Adam Menter’s Blog

I watch It’s A Wonderful Life every holiday season. It’s my favorite movie.

So it was with great interest that I read today’s NYTimes article: Wonderful? Sorry, George, It’s a Pitiful, Dreadful Life (NYTimes Arts, 12/19/08). The author is obviously a lover of the film - but also makes the observation that Pottersville would not only be a more fun town than Bedford Falls, but also a more financially sound one. It’s an interesting perspective and he points out a few moments in the film I’ll pay special attention to this year (i.e. Ernie’s blank stare when George enters the cab in Pottersville).

But despite the cheap thrills and economic success of Pottersville - it’s not a place that many of us would want to live. And, to me, if Pottersville is the more economically “sustainable” town of the two - we have some fundamental re-plumbing to do on our economy and our society. (see: current financial crisis)

At its heart this is a movie about the importance of relationships and integrity in living a rewarding and meaningful life. The film is great because it shows that the world is a tough place that can make even the best of us lose our cool. But that we can aspire to a better future by aspiring to be better people.

If you haven’t seen the movie - watch it! If you’ve seen it and like it, invite some friends over, make some fresh egg nog, and watch it together.

The environmental movement has evolved in exciting ways in 2008. One significant step is the increased consideration of the social/human side of environmentalism. Saatchi & Saatchi S, led by Adam Werbach, have done an admirable job articulating this shift in their Birth of Blue speech. Blue, as they define it, expands the idea of Green to include social, cultural, and economic benefits, as well as environmental good.

The video is an hour long - so to save you some time, here are my main takeaways:

• We need to properly balance the cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors of the green movement. The lack of balance is why everyone cares and no one acts.
• Shopping can be a platform for change and we need to create a 1 billion person strong consumer movement for sustainability (he’s big on this point).
• Unleashing the creativity and aspirations of the general public are key to this movement. And it’s important to keep “the way we treat ourselves and others” at the center of our actions to create the kind of future we want to share. (A world full of happy people contributing to a healthy planet).
• The conservation movement needs to shift its focus from limits to possibilities.

Blue, as a term, hasn’t really taken off yet. I’m sure the ideas embedded within it will. It looks to be a promising 2009.

This two minute clip from Stanfords Entrepreneurship Corner summarizes a bit of what I’m feeling right now as I decide what’s next in my career…
Komisar talks about what he looks forward to in his career and life. He advises others who are unsure about the future to find ways to optimize their situation, the people they work with, and the flow of available opportunities. He also notes that the notion of being in motion is an important aspect of who he is and what he enjoys doing.

I recently came across the “We Are What We Do” movement, started in the UK (http://www.wearewhatwedo.org/) . I wholeheartedly believe in the ethos of this movement and site, and wanted to post it here.

Looking through the items on their “Do Something” list reminds me of Saatchi & Saatchi S / Walmart’s Personal Sustainability Programs (PSP). To me, that’s one of the best case studies in business for ‘Small Actions X Lots of People = Big Change’.

I do struggle with this type of project though… something about tracking the nice things you do on a website seems a bit contrived to me. The site seems more like a flash in the pan than a community that has staying power. And if we really are what we do - I’m not sure I want to glue myself to a computer screen any more than I have to. The books they’ve published are a bit more my speed.

Ghandi’s aphorism, “Be the change you want to see in the world,” just can’t be beat.