Pivot [verb] "begin to run or manage *something* in a completely different way"

An old friend once said to me, 'If things don't change, they stay the same'

I kind of knew what he meant, but I also didn't, if that makes any sense at all?!

I've just had a birthday and very much like other notable times of year [anniversaries etc] I did a lot of reflecting.

The last couple of years has been an enormous journey for me.

I now have a post grad [PGCert] qualification in sustainability, so I can now say I'm qualified in an area Ive just spent over 20 years working in! Ha!

Isn't that crazy?

That neither me or hardly any of my immediate network or peers, recognise those 20 years as noteworthy? Or as having gained anything?

So weird.

I had to go back to university [post business demise], to prove to myself that I was worth something. Anything.

That all my years of building and then sadly losing my previous business, had not been in vain.

Speaking of which, why doesn't anybody talk about liquidation?

Is it the last taboo?

I have more to say on that in an upcoming blog post...

In addition, why does nobody address the fact that each and every sustainable start up and established business, is already pushing against the strongest headwind of late stage capitalism?

Sustainable businesses are primed for failure- did anyone get the memo?!

I digress....

There's such a lot to address when it comes to how possible it really is to start and scale a business within the perameters of 'sustainability', what those perameters are, according to whom and how effectively they are even enforced [cue the astronomic rise of the *self reporting* BCorp- more of that too, later on Substack]

Sure, we have ESG's SDG's, corporates as far as the eye can see, scrabbling to implement strategies that should have been prioritised over profit, years ago!

Yes, you can argue its better to do something than nothing, but my fear [shared by a significant amount of others] is, that this surge of interest towards these goals, has diluted the intention.

It's all been a bit lost in translation.

We still don't seem to be operating as one, as a united race, but instead as fractured parts of a whole.

There are still wars. Still inequalities. Still racism. Still greed.

Sure we can celebrate and applaud the good thats taking place in ever growing pockets and communities [and we absolutely should], but collective action is still sparse.

There's still far too much aggression [even in the world of sustainability, which I have seen become increasingly competitive and unfriendly, less about inclusivity and more about point scoring]

Who wore it better? Who was kinder... Who cares?! Does nobody else see the irony?

Adding 'sustainable' in front of the word fashion [or anything really]

IS. NOT. ENOUGH. ANYMORE

In fact, it never was.

In fact, it hugely undermines indigenous people, ancient ideas and belief systems, caretakers of the planet, theft of land, generations of genocide- the list goes on...

We cant talk about sustainability, without talking about capitalism- again, its not  enough even to talk anymore.

Doing. It's the new talking. 

I will also touch on this [and other more unpopular opinions] in upcoming posts on my new *currently under construction* consultancy website- yep, I'm pivoting... the time has definitely come!

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Gx