Multum in Parvo: My Board of Directors

NOTES FROM AN ABANDONED VILLAGE

I'm still asking: Where and why did they go? Here is the story: the Bories village is composed of seven groupings of huts, each having a very precise function: houses, stables, barns, goat shelters, tanning mills, bake houses - the whole social and economic system build laboriously from limestone, and it all was abandoned by its inhabitants about 150 years ago. Classified as a Historical Monument by the French Government, it includes an impressive collection of archived documents none of which tells WHY??? The Bories village in France isn't the only abandoned place on Earth: Brochs, Trullis, Cabanes, Cleits, Giren are scattered around the world. Wherever you spot them, you are hit by the patience and dexterity of those who created them and the enigma that surrounds their abandonment. Visiting abandoned places - ancient but also modern - is becoming more and more popular tourism nowadays. Ghost towns in the former USSR and in the US, orphaned mine sites in Canada, post-Chernobyl villages attract by their macabre beauty. As the DirJournal blog says, "There are mainly two reasons why people suddenly or little by little leave the place where they used to live for years or even generations: that's the danger and economic factors."

My blog is dedicated to

"These were thy charms - but all these charms are fled."

Oliver Goldsmith, "The Deserted Village"

Watch these dramatic pictures at http://www.dirjournal.com/info/abandoned-places-in-the-world/

Sunday, February 7, 2010

My Board of Directors

Once I'm crystal clear on what my business idea is, I will need to create a Board of Directors. Given the nature and the purpose of any business categorized as sustainable, these people (myself included) have to:

1) demonstrate expertise in diverse areas: science, technologies, governance, business models, management systems, knowledge management, business ethics;

2) possess personal qualities and values enabling them to reach company's strategic and business goals.

This Board of Directors the way I see it today will be a winning team of dedicated professionals, like minded people working together to achieve success, having ethical and sustainable lifestyles, passionate about everything they do, and strong believers in the possibility to make the world a better place to live.

As I'm on board, as a sustainability and change leader, I will bring my enthusiasm and will work hard to build our team and get people to the best that they could be.

The first person I would like to have in my Personal Board of Directors is my spiritual teacher, my teammate at the time of our Masters, for his moral strength, his forward looking vision, and his eagerness to protect all those in need of protection.

The second person I would like to have in my Personal Board of Director is my daughter, for her untarnishable optimism, her energy and new horizons.

The third person would be my hero - the leader of the Decembrist revolt Pavel Pestel: honest, noble, idealistic, charismatic organizer, liberal, advocate for the reforms in the darkest times in history.

I would also ask Joanna Macy to be on my Board but chances are she will be too busy to join, but she will remain a source of inspiration for me in movement for peace, justice, and a safe environment.

The fifth is not actually a person, don't laugh, but I would include Max, my cat, to the Board, whose restless personality type will mean that we will never have quit time, no stagnation, no complacency, no time to ruminate.

People with entrepreneurial spirit, who are not afraid to take risks, with diverse interests, everyone who puts a lot of energy into what she/he does are welcome!