It's Deeper Than All That

I titled this post after my favorite Mac Miller (RIP) song ft. Bun B. "All That" - 

"The people think it's all about the fame
And the money and your status in the game
But it's deeper than all that"

I've been getting really frustrated lately (actually since 2018), not because of Amazon or my job (I honestly am very stoked on what I'm working on these days)... but because of how it seems like the private and public sectors care about money over anything else... Profit over people and planet. On a daily basis I interact with most of the big hitters in Silicon Valley, and now my scope includes helping big industries like Automotive, Telecommunications, High Tech, Manufacturing etc. solve their challenges with cloud technology... and their primary 'challenges' discussed (aka revenue objectives)... across the board (driven by boards and shareholders) are:

1. Creating New Revenue Streams 

2. Cost Optimization and Savings 

3. Lowering 'Cost to Serve' 

4. Increasing customer satisfaction ratings

My primary objectives:

1. Preserving the planet

2. Increasing gender diversity in tech

I hear the same four themes across every industry, directly from these Fortune 100 companies or through my peers at Amazon Web Services. AWS and Salesforce - the two businesses I focus on and spend most of my work day collaborating with - have very admirable and ambitious Climate Action goals and initiatives (i.e. AWS is committed to being water positive by 2030, Salesforce requires their vendors to sign a Sustainability Exhibit). I read A LOT of books, research papers and speak with Subject Matter Experts professionally on this topic - I'm not necessarily an expert but I'm not speaking from a place of ignorance either.

To keep global warming to no more than 1.5°C – as called for in the Paris Agreement – emissions need to be reduced by 45% by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050... across the entire planet. This is the biggest challenge of our generation... by a long shot. Climate change has down stream impact on most equality efforts including access to clean water, food, gender equality and poverty to name a few.

Last year I raised my hand to start an AWS Sustainability Council with a mission to formally partner with these very large silicon valley companies on Climate Action. Each time I've experienced manic episodes, the focus of my mania was climate change and the potential death of our planet and end of life on Earth as we know it. INTENSE. Bipolar mania is very complex and currently an enormous mystery in medicine... but I find this common fixation quite interesting. "We're going to run out of power" is a big and legitimate concern I've heard very powerful executives discuss endlessly and with great emphasis my entire career.

Most of the world's greenhouse gas emissions come from a relatively small number of countries. China, the United States, and the nations that make up the European Union are the three largest emitters on an absolute basis. Per capita greenhouse gas emissions are highest in the United States and Russia. Our culture of convenience, comfort and cheap goods has royally fucked up the planet. As individuals, people often argue sustainable personal choices won't make a dent in reducing emissions - but I strongly disagree. We vote with our dollars. Big industries fight for our loyalty, which translates into more and more dollars in their pockets they can distribute to demanding and often greedy shareholders, that for the most part are already super rich by the average person's standards. Fun fact... Coca-Cola from my hometown of Atlanta is the largest plastic polluter in the world.

I was having a conversation with one of my successful friends from college recently and we discussed "How much money is ENOUGH?". From our millennial perspectives and observations, men in particular are always chasing more and more money... at what cost? The cost of most of your lifetime going into working towards a savings account goalpost you keep moving further down an endless field. At the cost of the planet and the suffering of other people. Money is a brilliant invention, but what if we were incentivized in a different way?

I aspire to be honest about my values and what I spend my time, energy and effort on.

Reading:

The Climate Pledge founded by Amazon and Global Optimism 

This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate

Speed & Scale: An Action Plan for Solving Our Climate Crisis Now

The Future We Choose: The Stubborn Optimist's Guide to the Climate Crisis 

 

xoxo - MaddyMO