The practice of "making the system visible" is core to the discipline of systems thinking. In order to truly leverage change - design what can be, and implement what will be - we must understand what is. Draw it, paint it, build a model, act it out, do whatever it takes to make it visible; see the moving parts and understand how things connect.
Read MoreGreetings from Portland, Oregon, where the sun is shining like its California and the frigid temperatures make us think we're in Boston. The OF&D collective itself is scattered across the country, enjoying winter in various climes. We like to find creative ways of staying connected, including sharing our favorite music tracks.
Read MoreGreen Biz, the leading sustainable business news site, asked Owl Fox & Dean to write about our top five picks for Instagram in 2013. Click here to read the article.
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On September 1, 2008, fourteen days before the financial collapse, I stood on the 3rd story roof of the business I had just launched and looked out at the horizon with a deep understanding of why I was going into "business."
I quote the word business because being "in business" was not my intent. In other words, I did not start a business solely to be in business, but rather to help build a better community. I knew that myself and my team were the right people to do it. We had a vision and the resolve to reach for it.
Read MoreRecently, Harvard Business Review published a blog post entitled, Megastores Want to Be Like Mom-and-Pop Shops… Sort Of. The article described how businesses like Whole Foods Market, Starbucks and Lululemon are using the marketing concept of “local” to build appeal within communities seeking authentic, regionally differentiated businesses. These companies are excellent at marketing. Whole Foods has a goal to source 20% of its food locally, but its stores display “local” messaging over a much greater percentage of their square footprint. Lululemon employs a grassroots strategy, hiring popular yoga instructors as brand ambassadors to convey their message to the community.
Read MorePeople often ask me how I got into this work, here's how (and why I love it).
I've worked on many different kinds of projects throughout my career. Real estate, start-up business ventures, economic development initiatives, rural community building, collaborative story-telling... meaningful projects that I believed to be viable, and knew that if successful, would help to make the world a better place
Though so much time, energy and money was invested in these projects, many broke down, fell apart, or failed to launch.
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The Merriam Webster Dictionary definition of the word scrappy is: having an aggressive and determined spirit : feisty
The definition I prefer is one that I found on a slightly less official source, yet a source that, I believe, more accurately represents the way people use the word currently.
It seems that everyday I hear about a new technology that is going to save the world. Whether it's a new clean tech solution to help us meet our energy needs or materials that can "think" and adapt to their surroundings, there are incredible minds inventing incredible technologies that will no doubt change the world. So, can these technologies save us all from the monumental challenges we face?
Read MoreWhat is the formula for innovation?
Today on the radio show, This American Life, there was the story of a scientist and a sound expert working together to find a cure for cancer by identifying and testing certain tones that would kill cancer cells without harming surrounding cells. This uncommon partnership has shown extreme promise of finding a cure through this method and yet has not been able to prove their findings. Much of this is due to the mental models that each man holds. The sound expert is open to the promise of outside the box ideas and sees progress as proof, while the scientist must follow strict protocol to produce any results that are worthy of his peers. Arguably, neither would get as far as they have without each other and the skills and mental models they bring.
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