Happy Thanksgiving to All
It’s early Thanksgiving morning. I’m the only one awake. I’m looking forward to family, friends, and food later.
I’m looking back to yesterday. It was the one year anniversary of my wife Chris’ brain surgery. Last night, as we ate dinner with a friend, I remembered following the ambulance from Woods Hole to Boston at high speed. I was wondering, as I swerved onto Route 24, if it was all just a dream. A nightmare. It wasn’t; it was the real deal.
One year of health. And she gets healthier – every day.
And now we thank our lucky stars for the great medical care, for the outpouring of support, for our children and grandchildren, for each other, for our good fortune. It is a dream, in a way.
A year ago, as I followed the ambulance to Boston, nobody knew the phrase “the other 99%.” It is now an essential part of our common vocabulary. The dreams of the 99% have been awakened. The genie will not go back in the bottle; once released, it never does, does it?
An Occupy Wall Street protester recently said, about the spirit of this movement, “If you are looking to contact one of our leaders, go to the nearest mirror and peer deeply into it. It may take some time, but, eventually, one of our leaders will appear with answers to all your questions.”
That is the way of this new movement, this new awakening that includes us all.
Jonathan Schell, writing in the Nation two weeks ago said, “When such sea changes of opinion and will are under way, entrenched institutions start to tremble and shake, and political miracles become possible. The signs say ‘Love is the New Fear’ and “The Beginning is Near.’ To this we can now gratefully add,” he says, “ The Beginning is Here.“
In 1985, when Steve Jobs was forced out of Apple, he was determined to top anything he’d done before, to avenge the terrible wrongs to which he had been subjected. Once he recovered from the shipwreck of his despair he tackled his mission with uncommon resolve and ability. But it came from a troubled place, and his path to unparalleled triumphs of design and imagination was littered with corollary damage and contradictions.
Last year, when Jeffrey Hollender was forced out of Seventh Generation, the environmental cleaning products company he founded in 1988, he took a page from Jobs’ book and decided to Think Differently. But he didn’t aspire to revenge; rather, his experience caused him to consider what’s wrong with American business and how he might help to usher in a New Economy that is vital, democratic, resilient, and restorative. For everyone.
Last month I met with Jeffrey and two potential funders of his new enterprise, called CommonWise. CommonWise is committed to “building resilient and revitalized communities by applying design, entrepreneurship, systems mapping, worker cooperatives and technology to achieve a new framework of wealth and wellbeing.”
As I listened to Jeffrey talk, I realized that the new framework he was describing is a pure expression of the dreams and aspirations of the other 99% and a blueprint for achieving them.
Occupy Wall Street and CommonWise represent ideas and forces that have been stewing at the edges of our culture – part of a mosaic of new institutions and approaches that may be ready to bring down high walls and build long bridges.
I had an epic dream some time ago. At one point in the dream a guy asked me to take a look at a piece of writing. I read the title. It was called “An Open Letter to My Shoes.” I thought: what a great title. It evokes so many possibilities – shoes, where they’ve taken me, path, journey, odyssey, etc. Hmm, I mused, I wish I had thought of that. And then I woke up and realized – hey I did think of that! It was my dream.
This helps me remember – it’s our dream! It’s our journey, it’s our path, it’s our design.
It doesn’t take much to rev up my hope; it never has. One year of health. The other 99%. CommonWise. The beginning is here.
Happy Thanksgiving.
CATCHING UP WITH A SUMMER GONE BY
I’ve been neglecting to write. Time to get back to it.
Interesting summer. July was all sunshine. Hammock weather.
Lying in mine I read a provocative new book about our future — The Great Disruption by Paul Gilding, 
an Australian who is the former head of Greenpeace International and more recently sustainability advisor to corporations and NGOs. He is now on the faculty at Cambridge University’s Program for Sustainable Leadership. As I read this book I came to see it as the most accessible and full-bodied treatment to date of the effects of climate change on our planet, our economies, our lives.
