There are many different ways to make decisions. When our decision-making processes lack integrity, so do the results. If the decision-making process forces people to support a decision they do not really support, then the resulting decision, while appearing to have buy-in, lacks the level of buy-in needed to move the decision from theory to practice.
Read MoreMost of us dedicate our professional lives to solving problems; big problems and the myriad of small ones between here and our audacious goals. Clients often ask me, “How can we engage our Gen X’ers/Millenials/Gen Z’ers?” or, “How can do we increase stakeholder engagement?” While each generation and group of stakeholders surely has its unique attributes, how to engage them is similar: ask them, involve them and bring them into the process of designing the work, the job, the vision, and the solution.
Read MoreMany of our systems reward short-term wins at the expense of long-term solutions. To solve our challenges, we need to take the time to think deeply, critically and honestly about the systems we hope to change.
Read MoreThe influence that our current legal and regulatory structures exert far outsizes the scope of what we rely on them to support, according to Vinay Gupta, founder of multiple organizations working to create a more equitable, enforceable and localized legal structure that better addresses the realities of our lives in the 21st Century. I recently sat down with Vinay to discuss this and more.
Read MoreLike English textile merchants, pharmaceutical executives and elected officials, the path of self-interest can provide short-term success, but the externalities of this self-focused perspective is not a recipe for sustained success. To achieve long-term sustainable transactions, be it financial, legislative, relational, or other, they must be friction free, not friction full. The fewer barriers we have between points A and B and C, the more A-Z benefit.
Read MoreThe largest taxi services no longer own any taxis or employ any full-time drivers. The largest hotel network owns no properties and has not seen most the rooms customers sleep in. One of the largest shoe companies makes no shoes, nor has any bosses. As my favorite poet says, “The times, they are a-changin'!”
There is a radical shift taking place in our global economy that is the result of a conceptual shift in how societal structures can be better built for the fluid future we are hurtling towards. While there is lots of excitement as this shift takes place, this transition presents our global community with some big challenges, most notably...
Read MoreAs the third largest economy in the world, Japan seems to have beat the odds. Japan is a country with next to zero natural resources. It is devoid of oil fields, diamond mines, coal and other natural energy sources. And, it is immediately apparent from the ubiquitous shopping malls, high end fashion and pristine…everything, that Japan’s economy fairly strong. It is not immediately apparent why Japan, a nation that is so poor in natural resources is so rich, but after months of experiencing Japan, it hit me; Japan is rich in a resource that most other nations lack: Trust.
Read MoreWhat we feed, grows. What we focus on creates action, change and momentum. When we focus on what works, more things work. When we focus on suffering, our differences, strife and the such, we see and experience more of the sort. Psychologists have proven time after time that when we focus on the strengths, we get stronger.
Read MoreRight now, the ICO and blockchain space, in general, is filled with visionaries that have deep understandings of technical systems. Many of these visionaries and innovators are cryptographic and software engineering geniuses. That being said, knowing how to envision the outcome and draw the blueprints is only half the equation. Implementing the vision is a whole other ballgame.
Read MoreConferences are a great place to learn and connect with potential clients, colleagues, partners and provocateurs. That being said, conferences tend to have one thing in common, no matter the industry, format or location: The sessions are often delivered in a dry, un-engaging format.
Find out how one group is making the most of their industry conference...
Read MoreWhile it is exciting to focus on emerging technologies, we must not place too much hope in its hands nor invest more time in the development of them than we do ourselves or each other. No technology, policy or law is going to save us. We have to save us. We do this by investing in ourselves and our relationships with each other.
Bitcoin and Litecoin, two of the most promising cryptocurrencies, have made money management from abroad easy and next to free. The more I use Bitcoin and Litecoin to pay for things, goods and obligations, the more and more frustrated I become with the existing banking systems. The various fees banks charge for withdrawals, transfers, wires, maintenance and beyond have consistently increased, with little (if any) benefit to consumers. Luckily, there is a much better system out there that is gaining momentum every day.
Read More"The very institutions whose charter is brokering social trust—banks and governments—have in many parts of the world spectacularly failed to do so." - Natalie Smolenski
Read MoreHave you read Thomas Friedman’s new book, Thank You For Being Late? It is all about how we can thrive in the age of acceleration; this period of time when change is gaining momentum at ever-increasing light-speed pace. This break-neck evolution of all systems -- globalization, technology, migration, etc. -- is the new normal.
If you think 2017 has been a crazy year, just wait for and see what’s around the corner in 2018. While I am not a futurist, I am an early adopter, and if 1% of the global economy and my intuition are right, we are in for an exciting transition that began in 2007, has been gaining momentum over the past 10 years and in the next decade will be reaching mass adoption.
Read MoreI just realized that I am a millionaire.
No, I did not win the lottery, get drafted by a professional sports team or have a tremendous stock portfolio. As of yet, there has been no financial windfall for me in 2017. I am a millionaire in a resource that is far more indispensable - relational capital. My greatest source of wealth is you, the people I am connected to, my network.
After each workshop, intervention, and training I lead, I have participants fill out an evaluation. This is important to me since I work in a myriad of industries, with various sized groups, and with different problems to solve. Evaluating my performance and the impact of my work on my clients is vital. The more feedback I receive on what went well or what could use improvement supports me in enhancing my work with every client interaction. That being said, as I review my latest batch of evaluations and reflect on the many other sources of feedback from previous workshops, I have a clearer understanding of the many ways I can evaluate my impact.
Read More“Job creation” is, once again, a major national talking point. The U.S. economy is strong, yet while unemployment is at a record low, poverty is at a record high. This is because many of the jobs that are available are low-paying, contract-based and/or routine-based (e.g. Lyft driver, cashier).
While our president boasts of bringing back jobs, there is a more sustainable way to support workers. Bringing back manufacturing jobs to the U.S. is not the solution. Those jobs are no longer relevant or reliable. Besides, workers in Taiwan, China and Vietnam, our current manufacturing workforce, will soon lose their jobs too, not to cheaper labor, but to robots.
Read MoreRequests are powerful tools for making things happen, and we often avoid them in our hyper-individualistic culture. Yet, to expand our impact, we must enroll others. When we make effective requests, expectations get clarified, needs get met and thus the objective and relational aspects of our work are improved.
Read MoreCNN reported that Hillary Clinton took 54% of Millennial voters and that 37% of Millennials voted for Donald Trump. In 2008, Barack Obama won 66% of the Millennial vote and in 2012, Barack Obama won 60% of the Millennial vote.
You’ll notice that Millennials were less liberal in 2016 than they were in 2012, and even less so than in 2008.
Are Millennials shedding their liberal values? Have Millennials given up on hope of positive change after eight years of Obama-filled with gridlock and some serious liberal letdowns?
Read More
