Beyond the Human
Why Innovation Needs New Roles for a Regenerative Future
→ This article was originally published on www.carom.com.
Innovation isn’t broken. But it’s absolutely stuck.
· Stuck in loops of optimization.
· Stuck designing for the user while ignoring the ecosystem.
· Stuck in strategies that address symptoms, but rarely heal systems.
At Carom, we believe innovation doesn’t need to be scrapped. It needs to evolve.
It needs to grow beyond the human.
Because regeneration isn’t just about the environment. It’s about participation, culture, even simply remembering how we belong.
The Limits of Innovation-as-Usual
Let’s take a moment to name the tools many of us have used (and appreciated), and where they fall short:
Design Thinking helped us center empathy..but mostly for humans
Systems Thinking mapped feedback loops..but didn’t guide how to live within them
Sustainability reduced harm..but often stayed stuck inside the same economic models that caused it
Tech Innovation scaled fast..but too often amplified extraction, not regeneration
These models aren’t inherently wrong. They’re just incomplete, especially in a time of ecological collapse, cultural fragmentation and rising planetary risk.
What If Innovation Was Planet-Centered?
At Carom, we use a Holistic Planetary Framework which is our regenerative foundation made up of six interdependent systems that sustain life on Earth:
Habitat & Living Systems
Food, Water & Nutrient Cycles
Climate & Energy Balance
Biodiversity, Health & Resilience
Knowledge, Innovation & Evolution
Kinship & Participation (including human and more-than-human relationships)
If these systems aren’t healthy, nothing we “innovate” will matter for long. In other words, they’re not optional. For humanity’s future, they’re foundational.
The Next Question: How Do We Show Up?
Frameworks are important. But they don’t change things on their own. People do.
We should be asking ourselves: what roles are we playing in this transformation? And what roles are we missing?
Most innovation approaches still treat people as users, consumers, founders, leaders. Rarely do they ask:
What role can I play in service to life?
That’s where we’re going next.
Coming Soon: The Six Regenerative Archetypes
Soon, we’ll introduce six Regenerative Archetypes. These aren’t meant to be personas or job titles. Rather we see them as relational roles that help guide regenerative action across culture, design and systems.
Each one is rooted in one of the six planetary systems above and each offers a new way to show up.
You’ll get a glimpse of roles like:
· The Sustainer – How do we feed life without depleting it?
· The Kinship Builder – Who is missing from the conversation?
· The Story Weaver – What stories help us remember how to live well?
These archetypes form a type of Regenerative Wayfinder, a dynamic map for navigating innovation that has the right relationship with our planet. Not to scale faster, but to regenerate smarter. And more soulfully.
Let’s Build Better Patterns, Not Just Better Products
We don’t just need innovation. We need belonging and humility.
We need to show up in ways that restore, reconnect, and reimagine what’s possible.
That’s the work ahead.
We’d love to hear from you.
Which roles do you think innovation is missing most right now?
What would a regenerative role look like in your context?
Ready to reimagine what innovation looks like in your world?
The Regenerative Innovation Canvas isn’t just for food or fashion. It’s a framework for any organization ready to redesign its logic for living systems.
Start Your Journey:
· Download the free 1-page Canvas to start mapping your business across six planetary categories
· Subscribe free for weekly stories of regenerative transformation in action
Go Deeper — Join the Practitioner Community:
Transform alongside peers navigating the same regenerative tensions
Get practical tools you can apply immediately in your work
Access deep-dive case studies with full regenerative scoring
Master the expanded Canvas methodology with guided exercises
$12/month or $120/year (founding member rate for first 50 – spots remaining)
For Organizations & Teams: Bring the Regenerative Innovation Canvas to life through tailored workshops and co-creation partnerships. Experience the shift from extractive to regenerative thinking with your whole team.
Book a call or email me: jeremy@carom.com