Making Large Events Participatory

This blog was originally published in October, 2019, when we couldn’t foresee that most large events would cease. As we anticipate meeting again in person, I hope the approaches here give you ideas. You might like to check out my new meeting design coaching services.  It’s possible to make large events participatory and interactive. Here… Read more

Time to Rethink Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a classic method for getting a group to generate ideas. A topic is suggested, people speak up with their ideas and suggestions, and someone writes them down. The technique is so commonly used and assumed to work, I was surprised to learn that research shows this technique is actually not that effective. Keith… Read more

To Be the Generation that Changes the Patterns

The streets and airwaves are full of frustration and grief at the entrenched patterns of injustice and oppression that harm Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. I want to add my voice to the many who are galvanized to be part of the generation that changes the patterns. This is a moment to take in… Read more

Wearing Two Hats

One of the challenges to collaborative cross-sector work is that people show up to it oriented to advancing their organizational agenda and aren’t used to focusing on the broader community or systemic agenda. Particularly in the early stages of developing a collaborative initiative, we find it helpful to point out the need to focus on… Read more

How to Boost Connections at a Conference

Here’s an experiment to try – ask someone how they got their job, found a new area of interest, or decided to live where they do. Often the answer will involve a friend or colleague connecting them to the opportunity. Information, resources, opportunities, and new learning can flow easily and quickly when our networks of… Read more

A Creative Way to Shift Systemic Racism

Mapping Prejudice in Minneapolis engaged citizens in doing research to create maps that visualize how historic racist practices in real estate drove racial segregation that persists to this day. I learned about it from Janne Flisrand, a network weaver friend who is active in civic affairs there. She said it was instrumental in building the political will that enabled the city to… Read more

A Corruption of the Imagination

A phrase from an essay I read last week, called Some Thoughts on Mercy by Ross Gay, has stuck with me. He reflects on the experience of being pulled over by police on a summer night, as a black man driving home from working late at his office. He considers how the stop-and-frisk practices in New… Read more