I’ve spent much of this week in Memphis, along with my colleague and editor, Jan Andersen. The first half of our assignment was to work with a group of six nonprofit organizations, all of them at different places and phases in their development. During the second half we worked with the board and regional directors [...]
Sustainability Part III
Change does not happen easily and painlessly because the status quo is strongly attractive to both individuals and organizations. We are driven to think and act by how we view the world around us. We look for information, interpret events, see opportunities, and make choices based upon our mental model or perception of reality. Information [...]
Sustainability – Part II
A week since the last post, and time to take a look at the change process in the context of recent events. Unemployment is up again, although the rate of increase is moderating. Several states, Michigan among them, are struggling to pass a balanced budget (required by law in many places) in the face of [...]
Sustainability – Part I
The economic crisis. Gridlock in federal and state government. Climate change. The housing buble bursting and waves of foreclosures. Budget cuts, layoffs, the collapse of GM and Chrysler. Not a lot of good news out there over the past year. And yet, we see enough positives to begin to see some light at the end [...]
Patience Anyone?
Sixty-six days. Not a long time in the grand scheme of things. Less than a quarter of a year. A mere blink of an eye. 66 days ago was January 20th and at 1201 that day the presidency of Barak Obama began. There are few presidencies that have begun facing as many serious challenges. And [...]
Sally Helgesen On Leading In 24/7
Today I had the pleasure of hearing Sally Helgesen share her thoughts in a session called “Leading in 24/7: Six Key Trends Transforming Organizations.” I’ve been a fan of her research, writing, and speaking for a number of years, ever since I read her wonderful book The Web of Inclusion: A New Architecture for Building [...]
The Promise of Tomorrow
The news media seem to take a perverse delight in telling us how awful, terrible, scary the current economic situation has become. And while that indeed may be true, it is merely the current confirmation of the old axiom, “if it bleeds it leads.” It’s sort of like the local TV newscast that focuses on [...]
Why I’m Smiling
With all the negative economic news that bombards us daily, I’m still smiling. Why? Because we can and will turn the ship around and emerge into a more prosperous future. Sure, 2009 is likely to be very challenging, but we will survive and even thrive in the months and years ahead. We currently are in [...]
A New Year Begins
I cannot recall ever being so glad to see one year end and another begin as I am this time. While most people seem to acknowledge that the U.S. economy is in poor overall shape, there also is a sense of optimism and confidence that a new administration in the nation’s capital can and will [...]
