New Book Excerpt: Exploring A Sustainable Future

“Buckminster Fuller said that spaceship earth was so ingeniously designed that no one has a clue that we are on one, flying through the universe at a million miles per hour, with no need for seat belts, lots of room in coach, and really good food—but all that is changing.”  ~ Paul Hawken
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The 21st century will be a century of change, transformation, new ideas and innovation, and discoveries that will enrich our society.  We have entered a new industrial revolution.  An industrial change that acknowledges our environment, our current generation’s needs, our need to revisit best practices, our business need to transform and prepare our legacy to meet the needs for succeeding generations.

We currently have, in place, a budding Sustainability industry that will continue to grow, mature and expand in the next 20 years. This is not a siloed approach,  but an integrated solution approach that is tailored to fit each organization’s needs.

Ideas will come from Humanity and Nature will show us the path.  We will see a dance between Technology and Science that will build our economies as nothing before. Technological arrays, will focus on issues and resolution through the use of technology. From science, biological and “natural” views, will focus on how to restore our environment. It will continue to build on array and matrix foundations, which will holistically support industries, countries and the world in the transformation to a sustainable planet. Technological arrays will interconnect technologies for remediation of Sustainability issues (i.e.,  Transportation, Traffic, Internet, Water Purification, etc.). Environmental matrices will produce biological and “natural” views will make solutions for converting waste to bio-nutrients for the purpose of environmental restoration. This is a long-term mending and nurturing strategy to restore our planet.

In this century, business will be the true catalyst for pragmatic Sustainability transformation.  This is a systematic approach of eliminating waste, improve efficiency,  addressing customer needs, and recognizing corporate social responsibilities. Sustainability is a systemic framework to address economic, environmental, social and technological issues, to create a sustainable world and avoid declining ecosystems and the extinction of Humanity as we know it. The business community has begun to implement Sustainability and has proven that change can indeed be profitable.

For the first time in the history of humanity, we can see our survivability threaten by witnessing dramatic climatic change, scarcity of resources, overpopulation, and the ignorance and abuse of our planet. Humanity will be obliged to address these critical problems. Our population is growing at phenomenal rate and this key issue, which increases demands on all resources (land, water, food, air, etc.) will be the bane of the next two or three human generations. But we have a choice. We must change our approach to business, recognize resource limitations, and make decisions that ensure holistic understanding in order to make informed decisions that will benefit our biosphere and mankind. Four profound ideas will transform this century and lead us down a more secure path:

•     Creating A New Renaissance will bring new ideas and original thought
•     Creating Shared Value will redefine business and its relationship with society
•     Creating Disruptive Technology will bring innovation to the marketplace
•     Creating Technology For New Resources will bring new resources to the market
•     Creating A Gateway To Originality will bring new thoughts and meld with old ones

This is an excerpt of my new book “Building a Bridge to Benefits”. Publication date is scheduled for November 2013 and is planned to be available on Amazon. More to come …
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Jarvis Business Solutions, LLC
Contact Information
Email: Ralph.Jarvis@JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
Blog: http://horizons.JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
Web site: http://www.JarvisBusinessSolutions.com
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/corporatesocialresponsibility/

Lead Smart, Endless Opportunities when Sustainability is driven by Lean Six Sigma
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Electric Vehicles – Disruptive Technology? – Repost

RP Siegel, PE, is an inventor, consultant and author. He co-wrote the eco-thriller Vapor Trails, the first in a series covering the human side of various sustainability issues including energy, food, and water in an exciting and entertaining format. His thoughts include:

English: Toyota Prius V hybrid electric car exhibited at the 2011 Washington Auto Show (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Participation had all the markings of a disruptive technology in its genesis, a solid number of enthusiastic early adopters, holding forth with their pride of ownership to a growing crowd of curious mainstream consumers who were asking lots of questions. That’s what I saw at the event I attended in suburban Penfield, NY outside of Rochester. A dozen or so EV owners stood beside their electronically powered steeds like proud papas pointing into the open engine, oops, I mean, motor compartments. There was a booth set up with a sign that asked how much does it cost to drive 100 miles? The answers, which were hidden under cardboard covers, were as follows:

• gasoline car (25 mpg @ $4/gal = $16)
• electric car (25 kWh @ $0.10/kWh= $2.50)
• electric car charged by solar = $0

Read more about Electric Vehicles – Disruptive Technology

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The Top 10 Strategic CIO Issues For 2013 – Repost

The following article was published by Forbes and written by Bob Evans. Several themes reverberate throughout: analytics, breaking down silos, social, the cloud, and particularly customers, opportunities, growth, and innovation. I hope these prove helpful, and please share your feedback in the comments section below or on Twitter at @bobevansIT.Please check out recent additions to our coverage of the strategic CIO: Career Suicide and the CIO: 4 Deadly New Threats  and The Surge of the Strategic CIO.

And the turbulent forces shaping businesses in today’s always-on global marketplace promise to accelerate that ongoing evolution. In that context, I’ve put together a list of what I believe will be the top priorities for strategic CIOs in the coming year.

As you’ll see, each of these 10 is rooted in change, and calls for the CIO to be a leader instead of a follower; a disrupter instead of a go-alonger; and a business-driven executive instead of a tech-focused manager.

1. Simplify IT and Transform Your Spending: Kick the 80/20 Budget Habit.
2. Lead the Social Revolution: Drive the Social-Enabled Enterprise.
3. Unleash Your Company’s Intelligence: Create the Enterprise-Wide Opportunity Chain.
4. Embrace the Engagement Economy: Merge the Back Office and the Front Office into the Customer Office.
5. Future-Proof Your IT Architecture.
6. Upgrade “Cloud Strategy” to “Business Transformation Enabled by the Cloud.”
7. Transform Big Data into Big Insights, Big Vision, and Big Opportunities.
8. Preside over a Shotgun Wedding: Systems of Record Marry Systems of Engagement.
9. Lead with Speed: CIO as Chief Acceleration Officer.
10. Bend the Value Curve: More Innovation, Less Integration.

 

Read more: The Top 10 Strategic CIO Issues For 2013 …

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Doris Kim Sung: Metal that breathes – TED Video

Published by TED. Doris Kim Sung is a biology student turned architect interested in thermo-bimetals, smart materials that respond dynamically to temperature change.

“[Skin is] the first line of defense for the body.  Our building skins should be more similar to human skin.”       ~ Doris Kim Sung

Modern buildings with floor-to-ceiling windows give spectacular views, but they require a lot of energy to cool. Doris Kim Sung works with thermo-bimetals, smart materials that act more like human skin, dynamically and responsively, and can shade a room from sun and self-ventilate.

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Are You Making Best Use of Disruptive Technology? – Repost from Sustainability Business Forum

Norman Marks, VP of SAP, considers himself an evangelist for better run business. He is a practitioner and thought leader in internal audit, risk management, compliance and ethics, and has led large and small internal audit departments, been a Chief Risk Officer and Chief Compliance Officer, and managed IT Security and governance functions. The following article was written by Mr. Marks and was published in Sustainable Business Forum (click on this link to read more).

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