Eric’s purpose is to increase leaders’ impact for positive change and to catalyze abundant stewardship of the planet.

• To enable “as many people as possible,” I engage in work on leadership, social innovation, and resilience that expands opportunity and breaks down barriers that keep people from finding those opportunities.
• I use the word “contribute” because I believe that giving is at the root of personal, professional, and societal growth and fulfillment.
• “To the fullest extent of their abilities” gives voice to my belief that everyone has strengths and abilities — and that the design challenge we collectively face is creating organizations and systems that make it possible for that talent to be unleashed.”

Leading, broadly distributed and practiced in the pursuit of wisdom, is essential for this journey. Eric studies the natural world and the nested systems of urban environments for insight and clarity on Purpose (utility in the system), Values (honor of the system), and Performance (contributions to the system).

Eric is passionate about the environment and combatting climate change. He has worked with and spoken to  the Environmental Defense Fund, the Global Regeneration CoLab, International Rescue Committee, agencies of the United Nations, and more. He has two significant projects underway:

The Elephant Wisdom Project

The hypothesis of The Elephant Wisdom Project is simple: Unless we have a world where elephants thrive, we will not long have one where humans thrive. That’s why donates a portion of his speaking fees to support holistic approaches elephant conservation, primarily to the Big Life Foundation.

In his words, “What meeting future challenges requires is deep humility and a willingness to tap into the wisdom of humans and our non-human companions to craft a more sustainable future. Our own self-interest will be best met by committing ourselves to serving the larger system. This is a job for leaders who are willing to embrace complexity and think differently both about our challenges and potential solutions.”

The Richer Earth Initiative

Richer Earth is the home for Eric’s publishing and leader acceleration platform activities related to leading for positive social change: a world that is richer socially and environmentally while also being more economically equitable. In his words, “We need change with a capital “C” and that will take leading with a lowercase “l.” That is, people leading from where they are to tackle the big problems facing the planet and its inhabitants.”

Created specifically to meet the needs of those working to meet social and environmental challenges, Richer Earth program elements will integrate relevant elements of Western approaches to organizational and social change leadership with wisdom from Eastern and First Nation traditions. They will incorporate practical lessons from the field and cutting-edge work on complex systems. Richer Earth will provide a concise, relentlessly practical guide to leader thinking and action when positive social change is the goal. To better meet the needs of these leaders, Richer Earth materials and programs are being designed to scale easily and inexpensively.

Look for more information on this emerging work in the first half of 2021.

Follow him on Twitter @RicherEarth