One Billion

By civilla

What's One Billion about?

A behind-the-scenes podcast about how change happens. One Billion features a tiny team with a big ambition: to positively impact one billion people on the planet.

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One Billion episodes:

09.27.2019
4x11 - Surprise, Surpise
We entered into this Season determined to find a way to navigate the phase change we're experiencing without losing sight of our mission and our values. After diving deeply into the hearts and minds of every member of the Civilla...
08.13.2019
4x10 - Pass the mic
Rachel has guided our audio voyage through two seasons of One Billion. In this episode our host transitions from being the interviewer to being the interviewee. She shares her own story of learning about design thinking, becoming a professional designer,...
08.05.2019
4x9 - Stay Close to the Knitting
While every member of the Civilla team has left fingerprints on the organization, Civilla would not exist without Michael Brennan. By title, he is our CEO, but his impact extends far beyond the four walls of the studio. His story...
07.30.2019
4x8 - Believe in Yourself (and Practice)
Since childhood, Scott put all his eggs in one basket: he was going to be an artist. And no one or nothing could stop him. While today, he's living that dream at Civilla, he'll be the first to tell you...
07.23.2019
The 2nd Quasi-Annual Civilla Reunion
In this interlude, we go behind-the-scenes with 6 individuals who have a unique, but critically important perspective on the phase change we're navigating: over the last 3.5 years, they've each lent their time and talent to Civilla. As a result,...
07.16.2019
4x6 - You Have to Show Up
What in an organization should stay constant amidst change? What should evolve? This week, we dive into these questions with the one and only: Gaby Dorantes. Since Civilla's early days, Gaby has helped to steward our mission into the world....
07.09.2019
4x5 - The Priority
This week, we dive deep into Rachael's journey of self-discovery. In her interview, she illustrates the power of investing in our whole selves, rather than just the people we are at work. Then, she challenges us to face a growing...
06.25.2019
4x4 - Into the Mind of an Activator
If you need help jump starting a project, Adam's your guy. However, this phase change is challenging him to think differently about how to leverage this superpower here at Civilla. In this episode we explore both the beauty of Adam's...
06.18.2019
4x3 - Learning to Fly
Meet Sam: a designer, a researcher, a policy maker, a data guru, and a project manager. His role at Civilla has grown exponentially since he joined the team full time. But he'll be the first to tell you that when...
06.10.2019
4x2 - Stepping Into Design Leadership
This week, we hear from Lena Selzer, one of Civilla's founding team members. She walks us into the heart of her journey as the organization's Design Director: the ups, the downs, and the lessons she's learned along the way. She...
06.04.2019
4x1 - Season 4 Opener
Here at Civilla, things are changing - quickly. And so, this season we’re bringing you right into the heart of that evolution - the fun, the pain, and the fear. Our goal? To determine how to grow our impact without...
10.15.2018
Interlude - How Civilla Got it's Name
In this interlude, we hear from Paul Seibert, the designer who gifted Civilla with it's name. Listen in to hear the story and learn from his process. www.civilla.com
09.18.2018
3x11 - Bring it on home
This is the season 3 finale! Lena, Adam, and Michael all join in to share their conclusion after 10 podcast episodes about how change actually happens in the world. www.civilla.com
09.04.2018
03x10 - Living Out Conviction
Meet Leon Stevenson. He'll share the story of how the Mack Avenue Community Church came to be. Learn more about the role of unwavering personal commitment in the pursuit of social justice. www.civilla.com
08.28.2018
03x09 - Leadership is Inhumane
Meet Lena and Michael, two Civilla teammates with a point of view on our previous podcast episode and guest Amy Kaherl. Tune in to hear their thoughts about giving oneself permission to take care of your own needs as a...
08.21.2018
03x08 - The power right here
Meet Amy Kaherl. She'll share some of the story of how Detroit Soup came to be and where the journey has taken her. Learn more about the toll change work can take on the individual and at least one strategy...
08.14.2018
03x07 - Charge into the next thing
Meet Michael Arena, the Chief Talent Officer at General Motors. He's spent much of his life passionately exploring how to lead change inside large complex organizations during which he's learned a thing or two. www.civilla.com
08.07.2018
03x06 - Lazy (in a strategic way)
Meet Bryan Boyer, a true pioneer in the application of design to large government systems. He'll share incredible stories about his experiences traveling the globe and helping launch the esteemed Helsinki Design Lab. This is an episode you won't want...
07.31.2018
03x05 - Secret Weapon
Meet Rachael, a Civilla design researcher with a very relevant point of view on our previous guest, LanVy Nguyen. Tune in to hear her reactions to the interview and episode. www.civilla.com
07.24.2018
03x04 - Hungry for change
Meet LanVy Nguyen - the founder of Fashion4Freedom, a social enterprise that aims to transform establish a sustainable, ethical, supply chain featuring the work of some incredible artisans. Hear her incredible story and learn from her perspective on how change actually...
07.03.2018
03x03 - Nothing happens without pain
Meet Taavi Kotka - the Chief Information Officer of Estonia (the former Soviet nation that borders Russia). Taavi helped lead Estonia's digital transformation to become the world's first e-government. He has an amazing story and a bold perspective on how...
06.26.2018
03x02 - The Institutional Dilemma
Listen in as we discuss THE biggest problem in the world. Literally. Institutions are the entities with the greatest impact on our lives that are simultaneously the hardest to change! Fear not: we're going to figure out what the equation...
06.19.2018
03x01 - Season 3 Opener
Meet Rachel. In just 10 weeks she's leaving to bike across the U.S.A. Before leaving she has decided to answer one extremely difficult question: how does change actually happen? She's going to chronicle her adventure from the Civilla podcast studio...
04.07.2017
Judge's Feedback
In this final interlude from Season 1 we hear the entire Civilla team read the feedback they received from applying to the Macarthur Foundation's 100&Change; grant. www.civilla.com
