25/10/2022

THE REGENERATIVE
BUSINESS & LEADERSHIP DNA
BY LAURA STORM

21ST CENTURY
LEADERSHIP LANDSCAPE

THE VUCA 21 ST CENTURY COMPLEXITY LANDSCAPE

Loss of biodiversity &
extinction of species Talent recruitment
Low levels of employee
Growing demand for Climate breakdown engagement
a job with purpose Digitization
Diversity & Inclusion
Disruptive innovation
Resource
scarcity Fast-changing
Changing political consumer patterns Collapse of ecosystems
regulation
Pandemics Exponential Tech
Increased transparency
due to social media Market
High levels of stress, volatility
burnout and depression Artificial Intelligence

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COMPETENCY GAP

79%
described their biggest
challenge as leading in
complexity

50%
didn’t feel equipped to
lead in these complex
times.
IBM Research CEO STUDY
1500 CEOs - 60 countries

FORTUNE500 TOP 10

1970 2000
1. GENERAL MOTORS 1. GENERAL MOTORS
2. EXXON MOBIL 2. WALMART
3. FORD MOTOR 3. EXXON
4. GENERAL ELECTRIC 4. FORD MOTOR
5. INTL BUSINESS 5. GENERAL ELECTRIC
MACHINES 6. IBM
6. CHRYSLER 7. CITIGROUP
7. MOBIL 8. AT&T
8. TEXACO 9. PHILIP MORRIS
9. ITT INDUSTRIES 10.BOEING
10.GULF OIL

CHARACTERISTICS OF THE
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
• EFFICIENCY
• TECHNOLOGY
• PRODUCTIVITY
• HIERARCHY
• CONTROL
• PATRIARCHY
• EXTRACT HUMAN AND NATURAL RESOURCES
• MECHANISTIC REDUCTIONIST WORLD-VIEW

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BELIEF SYSTEM:
WE CAN RUN THE ORGANIZATION LIKE
A MACHINE – LINEAR PRODUCTION

RIGID,
MECHANISTIC,
CONTROL-
OBSESSED FEAR-
INFUSED
HIERARCHIES

THE 20 TH CENTURY
VERSION OF
MANAGEMENT TOOLS

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“THE GREAT ACCELERATION”

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KEY STATS:
STRESS + MENTAL ILLNESS
HAVE ALSO ACCELERATED HARVARD MEDICAL STUDY:
BUT IS OFTEN MISSING 96% Executives feel burned out
regularly
FROM THE CONVERSATION
GLOBALLY: Self-reported
stress-levels increased by 30%
the past decade

US: 60-90% of all doctor

appointments stress-related

US: 2-300% increase in

expenses caused by stress

EUROPE: Sale of anti-

depressant increased by 20%
every year since 1995

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OUR BRAINS UNDER

PRESSURE
Beta: Normal frequency throughout
the day
High-Beta: Our brains on stress
(fight/flight)
Alpha: When you close your eyes + go
inward (80 % of sensory input from
eyes)
Deep Alpha: Meditative State
Delta: Restorative Sleep
Theta + Gamma: Lucid dreams,
elevated states of Consciousness

The challenge today is our brains

are primarily in high-beta. In this
state creativity + compassion +
holistic thinking is very limited

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TOO STRESSED TO THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX

80%
feel that unlocking creativity is critical
for their ability to be delivering successful
results in these complex times

75%
feel under too much pressure to be
creative
Adobe study on the global creativity gap interviewed 5000 adults across the US, UK,
Germany, France and Japan

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INTERCONNECTED STRESS

STRESSED STRESSED SOULS STRESSED PLANET

SYSTEMS
• Degenerative corporate cultures
• Fear-driven news &
consumerism
• Debt crisis
• Nature + humans a resource to
exploit
• Linear production systems:
take-make-waste
• 70% living in polluted cities
• Strained infrastructure/public
services
• 1% has 90% of global wealth
& BODIES
• High-beta =High-stress
• Obesity, depression, adhd
• Fear, anxiety
• Medication
• Loneliness, suicide
From research we know that when
you are stressed you are less
compassionate, you have tunnel
vision, no holistic system thinking,
less creative, more addicted to
material possessions
• Oceans acidification
• Plastic islands in oceans
• Loss of biodiversity (200-1000
species daily)
• Polluted air and water
• Monocultures
• Widespread deforestation
• Soil depletion
• Climate breakdown

