Candidly, this is a great challenge. There are so many topics to choose from and so many areas that are completely changing the landscape of non-profits daily.
My preparation for ForgeWorks started many years ago. My mom, who passed away after a long bout with cancer at the age of 44, gave me the gift of people watching. She absolutely loved to take me to a local park, bus stop or anywhere we were and just help me to see people, create a story around what we could see and then to look for things that weren’t apparent at first. We didn’t have a lot of money, so this was also a cheap way to keep me focused and learning. This experience prepared me to really see, not just look.
Similarly, much of the success at Garden Spot Communities has been to view the world with new eyes and not accept limitations as roadblocks, but rather opportunities. In future blogs, we will talk about remixes, innovisits, co-creation and ideation – all which form the approach and lexicon of our work.
Our DNA at ForgeWorks is to look broadly for inspiration. Ideas can come from a trip to a local supermarket, an article, a night at the opera or the beauty of a simple conversation. We train ourselves to truly look deeply at situations, people’s behavior and responses to see problems through new lenses. We love to find new insight in our work, our daily lives, our community and share it with other practitioners and artisans. From time to time we will provide blogs on new ideas, what we are thinking, how we are being inspired by people from other walks of life and most importantly how you can apply this to your organization and work.
Hope you enjoy the blog! We hope this is a community effort, so don’t hesitate to post a comment, write a blog, ask a question or add your own personal insights.
Happy reading my friends!
Steve Jeffrey is the Co-Founder/Guild Master of ForgeWorks and is passionate about building great foundations in people and non-profit organizations. His work is focused on innovation, strategy, affiliations and cultural alignment.