Siân Sutherland: Radical Naivety – The Entrepreneurial Power to Change the World
About This Episode:
What if not knowing all the reasons something can’t be done is actually an entrepreneurial superpower?
Siân Sutherland describes herself as “the least likely eco-warrior you could meet.” Over an extraordinary career, she has repeatedly stepped into industries she knew little about — from advertising to opening a restaurant that gained a Michelin star in its first year, building an award-winning design agency, and creating and ultimately selling the successful skincare brand Mama Mio.
She calls her approach “radical naivety”: the willingness to take the first step, ask different questions and pursue possibilities before knowing all the reasons they might not work.
Today, Siân is applying that same entrepreneurial mindset to some of our biggest global challenges. As co-founder of A Plastic Planet, PlasticFree Babies and the EXO Institute, she is working to tackle the plastic and climate poly-crisis, accelerate innovation and rethink the systems that created these problems in the first place.
In this episode of The Business Elevation Show, Chris and Siân explore her remarkable entrepreneurial journey, why recycling alone will never solve the plastic crisis, the potential impact of plastics on human health, and the exciting innovations and new materials that could help us build a better future.
They also explore why Siân believes changing systems requires changing leaders, what business can achieve when positive impact is embedded into its purpose, and the practical lessons she has learned from more than 30 years of entrepreneurship.
Listen for an inspiring and provocative conversation about radical naivety, courageous leadership, entrepreneurship and our capacity to use business as a powerful force for positive change.
More about Siân Sutherland:
Siân Sutherland - Cofounder and Chief, A Plastic Planet + PlasticFree Babies
Cofounder, EXO Institute; Advisory Board, Roots of Peace
Siân is a passionate systems-change entrepreneur redefining sustainability through communication, innovation and action. De-termined to be part of building a very different future for all of humanity. Siân has led purposeful organisations for over 30 years, from award winning design agencies, to consumer brands and now runs multiple organisations tackling the plastic and climate poly-crisis, connecting the dots to catalyse change.