My guest this week is Professor Stuart Hart, who is the Steven Grossman Distinguished Fellow in Sustainable Innovation at the University of Vermont's Grossman School of Business, and author of "Capitalism at the Crossroads". Listen to Stuart talk about:
-  Why thriving is a revolutionary agenda – and goes to the heart of the real purpose of the economy and capitalism
-  The necessity to get beyond the business case for sustainability –- to the point where sustainability is the business
-  How business education is at the root cause of our unsustainability –- and why we must creatively destroy the MBA
-  Challenging shareholder primacy and ESG –- and redefining the value through initiatives like the long-term stock exchange
- What the motive force for the reformation of capitalism might be –- and how the conditions for a major shift are ripe

In the episode, the following books are mentioned:
- Capitalism at the Crossroads, by Stuart L. Hart

Key links:
Stuart L Hart (LinkedIn)
Stuart L Hart (website)
UVM Grossman School of Business
Revolution (poem)
Thriving (book)
Wayne Visser (website)
Wayne Visser (LinkedIn)

My guest this week is Leen Gorissen, founder of the Centre4NI and author of "Building the Future of Innovation on millions of years of Natural Intelligence". Listen to Leen talk about:
- What natural intelligence means --- and how it applies to business and government
- How termites and whales can help us to respond to climate change
- What shifting from a circular economy to a regenerative approach could mean
- How nature thrives on chaos -- and how some companies are applying this principle
- What we can learn from nature about rest, redundancy and resilience

In the episode, the following books are mentioned:
- Building the Future of Innovation on millions of years of Natural Intelligence, by Leen Gorissen

Key links:
Leen Gorissen (LinkedIn)
Centre4NI (website)
Nature Speaks (poem)
Thriving (book)
Wayne Visser (website)
Wayne Visser (LinkedIn)

My guest this week is R. Edward Freeman, Olsson Professor of Business Administration at the Institute for Business in Society at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and the founding father of stakeholder theory. Listen to him talk about:
- Why the real business case is about creating stakeholder value -- and moving beyond trade-offs to synergies
- What we can learn about thriving from ancient and modern philosophers -- and why there's no such thing as an ethical leader
- Why he's a big fan of the short term -- and doesn't buy into the notion of the short-term versus long-term divide
- How we need to break from the grip of unhelpful narratives -- like the triple-bottom line and the invisible hand of the market
- Why creative imagination is essential to make capitalism  work -- and how all have have a crucial role to inspire ourselves and others

In the episode, the following books are mentioned:
-  Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach, by R. Edward Freeman
- The Power Of And: Responsible Business Without Tradeoffs, by R. Edward Freeman

Key links:
R Edward Freeman (LinkedIn)
UVA Darden School of Business (website)
Think on Business (poem)
Thriving (book)
Wayne Visser (website)
Wayne Visser (LinkedIn)

My guest this week is Dame Polly Courtice, DBE, LVO, who is the Founder Director of the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. Listen to Polly talk about:
- How her roots in South Africa shaped her thinking on sustainability -- and how issues of social justice remain close to her heart
- What has changed in the sustainability movement over the past 30 years -- and what we have to urgently focus on today
- Why so few leaders really understand systems thinking -- and how the principles of thriving can be like a lightening bolt of new consciousness
- Why sustainability is necessary but not sufficient as an agenda for change -- and how young people are refusing to accept the future we are offering them
- How moments of personal and professional crisis can bring clarity to the necessity for hope -- and what gives her hope now

In the episode, the following books are mentioned:
- The Top 50 Sustainability Books, by CISL and Wayne Visser
- Holism and Evolution, by Jan Smuts
- A Life on Our Planet: My Witness Statement and a Vision for the Future, by Sir David Attenborough

Key links:
Polly Courtice (LinkedIn)
Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (website)
To Lead (poem)
Thriving (book)
Wayne Visser (website)
Wayne Visser (LinkedIn)

My guest in this week's inaugural episode, launched on World Environment Day 2022, is John Elkington, Founder and Chief Pollinator at Volans, author of Green Swans and widely hailed thought leader in the global sustainability movement. Listen to him talk about:
- Why he withdrew the triple bottom line (the 3Ps of people, planet, profit) 25 years after introducing it -- and then added 3Rs (you'll have to listen to find out what they are)
- Why he gave up science when he was 14 -- and then went on to write for New Scientist magazine
- Why he thinks we are still failing to grasp systems thinking -- and how nature may be our best teacher
- What he has learned about sustainability and thriving from science fiction -- and why Kim Stanley Robinson's "The Ministry for the Future" may be prophetic
- Why hope is our most precious commodity, and why sustainability has to be fun, engaging, educational and rewarding -- or else it's simply not going to work

In the episode, the following books are mentioned:
- Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism, by John Elkington
- The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by Thomas Kuhn
- Holism and Evolution, by Jan Smuts
- Dune, by Frank Herbert
- Mars, by Andy Weir
- The Ministry for the Future, by Kim Stanley Robinson
- The Water Knife, by Paolo Bacigalupi
- Thriving: The Breakthrough Movement to Regenerate Nature, Society and the Economy, by Wayne Visser

Key links:
John Elkington (LinkedIn)
John Elkington (website)
Volans (website)
SustainAbility (website)
Thriving (poem)
Thriving (book)
Wayne Visser (website)
Wayne Visser (LinkedIn)

Welcome to the Thriving podcast. This short description tells you what to expect in the coming episodes, which launch on World Environment Day 2022. Join me, Prof Wayne Visser, for inspiring conversations with leaders in the breakthrough movement to regenerate nature, society and the economy.  We do not indulge in false hope or blind optimism, but we actively focus on innovative solutions and positive tipping points for change. The podcast builds on the foundations of my bestselling book Thriving: The Breakthrough Movement to Regenerate Nature, Society and the Economy. I look forward to having you join the movement for thriving and welcome your suggestions for who I should feature as a guest on the podcast. You can contact me via my website: waynevisser.com. Music credit: Amil Raja