Feb 4, 2021End-of-Year Journey Mapping: How My 2020 Went and How 2021 Is LookingFour years ago, I started organizing a small end-of-year gathering with other Bay Area collaboration practitioners to celebrate and make meaning of the year together. We would spend the first few hours of our session mapping how our individual years went using an exercise called Journey Mapping, then we would…Storytelling9 min readStorytelling9 min read
Nov 12, 2020What I’ve Learned About Building Collaboration MusclesIt’s now been seven years since I first started exploring a simple hypothesis: Collaboration is a muscle (or, rather, a set of muscles) You strengthen these muscles by exercising them repeatedly (i.e. practice) Our current orientation toward collaboration is knowledge-centric, not practice-centric. No one expects anyone to get good at…Collaboration9 min readCollaboration9 min read
Jul 24, 2020Doing “More” Is a Terrible GoalWhen I was in my early 20s, I used to play pickup basketball with a guy who was 20 years older than me, but didn’t look it. He was in superb shape, and he never seemed to get injured. At one of our games, I sprained my ankle, and when…Strategy6 min readStrategy6 min read
Jul 2, 2020Do the WorkIt’s been one month since a white police officer in Minneapolis murdered George Floyd, a 46-year old Black father of five. I’ve found the subsequent response remarkable for its intensity, unprecedented diversity, and impact. …George Floyd8 min readGeorge Floyd8 min read
May 20, 2020Case Study: Designing and Facilitating a Small Nonprofit Board Retreat with Zoe TamakiOver the past two years, I helped designed and facilitate two annual board retreats for a small nonprofit with my colleague, Zoe Tamaki. I don’t typically do one-offs like this, but the executive director was a friend of mine, and I was looking for an excuse to work with and…Case Study2 min readCase Study2 min read
May 4, 2020The Emperor Has No Clothes: Acting Strategically While Recovering from Process TraumaA huge part of my job over the years has been helping groups recover from Process Trauma (and its ugly cousin Consultant Trauma). It’s caused when a group goes through some kind of process, such as strategic planning, and has a horrible experience. …Strategic Planning3 min readStrategic Planning3 min read
Apr 13, 2020Online Collaboration Isn’t Just About MeetingsCOVID-19 has forced many of us to reckon with a working world where we can’t be face-to-face. I’ve been heartened to see how collaboration practitioners have been responding overall. I love seeing folks tapping the wisdom of their own groups before looking outward and sharing their knowledge freely and broadly. …Online Collaboration7 min readOnline Collaboration7 min read
Mar 23, 2020Freaking Out Is Part of Systems ChangeWe are in the midst of a global pandemic. Re-reading those last two words still feels bonkers to me, even though it’s been almost three months since the first reported case of COVID-19 and almost two weeks since the World Health Organization (WHO) made its official declaration. I had been…Collaboration5 min readCollaboration5 min read
Published inThe Startup·Feb 12, 2020Member-onlyFrom Go-Go-Go to Going Slow: Lessons from My Own Painful, but Ultimately Successful JourneyI discovered weights freshman year in college, and as a weak and skinny kid, I found them to be a revelation. One of my friends had played football in high school, and he and I would work out together often. …Self Care13 min readSelf Care13 min read
Jan 16, 2020Confronting Despair, Building Muscles, and Saving Democracy (and the World)For the past 18 years, I have begun almost every introductory conversation about my work with the following questions: What was your best experience collaborating with others? What would your life be like if all of your collaborative experiences were at least as good as your best? What would the…Collaboration10 min readCollaboration10 min read
