This week I discovered the concept ‘Cathedral Thinking’ in the book 'No one is too small to make a difference' by Greta Thunberg.
It is a concept that can be used for tackling complex challenges like sustainability. It is something I will incorporate into my way of working.
Here is a quick summary:
Cathedral thinking is the mindset needed to build Cathedrals - we've all had that moment of awe in an ancient Cathedral when we stop and think "how the hell did they build this...?"
What mindset is needed to build a Cathedral?
- Long term thinking
- Collaboration
- Starting without knowing the full plan
How does this relate to sustainability?
- Long-term thinking: Environmental and societal change takes time. It requires a long-term mindset, sometimes thinking beyond our generation. It can be hard to think beyond our next bonus, promotion or election term. We also need to consider longer-term time horizons so we can make more long-term positive changes.
- Collaboration: Sustainable change is complex. It requires collaboration across companies, sectors and national boundaries. We often cannot see beyond our competitive advantage. We need to think about the collective good and work together to solve these complex issues that will benefit everyone.
- Starting without a full plan: Achieving a sustainable society is a huge task. Big challenges that don’t have a perfect plan ****can be scary causing us to put them off or ignore them. We need to embrace getting started without a full plan and be open to innovate and iterate approaches that make a positive impact along the way and in the long-term.
One part of cathedral building we should not follow is exploiting disadvantaged people - we need to find a way to make sustainable changes that are just and fair for everyone.
