{"id":421,"date":"2015-11-08T20:48:30","date_gmt":"2015-11-08T20:48:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=421"},"modified":"2015-12-07T20:18:17","modified_gmt":"2015-12-07T20:18:17","slug":"poop-and-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/2bgreener.com\/?p=421","title":{"rendered":"Poop and Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"

This morning my son and I were walking to our carpool ride to a mini maker faire at Barnes and Noble. We we chatting about an exercise his class did on a school trip a few months ago, and this story made me crack up AND made me think.\u00a0 Two of my favorite things.<\/p>\n

The teachers were sent out of the room and told they would be illustrating to the kids how they entertained themselves. They could use interjections, actions and sounds, but no other words. The kids, however, were told the teachers would be illustrating how they used the bathroom.<\/p>\n

Imagine the laughs when one teacher sat for a loooong time making all the motions for knitting and another sat and mimed enjoying a good meal, with the kids picturing them sitting on the pot! Many of the other depictions, of course, did not make any sense at all from the perspective of using the bathroom. And the funniest; One teacher said “come on, you can do it, come on” then sat for a couple of seconds, then jumped up and said “boom, yah, you did it..hoorah” illustrative of a sports event. Utter comedy from the perspective of bathroom efforts.<\/p>\n

The purpose behind this (excuse the pun) is to show that comprehension\u00a0can vary widely depending on what you expect, and the questions or ideas in your own head. And this ties to sustainability in so many immensely important ways.<\/p>\n

First, the\u00a0understanding of sustainability as a word can warp the collaborations<\/strong>. I constantly come up against people who dismiss my input because, in their minds, I am all about saving trees no matter the cost. If they were to understand I’m seeking business strength and long-term success by including externalities in the equation (health, durability. Local economy, reductions in waste, maintenance of customer relationship) I’m sure they would see my examples and my input quite differently.<\/p>\n

Second, the understanding of urgency is a huge factor in all aspects of greener work.<\/strong>\u00a0 The true imperative (we must reduce GHG and adapt to changes already en route, and this is needed for our survival) can be debilitating, while a lack of recognition of the need can entirely undermine any work. If one person understands the urgency, there is an exceptionally different approach to achieving zero net energy and zero net toxin buildings as compared to working with someone who feels this is solely a cool marketing add-on and that saving 20% over code is admirable.<\/p>\n

Third, the success of a project can be affected by where someone is standing at the start of it, and their role.<\/strong>\u00a0 If an Energy Manager is focused only on the % reduction in energy use but has no expectations of assessing user comfort, this will have an affect. As soon as there is a knee jerk reaction to improving user comfort by applying more energy, perhaps instigated by maybe the HR staff or the Residence Life Director, the Energy Manager becomes unhappy. Lack of mutual understanding will create a detrimental lack of\u00a0 balance in the goal setting.<\/p>\n

Finally, what of the perspective of blame?<\/strong> Is climate change happening to us, or for us? How do you approach a situation when you see it as an opportunity, versus when you see it is a necessary evil? This perspective is something I will explore more in fortune posts, as it is fascinating to me, and a foundational element in our future success.<\/p>\n

\"Is<\/a>

Is it a Duck or a Rabbit? (how about both)<\/p><\/div>\n

So, to seek a solution without creating any new problems we must work to understand the perspectives of the people involved in and affected by every project. At least seek to see the duck and the rabbit both as valuable and reasonable perspectives<\/em>. Communication (and this does mean speaking as well as listening) is the biggest and best tool in our kit to address climate change<\/strong>. We must start on the same page or at least see the other pages clearly in order to incorporate them for broad and sustainable success. Planning any project for a goal that is not everyone’s common goal is certain to create confusion, will lead to mediocre outcomes, and may lead to failure. Have those charrettes and seek to:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • learn people’s innate biases<\/li>\n
  • define often used terms<\/li>\n
  • make sure everyone speaks<\/li>\n
  • get clear, verbal agreement in full consensus and in front of the full team for the plan that is to be adopted<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Understand the perspectives, and avoid encountering (or creating) unanticipated poop!<\/p>\n

    Thanks, and be greener,<\/p>\n

    Jodi<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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