Grassroots Enterprises
Sunday, February 24, 2008
The Importance of Emerging Leaders
Their successes should have been cause for community celebration.
Yet praise for the successes ignited by the emerging leaders in their towns weren’t always unanimous. Too often those in senior positions seemed more intent on reminding them of their place within their respective hierarchies.
Unfortunately, this seems to be a recurring theme in much of the community leadership coaching I’m involved with these days.
One such initiative is focused on using parks and recreation to create the places, spaces, and culture that will encourage people to get physically and socially engaged in their communities.
This particular initiative issued… More...
Sunday, February 10, 2008
White Bikes - A Solution for Inner Community Travel??
It seems to me that the secret of creative thinking might just be starting with good problems.
Then, before you can even think about generating ideas, that problem needs to be turned into a challenge.
My current work includes working with a community of approximately 500 full time citizens augmented by seasonal cottagers, who live within a serene and natural resource-rich environment. They care for their community and one another, work hard, speak honestly and directly, and share a distinct and often wacky sense of humour.
As with many small communities, they are dealing with the challenge of transportation.
… More...Sunday, February 03, 2008
Shifting to Wellness
Last week, an Alberta provincial minister did something a bit unusual and perhaps even somewhat courageous.
Dave Hancock, Minister of Health and Wellness, hosted a provincial forum for some two hundred senior policy and decision makers from across the government, voluntary and business sectors.
Similar to other provincial statistics and as he discussed in his opening address, 40% of the population is considered to be overweight or obese, cases of type 2 diabetes have doubled in the last 20 years, and health care costs have risen by an astonishing 12.2% over the past year to the point that it… More...