There are thousands of different issues that need to be addressed, not just a few big high profile issues. The solution to a better world is addressing thousands of small issues so that the big problems resolve themselves. Better metrics are needed so that everyone can do their bit in making the world a better place.

1. MULTI DIMENSION IMPACT ACCOUNTING
ISSUES
NOT A FEW BIG ISSUES BUT
THOUSANDS OF SMALLER ONES
File: TVA-p3-00-ISSUES-151012.odp Peter Burgess (c) All rights reserved

2. CONTEXT
This slideset is a Work-in-Progress
and will be updated from time to time.
It is part of a series that aims to
describe the extremely complex
socio-enviro-economic system that
we live in, and how better metrics will
make this system work better.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

3. THOUSANDS OF ISSUES
For many years I did work managing
performance improvement initiatives
for companies and also the World
Bank and the United Nations. Why
were there so many seemingly
intractable problems?
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

4. Big problems were a complex mix of
many little problems … ALL of which
needed to be addressed in order to
have success.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

5. Solving big problems means solving
many little problems … thousands of
them.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

6. Society, and most organizations are
not well structured to solve complex
problems. The United Nations, for
example is structured around many
specialized agencies.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

7. Each of the UN's many specialized
agencies have a focus on a single
sector … FAO for agriculture, WTO
for trade, WHO for health, UNHCR for
refugees, WFP for food, etc.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

8. But solving development problems
almost always has to be done across
sectors … and this requires both
cooperation and coordination …
which are difficult.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

9. Big solutions get complex … and
complexity is difficult and costly to
manage.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

10. When small issues are not resolved,
they grow into bigger issues that are
difficult to handle and do not go
away.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

11. The problem of refugees and IDPs
(Internally Displaced People), for
example, is not caused by the
refugees and IDPs but by other
societal issues … war, famine,
political oppression, religious
persecution, etc.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

12. Societal issues like war, for example,
are caused by some set of grievances
that have not been adequately
addressed by leaders of society …
worse, we don't have adequate
measures of the huge cost of war …
and no meaningful accountability.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

13. Famine is caused by failure of food
supply … which in turn may be
caused by many different issues.
Many of these issues can be easily
solved before famine ensues … but
this requires leadership and problem
solving that is often lacking.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

14. The same applies to everything else
… small issues can be resolved
before they become big issues and
big problems with consequential
major value destruction.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

15. In TrueValueMetrics we consider
thousands of different issues …
because each of them feeds into
others … NO SINGLE SILVER
BULLET is going to be the solution to
the bigger issues of our day.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

16. Rather the world will become a better
place when each and every one does
there modest bit in making things
better … addressing issues when
they are small and always working to
make things just a little bit better.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

17. In order for this to become universal
and effective there have to be the
right sort of metrics. We have metrics
for profit performance in the
corporation, but nothing as powerful
for society and the environment.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

18. True Value Accounting is an
emerging system of metrics that puts
a value on everything … especially
the things that are important for
quality of life and the sustainability of
the natural environment.
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

19. There is much more on ISSUES on
the TrueValueMetrics.org website
http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBadmin/DBtxt001.php?vv1=list0200-ISSUES
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

20. REMINDER
This slideset is A WORK-IN-PROGRESS. It will be
upgraded periodically. It is part of a series of more than
100 slidesets. Navigation to these is available here:
FEEDBACK is welcome. Please email to Peter Burgess …
peterbnyc@gmail.com … with a catchy phrase in the
subject line so that it gets attention, and please identify
the specific slideset(s) involved.
http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBadmin/DBtxt001.php?vv1=N1-Slidesets-p3
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING

21. THANK YOU
Some links and contact information:
Email Peter Burgess … peterbnyc@gmail.com
Peter Burgess LinkedIn profile
https://www.linkedin.com/in/peterburgess1
Link to TrueValueMetrics.org website
http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/
Link to navigation to other resources:
http://www.truevaluemetrics.org/DBadmin/DBtxt001.php?vv1=list0100-MainNav#1
TRUE VALUE ACCOUNTING