What Does It Mean to Be Human Today?

I posted an article on LinkedIn in 2020, at the beginning of the COVID pandemic. Here I am summarizing some of its key messages.

In theory, the current times we are living should be helping us become more humble. Apparently, humility can't be bought at the local market :-)

"Systemically, we have the opportunity to re-think our relationship with our planet. Individually and culturally, we have the opportunity to revisit a question that has driven much inquiry throughout history. What does it mean to be human, today?”

Has it been useful to focus most of our efforts on the pursuit of more, better, and greater?

Reflections (R) and Questions (Q) for a Sustainable Future.

R: More than high IQs, we need people with a high capacity to be generous, patient, humble, and truthful. But morality by itself is insufficient. We need people who can be all of the above while also being capable of taking measurable action in service to humanity.

R: Our essential nature shows up in our capacity to co-create, to care for our own and others' well-being, and our courage to speak our truth with strength and humility.

Q: What would it mean to collaborate with each other, not to live and die for more ego achievements, more sales and market share, but to re-generate the good in us and the space we co-inhabit?

Q: What would it be like to create products and services that increase health and peace instead of fear and divisiveness?

Q: How is global human dignity (every person's equal and inherent value) being implemented as the overarching ethical framework around, and embedded within, the SDGs?

R: Together with environmental sustainability, we need human sustainable leadership based on courageous authenticity, relational transparency, and socially conscious cross-sector strategic design to positively impact the well-being of our planet.

R: The real courage lives in those human beings who take responsibility (personally and professionally), to show up authentically (speak their truth even when this truth doesn't earn them recognition or power) and to live in integrity for the greater good of the whole (not just themselves).

R: The recovery of human dignity in our planet is dependent on our individual integrity. Just as we've managed to block our experts' messages during this COVID-19 crisis, we have been trained to block our own truth from ourselves.

R: We must take personal responsibility for unblocking our truth from our own selves so that we can be useful to the well-being of others. Not living in integrity with this calling means accelerating our fear-driven humanity to its ultimate auto-destruction.

R: The future of our humanity can no longer depend on the world of traditional business alone to turn this pandemic around. At the business level, we need to translate broad societal values into practical steps stakeholders can take across the value chain. At the government level, we need impact models that measure relevant matters for the communities that are impacted.

R: We have an unprecedented opportunity to make a change and build the pillars that can help us come together as a unified society.

R: Together we are stronger and can overcome our destructive tendencies. However, we must learn to be responsible and commit to create win-win partnerships through shared visions that inspire us to accelerate or unblock the system to make sustainable progress.