Chris Lowney: Leadership Lessons From a Jesuit Turned Investment Banker Turned Social Entrepreneur
This week, with the historic election of Obama, Americans clearly expressed something fundamental to the human experience--a yearning for our leaders to provide us with hope and inspiration. I could see it on the televised faces of the crowd gathered...
Unity is the Enemy of Political Freedom
"[O]nly tolerance for opposition and conflict can guarantee the survival of political freedom." --Susan Dunn, in the introduction to The Social Contract and the First and Second Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau It's been a long campaign season. I've wanted to...
Old-Fashioned Campaigning, Through the Internet
It's been a long campaign season. On the eve of the U.S. election, I've enjoyed seeing how much a message and a cause could grow, by building both an online and offline community of like-minded citizens. It's been a fascinating...
Letting Go of Proving Myself
I learned a big lesson last week. In preparing to be interviewed about my newest venture, A Bigger Voice, I talked with colleagues about my apprehension and my biggest nightmare--being speechless or fumbling for the right words to describe my...
How An Ex-Rock Star Can Help You Create Community
A Fast Company article describes a new site for uploading videos, The Hub, as a way for human rights atrocities to be made visible. Why is this innovative? Because according to the article, places like YouTube have "strict guidelines against...
Homelessness: A Glimpse into a Foreign Land
I previously announced the newest blogger in my family, Ryan, my nephew. A twenty-something, he has been blogging about his experience in the Jesuit Volunteer Corps, working in a resource center for homeless men and helping them navigate the court...
Traverse City
Last month, I traveled to Traverse City, Michigan, home of the National Cherry Festival. As I munch on Cherry Republic's Ambassador Mix (dried cherries, pistachios, dried cranberries, sugar, macadamia nuts, and sunflower oil), I'm thinking back fondly on my short,...
What Entrepreneurs Should Focus On
These ideas come from Barbara Mowry, who I recently quoted in another post about channeling your energy into a business. Mowry was talking with the Denver chapter of the Association for Corporate Growth. What I took away from Mowry's talk:...
Who’s Reading Blogs? Maybe Your Grandmother…
Josh Bernoff, co-author of the book, Groundswell, and an analyst at Forrester, provides some fascinating data about the adoption of social media, hot off the Wordpress (or whatever his blog is built on.) What makes the data so valuable is...
Think to Talk or Talk to Think?
My friend, Richard, raised my awareness recently about two dominant modes that people operate from: Do you think to talk? On the Myers-Briggs scale, I'm a slight introvert. I often prefer email communication to phone conversations, blogging to speaking opportunities,...