I invite you to check out a really – well, inspiring – Facebook page:
Sustainability DOTS at W&M School of Business
On it, you will find literally hundreds of individual commitments to “Do One Thing” (DOT) to improve one’s personal sustainability practices. As I write this at 11:30 AM on September 25th , the page has 762 fans… students, faculty, staff, alumni, and even some people with no direct connection to the Mason School. Just folks who were inspired to step up and Do One Thing to make the world a little better.
The DOT initiative is the brainchild of Saatchi & Saatchi S, with the ultimate objective of reaching 1 billion people. Mason is the first Business School to personally embrace that within our own community, and Saatchi & Saatchi S CEO Adam Werbach came to Miller Hall last night to celebrate with us and share his insights. He is funny, thoughtful, and ultimately enlightening and inspiring (watch for excerpts on our website).
So what is “sustainable?” While many translate that as “green,” Adam’s definition is “thriving in perpetuity,” and that has 4 components. In Adam’s words:
- Social (acting as if other people matter)
- Economic (operating profitably)
- Environmental (protecting and restoring the ecosystem)
- Cultural (protecting and valuing cultural diversity)
This concept of sustainability works at the corporate level, but also for us as individuals. Our physical and psychological well-being are enhanced when we pay attention to all these dimensions, individually and collectively. And that’s where the DOTs come in.
Check out the Facebook page and you will find lots environmental DOTs. But you’ll also find ones that hit on different (or multiple) dimensions of ”sustainable practice:”
- “read more books and watch less television.”
- “spend more time with my children outside and teach them about nature”
- “maintain a letter writing relationship with a prison inmate.”
- “not eat processed food”
Here’s a revealing one:
- “ share the DOT concept with as many people as possible.”
It turns out that the DOT concept is infectious in two ways. It’s clearly something that members of the Mason community take joy in sharing, but there’s something less obvious… and even insidious (in a good way).
I find that “doing one thing” makes me want to “do another thing.”
My DOT is to run my classes without distributing or collecting a single piece of paper (which scares the heck out of me: I’ll let you know how that works out in another blog). The funny thing is that ever since that commitment, I find myself being much more mindful of other behaviors I used to take for granted. Now I’m thinking really hard before I send something to the printer. I’m going through my trash can and pulling out recyclables before I leave work. It’s an interesting journey… we’ll see where it leads!
I have no doubt that the hundreds of DOTs happening at Mason will produce significant tangible social, economic, environmental, and cultural benefits. But you know what? It also just makes me feel good.
If you want to feel good, I invite you to join us. Visit the Facebook page. Become a fan. Post your DOT. Do One Thing.
Jim Olver
