Raison d’Être
There’s a French expression—raison d’être—that a lot of people in the English-speaking world have adopted. Literally, it means “one’s reason for being,” but English speakers tend to…
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Real Wealth Isn’t Monetary or Physical. It’s Social
I know. I hear it too. It sounds naive. Like something you’d find printed in cursive above an old hippie’s kitchen sink. But let’s not be quick…
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I’m So Over the Overton Window
I’ve had to look up the definition of this word, the Overton window, so many times. It never quite sticks, even though the idea itself has always…
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The Age of Unreason
When I was in my twenties, quite a while ago now, I became obsessed with learning a martial art called Ving Tsun, or Wing Chun. And being…
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Innovate or Die
I just finished watching the movie Jobs. It’s a very loose retelling of Steve Jobs and the early days of Apple, and if there’s anyone who has…
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Why Community Builders Should Read “Leading Change” by John Kotter
Most people in the community-building game don’t think of themselves as “change managers.” Most of us are not sitting in corner offices with PowerPoint decks and consultants. …
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Why I’m Obsessed With Optimal Outcomes
If I had a life motto, or a working framework by which I live, it would be this: maximum efficiency and effectiveness. Or, put another way, optimization.…
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Sometimes, I’m Almost as Good as I Think I Am
I’ve been accused, more times than I can count, of being arrogant, condescending, self-righteous. There are probably a few other adjectives in that same vein that would…
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Impact and Value… Bring It Or Else
How do people, organizations, and businesses make money? At the most basic level, they sell something. Or they work for someone who sells something. Products. Services. Ideas.…
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Musing on Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité
The French national motto is: Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity). That seems like a pretty good thing on which to found a society. When we talk…