What is a life well lived?

The past year has seen a flurry of climate, sustainability, and ESG reporting regulations enacted in both the US and the EU.

Regeneration leadership, particularly in business and politics, means something different than the capabilities needed to rally the troops to win a game like basketball or business.

Our market economies work because lots of people agree and have chosen to play by the rules, which for those of us who grew up in them, seem obvious. However, looked at from the point of view of the subsistence Malawi farmer or the lion pride, the rules of the market economy aren’t obvious.

I discovered leadership principles that have endured as my personal and professional life evolved away from river guiding to marriage, parenthood, entrepreneurship, and sustainability consulting for some of the America’s largest corporations.

“If anything can save the world, I’d put my money on beauty.”

— Doug Tompkins

Large landscape-level conservation projects are the grand hedge against the system failures surrounding negative externalities and our political and economic inability to price things correctly.

Until recently, sustainability actions to mitigate climate change have been almost entirely centered around emission reduction.

I am often struck by a single word. A powerful word has so much to say. The very best words defy easy definitions. They bring forth emotion. They cause us to think and feel deeply. Their meanings shift subtly depending on the context.

We can and should honor the contributions of Milton Friedman and his University of Chicago colleagues. At the same time, we must now lay to rest a theory that has outlived its usefulness and place it in its appropriate historical context, giving room for a new, more complex paradigm to emerge. 

Great entrepreneurs don't just build valuable, enduring companies. They change context, reimagine systems, craft new narratives, and dream new dreams.