I believe that the lowly old meeting can save the world. Sure, meetings are universally despised–who doesn’t hate meetings? We don’t plan them well. We run them terribly (god they can be so awkward sometimes!). In the worst examples, nothing comes from the meeting (except maybe a plan to have another meeting!). Yes. Meetings do […]

I’ve always admired leaders who had a strong ability to bring everyone along. Without using power and manipulation to do so. These kind of leaders tend to be a rare breed–what I would oxymoronically call “honest politicians” of their field of work. Sometimes they were big names, who I had only encountered in biographies and historical […]

How can we work together in a way that balances our need for cooperation and community, with our need for autonomy? How can we do all this, and create meaningful products and services that meet a real market need and make a positive social impact? In episode #7 of the Working Together Podcast I talk with […]

In episode #6 of the Working Together Podcast, I interview Peter MacLeod who founded MASS LBP–an organization that is pursuing the long-game of democratic innovation. What does democratic innovation look like? Well, in MASS LBPs case, it is a reinvention of public consultation through the pioneering use of Civic Lotteries and Reference Panels. To get a better idea […]

The market continually strives to provide what we need or want. More. Cheaper. Faster. All this readily available stuff is replacing our natural inclination to make, tinker and fix. And as our lives get busier and busier, we have less time to “noodle around” in a workshop. When something breaks or wears out, instead of […]

This episode is for all the meeting haters out there! If you are wondering how you can use engagement to “turn-on” your workplace and your community, this conversation is filled with pure gold! In Episode #4 of the Working Together Podcast, I have a conversation with Bob Chartier, who is well known in Canada as a […]

Do you ever go through a burst of inspiration and motivation, where everything seems to ‘click’ and you see exactly what you need to do to attain your goals? You sit down, crack open your journal, put everything together and write out your game plan. With your intentions set and your plan sketched out, you […]

I talk with Anne Cooper, who told me the story behind Revelstoke’s extraordinary success with early childhood programming, which has transformed elementary, middle and high-school literacy and drop-out rates for the better. We talked about the importance of unrealistic goals, and how to successfully develop partnerships across diverse organizations. Anne is the retired superintendent of School District […]

Earlier this year I spoke with author David Leach and learned some fascinating lessons from the complex history of the Kibbutz–lessons that really pushed me to rethink what community and coexistence can mean. David Leach is the author of Chasing Utopia: the Future of the Kibbutz in a Divided Israel and chair of the University of Victoria writing department. […]