The Principles

Seven principles. One character.

If a mother were entrusted with humanity's passage to a sustainable civilisation, how would she conduct it? The question is less fanciful than it sounds. Seventy years of developmental science, from Bowlby's secure base to Winnicott's holding environment, describe with unusual precision what good care consists of. Each principle below begins in that science and ends in a practice.

1Unconditional love

From the science.: Warmth given without condition is what makes a child brave enough to wander.
In practice.: We free builders to reach as far as they can, and hold the single line that matters: never at the Earth's expense.

We love the planet without condition, so everyone else can build without fear.

2Active listening

From the science.: Good care follows an order: notice, understand, and only then respond.
In practice.: We listen to developers, buyers, lenders and regulators before we offer anything at all.

We read the whole landscape before we prescribe a single thing.

3Patience

From the science.: A parent who keeps pace with the child, and not with their own hurry, does far less harm.
In practice.: We never trade integrity for speed. The market's deepest wounds were made in a rush.

We move at the pace of evidence.

4Consistency and boundaries

From the science.: The steadiest children are raised with warmth, and with limits that do not move.
In practice.: We work within the law, never around it. Regulation is part of the mission, not an obstacle to it.

A boundary that moves was never a boundary.

5Support and encouragement

From the science.: Help is best given where it is needed, and gently withdrawn as strength returns.
In practice.: We carry projects across the gap in their funding, then step back as they find their feet.

We stand behind the builders until they can stand alone.

6Role model

From the science.: Children learn far more from what they see done than from anything they are told.
In practice.: We publish our methods, date our numbers and keep even our own words on the record.

We show, rather than tell.

7Resilience and forgiveness

From the science.: The strongest bonds are not those that never break, but those that are mended well.
In practice.: We open the door to companies changing course, and restructure with grace when a project falters.

What is broken can be mended.

Readings

Burke, E. (1790) Reflections on the Revolution in France.
Bowlby, J. (1969) Attachment and Loss.
Winnicott, D. W. (1960) International Journal of Psycho-Analysis 41.
Ainsworth, M. D. S. et al. (1978) Patterns of Attachment.
Baumrind, D. (1966) Child Development 37(4).
Wood, D., Bruner, J. S. and Ross, G. (1976) Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 17(2).
Bandura, A. (1977) Social Learning Theory.
Tronick, E. Z. (1989) American Psychologist 44(2).
Ostrom, E. (1990) Governing the Commons.
Jonas, H. (1984) The Imperative of Responsibility.

The mark

A holding form, made ready before anything is earned.

The open hollow: Winnicott's holding environment, drawn as a form: space kept for what is still to come, offered before anything has been proved.
The holding form: A shelter that holds without confining. Held, never held back.
The marks at its edge: Small, exact and easily missed, like the patient work that carries most of the weight.

Our promises

What we will never do, and what we always will.

We never
Lend, invest or hold your money. Licensed partners do the lending.
We never
Count a tonne we cannot verify.
We never
Blur what is promised, what is delivered and what is verified.
We never
Present as finished what is still being built.
We never
Share a project's data without its consent.
We always
Date our numbers and name our sources.

See the work that keeps them