As a social anthropologist, I believe that human beings work together far better in multigenerational groups and communities. At work, we rarely consider the importance of a vertically balanced group of employees and yet it is one of the most powerful ways to get results with wisdom and wellness.
 
We have become aware of the need to take advantage of diversity in many other important areas: Gender, race, ‘strengths’ and even thinking preferences. Age diversity is now become the new basis for cultural strength in organisations. As the enormous Boomer generation prepares for retirement, we need to think about retaining their contribution to the workforce. Why?

• The dependency ratio (those in paid work compared to those being supported) in most countries will overbalance with too many non-contributing people. Economically, that scenario is unviable
• There is now potential for four generational groups working together , which is a great opportunity for community wisdom and collaboration
• Boomers offer cultural and work memories as well as a different way of thinking and approaching the world, which adds to adaptive perspective
• While many Boomers cannot afford to retire on the state pension and need to work or they will be costing society to support, other Boomers are healthy and want to work/earn money but not necessarily the way they did when they were younger
• Elder care could become a crisis situation as more people develop dementia. The ‘sandwich’ generation will be looking after parents and grandchildren making it harder to work normal hours which will add anxiety. Organisations face the challenge of offering support and flexible work to deal with this
• Technology is an enabler that can change our work practices

 
The way forward for organisations is to adopt diversity through flexible working practices and leadership. Personal development and ongoing learning are the keys to building wisdom and intergenerational strength at work. Having a strategy for change in the organisation and good tools creates a framework for a new agile, well and wise community that engages individuals.
Here are the three challenges for action of the Boomer Initiative to build a successful culture through intergenerational working:
 

1. Check that you have age diversity in groups and across the organisation.
    
2. Develop roles that are appropriate for different age cohorts. Base these on the known stages of brain development over a lifetime. Be flexible about work practices (place and time) to allow for differences.

 

1. Conference, workshop and problem solve people of different ages together. Create mentor roles and groups that work both ways. Design work spaces together.

 
In future, there will be more Boomers than other generational groups. Leaders will be able to choose and develop the best people for their organisation. For those who need to leave, take time to recognise their value and support them to transition well.  In this way they can have flexible ‘portfolio incomes’ and purpose. The remaining work culture will be wise, well and naturally supportive as successful human communities have always been.

Not a blog but a speech about wisdom from many years ago. How much more appropriate is this today?

Ladies and Gentlemen — I'm only going to talk to you just for a minute or so this evening. Because...
I have some very sad news for all of you, and I think sad news for all of our fellow citizens, and people who love peace all over the world, and that is that Martin Luther King was shot and was killed tonight in Memphis, Tennessee.
Martin Luther King dedicated his life to love and to justice between fellow human beings. He died in the cause of that effort. In this difficult day, in this difficult time for the United States, it's perhaps well to ask what kind of a nation we are and what direction we want to move in.

For those of you who are black — considering the evidence evidently is that there were white people who were responsible — you can be filled with bitterness, and with hatred, and a desire for revenge.
We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization — black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred toward one another. Or we can make an effort, as Martin Luther King did, to understand and to comprehend, and replace that violence, that stain of bloodshed that has spread across our land, with an effort to understand, compassion and love.

For those of you who are black and are tempted to be filled with hatred and mistrust of the injustice of such an act, against all white people, I would only say that I can also feel in my own heart the same kind of feeling. I had a member of my family killed, but he was killed by a white man.

But we have to make an effort in the United States, we have to make an effort to understand, to get beyond these rather difficult times.

My favorite poet was Aeschylus. He once wrote: "Even in our sleep, pain which cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom through the awful grace of God."

What we need in the United States is not division; what we need in the United States is not hatred; what we need in the United States is not violence and lawlessness, but is love and wisdom, and compassion toward one another, and a feeling of justice toward those who still suffer within our country, whether they be white or whether they be black.
(Interrupted by applause)

So I ask you tonight to return home, to say a prayer for the family of Martin Luther King, yeah that's true, but more importantly to say a prayer for our own country, which all of us love — a prayer for understanding and that compassion of which I spoke. We can do well in this country. We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will have difficult times in the future. It is not the end of violence; it is not the end of lawlessness; and it's not the end of disorder.

But the vast majority of white people and the vast majority of black people in this country want to live together, want to improve the quality of our life, and want justice for all human beings that abide in our land.
(Interrupted by applause)

Let us dedicate ourselves to what the Greeks wrote so many years ago: to tame the savageness of man and make gentle the life of this world.

