Seasonal Changes

Comments Off

Posted on 27th January 2012 by mobmentality in Blogroll

, ,

Right here in the midst of winter we are wanting a change, every year it happens. I lived in one of the coldest places in Canada for years and it was what people yearned for . . . a seasonal change. Unfortunately winter often lasted 5-7 months there.

Our lives go through seasons as well. This last season has been a seven year journey for me. Working in a UK charity, traveling all over Europe. In two days I enter a transition year. One where I will upgrade by education and begin to dream about the future.

What will the “projects” tab have under it a year from now? Perhaps The Keara Project, certainly the Innofund, an expanded version of the conexus group . . . or even a breathing version of mobmentality . . . hard to say. I’m quite open to the journey of discovery since I have found that each season is just that . . . discovery.

Take Control

Comments Off

Posted on 9th December 2011 by mobmentality in Blogroll

, ,

Often people are admonished, chastised even, for not taking control of a situation. This correction deals with the heart of empowerment. The difficulty is when the definition of empowerment is under question. My dictionary says empowerment is “to equip or supply with an ability; enable”.

In practice though I think often the word empowerment is “you are empowered to make decisions, as long as they are the decisions I would be making in your position” and includes the veiled “if you don’t make my decisions then I will begin to make them for you, most often subversively so you can’t put your finger on it.”

My suggestion . . . that is the definition of control. My dictionary says control is “to exercise authoritative or dominating influence over.” Perhaps a working definition of empowerment could be “allowing the individual to make the decision, take a course of action, regardless of my personal preference.” What would you do if you were truly empowered?

The Keara Project

Comments Off

Posted on 10th November 2011 by mobmentality in Main

The Keara Project is all about “improving the lives of children with multi-system genetic disorders.”

Overview – The Keara Project is a multi-faceted approach to helping children and families affected by multi-system genetic disorders. A multi-system genetic disorder is a disease or disorder affecting more than one system of the body. This project will be a “for social benefit” company designed to bring children a positive outlook of the future through advocacy, support, awareness, and consulting.

Outcomes

- Every child with a multi-system genetic disorder is getting the best possible start in life
- Every family affected by a multi-system genetic disorder is finding the support they need
- The public understand the unique needs of our children and are actively supporting them
- Partner organizations of The Keara Project are setting the highest standard of performance within the non-profit secto

InnoFund

Comments Off

Posted on 1st October 2011 by mobmentality in CSO Management

, ,

What is an InnoFund? Ask and find out . . . it is a simple system for innovation designed to create affordable, sustainable solutions. Here is the skeleton of an InnoFund we are developing with Eurasia Now.
Guiding Principles:

- easy to use
- fun to be a part of
- encourages collaboration

Outcomes:

- innovation and new outreaches are developed
- workers collaborate together on new initiatives through encouragement, support, shared tasks and idea sharing
- development of a financial fund (Innofund) that is supported by outside investors
- greater level of involvement from outside investors into outreach initiatives
- educate workers on simple and effective project planning based on the PLAN, BUILD, OPERATE framework

Impleme-what

Comments Off

Posted on 19th August 2011 by mobmentality in CSO Management

, ,

Observation: a lot of time is spent thinking about vision, then we jump to the execution. What if we infused a bit of strategy in a way that supported high quality implementation. After all ‘executing’ an idea sounds like we want to take vision to the guillotine. So remember, keep it simple but ask your team these 5 questions:

Step 1: Past

Recognize what happened in the past, ‘the way it worked’ or ‘how things got done/moved forward’

Step 2: Now

Understand where we are and what works, what doesn’t work

Step 3: Future

Envision the ideal place you want to get to or picture you want to achieve

Step 4: Goals

Measure, quantify, describe the path to get to the picture

Step 5: Initiatives

Create the means to walk the path

*** Hey, don’t forget to get feedback and modify the plan all the way down the path and enjoy the journey!

Beside the Ditch

Comments Off

Posted on 28th July 2011 by mobmentality in Blogroll |CSO Management

, ,

Strategy – it helps you to get clarity on the picture you are moving toward, it helps you identify where the ditches are, BUT it doesn’t let you know how many bends in the road there are, and it doesn’t always let you know the people who are on the journey with you.

Incidentally the bends in the road and the people you are with determine most of the decisions that need to be made enroute to the picture. So be careful relying on ‘strategy’ as the cure all for answering the age old ‘what do I do now’ question.

« Older Entries