Running on empty as history ruptures
It is now very clear, in this second decade of the 21st century, that the rules for success in almost every sphere are changing. The very basis of competitiveness is being reinvented before our eyes. In other words current ideas and associated value propositions are not delivering the energy to keep organisation’s moving. Those caught up in the eddies of …
Reliving the blacksmiths nightmare
The following think piece came from some work I recently did in with a group exploring the future of manufacturing in Victoria Australia. The model I suggest is equally appropriate in other developed countries. A little over 100 years ago the blacksmiths, stable owners and telegraph officers saw with some bemusement the first cars go by. What those vehicles heralded …
Sustainable Food lab
Following a recent Sustainable Food Summit (http://www.3pillarsnetwork.com.au/p3_Events-Resources.html?&event=68&page=4), where Mike spoke about ‘transition narratives,’ Mike McAllum of GFN has been asked to act as lead designer for Australia 21’s Sustainable Food Lab. What is the Sustainable Food Lab? The Sustainable Food Lab is a partnership between 3 Pillars Network and Australia 21. The transformational narrative will form a crucial part of …
Rebuild through redesign
Since the beginning of 2011 most of the Australian state of Queensland, large parts of northern Victoria and the outskirts of the western city of Perth have suffered from severe natural events – flood, cyclone and fire – with disastrous consequences for those involved. During the writing of this essay, severe earthquakes have destroyed much of my childhood home of …
Designing Better Futures
” In this wonderful book Michael McAllum unerringly follows a path that may lead us all to wiser decisions and more coherent actions than has previously been the case.” Richard Hames Founding Professor Asian Foresight Institute. This is a book about these times of turbulence, uncertainty and rapid change with a difference. it does not fill us with empty utopias …
Future of electricity
GFN was recently involved in the a major project with a major utility. This project examined how demand management in electricity might shift between now and 2030 and the implications that such shifts have for the current utility business model. Our work revealed the followinig: current networks are unidirectional and thus are unable to realise the full potential of what …
A future of bricolage
Could new technologies and different business models combined with a healthy dose of necessity see us run quickly into the age of bricolage? While in literature “bricolageâ€Â means to create a work of art from diverse pieces or forms, in a wider sense it means to create a product or service from whatever is at hand. While bricolage has long …
Hard questions; no philosophy
For months now we have been treated to a daily diet of ‘wiki leaks.’ In the process how the worlds national power broker’s think has been laid bare for all to see and for the most part found wanting. It has one might add provided a useful page filler for most of the world’s media in the process. Their indignation …
Paradigm in Progress
In one of the most profound and thoughtful essays of 2010, Richard Hames explores the dynamics and consequences of the Copenhagen Summit. In it he describes how the desire to act on climate change, while at the same time encouraging conventional growth, sets up system conditions where the need to control emissions simply can’t occur. He then goes on to …
New social contracts in cities
Mike has recently given a number of speeches about the future of cities in the developed world. In them, he argues that new transformative social contracts between local governments and their citizens are required. There is a need to move from highly and often costly responses to short term needs to planning and services that use fewer resources to deliver …
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