SEVEN SHIFTS How we will bring a Billion Acts of Courage to life

Stories hold incredible power because they shape how we understand “reality” and our place within it. Stories have the power to influence how we think, what we believe to be true and possible, and how we

act.

STORIES HAVE THE POWER TO LITERALLY CHANGE THE WORLD.

The Greenpeace Story Team – Tommy Crawford, Brian Fitzgerald, and Amrekha Sharma -- have been working with brilliant people inside and outside of the organisation, from all corners of the globe, to shape a new story for Greenpeace that is grounded in our past successes, and designed to spark an even more

spectacular future.

AS OUR ORGANISATIONAL STORY EVOLVES, WE TOO, AS AN ORGANISATION

MUST EVOLVE. No matter how compelling a story we tell externally, it will be hollow and ultimately unconvincing unless

we live it.

For us to succeed in creating a collective story that promotes hope, courage and a recognition of our intrinsic interconnectivity, we must embody it. We must walk the talk.

To help us to do this, we’ve derived the following SEVEN SHIFTS:

Seven things that we must move away from, and seven things that we must move towards.

 THEY ARE DIRECTIONS RATHER THAN DESTINATIONS.

Different offices and different projects will be at different stages of living these.  

They are intended to be aids to decision making and evaluation. Does this new project or piece of work further one or more of these transitions? If not, how can we make it do so?

  We are on a journey together to be the organisation that the world needs, and to drive the world towards

the more beautiful future that we know to be possible.  

THESE SEVEN SHIFTS AIM TO GIVE US A COMMON MAP TO STEER BY. A COMMON SET OF STARS TO GUIDE US ON OUR WAY.

 

FROM SYMPTOMS TO ROOT CAUSES

FROM SYMPTOMS TO ROOT CAUSES

SHIFT 1

Easyvictorieswon'tdeliverabe3erworld.Ifwewanttotransformhumanity'srela:onshiptoplanetEarth,wecan'tworkattheendofthepipe:weneedtogettothesource.Inaninterconnectedworldrunningoutof:me,movingafactoryfromonebackyardtoanother,orstoppingonecompany'sdestruc:vesupplychainwithoutregardtoanotherisn'tgoodenough.Weneedtohacktheopera:ngsystemsofcivilisa:on.

FROM REINFORCING OLD STORIES TO BUILDING NEW ONES

FROM REINFORCING OLD STORIES TO BUILDING NEW ONES

SHIFT 2

Thestoriesthatholdbackabe3erworldarerootedinapathy,disconnec:on,andfailuresofimagina:on.Greatstoriesarestoriesofhumantriumph;ofhope,empathy,connec:on,crea:vity,andcourage.Storiesthatmaketheseeminglyimpossiblecometrue.Thepowerofastorygrowsexponen:allywitheverytelling:webuildabe3erworldwhenwetellgreatstories,retellthegreatstoriesofothers,andputourgreatesteffortintobuildingthenewinsteadoffigh:ngtheold.

FROM SECRETIVE TO OPEN SOURCE

FROM SECRETIVE TO OPEN SOURCE

SHIFT 3

Thenewpowerintheworldiscollabora:on:people-powereddesigns,people-poweredstrategies,people-poweredimprovements.Thebe3erworldweworkforisopenandtransparent.Ourdefaultvalueshouldbesunlight.

FROM FEARING FAILURE TO FEARLESS INNOVATORS

FROM FEARING FAILURE TO FEARLESS INNOVATORS

SHIFT 4

Changingthefuture,breakingthestatusquo,demandingmorethanbusinessasusual:thesethingsrequiremountainsofaudacity.Wedon’thave:metoplayasafegame.Ifwe’renotfailing,we’renotinnova:ng.Ifwe’renotinnova:ng,we’renotchangingthegame.Ifwe’renotchangingthegame,we’rewas:ngour:me.

FROM LONE HERO TO HERO AMONG HEROES

FROM LONE HERO TO HERO AMONG HEROES

SHIFT 5

Egocentricorganisa:onsonlytalkaboutthemselves.Network-centricorganisa:onsalsolistenandamplifyothervoicesinsymphonic,society-wideconversa:ons.Wecansharewhatwehavelearnedover40yearsofcampaigning.Wecanuseourabilitytoreachmillionstochampiontheworkofothers.Wecanbuildcommuni:estofacilitateco-crea:onanddisrup:veadventuresoutofourcomfortzones.Ouractsofcouragecanbeconsciouslydesignedtoinspiremore.

FROM SUPPORTERS TO CHANGE AGENTS

FROM SUPPORTERS TO CHANGE AGENTS

SHIFT 6

Abe3erfuturewillbebuiltbypeoplewhoknowthattheirownac:onsac:velyshapethatfuture.Itwillbebuiltbymorepeopleapplyingtheirskillsandpassionstothechallengeofhumansurvival.Morepeopleamplifyingstoriesofinnova:onandcourage.Morepeopleraisingques:onsaboutthewaythingsareandcomingupwithbe3erideasaboutthewaythingsmightbe.Morepeopleopera:ngattheedgeoftheircomfortzonesandindoingsoigni:ngasparkinothers.

FROM DOGMATIC DEFENDER TO CHAMPIONS OF THE “IMPOSSIBLE”

FROM DOGMATIC DEFENDER TO CHAMPIONS OF THE “IMPOSSIBLE”

SHIFT 7

“No,Don’t,Stop”:allnecessarywords,butnottheonesthatinspiretransforma:onalmovements.Torallymillionsofpeoplearoundavisionofabe3erworld,weneedtobeclearnotonlyaboutwhatwestandagainst,butwhatwestandfor:thebigvision,thedreamwedaretosayisnotonlypossible,butwillsomedaybelookedbackuponasinevitable.

The Seven Shifts were created by the Story Team in collaboration with external and internal troublemakers. They continue to be a work in progress within Greenpeace. For more information about their origins,

contact Tommy Crawford or Brian Fitzgerald. For more information about their current status at Greenpeace, contact Mike Townsley.

Love bombs for the illustrations go to Iris Maertens.

Thank you to everyone involved for your brilliant input, insights and guidance.