The Western world loves binaries.
Good / bad.
Sustainable / unsustainable.
Success / failure.
And lately, it feels even more polarized:
Epic people vs. Horrible people.
Values-driven companies vs. Evil companies.
Countries that are Blessed or Going to Hell.
But at last month’s Gratitude Railroad gathering, investor and ag-systems thinker Stephen Hohenrieder offered a wider lens: there’s a spectrum. From conventional to aspirational. From “business as usual” to “radically purpose-driven.” And most of us — leaders, companies, humans, societies — live somewhere in between.
And that’s not failure, or a copout. It’s reality.
The Myth of 100%
We’ve been sold a story that the only way to prove our worth is to go all in.
All-organic.
Zero-waste.
Every workout a max lift, soaring to the top of the leaderboard.
Every business move flawlessly advancing profitability, brand, and purpose.
But for most of us, 100% aspirational isn’t desirable, much less sustainable. Push too far and you wind up injured, burned out, or worse: inauthentic. You look like you’re cosplaying someone else’s ideals instead of living your own.
Personally, I’ve found that 73% aspirational is my sweet spot. Two sessions a week of heavy lifts. A couple of Robin Arzón sweat-fest intervals. Enough to feel proud, alive, and aligned — without needing to train for HYROX. (Because let’s be honest: no one in my keynote audiences wants to watch me limp onto stage with a pulled hamstring.)
Corporate Parallels
The same is true for companies:
Patagonia made headlines by donating its entire ownership structure into a purpose trust benefiting the environment. (Yes, they literally gave the company to the planet.) That’s near the aspirational edge.
Unilever under Paul Polman refused to issue quarterly earnings reports — bold! — while still selling skin-lightening creams, a product perpetuating racist ideals. Conventional and aspirational in one messy multinational.
Shell reports it is investing $2–3 billion annually in renewables. Not enough to erase decades of damage, but still way more than competitors who won’t even dabble in cleaner options for their industry. And let’s be real: did you drive to work or school or the grocery store today? We all know that story is complicated.
Are these companies “good” or “bad”? Neither. They’re points on the spectrum. Dismissing them outright misses the nuance — and the progress.
Why It Matters
Labeling people and companies as saints or sinners isn’t useful. Cancel culture, purity tests, and virtuous one-upmanship don’t solve climate change, redesign capitalism, or heal burnout.
More importantly, they erode the most powerful ingredient in solving those problems: a broad alliance of humans who agree that business needs to serve society as well as shareholders. That we must stop exploiting our planet and workforce in the interest of short-term, one-dimensional financial returns.
When we box companies, leaders, or consumer groups into either/or, we lose the opportunity to come together on a high-level basic agreement:
Treat others as you’d like to be treated.
Don’t sell toxic products proven to harm health.
Companies don’t have to be perfect. Leaders will make mistakes. And we don’t have to agree on every detail further down the list.
But we won’t heal our world when 1% of leaders or companies operate at 100%.
We need 100% of leaders operating at their real, sustainable aspirational edge — whatever that number is. As long as they’re conscious of the number, and working to move it up in concrete ways, every day.
Full Moon Reminder 🌕
This Aries full moon is a cosmic invitation to step on stage and be yourself. Not your fantasy self. Not your neighbor’s aspirational self. Your best, real, lived-in percentage.
Whether that’s 68% or 83% — own it. Celebrate it. That’s where compounding returns start to kick in.
💬 Where are you on the spectrum — and what’s the reasonable stretch that won’t break you, but move you a little closer to your aspiration?
Or, if it feels juicier: Where is your employer, your community, or your family on that spectrum — and what stretch could they make that would be both realistic and meaningful?
