Jeff Clements: How People, Not Money, can Govern America

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find your podcasts.

Corporations, wealthy donors, and special interest groups have always had a disproportionate impact on elections, but their sway has dramatically increased since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision of 2010 with negative repercussions for the fight against political corruption and American democracy itself.

Today’s guest is Jeff Clements, who serves as President of American Promise, a fast-growing, cross-partisan network of Americans working to win the next amendment to the US Constitution so that people, not money, govern America. Jeff has practiced law for three decades in public service and private practice and is the author of Corporations Are Not People: Reclaiming Democracy From Big Money and Global Corporations, a must-read for anyone who is sick and tired of the reign of corporate super-citizens in American politics.

In this discussion, Jeff outlines the strange history of the Citizens United ruling, the ongoing destructive effects that it is having, and the growing movement to reverse it. We take a look at the damage done to America and its people by the concentrated political power of billionaires and global corporations that spend money to dominate debate and influence election outcomes. We also explore some of the creative strategies and tools that the American people are using to renew democracy and curb unbalanced corporate power. Make sure to tune in today to learn more!

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Insight into Jeff’s legal background and what led him to American Promise. [0:03:24]

  • Examining the broad support for a bipartisan constitutional amendment to get big money out of politics and restore democratic power to the people. [0:08:55]

  • A non-partisan look at the massive, multibillion dollar operation that we call elections. [0:14:06]

  • The real threat of oligarchy as the ‘donor class’ becomes increasingly concentrated. [0:20:18]

  • Attainable timelines and outcomes for American Promise that transcend politics. [0:22:24]

  • Writing the 28th Amendment and American Promise’s strategy for earning support. [0:26:45]

  • How to join American Promise’s network of civically responsible business leaders. [0:32:18]

  • Understanding why we require a systemic solution for a systemic problem. [0:37:41]

  • The deeper significance of working toward a shared bipartisan vision for America. [0:38:53]

---

Tweetables:

“Free speech [and] equal representation in our political system are both values that belong to all Americans. We have the ability and the right to enact reasonable, effective regulations of corporate money and other money in elections.” — @ClementsJeff [0:08:17]

“In a very divided time, you have to unite republicans, democrats, independents. You have to get wins along the way. [You have to] build massive pressure to overcome the immense obstacle that is Congress; and we are doing that. We’re doing all those things.” — @ClementsJeff [0:13:40]

“The level of cynicism and nastiness of this stuff is not just to be bemoaned because it’s ridiculous or offensive. It actually has an impact on our political system.” — @ClementsJeff [0:19:28]

“The concentration of the money is as big a problem as the amount and how it’s spent.” — @ClementsJeff [0:22:19]

“Some of our most impactful advocates are local and national businesspeople who are managing their businesses for impact and improvement of environment and society.” — @ClementsJeff [0:33:03]

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Jeff Clements on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-clements/

Jeff Clements on Twitter: https://twitter.com/clementsjeff

Corporations Are Not People: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781626562103

American Promise: https://americanpromise.net/

American Promise Business Network: https://americanpromise.net/business-network/

National Citizen Leadership Conference: https://nclc.info/

High Conflict: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982128562

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine-month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g. vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

MBA Series (Ep. 2) - Intro to the Next Economy II

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts. 

We may not be to blame for climate change, systemic racism, and damaging levels of debt, but we are responsible for doing whatever we can to turn the tide on these issues that currently plague our world.

Over the course of 18 episodes, we are going to discuss the key themes that we explore in our Next Economy MBA program. This program is focused on educating the people who are going to drive the Next Economy forward by creating systems that benefit all life. With people like you, there is hope for the future of our species on this planet.

In this episode of the MBA series, we delve into the problem with interest-bearing debt, why access (not availability) is the reason that 800 million people are chronically hungry, and how historical systems perpetuate inequalities across the world today, as well as why the Genuine Progress Indicator is a better measure of progress than Gross Domestic Product. We hope you’ll join us!