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THIS IS HOW WE TRY AND FIX THE PROBLEM

H u tc h in s & sto rm

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A HOLISTIC + REGENERATIVE
APPROACH IS NEEDED

REGENERATIVE
TRANSITION

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THE DAWN OF THE REGENERATIVE ERA

REGENERATIVE
Living Systems View
Health & Thrivability
Nature’s wisdom - Logic of Life
Extractors Restore, replenish, revitalize
DEGENERATIVE Diversity & Equality
EXTRACTIVE Renewable energy
Exploitation of human + natural resources REGENERATIVE
Biodiversity Loss + soil degradation
Climate systems breakdown
Regenerators
Inequality + racism
Fossil Fuel dependent

CONVENTIONAL GREEN SUSTAINABLE RESTORATIVE REGENERATIVE

Staying within the law A little less negative impact Adding no additional harm Humans doing things to nature Humans aligning with nature

D iag ram Insp ired b y Reed , W ahl, H utchins, Sto rm

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BUT WHERE TO START?

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THE REGENERATIVE BUSINESS DNA

– A TOOL FOR YOUR TRANSFORMATION

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THE REGENERATIVE BUSINESS DNA

– A TOOL FOR YOUR TRANSFORMATION

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LEADERSHIP DYNAMICS

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THE INNER STATE INFORMS THE

OUTER

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LIFE DYNAMICS

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LIFE DYNAMICS
DIVERGENCE CONVERGENCE
- Opening up - Consolidating
- Diversifying - Grounding
- Exploring - Bringing together
- Experimenting - Cohering
- Expansion - Contraction
- Chaos - Order
- Inhale - Exhale

Breakdown or breakthrough

EMERGENCE
New species, new ideas
Innovations

28 YANG

NIGHT DAY
YIN

COLD HOT
MOON SUN
WINTER SUMMER
RIGHT BRAIN REGENERATIVE LEADERS LEFT BRAIN
INTERNAL HOLD SPACE FOR BOTH EXTERNAL
FEELING POLARITIES THINKING
GENTLE ASSERTIVE
CALM EXPRESSIVE
SLOW FAST
HEART MIND
DEATH BIRTH

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LET’S DIVE INTO A FEW OF THE 17 DNA STRANDS

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LIVING
SYSTEMS
DESIGN

H U T C H IN S & S T O R M

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THERE IS NO WASTE IN
NATURE

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CRADLE TO CRADLE &

CIRCULAR ECONOMY

Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart, William McDonough

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A CONVERSATION AROUND INPUT/OUTPUT AND

OUR BEHAVIOR AT WORK AND BEYOND –
OUR RELATIONSHIP TO RESOURCES + SOURCING

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BIOMIMICRY

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BIOPHILIC DESIGN - WE ARE NATURE

§ Improve moods + job satisfaction (Colarelli SM, O'Brien K, Boyajian ME,

2016)
§ Reduces pulse rate, blood pressure, and cortisol levels (Chiba University)
§ Increases creative problem-solving ability by 50% (Atchley et al, 2012)
§ Exposure to natural daylight improves concentration and productivity
(California Energy Commission)
§ People feel more connected (Terhaar, 2009)
§ Improves memory by up to 20% (Berman et al. 2008)
§ People are more considerate and compassionate when exposed to
nature (Ryan, Weinstein, 2009)
§ People who spend 15 min each day in nature develop a more positive
outlook ( Mayer et al., 2009)

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INTERFACE
REVOLUTIONIZING BUSINESS

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VINCENT CALLEBAUT
- REGENERATIVE MATERIALS
- SELF-SUFFICIENT
- NATURAL VENTILATION
- BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS EVERYWHERE
- QUIET SPACES
FARMSCRAPERS

HONEYCOMB

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LIVING
SYSTEMS
CULTURE

H U T C H IN S & S T O R M

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MECHANISTIC COMMAND & RESPONSIVE & ADAPTIVE

CONTROL HIERARCHIES LIVING-SYSTEMS
INDUSTRIAL ERA: INSPIRED BY THE REGENERATIVE ERA: INSPIRED BY
MACHINE LIFE

CONTROL & PREDICT SENSE & RESPOND

FRAGILE TO SYSTEMIC SHOCKS RESILIENT TO SYSTEMIC SHOCKS

H U T C H IN S & S T O R M
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LIVING SYSTEMS CONSTANTLY

SENSE AND RESPOND TO CHANGE

When injured they heal themselves through a self-

organized response.

