On Earth Day I had a wonderful time giving a speech at the University of St. Thomas on the emerging opportunities in the New Green Economy (NGE), including protecting the earth, creating more and better jobs, and also creating greater national security through less dependence on foreign energy sources.
I am an optimist about our future, which is why I started my new company, Tysvar, a NGE incubator of ideas, people, and organizations. The challenges we face from climate change are immense, but so are our capabilities, and the rewards and benefits to humanity are even greater in the New Green Economy.
Two parts of my presentation stick out for me. First are the key capabilities for success in this New Green Economy. My friend and former Minnesotan, Tom Friedman, lays this out beautifully in his books. The second part of my speech that I enjoyed sharing was how we can all use these key capabilities as a platform for doing something you love. Imagine: helping to build the NGE with a purposeful passion. It doesn’t get much better than that!
I also enjoyed talking about how we can make the rural Midwest a pre-eminent player in making Minnesota the Silicon Valley of this NGE. I will be discussing this further during my keynote speech at an upcoming conference of small towns in June.