I was young and living poor in Uptown Chicago. I was an on and off again college student. It took me seven years, maybe eight, to get my degree in Communications. I’d attend a term then hitch hike to California with my good friend, Karl. We both had hair to the middle of our backsContinue reading “What if most our heroes were wrong?”
Category Archives: Complexity
Where does who you are reside?
Who are you? How could I ever know? So the question turns to, “Who am I?” Am I contained within my body? Or does my identity exist across fields of experience or as an ever-changing pattern that defies being known? Perhaps there is a moment in each of our lives when we recognize our consciousnessContinue reading “Where does who you are reside?”
About Collective Impact: Types of Problems, Degrees of Change, Learning Loops, and Methods of Thinking
Collective Impact is multi-sector approach to large-scale collaboration that is authentically inclusive of citizens in its development and implementation – in particular citizens who have life-experience with the big problems or issues being addressed, such as poverty, climate change, family violence, and so many more. Collective Impact is not an approach aimed at creating programContinue reading “About Collective Impact: Types of Problems, Degrees of Change, Learning Loops, and Methods of Thinking”
Democracy is dying. Time to get to work.
I came across an article by George Monbiot (www.monbiot.com) that appeared in the Guardian this July. In this article, Monbiot writes about James McGill Buchanan, an economist influenced by neoliberalism and deeply funded by billionaire Charles Koch, the 7th wealthiest person in the world. According to Monbiot, Buchanan was an advocate for what he calledContinue reading “Democracy is dying. Time to get to work.”
Simplicity and Complexity
The top drawing suggests there is complexity to the journey from A to B. That journey requires numerous loop backs before moving forward and takes the traveler up and down and back and forth along the way until the destination is reached. Who knows the reasons why the journey was somewhat unpredictable or if thereContinue reading “Simplicity and Complexity”
Maybe there are simple solutions to complex problems.
There appears to be a common perception among some thought leaders that complex problems require complex solutions. I am not arguing against that perspective except to ask, if it is always true? In my early life as a consultant to non-profit organizations I was involved in developing software, databases primarily, that were purposed to helpContinue reading “Maybe there are simple solutions to complex problems.”
Thinking about the Charity Model and Systems Change Debate
There has been a movement afoot for the past 15 to 20 years that evolved out of a growing dissatisfaction with the charitable sector or more to the point, the Charity Model. Critics of the sector are nothing new, of course. And these criticisms are often based on unproven perceptions (e.g. there are too manyContinue reading “Thinking about the Charity Model and Systems Change Debate”
Mark Holmgren 