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Exploring the destructive nature of our relationship with money. [0:03:35]

  • Debunking the myth that there is a scarcity of food in the world today. [0:07:39]

  • Examples of how a scarcity mindset manifests itself. [0:10:56]

  • The benefits of a shorter workweek. [0:11:55]

  • How historical systems perpetuate current inequalities. [0:13:56]

  • Delving into the fallacy of progress. [0:22:03]

  • Surprising factors that lead to the increase of GDP. [0:23:18]

  • Genuine Progress Indicator; a more holistic measure of progress and an alternative to GDP. [0:24:36]

  • The limited power of money and the unlimited power of human connection. [0:28:03]

---

Tweetables:

“Before you can talk about what works, you have to have a shared idea of what perspective you’re coming from and your shared values.” — Phoenix Soleil [0:02:00]

“One of the core problems around how the economy operates right now is that money is the primary or, in some cases, the exclusive way that people meet their human needs.” — Erin Axelrod [0:03:42]

“Creating debt creates this artificial need for continual growth.” — Erin Axelrod [0:06:13]

“What is chronically keeping 800 million people hungry today is not a lack of calories; it’s our economic systems and distribution systems and the fact that money is the roadblock to accessing calories.” — Erin Axelrod [0:08:33]

“If you’re constantly looking at things from an individual point of view and you don’t look at the history and forces of the culture and the politics and how they work together to create conditions, then you’re not going to see the whole picture.” — Phoenix Soleil [0:21:03]

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Next Economy MBA: https://lifteconomy.com/mba 

Wasted! The Story of Food Waste: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6207096/ 

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine-month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

---

Other episodes in this series include:

Robin D.G. Kelley: Disrupting the Dominant Capitalist Ideology

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

Today on the Next Economy Now Podcast, we welcome esteemed public intellectual and author Professor Robin D.G. Kelley. Robin is the Distinguished Professor and Gary B. Nash Endowed Chair in U.S. History at UCLA and has researched and published extensively on the history of social movements in the US, the African Diaspora, and Africa. He has also spent time focusing on Black intellectuals, music and visual culture, Surrealism, and Marxism.

We get to cover a few of these areas of expertise, spread across his wide range of articles and books, with Robin opening up about racial capitalism, the role of the state, his personal background, and what we should expect of private companies. He also talks about reimagining some of the commonly held views of the market economy, and how this can enable us to build a healthier future for a larger portion of the world. 

One of the biggest takeaways from our chat is the idea of refocusing on communal needs, and how this might best be achieved in a realistic manner. Join us to catch this high-level, yet approachable exploration of what it means to build a successful economy, the roots of anti-capitalism, and a whole lot more, with Professor Robin D.G. Kelley.

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • Some of Professor Kelley's background and route into his particular area of expertise and research.  

  • The theories that began the disruption of the dominant capitalist ideology.  

  • Understanding the role of the state; balancing utopianism with the need for realistic change. 

  • Examples of the kinds of community initiatives that are sustainable and socially empowering.

  • Working with private companies; how business can evolve to benefit a larger number of people.  

  • A new definition and a fuller depiction of success. 

  • The intersection of racism and capitalism; Professor Kelley talks about the links.  

  • Professor Kelley's perspective on society's pressing need for further education.

---

Tweetables:

“There are solutions, some of them are short-term, some of them are long-term, sometimes the short-term solution creates the conditions for long-term vision .” — Robin D.G. Kelley

“You don't need to bring in a high-paid consultant to figure it out, people are figuring it out on the ground, and that, to me, is way more important.” — Robin D.G. Kelley

“There are ways to make companies more amenable to the needs of communities and consumers.” — Robin D.G. Kelley

“We are being assaulted by, not just misinformation, but a kind of ideological, neoliberal common sense which is really, really dangerous. This idea that there is only one way to think about the economy.” — Robin D.G. Kelley

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Robin D. G. Kelley — https://history.ucla.edu/faculty/robin-d-g-kelley

