Ian Rhett's blog

I started a sabbatical several weeks ago, intending to take a break from my day-to-day responsibilities as CEO of CivicActions in order to create some space to nourish some parts of me that have been getting the short end of the stick from me.

Henry Poole, the company's founding manager and veteran professional services CEO has had the helm and will until I "return to the bridge." The sabbatical was and is intended to create a space in which I personally find balance.

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We've recently implemented a new framework*/process inside of our operations at CivicActions that has had amazing results in our organization and we've been sharing this with our clients, too. It's so exciting I want to share with anyone leading teams of people to achieve something. That's a pretty broad audience, I know, but I'm pretty sure it'll be relevant whether you're running an international aid organization, a two person consultancy, or a marketing communications team. 

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The revolution will not be televised. It is being streamed.  Right now.  Occupystreams.org  has links to livestreams from Occupy actions around the world. London, Hamburg, Madrid, San Francisco, Porland...  Over a hundred live streams, with programming showing what's actually happening.  

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I had the distinct pleasure of walking into a large theater as hundreds of people were erupting into an inspired ovation in what seemed like a full house at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music after Bill McKibben concluded his lecture there, tonight. (I'd known I was going to be late, but I also thought it was a 2 hr lecture, not a 1 hour lecture. )  

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An interesting article from Peter Levine, Director of CIRCLE (The Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement), and Research Director dof Tuft University's Jonathon Tisch College of Citizenship and Public Service.

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This is a good question to be clear about when it comes to strategy.  It's so easy to get caught up in the details of implementation or the anticipated benefits of successful execution.  I've found it a good practice every once in a while to step back and ask the question...

 

(click comic for larger version)

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Do it for the puppies.

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A new study by social psychologist Christopher Bryan and his colleagues at Stanford University shows how changing a single word - from "Vote" to "Voter" can increase voter turnout by as much as 10%.  It's a fascinating study. This article suggests that it has to do with manipulating people using their vanity.  However, I contend that it's a matter of making politics personal.  Marshall Ganz talks about the importance of narrative and the use of personal stories in organizing.

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Our friends at Mission Minded ("Marketing communications for nonprofits and other dogooders") have announced a training in San Francisco on July 27, (ostensibly for nonprofit professionals and other dogooders), called "Minute Message Model."

In a hyper-networked world, the name of the game is "connection."  This training is geared at helping leaders re-approach the stories they tell about their organizations in a way that creates clarity and an emotional connection with their audiences.

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One of the things I loved about living in San Francisco was that it was the birthplace of the Summer of Love and the Love movement of the late 60's and early 70's.  This summer, a community of passionate, committed and brilliant geeks will be participating in the Summer of Smart, a series of live and online events where "urbanists of many disciplines - developers, designers, planners, journalists, civic leaders, community activists, and more" crowdsource solutions for the next mayor of San Francisco to consider as the city grapples with issues related to the vast in.

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