Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 16 Featuring Deborah Westphal

Rural Futures Institute Author

10/26/2018 Added

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Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 11 Featuring Deborah Westphal

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[00:00:00.000]On this podcast we talk with rural mavericks,
[00:00:03.150]futurists, and researchers to raise bold voices
[00:00:06.230]for rural people and places.
[00:00:08.490]I'm Katelyn, producer of the show,
[00:00:10.900]and I'm asking you to do your part.
[00:00:13.210]Support the Rural Futures podcast
[00:00:15.210]by leaving a review, which helps new listeners find us,
[00:00:18.690]and become a sponsor by visiting
[00:00:21.069]ruralfutures.nebraska.edu/podcast.
[00:00:25.944](smooth electronic music)
[00:00:27.640]Too many times people jump to a solution
[00:00:30.870]and just listen to what they say.
[00:00:32.370]We need a strategic plan, or we need a new process,
[00:00:35.440]or we need a working group that collaborates.
[00:00:38.706]Wait, you don't need those things.
[00:00:41.780]What's the problem we're trying to solve?
[00:00:43.890]What is the question that we're trying to answer?
[00:00:48.080]Rural Futures, the podcast
[00:00:50.440]where we connect thought leaders and doers
[00:00:52.920]at the intersection of technology,
[00:00:54.950]and what it means to be human.
[00:00:56.730]Every episode we talked with entrepreneurs,
[00:00:59.280]researchers, and achievers, to create impact
[00:01:02.340]for generations to come.
[00:01:04.510]And now here's Dr. Connie.
[00:01:07.220]Welcome back to the Rural Futures podcast.
[00:01:09.740]I'm your host, Dr. Connie,
[00:01:11.490]and joining us today is Deb Westphal,
[00:01:13.700]CEP of Toffler Associates,
[00:01:16.360]a future-focused strategic advisory firm.
[00:01:19.290]Deb, tell us a little bit more about Toffler Associates.
[00:01:22.500]Sure, so Toffler Associates is a strategic advisory firm
[00:01:27.450]that helps our clients actually create better futures
[00:01:33.140]by understanding what's driving change,
[00:01:36.440]helping them plan through that change,
[00:01:39.424]and then finally helping them adapt their organization
[00:01:42.860]to be successful.
[00:01:44.530]Well, and we're gonna talk a little bit more about that,
[00:01:46.877]and some of your work is specifically with
[00:01:49.540]strategic advising, but I wanna get more into Deb
[00:01:53.570]a little bit here, because there are some very interesting
[00:01:55.890]things about you that I think our audience
[00:01:57.800]would be curious about.
[00:01:59.620]What do you do for fun?
[00:02:00.990]Oh, fun, well right now I'm really into running,
[00:02:05.610]and I have learned to have fun with that.
[00:02:10.480]I'm actually going to be running in the Chicago Marathon
[00:02:14.200]in less than a week.
[00:02:16.370]So you're doing the Chicago marathon,
[00:02:19.070]but I think you also have a big climb coming up in February?
[00:02:23.910]I do, I do, I've actually planned
[00:02:27.610]a trip to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa.
[00:02:32.380]I'd like to know, how does this bring joy
[00:02:35.140]but also how does it make you better at what you do?
[00:02:38.470]I need to be in constant motion,
[00:02:41.650]whether that's mentally or physically,
[00:02:44.150]or maybe even spiritually,
[00:02:46.970]so running and hiking and you know,
[00:02:51.030]learning and just staying in constant motion
[00:02:55.100]brings great joy.
[00:02:57.130]And that really fits nicely with what I do professionally
[00:03:01.400]at Toffler Associates.
[00:03:02.900]It's perpetual connecting dots and learning
[00:03:07.140]and meeting extraordinary people
[00:03:09.670]and learning about their lives
[00:03:11.010]and that brings great joy.
[00:03:13.600]Well, obviously serving as CEO of Toffler Associates,
[00:03:16.457]you're in a high profile leadership position.
[00:03:20.643]So tell us a little bit more bout yourself as a leader.
[00:03:24.440]You know, it's evolved,
[00:03:25.994]and I have an engineering degree,
[00:03:28.940]and so in my younger years it was more about process
[00:03:35.250]and making sure the structure was aligned
[00:03:37.680]and making sure that the strategy was there.
[00:03:41.296]You know, over time as I've matured as a leader,
[00:03:45.187]all of that is needed,
[00:03:47.330]but that's not the priority.
[00:03:49.290]And what I have found is that the priority is people.
[00:03:52.520]If you organize around them,
[00:03:54.320]and you organize around their strengths
[00:03:56.380]and their hopes, and their desires,
[00:04:01.580]the organization is much better for that,
[00:04:05.610]versus trying to make sure
[00:04:07.680]you've got everything lined up organizationally
[00:04:10.560]and then put the people in there.
[00:04:13.910]I feel like the way you lead, and your philosophy
[00:04:16.820]around leadership matches so well with your work
[00:04:20.820]because I know in our pre-convo
[00:04:23.220]and the form you submitted before coming on the podcast,
[00:04:27.017]you stated, "we must understand that while it looks
[00:04:30.277]"and feels like we're in the midst of a technology
[00:04:33.387]"revolution, we're really experiencing a human revolution."
[00:04:37.500]Expand on that a bit.
