What are the barriers to change and how do we overcome them?

Going from tribal behavior to community behavior- when "tribes" don't communicate, problem solve, share information, systems break down. When "tribes" become a community, we have successful outcomes.

• People will follow their own 'tribe' and culture into the grave that they dig themselves
• To get a green culture, we can't reason people into making a change.
• We have to think emotionally: think about they way people are, not the way we want them to be.
• Language is a powerful lever to unleash emotions people have and move them in a direction. i.e. Frank Luntz changing "Estate Tax" to "Death Tax" leading people to acting against their best interest because of an emotional response. (Bartels, L. "Homer Gets a Tax Cut.")
• Intelligent messaging works
• Find those emotional levers!

Personal beliefs vs. corporate behavior- what happens when these principles clash?

Fundraising- alumni participation rates as campaign goal (give as little as $1- hard to say "no")- getting people to take a small action leads to larger action. % Participation

• But this doesn't work in all systems. i.e. household offset purchases. People check the box and think they're done, but really they aren't counteracting their footprint or learning to make a change.
• We can work with people on what they are inclined to do, but we run the risk of getting lost in the "tyrrany of diminished expectations." Yes, there are little things you can do that are good for the earth, but what really need right now is for people to do big things. Little things won't reverse/stop climate change.
• In WW2, the US rallied to get the job done. Why isn't that happening now? Little things remain isolated- no network of community, lack of community based companies, organizations, etc. There used to be more ways to know each other beyond roles and form relationships- easier to mobilize a nation. This creates a network of shared values and a realization that the common bonds between us are more important than the differences.
• We've lost a lot of the social fabric, hiding out on our computers- makes us more vulnerable to B.S. coming from the media. Things are coming "at" us, not flowing between us.

Hummers! Large cars- how does this cultural norm stay established. How do you deal with these issues when rationality, "soft touch," etc, don't work. Corporate branding- there is something these brands have done to ingrain themselves in our culture.

• Why can't we have our cake and eat it too? Why aren't US companies investing in ways to make large cars sustainable?
• Be innovative and then maybe something that was "disgustin"g becomes "beautiful"

Inside every person is a little bit of good: Leverage that. Get to the stories that will get our neighbors, and their neighbors, and their neghbors to realize this isn't about polarization or isolation, it's about community, development, jobs.... Lift opposing ideas to the next level.

"Global Warming's Six Americas"- Segmentation study on Americans in regards to climate change- green, greenish, 3 shades of brown, active deniers. The active deniers are fully committed and sending an active message. The 50% in the middle are unsure and unwavering. The whole debate relies on how well messaging from both sides get to that middle group.

Culture change: transitional vs. transformational

Rebranding climate change: green jobs and energy security not "global warming." This comes across as a more "American" message. Harder to dispute the merit.

Problem: The big sustainability brands (EnergyStar, Prius, Organic) also signify expensive and elite. How do we reorient perception towards sustainability not necessarily costing more or excluding some. Up-front costs vs. ROI. How quickly does it need to pay for itself to justify the up-front cost?

• What is the difference in value over time? Which lasts longer? Which has a better value?
• Time Horizon- we lose in the short term, we win in the long term

We have to find ways to make people think that being green saves time: There need to be multiple payoffs- educating children, helping the environment, saving time, etc. If you can make these things social and fun in a way that people want to commit time, resources, knowledge to it, then they will do it! Make "green" thrilling.

Raytheon Public Policy Simulator- gets you started on evaluating policy. Contact H. Alex Sanchez- alex_sanchez@raytheon.com

Cultural deficiency- inability to understand complexity. Uncertainty and ambiguity of complexity leads people to become intolerant of complexity.

Educational system- Our system was built to support the large corporate model. If we go back to the "village," that system won't work. There has been no formal curriculum change to teach about "green" issues. School shouldn't just be about jobs, it should be about life. This creates a way to teach about life and systems- hand on science, teacher as facilitator, kids solving problems and creating value in the classroom. Can we take advantage of opportunities in education to teach children to become more self-sufficient, understand resource consumption and value, fix-not-replace culture. There is value in teaching "Human-Made."

Innovation: Inventiveness of people coming together across companies, sectors, communities, entities to share ideas and come up with something new.

Google: "West Philadelphia" Inner City Cars- high school science challenge project- shop teacher helped inner city kids build clean, great cars from junkyard material, got kids off the street, taught innovation- Placed poorly in a contest because "there's no way your kids could have done this." We have to get away from this kind of attitude!

Segmented grassroots efforts are not coming together collaboratively. Everyone wants their piece. How do we bring people together? This is the responsibility of leadership. Find those people and make that connection. Use technology and social media to organize this and make connections and answer the "Now what?" question.

Reading Suggestion: Bill McKibben, Deep Economy.

There is a simplicity in complexity- having the complex thing in front of us leads to actions: Deutschebank GHG meter, in-home visible energy smart-meters, seeing vehicle fuel economy makes people want to do better, etc.

People want to feel good right now. Give people something tangible and positive to work on, that they have fun doing. Fear and demands don't make people want to participate. Create multiple levels of meaning. Persuade people and companies to do something together that works for the community.

Use caution when pointing fingers: We can trash tralk a hummer all we want, but our houses are still full of plastic.

Community dynamics are changing: Positive change no longer comes from the top down. It comes from the bottom up.