When they face new external conditions they can adapt

and create new capacities over time.

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“It is not the strongest species

that survive, nor the most
intelligent, but the ones most
able to adapt to change.”
Charles Darwin

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DEATH LIFE

Fritjof Capra

The degree to which a living system is thriving and

vibrant depends on the quality of the relationships

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UNDERSTANDING WHOLENESS

Skeletal Nervous Circulatory Respiratory Organ Muscular

System System System System System System

+ environment, psychology, lineage, lifestyle etc.

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Imagine if the
KPI’s of the heart
undermined those
of the lungs?

Or the kidneys
crushed the
spleen because it
saw it as
competition?

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WHEN A LINK IN THE

FOOD WEB GOES
EXTINCT IT CAN
LEAD TO ECOSYSTEM
COLLAPSE

WHO’S YOUR
KEYSTONE
SPECIES?

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REINFORCING + BALANCING
FEEDBACK LOOPS ENSURES A
DYNAMIC EQUILIBRIUM

THE DEER POPULATION INCREASE WHEN FOOD IS

PLENTY = REINFORCING FEEDBACK LOOP

WOLVES INCREASE THEIR PREY ON DEER

= BALANCING FEEDBACK LOOP

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KEY DYNAMICS OF SUPERORGANISMS

• United around shared purpose

• Sense & respond
• Simple rules (not rigid stifling rules)
• Dynamic feedback loops
• Empowered self-organizing units
• Collective intelligence
• Evolutionary emergence

Chilean biologists Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela

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AN ORGANIZATION TOO IS A WHOLE SYSTEM

– AN ECOSYSTEM – THAT CONSIST OF
DYNAMIC RELATIONSHIPS AND FEEDBACK
LOOPS BETWEEN INNER AND OUTER
STAKEHOLDERS

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DISRUPTED FEEDBACK LOOPS

”Large organizations lose their resilience

simply because the feedback mechanisms by
which they sense and respond to their
environment have to travel through too many
layers of delay and distortion”
Donella Meadows, systems-thinker

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MISTRUST, INCOHERENCE, TRYING TO FIT IN, PLAYING

A ROLE, WEARING A MASK DRAINS LIVING SYSTEMS
OF HEALTH, VITALITY AND LIFE-FORCE

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Toxic communication & power dynamics

makes sensing-and-responding highly
difficult

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PARENT-CHILD

OR RESPECTFUL, DEVELOPMENTAL ADULT-

TO-ADULT RELATIONSHIPS?

ADULT-ADULT

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Buurtzorg – empowered employees

BUURTZORG & SELF-

ORGANIZATION
• From 3 to 15000 – constantly growing super-organism
• Teams of 10-12
• App-based decision-making
• Management is a service-team & facilitator
• Self-organized worksflows, vacations, salary
• Conflict-resolution coaching
• Roles in the teams circulate – no hidden power
• Spin-offs & new ventures thanks to collective
intelligence
• Most popular workplace in the Netherlands
• More profitable + cost-efficient than competitors

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WE ASK:
What is the quality of our interconnected
relationships? Is our relational culture dominated
by trust, compassion and collaboration or rather
a dog-eat-dog, fiercely competitive, gossip-
dominated culture?

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WE ASK:
Is our culture richly diverse or mono-cultural? Do
we continue to hire the same kind of people, the
same kind of consultants and collaborate with
the same kind of partners? Or do we dare tap
into the potential of edge-effects? Are we trained
in collaboration that celebrates what each of us
bring to the table? Do we value cross-functional
teams and idea-generation processes?

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Identifying
acupuncture
points for
regenerative
interventions

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URBAN ACUPUNCTURE
PINPRICKS OF CHANGE THAT REQUIRES A SENSING
INTO THE WHOLE SYSTEM

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WE ASK:
Where are the key nodal points in our system
where my interventions could have the greatest
impact? Who are the keystone species? Who is a
part of our greater ecosystem and how could we
create win-win-win?