[00:04:39.660]Yeah, so it's easy to focus on the technology
[00:04:42.227]and yes, there's so much technology
[00:04:45.340]that's maturing and advancing
[00:04:47.624]that we lose sight of the implications
[00:04:51.670]to people and humanity and society
[00:04:54.690]and this revolution that we're in is human.
[00:04:59.012]The technology's the fuel that is connecting us,
[00:05:03.400]it's allowing us to find people like ourselves,
[00:05:07.606]to gain voice, to be activists.
[00:05:12.610]It is allowing for humans to rise and rise above
[00:05:18.270]the technology and use that technology
[00:05:21.156]as more of a platform for society and humanity.
[00:05:25.576](smooth electronic music)
[00:05:28.040]For our company, if you look at our business cards,
[00:05:30.770]we don't have titles, because we play different roles
[00:05:33.278]at different times.
[00:05:34.947]There are times when I'll have a millennial
[00:05:38.490]or a Gen-Z leading a project
[00:05:40.847]and I'm there to make PowerPoint slides.
[00:05:44.420]They're my lead.
[00:05:45.780]And so you hit on the roles, right?
[00:05:49.230]If you see some of the projections
[00:05:51.390]about the workforce being by 2030, 80% of the US workforce
[00:05:57.540]will be freelance.
[00:05:59.150]Well freelance is not necessarily a title,
[00:06:02.180]it's not a position, you know,
[00:06:04.020]so these traditional organizational models that we have
[00:06:07.590]where we bring somebody in for a slot,
[00:06:09.930]it has a title, it has you know a job description
[00:06:13.780]that's very limited, and we cram a person in there,
[00:06:17.186]we're only getting a part of them.
[00:06:20.050]How do we unleash that, and how do we take advantage
[00:06:24.451]in the opportunity both on from a company perspective
[00:06:29.250]as well as from the individual
[00:06:31.080]to bring the whole person.
[00:06:32.570]You know, our work around human centric organizations
[00:06:35.930]is going through these models
[00:06:37.962]and where do we need to go
[00:06:40.152]to bring that to the forefront,
[00:06:42.070]to bring people to the forefront?
[00:06:44.030]The whole person, not just the slice
[00:06:47.600]that maybe was their education,
[00:06:50.890]or a specific experience.
[00:06:53.344](smooth electronic music)
[00:06:56.260]Well, I know your work and research
[00:06:57.650]have unveiled what you call future shocks.
[00:06:59.980]So how and what are future shocks
[00:07:02.170]and how are they gonna continue
[00:07:04.186]to change and shape society?
[00:07:05.380]Wow, there's so many,
[00:07:07.090]you know, future shocks that are happening.
[00:07:10.650]One is what we call the power balance,
[00:07:13.970]and that's really that shifting power structure
[00:07:17.470]that is moved from more traditional entities
[00:07:20.880]to non traditional entities.
[00:07:22.730]Take Elon Musk, and you know,
[00:07:25.070]he's a controversial fellow,
[00:07:28.380]and he gets himself into trouble,
[00:07:30.220]but you know, here's this young billionaire
[00:07:33.810]that connects with some silicon valley engineers
[00:07:37.841]and they have a vision,
[00:07:40.220]and all of a sudden, their influence moves
[00:07:43.558]an automotive industry that has been pretty stagnant
[00:07:49.457]if you would for decades.
[00:07:52.400]And if you look at where the automotive industry is now
[00:07:56.111]they're placing their money on autonomous vehicles
[00:07:59.680]and electric vehicles
[00:08:01.110]where they wouldn't have done that ten years ago.
[00:08:03.520]And so you know, it's moving
[00:08:05.890]this power balance, moving from the traditional entities
[00:08:09.840]to non traditional entities
[00:08:11.600]to people, the GoFundMe platform allows for donations
[00:08:17.500]to be collected in matters of weeks
[00:08:22.404]for the Las Vegas shooting victims.
[00:08:26.440]You know, it gives hope and some relief,
[00:08:31.170]if you would, to those victims
[00:08:32.890]in matters of weeks where the government
[00:08:35.270]would have taken months or possibly years.
[00:08:38.710]So that is a future shock
[00:08:42.070]that says just because you're a strong organizational entity
[00:08:46.260]you may not always be in power.
[00:08:48.860]It really may be individuals or groups of start ups
[00:08:53.158]that maintain that power.
[00:08:55.580]I think it's a great message
[00:08:57.130]for people to really think about.
[00:08:59.260]I think for so long we've been in a society
[00:09:02.280]where it seemed like a few people decided what happened.
[00:09:06.849]Right?
[00:09:07.682]And I'm not saying that power still doesn't exist
[00:09:10.350]but at the same time, power has been given
[00:09:13.190]to people like never before.
[00:09:15.090]And getting these interesting partnerships together,
[00:09:17.690]thinking boldly and moving boldly
[00:09:20.810]and with conviction can really change the world.
[00:09:24.650]And developing these platforms that give people a voice,
[00:09:28.190]especially a collective voice,
[00:09:29.423]is really amazing.
[00:09:30.820]And it's a great time in history
[00:09:32.570]to see how this is gonna shape the future.
[00:09:34.873]Yeah, and you know, the infrastructure
[00:09:37.320]that's being put in place around the world,
[00:09:39.365]the communications, information technology,
[00:09:42.020]we've got more satellites going up,
[00:09:44.730]we've got fiber being laid,
[00:09:47.200]we've got CellulAir, it's allowing everybody
[00:09:50.404]on the planet to connect,
[00:09:53.526]and through social media, there's good and bad there,
[00:09:57.484]but the connection, to find people like ourselves
[00:10:01.404]that can bring that power and that voice
[00:10:06.661]is a real strong shift here,
[00:10:08.231]and very exciting for the future, I think.
