We’re learning to live in a new normal. We’ve never felt so vulnerable to the sensation of having no idea what will happen next. So, here at the home office we’re doubling down on our core experience that things work out best when you listen first.

Now more than ever we need to develop skills of deep listening.

Good news: the Interaction Institute for Social Change shares as they learn. Here’s an excerpt from their workshop Facilitative Leadership for Social Change.
Workshop Summary: Heartset and Mindset for Adversarial versus Deep Listening

A circular economy is one that is restorative and regenerative by design.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation works with business, government and academia to build a framework for a new economic paradigm. They publish a great online catalog of news and insight on the emerging circular economy.
Website: Circular

Email is rubbish as an internal communications tool.

Email was never designed to be a channel for many-to-many conversations, but that’s how we’re all using it. Here’s four email alternatives that groups are using to transform the way they get things done.
Article: Email is killing internal comms  – here’s four alternatives.

What business are you really in?

Kodak famously ignored their understanding that they were in the memories, not the film, business. Here’s a fun game that you can play at home to uncover what business you are really in.
Article: Ira’s “What Business Are You In?” Game

Ready to unite your leadership team?

Are you tired of wasted energy, muddy visions and compromised outcomes? Then you just might be ready for the Clarity Core Sample workshop. It’s a day designed to help you and your organization achieve crystal clarity about who you are and how you help.
Article: Everybody on the same page

Many marketing organizations think they’re working in an agile way because they’ve adopted some agility principles, but they’re not.

Making your marketing organization agile isn’t a simple matter, but McKinsey and Co. have found a practical and effective way to get there.
Article: Agile marketing: A step-by-step guide

Playlist

Close your eyes and listen to Paolo Nutini. Is that rock? Soul? Folk? What? A few weeks ago Bill Flanagan, writing in the Times, asked: is rock ’n’ roll dead, or just old? By the end of the essay he assays the truth: the spirit of rock, the spirit of integrating what we learn from other cultures and experiences into our own, has forever become a part of who we are, of how we learn. Paolo proves the point with music that is fresh, new and influenced by more genres than you can count. Start here.

Images of the week

The paintings in the headers are by Bob Dylan. The Nobel Laureate, creator of 37 studio albums, 58 singles, 11 live albums, 12 Bootleg Series albums, a bibliography, a filmography, and sculptures, too, has hung his latest paintings – The Beaten Path – at the Halcyon Gallery in London. Until December 11. Slacker.

What’s Clarity First?

If you’re new to Clarity First, it’s the weekly newsletter by Clarity, the consultancy that helps mission-driven companies use their brand – their purpose, values, and stories – as powerful tools for transformation.

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