Steve Brant

Professionally, I am a business futurist. My web site is www.trimtabmanagementsystems.com. I was initially inspired by the work of the philosopher/inventor R. Buckminster Fuller. I've studied with two Systems Thinking gurus - W. Edwards Deming and Russell L. Ackoff. I'm very involved with the corporate social responsibility and sustainable development movements...especially The UN Global Compact and the Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability network. My introduction to the sustainability movment (beyond my studies of Bucky's work) came from attending the conferences organized by John Denver's Windstar Foundation from 1991 to 1995. Here's the event I'm leading in NYC on November 16th on the future of the Corporate Social Responsibility movement:Here is an April 2006 video of me asking "the great unasked world peace question" of Tom Friedman at an event moderated by Ted Koppel and also featuring Nobel Prize winning economist, Joseph Stiglitz. Enjoy! .. width="425" height="350" .. //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// ////// On a personal level - I was born and raised in NYC...now live in the Philadelphia suburbs...love music, film, photography, animals...and politics & world affairs. Current favorite musicians: Jonatha Brooke and John "Five for Fighting" Ondrasik. Other favorites: Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, The Beatles, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Yes, Simon & Garfunkle. Last movie seen: Memoirs of a Geisha. (Loved it!) All time favorite movies: To Kill a Mockingbird, Mr Smith Goes to Washington, Planet of the Apes (the original), The Great Escape, Easy Rider. I was married once, have no children, and would like to be married again some day.////////////////////////////////////////////About supporting the underdogs of society - I've always been attracted to the underdogs of society...the people, ideas, products, or services that are amazing when you get to know them but are largely unknown or underappreciated by society at large. We live in a world where so much talent goes unused, because it takes so much luck (or marketing skill) to get known for what you have to offer. I bought my first Apple computer in 1986, because I heard they crashed less than the PC's most peopel owned. But Bill Gates had a better marketing plan, so his computers came to dominate even though Mac's were better. So...other than Macs...here are some other underdogs that I support (in no particular order): musician Jonatha Brooke, progressive (win-win) politics as advocated by the United Nations (even if it isn't perfect at walking the talk), actress Krista Allen, the design-science revolution of Buckminster Fuller, the systems thinking management science of Russell L. Ackoff, the sustainable developement work of Amory Lovins's Rocky Mountain Institute and William McDonough's McDonough-Braungart Design Science. I'll add others as they occur to me and I have more time. Thanks for checking these people out! And speaking of Apple computer, there is one thing Apple celebrates above all else: Thinking Differently. And the power that kind of thinking has to change the world. When Steve Jobs returned to the company, here's the commercial Apple ran that reminded people of this fact...and of Apple's commitment to it. I think it's one of the most inspiring commercials ever produced. I hope you like it... .. width="425" height="350" ..