David Ross: “Some of the gigs I get are on behalf of layers of government. I talk to various communities, some of these communities are the size of European nations. In order to connect with their hopes and dreams about the future, whether that be social, environmental, economic technology, etc.

I start off by asking this question, “What do you love about your town? 

I was fascinated the day I was in a group of First Nations people. Their responses were quite enlightening and the word environment holds a very different meaning for me now. 

One person's response, ‘We don't see the town. What we love is the connection we have with the natural environment, with inanimate things and with each other.’ This is indigenous thinking and I love it. The main focus is connection and how ‘my’ actions impact others, including animals, plants, and ecosystems.

We are far more connected than we have ever been, yet, in the case of organizations, I don't think they appreciate that. 

Their stakeholders are more connected, educated, and sophisticated than they've ever been before and they are becoming more demanding with respect to their expectations of a particular organization. 

Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, we started seeing the environment as something that we have mastery over–’humanity has mastery over the environment. We can do anything we like to it. We're so smart, we'll put it all back together again someday or die, and it will be somebody else's problem’.

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Have a listen as I interview my special guest, David Ross. Find out the real meaning of connection.