Archive for August, 2011

Aug/17/11//Curtis Ogden//IISC:Inside

Profits of Transition

“Chaos is the primal state of pure energy

for every true new beginning.”

- William Bridges

To say that these are uncertain times would be stating the obvious.  And yet I’ve found myself uttering this increasingly to the organizations and initiatives with whom I am working, often met by a temporary sigh (ambiguity loves company, or at least momentary normalization). This uncertainty was perhaps best captured by a client who recently said, “We went into transition in 2007 and never came out!”  At IISC and our partner organization, Interaction Associates, we’ve also been feeling the strain of this extended global “groan zone” in which we find ourselves.  And amidst the angst there are some exciting conversations happening on both sides of the Interaction house that I (no longer so secretly) am hoping will tear down some walls.  William Bridges, in his classic book Managing Transitions, talks about the work of transition as not simply being about “getting through intact” but about emerging different and better.  I am convinced that this is a call to rethink some of the sectoral divisions we have established that are not serving us well.  Surely we can do and be better, as is suggested by the re-posted Guardian Sustainable Business blog post that follows.  Interaction Brothers and Sisters, readers from all sectors, prophets of profit, what are your thoughts about Jo Confino’s words below and how might we create “a framework for more harmonious balance”  to take us the next step in our collective evolution? Read the rest of this entry »

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Aug/16/11//Gibrán Rivera//Featured, Networks

An Ecosystem for Movement

The great Kevin Kelly recently wrote a post titled “Cities are Immortal, Companies Die.”  He states that

Both are types of networks, with different destinies. There are two basic network forms: organisms or ecosystems. Companies are like organisms, while cities are like ecosystems.

This is a phenomenally helpful distinction.  Our work here at IISC includes network building as well as leadership and organizational development, and we don’t find these to be mutually exclusive.

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Aug/15/11//Cynthia Silva Parker//Inspiration

What do we want badly enough?

I ended my last post with the question: What do we want badly enough to pursue it? Barbara Kingsolver gives us some ideas in Animal Dreams.

“The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what to hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.”

All the wisdom and spiritual traditions give us beautiful things to hope for—completion, salvation, an end to suffering, a world of beauty and peace.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Aug/12/11//Curtis Ogden//Inspiration

Acting Together

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Aug/11/11//Melinda Weekes//Featured, Race, Class, Power

“The Help” & The Race Chord

So I just came in from seeing the Hollywood movie that’s got my FaceBook page and Twitter account all abuzz: “The Help,” written and directed by Tate Taylor based on a novel by his childhood friend, Kathryn Stockett. It’s the fictional story of a group of black maids in 1960s Mississippi who agree to share their work lives with a young, aspiring, white female journalist.  It’s clear that yet again this kind of story has struck a dissonant, familiar, chord with the American public — I’ll call it “The Race Chord.”  While black thought leaders I respect are publicly denouncing the flick,  others I also respect are making a point to enthusiastically support it via press releaseRead the rest of this entry »

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