Generate Better Futures: Focus On The Present

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Roof Garden 

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr 

Curt Lindberg, Chief Learning and Science Officer, Plexus Institute, shares insights into the role of complexity science and positive deviance in the 21st Century.  

Curt talks about the power of stories and one in particular, the story of "The Palmer Method" - a small creative action that has lead to large positive change in global health care.

By learning what is working now, communities and organizations can align knowledge and resources to become resilient and sustainable.

Learn about the Plexus Institute's work around the world.

Generate better futures: focus on the present from I-Open on Vimeo.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:

 Copyright 2011 Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Betsey Merkel and The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open), 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/

Complexity: Science of the 21st Century

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Green Spiral 

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr 

Curt Lindberg, Chief Learning and Science Officer, Plexus Institute, shares insights about the role of complex systems in communities and countries today. 

Complexity science principles help us to think in terms of how our day-to-day actions - such as sharing information to strengthen transparency - have a direct impact on the quality of our lives today.

Understanding how complexity affects social and economic change enables leaders in education, economic, and workforce development to have a better grasp on connecting strategic investments to future prosperity.  

Learn about the Plexus Institute's work in health care around the world.

Complexity Science from I-Open on Vimeo.

Learn the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:

Copyright 2011 Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License Betsey Merkel and The Institute for Open Economic Networks (I-Open), 2563 Kingston Road Cleveland OH 44118 Phone: 216-220-0172 Web: http://i-open.posterous.com/ 

Challenging Jumpstart: A New Conversation About Regional Entrepreneurship

Good_bubbles
Good Bubbles

Image © Alice Merkel on Flickr

Marc Canter, CEO of Broadband Mechanics (BBM) is a 25+ year veteran of the software business. Marc was the co-founder of MacroMind, which became Macromedia and helped to develop the world's first multi-media player, the world's first multi-media authoring system, and the world's first cross-platform authoring system while at MacroMind. More about Marc here.

Today technology Guru Marc Cantor posted the article, "Challenging Jumpstart". This interesting article questions the operations of Jumpstart, the Northeast Ohio economic development organization recently cited by The White House as a model for replication across America to advance national innovation and entrepreneurship. Marc points out - and backs up in detail with organizational leadership and awardee email correspondence - that the present Jumpstart organization lacks serious levels of transparency and accountability about how and what percentage of regional and Federal tax dollars (upward of $1B+) are being awarded to fund Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurs. If Jumpstart and other regional organizations tasked to address regional poverty and joblessness via their stewardship of regional assets, innovation and entrepreneurship to generate jobs and prosperity, word out on the street wouldn't be "3 out of 5 folks in Northeast Ohio live in poverty".

Here's an excerpt from Marc's article:

"For several years now, what concerned entrepreneurs throughout Northeast Ohio have been calling for is greater responsiveness and transparency from Jumpstart (Ohio), an organization largely funded by taxpayers. Now, as we see Jumpstart (Ohio) spinning off Jumpstart (America) and moving on to tackle issues of national economic importance (while we continue to face staggering historical unemployment here at home) many entrepreneurs in our community are left scratching their heads."

If organizations adopt habits of transparency and accountability public funding would actually reach down to turbo charge the real powerhouse of Northeast Ohio's regional economic and job creation machine -- our expansive, courageous, brilliant regional network of entrepreneurs.

Learn more about Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs and the widespread innovation already here - invisible because it's under connected and under supported at the levels open innovation requires - in I-Open's Civic Wisdom Libraries on LivestreamVimeo and You Tube.

Read Marc's blog post, comment and participate in this important new conversation with Northeast Ohio entrepreneurs and Jumpstart - and hopefully joined by other regional education, economic and workforce development organizations - to implement better ways of connecting regional assets, resources,  and support services to advance Northeast Ohio's entrepreneurs.

Read Marc's blog post, and if you are so inclined, share this note with your networks. E-mail/ask Marc Cantor (on Facebook and Twitter) what you can do to strengthen transparency and accountability for prosperity building in our Northeast Ohio region, other regions in the nation, and perhaps the world.

Bring the best of the I-Open community's collective Brainpower to this important new conversation. Share your knowledge and expertise by posting to Marc's blog post examples and comments of how you strengthen transparency and accountability.

If every region's economic development organizations adopted the new practices and tools of Open Source Economic Development - openness, transparency and collaboration - entrepreneurs would be connected and regions would be cultures of bubbling-up thriving sustainability.

Ken Homer: The Power of Collaborative Conversations

The Power of Collaborative Conversations from I-Open on Vimeo. 

Ken Homer, Principal, Collaborative Conversations and David Hodgson, Converger, International Futures Forum, Principal and Founding Member, The IdeaHive, talk about the transformative value collaborative conversation brings to individuals, organizations and government. (Transcription below.) 

 Ken and David share one-of-a-kind perspectives, knowledge and stories about the powerful value of collaborative conversation to advance a meaningful society. 

 Ken is a Collaborative Coach and Consultant, and Principal of Collaborative Conversations, Adjunct Faculty-Mentor at New Ventures West, and Consultant, Facilitator and Coach at Omega Point International. Ken is past Director of Community Outreach, The World Cafe Foundation.

We wish to thank Ken and David for their generous contribution of knowledge and wisdom to the I-Open community.

Interview Index - an index of shorter videos from the complete interview:

Chapter 1: Collaborative Conversations [00:55:35] http://www.vimeo.com/17768120
Chapter 2: The Power of Conversations: Simple But Not Easy [00:04:48] http://www.vimeo.com/17775503
Chapter 3: Conversations in Organizations [00:10:55] http://www.vimeo.com/17776383
Chapter 4: Conversations & Conflict [00:05:39] http://www.vimeo.com/17777358
Chapter 5: Conversation & Listening [00:05:20] http://www.vimeo.com/17779351
Chapter 6: Oral Traditions [00:04:43] http://www.vimeo.com/17780722
Chapter 7: Conversational Shared Meaning [00:04:50] http://www.vimeo.com/17780985
Chapter 8: Conversation & Possibility [00:03:50] http://www.vimeo.com/17782427
Chapter 9: Organizations & Shared Meaning [00:07:16] http://www.vimeo.com/17782832
Chapter 10: Problems, Messes & Wicked Messes [00:05:10] http://www.vimeo.com/17783272
Chapter 11: Stories [00:02:38] http://www.vimeo.com/17783665

 Reference Links
    •    Ken Homer on Twitter http://twitter.com/ken_homer
    •    Collaborative Conversations http://collaborativeconversations.com/
    •    New Ventures West http://www.newventureswest.com/
    •    Omega Point International http://omegapoint.net/
    •    The World Cafe Community Foundation http://www.theworldcafe.com/wccf.htm
    •    David Hodgson on Twitter http://twitter.com/davidhodgson
    •    International Futures Forum http://www.internationalfuturesforum.com/
    •    The IdeaHive http://theideahive.com/

 Learn from the wisdom of civic leaders across these I-Open communities:
    •    Facebook I-Open http://tiny.cc/odlg2Flickr http://tiny.cc/73y6e
    •    Friendfeed http://friendfeed.com/iopen
    •    Livestream http://www.livestream.com/iopen/
    •    Posterous http://i-open.posterous.com/
    •    Scribd http://www.scribd.com/I-Open
    •    Slideshare http://www.slideshare.net/IOpen2
    •    Twitter http://twitter.com/iopen2
    •    Vimeo http://tiny.cc/106p0
    •    You Tube http://tiny.cc/j5rse

  Ken Homer, Collaborative Conversations Interview 06-19-2010