Kathy Gallant, the owner of the Blue Moon Market & Cafe in Exeter, NH, had run this successful health food store and cafe for 12 years when she recognized it was time for the next phase of the business’ evolution. Last October, the doors re-opened as Blue Moon Evolution, a full-service restaurant featuring organic, locally-grown… Read more
Tag: Strategy
Aligning Work at Various Scales
With Google maps or Mapquest, one can zoom in to the level of a city block or zoom out to see how that place that relates to the geography of a city or a region. In working for change within complex systems, we similarly need to be able to work at multiple levels and see… Read more
Opportunity Mapping: The Geographic Footprint of Inequality
In the days after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in New Orleans, there was criticism of those who had stayed behind – “they had warning, why didn’t they leave?” However, it came to light that 50% of the African Americans in the city did not have cars. They did not have the means to leave. The… Read more
Getting Beyond the Plan that Sits on a Shelf
After 20 years of consulting, I have dedicated a lot of time to developing action plans and reports. Like me, thousands of people have devoted countless hours of meetings, research, and writing to develop plans for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, implementing a sustainability strategy, etc. You know the reports with goals, specific recommendations, nice graphics,… Read more
Overcoming "Functionally Insane" Short-Term Thinking
This blog begins a series of posts about permaculture, drawing on what I am learning in a Permaculture Design Course I am taking with Chop Wood Carry Water Permaculture in Nottingham, NH. Green Biz reported on a recent speech by Al Gore where he shared a story of a survey of CEO’s several years ago…. Read more
Five Tips for Care and Feeding of Networks
In a recent strategy project with a cross-sector network working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we explored what it takes to coordinate collective action and to capture the full potential of the interconnections within the network. Facilitating goal-oriented teams is fairly straightforward; however, even more value can be created for each participant and the network… Read more
Amplify What Works as a Frame in Strategic Planning
“Well, that meeting was not nearly as painful as I expected.” This “ringing endorsement” came from a participant in a strategic planning workshop we co-facilitated for the environmental department of a large corporation. Part of what made this meeting more engaging than most was a focus right at the start on identifying what was working… Read more
The Transition…Where Do You Fit?
The transition to a thriving sustainable future will require large-scale changes—and everyone has a role to play. “A leader is anyone who wants to help at this time” as the Berkana Institute defines it, which is a useful reminder that we do not need to wait for leaders “at the top.” Paul Hawken, in his… Read more