In 1994, ray anderson was 60 years old and at the top of his game as founder and ceo of atlantabased interface, inc. Some of my favourite ray anderson quotes computing for. More happiness with less stuff, all made sustainably. How many guys are sitting at their kitchen tables right now onethirty in the morning this sametime eating a piece of pie thats what i. During the talk he read a poem written by one of his employees, glenn. Her poetry addresses difficult subjects with eloquence and grace. Hans christian andersen poems poems of hans christian. Anderson finished most of his speeches with a poem written by an. Andersons classic poem the split appears in the 20th anniversary edition of the courage to heal. Born in kirkconnel, dumfries and galloway, scotland, the sixth and youngest son of james anderson a quarrier. Jonas andersonaka poet anderson, the dream walkeris tormented by a nightmare. You come away feeling like sustainability is a possibility for any organization. Ray andersons 1994 epiphany began when he read the ecology of commerce.
Ray was given a poem written by glenn thomas, one of his. But after a car accident lands alan in a coma, jonas sets out into the dream world in an attempt to find his brother and wake him up. Tom delonge once again teams up with new york times bestselling author suzanne young to continue the awardwinning transmedia projectpoet andersoninspired by a stanford university study on how your dreams can affect your reality. This is because they both involve parents trying to seize the moment of when their children were young because now they have come to the point where they have no choice but to accept the fact that their little baby boy is all grown up and is no longer a child. Paul hawken, whose book started ray on his journey, gives an emotional tribute to ray. Open plan office systems were emerging, bringing with them the need to easily access flat wire and walker duct systemsstate of the art infrastructure at the time. A longtime advocate for victims of incest and domestic violence, alice anderson now writes out of sacramento, having escaped the postkatrina mississippi coast.
Ray anderson, the founder of interface, transformed his commercial carpet company into a sustainable enterprise and was often referred to as americas greenest ceo. After founding my company, interface, from scratch tedtalks 00. It was flexible, practical, beautiful, and made perfect sense. But none of them and no one questioned anderson s sincerity or commitment or passion, to his company as well as to the ideal of a sustainable world. These include the steadfast tin soldier, the snow queen, the little. Of nightmares is a thrilling, edge of your seat story written by awardwinning musician, producer and director tom delonge and new york times bestselling author suzanne young. It was written in the early years of interface s sustainability journey by glenn thomas, just after he heard ray speak about his environmental epiphany. Hans christian andersen, referred to using the initials h. Jonas anderson is a powerful lucid dreamer who is destined to guide lost dreamers through the dream world. He read paul hawkens book, the ecology of commerce seeking a way to minimize. In 1973, ray founded interface in lagrange, ga, bringing the. Open library is an initiative of the internet archive, a 501c3 nonprofit, building a digital library of internet sites and other cultural artifacts in digital form. Anderson chronicled the mission zero journey in two books, mid course correction.
Once a professional football player, he had a number of careers including running an advertising agency, wildcatting for oil, logging at the columbia sawmill, and acting as a gunnery officer on a destroyer escort. Keynote speech to the conference on june 22, also delivered at the world trade and convention centre in halifax on june 23, 2005. Rays greatest reinforcement and sense of accomplishment comes in the form of a poem written by glenn thomas. The poem encouraged ray to persist in turning his company into a model of corporate sustainability and responsibility, he said. After discovering carpet tile in europe in the early 1970s, ray c. He was a serious carpet guy, focused on building his company and making great products. The interface model, and confessions of a radical industrialist. Composed for tomorrows child, this poem helps to strengthen rays resolve for spreading the word on sustainability, not only for the good of the planet, but for future generations. He was sending me an original poem that he had composed after our.
You will learn how you can turn this power to work for you, here on earth, to make your life. It put forth a new vision for what its author, ray c. With the exception of the first and last stanzas, all of the words come from letters or emails written to her by readers. After founding my company, interface, from scratch in 1973, 36 years ago, to produce carpet tiles in america for the business and institution markets, and shepherding it through startup and survival to prosperity and global dominance in its field, i read paul hawkens book, the ecology of commerce, the summer of 1994. Artists unite to tell story of sustainable business. Share ray anderson quotations about business, sustainability and earth.
In his ted talk, he describes how he transformed his company. He was known in environmental circles for his advanced and progressive stance on industrial ecology and sustainability. What is there left to say about ray anderson, the iconic and. Ray anderson, of interface, has spent the last 52 years making carpet out of. Midcourse correction revisited and millions of other books are available for. Ray anderson gave a profound and powerful talk about his decadesdeep commitment to sustainable ways of doing business through his carpet company interface culminating in the mission zero plan. At his carpet company, ray anderson has increased sales and doubled profits while. Annotated captions of ray anderson on the business logic of sustainability in english. Twenty years ago last week, interface founder and ceo ray anderson spoke the word sustainability for the first time. Uell stanley andersen was a successful selfhelp author in the 1950s and 1960s. Tomorrows children cannot afford trumps ignorance on. How my company and i transformed our purpose, sparked innovation, and grew profits by respecting the earth, and more on. With interface, ray anderson was the embodiment of a man who practiced what he preached.