[00:10:11.999]Absolutely, and I love one of your quotes.
[00:10:15.557]"If your organization prioritizes age over ideas
[00:10:18.650]it's time for a change."
[00:10:20.530]And so thinking about, you know,
[00:10:21.780]what, this doesn't have to be what it was,
[00:10:24.090]it doesn't matter how long you've been around,
[00:10:27.010]how much experience you have, there's really this capacity
[00:10:30.620]for individuals to make a huge difference,
[00:10:32.900]especially if they come together.
[00:10:34.830]Yeah, I find it really interesting
[00:10:36.990]with some of the clients that we work with,
[00:10:39.303]that their reference, if you would,
[00:10:41.410]to millennials or Gen-Z
[00:10:43.500]is how are we gonna manage these kids?
[00:10:46.875]They're almost out of control,
[00:10:49.630]they're very different,
[00:10:51.000]instead of how are we going to use this as an opportunity?
[00:10:55.100]Because they see things differently,
[00:10:56.692]they were born into this digital age,
[00:10:59.530]they are looking at things and saying, you know,
[00:11:03.207]"this doesn't seem right,
[00:11:04.257]"why do we do it this way?"
[00:11:06.020]And for the older generations,
[00:11:08.280]they may see that as a challenge versus an opportunity
[00:11:13.070]to go, yeah, why are we doin' it this way?
[00:11:15.367]And organizations should see that as an opportunity
[00:11:19.300]to question and listen to that younger generation.
[00:11:23.235]It would probably help them move forward in a faster way.
[00:11:28.260]That younger generation's going to point out
[00:11:30.437]areas that probably don't make sense in this day and age
[00:11:34.550]to be doin' it that way.
[00:11:35.950]So it's really an opportunity.
[00:11:38.350]It's not a challenge, it's not a chore,
[00:11:40.780]it's an opportunity.
[00:11:42.560]Thinking about a university,
[00:11:43.990]and the Rural Futures Institute,
[00:11:45.390]how can we look at that and take note
[00:11:48.185]and do something about that,
[00:11:49.940]and this is even where I have to give
[00:11:52.490]our young podcast producer, executive producer,
[00:11:55.690]Katelyn Ideus, props, and her team.
[00:11:58.020]They push me to do things I would not normally do. (laughs)
[00:12:01.410]I mean, when we were getting ready for the podcast
[00:12:04.270]we had this photo shoot,
[00:12:05.280]I'm like oh my gosh what am I doing!
[00:12:06.910]I'm, you know, Gen-X, doing a crazy photo shoot. (laughs)
[00:12:10.258]They're makin' me, you know, pose and look at the camera
[00:12:14.900]in ways I wouldn't have imagined.
[00:12:16.350]But you know what, it turned out great
[00:12:17.830]and I'm so glad that they really were like
[00:12:19.747]"yeah we can do this, it'll be awesome!"
[00:12:21.987]And it just makes for a great team
[00:12:23.930]if you can harness that diversity,
[00:12:26.920]and you know, the differences,
[00:12:28.417]and really harness the innovation that comes out of it.
[00:12:30.910]My son is 29 and while he's starting to get older,
[00:12:35.850]he's still that Gen-X, that, they're passionate,
[00:12:39.170]they care about the world,
[00:12:40.003]they care about humanity, they wanna solve the problems.
[00:12:42.970]They don't necessarily
[00:12:43.970]wanna follow in their parent's footsteps
[00:12:46.820]with working 80 hour weeks,
[00:12:49.780]and not taking care of their bodies,
[00:12:51.960]and you know, they see there's a higher purpose
[00:12:55.894]for why we're here,
[00:12:57.221]and I just think that is amazing.
[00:13:00.241]And it's probably scary for older generation,
[00:13:02.990]or older leaders,
[00:13:04.664]but it's really going to unleash a new way to lead
[00:13:09.767]and a new organizational construct
[00:13:12.570]that I think is pretty exciting
[00:13:15.220]and full of hope for the future.
[00:13:18.402](smooth electronic music)
[00:13:20.130]Welcome to Bold Voices, our segment
[00:13:22.270]with rock star students from the University of Nebraska
[00:13:24.960]who are making a difference in Rural.
[00:13:28.130]Hello podcast listeners,
[00:13:29.920]I hope you're enjoying the show.
[00:13:31.360]I'm Katie Bagneski, production specialist
[00:13:33.580]of Rural Futures with Dr. Connie,
[00:13:35.770]and with me today is Raghav Kidambi,
[00:13:37.940]a senior management student
[00:13:39.310]in the college of business
[00:13:41.362]at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
[00:13:42.840]Welcome Raghav.
[00:13:43.900]Hello Katie, it's good to be here.
[00:13:45.810]And it's so nice to have you.
[00:13:47.120]Let's start by giving our listeners
[00:13:48.760]a glimpse into who you are.
[00:13:50.800]I'm from a city called Chennai
[00:13:53.046]in the southeastern part of India
[00:13:55.690]with about seven million inhabitants.
[00:13:58.800]It's a pretty cool place, tropical coastline.
[00:14:01.244]We also have one of the largest natural coasts in the world.
[00:14:05.630]But apart from that, my connection to Rural
[00:14:09.120]and the Rural Futures Institute
[00:14:10.310]was through the serviceship that I went through this year.
