Michael Norton
Case Study
How would you like to be described?
A social innovator actively looking for solutions to the social and environmental problems that face us as people and as a world
How would you describe what you do?
I try to create solutions to problems/issues that invest me. At the moment I am working on young people’s mental well-bing, the active engagement of young people in their futures, addressing poverty in what should be a rich country and helping the development of sustainable agriculture.
What is your greatest achievement?
Setting up UnLtd, a foundation that supports social entrepreneurs, individuals with ideas, to help them turn their ideas into practical action.
What was the cause or ’trigger for this journey of making the world a better place through being useful and kind? And how old were you? When did you realise you could make a difference?
My dad asking if I was planning to volunteer after I had left university and when I was about to start my first job. This resulted in my helping at a youth centre running programmes and activities for the young people. After two years I decided that I would to start my own volunteer programme, teaching English to immigrant children and families. It turned out to be the first such scheme in the UK just as the country was experiencing a wave of immigration of non-English speakers.
Who or what were your early influences?
Eugene Heimler, a psychiatric social guru whose book I read, The Night of the Mist, and who I consulted when thinking about setting up my language teaching programme; he told me that it was not just a matter of doing good, but using practical skills to make something happen.
Ivan Illich, whose books Medical Nemesis and Deschooling Society made one see things differently, counter-intuitively and disruptively.
Saul Alinsky, who believed in people power.
Erin Pizzey, founder of Women’s Aid (whom I helped) for her “just do it” approach.
What were you doing at 16?
I was a perfectly ordinary school pupil, doing well at work, taking up painting as a hobby, and thinking I might become an art dealer (inspired by the film about Van Gogh, Lust for Life.
What advice would you give your 16-year-old self?
Be confident in yourself and your own abilities. Speak out when you feel that something is wrong or should be different.
What advice would you give to other young people?
The same.
What has been the most difficult challenge on the way and how did you overcome it?
Fear of public speaking. When at university in the debating society, I had lots of things I wanted to say, but was too frightened to stand up and say them. I worked hard at this, putting myself in situations where I had to speak, for example, organising and chairing a major conference on racism in the 1960s, with canon Collins and Trevor Huddleston as the key speakers. Gradually I overcome this fear, but it took longer to overcome fear of being on TV, which I overcame in this way. I was invited to front an initiative for America press card members which meant that I had to give 25 TV and radio interviews from a studio in New York in one day. I know that if the first went badly, it would be a disaster, so I willed it to go well, which it did, and things got easier and jokier through the day.
What do you think are the changes we need to see in the world and how can being U&K help solve those things?
There are massive issues, from global warming (where th consequences for us will be far worse than the CV19 pandemic) through to being happier, more equal and more resilient. The CV19 crisis has shown that pursuit of money, fast cars and relentless travel does not make us happier. One challenge is to try to get back to something else. A kinder more cooperative world. Will we be able to do this? My fear is that we will eventually get back to where we were, a selfish, competitive society with inequality as the biggest barrier to “the best of all possible worlds” (within the UK and in the world).
How are you useful and kind to yourself - what helps and hinders?
I am not necessarily kind to myself. I push myself to do things, sometimes obsessively, like the book I have just written as my lock down big project t, which I completed in 7 weeks. But I do feel that having a sense of purpose is important.
How are you both useful and kind to others (the easy ones and those who are more difficult to be U&K to)?
Taking the big picture, I am keen to explore solutions to problems, practical problems for people. With individuals, I try to listen and be helpful. Sometimes a small piece of advice can change a person’s whole life (for the better).
What is your biggest challenge in the future?
To contribute towards building a society based on wellbeing and happiness rather than wealth and consumption.
What do you wish you had done differently?
Life has been a learning journey. And it is not a matter of regretting what one did wrong, but of moving forward positively to new challenges and opportunities. So the answer is “nothing”.