"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead.
It is a wonderful, inspirational sentiment. Indeed, it has helped inspire me to take action, to continue down difficult paths, to join with like minds, and more. Precisely, I imagine, what Margaret Mead had in mind. On the surface, it seems to promote change on the grand (world) scale, but I often see it quoted in far more local applications. Perhaps less of what Ms. Mead had in mind, but, if it causes folks to take action for causes in which they believe, then so much the better.
But here’s an interesting twist: What happens when two or more groups all believe themselves to be the “small group of thoughtful, committed people” within a single organization, or arguing different aspects of a single issue.
Hmmmmm…. I don’t propose any particular answer but more pose the question and wonder if anyone has insightful anecdotes to share whether they be filled with wisdom, humour, or strife. From an administrative point of view, such a conundrum happens fairly frequently I suspect, and, in my case, is happening currently. Perhaps I'll end this post with another quote from Ms. Mead that might lend a little bit of insight into a possible answer:
"If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place."
Comments are open.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth
Some years ago, someone introduced me to Bruce Mau’s Incomplete Manifesto for Growth. It’s a remarkable document, almost 10 years old, and something I return to time and time again for inspiration.
Here are the first ten of the fourty-three articles that make up the manifesto. While you can start here, I’d encourage everyone to go to Bruce’s website and read the whole article.
1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.
3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
5. Go deep. The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.
6. Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.
7. Study. A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.
8. Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
9. Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
10. Everyone is a leader. Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.
…read the full manifesto here: http://www.brucemaudesign.com/manifesto.html
Here are the first ten of the fourty-three articles that make up the manifesto. While you can start here, I’d encourage everyone to go to Bruce’s website and read the whole article.
An Incomplete Manifesto for Growth
1. Allow events to change you. You have to be willing to grow. Growth is different from something that happens to you. You produce it. You live it. The prerequisites for growth: the openness to experience events and the willingness to be changed by them.
2. Forget about good. Good is a known quantity. Good is what we all agree on. Growth is not necessarily good. Growth is an exploration of unlit recesses that may or may not yield to our research. As long as you stick to good you'll never have real growth.
3. Process is more important than outcome. When the outcome drives the process we will only ever go to where we've already been. If process drives outcome we may not know where we’re going, but we will know we want to be there.
4. Love your experiments (as you would an ugly child). Joy is the engine of growth. Exploit the liberty in casting your work as beautiful experiments, iterations, attempts, trials, and errors. Take the long view and allow yourself the fun of failure every day.
5. Go deep. The deeper you go the more likely you will discover something of value.
6. Capture accidents. The wrong answer is the right answer in search of a different question. Collect wrong answers as part of the process. Ask different questions.
7. Study. A studio is a place of study. Use the necessity of production as an excuse to study. Everyone will benefit.
8. Drift. Allow yourself to wander aimlessly. Explore adjacencies. Lack judgment. Postpone criticism.
9. Begin anywhere. John Cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. His advice: begin anywhere.
10. Everyone is a leader. Growth happens. Whenever it does, allow it to emerge. Learn to follow when it makes sense. Let anyone lead.
…read the full manifesto here: http://www.brucemaudesign.com/manifesto.html
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Happy Birthday to Me, Happy Birthday to Me....
Today is my 39th birthday. In other words, it marks the end of my 39th year on this planet and the beginning of my 40th.
According to the Globe and Mail if today is my birthday, and it is: “Jupiter, planet of excess, is strong on your birthday, so you will work harder and expect more, of yourself and of others, over the coming 12 months. However, if your body tells you it needs a break you must not ignore it. Plenty of short vacations throughout the year will keep you energized and engaged. “ Well, that sounds OK.
The Guardian (a PEI daily paper) tells me “You head down your own unique path this year, not wanting to be distracted. Though you might know what you want, others will challenge your ideas, direction, and commitment [so this year will be like last year?]. You will never get 100 per cent support for everything you do [no kidding]. This year is no exception […sigh, I was hoping it might be].”
Oh well.
July 18 is a rather auspicious day in history. The #1 single on the charts was Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing in the Grass”. You can watch it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ot4LvxKURs):
On the day I was born the two-day Honolulu Conference begins in Honolulu, Hawaii between US President Lyndon B. Johnson and South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu. On my 1st birthday, after a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts drove an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, died.
In an odd twist, and no, we didn’t know this when we named him, July 18, 390 BC marked the Battle of the Allia - A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome. And the leader of the maurading Gauls? None other than Brennus, a chieftain of the Senones, a Celtic tribe of the Adriatic coast of Italy. Those who know us, know that Brennus is the name of our 19 month old. Keeping to July 18th, but about 400 years later, Rome began to burn. It appears that July 18th isn't the best day to have been a Roman. You can learn all about the last days of the Empire in the 1955 Looney Tunes “Roman Legion-Hare” here:
1968 was a year that, perhaps, exemplifies that time in our history: manned space flights, riots, shootings and deaths, countries gaining independence, all amidst the social climate of the late 60’s. Of course, the US was loosing and oversees war then too.
Well, as I move into this 4th decade of life, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve done and where I’ve been. Lived all over. Great wife, great kids. Lots of goals and lots more to do… You couldn’t beat the smile off my face with a stick.
According to the Globe and Mail if today is my birthday, and it is: “Jupiter, planet of excess, is strong on your birthday, so you will work harder and expect more, of yourself and of others, over the coming 12 months. However, if your body tells you it needs a break you must not ignore it. Plenty of short vacations throughout the year will keep you energized and engaged. “ Well, that sounds OK.
The Guardian (a PEI daily paper) tells me “You head down your own unique path this year, not wanting to be distracted. Though you might know what you want, others will challenge your ideas, direction, and commitment [so this year will be like last year?]. You will never get 100 per cent support for everything you do [no kidding]. This year is no exception […sigh, I was hoping it might be].”
Oh well.
July 18 is a rather auspicious day in history. The #1 single on the charts was Hugh Masekela’s “Grazing in the Grass”. You can watch it here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Ot4LvxKURs):
On the day I was born the two-day Honolulu Conference begins in Honolulu, Hawaii between US President Lyndon B. Johnson and South Vietnamese President Nguyen Van Thieu. On my 1st birthday, after a party on Chappaquiddick Island, Senator Ted Kennedy from Massachusetts drove an Oldsmobile off a wooden bridge into a tide-swept pond and his passenger, Mary Jo Kopechne, died.
In an odd twist, and no, we didn’t know this when we named him, July 18, 390 BC marked the Battle of the Allia - A Roman army is defeated by raiding Gauls, leading to the subsequent sacking of Rome. And the leader of the maurading Gauls? None other than Brennus, a chieftain of the Senones, a Celtic tribe of the Adriatic coast of Italy. Those who know us, know that Brennus is the name of our 19 month old. Keeping to July 18th, but about 400 years later, Rome began to burn. It appears that July 18th isn't the best day to have been a Roman. You can learn all about the last days of the Empire in the 1955 Looney Tunes “Roman Legion-Hare” here:
1968 was a year that, perhaps, exemplifies that time in our history: manned space flights, riots, shootings and deaths, countries gaining independence, all amidst the social climate of the late 60’s. Of course, the US was loosing and oversees war then too.
Well, as I move into this 4th decade of life, I’m pretty happy with what I’ve done and where I’ve been. Lived all over. Great wife, great kids. Lots of goals and lots more to do… You couldn’t beat the smile off my face with a stick.
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