The following question was asked on LinkedIn:
"After Climate-Gate, skeptics say that man-made climate chaos and global warming are not happening yet the Arctic's melting faster. What are your thoughts, observations and views?"
My response:
"I'm not a an expert in climate change, but I know many such experts. They are professors in environmental science, geology, hydrology, nanotechnology, and geophysics as well as researchers and other professionals in industry. I don't blindly listen to academics, but these are smart, fair people whose opinions I have come to trust over the years. They have all agreed that climate change is happening and that man is causing it for years - since long before it was fashionable.
Our climate is incredibly complex, of course, and perhaps the vast supermajority of such scientists are wrong. At the end of they day, though, if there's even a remote possibility that we are bringing about something as catastrophic as our own destruction, it makes sense to me to do everything within our power to oppose the trend.
This was a major reason that I devoted my entrepreneurial career to cleantech ventures. As a capitalist, I love how many "clean" technologies that help us address climate change simply make good business sense anyway - like energy efficiency, for example."
I also provided a link to a series of articles on How To Talk To Climate Skeptics.
2012-09-14
How Do Entrepreneurs Face Their Fears?
Someone asked the following question on LinkedIn:
"Everyone has a fear of something. Being an entrepreneur there are so many unknowns and big risks that have to be taken in order to grow. How have you been able to take the leep of faith?"
My response:
"Many of the answers so far are quite rational, but fear is an irrational, emotional phenomenon. The best work I've seen on dealing with fear is from Leadership Professor (and former hostage negotiator) George Kohlrieser.
His research shows that, as children, we learn to overcome our fears by relying on Secure Bases. For example, we can take risks while learning to walk because we know that Mom, a Secure Base, will be there to pick us up when we fall. This pattern sticks with us through adulthood.
Therefore one of the best ways to address your own fears is to identify and leverage your secure bases.
They can be people who will still love you even if you fail, places that give you a sense of comfort and solidarity, physical objects, values you have, even pets. When you lean on your secure bases, taking the entrepreneurial plunge seems less risky - or at least the prospect of failure seems less dire.
It goes the other way as well. As you grow your business, it is important for you to lead as a secure base to your employees, giving them confidence to push the envelope and take [calculated] risks."
I've been so impressed with George's work that I'm taking his top-rated High Performance Leadership course, which is available for the first time in the US next year!
"Everyone has a fear of something. Being an entrepreneur there are so many unknowns and big risks that have to be taken in order to grow. How have you been able to take the leep of faith?"
My response:
"Many of the answers so far are quite rational, but fear is an irrational, emotional phenomenon. The best work I've seen on dealing with fear is from Leadership Professor (and former hostage negotiator) George Kohlrieser.
His research shows that, as children, we learn to overcome our fears by relying on Secure Bases. For example, we can take risks while learning to walk because we know that Mom, a Secure Base, will be there to pick us up when we fall. This pattern sticks with us through adulthood.
Therefore one of the best ways to address your own fears is to identify and leverage your secure bases.
They can be people who will still love you even if you fail, places that give you a sense of comfort and solidarity, physical objects, values you have, even pets. When you lean on your secure bases, taking the entrepreneurial plunge seems less risky - or at least the prospect of failure seems less dire.
It goes the other way as well. As you grow your business, it is important for you to lead as a secure base to your employees, giving them confidence to push the envelope and take [calculated] risks."
I've been so impressed with George's work that I'm taking his top-rated High Performance Leadership course, which is available for the first time in the US next year!
2012-09-11
Morning Run in Houston
With the temperature down to 19 C (66 F) for the first time in several months, I took advantage and rose early for a morning jog along Buffalo Bayou in the heart of Houston. When I began, it was still dark and the crescent moon stood guard brilliantly in the cloudless sky. As I ran for an hour and a half, the sun rose and the stars faded, but the moon remained. Brilliant; my love affair with the moon continues. Poised above the downtown Houston skyline, it might not be quite as striking as I remember it over the mountainscapes in Switzerland, but still makes me smile
There were a few takeaways from this morning's run:
* Early exercise is a great way to start the day. Endorphins going, blood flowing, it really kicks the day off right.
* Early exercise is a great way to prepare mentally for the day as well. By the end of my run I felt centered and [after a shower] ready to accomplish everything I had organized in my head during my 90 minutes of running meditation.
* Houston's bayous really are beautiful - lush green banks and smooth streams winding right through the center of our thriving metropolis. I live a short jog away from Buffalo Bayou and my office is right along it downtown; I didn't realize how valuable that proximity would be when I moved in but now I'm extremely grateful for it!
* There is a bond issue up for vote this November 6th to develop the parks along the bayous even further, tremendously enhancing and increasing Houston's green space. I encourage everyone to learn more at Parks By You and to vote for it in November!
There were a few takeaways from this morning's run:
* Early exercise is a great way to start the day. Endorphins going, blood flowing, it really kicks the day off right.
* Early exercise is a great way to prepare mentally for the day as well. By the end of my run I felt centered and [after a shower] ready to accomplish everything I had organized in my head during my 90 minutes of running meditation.
* Houston's bayous really are beautiful - lush green banks and smooth streams winding right through the center of our thriving metropolis. I live a short jog away from Buffalo Bayou and my office is right along it downtown; I didn't realize how valuable that proximity would be when I moved in but now I'm extremely grateful for it!
* There is a bond issue up for vote this November 6th to develop the parks along the bayous even further, tremendously enhancing and increasing Houston's green space. I encourage everyone to learn more at Parks By You and to vote for it in November!
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