I’ve spent much of my time over the past three years writing a book – Xbox Revisited: A Game Plan for Corporate and Civic Renewal – which amongst other things describes a new discipline I call Civic Engineering. The core of being a Civic Engineer involves working with non-profits, community organizations, and government agencies to drive improvements in our local, state, and even federal activities.
The book and my consulting work have led to a raft of guest lecturing opportunities at universities across the country as well as a number of speaking engagements large and small with organizations focused on civic change. As an example, last week I was in New York with Year Up, in Boston with New Profit, and then back home to Seattle with a private group called Camp Kern. Of course, promoting the book has been a full-time job for the past two months and that will continue through the end of the year.
The book has also opened up opportunities for me to guest blog on a number of other sites – this is the beauty of the web – more interesting content at no extra cost! Here are three of my posts from other sites that are closely related to the civic change theme:
- Finding Life’s Act II: In this post on Maria Shriver’s website I discuss the important process of assessing one’s life, establishing a place for civic engagement, and pursuing that goal aggressively. The time has come for all of us to find a civic passion, get educated, and get more involved.
The Civic Power of American Innovation: America is known for Silicon Valley and our ability to innovate in business. This article at Working Capital Review asks the important question of how we can apply that innovation DNA to the challenging problems we face in our local, state, and national communities.- Engineers Wanted: No Degree Required: In this post, I discuss the fundamental requirements to be a civic engineer AND the imperative we all share to pursue this type of work.
- Missing Ingredients: Finding the Right Team Recipe: I am a believer that great leaders spend a significant percentage of their time focused on building the best teams with the right culture. In this post on LeadershipNow, I provide some thoughts on how this process begins with a powerful strategy foundation, requires the right team concepts, and demands great execution from all levels of the team.
Community change really happens at the crossroads of strategy development, leadership activity, organizational culture, and constructive dialog. Since so much of this is lacking in our current government activities, the gaps need to be filled by citizens, businesses, and non-profits. The purpose of my work in my “Act II” is about mobilizing this army of civic engineers.
Come join me…
