Learned On...

Women and Science Careers: The Sustainability Attraction

The reasons vary for why girls and young women might steer away from science and technology careers, but I submit that now is the time to finally identify and resolve the matter!  Why now?  Sustainability is THE business and research … Read on >

The Female Systems Thinker Secret: Empathy

What’s the key to sustainability?  Systems thinking.  What’s the sustainability systems thinker’s secret? Empathy.  Who might be particularly good at contributing, and teaching, that way of thinking? Women.

My latest HuffingtonPost piece reflects the coalescing of my consulting and master’s program work toward a new research focus.  How can we … Read on >

On Collaboration, Partnerships and Sustainability

I spotted a New York Times article today* that speaks to the “women’s ways” or right-brain guided ways of thinking that sustainability seems to be ushering in for a lot of companies.  It is … Read on >

Robert Cialdini is My Hero: Sustainability “Social Proof”

When people see that their neighbors have more energy efficient households, it GETS them!  My absolute hero (and someone whose work I am closely studying for my master’s thesis), Robert Cialdini, is now leveraging his “social proof” compliance technique for sustainability purposes.  A New York Times article by Saqib … Read on >

Sustainability as Middle-Age Brain Booster

As a mid-40-something myself, I took heart in an interview Terry Gross did with author Barbara Strauch on NPR’s Fresh Air the other day.  In talking about her new book, The Secret Life of the Grown-up Brain: The Surprising Talents of the Middle-Aged Mind, Strauch mentioned a few … Read on >

Leveraging “Social Proof” for Sustainability

Why do people do what they do?  This has long been studied to benefit the marketing of goods, but how can we leverage what we know about human behavior to forward the sustainable practices of consumers and organizations?  With that in mind, I revisited Robert Cialdini’s now-classic book, INFLUENCE: … Read on >

Working Women: Key to Promoting Energy Efficiency

How women buy and how they work/lead is big news these days – no matter what brand, category, industry or organization.  When you think about how to start to change the culture around sustainable life and business practices, women also appear to be worth serious consideration.  This is particularly … Read on >

VPR Commentary: Psychology of Climate Change Denial

What motivates the average person to engage with the tough societal issues?  That’s a question I’m deeply exploring in both my work and master’s studies these days.  An article by George Marshall in Yes Magazine helped me put some framework around the psychology of climate change denial, specifically, and … Read on >

Busted! The Surcharge for “Women’s” Product Versions

Nothing like an article in Psychology Today to put something into perspective.  Some brands charge more for products they can pitch as “for women.” As consumers, women have always sensed this to be the case, but the article’s author, William Poundstone, lays it all out for us – almost … Read on >

Do Women Have “Social” Advantage?

As stereotypes and many scientific interpretations of brain gender would have it, there are all sorts of reasons why women are just better at being “social.” We could leave it at that, or… consider other angles.  And, because it has some pretty significant implications for today’s business world, I thought … Read on >