‘ve been thinking lately about how we harvest resources in a regenerative organization. Nature only takes resources that can be regenerated before they’re needed again. There’s always a sense of balance and “enoughness.” For humans, we need to consider the following questions:
- How do we harvest resources in a way that allows them to regenerate?
- How do we ensure the system can feed and nurture future generations?
That’s a fundamental aspect of regenerative systems we need to model from Nature. Nature doesn’t extract or exploit resources in a way that eliminates them. Nature doesn’t overfish a territory, risking leaving no fish to support the ecosystem. Ecosystems are sustained via a dance of interdependence. Every species’ needs are considered in an ecosystem, and they’re never over-harvested.
The difference between harvesting and extracting
Within regenerative systems, the distinction between harvesting and extracting resources is significant.
Human systems often think of resources as extractable, as if “it’s our right to extract resources we own.” The limits of what we extract aren’t based on an interdependent ecology that accounts for what the ecosystem needs now, and for future generations. It’s based on a business model of profit and profit margins. The fact that our extraction might cause significant harm to future generations is not part of the business model’s equation. That’s the difference between our traditional way of thinking about resources and extraction, and the way Nature would think of it as a harvest in a regenerative cycle.
Regeneration doesn’t just depend on the frequency of resource extraction. It depends on what happens throughout the resource’s full life cycle.
We all know what happens to waste generated during a manufacturing cycle. The enormous amount of plastic in the ocean is more proof of waste from human consumption.
Nature, as a regenerative system, looks at resources in a full life-cycle way—not just what can be taken from the ecosystem without damaging future life. It also asks how the waste of these resources can fuel, feed, and nourish other species in the ecosystem. Our most valuable resources are the humans we employ, so how does that shift our mindset as regenerative leaders?
The burnout problem
As we talk about solving the broader concept of extraction in human resources, I want to first examine the idea of burnout. I connect it to my own experiences in the ’80s and 90s, when the lexicon surrounding burnout began to show up. As this new language emerged, it uncovered ideas like:
- How to know when we’re burned out.
- Ways to recover from from burnout.
- How to keep enough left so our work isn’t our whole life.
- Balancing the needs and gifts from our human ecology—friends, family, communities.
The discussion around burnout began an important shift toward a more regenerative view of employees, as valuable resources.
Framing human resources in a regenerative organization
What is a resource in a regenerative organization? Once again my mind goes to the people that we employ. While our human talent is not necessarily an external resource like precious metals, coal, or oil, how we treat our employees can be either extractive or regenerative.
Let’s think about the criteria that determine whether we’re extracting or exploiting human resources, and how we relate to our employees. Those interactions need to look like a regenerative relationship, not an extractive one.
If we have an extractive relationship with our employees, we push them to produce, even at the expense of their health. We don’t worry about burning them out because usually the labor force seems infinite. We measure only what they contributed in the last hour, day, week, or quarter. We don’t view them in an integrated, holistic way. We don’t ask how they fit into a the larger organization.
Ideally, employees won’t be just cost centers. That concept makes it easy manipulate our profit margins by reducing our workforce. Organizations do without regard for the damage it does to individuals, their families, or their communities. All of that damage has a trickle down (or up) effect that we may not see for some time.
A regenerative future values our human employees
If we look at employees as cherished resources, we try to balance how we interact with them. We ask questions like:
- What does a regenerative relationship with our employees look and feel like?
- How do we engage with our employees so they still have something left at the end of the workday?
- What conditions can we create to help fuel their lives—in and out of work—and support the lives of future generations?
I’m inspired to continue imagining what the relationship between an employee and a regenerative organization can be. Make no mistake, our employees are critical regenerative resources. They could be a foundational species that helps our organization and external ecosystems thrive far into the future.