UCLA — https://www.ucla.edu/

Africa Speaks, America Answers https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780674046245

Thelonious Monkhttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9781439190463

Freedom Dreamshttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9780807092460

Hammer and Hoe https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781469625485

Black Bodies Swinging https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250805430

How Europe Underdeveloped Africa — https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781788731188

Kwame Ture — https://www.britannica.com/biography/Stokely-Carmichael

Cedric Robinson — https://www.thenation.com/article/society/cedric-robinson-essays/

Black Marxismhttps://www.indiebound.org/book/9780807848296

Lauren Halsey — https://www.davidkordanskygallery.com/artist/lauren-halsey

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

MBA Series (Ep. 1) - Intro to the Next Economy

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

To kick off our new MBA Series, LIFT Partners Erin Axelrod and Kevin Bayuk sit down to give a run down of what our listeners can expect in the following podcasts, how it relates to the Next Economy MBA program, and to introduce some important terms and concepts that will be explored in future episodes. Much of this is about different ways to think about fundamental ideas, supporting the development of the next economy, and the significance of our use of the words 'next', and 'economy'. 

One of the founding principles of our organization is our need to imagine what comes next, and the utmost importance of this to the planet as a whole. Thus, spearheading a progressive and impactful critique, and getting away from the confines of the default, business-as-usual economy is a big part of what we do.

Tuning in today, you will hear a little about rethinking ownership and profit-making, links between reduced energy consumption and improved quality of life, ways to break free from the damaging effects of exploitative norms, and better models for healthy scaling and necessary replication. So if you want to come on this journey to imagine a healthier and more equitable future for all, start here.

---

Key Points From This Episode:

  • The broader meaning of 'economy' in the context of this work.

  • Escaping the confines of the 'business-as-usual' economy.

  • The inability to separate the economy from the legacy of oppression and inequality. 

  • Unpacking the core idea of the 'next economy' and the significance of the usage of the word 'next'.  

  • The central roles of land, housing, and access in birthing the next economy. 

  • Reframing ownership and the inspiring example of Our Table Cooperative.

  • Introducing the concept of enterprises as part of movement networks that can transform systems. 

  • Situating new technologies in these ideas for the future and reduced energy usage. 

  • The fundamental points of critique of the business-as-usual economy. 

---

Tweetables:

“Economy, to us, encompasses much more than interest, debt, and dividends.” — Erin

“A lot of the choicefulness that entrepreneurs and individuals are able to step into is defined by legacies of harm and oppression.” — Erin

“A lot of the techniques, strategies, and approaches that we explore in the Next Economy MBA are actually really old. So they are not new, and they come in most part from indigenous wisdom, traditions, and lifeways.” — Kevin

“There is such an abundance of innovative ways to look at how we truly relate to land and housing.” — Erin

“If you take away the orientation towards profit-making, you can have better practices!” — Kevin

---

Links Mentioned in Today’s Episode:

Next Economy MBA Online Course - https://lifteconomy.com/mba

Our Table Cooperative — https://www.ourtable.us/

Robin Wall Kimmerer — https://www.robinwallkimmerer.com/

Erin Axelrod — https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinaxelrod

Kevin Bayuk — https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinbayuk

---

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

 Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

---

Other episodes in this series include:

Patagonia Case Study [4 of 4] – Operations (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

This is the final episode in a rebroadcast of our four part interview series with Vincent Stanley from Patagonia.

Tired of all the rebroadcasts? We have been working on a new project that will be launching 8/22/22. More info to come very soon…

Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.

Interview Highlights:

  • How Patagonia thinks about social, environmental, and financial goal setting and key performance indicators

  • The thought process behind how Patagonia sets prices for its products

  • Internal and external reporting practices, including the B Impact Assessment and the “Footprint Chronicles'“

  • How Patagonia baked its values and benefit purposes into its company bylaws

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Patagonia Case Study [3 of 4] – Strategy (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

This is the third episode in a rebroadcast of our four part interview series with Vincent Stanley from Patagonia.

