This is a story about my Dad.
And in particular, the impact of his choices and how that’s influenced my thinking.
In 2011 my Dad was diagnosed and died with lung cancer.
I was there the day he was given the terminal diagnosis.
We were at home and kind of knew it wasn’t going to be good news.
The first thing he said to us (my Mum and my siblings) was: “I’m so sorry. I should have listened to your Mum”.
The consequence of choice.
Dad began smoking when he was 12. His grandad (who apparently lived until he was 92) used to give him a sneaky fag.
Mum had spent their entire marriage trying to make him give up smoking. By the time he was in his teens Dad was well and truly addicted (thank you tobacco and marketing companies), and continued to smoke heavily….until he began hiding his ongoing smoking from us.
His death was indescribably excruciating for him to endure, and for us to watch.
The consequence of choice.
This isn’t a story about my Dad really.
It’s about the choices we continue to make as individuals, businesses, and governments, despite the warnings of the damage we’re doing to our planet….and the very short space of time we have to shape a better future. Recently I saw the piece on BBC’s Countryfile about the prospect of the UK running out of water by 2050.
That’s due to myriad reasons, over-consumption, agriculture, leaky pipes, inefficiency. It’s complex. And it’s serious. I know a number of friends and family who are currently expecting children or grandchildren. On current forecasts those children will be 28 by the time we run out of water.
The consequence of choice.
Every choice we make, from the diets we choose, the way we travel, the energy we use, the stuff we buy…has a consequence.
As an individual, businesss, or government….we need to factor the impact of our choices into those decisions…and stop thinking only about price and growth.
Because that two-dimentional thinking is killing us and our future. And we really do need to make it so much easier for everybody to make the right choice.
Because we’ll all be heading the same way as Dad…and probably saying to our own children: “I wish I’d have listened (to the science)…..”
I spend each and every day UK for Good with our team trying my best to inspire, inform, and enable business leaders to understand and improve their impact.
That too is about the consequence of choice.
Person by person.
Business by business.
Region by region.
Let’s stop thinking: “but it’s only me, how can I make a difference” and work together to make the right choice and more prosperous future for people and the planet.
That will mean some change….for Good. Are you in?