Believe it or not: you already have fans.
Your fans are the people who really get what you are up to. The donor that will jump through loops to find money for you in his budget. The member that will renew his membership no matter what. The expert who says ‘yes’ the instant you invite her to your event. The guy who responds to every newsletter. Your staff. Your friends. Maybe even your mom. Continue reading
Some of my clients have it all: They are on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn. They run their own online community. They have a blog. When I speak to them, they are so overworked that their main question is: “How can we automate all this?”
Others are just starting out, and are overwhelmed by all the platforms and possibilities out there. How can they decide where to place their energy? Continue reading
“We’re only just getting started”, explained the manager of the large-ish Belgian company. They had recently introduced measures to cut paper consumption in their offices, promote reusable mugs and considered a move to Fair Trade coffee. “How can we take our employees along for these sustainability efforts?”
Had they considered setting an objective, I asked. Certainly, employees would be more likely to engage if they saw that the company is serious about it. Not yet, he replied. So we brainstormed some ideas: Continue reading
“I was absolutely amazed how much we got done in just an hour”, one of my participants told me after the final round of workshops at last week’s strategy retreat for German digital rights activists. None of these workshops was prepared in advance or externally facilitated – instead, we went for structure. Continue reading
2011 | FoeBuD et al.
So many interesting projects and working groups that there’s hardly any time to tweet – padeluun
Net neutrality, data retention laws and privacy – Germany’s digital rights activists are a busy bunch in their efforts to protect civil rights online. They also value freedom of expression and democracy when working together in grassroots networks. Continue reading
How did it get so busy again? September has only just started, and I’m already in the middle of the roller coaster: Sketching a project plan for a client’s rebranding, training a group of future sustainability leaders in campaign strategy, debugging a database, discussing the last bits of preparation for next week’s Sustainability Communications Masterclass. Another week goes by without an update to you, my folks.
Does this sound familiar? Continue reading
The other day, a friend of mine asked me about the Tällberg Forum. I told her how Bo Ekman, a former Volvo executive, had founded it 30 years ago and how it had grown to a fantastic conference on today’s sustainability challenges, bridging business, science, government and civil society. Her eyes grew skeptical: “But isn’t that greenwash?”, she asked. Continue reading
Words are important. They “provide the mental structures that shape the way we see the world”, to say it with Lakoff. We use words in groups and conversations to make meaning.
Yet, I’m sensing a profound discomfort with many of the words we are using in the sustainability space. We were certainly lost for words at Thursday’s conversation on “CSR & Sustainable Development”. Continue reading
SWAP! FXS Monster Cars Photo: Zappadong
When I was in high school, we used to while away our long commutes playing Auto-Quartett [1]. It’s a simple game: each of the 32 cards represents one car and its technical specifications (power, weight, speed, age etc). When it’s your turn, you pick a category; the person with the best value on their current card wins the round. Continue reading
On the top of my bookshelf sits a set of books pronouncing catastrophe: a half-read copy of Eaarth (Bill McKibben, 2010) next to the never-even-touched Hell and High Water (Alastair McIntosh, 2008). I’ve been avoiding them vicariously. Paul Gilding’s new book The Great Disruption (2011) would probably make a splendid addition.
Passionate environmentalist, savvy marketeer and generally helpful person. Speaks geek. More...
