Last Thursday I sat down with Joshua Onysko, founder and CEO of Pangea Organics, at their headquarters in Boulder to hear his reflections on 2009 and his thoughts about 2010. When I walked into Pangea's offices, the smell of rose, lavender, geranium and mint filled my lungs and filled my breath. Sunlight brightened each room and potted plants next to product samples filled the tables. Walking in made it clear that Pangea is living their philosophy out loud. Everything I had read about the company and every product I have used came alive when I walked into Pangea and talked with the masterminds behind the products. I was offered some tea before they tracked Joshua down, who arrived in jeans, a tie and a vest...We sat in his office and I began asking him a series of questions. I think you'll enjoy hearing his answers as much I did!
If you could re-tell any story or event from 2009, what would it be?
Joshua: Biggest lesson I learned in 2009 was really learning how to take each moment and define it; that you always have in every choice that you make, you have two things that you can choose. In 2009, because of the economy and because of what was going on inside our little microcosm at Pangea and what was going on in the rest of the world, for some reason the decisions I was making seemed very polarized and I tended to take a lot longer deciding what to choose and it wasn't just about simple things like, left and right, or yes and no, but it was more about really understanding that in every circumstance in life, we have two choices. You can choose fear, you can choose courage, you can choose destruction...There's this book I am reading and there is this old Native American story about a grandfather talking to his grandson and his grandson asks him where violence and destruction come from and he said it is very much like two wolves fighting in your heart and one wolf is all about violence and destruction and the other wolf is about understanding and trust and the outcome is dependent on which wolf you choose to feed. And when I think about that and the decisions you have to make in times of need like 2009, trying to make it through all the things that are happening in your life - especially business - are really greater than the normal choices you make. They are choices that really represent the future. I was just writing my CEO letter for December and one of the things I talked about is how as I get older, I find that I am giving bigger and bigger percentages of my choices to the generations that haven't even been born yet because let's face it: I am 33, so a 1/3 of my life is supposedly over; so really I need to be giving a 1/3 of my decisions to people who don't have the option to actually make decisions because the decisions we make today are going to affect all future generations. And so looking back on the year, that is my biggest lesson that really became apparent - how important it is that every decision is thought about more carefully than I probably did in my twenties.
If you could speak to any age group or population in 2010, who would it be and why?
Joshua: A graduating MBA class. I feel like MBA students are armed with - especially this generation coming out - are armed with so much intelligence about business and where all the mistakes have been made that the next two classes are going to be the most privileged graduating classes in the past 50 years, because they are being born into this eco-green movement but they are also being born into this economic disaster, and I think they really have the opportunity to see where we went wrong and where we went right and make better decisions for the future. And I really feel like a large part of the future part of this world, this culture that we've built, depends on more businesses being more socially and environmentally conscious of the choices we make. And I think MBA students have the ability to actually bend that road in the right direction.
What themes, words, or movements in regard to eco or sustainable living do you anticipate emerging in 2010?
Joshua: I think it's emerging that people are starting to look more at a company's social ethos than anything else. I think consumers are really digging into the brands, and I always talk about BUYcotting and being opposed to boycotting because the future is not about boycotting brands, but finding the brands you do believe in and buying them only, and the rest of the world will follow suit...pretty simple: don't buy what you don't want the future to look like.
What's your New Year's Resolution?
Joshua: Usually, continually, try and chip away at the fears that distract me from making the decisions I want to make and to constantly be - this year and last year - striding forward to reprogramming generally the way I make decisions in life and re-wiring my brain a little bit to make new connections to make sure I don't get stagnant in my thinking and my judgments against others.
And with that, we'd love to hear your stories of lessons you will take with you from 2009 and your resolutions for 2010!
Thank you Joshua for taking the time to reflect on the year past and year ahead; everyone enjoys hearing from you!
And with thanks to fiatlux for the images.
Carey Candrian
