Being Point

Tag: Stewardship

  • Spaceship Earth, Buckminster Fuller and Henry David Thoreau

    Buckminster Fuller made famous the phrase “Spaceship Earth” as a term describing the situation in which all humans live on Earth, literally as aboard a fragile spaceship planet with finite resources. The implications of humanity’s continuing to damage our spaceship are terrifying. There is significant evidence of permanent damage that has been done by humans to our planet – and of continuing trends toward harm.

    In 2000, I had the privilege of leading a cross-disciplinary team that produced a strategic plan for The Buckminster Fuller Foundation where we focused on stewardship – the essence of leaving things better than you found them.

    And when Thoreau said, “In wilderness is the preservation of the world,” we know that Bucky and he were sharing a similar world view.

    How do you feel about the state of this planet? What kind of difference do you believe that you as an individual can make? Do you see yourself as a steward? What are the implications of either a “yes” or “no” answer to that question? What do you think Buckminster Fuller – and Thoreau – would be saying about the BP oil spill and the long-running Nigerian oil disaster?

    As we celebrate U.S. Independence Day, perhaps it’s appropriate to remember that freedom does not grant license to do anything we wish just because we can. Rather, freedom is an opportunity to live into the best of which we are capable.

    Have a great 4th of July Weekend!

  • Replace “Get-To” And “Have-To” With “Choose-To”

    On our last of five days of considering “get-to” vs. “have-to,” Christina provides some great feedback:

    “Yes, there are some things we ‘have to’ do/be, etc. and that’s not necessarily a ‘bad’ or ‘negative’ thing … and it just might be a very positive thing for us to take on that sense of responsibility … sacrifice even. Words that scare us perhaps, but necessary ways of standing up for and shouldering what we need to take a stand for. And somehow it seems that it’s gone out of fashion/vogue to be the one not to divert our eyes; to be the one who will say, ‘no, no more of that,’ or ‘yes, I will take an unpopular or unsafe position on this issue.’ Sometimes we do ‘have to’ do things and maybe that’s just fine … it’s not victim-hood, it’s taking a necessary and vital stand.”

    Excellent feedback and true enough! There are some things that we “have-to” do – that we are compelled to do by duty, responsibility, honor, commitment, principle.

    Her words got me thinking: Perhaps simply losing any sense of being put upon – or unduly privileged- is a way to transcend this “have-to” vs. “get-to” paradigm?

    Perhaps the most accurate way to address this issue is to reframe it in a far more powerful way. Shift to “Choose-To”!

    How would focusing on “choose-to” make life clearer, more enjoyable, and far more powerful?

  • The Servant Leader

    A typical org chart shows the leader at the top of a pyramid with various levels of reporting arranged in a power hierarchy.

    Another way to view an organization is the concept of the SERVANT-LEADER. Imagine the typical view turned upside-down. The leader is at the bottom of the pyramid and “reports” to the “people” above her or him.

    This view illustrates the idea that the leader “works for” or “serves” those within her or his sphere. Imagine the kind of stewardship that such a view could promote. Far fewer business and political scandals . . . and, on a personal level, far more functional companies, happier families and vibrant communities.

    How practical does “servant leader” feel to you? Have you ever experienced it?

    Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.