what we believe
The view to my right, off the starboard side of a BC Ferry is magnificent. The ocean reflects the summer sky and is textured by the warm breeze. The distant mountains on the Sunshine Coast fade into the hazy distance, a towering reminder of the unceasing patience of nature. Despite my surroundings, a knot still sits at my solar plexus—a …
What is a vision statement for? A common foundation of all approaches to social impact is a plan for creating the intended change. This plan specifies how, and why, specific activities will bring about change, including a vision, or description, of the intended change. A vision statement answers the question: “How is the world made better by our work?” A …
Just when you got the hang of measuring your carbon footprint, things got more complicated again. Do you have what it takes to measure social impact the right way? There isn’t a single “right way” to measure social impact, but that doesn’t mean it’s a free-for-all. You can’t simply measure whatever you want and post it on your blog as …
Have you been shocked by the American protests and police violence over the past week? Are you feeling fearful at what to say about George Floyd? About his killer, Derek Chauvin? Your shock and your fear aren’t what you think they are. We wrote this post with some of our clients in mind—dozens of them are like-minded, change making organizations …
When I was a kid, my favourite toy cars were those with a pull-back motor in them. I used to love to point them in a particular direction, wind them up and let them go. The speed as the spring uncoiled was a rush! But what I really loved was when they went precisely where I aimed them. If they …
Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the increasingly complex interplay of systemic challenges around the world was touching all of us—in all aspects of our lives. One thing that’s being revealed to us now is the once in a lifetime chance to reimagine how we think about our work—to embrace next economy thinking. At the organizational level, a strong project skillset …
I’ve always shied away from calling myself a philosopher. I feel brash or pretentious using it to describe myself. But recently a friend graciously indulged my inner philosopher, opening in me a new permission to take up that label. And it was just in time, for in this moment of crisis around the world, we will all benefit from thoughtful, wise responses.
In this week’s post, Mike Rowlands shares insights into a ‘juicy, generative conversation’ he had recently with his friend Steve Rio—a conversation you can now hear via Steve’s podcast, NOW with Steve Rio.
For each of us running organizations, this is a profoundly difficult time. Some of us are lucky to be able to keep working as usual; others have a very different daily rhythm. Others still can’t operate at all, closing their premises and furloughing their staff. If you can’t work in your business, perhaps you can still work on it. From …
It’s a very risky proposition to stake the future of your organization on a return to “business as usual” by the end of 2020. Most of the assumptions that underpinned three- or five-year strategic plans at the time of their writing have been upended so fast that we’re seeing clients in various stages of crisis planning this week. Pandemics—or any …
