By now we are all a little “zoomed out.” We are hungry for real human interaction. Sometimes we think of artists as being at the cutting edge of technology. My perception of artists is that they are often the first to try new things. But now I hear from the Network they are becoming disillusioned with technology. Perhaps they are the proverbial “canaries in the coal mine,” for all of us? What do you think about that?

Everyone read the same thing together to create community

This struck me as a wonderful antidote to the disillusionment I have heard about. This could harness shared creative thinking to create the community we are all craving. I have always believed that great relationships happen when we work on something important together, when we collaborate and create together.

Collaborative research

One way of creating together is to actively listen together, to cooperate with another organization and say, “What if we pooled our resources and committed to learn about our marketplace together?” I believe that every organization is unique and uniquely gifted by God to accomplish the mission that He wants it to accomplish, just like each individual is uniquely created by God to carry out a unique mission. What that means is we can afford to be collaborative in our work. We can afford to say to other organizations, let’s do this together, and we will each learn something unique, and we will each benefit. And, more importantly, our constituents will benefit because by listening, we are showing them that we care about them and about serving their needs.

Consulting as an art form

I have often thought of the practice of consulting as an art form. I was happy to hear someone else in the Network express that thought, especially in an environment where it is too easy to let fear sap our creativity. It encouraged me to take a step back, to continue to breathe deeply, and preserve space for practicing that art. How do you practice art in the work that you do? How do you make things more beautiful?