[00:14:12.130]So very grateful for that.
[00:14:14.230]Yeah and let's dive into that.
[00:14:15.420]We know that you're this urban guy
[00:14:17.450]with a soft spot for rural.
[00:14:20.040]You know, when people leave rural societies
[00:14:21.600]to urban centers, we're kind of losing
[00:14:23.420]a huge amount of workforce
[00:14:24.770]when it comes to agribusiness and agriculture,
[00:14:27.656]and you know, rural things that are necessary
[00:14:30.870]that are the backbone for the country,
[00:14:32.830]and not just in America, but you know,
[00:14:34.300]this is happening everywhere in the world.
[00:14:36.450]So that's kind of the catalyst that's enabled me
[00:14:39.970]to want to participate in something
[00:14:43.601]like the Rural Future Institute,
[00:14:45.511]and the serviceship that you guys offer.
[00:14:46.344]So tell me a little bit about your serviceship experience.
[00:14:49.230]So, the RFI serviceship for me
[00:14:51.240]was kind of a game changer,
[00:14:53.720]and it allowed me to experience
[00:14:55.380]rural America for the first time,
[00:14:56.980]because personally I've never really been to a rural town.
[00:15:00.930]I've driven by it, but I've never been situated in it
[00:15:04.020]for more than maybe a day or two.
[00:15:07.400]The people in rural societies and rural towns
[00:15:09.900]I feel like are very special,
[00:15:12.100]the places are special and I learned a lot
[00:15:13.790]of wholesome things from working with them.
[00:15:17.390]So for me that was it,
[00:15:18.810]the experience of being in a rural society
[00:15:21.170]and learning from people who are fundamentally
[00:15:23.500]extremely different from I am
[00:15:25.430]and also sharing my experiences with them
[00:15:27.758]there's a lot Fatah we can learn from each other.
[00:15:29.660]What advice would you give
[00:15:31.800]to students who are in your shoes
[00:15:33.300]or who may just be interested
[00:15:34.930]in impacting and serving a rural community?
[00:15:37.540]That they should just go do it
[00:15:39.577]and a general advice that I would give my peers
[00:15:42.410]is that making use of opportunity,
[00:15:44.760]whether it be rural or not,
[00:15:46.710]is something that you have to do to grow
[00:15:48.719]as a professional,
[00:15:51.400]but going into a rural community
[00:15:53.550]is something special by itself,
[00:15:55.120]'cause there's a lot more more meaning attached
[00:15:56.760]to what you're doing.
[00:15:58.180]Your work is going to affect not just you
[00:16:01.140]but literally a community that you get to spend time with
[00:16:05.010]on a daily basis.
[00:16:06.830]Well, thank you Raghav, for talking to me
[00:16:08.420]about rural and urban collaboration
[00:16:10.440]and sharing your unique viewpoint on it all.
[00:16:12.980]And just bringing hope to students
[00:16:14.610]and all of us as we work toward a better future for all.
[00:16:17.960]Absolutely, thank you very much, Katie,
[00:16:19.880]for having me on the podcast.
[00:16:21.851](smooth electronic music)
[00:16:25.560]I love how you talk about the future of work,
[00:16:28.830]through what you do, in terms of even thinking about
[00:16:33.023]future generations and what they're willing to embrace,
[00:16:36.464]such as using, you know, AI as a teammate
[00:16:39.640]rather than viewing it as a competitive threat.
[00:16:42.480]Yeah, I mean we're already using
[00:16:44.550]technology, all of us are using it,
[00:16:46.980]whether you have a fit bit, and it's monitoring your sleep
[00:16:49.820]or you have, you know, Siri in your car
[00:16:53.940]or Alexis in your home, we're already relying on technology
[00:16:58.330]and as it advances in this AI
[00:17:00.610]and human machine learning and autonomy
[00:17:03.806]is there to help.
[00:17:05.350]To me it's not scary because the technology
[00:17:08.430]is so far away from it being to where it's human like,
[00:17:12.162]or will overtake the human.
[00:17:14.762]So we really need to think about it
[00:17:16.700]as peers and teammates, and not as a threat,
[00:17:21.110]because let the machines do that drudgery,
[00:17:24.280]and then that gives people a chance
[00:17:27.930]to be more creative and innovative and problem solve
[00:17:32.570]and do the things that only humans can do
[00:17:35.680]which are so much more enjoyable and fulfilling for people.
[00:17:40.790]I mean, getting help with that,
[00:17:41.820]so it would release that time and energy
[00:17:44.160]to really think more broadly,
[00:17:47.620]think about personal development,
[00:17:49.590]and fulfillment, and actually be able
[00:17:52.250]to achieve more of that,
[00:17:54.780]rather than staying in the to do list.
[00:17:57.210]You know, even some of the brain work that people do
[00:17:59.925]in organizations, strategic planning,
[00:18:02.543]lots of data collection and reading reports
[00:18:06.340]and going through the information,
[00:18:09.030]let a machine do that.
[00:18:10.221](smooth electronic music)
[00:18:13.060]So where we start is you gotta get the question right.
[00:18:15.920]You've gotta get the question right,
[00:18:17.430]and you've gotta do that head work before the foot work.
[00:18:20.548]And spending time on what is the real question
[00:18:23.230]we're trying to answer, here.