Soon after I encountered a review of the book by Nick Moraitis, another Australian, and one of the young founders of Make Believe, a consulting firm committed to social change. But it wasn’t just a review; it was a plan. Says Moraitis about his reaction to the book, “ I couldn’t rationally put the book down and exclaim, ‘I agree, there is a more than even odds chance Paul is spot on,’ – and then go back to my personal ‘business as usual.’ This is the type of mind-bending book that demands a personal response, and an action plan.”
So he made one. His plan covers the areas of Personal Finances, Current Work, Education, Promoting the Book, Business Opportunities, and Life.
I liked that – Read a Book and Make a Plan. There is no reason not to prepare our companies, our communities, and our lives – right now! So I appropriated his idea and made one too. I’ve kind of been working on this plan for a long time, in a variety of ways, but I’ve been lackadaisical at best; I know for certain that there are many who have been working on their versions far more intently – and coherently – than I. So anyway, now I’m working on my own Personal (Slow) Action Plan in response to the new reality of life on planet earth and the New Economy it presupposes. My approach is closely aligned with Moraitis’ model, but the categories that work for me are: Personal Life, Work, Education, and Advocacy. In a future post I’ll share the plan, and talk some about how the book affected the thinking of my colleagues here at SMC, and how it is influencing our thinking about the future of our company.
But back to summer. As you can imagine, just about everyone comes to Martha’s Vineyard at some time or another. That can be a good thing.
In late July MA Governor Deval Patrick came to Eliakim’s Way, the West Tisbury zero energy affordable housing we developed, for a “summer conversation” with the Martha’s Vineyard citizens and public officials. It was a very nice scene with the Guv – people standing and sitting around under the trees in a clump (probably 60-80 people), Deval right out front, no separation from the crowd, wearing a Hawaiian shirt & sandals, no microphone. 
He spoke for no more than 5 minutes and then opened it up: “this a conversation, it’s all about you and your issues.” He had several department heads with him to answer questions in more depth, and roving guys with notepads to take down peoples’ names if there wasn’t time for complete answers.
He took plenty of comments and questions and was very loose and relaxed in his responses. When he didn’t know much about the particular issue he would either ask for more elaboration or turn to one of his staff. He had a nice way of saying to the questioner, “So what’s your solution to this issue?” Some good ideas emerged and provoked further discussion.
Nearing the end thunder started rolling and the sky darkened. I had my 90 year old parents there sitting in beach chairs and it became clear that there was going to be a serious thunderstorm. But I couldn’t leave because I had promised my colleague Rob Meyers (who couldn’t be there) that I would inquire about several solar issues. I figured if I didn’t manage to get it done he would probably resign in disgust, so i stuck it out (we need him). As the storm threatened to burst, I was next in the question queue and the person before me was verbose. So I told my folks to head for the car (they move very slowly) and I waited my turn.
It finally came.
I said that one of the reasons the people at Eliakim’s are able to enjoy these zero energy homes is because of a tremendous state program called the Green Affordable Homes Initiative, and thanked him for that (and said it was a shame it was a one-shot deal, and hopefully they’ll get it going again). I said the solar industry is booming in MA due to very progressive state policies and incentives, and thanked him for that. ”But,” I said, “there are several potentially crippling obstacles that need immediate change. One is the state Fire Marshal’s ruling that only licensed electricians can install solar systems. This makes no sense. Electricians don’t build buildings or bridges, they don’t install signs and billboards, they just do the electrical part. This ruling has the potential to cut out the people who built the industry and decrease quality to boot.”
He was nodding all along, and was obviously familiar with the issue. ”I got it. I got it. I’m with you,” he said.
“The other,” I continued, “is the net metering cap [which regulates the amount of distributed renewable energy the utilities must accept and credit at retail prices]. It needs to be raised.”
“I got it. Oh yeah. I’m with you.”
