The Latest

How The Community and Local Businesses Can Benefit From Each Other

Local communities and businesses can greatly benefit from each other in a number of different ways. Often times I have noticed a business that is more involved in its local community, also has more value. I am not speaking of monetary value, but referencing the perceived value to the community as a partner. Reaching out to create partnerships among community organizations is not only a responsibility of a local businesses, but also of the community and or organization.Do you remember the days when local businesses supported youth and adult sports team? As a way of showing local support, businesses would put their logo on the local teams jerseys. This always provides a benefit to both the community partner, and the local business.

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Beyond the Comfort of What We Think We Know

Has an over-reliance on "best practices" and "evidence-based" practices struck a deathblow to our ability to think creatively and our courage to be experimental?

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Critical Friendships, Reflective Practice, Words and Glue

I am fortunate to have a reflective practice with friends and colleagues who are thinking about thinking. It didn’t happen over night, it took a few years and this blog is a shout out to Ann McCann, Carol Myles, Kim Cole, Jeanette Laanning, Chris Driedzic, Debbie Hynes and Zack Marshall. Some of you have never met but collectively you all bring richness to my head and heart. I am so grateful.

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Bringing Community to the Table - Revisited

In 2011, Paul Born was interviewed by Hildy Gottlieb. The interview was Bringing Community to the Table. This is one of the first interviews I remember of Paul's.

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If it's time to ditch the deck, what are we going to do?

In my last post, I presented a case against the use of “decks”, i.e. stacks of printed PowerPoint-style slides, as a means of briefing decision-makers. This case was illustrated by the analysis of Edward R. Tufte of the Columbia shuttle disaster, where the use of decks by NASA contributed to the failure of decision-making and ultimately to the loss of the shuttle and crew. - See more at: http://tamarackcci.ca/blogs/john-burrett/if-its-time-ditch-deck-what-are-we-going-do#sthash.H04N5HGa.dpuf

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Act on What You Want to See

Last fall I asked an extremely smart woman a question. I asked her to list three ways that she brings integrity into her social change work. The person was Melody Barnes (@MelodyCBarnes) and it was at Tamarack's Collective Impact Summit. Because she took a long pause to answer, I knew something solid was coming. Her honest answer was two-fold: 1. I act on what I want to see and 2. I hire people who have a sense of humor. Act on what I want to see. Act on what I want to see. What does that mean to my work in community?

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