Tired of all the rebroadcasts? We have been working on a new project that will be launching 8/22/22. More info to come in the coming weeks!

Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.

Interview Highlights:

  • Patagonia’s approach to marketing and how it’s evolved over time

  • Exploration of the thinking behind Patagonia’s feature-length films

  • How Patagonia intentionally cultivates their brand community

  • Standing up for what you stand for might mean standing against or alienating potential customers and strategic partners

  • Doing what’s right and authentic is good business

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Patagonia Case Study [2 of 4] – Culture (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

This is the first episode in a rebroadcast of our four part interview series with Vincent Stanley from Patagonia.

Tired of all the rebroadcasts? We have been working on a new project that will be launching 8/22/22. More info to come in the coming weeks!

Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.

Interview Highlights:

  • Maintaining consistent culture across geographies through values alignment and shared purpose & sense of agency in serving customers

  • Creating the conditions to allow people to show up as their full self and pursue the passions outside of work that enhance their value when present for Patagonia

  • Enacting purposeful business activism to influence the market, supply web, and policy in ways that are core to the mission and operations

  • Patagonia’s efforts and stance with regard to racial and gender equity, diversity, and inclusion

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Patagonia Case Study [1 of 4] – Vision (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

This is the first episode in a rebroadcast of our four part interview series with Vincent Stanley from Patagonia.

Tired of all the rebroadcasts? We have been working on a new project that will be launching 8/22/22. More info to come in the coming weeks!

Vincent Stanley, co-author with Yvon Chouinard of "The Responsible Company", has been with Patagonia on and off since its beginning in 1973, for many of those years in key executive roles as head of sales or marketing. More informally, he is Patagonia’s long-time chief storyteller. Vincent helped develop the Footprint Chronicles, the company’s interactive website that outlines the social and environmental impact of its products; the Common Threads Partnership; and Patagonia Books. He currently serves as the company’s Director, Patagonia Philosophy, and is a visiting fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is also a poet whose work has appeared in Best American Poetry. He and his wife, the writer Nora Gallagher, live in Santa Barbara.

Interview Highlights:

  • Four critical moments in Patagonia’s history: rock climbing with petons, the Ventura River, organic cotton, and “Don’t Buy This Jacket.”

  • How Patagonia developed its new mission statement

  • The Stockholm Resilience framework and how Patagonia thinks about planetary boundaries

  • The company’s approach to growth and why they should (or should not) grow

  • The eight business philosophies that guide the company’s decision-making and operations

—-

LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Guest Post: Intro to the Next Economy

The following is the first in a series of guest posts from Jeremy Casebeer, a professional athlete and upcoming participant in Cohort IX of the Next Economy MBA (starting September 20, 2022). Jeremy will be posting monthly about his experiences preparing for and participating in the course.

As a professional beach volleyball player from Southern California I’ve been fortunate to grow up outdoors with access to the mountains and beaches. From an early age, I loved being in nature. Multiple wildfire evacuations with my family made me realize that our relationship with the natural environment is very delicate. 

In high school, I was introduced to climate change and went on to study Environmental Studies at UCLA. While I put a traditional job in sustainability on pause to pursue my dream to play beach volleyball professionally, I’ve been working to use my platform as an athlete to scale impact as an ambassador for nonprofits, working on the first Climate Action Plan in volleyball, and focusing my sponsorships with brands that share my values and have transparent impact and third party certifications. (Condense?)

I’ve been fascinated by the relationship of how we can structure social and economic systems to improve our lives and the health of our planet. My next step in understanding the potential of business for good is to learn with others when I join LIFT Economy’s “Next Economy MBA” program starting September 20, 2022. 

It is clear that our current economic system is not working for the vast majority of people and the planet. For example, some of the problems include:

  • Economic, racial, and gender inequality

  • Climate change and environmental degradation

  • Billions of people struggling to meet their basic needs 

Profit maximization, competition, and scarcity have been central to capitalism since it emerged in the 16th century. This reflects how the world was understood at the time. It was our best attempt to organize society in order to trade and produce goods and services efficiently. 

