Corona is no longer an emergency, concluded the World Health Organisation (WHO) yesterday. Human stupidity is.
We’ve just gone through the biggest experiment in behaviour change where people adopted social distancing and better hygiene on a global scale.
In many countries around the world, shops and restaurants were closed. Shopping was no longer a religion, it was a time to reflect, spend time with loved ones and pick up old hobbies like playing guitar.
We looked inwards for happiness and realised that the short-lived dopamine kick of shopping could easily be replaced with other dopamine inducing activities such as togetherness, kindness and learning new skills. I was hopeful, yet naïve.
This global change in behaviours and mindset could have been the foundation for the urgent and immediate mass-mobilisation we need to tackle the climate emergency.
Instead, we’re back a consumerism with a vengeance from revenge travel to shopping. We blew it, but it’s an important reminder that we can. It’s an important lesson for leaders and companies to step up and play a more meaningful role in people’s lives that are not simply transactional, but transformative.
How can you as a leader or company empower people to live better, more fulfilled and climate friendlier lives? How can you embrace business models that are not just based on selling things, but exchanging knowledge, teaching new skills, or creating sharing communities?
Let’s learn from this last emergency and apply the same bold actions and commitment to deal with the climate emergency. We can, you can.
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