Random Thoughts from Tucson – Tuesday

Gail Meltzer and I are In Tucson this week, taking part in the Community Driven Institute. The brainchild of Hildy Gottlieb and Dimitri Petropolis, the Institute evolved out of Hildy’s book, The Pollyanna Principles, and focuses on governing for what matters, instilling a “culture of can” and engaging the community in creating amazing futures where organizations actually achieve their visions.

The class is small – there are only five participants – so we are able to explore issues in depth. It is also incredibly intense. We are meeting from 8:30am to 5:15pm everyday for a full week. We walk out of the Institute each evening with our brains overflowing with new ideas for helping our clients dramatically move their organizations forward. While you will be hearing more from us about the concepts we are exploring as time goes by, Gail and I want to share some of our excitement with you now. Therefore, we’ll be blogging the rest of the week.

The focus today was on vision and values. If you have ever worked with me, you know that I am a firm believer in the power of vision and values and that they should guide every decision you make. However, in the future, be assured that these two elements will take an even more hallowed position in the work that we do. There is a saying that when you reach for the stars you may not quite get one but you won't come up with a handful of mud either. By embracing vision and values you can change the community in ways you never thought possible. In today’s environment, where violence, pollution, hunger, poverty, drugs, illness and other issues cloud our future, it is incumbent upon us to fulfill our promises to the community. And, it is doable merely by keeping our eyes on what is important and working backwards from there!