Strategic Synergy of The Catalytic-4: Overcoming Climate Change at Speed and Scale
Introductory Series Post #9
As I discussed in my last post, there are 4 Catalytic Sources of Transformation — the Catalytic-4 — that are essential to overcoming climate change and giving us hope:
The Climate Movement;
Climate Action Supporters;
ARTC, or the accelerating rate of technological change, and;
Governments-and-Markets.
Given the speed and scale of the transformation needed, we can’t let these be separate siloes. Their segregation is an absolute anathema for speed and scale. We must create strategic synergy between them.
We must continually ask of any climate action: how can the Catalytic-4 work together to make it better, faster?
How can The Catalytic-4 work together to make climate action better, faster? That’s a question we must be asking and answering continuously as we seek strategic synergy.
This is especially true for those of us in the Climate Movement, the keepers of the making-our-future-come-faster-flame. It is good to know that we are not alone; it’s not all up to us; we have help from the other three.
But our response cannot be “Isn’t that nice!”
It can’t be that the Catalytic-4 accidentally fly by each other by chance, if at all. Creating synergy must be intentional. We must be directive. This is a course of action we must continually pursue.
To create Catalytic-4 synergy will require the values1 to which we aspire, two of which are crucial: creativity and freedom.
These values help give rise to something messy and non-linear I call organic change, which in turn must join forces in dynamic tension with strategic change. To seek the light, many times plants don’t grow in straight lines. Organic change seeks the light. It arises out of the soil where a bird just happened to drop it, and makes do with the resources and relationships at hand. Organic change is curvy and creative. It is “out of the box” because it was never in the box.
Given the climate-clock, organic and strategic change working together are one of the seven essential characteristics, imperatives, and goals of the Climate Movement.2
It is strategic change, ever mindful of and striving towards our vision, purpose, and Major Goal, that must help keep the creativity and freedom of organic change moving in the right direction at the speed required. Organic change doesn’t arise out of a strategic planning process; but in order for it not to be self-indulgent it must serve our vision, purpose, and Major Goal: to overcome climate change by creating a just and prosperous sustainability that enhances wellbeing for everyone and everything.
Organic change can be one of the key drivers of the synergistic catalytic transformation we must have. Freedom, creativity, and organic change must help the Catalytic-4 see how they can work together as a team and accomplish much more than they could on their own.
Through the strategic synergy of the Catalytic-4 we can do much more.
Remember to check out the other posts in this Introductory Series.
My next post, the 10th in this Introductory Series, will begin a subseries introducing our 10 movement values: love, justice, beauty, freedom, creativity, wisdom, pragmatism, non-violence, sustainability, and success.
The seven characteristics/imperatives/goals will be discussed more fully in upcoming posts.