In a year from now, Vancouver will host a very important gathering of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Back in 1986 I was a young man who had grown up in an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto. I was unaware of the full story of my ancestry and although I was interested in the world, it was a pretty sheltered upbringing. I had just completed high school and had my eyes set on attending university to get a BA on my way to obtaining a Master of Divinity. I wanted to be a minister in the United Church of Canada. As …
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A poem by Mario Benedetti read in the check in our second day of learning here in Baltimore. Tactic and Strategy My tactic is Looking at you, Learning how you are, Loving you as you are, My tactic is Talking to you And listening to you To build with words An indestructible bridge My tactic is Remaining in your memories I don’t know how Nor with which pretext But remaining with you. My tactic is Being frank, And knowing that you are frank, And not selling each other Simulations So that between us There is no curtain Nor abyss. My …
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I was listening to a brilliant interview with the theologian and scholar Walter Bruggeman this morning. He was talking about “the prophetic imagination” and using the poetry of the Old Testament prophets to make a point about a key capacity that is missing in the world right now: the ability to deal with disruption. SImply, disruption is what happens when the plans we thought we had have suddenly changed. It could be a major economic collapse – a black swan event – or something so small as your bus left early. How we respond to disruption is a key …
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Very interesting little article from David Wilcox about the differences between social entrepreneurs and social innovators. Here is how he describes those differences, from a tactical perspective: 4 Differences Between Social Entrepreneurs & Social Innovators Here are four reasons why social entrepreneurs are significantly different than nonprofit social innovators: 1. Two Worlds Most foundations and many nonprofits came into existence through a significant donor or donation. The people who shepherd the outcomes for those donors must be attentive and accommodating. Quite simply, donors drive much of the nonprofit world’s activities. Most social entrepreneurs start with their very personal …
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Here is a case of getting seduced by the numbers and sucked into the wrong thinking. This article is looking for interesting ways to measure the growth of the global middle class. It does a generally poor job of it. The whole article is a bit of a dodge. Using made up numbers to render a quantifiable mark for an abstract concept, concluding in a blithe statement about a billion car pile up. But the money quote I think is in the conclusion, about what this materialist and upwardly mobile trend in the world says: The people of this burgeoning …