03.01.2017
018 - The Final Week, Part 2 (Day 17 of 17)
In the eighteenth episode of One Billion we listen as the Independent Sector executive leadership team responds to the user research work their team has conducted. We hear what excited them and what scared them. And then we hear the...
02.24.2017
017 - Leading Change
In this seventeenth episode of One Billion we meet the CEO of Independent Sector Dan Cardinali. He and his team made the choice to send 4 key staff members to Civilla for a month which leaves us asking: Why? As...
02.16.2017
016 - The Final Week, Part 1 (Day 14 of 17)
In this sixteenth episode of One Billion we prepare for the inevitable conclusion of our time with the Independent Sector crew. It turns out that design work is a roller coaster but by constructing an immersive story and painting a...
02.02.2017
Interlude - The Call In Show
In this special interlude we field questions from the folks back home. Tune in as the visiting team responds to question after question from the mothership. www.civilla.com
01.31.2017
015 - Uncover The Meaning (Day 10 of 17)
In this fifteenth episode of One Billion we dive into the topic of design research synthesis. We learn what a difference deep synthesis makes in drawing meaning from your user interviews. The work concludes in a design review where the...
01.27.2017
014 - A New Way of Working (Day 4 of 17)
In this fourteenth episode, the Independent Sector team conducts its first user interviews and starts working in a new way (it doesn't really feel like work). Life may never be the same. Tune in to learn about the pursuit of...
01.23.2017
013 - The First Day (Day 1 of 17)
Listen to the adventure of four leaders from Washington D.C. as they head to Civilla, a design studio dedicated to changework. Learn about the role of Immersions in readying learners to take on a beginners mindset. Isn't it possible that...
01.17.2017
012 - SEASON TWO OPENER - The Preamble
Welcome to Season Two (in which we learn whether or not our podcast was a one hit wonder)! Tune in to discover why we don't do workshops but will gladly invest four weeks into the personal growth of a small...
12.08.2016
Interlude - You've Been Accepted
In this interlude, we learn that we've passed the administrative review for the MacArthur 100&Change; $100mm Grant. Turns out the Civilla application beat out 1100 other candidates and is now in the bottom 800. www.civilla.com/onebillion
11.29.2016
Interlude - Behind The Music
In this interlude, we wait to hear back on the status of our $100 million grant application to the MacArthur Foundation. In the meantime we discuss the music that was written and recorded for One Billion and unpack what it...
10.11.2016
011 - Submit
This is One Billion's final full episode in Season One. We reflect on the experience of starting a podcast, assembling a $100 million idea, and share out our actual application. A major thank you to all who have contributed their...
09.26.2016
010 - Your Video Pitch
This is the tenth episode of the podcast: One Billion. In it we share out each step of our effort to create a short video pitch as part of our MacArthur 100&Change; application. www.civilla.com/onebillion
09.20.2016
Interlude - 1 Billion Is Not 100 Million
In this interlude we share out where the name One Billion came from...cuz people have been asking. www.civilla.com/onebillion
09.09.2016
009 - What's It Cost?
This is the ninth episode of the podcast: One Billion. We hear from Mr. Ken Whipple, former CEO of Ford Europe, Former CEO of Consumers Energy, and Board Chair of Civilla. He tells stories of meeting President Truman, drinks with Margaret...
09.06.2016
Interlude - Ken's 3 Things
When we sat down with Civilla's Board Chair Mr. Ken Whipple we didn't expect to learn his 3 ingredient recipe for success. Now we'd like to share that with the world. - Integrity: if you don't want your mom to read about...
08.29.2016
008 - What's the problem? Part 3
This is the eighth episode of the podcast: One Billion. We look at the challenge of providing public benefits through a third perspective: the caseworker. And so the story barrels on forward... www.civilla.com/onebillion
08.24.2016
Interlude - Green Light!
We've got some good news - the pilot for Civilla's marquee initiative Project re:Form gets early funding! www.civilla.com/onebillion
08.09.2016
007 - Can You Do It?
This is the seventh episode of the podcast: One Billion (StartUp for Social Innovation), a behind-the-scenes look at how change happens. In it we discuss tiny teams on the fringe who are able to make the impossible happen. Greg Gorshman from...
08.01.2016
Interlude - Ridiculous Podcast Promotion Tactics
Follow along with the tiny team that could as they pull out all the stops to promote One Billion. Top 5 marketing tips and tricks that you won't read about anywhere! http://www.civilla.com/onebillion
07.28.2016
006 - What's The Evidence?
This is the sixth episode of the podcast: One Billion. We work our way through questions related to evidence of effectiveness, risk mitigation, and evaluation in our pursuit to poke the universe.
07.25.2016
Interlude - How was Civilla named?
In this first Interlude Michael Brennan shares out where the name 'Civilla' came from. http://www.civilla.com/onebillion
07.21.2016
005 - What's The Problem? Part 2
This is the fifth episode of the podcast: One Billion. In it we work to frame up the challenge of providing high quality public benefits through the lens of Tim Becker, Chief Deputy Directory of MDHHS. It's a behind the...
07.13.2016
004 - Whats the problem? (One Billion)
This is the fourth episode of the podcast: One Billion. We frame the problem we are trying to solve by meeting Dr. LaTina Denson, an amazing woman who had to engage the public benefit system after having a life-changing stroke....
07.05.2016
003 - Your Team (One Billion)
This is the third episode of the podcast: One Billion. We try to assemble our team for an idea that doesn't yet exist by making 3 phone calls. Couldn't get through to Michelle Obama. www.civilla.com/onebillion
06.27.2016
002 - Executive Summary (One Billion)
This is the second episode of One Billion. In the show we start to develop the executive summary for an idea that doesn't quite exist yet. www.civilla.com/onebillion
06.20.2016
001 - Pilot Episode (One Billion)
This is the first episode of the podcast: One Billion. In the show we meet the entrepreneurs who founded Civilla (a center for social innovation based in Detroit) as they set out on a journey of raising $100mm www.civilla.com/onebillion