” But why is there a cap at all?” I queried. ”The more the better, right?”
“Yeah. I got you. I got you.” (he was becoming semi-exasperated). “Does everyone understand what these issues are?” And he briefly explained. And did it well.
Then the heavens let loose. A mighty downpour. Got my folks to the car and gone. . . .
It was good. He is clearly in the loop and committed to positive change. My follow up with his staff proved this to be true, and there is good movement happening in state government with both the issues I raised (and I’m happy to report that there already was before I raised them).
A few days later it was August. I’ll talk about that in the next post. Soon. That’s a promise (you might think it’s a threat!).
ASPARAGUS, SOLAR, & SMC
The thing that intrigues me most, right now, is my semi-pathetic asparagus bed. I’ve been wanting to plant asparagus for years, but until this spring I didn’t manage to get around to it. I love the idea of a vegetable that you plant once and harvest for decades. Are there others? Well. . . sort of. Rhubarb, but is that a vegetable or a fruit or just something else entirely? Horseradish, but who eats much of that? There may be others, but asparagus is the main one. When I finally got around to it, most of the crowns made plants, but it’s still a work in progress.
A few weeks ago I was wondering – at the same time that I was watching my colleagues, Phil and Jon, cover the roof of our house with solar electric panels – why I’m so psyched about the asparagus bed.
WINDTRIGUE ON THE VINEYARD
While the eyes of the world focus on Copenhagen, here at home on Martha’s Vineyard wind energy has been receiving a mighty dose of attention – more than ever before. Are we making progress? Maybe some. You be the judge.
Wind has been in the local news in four distinctly different regards at once: the release and reaction to the draft Massachusetts Oceans Management Plan, the public coming-out of a new organization called Vineyard Power, the continuing saga of Cape Wind, and the adoption of a new wind by-law in Aquinnah.
Before diving in, some context might be useful.
Orr & Brand: To Save Our Civilization
Awhile ago I gave up on doom and gloom. I’ve learned enough to know the problems, and I tired of reading 250 pages of meticulously researched how-bad-it-is-and-how-bad-it’s-gonna-get followed by 25 pages of generalities about the solutions. But I broke my rule when I saw David Orr’s new book, Down to the Wire. The subtitle is Confronting Climate Collapse. He does just that.
He says that “The global crisis ahead is a direct result of the largest political failure in history.”
Living Local & The Next Generation
The third annual Martha’s Vineyard Living Local and Harvest Festival just ended. It began with a Friday night forum called Opportunities and Challenges – a Panel Discussion with Next Generation Island Leaders.
It was about youth. 
Having just turned 60, I am acutely aware of the role of young people (in their 20’s and 30’s) in my work life and civic life. At work they are a constant theme and a growing force. There is a great transition in process at South Mountain Company – from first generation leadership to the next. It’s a long, gradual journey, sometimes a bit frightening but mostly thrilling, and it’s gathering steam.
Out of the Minefield
After reading my last post, Values and Principles, Ross Chapin (www.rosschapin.com.) wrote to me. Ross is an architect in the Northwest who has pioneered in the design and development of small “Pocket Neighborhoods” and is currently writing a book on the subject. 
All Is Forgiven
I managed to get through the Martha’s Vineyard summer attending only one fundraiser. That’s a record. And, for the first time in at least a decade, I did no fundraising for the causes I care about. I must admit it felt good. Fundraising is hard.
The single event I went to – for our Massachusetts governor Deval Patrick – was a good one,. It happened to be scheduled for the day after we found out Ted Kennedy died. Deval spoke about Kennedy. He said, “ I knew him before I ever met him because my mother used to say, to no one in particular” (and here he slipped into a drawl), “I just love me some Kennedy.”
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JOHN ABRAMS is co-founder and CEO
of South Mountain Company and the author
of COMPANIES WE KEEP read more
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COMPANIES WE KEEP is published by Chelsea Green Publishing
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