[00:18:24.990]Too many times people jump to a solution
[00:18:28.220]and just listen to what they say,
[00:18:29.720]we need a strategic plan, or we need a new process
[00:18:32.770]or we need a working group that collaborates.
[00:18:36.334]Wait, you don't need those things,
[00:18:39.280]what is the problem we're trying to solve?
[00:18:41.930]What is the question that we're trying to answer?
[00:18:44.820]And really, what is that question
[00:18:46.830]and when we solve that problem
[00:18:49.720]or you know, answer that question,
[00:18:51.937]what's gonna be different?
[00:18:53.766]And how will we use that?
[00:18:56.389]For us, that's where we start.
[00:18:58.580]And we spend a lot of time with our clients,
[00:19:02.600]before we ever,
[00:19:04.330]sometimes before we even contractually engage with them
[00:19:07.523]to get the question right,
[00:19:09.910]what is that question, what is the problem
[00:19:12.320]we're trying to solve, and then what are the hypotheses
[00:19:17.440]to solve that question
[00:19:19.020]and then what do we need to do to get the data
[00:19:22.330]or the right people
[00:19:23.680]or the resources to solve that problem?
[00:19:26.817]But the key is getting the question right.
[00:19:29.090](smooth electronic music)
[00:19:32.297]As the future evolves
[00:19:33.130]it'll be interesting to see how the technology
[00:19:34.780]and the interaction between technology and humanity
[00:19:38.030]continues to evolve as well,
[00:19:40.130]but another area that you've really focused on is water.
[00:19:43.923]Recently, you know, I read an article
[00:19:46.230]that you published about
[00:19:47.290]is water the world's greatest security risk?
[00:19:50.610]Tell us a little bit about your interest in water
[00:19:52.910]and what you're seeing in that space.
[00:19:54.668]Well the interest is across the,
[00:19:57.460]kinda the critical infrastructures
[00:19:58.809]and water is somethin' that we can not survive without.
[00:20:03.880]And major water sources connect across country boundaries
[00:20:09.970]or state boundaries,
[00:20:11.287]and it can be used almost as a weapon
[00:20:14.404]because of that.
[00:20:15.850]Well I know one of the statements you made
[00:20:17.680]in our pre-convo was who's the first mover in water?
[00:20:20.950]You know, and who is the long term leader?
[00:20:23.290]But it's not just humans that need it,
[00:20:24.820]we need it to create all the technology
[00:20:26.791]and every living creature actually needs water.
[00:20:30.450]And no one owns the problem.
[00:20:32.220]You know, is this down at the regional level,
[00:20:34.680]is it the state level, is it the country level?
[00:20:38.551]And who owns that?
[00:20:40.550]What industry owns it?
[00:20:42.050]And so that coming to the table
[00:20:45.450]again, who is that first mover, and who's going
[00:20:48.110]to put the resources on the table
[00:20:50.390]to start solving this problem?
[00:20:52.440]I know that the University of Nebraska
[00:20:54.770]has the water center which is a start.
[00:20:57.330]You know, it's cross-disciplinary,
[00:20:59.139]you're trying to work across the industries,
[00:21:03.570]the government agencies,
[00:21:05.087]kinda this uber collaboration is really hard
[00:21:09.549]because who's accountable?
[00:21:11.470]Who owns it?
[00:21:12.800]But we've gotta be thinking in different models
[00:21:16.500]for solving these really hard problems,
[00:21:18.640]and water is a very, very hard problem.
[00:21:22.290]As you mentioned we have a sister institute
[00:21:24.048]to the Rural Futures Institute
[00:21:25.544]here at the University of Nebraska,
[00:21:27.440]which is called the Water for Food Institute.
[00:21:29.655]And they're really interested in how do we produce
[00:21:32.620]more food for a growing population with less water?
[00:21:36.624]We have a water center that's been prolific in its work,
[00:21:39.785]but we also have a Nebraska Water Leaders Academy.
[00:21:42.980]I actually teach the Futuring and Innovation piece
[00:21:46.720]of that Academy, so people can start
[00:21:48.850]thinking about the future of water
[00:21:50.610]a little bit differently, and the leadership
[00:21:52.280]it's gonna take to think about this all in a new way.
[00:21:57.110]As you've talked about, I mean, the policies and structures
[00:22:00.210]are old, I think there's a lot of boundaries
[00:22:03.610]that were created so long ago,
[00:22:05.596]you know, there's a historical component
[00:22:07.900]that's been very hard to shed, at least in Nebraska,
[00:22:11.240]and we're actually only one of three states
[00:22:12.960]that even have and academy like that.
[00:22:15.039]But at the same time,
[00:22:16.600]it is top of mind for so many industries.
[00:22:19.410]I mean, if you're Coca-Cola, for example, water's huge.
[00:22:21.687]I mean, I know a lot of companies
[00:22:24.150]have started incorporating water into their strategic
[00:22:27.340]planning because it is such a big part of their business.
[00:22:31.730]Yeah and so what are you finding?
[00:22:33.766]Are you finding it's about process
[00:22:36.300]or are you finding it's about people?
[00:22:38.864]Like you've said, it's very complex.
[00:22:41.280]And the great thing about the Water Leaders Academy
[00:22:43.550]is that it brings together
[00:22:44.900]all these different areas of expertise.
[00:22:47.140]So you have attorneys, you have policy analysts,
[00:22:51.130]you have leadership development people like myself,
[00:22:54.920]you have futurists like myself,
[00:22:56.490]but you also have farmers and business people
[00:23:00.070]in the academy, so it's a great collection
[00:23:02.303]of expertise, both teaching and learning,
[00:23:05.750]and all co-learning with one another.
