What’s behind the change
A transition is a special moment, a journey from the known to the unknown, from the old way to the new way, from the past to the future.
One of the best things about any transition is the potential it holds for growth and change. And the best way to grow during a transition is to pay attention to what’s happening, reflect on it, capture the learning as it happens.
So I’d like to share a few thoughts as I embark on a new journey to set up my own consulting business.
In my last job I was privileged to have the chance to be a part of some important global processes around the biggest issues of our time: climate change and sustainable development.
The two weeks I spent in 2015 at the COP21 climate negotiations which resulted in the Paris Agreement represent an unforgettable highlight, both professionally and personally.
I was proud to have organized a standing-room only scientific press conference, just 24 hours before the final deal, where the participating scientists were mobbed like rock stars. Lobbyists who worried that “scientists speaking truth to power” might disturb the “feel-good” mood at the conference put pressure on our team to change the line-up of scientists. Journalists thanked us for the opportunity to hear objective analysis of what was under negotiation.
As I left the conference centre on December 12, I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. “All the rest is bonus,” I told myself.
So I’m excited to be diving into change now. I want to contribute to accelerating our economic transition away from fossil fuels. In addition, I’d like to sharpen my focus and do things a little differently.
Below I’ve summed up my thinking so far. It’s very much a work in progress. I enjoy creating new things with others, so its an open invitation to everyone to reach out and start iterating collaboratively.
3 things about where I’ve come from
- I’ve worked in many different industries and sectors: media, finance, PR and science. One common thread that stands out is a love of translation — bringing clarity to complexity. So the tagline for my consulting business is “Find Clarity. Create Impact”.
- Over the years, I’ve discovered that I’m good at solving problems, and I do it by working in groups, helping others to examine, explore, analyse and reconfigure their beliefs. This can lead to profound change
- I’ve lived in a lot of different countries, am bi-cultural by birth and speak several languages including French and Chinese. Growing up I felt like an outsider who struggled to fit in, but today it has become an asset. I bring the horizontal, cross-cutting view to my work and it allows me to “see” perspectives that others may miss.
At times, I’ve felt like I might be failing because I couldn’t discern a clear pattern in where my career had led me. In hindsight, the pattern comes into focus. I often choose to start afresh in new fields because I like how it forces you to learn fast. It turns out that this is where I play best, and can contribute most.
This insight hit home in 2014, when I met Richard Saul Wurman, the founder of TED conferences. I ran into him at a conference in Berlin and introduced myself over coffee. Wurman is gruff and contrarian. His rant mode seems to be always-on, in quite a good way.
“Do you know why I’m the most powerful person here?” he asked. “Because everyone else is getting up on stage to show off how smart they are, and I’m the only person who knows how ignorant I am, and that I’m only here to learn.”
3 things I hope to do differently
Change is an opportunity to learn from the past and build on what worked best. For my part, I’ve identified several areas I’d like to zoom in on, and I’ll be writing more about each of these in the coming months.
- Broaden my client base beyond the non-profit world to financial actors, because I believe that the latter are among the most under-leveraged of the non-state actors called upon at COP21 in Paris to deliver the Paris Agreement on climate change.
2. Find a new model of consulting that is a third way between the “hired gun” consultant and full-time employee. The future of work is decentralized, distributed and virtual. I believe we’re going to see a growing need for consultants (let’s find a new name for this!) who are more embedded, more like team members, who have longer-term skin in the game for the organization. Perhaps a business model involving equity to replace or supplement the usual project rates? Look to the sharing economy communities for new ideas.
3. Integrate strategic thinking, sustainability communications, technical translation and storytelling in a way that removes the need for such narrowly defined silos. These labels were useful in centralised organizations run like machines. Creating change in decentralized networks requires people who can toggle across a spectrum of skills and expertise. What are we going to call this?
Who I’m looking to work with
If you work in a sector that’s important but hard to explain and matters for the future of our children, let’s talk and find ways to re-frame your approach to sharing that work.
If you have a hard problem that nobody else seems to be able to bust, let’s get on a call and see if we can turn it upside down together and shake out a solution.
If you work in green finance or green finance research, and need help positioning your work strategically for impact, you are at the top of my inbox already.
Lastly, gratitude. I never thought I’d have so much fun taking the leap to being my own boss. Changing hats has thrown me into new communities of creative and generous people. Going from being in service to one organization to multiple networks of awesome people is massively energising, and I can’t wait to meet more people this year in 2019 and see where it takes me.
