William Sarni - The Power of Unreasonable People

10 Lessons Learned

Will Sarni discusses why we should "Do good things" That we need to "Learn to say No or Hell Yeah" and explains the power of unreasonable people. Hosted by Siebe Van Der Zee

About Will Sarni

Will Sarni is the founder and CEO of Water Foundry a water strategy consultancy. He is also the CEO of the The Future of Water Fund, a water technology venture fund focused on addressing water scarcity, quality and equitable access to water. He has been a sustainability and water strategy advisor to multinationals, water technology companies, investors, and non-governmental organizations for his entire career.

Prior to Water Foundry, he was a managing director at Deloitte Consulting where he established and led the water strategy practice. He was the founder and CEO of DOMANI, a sustainability strategy firm, prior to Deloitte.

Will is an internationally recognized thought leader on water strategy and innovation. He was ranked as; A Key Player Pressuring Businesses to Care About Water and one of the Top 15 Interviews In Smart Water Magazine 2019. Sarni is the author numerous publications on water strategy and innovation including the following books.

• “Corporate Water Strategies”
• “Water Tech – A Guide to Investment, Innovation and Business Opportunities in the Water Sector”
• “Beyond the Energy – Water – Food Nexus: New Strategies for 21st Century Growth”
• “Water Stewardship and Business Value: Creating Abundance from Scarcity”
• “Creating 21st Century Abundance through Public Policy Innovation: Moving Beyond Business as Usual”
• “Digital Water: New Technologies for a More Resilient, Secure and Equitable Water Future”

He also has a children’s book on water, “Water, I Wonder?”

Sarni is a co-founder of WetDATA and a host of the podcast, The Stream with Will and Tom. He is a board member of Silver Bullet, Project WET and the Rocky Mountain Rowing Club. He was the Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board for the WAITRO Global Water Innovation Summit 2020 and was on the Scientific Program Committee for Stockholm World Water Week from 2013 through 2019. His advisory work includes working with the 2020 X-PRIZE (Infinity Water Prize), as a Bold Visioneer for the 2016 X-PRIZE Safe Drinking Water Team and a Technical Advisor for the Climate Bonds Initiative: Nature- Based Solutions for Climate and Water Resilience. He is also on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Water Security.

Episode Notes

Lesson 1: Generosity and kindness 08:27
Lesson 2: Work hard - a depression era work ethic 10:28
Lesson 3: Do good things 13:49
Lesson 4: You will always have a career in water as it is a public health issue 15:44
Lesson 5: Hire someone you would work for 18:44
Lesson 6: The power of unreasonable people 22:07
Lesson 7: Learn to say no or hell yeah 23:56
Lesson 8: Be a realistic optimist - to leave the world a better place 25:36
Lesson 9: Relationships and quality of work matters 29:35
Lesson 10: Quotes to live by 33:17
a. Work hard, stay foolish (Richard Brand, Author)
b. The future is here, just not evenly distributed (William Gibson, Author)
c. Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today (James Dean, Actor)