Here is my report on this morning's Future Economy Council Meeting. Rick Smyre really got me to thinking about the possibilities for our community going forward into the future. We should be thankful that Danny Hearn has moved us in this direction.
Mr. Hearn made introductions of a few new members that will participate in our Future Economy Council: Mary Sizemore - Director, Hickory Public Libraries; Karen Foss - Director, Hickory Public Libraries; Patty Thompson, Mountain State University; Tom Alexander - Fire Chief, City of Hickory.
Mr. Hearn stressed the importance of utilizing library resources to get our message out. We have applied for a $10,000 grant from the Catawba Valley Community foundation. This money will go towards training 15 to 25 "Master Capacity Builders;" "Futures Institute Training at L-R, CVCC. and ASU;Improving the IT curriculum of Catawba County's 3 school systems; Transformative Dialogue Groups - to involve and educate the citizenry; and for Incidentals. Mr. Hearn stated that even if we don't get this grant, that there are other avenues available to raise the monies needed. We will know in 5 weeks whether we get this grant or not.
Mr. Hearn then introduced Rick Smyre. He was a CEO of a textile company in Gaston County and is a leading Future Development Specialist. He believes that we are in a period of Historical Transformation. He told us that he used to debate people, but now he has learned to listen and connect with what people are saying. He stated that everything he told us was an opinion and that he has no truth left in his body. One of the real challenges is to create a culture in communities where they can transform themselves.
His experiences led him to think structurally and linearly in the past. He used to debate upon what he heard. If he agreed with what a person thought, then he could carry on a discussion with the person. He said he really wasn't listening to what people were saying.
We need to learn to not just reform, we need to learn how to transform. Transformation means something has not been around (existed) before. Reformation is just changing something that already exists. Transformation requires people to rethink what they have thought for years. These are fundamental issues.
Dialogue is communication in the form of questions and statements. Dialogue is not enough in the transformative times we are in. We have to find value (a connection) in what one another are saying. This can help us with our capacity to innovate. The skill to ask appropriate questions is going to be more important at times than to make a statement.
Traditional Leadership is project oriented and is focused on outcomes.Transformative Leadership requires that we use new ideas that create a futures context. New ideas do not have a model or template to go by. If we don't open our minds to these new ideas, then we don't have the capacity to make the changes necessary to transform our community. We must have a sense of what is emerging, instead of being fixated on the way that things have always been.
Work of the future will be mental. Biological Principle says that you do not have innovation, growth, or evolution unless you have diversity. Diversity alone is not enough, you must have processes that allow that diversity to take shape. Nobody changes unless we as individuals decide that we must change. This is the reason that Statements are no longer effective. We must build connections between individuals. Questions help us to evolve and develop ideas and processes.
We are seeing 3 different Economies emerge:
1) The Knowledge Economy - Thought to be taking place from 2000 to 2025. Creation of an environment in the culture that supports continuous innovation that is always open to new ideas.
2) Industrial Economy - The Industrial age. Peaked in the 1980s. This is still the focus of most leaders in our community.
3) Creative Molecular Economy (Open Source Economy) - When you cannot control where you want to go, because you don't no where you are going, because things haven't been invented yet, then you have to create productive capacities. Adaptive planning says that you must work and network together (as individuals) to respond and adapt to what is emerging. Connectivity (And/Both reasoning) is important in understanding context, structuring statements, and objectives. The two major components a) Technology and b) Organization of economy and society around individuals, global innovation networks, and small groups.
People resist change, because of comfort. That makes it hard to make positive transformations in society. If we want to have our economy be vital and sustainable, then we must be willing to take what are considered radical approaches in changing society. We must depend on one another to achieve higher objectives. This is a systemic issue and we must build parallel processes to achieve objectives in an exponentially changing world.
We need to build relationships with cutting edge individuals that can help our area. These people might come to this area, if we are supportive of a Creative Molecular Economy. We must learn to collaborate and cooperate. Leaders need to develop environments where others can come to their own conclusions. We should not limit ourselves, because we are not willing to listen to others who might have different ideas than our own. That expands the mind.
Marching Orders - Lead and talk to one another. Ask questions of one another. Design a 6 month strategy. Bring our own ideas to the table, so that community transformation can emerge over the next 5 to 10 years. Build connections with people that we know virtually or personally and collaborate with them so that they can see the value in what we are doing.
