature...not super cool but comfortable
• i keep the blinds drawn when the sun comes in in the summer mornings and open so the sun can heat up the winter mornings
• i insulate my water heater
• i try not to use the oven much in the summer--heats up my loft and makes the A/C run more
• i don't usually turn on a lot of lights
• i unplug appliances (including phone chargers) when not in use
• i don't use the heated drying cycle on the dishwasher
• i wash my clothes in cold water
• i air-dry most of my clothes (it helps them last longer), so it conserves the amount of energy my dryer actually uses as well
• in the winter when it's cold, i keep the thermostat to a fairly cool temperature... and either wear more layers of clothes or snuggle with my squeeze and my pup to keep warm

 

water, water... not so much everywhere

the water company recently wrote a friend of mine and asked her why her water bill is so low. they were impressed by her conservation measures. apparently she is a rare customer.

we live in city that has been in a drought for years but in the past year or 18 months it reached a crisis point. or at least that's how it was positioned in the media when we first were alerted that we had mere months of water left in our reserves. we went on watering bans, and landscaping companies and car washes protested the direct impact on their businesses. water conservation strategies seemed to be the topic du jour around the water cooler...which was an increasingly treasured commodity.

well over a year later, we are still in a precarious water situation but you wouldn't know it. cars drive around the city squeaky clean and it's not from all the rain we've been having... because we haven't been. people in the airport restrooms leave the faucets running at full blast. and the football fields are a thriving, drenched green. (i will spare you the rant i have about the priorities of watering college football fields instead of allocating those precious gallons and gallons to oh, say, drinking water.)

the water situation here is just the tip of a global iceberg. take our oil shortage and the gas pump prices, for example. our natural resources are not infinite, and we have been cavalier and i would submit, arrogant, about our gluttony in consuming them. mother nature is sending us a wake-up call, and i believe the recalibrations we must make in the ways we live and how we manage our resources will ultimately bring us back to more of a healthy balance with nature. hopefully.

but why does it seem we must reach a crisis point before we, as a whole, become mindful about conservation? do we really value our natural resources when we are wasteful and unwise with them? the omniscient "they" say that if we all make small changes, we can make global differences. in the next post or two, i'm going to list out the ways i think i practice conservation of resources and see if i actually am as green as i would like to think i am.  how about you?--liz