Dear Generation Fix, It’s Your Time.

You know who you are. You are dedicating your life to solving problems small and large for the betterment of society. You bring skills and perspective that makes us the first professional, organized, hyper-efficient generation dedicated to generating meaningful solutions at scale.

You work at NGO’s, private companies, small businesses, in government, or are in school. Although your blood is also boiling, you are not reactionary. Your energies are directed and your nose is at the problem-solving grindstone. You are not a self-serving, praise-driven, self-professed social entrepreneur. You are not defined by the things you have or say but by the things you do and the solutions you create. You realize transformative change comes from working on the inside and out and that no one person, widget, or ideology is sufficient. You are not afraid to face the hard, but obvious truths or question the sacred cows modern society adamantly protects. You are a hyper-efficient no-nonsense successful problem solver that is looking to not only play your part, but to inspire others to accelerate change. It’s your time.

Our planet is looking for solutions to problems that seem impossible to achieve. Our view is that the solutions are inevitable, but it is mostly a race against time. When it comes to planetary impact, some things are irreversible. Previous generations have taken us down a completely unsustainable path and it will take a monumental and coordinated effort to turn this ship around. But this challenge is also fun and provides the maximum opportunity to create a more sustainable and fulfilling society.

We come from different walks of life but are united and excited by three core drivers/pursuits in our personal and professional lives that naturally lead us to problem solving:

1. The opportunity to implement creative solutions to complex problems;

2. The opportunity to build relationships and community;

3. The opportunity to learn through experience in an integrated way;

Previous generations dug this hole, in part out of ignorance, in part out of greed. But make no mistake, we have benefitted from this society and, while trying to reduce our impact, are contributing to many of these problems by our consumption and lifestyle habits. But as the next ten years will show, we will be able to do more with less and in a way that is practical, personally fulfilling, and ultimately more sustainable.

Current approaches to many problems are not effective and no longer tolerable. But, fortunately, many of the solutions we seek have already been identified and it is just a matter of scaling them up. Other solutions will take a long, concerted effort. The opportunity for making an impact exists at every level: voting with your dollars; being the change in your family, workplace, and community; building new organizations and accelerating the work of existing groups; and leading a less intensive lifestyle. We are comfortable with not knowing what every solution will look like right now and know that many solutions will look different in each region. But we are not starting from scratch, and solutions will require participation and commitment from all generations. We are confident that we will see dramatic positive change in our lifetime. It’s an exciting time.

Many people want to contribute but don’t know how. We need to help these people get ‘plugged-in’ and channeled to the right way to contribute their skills. (This blog accompanies a book I’m writing to do just that.)

Keep doing what you’re doing because we are closer than you think to reaching these solutions.

Get to back to work.

Dexter Gauntlett