[00:23:08.492]So much of the policy was created so long ago.
[00:23:11.376]For example, here in Nebraska,
[00:23:14.766]surface and ground water are sort of treated
[00:23:17.590]as separate entities.
[00:23:18.780]Well, we know ecologically that's not the case, right?
[00:23:22.270]And so who does really own what,
[00:23:25.020]who really should lead what,
[00:23:26.810]and how can we innovate together to make it different?
[00:23:30.020]So it is both, I think policy, it's procedure,
[00:23:33.325]but then there's that element of humanity as well.
[00:23:36.230]Because we also have challenges around, okay,
[00:23:38.760]if I'm a farmer for example, should I be able
[00:23:42.450]to grow my crop over someone who owns a business
[00:23:46.580]that takes people down a river in a canoe?
[00:23:49.070]What is the priority for all this water?
[00:23:52.500]And I think we have great systems in place
[00:23:54.510]in a state like Nebraska, too,
[00:23:55.890]where we have natural resource districts.
[00:23:57.850]So I think we've been fortunate
[00:23:59.690]that there's been a lot of collaboration,
[00:24:01.940]but we've also seen some interesting things happen
[00:24:04.400]around quality, because quantity has been the focus
[00:24:08.190]but now it's quality.
[00:24:09.580]And so for example, as quality becomes more
[00:24:12.590]of a challenge point, how do we innovate around that?
[00:24:15.630]What can we create that's different?
[00:24:17.190]And we've seen even some of our rural communities
[00:24:19.544]who literally were giving bottled water
[00:24:21.770]to their community members, especially pregnant women,
[00:24:25.355]older people living in those communities,
[00:24:28.790]people at risk for their health,
[00:24:30.527]because the nitrate level was so high.
[00:24:33.640]And what that community had to do was actually work
[00:24:36.320]with the ag community, because separately they could not
[00:24:39.440]afford to remediate the water or pay for a new system
[00:24:42.520]but together they found a way
[00:24:44.135]to make their water system better in their area.
[00:24:47.690]Yeah, I had a discussion with the Coca-Cola,
[00:24:50.832]North America sustainability gentleman
[00:24:54.200]and he was talking about the issues of water.
[00:24:56.604]And quality was a huge issue
[00:24:59.341]and it comes back to their brand
[00:25:01.531]because the different qualities of water,
[00:25:04.610]whether you're in a small town,
[00:25:07.551]at a gas station, at a Coke machine,
[00:25:11.180]or whether you're distributing
[00:25:13.218]out of a large distribution center somewhere inter-regional,
[00:25:18.000]that quality of water makes the Coca-Cola taste different.
[00:25:22.782]And why I bring that up is not so much
[00:25:24.636]worrying about their brand,
[00:25:27.150]but they're worried about their brand
[00:25:28.910]and the power of a company like Coca-Cola
[00:25:31.856]is engaged with solving this problem
[00:25:36.167]both for us and humanity, but also for their company
[00:25:40.240]so I think that's real hopeful.
[00:25:43.290]You know, a part of it is educating.
[00:25:45.630]It's only been recently, what, in the last decade,
[00:25:49.410]that we've really even dug deep
[00:25:51.400]into these really complex issues
[00:25:54.300]to even start to untangle 'em so that we can solve 'em.
[00:25:57.760]Yeah, I mean, you know, I've been studying more
[00:25:59.590]and learning more about this while I've been working
[00:26:01.950]with the Water Leaders Academy
[00:26:03.610]for, I don't know, the last,
[00:26:05.690]I suppose it's been about 10 years.
[00:26:07.390]I mean, I've learned a lot,
[00:26:08.510]but I'm also a natural resources major
[00:26:10.874]in my bachelor's degree with a water science emphasis
[00:26:14.160]and I am a complete nerd in this space
[00:26:15.780]so I love digging into it.
[00:26:17.717]You know, it's really fascinating
[00:26:19.610]to me to think about just this concept
[00:26:22.300]of water and why we do what we do with it.
[00:26:24.560]So when you look at other countries,
[00:26:26.050]and I think this is where studying
[00:26:28.324]what other countries are doing and even traveling
[00:26:30.556]like you talked about is so helpful.
[00:26:32.067]They've started using gray water to wash sheep, for example.
[00:26:36.700]I mean, why are you using fresh water to clean sheep?
[00:26:40.140]Whereas I think here in the US,
[00:26:41.420]that same thing about cars.
[00:26:43.090]Why are we washing cars with really good water?
[00:26:45.650]I mean, do they really need that?
[00:26:47.000]I don't think so.
[00:26:48.290]And I know that's a big expense
[00:26:50.040]to switch a lot of that around
[00:26:52.000]but at the same time are we gonna be at the forefront
[00:26:54.620]of this, are there other solutions we aren't thinking about,
[00:26:58.120]are we gonna wait until it gets to a mission critical point
[00:27:00.840]before we're willing to make the changes necessary?
[00:27:04.120]And it's only one of the critical infrastructures
[00:27:06.870]that we have.
[00:27:07.930]Department of Homeland Security
[00:27:09.290]identifies 18 critical infrastructures:
[00:27:11.740]the electric, and telecom, and finance,
[00:27:14.735]and manufacturing, and water touches all of 'em,
[00:27:18.618]so it's not only the problems
[00:27:21.730]inside the critical infrastructure
[00:27:24.040]but it's also those interdependences
[00:27:26.122]of the other infrastructures,
[00:27:28.050]and you start thinking about
[00:27:29.840]this very complex lattice, if you would, of issues.
