start the future
let’s build a cooperative, step 4: design your decision-making process
how to decide when you're deciding
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Future Emergent: year two
I’m a week late (thanks, covid!) but I’m so excited to mark the end of my second year in business. If you only know me through this blog, I started Future Emergent, my own consulting business, back in April 2022. Last year, I wrote about my first year
essay
living futures
The Duwamish Solidarity Group sends a newsletter to Real Renters about once a month. Their email in February opens with, “One of the most frequent requests made of the Duwamish Tribe is an invitation to offer a land acknowledgment.” They share a performance by Duwamish Tribal members Ken Workman and
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tipping the scale
This post is narrated! Listen below… Nothing can inspire fear in a project manager like these six little words: “How soon can we scale this?” Or, worse: “Let’s triple the number of sites.” I spent several years working as a grants manager. In theory, we start with a plan
personal
all that i didn’t do
Two months is a long time to be away from a routine. I shared back in January that I’d be away for a couple months. I stepped back from work, and this blog, and many more responsibilities during that time. Before I left, I thought I was fortunate because
personal
a quick break
Hi y’all, I’m taking a quick break from work at Future Emergent and on this blog. I’ll be back by March. In my absence, I’ve queued up a few of my favorite blog posts in the newsletter I launched. A lot of people I admire moved
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the host with the most
This post is narrated! Listen below… I like socializing among many different groups. Some of my friends I’ve met through work. Others I met in school. Still others started out as friends of friends that I made into my own. I also love hosting parties, the bigger the better.
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like a broken record
My colleague Clara and I were facilitating a meeting that was long overdue. The participants were there to solve a problem that was also long overdue. One participant explained, with clear emotion in his voice, everything that had gone wrong. He told us how the actions of others caused him
personal
looking future 2023
I’ve been writing here on be the future for four years! I have written nearly 200 posts since I started blogging in 2019. Over the years, these posts have helped me refine my ideas and explore new ones I’ve learned about. They’re also an avenue for me
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playing favorites 2023
we're all supposed to try
working
the injustice of workarounds
“Kluge” is originally a german word that means “clever one”—or a scottish word that means “toilet.” To most english speakers, a kluge is not usually a good thing. It’s something that can do the job even if it wasn’t put together well or isn’t really right
essay
decision to leave
This post is narrated! listen below… I had a situation gnawing at me for the better part of a year. I was working with a group for several months and had a good rapport with almost everyone. One person in particular was stirring conflict in ways I struggled to respond
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