The Future is Now
Time to Start Transforming Catawba County
Transformative Leadership -- All Chips In. How 'bout You?
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
April 15, 2009... The Tea Party was Cool
There were well over a thousand people at the Justice center, Heck there may have been 2,000. It was all about the people. No politicians spoke and except for a couple of exceptions, it was non-partisan. I loved hearing honesty and people telling it like they see it.
The one thing that I wish people understood, and I don't think they do, is that We the People are the Government -- A Government Of, By, and For the People. Folks that means that we are the Government. And along with this comes responsibility. People have to become more involved in Civics. It is that lack of involvement that has led us to where we are today.
The Bureaucracy is the problem, but the people have let this happen. The Bureaucracy is supposed to be made up of people that represent the interests of the American Public. Now all they represent is the system and its structure. Many, in the Bureaucracy, believe that the Government is supposed to be Of, By, and For the Bureaucracy. That they are a class above the rest of us. Look at the pay and benefits. During these trying times is that representative of what the private sector is experiencing?
Not all of our public servants are bad. Some of the individuals in the Bureaucracy are excellent Public Servants. We have all seen the good and the bad. It reminds me of the parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24–30). It is time to root out the good from the bad. Those who truly want to serve the public should rise and those who want to serve themselves at our expense should fall.
What we are seeing is tyranny. A few bad apples are making all of the decisions that they don't think the rest of us are intelligent enough to understand and they don't want our input. They aren't living by the same rules that we have to abide by. They aren't held to the standards of accountability that the rest of us are. Their decisions are arbitrary, illogical, and nonsensical. It is time that we reign the bad Bureaucracy in. It is time to get back to basics with a smaller, wiser, more efficient Government -- Of, By, and For the People.
The one thing that I wish people understood, and I don't think they do, is that We the People are the Government -- A Government Of, By, and For the People. Folks that means that we are the Government. And along with this comes responsibility. People have to become more involved in Civics. It is that lack of involvement that has led us to where we are today.
The Bureaucracy is the problem, but the people have let this happen. The Bureaucracy is supposed to be made up of people that represent the interests of the American Public. Now all they represent is the system and its structure. Many, in the Bureaucracy, believe that the Government is supposed to be Of, By, and For the Bureaucracy. That they are a class above the rest of us. Look at the pay and benefits. During these trying times is that representative of what the private sector is experiencing?
Not all of our public servants are bad. Some of the individuals in the Bureaucracy are excellent Public Servants. We have all seen the good and the bad. It reminds me of the parable of the Wheat and the Tares (Matthew 13:24–30). It is time to root out the good from the bad. Those who truly want to serve the public should rise and those who want to serve themselves at our expense should fall.
What we are seeing is tyranny. A few bad apples are making all of the decisions that they don't think the rest of us are intelligent enough to understand and they don't want our input. They aren't living by the same rules that we have to abide by. They aren't held to the standards of accountability that the rest of us are. Their decisions are arbitrary, illogical, and nonsensical. It is time that we reign the bad Bureaucracy in. It is time to get back to basics with a smaller, wiser, more efficient Government -- Of, By, and For the People.
April 15, 2009....T-DAY
Would love to see a zillion people in Newton at Noon today. We pay a lot of taxes around here, what are we getting in return.
I know that many people will have to work, but this is our chance to create the momentum of something big. If government officials see that their positions are tenuous, because of the decisions they are making, then they may reverse the trends they have accepted as the norm. The Federal Budget Deficit was $192.3 billion in March. That means in one month, the Federal budget deficit was nearly half of what it was last year. Anyway that you cut it, this is dangerous. We cannot continue down this path without suffering catastrophic consequences.
This is not about ugliness. It is about expressing concern fot the direction our country is headed. We can make a difference. Hope...Change....T.E.A.
I know that many people will have to work, but this is our chance to create the momentum of something big. If government officials see that their positions are tenuous, because of the decisions they are making, then they may reverse the trends they have accepted as the norm. The Federal Budget Deficit was $192.3 billion in March. That means in one month, the Federal budget deficit was nearly half of what it was last year. Anyway that you cut it, this is dangerous. We cannot continue down this path without suffering catastrophic consequences.