Technology, access to information, and our consumption of natural resources has accelerated exponentially since capitalism emerged. We live, think, and act differently now. So when you consider how little the core principles of our current economy have changed over the past few hundred years, these structural problems are not surprising.   

We now understand just how interdependent we are on each other and our environment, that our collective actions determine our collective future. 

As our understanding evolves, so should the systems that we use. It wouldn’t be reasonable to assume our systems for thinking and acting as teenagers would serve us well into life as adults. As we learn and grow, we implement more effective ways to live productive and meaningful lives. 

Similarly, our economic system should evolve to meet the needs of our modern world. It is time to move on from a system that leads to inequality, incentivizes exploitation, and encourages short term thinking to the Next Economy.

The “Next Economy” is what our economic system might look like when it does transform. LIFT Economy describes the Next Economy as a "bioregional, locally self-reliant, and racially just economy that works for the benefit of all life—one that meets the basic needs for all people everywhere while regenerating our planetary ecosystems."

I look forward to joining the 2022 Next Economy MBA cohort this September. For those of you who are interested, the Next Economy MBA is a nine month learning journey for emerging leaders of an equitable, inclusive and regenerative economy. I will be studying key business principles from the world's most innovative organizations and gathering the tools I will need to align the deeper purpose of my career.

Over the next year I will be sharing insights from the Next Economy MBA in a series of podcast episodes and blog posts. To learn more go to www.lifteconomy.com/mba and subscribe to Our Impact Podcast

David Holmgren: RetroSuburbia – The Downshifter's Guide to a Resilient Future (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

David Holmgren is best known as the co-originator with Bill Mollison of the permaculture concept following the publication of Permaculture One in 1978. Since then he has developed three properties, consulted and supervised in urban and rural projects and presented lectures, workshops and courses at a wide variety of events and venues in Australia and around the world. His writings over those three decades span a diversity of subjects and issues but always illuminating another aspect of permaculture thinking.

At home (Melliodora in Hepburn, Central Victoria), David is the vegetable gardener, silviculturalist and builder. Within the international and growing permaculture movement, David is respected for his commitment to presenting permaculture ideas through practical projects and teaching by personal example, that a sustainable lifestyle is a realistic, attractive and powerful alternative to dependent consumerism.

As well as constant involvement in the practical side of permaculture, David is passionate about the philosophical and conceptual foundations for sustainability, the focus of his seminal book Permaculture: Principles and Pathways Beyond Sustainability.  This book has been significant influences on the development of Transition Initiatives around the world. More recently his Future Scenarios work has seen him recognized as a significant thinker about the “Energy Descent future.” After a decade of significant international travel, David is no longer flying but continues to do some international presentations by Skype and pre-recorded video including receipt of the recent award by Italian environmental organisation.

Interview Highlights:

  • From the co-originator of the permaculture concept, David shares his definition of what permaculture is and what it is not

  • Discussion of David’s new book, RetroSuburbia: The Downshifter's Guide to a Resilient Future

  • An unpacking of many economic ideas based around what David Holmgren argues is the basic economic unit of society: the household.

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LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

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Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

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Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Kris Lin-Bronner: The Magic of Dr. Bronner's (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

Kris Lin-Bronner is Strategic Adviser and CSR Manager for Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, the top-selling brand of natural soaps in North America. She is responsible for overseeing and managing many diverse projects under the umbrella of sustainability and social responsibility.

Kris advises the Special Operations Team and affiliated Fair Trade projects on financial and operational matters, provides integrated risk assessments on new business ventures, and works to institutionalize Dr. Bronner’s sustainability efforts across multiple levels of the company, from operations to governance. Prior to joining Dr. Bronner’s, she worked in the non-profit sector for programs serving recently resettled refugee and immigrant youths in San Diego.

