How I’ve Been Spending My Summer “Vacation” (so far)
Back in the saddle, writing this blog after more than a month away. (NOTE to self: see if blogging saddles are the next great investment.)
What’s been going on?
1. Drafted a new book on creating Inclusivity in the United States.
The aim is see how we can create better, and more inclusive, health, education, economics, and more–right here at home. Kind of a manifesto for dismantling -USA–the system which keeps too many Americans at the Bottom Of the economic Pyramid while stacking the deck to favor the very few.
My co-author on this effort, Christian Sarkar, and I are now making this book more bite-sized–un-writing it, so to speak–so that its messagepasses through more eyes, reaches more minds, and leads to more action.
Stay tuned: this is ready to “pop.”
2. Been thinking “local.”
I attended my first-ever BALLE conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Don’t let that sentence fool you into thinking I’d been contemplating attending a BALLE event for a while: I had never heard of BALLE until Paul Saginaw, of Zingerman’s and a BALLE board member, recently told me about it. Once I attended, it felt like my crowd, and I was amazed that it had been hidden (from me), but in plain view.
This conference rearranged a few pieces in my mental jigsaw puzzle of how best to create change, causing me to re-think some ideas and giving me evidence to reinforce others that had been looking for support.
3. Still on the trail doing interviews.
It’s been my privilege to talk to amazing changemakers. I think I’ve become addicted.
Many are in Detroit, but the roster is truly international. The more I listen (and learn), the more optimistic I become–whether about innovative approaches to health in Detroit (thanks, Bobby Smith of En Garde Detroit) or about piggybacking on cell phone technology to light up Africa (thanks, Lesley Silverthorn Marincolaof Angaza Design).
These interviews form the backbone of two works well underway:
- What I Wish I Knew Then: Becoming a Social Entrepreneur, a book with Cynthia Koenig of Wello and
- a study of entrepreneurship and renwal in Detroit, with Neesha Modi.
My technology (which is not always the latest and greatest–I’m still holding out against smart phones) tells me Summer starts tomorrow. What does your technology say?
Goals for the rest of Summer include keeping the ol’ blog galloping along (better make that trotting) to let you know about the new books and Detroit-based activities, and to share stories, ideas, and lessons learned from the cool folks kind enough to share their experiences with me so that I have something truly of value to share. Oh, and to avoid saddle sores.
Happy trails!