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LIVING
SYSTEMS
BEING

H U T C H IN S & S T O R M

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LIVING SYSTEMS NATURALLY SEEK COHERENCE

– CELLS, BODIES, ORGANIZATIONS

Coherent values + a strong sense of overall

purpose brings the divergent elements
(employees, stakeholders, partners) together
as a convergent whole.

An organization with a dysfunctional culture is

often operating in incoherence.

Incoherent behavior often feels inauthentic,

untrustworthy, nervous, ungrounded, insecure
or overly secure

= MASSIVE ENERGETIC DRAIN ON THE WHOLE

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INNER COHERENCE
Activating our Super-Nature

C o p y rig h t: H U T C H IN S & S T O R M

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GENERATIONS OF
DYSREGULATED
NERVOUS SYSTEMS

We are wired to be constantly

in tune and alert

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1 2 3

FIND: LOOKING FOR COMFORT +

APPRAISAL OUTSIDE

SAFE + CONNECTED FAWN: LOOKING TO AVOID

CONFLICT BY PLEASING OTHERS,
I FEEL SAFE AND CAN MANAGE CO-DEPENDENCY
WHATEVER COMES MY WAY. FLEE: ANXIOUS, AVOID OTHERS,
ISOLATED, WORRY, PANIC
I FEEL EMPOWERED AND
CONNECTED, CREATIVE AND FIGHT: IRRITABILITY, FRUSTRATION,
ANGER, RESISTANCE. INTIMIDATION,
CALM. DEFENDING, PROTECTING
SHUTDOWN
I’M IN TOO DEEP AND
CANNOT MAKE MY WAY OUT.
I AM ALONE IN MY DESPAIR.
THE WORLD IS EMPTY, DEAD
AND DARK.

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Cyclical beings on a cyclical planet

Waxing and waning

Ebb and flow
Summer and Winter
Day and night

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THE CYCLE + RHYTHM OF LIFE

H U T C H IN S & S T O R M

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NIGHT DAY
YANG
YIN

COLD HOT
MOON SUN
WINTER SUMMER
RIGHT BRAIN LEFT BRAIN
INTERNAL HOLDING THE TENSION EXTERNAL
FEELING OF POLARITIES ANALYZING
GENTLE ALCHEMYSTS OF ASSERTIVE
CALM POTENTIAL EXPRESSIVE
SLOW FAST
HEART MIND
DEATH BIRTH
FEMININE MASCULINE
INNER OUTER

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THE REGENERATIVE BUSINESS DNA
17 DNA STRANDS
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A HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT
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DNA STRAND 1:
LIVING SYSTEMS
DESIGN
3 Points: Yes – this statement is true
for us. We are performing well in this
area, excellent, life-affirming, truly
regenerative
2 Points: To some extent but plenty
of room for improvement
1 Point: No, this is not something we
adequately address
0 Points: On the contrary our actions
in this area are degenerative
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Credit: Hutchins & Storm, Regenerative Leadership
WASTE EQUALS FOOD
See all resources as valuable nutrients to be recycled, upcycled, reused,
and reintegrated into the value chain
a) Cradle to Cradle: My organization embraces the principles of a circular
economy and cradle-to-cradle (or has a mindset of recycle, reuse, and
design for disassembly).
POINTS: _______
b) Life-cycle Assessments: We have value-chain wide social and
Credit: Hutchins & Storm, Regenerative Leadership
environmental impact reporting and a detailed ‘value-chain footprint’ per
product/service (this could, for example, be Life Cycle Assessments on all
products and services).
POINTS: ______
c) Strategy for net positive impact: We have a clear operational plan to
get to ‘zero negative impact’ and then beyond into ‘net positive’ impact for
all products/services/operations.
POINTS:_________
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A HOLISTIC ASSESSMENT

Credit: Hutchins & Storm, Regenerative Leadership

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“Small islands of coherence in a

sea of chaos have the capacity to
shift the entire system to a higher
order.”
Ilya Prigogine, Nobel Laureate

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QUESTION FOR BREAKOUT

- What are the steps you could make this year to be a

STEWARD OF LIFE = a small island of coherence that
shifted the system around you to a higher order?

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THANK YOU

www.regenerators.co

www.regenerators.academy

www.laura-storm.com

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