Kris earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard University and a graduate degree in International Economic Development from UCSD. She is a former hospice volunteer, as well as a design enthusiast, and she enjoys adventure travel. She was born in 1974 in Taiwan and currently lives in Encinitas, California with her husband David and their daughter Maya.

Some highlights from Kevin’s interview with Kris include:

  • How Dr. Bronner’s models what’s possible for companies in addressing climate change

  • The rippling impact of Dr. Bronner’s leading edge strategy around mitigating climate change impacts by engaging with the land use practices in their supply stream

  • Dr. Bronner’s goal to get enough people to care to create the critical mass to shift away from the extractive economic model to a more regenerative model and how they pursue that goal

  • The success of the Fair Pay Today program where Dr. Bronner’s and a consortium of businesses advocated for fair living wages for workers and their ongoing efforts to address income inequality

  • Dr. Bronner’s excitement about Project Drawdown and how to use it as a tool to assess what role Dr. Bronner’s can play within their scope of influence

  • As a top scoring B Corp, Kris shares how Dr. Bronner’s attracts new talent

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Resources:

Videos:

Terminology:

Organizations

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LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/

Frederic Laloux: Reinventing Organizations for the Next Stage of Human Consciousness (Rebroadcast)

Subscribe to Next Economy Now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Google Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you find podcasts.

A former Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company, Frédéric Laloux holds an MBA from INSEAD, and a degree in coaching from Newfield Network in Boulder, Colorado. He has traveled widely and speaks five languages fluently. Frédéric Laloux works as an adviser, coach, and facilitator for corporate leaders who feel called to explore fundamentally new ways of organizing.  His work draws on two strands: his deep understanding of the inner workings of organizations, and his longstanding fascination with the topic of human development and his own joyful journey of personal and spiritual growth.

His research in the field of emerging organizational models, published in his book Reinventing Organizations, has been described as “groundbreaking” and “a leap in management thinking” by some of the most respected scholars in the field of human development and management. The book focuses on how a currently emerging, new form of consciousness is bringing forth a radically more soulful, purposeful, and productive management paradigm.

Some highlights from our interview include:

  • A brief overview of the concepts and inspiration behind Reinventing Organizations

  • What Laloux would change if he could write the book over again today

  • What is was like for Laloux to present his findings to the Dalai Lama

  • How the election of Donald Trump has affected Laloux’s worldview

  • The book he most often gives as a gift

  • What’s next for him in the next 6-12 months

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Resources:

Reinventing Organizations Wiki

Translations of Reinventing Organizations

Enlivening Edge: News from Next-Stage Organizations

Participatory Budgeting

Center for Courage & Renewal

The Center for Nonviolent Communication

The Mankind Project

Videos:

Books:

Organizations Modeling Teal Characteristics:

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LIFT Economy Newsletter

Join 8,000+ subscribers and get our free 60-point business design checklist—plus monthly tips, advice, and resources to help you build the Next Economy: https://lifteconomy.com/newsletter

---

Next Economy MBA

This episode is brought to you by the Next Economy MBA.

What would a business education look like if it was completely redesigned for the benefit of all life? This is why the team at LIFT Economy created the Next Economy MBA (https://lifteconomy.com/mba).

The Next Economy MBA is a nine month online course for folks who want to learn key business fundamentals (e.g., vision, culture, strategy, and operations) from an equitable, inclusive, and regenerative perspective.

Join the growing network of 350+ alumni who have been exposed to new solutions, learned essential business skills, and joined a lifelong peer group that is catalyzing a global shift towards an economy that works for all life.

Learn more at https://lifteconomy.com/mba.

---

Show Notes + Other Links

For detailed show notes and interviews with past guests, please visit https://lifteconomy.com/podcast

If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It really helps expose these ideas to new listeners: https://bit.ly/nexteconomynow

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LIFTEconomy

Instagram: https://instagram.com/lifteconomy/

Facebook: https://facebook.com/LIFTEconomy/

YouTube: https://youtube.com/c/Lifteconomy

Music by Chris Zabriskie: https://chriszabriskie.com/