If you think the following is a good idea. Vote for it here

Investigate and apply new paragdigm organizational practices like Holacracy (http://www.holacracy.org/) to raise the awareness, efficiency, and functioning of governmental organizations.

I just got an email from the Obama campaign saying this

"But here's the truth: Barack's plan applies to the net income that a small business owner takes home, not gross revenue. 98 percent of American small businesses make less than $250,000 in net income -- and virtually all of them would get a tax cut under Barack's plan."

But why don't they also point out that taxes are only a small part of a business's expenses?

What about the cost of Healthcare to businesses?
What about the HR costs of finding educated qualified employees?

ChristLogos has a new video online for those who haven't been able to make it to the monthly talks in Peterborough.

This first talk is an overview of the emerging collective story, and an introduction of how it applies to Christianity.

Have a look!

Evan

If you're curious about large scale change and the new emerging generative story, you must look into Otto Scharmer's Theory U.
Here's a good talk to listen to for an introduction:

http://heartlandcircle.blogs.com/circle/2008/06/theory-u-leadin.html?cid=121075882#comment-121075882

The theory is a simple articulation of what's needed for the next evolutionary step in human culture in awareness. Its talks about what, I believe the practice of Holacracy (http://holacracy.org) makes practical and possible.

Evan

Design has a saying that products should strive to be "Useful, usable, and desirable." Shouldn't it be "Useful, usable, desirable, and sustainable"? If a product has inherent in it the seeds of its own destruction, how can it be considered "good" design?

Seems others are starting to think similarly.

I'm now an officially licensed Holacracy Facilitator. I got back on Wednesday from the first ever Holacracy Facilitator Training™. There will be another one coming up in February in Vancouver and three more this year at unannounced times and locations.

Keep an eye on this page for updated information. If you know of an organization that needs some help, take a look.

If you're in the Northeast US and would like to learn more about Holacracy I would be happy to get together to talk.

I had a vision the other day of AYS being an entry-point for agnostics to finding a higher power. Without realizing it. I think I've been more of an agnostic than anything else. More so that Christian, Buddhist, or Native or anything else. But all these religions point in one direction, towards one-thing. Perhaps too, there is an agnostic entry point to the greatest mystery - the One Great Mystery. Or what ever name you choose to use.

For all agnostics, I recommend giving the AA big book a read. At least through Chapter 4

In my experience I've found that the greatest impediment to growth is rarely technical, or even financial, it is organizational. Can you imagine if our bodies did the same amount of in-fighting, politicing, and power-grabbing as we do in our jobs and communities? I can, its called cancer. Under a microscope, i think it would look a lot like what we are doing to each other at the cultural and species level.

I read somewhere that the greatest challenge of our time is learning how to work together. Why is it that we have been presented a false choice between being cruel-heartless corporate type, or irrational-irresponsible dirty hippie? Another way to put it is, why have so many who have abandoned capitalism and corporations also abandoned things like: planning, commitment, clear-decisions, follow-through, and self-evaluation? Why do non-profit organizations have the reputation of being run so poorly?

My name is Evan Leonard. I've always had this need to create space - opportunities for interaction. I can't explain why, though here I am at it again. I hope that AYS becomes something that we all feel part of though. Little I do is solely for myself any more, and I'm looking forward to sharing AYS with you. Please feel free to make suggestions about the site itself. What we should keep doing, what we should stop doing, and what we should start doing. Perhaps I'll setup some sort of period review gathering where we can reflect and propose changes as a group. That would be great.