1st Principle - “Observe and interact”
This article is part of a series on the parallels between the 12 operational principles of permaculture and the conditions for sustainable transformations of organizational systems. If you are a professional changemaker committed to promoting a better society, these principles and insights should help you maximize your impact and inner serenity.
Principle 1 -
Understand the soil so you can plant the right seeds
💡 Explanation of the permaculture operating principle
"In vegetable permaculture, it is recommended that when you arrive on a plot of land, you should not do anything there for a whole year, but rather observe it throughout the four seasons. (...) Observe, observe, observe—and then build a relationship with what is already there."
-Marine Simon. Everything goes in circles on this earth; we're the only ones who don't realize it.
🔍 Illustration of the principle applied to a transformation initiative
When I began my transformation mission in Japan back in 2016, I spent my first days, weeks, and months observing the activities and interviewing members of this operational unit.
This may seem obvious, but such a preliminary analysis is often avoided or skipped because of:
the internal pressure we face to demonstrate our added value as soon as possible,
management's ambition to get things done quickly,
the employees' eagerness to understand what we are actually going to do.
What does “observing and interacting” mean in practical terms?
Two of us were in charge of what we called the “Evolution mission” for a business unit with over 5,000 employees.
It took us several months to assess the situation and expectations through more than a hundred qualitative individual interviews, dozens of field visits, and collaborative workshops with a representative sample of business team members.
At every moment, I forced myself to set my own ideas aside. I spent my time listening—fully and without judgment—to the members of the existing system. It was time to make room for what they wanted and needed to say, allowing time for detours.
Here are all the fruits of this seemingly "unproductive" time:
Clarity regarding the strengths, needs, and obstacles within the ecosystem.
Identification of potential allies and sources of resistance.
Interlocutors who feel reassured as a result of being shown respect, curiosity, humility, and openness.
The beginning of mutual trust arising from the creation of deep moments of connection between the interviewees and the interviewer.
There is no doubt that this time of interaction without interference prevented me from blindly labeling things and wasting time later. This is one of my fondest memories.
🐝 Tips for Getting Active
If you're starting a new assignment:
Try to identify different members of your ecosystem that you might encounter—just like a journalist would—without any preconceived notions.
If you can't set aside official time, suggest meeting for coffee or lunch.
It is best to focus on qualitative discussions first. Quantitative surveys can then be useful for confirming impressions, highlighting trends, and providing reassurance through data.
It is people who will tell you what seeds to plant and where.
As our team coaching instructor, Michele Darmouni reminded us, "Everything starts at the beginning."
"The beginning is half of everything"
If your mission is already underway, don't worry! You can offer to meet with ecosystem members to discuss and better understand their experiences. It's never too late to start!
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Hello everyone, I'm Nina Cambadélis, an independent coach and facilitator specializing in sustainability and organizational transformation. I'm also a changemaker working for the leader in environmental services.
Through my work, I aim to inspire professionals to rethink business and make them proud to contribute, in their own way, to a more sustainable, humane, and nature-friendly world.
If you would like assistance with:
Become the changemaker you want to be for the world you envision
Find and assert your leadership, or foster the emergence of new leadership styles
Make sustainability and purpose-driven initiatives central to your organization
Accelerate engagement within your ecosystem to drive systemic change
Make an impact while conserving energy and promoting well-being
Here is a link to an exploratory call and a form to provide more details about your goals and challenges: English