What's One Billion about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

One Billion episodes:

4x11 - Surprise, Surpise

4x10 - Pass the mic

4x9 - Stay Close to the Knitting

4x8 - Believe in Yourself (and Practice)

The 2nd Quasi-Annual Civilla Reunion

4x6 - You Have to Show Up

4x5 - The Priority

4x4 - Into the Mind of an Activator

4x3 - Learning to Fly

4x2 - Stepping Into Design Leadership

4x1 - Season 4 Opener

Interlude - How Civilla Got it's Name

3x11 - Bring it on home

03x10 - Living Out Conviction

03x09 - Leadership is Inhumane

03x08 - The power right here

03x07 - Charge into the next thing

03x06 - Lazy (in a strategic way)

03x05 - Secret Weapon

03x04 - Hungry for change

03x03 - Nothing happens without pain

03x02 - The Institutional Dilemma

03x01 - Season 3 Opener

Judge's Feedback

018 - The Final Week, Part 2 (Day 17 of 17)

017 - Leading Change

016 - The Final Week, Part 1 (Day 14 of 17)

Interlude - The Call In Show

015 - Uncover The Meaning (Day 10 of 17)

014 - A New Way of Working (Day 4 of 17)

013 - The First Day (Day 1 of 17)

012 - SEASON TWO OPENER - The Preamble

Interlude - You've Been Accepted

Interlude - Behind The Music

011 - Submit

010 - Your Video Pitch

Interlude - 1 Billion Is Not 100 Million

009 - What's It Cost?

Interlude - Ken's 3 Things

008 - What's the problem? Part 3

Interlude - Green Light!

007 - Can You Do It?

Interlude - Ridiculous Podcast Promotion Tactics

006 - What's The Evidence?

Interlude - How was Civilla named?

005 - What's The Problem? Part 2

004 - Whats the problem? (One Billion)

003 - Your Team (One Billion)

002 - Executive Summary (One Billion)

001 - Pilot Episode (One Billion)