Let us dedicate ourselves to that, and say a prayer for our country and for our people. Thank you very much. (Applause)

Robert F. Kennedy - April 4, 1968

 
A very simple explanation of the situation
I am not a scientist but what I understand is that there is a build-up of gases blanketing the atmosphere that prevent heat from escaping. These gases are a combination of natural and man-made. Then there is accelerated warming of the atmosphere. This is partly because of these gases but also related to things like deforestation, and burning fossil fuels. So, more heat on earth and less chance for it to escape. This has led to other factors in turn, like the melting of the ice caps which is compounding the original problem. For instance the melting of the ice caps may also be de-stabilising the Ocean’s currents so that countries previously warmed will be colder, and sea levels are on the rise everywhere.

What will we experience in the next few years and beyond?

• Temperatures are rising, there will be more droughts, heat waves and wild fires. Reservoirs will run out of water regularly
• Extreme weather events are normal and storms will get increasingly violent
• Within our lifetime, low-lying coastlines will be inundated. Most of the world’s major cities are close to sea level.
• Economic survival will become harder for first world countries and individuals as they try to hold back the sea from major cities and deal with the inundation of seaside properties
• Poorer countries including many island nations will disappear beneath the sea altogether and refugees will look for alternative homes
• Infrastructure like roads and railways (and airports by the water) will be tested and cost a fortune to protect
• Crustaceans and corals will die due to the acidity in the sea (this is already happening)
  

Understand
Unfortunately, this change is so dramatic that even the experts underestimated its speed. Our brains expect change of this scale to take hundreds of years or at least decades. We are ill equipped to deal with sudden shifts that are cumulative and connected. Even scientists still tend to examine linear impacts rather than integrated outcomes. Very few people understand climate change in detail…just the political arguments that all have a vested interest behind them.

Take Action
This is our planet and our future…it’s time everyone knew what is happening and take action. The research and data is all out there, so have a look if you think this is overly dramatic. If in doubt – do something to help.
This information is from government – not extreme survivalists!
Why climate change matters 
https://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate-change
What can we all do?
http://www.mfe.govt.nz/climate-change/we-all-have-role-play/what-you-can-do-0


So what simple things can we all do?
It all seems so big and interconnected across the world. Well yes, the big changes need to be made at government level, but in the meantime there are many things that we can all do to prepare for the inevitable and help to stop making things worse. Here are a few of them under three categories:
2. Be resilient for yourself and in your communities.

• Start planning for adaptation and crisis emergency responses
• Install less hard standing (concrete) and better drainage. Concrete surfaces create problems during deluges – when water sheet off the surface and drains can’t cope.
• Don’t buy or build a house on the coast if it is near sea level. There is no longer plenty of time to sell the property on at a profit.
• Get off the grid if possible or use less electricity unless it is solar or wind generated.
• Collect rainwater to be self-sufficient in droughts and to prevent excess water run off during storms.
• Join your community group and raise awareness
• Grow your own food and swap with others. Try to avoid food that has been transported too far and be more self-sufficient.
• Get rid of as much financial debt as possible. Economic problems will affect us all. Don’t expect the government or banks to help!
• Help others to understand and advise them about how to take action

2. Prevent further warming

• Apply a zero waste approach to life: Reduce, reuse, recycle.

Read: How your trash is contributing to climate change
http://time.com/4042559/trash-climate-change-landfill/

• If you are building or renovating, choose a light coloured roof. More white rooves will directly affect warming.

Read about why you should choose a white roof here: https://e360.yale.edu/features/urban-heat-can-white-roofs-help-cool-the-worlds-warming-cities

3. Prevent or offset more build-up of atmospheric gases

1. Don’t keep large animals to mow your grass
2. Do less driving and ride or walk more .Do more virtual work from home. Avoid unnecessary air travel.
3. Plant trees and use green rooves (a growing roof surface) where you can. This offsets the emissions of Carbon Dioxide.
4. Some also advocate eating less meat (see the government website above).

 
The truth is we can all say that natural causes of gas emissions are far greater than the ones we create…volcanic activity and the melting of the icecaps. This is true, but human beings can have a significant impact and there is nothing we can do about nature. It is also useless to say that other countries are more to blame than us…so what? That doesn’t help us all in the next decade.
 
We need understanding, hope and action. Without hope, the situation is hopeless!  We can all change something, what is the first thing you can do? Let’s start talking and acting together.