THREAD: Last-Century thinking got humanity into a mess. It worked well though, just too well. Into the third decade of the new century and I am sad to see how little last century thinking is being named and challenged. 1/

OLD THINKING: Take that nature, use that nature. Same amount of land that we stated with, but going on four times the population and much soil erosion behind us. NEW THINKING: use it, put it back, regenerate it. 2/
OLD: Either you are good or bad. Promoted on almost every TV show. Reality is, we created a system and it grew and that system brings out the worst in us to an extent we have forgotten how to bring out the best in each other, almost. 3/
OLD: If you have money you should spend it on what you want. A few people had cars back in the 1920's. Now there are so many on the Earth that they alone can push the climate over the tipping point. NEW: Money should never give you the power and right to commit ecocide. 4/
OLD: the power in the economy is consumption. Using stuff up. Problem is, we are already using more stuff than our earth-society-earth can sustain. Successful ideas like that end badly when there is more human stuff on the earth than natural. 5/ https://t.co/nhf3P5Bs6C
We need to pivot to the NEW idea: Use it - put it back. It's called the circular economy and it is only part of the solution because we need to put back the legacy of the material age to restore natural working like these guys 6/ https://t.co/Txl1and233
OLD IDEA: Our democracy will fix everything, clever, dedicated people are taking care of us. 40 years of scientists' warnings and no action shows it won't. NEW IDEA: We must rebel. Inaction by Politicians that will kill the young generation is treason. @BespokePanic 7/
OLD IDEA: Peace is the absence of war the rest you get after death. NEW IDEA: peace is who we really are, it is built in and we know it even if we cannot describe it. We don't need a high material life to feel peace but we do need the basics. https://t.co/MNL30DRd0s 8/
OLD IDEA: Look after yourself and if everyone does that, things will work out. Reality is that very few are happy with that arrangement. NEW IDEA: we are all one, and part of the same Earth and nature. Taking care is built into our DNA and we feel good when we do it. Indeed, 9/
Landscape pain is a real thing. We are hurt by the destruction we see. NEW IDEA: pour money into restoration rather than stupid bitcoins, shares and overpriced piles of bricks 10/10 https://t.co/yjnFCwn0sb

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Two things can be true at once:
1. There is an issue with hostility some academics have faced on some issues
2. Another academic who himself uses threats of legal action to bully colleagues into silence is not a good faith champion of the free speech cause


I have kept quiet about Matthew's recent outpourings on here but as my estwhile co-author has now seen fit to portray me as an enabler of oppression I think I have a right to reply. So I will.

I consider Matthew to be a colleague and a friend, and we had a longstanding agreement not to engage in disputes on twitter. I disagree with much in the article @UOzkirimli wrote on his research in @openDemocracy but I strongly support his right to express such critical views

I therefore find it outrageous that Matthew saw fit to bully @openDemocracy with legal threats, seeking it seems to stifle criticism of his own work. Such behaviour is simply wrong, and completely inconsistent with an academic commitment to free speech.

I am not embroiling myself in the various other cases Matt lists because, unlike him, I think attention to the detail matters and I don't have time to research each of these cases in detail.

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1/“What would need to be true for you to….X”

Why is this the most powerful question you can ask when attempting to reach an agreement with another human being or organization?

A thread, co-written by @deanmbrody:


2/ First, “X” could be lots of things. Examples: What would need to be true for you to

- “Feel it's in our best interest for me to be CMO"
- “Feel that we’re in a good place as a company”
- “Feel that we’re on the same page”
- “Feel that we both got what we wanted from this deal

3/ Normally, we aren’t that direct. Example from startup/VC land:

Founders leave VC meetings thinking that every VC will invest, but they rarely do.

Worse over, the founders don’t know what they need to do in order to be fundable.

4/ So why should you ask the magic Q?

To get clarity.

You want to know where you stand, and what it takes to get what you want in a way that also gets them what they want.

It also holds them (mentally) accountable once the thing they need becomes true.

5/ Staying in the context of soliciting investors, the question is “what would need to be true for you to want to invest (or partner with us on this journey, etc)?”

Multiple responses to this question are likely to deliver a positive result.