It’s always more fun to figure things out together. I find it results in a better product, too.* In that spirit, I’m convening two sabbatical-related events. The first is a clearness committee (facilitated by my dear friend Michael Bischoff). That tiny session is intended to help me understand and be more clear in how and where I […]
This is part of an occasional series on network design. A network leader challenge is remembering the network isn’t most people’s first priority, and it shouldn’t be. I use these two principles to help me remember, members’ needs come first. Participating should be fun and easy, like riding a bike. But members’ needs aren’t the only needs […]
This is part of an occasional series on network design. Successful networks grow into a (nearly) self-sustaining cycle. That’s what gives them the staying power and benefits that emerge out of networks. A self-sustaining cycle like the water cycle. Networks work best when they foster a cycle of member generosity, reciprocity, mutual benefits, and natural alliances, all emerging […]
This is part of an occasional series on network design. A network leader challenge is remembering the network isn’t most people’s first priority, and it shouldn’t be. I use these two principles to help me remember, members’ needs come first. Placing members’ interests and needs at the center of your network’s design and your network’s activities gives people a […]
In my network-supporting work, I encourage others to take the time to reflect. I model that practice when I facilitate meetings and in my projects. Now, I’m diving in even deeper. This spring I found a new door to walk through. My role with a big project came to an end, and I find I have […]
Vox asks, “Can low-income housing be energy-efficient and affordable?” They’re reposting from Ensia. The first sentence answers with an unqualified, “Yes.” Then they get to the interesting bit, asking why it’s so hard and, “How?” After using Energy Efficiency for All research to lay out the cost-effective opportunity of 15-30% efficiency improvements, they explore financing, scale, policy, […]
This is cross-posted from Beth Tener’s blog. Since 2014, Beth and I have had the pleasure of working together. She’s my coach/thinking partner supporting me in my role as a Network Weaver for a new national network, called Network for Water, Energy and Health in Affordable Buildings (NEWHAB.) Her consulting practice is New Directions Collaborative. She recently interviewed me as […]
Yesterday, Jessica Conrad, Community Manager with the RE-AMP Network and I shared some of our experience fostering leadership within RE-AMP and NEWHAB. We facilitated a discussion with a group of Twin Cities network weavers about why emergent, shared leadership is so important for high-performing networks, what conditions foster self-organizing leadership, and how to begin creating those conditions. […]
For four years, benchmarking multifamily buildings in Minnesota was a big part of my work. At long last, the final report from that project is public. (A summary of findings is here.) Benchmarking takes the raw data of how much energy and water a building uses, and normalizes it by building size (and more), so […]
Energy Foundation was invited to submit a blog for the Stanford Social Innovation Review on their current network efforts — and one of the two examples is the Network for Energy, Water and Health in Affordable Housing (NEWHAB) that I’m coordinating. The three key take-aways are: Invest on the front end to establish shared purpose. […]