ABSTRACT
The word zero comes from the Italian zefiro which itself is derived from the Arabic safira meaning 'empty' or 'nothingness'. Goals and targets of zero do not appear anywhere else in world. Whether in industry, sport, personal development, parenting, education or health, we just don't set zero goals because we intrinsically understand that framing progress in terms of loss is demotivating. Binary opposition is where things are explained through the use of two mutually opposing terms. Over in the UK, a new Government zero carbon policy requires all new homes built from 2016 to mitigate emissions produced on-site. As Rob points out in his excellent books, the real outcome from an organizational focus on absolute zero is a culture of confusion. The ideology of zero though, is ultimately a distraction from the main game, as people end up so in love with counting numbers they forget about humans.
