We marched. We were dumbfounded. We talked again about what matters. One thing is clear to me, the more “our” president doubles down on separation and name-calling, the more I will double down on listening and respect.

Empathy and respect. Empathy and respect.

This week two people I trust and rely on sent me this TEDTalk, both saying: “This is what we’re talking about.” The talk’s provocation: How do we connect with our political enemies? The talk’s summary: We can’t afford to hate “them” any longer, and we can’t afford to let them hate “us” either. Empathy and respect is the starting place.
TEDTalk: How to Have Better Political Conversations

We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them.

Einstein said that. Regeneration is a living, dynamic process that means being able to shift into a mode of inquiry about the fullest potential of any situtation. Then it means working with all other stakeholders so that they, too, are able to achieve a similar shift.
Article: Seeing Regeneration

A majority of non-profits name “communicating impact” as a top-three priority for their organization. 

This workshop is for you if you are concerned that too many people don’t know about, let alone understand, your organization’s amazing contributions. It’s for you if you want to learn how to improve the effectiveness of your donor engagement.  Early Bird pricing ends tonight at midnight.
Workshop: Communicating Impact with Brand Clarity

We need new success principles: co-creation, co-evolution, collective intelligence, self-organization and self-regulation.

In the past, globalization, optimization, administration, regulation have served some well, and brought us to where we are. But, as the economic situation now shows, we are stagnating, and all those principles have hit their limits.
Article: A world created from ideas, as immaterial resources are limitless

You won’t get innovation without diversity of thought, and diversity of thought happens when difference is embraced.

Article: How Aurecon Gets its Leaders to Drive Diversity & Inclusion

Design thinking strengthens teams by a creating a common vocabulary and a trust-based culture.

Design thinking is not just for fostering innovation.
Article: Design Thinking Builds Strong Teams.

Build a team of people who share content on your company’s social media profiles.

I use Buffer to manage multiple social media accounts. This guide comes in really handy.
Article: How to Use Buffer for Social Media Teams: The Complete Guide

Design is poised to make a huge impact on higher ed. 

There are two ways this can happen. First, as a tool for students’ learning. Design is a wonderful framework for promoting the skills that leaders and innovators need, including things like empathy, collaboration, persisting through failure, and comfort with ambiguity. The second way is as a disruptive force. An industry is ready to be disrupted when one of three things happens: it outgrows its business model; its offer is no longer appealing to its customer base; or technology has pushed it out of relevance. All three are happening in higher ed right now.
Article: Why Higher Education Needs Design Thinking

Playlist

Alsarah & The Nubatones. Alsarah is a Sudanese-born singer, songwriter and ethnomusicologist. She’s got a new album, but start here. This, listening to others and then incorporating what you hear into your own very groovy and very distinctive voice, is what we’re talking about.

Image of the week

The drawing in the smaller of the two headers is by Susan Dorf in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. The larger is by Richard Sheppard, of Santa Rosa, CA. They are two of the sketches of the Women’s March that Urban Sketches plucked from across the US and around the globe.

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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