Once upon a time – long, long ago – symbols pointed to things that actually existed. We knew what reality was. Or at least, we thought we did. We were […]
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 to dismiss the […]
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 personified the word […]
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. We’re generally sitting […]
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. One might even […]
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 apply, but you […]
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. Content. Labor. Attention. […]
Building Belonging Before the Fracture
It doesn’t take much imagination to sense that our world is fragile. Whether the strain comes from economics, geopolitics, the environment, or something else, there’s a feeling that the global […]
Why Community is the Way Forward
We live in a time of remarkable connection. Goods, information, and services move around the globe faster than ever before. Yet this same interconnectedness also makes our systems fragile. A […]
Maybe the Next Economy Won’t Have Bosses
Sometimes I look around at our modern world and think… how did we really end up here? Then I think about it some more and see the logical progression. But […]