This is not about ugliness. It is about expressing concern fot the direction our country is headed. We can make a difference. Hope...Change....T.E.A.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Drought Restrictions Over, but please don't Waste Water
Hickory.gov article, "Hickory and the entire Catawba-Wateree Group recommends voluntary continuation of wise outdoor water use as basin’s drought conditions improve to LIP Stage 1," pointed to me by an anonymous poster.
A couple of items that I would like to see addressed. Minimum and Maximum water usage rates. If a person (or family unit) is innovative in ways of conserving water, then they should be rewarded for that conservation. If people are using water to fill up their swimming pool, then why are we subsidizing it. If these people can afford a swimming pool, then they most assuredly can afford to put the water in it. I can understand the exception for businesses, such as restaurants, construction, and landscaping; because they provide jobs.
I think that in the future, the city is going to have to find ways to control the flow of water. I think the thoughtfulness brought about by the introduction of water barrels sold at city hall was a great first step. At some point in the future I would like to see cisterns, man-made aquifers, aqueducts, and ponds and lakes into the equation. That would be good positive contol, instead of always coming at this from a negative angle.
A couple of items that I would like to see addressed. Minimum and Maximum water usage rates. If a person (or family unit) is innovative in ways of conserving water, then they should be rewarded for that conservation. If people are using water to fill up their swimming pool, then why are we subsidizing it. If these people can afford a swimming pool, then they most assuredly can afford to put the water in it. I can understand the exception for businesses, such as restaurants, construction, and landscaping; because they provide jobs.
I think that in the future, the city is going to have to find ways to control the flow of water. I think the thoughtfulness brought about by the introduction of water barrels sold at city hall was a great first step. At some point in the future I would like to see cisterns, man-made aquifers, aqueducts, and ponds and lakes into the equation. That would be good positive contol, instead of always coming at this from a negative angle.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
April 15, 2009... Anyone Up for Some Tea?
On April 15, 2009 there will be a peaceful demonstration that will offer us the opportunity to display our angst over the current state of our Government versus the Bureaucracy. Here is a link to a posting that discusses the particulars of the Catawba County Tea Party and where it will be held. (Tea Party Link).
Catawba County Justice Center
100 SW Blvd, Hwy 321 S
Newton, NC 28658
Time: Noon to 1pm
I know that many people will have to work, but this is our chance to create the momentum of something big. If government officials see that their positions are tenuous, because of the decisions they are making, then they may reverse the trends they have accepted as the norm. The Federal Budget Deficit was $192.3 billion in March. That means in one month, the Federal budget deficit was nearly half of what it was last year. Anyway that you cut it, this is dangerous. We cannot continue down this path without suffering catastrophic consequences.
The Boston Tea Party was a seminal event in the evolution towards the American Revolution. The current tax structure of this country is unfair to all classes. It basically has only benefited bureaucratic representatives. What has evolved is a Government of the Bureaucracy, by the Bureaucracy, and for the Bureaucracy. It is time for the power structure to be placed back where it belongs, with the people. If the Politicos are not going to represent the interests of the people; then it is time that we make drastic changes for the People's, and thus the Government's, Interests.
The Hound hopes to see you in Newton on Wednesday!!!
Catawba County Justice Center
100 SW Blvd, Hwy 321 S
Newton, NC 28658
Time: Noon to 1pm
I know that many people will have to work, but this is our chance to create the momentum of something big. If government officials see that their positions are tenuous, because of the decisions they are making, then they may reverse the trends they have accepted as the norm. The Federal Budget Deficit was $192.3 billion in March. That means in one month, the Federal budget deficit was nearly half of what it was last year. Anyway that you cut it, this is dangerous. We cannot continue down this path without suffering catastrophic consequences.
The Boston Tea Party was a seminal event in the evolution towards the American Revolution. The current tax structure of this country is unfair to all classes. It basically has only benefited bureaucratic representatives. What has evolved is a Government of the Bureaucracy, by the Bureaucracy, and for the Bureaucracy. It is time for the power structure to be placed back where it belongs, with the people. If the Politicos are not going to represent the interests of the people; then it is time that we make drastic changes for the People's, and thus the Government's, Interests.
The Hound hopes to see you in Newton on Wednesday!!!
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