After founding my company, interface, from scratch in 1973, 36 years ago, to produce. He attended the local school where the teacher found him to be of average ability. Annotated captions of ray anderson on the business logic. Since ray anderson s passing in 2011, interface is still on track to become a zerowaste company by 2020.
He read paul hawkens book, the ecology of commerce seeking a way to minimize his companys pollution impact. This group of advisors begins to help interface with its new mission. In it anderson recounts his eureka moment as founder and leader of interface, inc. When reading greenbiz or any of the other numerous media channels that cater to the field of sustainable business, its easy. It was as if a ray of light came from the book, a luminous tree whose branches spread out across the ceiling. A microsoft 365 subscription offers an adfree interface, custom domains, enhanced security options, the full desktop version of office, and 1 tb of cloud storage. Composed for tomorrows child, this poem helps to strengthen rays resolve for. Anderson s most popular book is confessions of a radical industrialist. Ray anderson founded interface, the company that makes those adorable flor carpet tiles as well as lots of less whizzy but equally useful flooring and fabric. Jonas anderson and his older brother alan are lucid dreamers. Hans christian andersen 18051875 was a danish author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales.
Ray anderson gave a profound and powerful talk about his decadesdeep. Courtesy the author my homeland is about as ugly as a place gets, writes janisse ray at the beginning of her first book, ecology of a. On his journey to becoming a powerful poet, he must learn to harness his gifts in order to defeat his night. During the talk he read a poem written by one of his employees. The area around crocketford was renowned for martyrdom and anderson seems to have taken inspiration from his. Of nightmares is tom delonges first novel, written in collaboration. In recent years, anderson has embarked on a mission to make interface a sustainable corporation by leading a worldwide war on waste and pioneering the processes of. Ray would often end his speeches by reciting the poem, and you can hear him read it at this link. Weve developed a suite of premium outlook features for people with advanced email and calendar needs. Tomorrows child contains a message that resonates deeply within me as i hold my newborn. Anderson july 28, 1934 august 8, 2011 was founder and chairman of interface inc. Composed for tomorrows child, this poem helps to strengthen ray s resolve for spreading the word on sustainability, not only for the good of the planet, but for future generations.
In 1994, interface founder and chairman ray anderson set an audacious goal for his commercial carpet company. Most english as well as german and french sources use the name hans christian andersen, but in denmark and the rest of scandinavia he is usually re. Now, in the most inspiring business book of our time, anderson leads the way forward and challenges all. This poem ive chosen is very similar and connects to the poem though you are grown. Laura andersen, author of the darkling bride, the boleyn trilogy and the tudor legacy trilogy. A friend once told me to read this book as if it were poetry, and she.
You climb a long ladder until you see over the roof. In this groundbreaking book ray anderson reflects theologically and practically on preaching. Andersons most popular book is confessions of a radical industrialist. Anderson finished most of his speeches with a poem written by an interface employee who was inspired after hearing anderson describe his environmental vision. To the three magic words of his first book he now adds the four steps of the method for converting the realization of an indwelling god into a richer, fuller life. Ray continued to use the poem in his talks over many years as a way to motivate others, both within and beyond interface, to engage in a new vision of corporate sustainability. The leaves were fresh and green and on each branch flowers bloomed and fruit hung.
Outlook free personal email and calendar from microsoft. When he was three, the household moved to crocketford in kirkcudbrightshire. Ray anderson, of interface, has spent the last 52 years making carpet out of petroleum products, creating a mess for the earth in the process. Ray andersons sustainability vision for interface was for it to rewrite the ipat equation. Ray s greatest reinforcement and sense of accomplishment comes in the form of a poem written by glenn thomas. In many respects, a few of the worlds largest corporations are leading the way toward the greening of business, in particular. When ray anderson first encountered the concept at an international conference, it took his breath away. This poem not only represents my view on the book, but also it speaks for all the girls that have been through the same ordeal or anything simmilar who kept silent for too long or not long enough. What he discovers instead is an entire shared consc. He failed to rescue his brother alan from the dreamscape and free him. The industrial system takes too much, extracting and frittering away earths natural capital on wants, not needs.
Of nightmares follows the epic journey of two orphan brothers, jonas and alan, who are lucid dreamers. Visit the official store of poet anderson on to the stars. These materials have fostered a dramatic move among these large corporations toward a more sustainable ecological footprint. I did a piece on ray anderson on sustainable lens last night. Anderson has books on goodreads with 1182 ratings. Hans christian andersen hans christian andersen poems. Anderson wrote and illustrated over thirtyfive horse books, including the books in the popular billy and blaze series. The following poem was written by laurie halse anderson. The following poem was written by laurie halse anderson in honor of the 10th anniversary of speak. The flowers were faces of young maidens, some with radiant dark eyes and others with clear blue ones. He believed that the harmful technologies of the first industrial revolution, extractive and polluting by nature, could be replaced by the technologies. During the talk he read a poem written by one of his employees, glenn thomas, after glenn heard ray talk.
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