Leen Gorissen
on Natural Intelligence
NI (Natural Intelligence) is the intelligence that is as old as time.
It knows what works, what lasts and what contributes to the future of life on Earth. It is what enables Nature to survive and thrive, despite limited resources and endless change and disruption.
Leen Gorissen is the main promoter of NI and her magical, genuine and pure answers for #inspirators remind us of Gerald Durrell’s “My Family and other Animals”.
Not to mention that one of her favourite things is taking clients on nature immersions to elucidate how Nature works and how businesses can apply NI (Natural Intelligence) to upgrade innovation. She exposes them to what makes her heart sing, again and again: the chattering of swifts and swallows, the buzzing of a hummingbird and the distinctive call of the Kookaburra.
She is the founder of Centre4NI, a catalyst that helps organizations and businesses to innovate, inspired by Nature. Specialized in Ecology, Sustainability, Transition Science, Bio-inspired Innovation and Regenerative Design & Development, Leen teaches the most important lesson: the need to evolve our ‘being’ (who we are and what we are about), our ‘consciousness’ (so we can better discern what is appropriate and what is not) and our ‘role’ here on Earth.
Her most recent book, Building the Future of Innovation on millions of years of Natural Intelligence (NI), is a wonderful read that accelerates shifting our current degenerative patterns into regenerative ones. For instance, like making ‘time’ a more important revenue stream than ‘money’. Time is much more precious. As Leen says, “we only have a certain amount of time that we can spend on this beautiful planet and so we want to spend it in a way that is meaningful, purposeful and nurturing for us and the planet.”
Stay away from “meaningless work” that eats away precious time, and is in no real sense fulfilling, relevant or appropriate in today’s world. Instead, start networking with the more-than-human world. Plug into the Wood Wide Web. Leen dares us to forget about sustainability trainings or courses and learn about how life works: go on a vision quest in Nature and ask yourself the hard questions:
What is your essence?
Do you know how life on planet Earth works?
We are evolutionary beings. Let’s evolve, then. Because going against the ways in which life works is inherently inefficient. It costs energy, resources, health and, mostly, spirit.
Thank you, Leen, for not being a Sleepwalker!
#INSPIRATORS QUESTIONNAIRE
Name: Leen Gorissen
Company / Institution: Centre4NI
Title: Founder, Innovation Biologist
Website: www.centre4NI.com
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leen-gorissen-86aa508/
Country of origin: Belgium
Country you currently live in: Belgium
Your personal definition of Sustainability: Inadequate way to address the harm that humans impose on the life-support-system of spaceship Earth. The spaceship metaphor illustrates how silly it is to believe that ‘doing less bad’ (less pollution, less consumption, less deforestation etc.) is going to be enough to restore our failing life-support system.
Main business challenge you face: Developing a business model that leads to regeneration, a process of renewal and revitalization that leaves the planet healthier, wealthier and more vibrant than before. To achieve that, we are experimenting with ways in which we can anchor a “for-life” value logic into the heart of our business model. Because we want to leave the planet better off than we found her. That means making unconventional decisions. For instance, like making ‘time’ a more important revenue stream than ‘money’. Because time is more precious.
We only have a certain amount of time that we can spend on this beautiful planet and so we want to spend it in a way that is meaningful, purposeful and nurturing for us and the planet. In short, trying to stay away from, excuse my language, ‘bullshit work’ that eats away time but is in no real sense meaningful, relevant or appropriate in today’s world.
Main driver that keeps you going: Love, curiosity, wonderment.
The trait you are most proud of in yourself: Hmm, still very much work-in-progress so much still to learn and develop. But I guess, I have been blessed with a questioning mind (is that really so?) eager to learn and a fair amount of will-power to challenge the status quo.
The traits you most value in others: Discernment, humility, compassion, courage, integrity, care, wisdom.
Passions & little things that bring you joy: The fresh morning air, a clear blue sky, the smell of the forest, a robin that says ‘hello’, the sound of waves, the touch of cool moss, looking at the milky way on a pitch-black summer’s night, a book that blows my mind, a nice warm chai latte on a cold morning in cozy cafe, a good conversation with a friend, etc.
The #inspirators who determined you to take the sustainability path: Mother Earth and all the incredible, beautiful & mysterious relatives from the non-human world that share this planet with us.
A hint or starting point for companies or professionals that are taking the first steps in the sustainability journey:
Ask yourself:
1. Do you know how life on planet Earth works?
2. What is of value and how do you value this?
3. What is your essence? Who do you have to become to halt and reverse decline & deterioration? What capability in yourself do you have to develop to steer away from business-as-usual and greenwashing?
Most used and abused clichés in sustainability that bother you:
Oh, where do I begin?
