This morning, I received a newsletter from equity education coach Elena Aguilar, challenging us to dive into the realm of core values. The task was to pick ten, whittle down to five, and finally, narrow down to a trio. Here are the three values I emerged with, along with the reasoning behind each: COLLECTIVE IMAGINATION: … Continue reading Exploring Our Values

May all of the dummies with loud voices and lots of confidence take it down a notch. And may the sensitive souls who question everything and feel too overwhelmed to speak up--find a way to break through. We need you.

Once we articulate our ultimate goal and commit to our moment of obligation, our work is in finding the others -- the people we need to enlist in the movement. At first this looks like talking to everybody. But what emerges is that we need to help folks land in specific roles. Some folks are … Continue reading The Roles We Play

The name of this project, this blog and this space, is "Tuning." The choice of the name stems from the belief that society functions much like a musical ensemble, capable of creating beautiful music. Just like a musical instrument, maintaining this beauty requires consistent care - a practice I liken to tuning. Tuning is an … Continue reading The Practice of Tuning

When faced with a complex problem, there is a spectrum of responses we can put forth. On the one end of the spectrum, we have reactive responses. They tend to be defensive, and conservative. A reactive response to crime, for example, is to increase police presence. On the other end of the spectrum are proactive … Continue reading Reactive vs Proactive Solutions

Simon Sinek's 'Start with Why' TED talk and book are popular. Many strategy consultants use a version of the Toyota Production System 'Five Whys' exercise to help teams dig deep and articulate their ultimate goals. While all of this is useful and interesting, when it comes down to doing the work and making change, we … Continue reading My WHY and Your WHY

An ultimate goal is a high level goal. Once we decide what it is, we can use it to guide our decision making--what we say "yes" to and what we say "no" or "not now" to. An Ultimate Goal has three parts: 1. The Problem or Issue we are looking to change 2. The Skills … Continue reading 3 Parts of an Ultimate Goal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBgBy4vP_QE&feature=emb_logo It's easy to get distracted by our to-do lists. It's easy to overcommit ourselves and take on too much. What's hard is taking the time and focus to define an ultimate goal. That's a goal that can be stated in 10 words or so. Once we articulate an ultimate goal, all of the decisions … Continue reading What is Your Ultimate Goal?

https://youtu.be/XxPQt3Ys56U?si=aEeaWSX5ofep9sMs&t=546 I love this clip of Felicia Hatcher talking about the formation of Code Fever and Black Tech Week which were pivotal in creating a tech ecosystem in Miami that included and supported Black and Brown entrepreneurs. She and her husband leaned into the projects as Echoing Green fellows. In the Echoing Green fellowship, they … Continue reading Your Moment of Obligation

The ending quote from Dorothy Cotton in the movie Move When the Spirit Says Move is this:"Think of yourself as someone who can change a situation."Ding ding ding! That's the takeaway. That's the prize.When I used to teach industrial design, my students at the start of the semester would say things like, "Designers do this … Continue reading Who Can Change a Situation