Name: Eban Goodstein

Title: Director, Graduate Programs in Sustainability

Organisation: Bard College, New York

Dr. Eban Goodstein is an economist and Vice President for Environmental and Social Leadership at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, NY. At Bard, Goodstein directs the Graduate Programs in Sustainability.

Degree options include (1) the #1-ranked low-residency MBA in Sustainability based in NYC; (2) M.S. Degrees in Environmental Policy and in Climate Science and Policy; and (3) an M.Ed. in Environmental Education. Goodstein is the author of three books: Economics and the Environment, now in its ninth edition; Fighting for Love in the Century of Extinction: How Passion and Politics Can Stop Global Warming; and The Trade-off Myth: Fact and Fiction about Jobs and the Environment. Articles by Goodstein have appeared in numerous publications.

Goodstein has coordinated a number of national and international climate educational initiatives, engaging thousands of colleges, universities, and K -12 schools in solutions-based dialogue, most recently, the WorldWide Climate and Justice Education Week in April 2024. At Bard, he also directs C2C Fellows, a network of undergraduates and recent graduates who aspire to sustainability leadership in business, NGOs, and government. His Ted Talk is entitled: Three Ways to Change the Future of Climate... And Everything Else. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3n10SsiFB_c

Thank you to the 2,000 leaders who’ve generously done the 7 Questions on Leadership!

I hope Eban's answers will encourage you in your leadership journey. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Jonno White

1. What have you found most challenging as a leader?

Raising money. As an educational leader in a private US institution, in order to do good work beyond the day-to-day, funds need to be raised from individuals. The challenge for me is not asking but rather finding people interested in our work and getting to the point where requests can be made.

2. How did you become a leader? Can you please briefly tell the story?

In college and graduate school, I was active in the issues of the 1980s: the efforts to stop apartheid in South Africa, to end the US-backed wars in Central America, to freeze nuclear weapons production. For a while, though, my political interests took a back seat to a new job and family. Then, in 1999, with my kids growing older and my career established, I decided to apply the political lessons I had learned to the central challenge of our time: global warming.

Some wonderful colleagues and I founded a non-profit to multiply leadership supporting the clean energy revolution that we need to stop global warming. We brought together citizen activists and educators, providing information, networking, tools, and organizing models. These leaders then returned home to engage in action and education, giving talks, organizing conferences, holding media events, and meeting with political and opinion leaders.

That was twenty-five years ago. Today, the work continues. Bottom line: We have twenty-five more years to decarbonize the global economy and to stabilize the climate for our kids and theirs.

3. How do you structure your work days from waking up to going to sleep?

My work is fairly unstructured, day to day, depending on what is coming down the road. I am diligent on at least a bi-weekly basis in wrestling my email inbox down to size. I prioritize some kind of workout three times a week and try to spend most evenings with my wife.

4. What's a recent leadership lesson you've learned for the first time or been reminded of?

In a crisis, lean on your team, and even if decisions seem urgent, take the time to get advice.

5. What's one book that has had a profound impact on your leadership so

far? Can you please briefly tell the story of how that book impacted your leadership?

The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken. I read this in 1996. Paul had the answer to the fundamental problem we face as humans: how can we sustainably meet the needs of soon to be 10 billion people, half of whom are barely getting by, with everyone aspiring to a better quality of life and more, on the resources of one planet? Business systems need, he said, to mimic natural systems, which run on solar energy and where all waste is food.

He was describing the circular economy before the term existed. This book, organized around the idea of a radical new vision for business, set me on a journey that led to my founding the MBA in Sustainability at Bard College.

6. If you could only give one piece of advice to a young leader, what would you say to them?

I run twice-yearly leadership workshops for undergraduates. I tell them a secret to leadership that is so important that I want them to remember it when looking back from the year 2090, on their deathbed.

Ask people for stuff. In particular, ask people for stuff supporting the vision they share with you.

This means asking for money, for volunteer time, for greater commitment, for advice and mentorship, for internships and jobs. I ask people for their help every day, and it is the most important part of my work.

7. What is one meaningful story that comes to mind from your time as a leader, so far? I had been recently appointed to the board of a $2 billion private company when we were asked to vote on a motion to put the company up for sale. I thought this was a bad idea. It looked like a fire sale to me, as no one on the board could articulate a positive go-forward strategy for the company. And yet, as a newcomer, I was worried about taking a stand. My wife told me I was being ridiculous to be concerned about appearances, so with her kick in my ass, the first board vote tally of my tenure was 12 yes’s to my no.

Over the next two years, after a lot of management distraction we could ill afford, plus expensive M&A consulting fees, we got only two fire-sale offers for the company, and we never sold. The moral of the story is to find someone who will push you to take a stand when you need to.ve culture.