Hi,
Here is your Seven-Bullet Monday
1. A quote I am pondering:
"A world full of empowered women isn't one where men are marginalized. It's a world where everyone thrives." ― Purnima Mane
On Wednesday, March 8, we celebrated International Women's Day 2023. This year's theme was #EmbraceEquity, and I now more fully understand the difference between equality and equity. Equality means people are given the same resources or opportunities, while equity recognizes different circumstances and provides ways to ensure an equal outcome. The graphic from the IWD website shows the difference nicely.
2. A question I am asking myself:
What is the long game here?
In pursuing challenging long-term goals, it does sometimes feel like three steps forward and two steps back. It's when I have the two-step backward moments I need to fix my eyes on the long-term goal and ensure we keep getting the three steps forward moments.
3. A book I am reading:
Back Roads – Tawni O'Dell
Tawni O'Dell does a masterful job of telling this story that feels too real and brutally honest to be fiction. It is equally delightful and sad, painting the story of 19-year-old Harley, trying to bring up his three younger sisters in rural Pennsylvania after their mom is imprisoned for shooting their dad. There are several twists in the story, and it certainly opens your eyes to just how difficult life can be for people like those in the story of Back Roads.
4. What I learnt this week
Hydrogen-based steel is nowhere near mainstream
Over 70% of the world's steel is made in blast furnaces, using steelmaking coal as Conuma produces. This steelmaking process is a significant one-time source of GHGs, and there is much talk about the hydrogen-based process promising to make steel with almost no emissions. While hydrogen-based steel production is possible, it is several decades away from becoming mainstream. Some of the reasons are as follows:
· The world's supply of hydrogen would need to double to replace blast furnace production fully
· Green (carbon-free) hydrogen production makes up less than 1% of hydrogen production today, and an enormous amount of renewable power will need to come onstream to produce the hydrogen necessary
· Hydrogen is expensive, and because of its very low density, it isn't easy to store and transport
· The steel industry is taking action to reduce its emissions through carbon capture technology.
5. The highlight of my week
Celebrating Leanne's and my first anniversary together
This week, Leanne and I celebrated our first anniversary together. Time certainly flies when you are having fun, and it has been wonderful to look back at the incredible memories we have made in just 12 months together. We both agreed how grateful we were to have each other and how rewarding and fulfilling it has been to build a life together. We are doubly (or is it HugeLe) excited for the year ahead #WatchThisSpace.
6. Hugh-bits
Will our governments finally abandon daylight savings?
With most of the northern hemisphere 'springing' forward an hour on Sunday, my circadian rhythm said "no thank you" to the one-hour earlier start. The global debate rages every year about this time as to whether to abandon daylight savings. Most people favour dropping daylight savings, and US legislation is on the go to legally make the change. The debate then becomes whether to make standard time permanent or move to daylight savings time. There are many arguments for each way, so it will be interesting to see where the US settles, as this will probably dictate what Canada does too.
7. My challenge for you for this week
Learn how to disagree respectfully using the ABC principle
We learnt this beneficial tool at our last leadership training. If someone says something you strongly disagree with, instead of immediately disagreeing, use the ABC principle to counter. In so doing, you can avoid a full-blown argument. It goes like this:
A: Agree Find something that you can agree with in their argument, even if it is a small thing, and say it back to them first
B: Bridge Then, say something that bridges their argument to what you want to counter with. One way to do this is by noting there are different perspectives on the issue
C: Counter Present your counterargument in a respectful way
Have an awesome week
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