“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
– Albert Einstein
The need for systems change
Straight Circles is all about trade, sustainability and the transition towards a circular economy.
Trade within today’s linear system has proven not to be the answer to the challenges our world faces, and not to be sustainable.
There is a need for systems change, and encouragingly there are goals to transit towards a circular economy where waste and pollution are designed out.
The task ahead is huge, because we are not starting from scratch. We are starting from the system, or rather overwhelmingly many interconnected systems, that are in place in today’s global world.
This poses two major challenges. One, in a global, interconnected world, we need to include everyone in the transition. Two, we must let go of our old thinking and open up our minds towards new ways of doing things. This is easier said than done…
Tove Antonissen
Kleine Overstraat 43
7411 JJ Deventer
The Netherlands
T: +31 (0)6 209 53 060
tove@straight-circles.com
The need for opening up our brain
The human brain works based on recognition, which is good when you quickly want to identify immediate danger, but not so good when you want to change systems.
The tendency for the human brain to favour known pathways is why it is so hard to get out of the known, to move away from the familiar, and why change in general is also scary. Venturing into the unknown.
What if we could find a way to open up our minds? To assist this process by providing our brains with some food for thought in form of clearly defined parameters? What if brainstorming and thinking “outside the box” could be sped up by bringing in relevant perspectives?
Over the years, we’ve come to realize that there are two key elements to this that we can contribute to:
- Asking questions. It’s not about telling. It’s about questioning and listening. This is part of the methodology we appply in our work.
- Engaging. It’s not about teaching. It’s about creating learning experiences and paths that capture the learners’ attention and let them discover and learn at their own pace.
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