[00:27:35.950]It really demands different models of leadership
[00:27:39.300]and collaboration and problem solving.
[00:27:42.008]Yeah I love Singularity University
[00:27:44.990]doing an XPRIZE on how to pull water out of thin air.
[00:27:49.220]You know, like how do we get the vapor out of air,
[00:27:52.260]wherever you are, so maybe you don't have to dig a well?
[00:27:54.710]Maybe there are other options out there,
[00:27:56.917]that we need to think more broadly about.
[00:28:00.177]Yeah, I think that we need more of that.
[00:28:02.948]I mean, you know, the traditional
[00:28:05.242]kind of historical organizations
[00:28:07.930]need to rethink their boundaries.
[00:28:10.680]Right now, that's where a lot of the brain power is,
[00:28:13.610]and the resources, and the money, and the energy,
[00:28:16.470]and we've gotta unleash that somehow
[00:28:18.410]out of the traditional companies.
[00:28:20.889](smooth electronic music)
[00:28:23.030]I'd love to know what parting words of wisdom
[00:28:25.570]do you have for our listeners?
[00:28:27.150]Let's not forget that this technology
[00:28:29.099]revolution, if you would,
[00:28:30.960]or this advancement of technology
[00:28:33.030]is really pushing and elevating people,
[00:28:36.247]and humanity, and thinking about the models more
[00:28:41.421]as a human centric to unleash that power
[00:28:44.840]and that energy of people within their organizations
[00:28:48.402]as well as outside their organizations
[00:28:50.679]is really what leaders of the future,
[00:28:53.750]I think, need to be considering.
[00:28:56.010]And to do that you gotta look kind of internally, too,
[00:28:59.676]and overcome your own biases or your own belief systems
[00:29:03.120]about how things work or should work
[00:29:06.450]or how the need to work in the future
[00:29:09.440]so realize this is about people,
[00:29:12.580]realize this is a human revolution,
[00:29:14.730]and start with yourself.
[00:29:17.470]Well, and speaking of starting with yourself,
[00:29:19.840]Deb, I'd love to know a little bit more about something
[00:29:22.490]that's been a hot topic lately, and that's women.
[00:29:25.335]Women, leadership, and I'm also gonna throw aging in there.
[00:29:29.790]How do you feel right now
[00:29:31.350]as a woman leading an organization
[00:29:33.607]and doing amazing things in your own life?
[00:29:37.470]How are you seeing the world
[00:29:39.300]through the eyes of a female leader?
[00:29:42.229]I would imagine you're also gonna throw that into aging
[00:29:45.880]and aging--
[00:29:47.068]No, I'm going there.
[00:29:48.823]I am, I am aging.
[00:29:50.611]But you know what?
[00:29:52.480]To me, this is the best time of my life.
[00:29:56.670]You know, I would not go back
[00:29:58.350]to my 20's or my 30's, or, this is an amazing time.
[00:30:03.527]You know, we have the ability
[00:30:06.992]to stay physically fit, to stay mentally fit,
[00:30:10.828]it's really an attitude,
[00:30:12.997]but also we need to change society's view
[00:30:16.260]about what this is.
[00:30:17.650]I mean I am a long way away
[00:30:20.340]from givin' it up and just sittin' on the couch.
[00:30:23.930]And I'm in my 50's, and I am better physically fit
[00:30:29.210]than I was in my 30's, and I've got higher energy
[00:30:33.060]and I don't see this as an end
[00:30:35.300]and so I think this is a social shift we've gotta make.
[00:30:39.350]It's not about women just raising kids
[00:30:41.504]and gettin' to this age and quittin'.
[00:30:43.886]It's really a time of empowerment.
[00:30:46.003]Well I think that what you're saying
[00:30:48.140]and sharing is such an important message
[00:30:50.050]because it is one of those diffuclt transitions in life
[00:30:52.886]as well, in some ways, where I've found
[00:30:56.413]that my career as you worked up
[00:30:59.220]and did all these things and you worked hard
[00:31:01.228]it's like, you were supposed to wait.
[00:31:04.240]Oh, wait until you're this age,
[00:31:05.670]you don't have enough experience,
[00:31:06.840]well suddenly it's like you turn 40
[00:31:09.230]and then all the sudden they're focused on sort of
[00:31:12.140]the next incoming group of leaders and emerging leaders.
[00:31:14.770]I'm like, wait a second,
[00:31:15.610]where was the perfect time? (laughing)
[00:31:17.780]Right.
[00:31:19.170]I'm not sure.
[00:31:20.569]And then it's like, well you know what
[00:31:21.840]it's really up to me to create that.
[00:31:24.440]But you know, I was just at the eye doctor here recently
[00:31:27.020]and couple, I guess two years ago,
[00:31:28.740]she tried to get me to switch to bifocals,
[00:31:30.920]and I was like I'm not doing that,
[00:31:32.530]and I didn't, so year one passes by
[00:31:34.620]I didn't even get the prescription filled.
[00:31:36.970]Year two goes by, I got it filled,
[00:31:38.730]I couldn't even find them to go to the actual appointment
[00:31:43.163]and I just told her basically like a couple weeks ago
[00:31:47.023]I'm like, hey, you know what,
[00:31:48.979]I may not be taking this well.
