Okay, so I had a whole weekend to work through my thoughts on the KCFFI visioning process and ....surprise! My thoughts haven't changed too much. I'm still a bit overwhelmed by the whole process and because we spent most of the time throwing ideas into the air instead of nailing them down, there are not many concrete tasks to report.
A tool that I picked up at the workshop that I think will extend into my professional and personal life is decision-making frameworks. I am excited to see how the various frameworks interact and look forward to critically analyzing the organization and development processes to figure out which methods work best for the initiative and, in a "side" project, my life. As a person who wants to make decisions based on my values, a strong, thoughtful framework is critical to my sanity and consistency.
Other stuff:
We got a glimpse of the latest version of the website today. Ryan stopped by to give us a brief overview of the Drupal program...we didn't get much of a chance to fool around with the program, but it was great to see the improvements in the layout/design and to learn a bit about how we'll manage content on the site.
We had a strategic planning meeting for Food Lust to make sure that we're all on the same page and working toward success for the final few weeks. It looks like we're headed in the right direction, but we're still short on wine for the bottle brawl and desserts for the dessert dash. If you're interested in donating either, please let us know.
Have a great Monday.
Mark
Article Roll-call
Mark's pick: Increasing food prices help shift our focus to a more sustainable agricultural economy
Urban sprawl is killing Puget Sound
Showing posts with label KCFFI. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KCFFI. Show all posts
Monday, May 12, 2008
Friday, May 9, 2008
Systems Thinking, or the day I learned about the importance of establishing core values
Hey gang, a great week...lots to report.
My Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to attending a "visioning and planning meeting focused on organizational and systems thinking" for the King County Food and Fitness Initiative at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Not just a mouthful, but a brainful as well. Going into the first meeting on Wednesday, I was prepared: I had blank paper; my favorite pen; some slick, professional clothes on; and an open mind. I definitely needed that last item.
First, let me write that I was incredibly impressed with the quality of people that attended the workshop. There were Leadership Council members, various industry representatives and, most importantly, many community members from Delridge and White Center. Also, the attendees were racially, ethnically and every-which-way diverse. In fact, out of 35 or so people, I was one of two white males. I think that's impressive. For me, that was fairly unusual. I pride myself on being accepting of all people, but most of the time, I'm probably with people that look like me. Most of us are like that. So, when I took a look around the room Wednesday morning, I got a little excited and thought "this is good. This is the diversity that we've been trying to capture. I think we'll get some interesting work done." Then I thought "oh, great. We're going to get nothing done, as everyone will either A) tip-toe around important issues for the sake of "political correctness" or B) no one will agree on anything and we'll spend all day arguing and forming into factions to plan against each other and promote singular views." Pessimistic, I know, but I've seen so-called "collaboratives" function in both ways (A and B) and neither way is effective or enjoyable.
Well, my initial thought was more accurate. The people that chose to show up did so because they believed in the vision of a better future for Delridge, White Center and King County and wanted to work collaboratively toward that vision. Very exciting.
**Note: I am having difficulty writing this. So much happened at the workshop, much of it in broad brush strokes of grand ideas...I'm not belittling it, quite the opposite, it's just hard to capture all of it, especially so soon after taking part. Bear with me.
Okay, in an effort to keep y'all interested and to make this a manageable post, I'm gonna sign off for the moment and try to process all of my thoughts, then continue with this topic on the next post.
Mark
My Wednesday and Thursday were dedicated to attending a "visioning and planning meeting focused on organizational and systems thinking" for the King County Food and Fitness Initiative at the Youngstown Cultural Arts Center. Not just a mouthful, but a brainful as well. Going into the first meeting on Wednesday, I was prepared: I had blank paper; my favorite pen; some slick, professional clothes on; and an open mind. I definitely needed that last item.
First, let me write that I was incredibly impressed with the quality of people that attended the workshop. There were Leadership Council members, various industry representatives and, most importantly, many community members from Delridge and White Center. Also, the attendees were racially, ethnically and every-which-way diverse. In fact, out of 35 or so people, I was one of two white males. I think that's impressive. For me, that was fairly unusual. I pride myself on being accepting of all people, but most of the time, I'm probably with people that look like me. Most of us are like that. So, when I took a look around the room Wednesday morning, I got a little excited and thought "this is good. This is the diversity that we've been trying to capture. I think we'll get some interesting work done." Then I thought "oh, great. We're going to get nothing done, as everyone will either A) tip-toe around important issues for the sake of "political correctness" or B) no one will agree on anything and we'll spend all day arguing and forming into factions to plan against each other and promote singular views." Pessimistic, I know, but I've seen so-called "collaboratives" function in both ways (A and B) and neither way is effective or enjoyable.
Well, my initial thought was more accurate. The people that chose to show up did so because they believed in the vision of a better future for Delridge, White Center and King County and wanted to work collaboratively toward that vision. Very exciting.
**Note: I am having difficulty writing this. So much happened at the workshop, much of it in broad brush strokes of grand ideas...I'm not belittling it, quite the opposite, it's just hard to capture all of it, especially so soon after taking part. Bear with me.
Okay, in an effort to keep y'all interested and to make this a manageable post, I'm gonna sign off for the moment and try to process all of my thoughts, then continue with this topic on the next post.
Mark
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