Purposeful Articles

Evolution as Part of Everyday Life: Words of Wisdom

The following are articles written by either others or myself about the transformation of work and business to a model that feeds the pocketbook and soul. I hope you are inspired in some small but important way through reading these articles and ultimately called to evolve into your work future.

IS YOUR ORGANIZATION ALIGNED WITH MARK GREEN'S USAID PHILOSOPHY - A CHECKLIST
(July 2018)

I'm sure you have heard these words: "I believe the purpose of foreign assistance should be ending the need to exist"; "Each of our programs should look forward to the day when we can end it. We should measure our work by how far each investment moves us closer to that day." Mark wants to put USAID out of business and believes your international development organization should follow suit -- well, with a few caveats. He is looking for ideas and processes that are more effective, efficient, innovative and aligned so every investment moves USAID closer to ending each program....(click here to view PDF)

HONORED TO WORK IN AFGHANISTAN:
(December 2017)

As you read this newsletter, I'm coaching faculty at the National Agriculture Education College (NAEC) in Kabul. I am partnering with the Wageningen Centre for Development Innovation, The Netherlands, to benefit the ATVET project in Afghanistan and conduct coach training to NAEC faculty as a skill to assist and expand the way they teach and interact with students. I am working with the Dean of NAEC to develop, implement and evaluate a coach training program with follow-up over a one-year period.... (click here to view PDF)

HONORED TO WORK IN EGYPT:
Developed a Unique Scalable Concept -- M2 for Mindset and Multiplier (August 2017)

I just returned from two and a half months working in Egypt. I was honored to be part of a USAID/SEED project to design a three-year strategic, action and marketing plan for Business Development Services (BDS). The team I worked with was very ambitious and interested in impacting as many small- and medium-size "investors" or enterprises as possible. We first focused on the concept of expanding mindset, theirs and the clients they served, which led us to a larger vision and concept.... (click here to view PDF)

The Problem Is Not What We Think! (March 2017)

I know you are extremely busy in your work and organizations – maybe more than ever, and this could be part of the problem. Many of you have been in your field for many years. You are experts in your area of work, and I'm sure you are doing everything you know to keep your organizations afloat in this time of great uncertainty.... (click here to view PDF)

Africa's Window of Opportunity: A Collective Effort

"If you are not a part of the solution, you are part of the problem." -- Eldridge Cleaver, writer and political activist

Today's Africa can been be seen either as on the cusp of great opportunity or on the downhill slide. It depends on your perspective and your disposition. There are those who see the glass as half-empty or the glass as half-full. I prefer seeing the glass as half-full because there is more to work with, the future can be seen in a new light, and there is positive energy to move one forward. From this perspective of a glass flowing over, two events have recently occurred in Africa that are worth mentioning and that, when seen in the right light, can energize positive change to come... (click here to view PDF)

Scarcity - A Mindset and a World Problem

Given that writing for me is very organic, I usually wait for insights and, sure enough, I wasn't left wanting. Awhile back, a colleague mentioned an article in the New York Times on a new book, Scarcity: Why Having So Little Means So Much.

I had, by chance, recently read an article on scarcity in Reuters called Study Finds Poverty Reduces Brain Power. It stated that "poverty and the all-consuming fretting that comes with it require so much mental energy that the poor have little brain power left to devote to other areas of life."

The mental strain could be costing poor people up to 13 IQ points and means they are more likely to make mistakes and bad decisions that amplify and perpetuate their financial woes, researchers found. (click here to view PDF)

A New Mindset for Addressing Our Global Challenges

Our Intellect Is PassŽ

We have over-relied on our intelligence alone to solve global problems. We have looked up to our minds as we would a false god -Ð surely a source of all answers. Yes, we have come up with solutions that we believed were adequate, but in retrospect they were sorely lacking. None of us likes reviewing our past to see that we may have been short-sighted and even self-seeking. We have focused on appearances to the neglect of inner truth, constant comparison, self-protection and more. We have sold ourselves and those we serve quite short. With the ego as its companion, the mind. (click here to view PDF)

A New Mindset for Addressing Our Global Challenges

THE TIME IS NOW!

The human race is facing some of its most complex and hardest challenges ever. We need to evolve at blazing speed to affect dramatic shifts in our attitudes and then behaviors around climate change, equality for all, global stability and poverty, just to name a few. The path to addressing each of these is rooted in basic human nature. The problem is, we haven't been living or working true to our nature for a very long time. It can seem like we donÕt have the same sense of community as we had in the past, work and careers have taken precedence over family, and our sense of profit before people. (click here to view PDF)

Addressing Our Global Challenges Through Humility & Compassion

With the Ebola epidemic, war with ISIS, and global warming, the world -- our world -- is in a period of tremendous upheaval. These and other extreme challenges are complex and will take all the knowledge, understanding, consciousness and wisdom our best minds have to offer in order to solve them.
The stability of our planet and its people, world economic markets and our peace of mind are at stake. Yet limiting beliefs, dysfunctional mindsets and outdated traditions still rule. Too many leaders operate with thinking based on stale, unimaginative -- even insensitive -- thinking because it's easier to maintain the status quo than it is to change. (click here to view PDF)

Transformation is the Solution: Prescribing a New Mind-Set and Operational Model for International Development
This piece was written as a direct result of attending an International Development conference, my many conversations with others in the field, along with my own perspective on the changes needed in how International Development is seen and delivered. (click here to view PDF)

"Is Your Business's Mental Model Keeping You in the Dark Ages?"
This article speaks about today's complex marketplace and how we can all benefit by "changing the way we change." (click here to view PDF)

"What Business Can Learn from Avatar and James Cameron"
This was written in reference to an article I read in the Feb. 1-8, 2010 edition of Business Week and talks about what we can learn from "the most powerful commercial force in the movie business." (click here to view PDF)

"What's Needed - A New Mindset for New Times"
This article was written for the Washington Business Journal, July, 2009. My proposal is to form a summit of local business groups to challenge our outdated business assumptions, encourage a more dynamic risk-taking approach and focus on my success is your success. (click here to view as a Word document)

"Working with Purpose" by Daria Steigman
This article was written by Daria Steigman of Steigman Communications LLC for the International Association of Business CommunicatorÕs e-newsletter, CW Bulletin, May 2008. This piece was a result of Daria attending one of our Purposeful Business Circles (PBC) for entrepreneurs. She writes about the value of the PBC and its potential to not only assist small business owners here in the US but also to be a catalyst for small business development in the developing world - one of my dreams. (click here to view PDF)

"Being a Wisdom-Centered VisionaryTM at Work"
This article is a joint effort my Michelle James, CEO of The Center for Creative Emergence, and myself. It originated as a section in my book: "PLAY LARGE: Your Evolution is the Next Work Revolution."* MichelleÕs work came to mind and soul as I was developing chapter six. We met and jointly emerged the following. (click here to view the article as a Word document)

"Asking the Next Right Question"
The following two articles were published in Business Savvy magazine in July/August 2004. The first speaks to one of our major tools, Asking the Next Right Question or ANRQ, and the second one is a reprint from our newsletter, The Evolution of YOU. (click here to view PDF)

The Challenge to Change: Tired of Work? Three Steps Come First on the Road to Change
Many people are concerned about "a crisis of spirit" in the workplace, one that saps initiative and stunts imagination. This crisis of spirit is evident in our work
dissatisfaction, our lack of balance and our unclear sense of purpose. We have only a short time left to shed this limiting perspective to leap into the future with a new outlook. (click here to view PDF)