[00:31:51.240]I want the bionic eye that you're telling me about
[00:31:54.001]so what can we do with that,
[00:31:55.654]I'm a futurist, bring it on.
[00:31:57.351]That's so funny.
[00:31:58.184]Well I've already had cataract surgery
[00:31:59.820]so and I did get the bionic eyes
[00:32:01.840]and it's amazing.
[00:32:03.000]So it's hard, right?
[00:32:04.900]You go to college, you get married,
[00:32:07.640]you have kids, you want a career,
[00:32:10.160]you wanna raise your children,
[00:32:11.570]you wanna be a good wife,
[00:32:12.924]and somewhere along the way
[00:32:14.960]maybe you forget about yourself.
[00:32:17.100]And then you get to this age, and you go wait,
[00:32:20.000]you know what?
[00:32:20.833]It's okay to be thinkin' about me.
[00:32:22.500]And there's plenty of years ahead.
[00:32:24.450]So this work life balance, I don't think
[00:32:27.790]it really exists, 'cause you're really not tryin'
[00:32:30.410]to achieve balance, you're just tryin' to live it all.
[00:32:32.750]And you're doin' the best ya can.
[00:32:34.500]Put yourself first for a moment
[00:32:36.420]and go do those things that you wanted to do.
[00:32:38.707]And I think it's a great message
[00:32:40.191]for other women that are our age to hear
[00:32:44.080]but I also think it's such a positive message
[00:32:46.700]for younger women who are trying to figure out
[00:32:48.839]how do I do all of this?
[00:32:51.450]Yeah and you gotta be forgiving of yourself.
[00:32:53.455]Because you're not always,
[00:32:55.110]not every day, not every moment,
[00:32:57.080]you're not gonna hit it, you know?
[00:32:58.080]It's not gonna be perfect.
[00:32:59.180]And so I'm a big Brene Brown fan.
[00:33:01.997]She talks about vulnerability
[00:33:04.325]and you're enough, and really bringing out
[00:33:07.790]that human side.
[00:33:09.857]Don't put out the armor and try to be perfect
[00:33:13.840]and try to make everybody happy.
[00:33:15.719]Try to be real, try to be authentic.
[00:33:18.510]Over time you grow it.
[00:33:19.641]You don't hit it every moment.
[00:33:23.193]If a person's gonna be teaching about leadership,
[00:33:26.520]if you're gonna be talking about leadership,
[00:33:29.030]it's so important to be who you are
[00:33:31.787]and be very comfortable with that.
[00:33:34.076](smooth electronic music)
[00:33:35.980]So what advice would you give,
[00:33:38.090]you know, women in this day and age
[00:33:40.290]as they kind of reflect on who they are,
[00:33:43.650]what they wanna experience,
[00:33:45.240]but also, you know, as they age?
[00:33:47.614]Ooh, well first thing is stay healthy
[00:33:50.750]because you need that, you need to take care of yourself.
[00:33:54.416]And you need to make that a priority
[00:33:56.010]because without that, the other stuff becomes too hard.
[00:33:58.790]I guess the other advice
[00:34:00.030]is don't put so much pressure on yourself.
[00:34:02.214]You're enough, and you've gotta put yourself first
[00:34:06.000]and not put the burdens of what expectations are on you.
[00:34:10.890]So admire you and the work you're doing
[00:34:13.220]and I love the fact that you're bringing
[00:34:15.750]this human centric sort of philosophy out to the world,
[00:34:19.460]and thank you for doing that
[00:34:20.640]because definitely, more organizations,
[00:34:23.070]more people, need that.
[00:34:25.580]I really appreciate you havin' me on this,
[00:34:28.792]the podcast, and the leadership,
[00:34:30.892]and being a woman in strategic foresight,
[00:34:34.892]we need to have more conversations like this.
[00:34:37.420]And so I appreciate it, Connie,
[00:34:39.360]and thank you so much.
[00:34:40.936](smooth electronic music)
[00:34:42.411]Thanks for listening to Rural Futures with Dr. Connie.
[00:34:44.230]Find us on Facebook, Twitter,
[00:34:45.790]Instagram, and LinkedIn, @RuralFutures.
[00:34:48.770]Next up, Christiana McFarland, director of research
[00:34:51.431]for the National League of Cities.
[00:34:53.710]Christie leads the league's efforts
[00:34:55.550]to transform city level data
[00:34:57.330]into information that strengthens the capacity
[00:35:00.100]of city leaders and that raises awareness
[00:35:02.350]of challenges, trends, and successes
[00:35:04.295]in the 19,000 cities, towns, and villages
[00:35:07.580]the organization serves.
[00:35:09.640]I mean, most of what we've been hearing
[00:35:11.070]and most of what tends to be understood
[00:35:13.760]about urban and rural communities
[00:35:14.990]is that they do not operate in the same world at all,
[00:35:18.240]and that's not actually the case.
[00:35:19.790]When we drill down, and we really get a handle
[00:35:22.470]on what's happening in urban and rural places,
[00:35:24.802]we find, yes, rural communities
[00:35:26.870]very much are stressed at a foundational level.
[00:35:30.220]But they also operate within a regional economy
[00:35:32.280]and we're finding many places where rural communities
[00:35:35.690]are leveraging their assets
[00:35:37.150]to build relationships in a broader regional economy.

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Rural Futures with Dr. Connie Episode 16 Featuring Deborah Westphal

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