On the stepe of the Chugach Mountains north of Anchorage. I’m still trying to figure out Alaska. When i was here in 2002 I was up in Fairbanks, working largely with non-Native people doing peacemaking work in the school system. Fairbanks struck me as an interesting place, one in which you defintely had to have a deep intention to live in. I enjoyed the people and the land – which is incredible – and I liked the feel of the town, which in all of its glory and ugliness, felt like northern towns everywhere. Anchorage is a different beast. There …
A short poem from Edwin Markham, called “Outwitted”: He drew a circle that shut me out – Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in. Hat tip to my friend Janie Leask in Alaska, who posted this on her facebook wall.
Meg Wheatley on great questions to ask as we think about measurement, especially in complex living systems (like human communities): Who gets to create the measures? Measures are meaningful and important only when generated by those doing the work. Any group can benefit from others’ experience and from experts, but the final measures need to be their creation. People only support what they create, and those closest to the work know a great deal about what is significant to measure. How will we measure our measures? How can we keep measures useful and current? What will indicate that they are …
In May I am co-hosting a conference in Australia with Geoff Brown, Viv McWaters, Anne Pattillo and Johnnie Moore on evaluating behaviour change in sustainability initiatives. Sounds dry eh? Well I invite you to visit Geoff’s blog to view the invitation and the slideshow he has put together that provides some context for the gathering and adopts the playful and exploratory tone of the conference we are designing: Show Me The Change is “coming ‘atcha live” | Yes and Space. Working with Geoff is great because he has a terrific facility with all kinds of social media, including a mastery …