The low hanging fruit (that time is long gone). Sustainability as an add-on (not challenging the current degenerative business logic). Using offsetting and compensation schemes to justify destructive and degenerative behavior. A prominent focus on marketing (‘our sustainability approach’) but little focus on creating real impact (a lot of words, yet little transformative action). The tech-fix approach (sorry folks, technology is not going to save us): we have to evolve our ‘being’ (who we are and what we are about), our ‘consciousness’ (e.g. so we can better discern what is appropriate and what is not) and our ‘role’ here on Earth.
An honest piece of advice for young people who lose hope: First, we are not alone in this. Whales cool the climate, mushrooms make rain, wolves restore ecosystems, termites green the desert… If we start collaborating with our non-human family, even the unimaginable can become possible. Second, exponential change can work to our advantage.
For example, if I can inspire 2 farmers to switch to regenerative agriculture and these 2 persons each inspire 2 others who also inspire 2 others and so on, then we can turn agriculture, one of the biggest drivers of degradation and destruction, into a driver for regeneration in just a few years.
Books that had a major impact on you:
One from Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization, Dee Hock, the founder and CEO emeritus of VISA
Regenerative Design and Development. A Framework for Evolving Sustainability, Pamela Mang & Ben Haggard
The Genius of Dogs: How Dogs Are Smarter Than You Think, Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods
The Songs of Trees, David George Haskell
The Revolutionary Genius of Plants, Stefano Mancuso
Must-reads for any Sustainability professional: I would recommend to stay away form the sustainability literature, but instead read about the way life works: nature books, books on rewilding, ecology, evolution and regeneration.
A good selection is quoted in my own book Building the future of Innovation on millions of years of Natural intelligence.
Movies / Documentaries you would watch all over again: I am a big fan of science fiction. Battlestar Galactica is one of my all-time favorites. Other non-fiction movies I would recommend are
Duty of care – the climate trials
Intraterrestrial – a fleeting contact
Planktonium: An Unseen World
Kiss the ground
Blogs / Websites / Podcasts etc. you visit frequently:
I actually prefer to be unplugged and out in nature to be inspired when I am not at work. But one of the few exceptions, is the NRC Future Affairs newsletter of NRC Handelsblad, which is a Dutch newspaper. This newsletter is a fresh alternative to most current newspapers that bring news in a way that polarizes and reinforces status quo thinking.
Music that makes you (and your heart) sing: What makes my heart sing, time and again, is the chattering of swifts and swallows, the buzzing of a hummingbird and the distinctive call of the Kookaburra. In terms of human music, I prefer music that makes me dance.
Places you travelled to that left a mark on you: Every place that holds plants & animals.
Global Sustainability Voices you recommend us to follow:
First that come to mind are:
Anneloes Smitsman
Vandana Shiva
Carol Sanford
Ben Haggard
Lyla June
Kees Klomp
Tijn Tjoelker
Laura Storm
Giles Hutchins
Trends in Sustainability we should keep an eye on: Regeneration. Because sustainability is the byproduct of regeneration (Pamela Mang & Ben Haggard).
Best places for business networking (online or offline): I think it is time we start networking with the more-than-human world so I would suggest plugging into the Wood Wide Web. Fungi and trees have been networking for millions of years and by doing so, they created the conditions for humans to evolve. Imagine what we can learn if we tap into the ancient network that shaped our origins.
Events we should attend: Whatever event you think is essential for elevating your thinking and being in the world.
Associations, business clubs, tribes you belong to – and why: TRP community because they challenge my thinking over and over again. Just when I think I finally get regeneration, they ask new questions which makes me realize I don’t.
Sustainable Development courses / trainings / certifications that really teach us how to have an impact: Forget about the sustainability courses. Most of them still teach ‘doing things better’ which will not be enough to get us out of the existential crisis we are in. Instead, learn about how life works.
Go on a vision quest in nature. Ask yourself the hard questions. Or, immerse yourself in the regenerative practitioner series (TRP) of the Regenesis Institute for Regenerative Practice. We are evolutionary beings, we are meant to evolve.
Reasons to feel optimistic about our future in 2030: For the first time in more than 100 years, a wolf was spotted in the area where our regeneration project is. In fact, the wolf was seen on the land where we had been planting trees the day before.
From my ecology background, I know how important wolves are for restoring balance to ecosystems. So, for me, this wolf conveys a message telling me that we are not alone. If we create the right enabling conditions for regeneration, our non-human relatives will come and help us to restore and regenerate the lifesheds of which we are part. And when that happens, restoration and regeneration can go really fast!
Reasons to feel pessimistic about our future in 2030: Most people are still sleepwalking. They have no clue how serious (existential) the degradation of our life-support system really is.
Regenerative Leadership qualities much needed today:
Essence thinking instead of efficiency thinking.
Working from potential instead of working from problems or solutions.
Elevating our ‘being’ in the world: it is more about who we are (becoming) than what we are doing.
To achieve this latter, these two capabilities are vital:
- Self-reflective observation of the source of our thinking to overcome our conditioning.
- Self-determined accountability & commitment for leaving the planet better than we found her.
Quote that inspires you:
“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
(Maya Angelou)
Your own quote that will inspire us:
