Hillary Clinton’s Journey Is Ours
Hillary Clinton’s journey from disbelief to anger, wrapped in the guise of a book tour for her latest book: What Happened, is a catharsis – an inner journey to restore her own soul – and America’s as well. Whether we voted for Hillary Clinton or not, HER journey is ours as well. What has happened to America since the the news media shifted its spotlight to hate, misogyny, and the embolden alt-right nationalist crowd and its bot-empowered leader, Donald Trump? Hillary Clinton as America’s president would have stopped a steady news feed about everything Trump. The news and images would have been about HER. Her words would have been accorded a weight and power now accorded Trump. Would her words and actions have been different? As lies, misogny, alt-right, fake news, bot generated news and Trump’s latest tweet become front page news it crowds out news of everything that we value. Who can resist the power of “breaking news.” Everything Trump does generates a steady cashflow for the news media. Les Moonves, the president of CBS news got it right when he declared ”Trump’s run is ‘damn good’ for CBS.” The media feeds on breaking news. Whether true or false, everything the president of the United States says or does becomes breaking news. At some point our overstimulated brain can no longer distinguish right from wrong. Like a heroine addict, like someone with an addiction to sugar, we find it difficult to break the habit. Without an “off” button, we succumb to a daily diet of empty news. It reduces the power of truth telling by filling our minds with empty calories. What nourishes...
Houston: After Catastrophe Comes Collaboration
In 2013, Boulder, Denver and communities north and east were hit by a storm that broke all records for rainfall. City planners had a 100-year flood plan. They had prepared for a “worst case scenario” that would strike every 100 years. The 2013 catastrophe was called the 1000-year flood. And in the days, weeks, and months that followed everyone who lived along Colorado’s front range or who planned to visit for business or pleasure was impacted. It took months and in some cases over a year for roads to be repaired. The town of Lyons, one of the hardest hit communities, received close to $100 million dollars in Federal funding to rebuild. While waiting for funds, cleanup crews and reconstruction to begin, the community organized potlucks, neighborhood work teams, and music festivals to rethink the future of their small town. The Lyons community knew what it had been, but the larger question facing these forward-facing citizens was this: What COULD it become? Everyone became engaged in rethinking “Our Town” and in thousands of different ways, everyone took on some type of leadership role. Even speaking up about what they had suffered, took personal courage, and in a town where everyone had been impacted in some way, the ability for those who suffered to ask for what they needed, helped guide community vision. Could Houston, still reeling from an unfolding catastrophe, tap the creative vision of civic leaders and residents living in distinct neighborhoods and districts within its meta-city to reimagine its future? Could the restoration of this sunbelt city include rebuilding as green, resilient, solar powered communities? Could Houston’s catastrophe become an opportunity to showcase how communities can...
The FIX: Bridging the Great Divide Between Men and Women
Boulder, CO: The exponential growth of technology demands that not just Google, but the entire tech industry in the U.S. rapidly embrace gender TRAIT balance or fall behind to tech innovators in other countries. For starters, the biggest mistake anti-diversity”workforce disruptors are making is to underestimate the value of women’s natural skill sets. Science now shows that keys traits found in the female brain just so happen to be the critical “missing link” needed to manage the complexities of the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution. To accelerate human performance and ultimately corporate profits organizations will need to create a structured, balanced, dynamic synergy between 10 powerful gender based traits found in both men and women. This corporate culture FIX doesn’t require long term training programs, a team of psychologists, or in depth report. It can be applied immediately using a situational awareness (SA) process – that I refer to as the 10TRAITS directive – that bypasses the traditional defensive stance of so-called “resistors.” It engages the whole system of an organization at its most vulnerable point. The most vulnerable point? The lack of respect by some employees of the high value of women’s skill sets. These natural skills, however, just so happen to be exactly what is needed to manage the exponential growth of an organization. Google is not the only corporation facing this problem. Firing disruptors such as Google’s James Damore offers a temporary, quick-fix “Band-Aid” approach to a long-standing problem in the tech industry. The long-lasting solution is structural and transcends traditional training processes by shifting the focus from gender diversity to balancing gender traits. When team building and decision making...
Fearless Girl Faces Down Critics And Wins!
Everyone who has seen the statue of the fearless girl standing strong and confident in full view of the raging bull statue , understand the importance of women and girls becoming more confident and fearless. And almost tourist who has visited the Wall Street District in New York City to have their photo taken with fearless girl amplify the power of her message. She has faced down critics and city policy regarding art on public art, and won. In the end, it’s her IMAGE that resonates with us. We feel her power at GUT level. We become more powerful and more fearless because we have seen her, perhaps placed a hand on her, or been photographed with her. She invites all of us, people of all ages – regardless of gender – to become more fearless. We are moved by her pose. It reminds us stand up and speak up about what we value most in life. It connects us to each other, as one human community. Look at the image of raging bull, wearing a pink scarf. Does “he” really look that fierce? To me, his look conveys an image of equal power. Like fearless girl, he is showing the power and energy of life. And her PINK hat? In this photo, it serves as a reminder that on January 21, 2017 the power of the Women’s March resonated with both men and women around the world. In fact, one of her strongest supporters is a man. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says, “Fearless Girl Statue is Staying...
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