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Small Pieces Loosely Joined

I am an admirer of David Weinberger's wit and insight. He came to prominence a few years back with his collaboration on The Cluetrain Manifesto, a plea for a return to the human voice in large scale communication. His book Small Pieces Loosely Joined is billed as a "unified theory of the web" and I was skeptical that it would turn out to be very unified, since it seemed to be a collection of thoughtful, but somewhat whimsical essays on topics such as time, space, and perfection. But then I came to the last chapter, entitled Hope, and it all came together. He is excited about the web for the same reason that I am. It's a medium that can reflect and reinforce all the messy relationships that make human beings the delightful and frustrating social creatures that they are and therefore has the potential to help return us to ourselves. Posted: 9/30/05; 4:39:48 PM #

Organizational Culture and Leadership

Those of us who work to help bring about change in nonprofits talk a lot about organizational culture, but I am pretty sure that most of us don't have a clear idea of what that phrase means or how to make it useful. Edgar Schein's classic text on Organizational Culture and Leadership is a must read for any consultant or leader who wants to have a clear vision for how to embed and transmit cultures that support powerful and effective beliefs and practices. I love the last chapter, which defines leadership itself as managed cultural change. Posted: 9/30/05; 4:32:16 PM #

Stepping Up the Attack on Green Activists

In Stepping Up the Attack on Green Activists, Kelly Hearn takes a close look at the U.S. government crackdown on environmentalists and animal rights advocates. The FBI is using terrifyingly vague domestic terrorist laws to justify rampant surveillance and strongarm tactics. Read the text yourself and see how far you think it allows them to go. By my reading, someone who blocks traffic to make a political point could be considered a terrorist. Posted: 9/30/05; 4:23:19 PM #

American Legion Condemns Court Ruling on Abu Ghraib Photos

The American Legion is asserting that freedom of information is a threat to charities working in Iraq. They are trying to undermine transparency in government in the form of preventing the release of images from the torture at Abu Graib. They are speaking on behalf of "teachers, lawyers, ministers, and workers of charitable organizations", but I would prefer to see them speak for themselves. I for one see safety and reconciliation in speaking and revealing the truth of misdeeds. Posted: 9/30/05; 4:16:19 PM #

David Corn's Analysis of Protest Politics
	I appreciated David Corn's recent critique of protest politics. I think there are times for big marches and rallies, but those techniques are far too overused for the amount of effort put into them. Posted: 9/30/05; 4:11:59 PM #

From Transactional to Transformational Philanthropy

I've been encouraging nonprofit executives to blog for years, but I think it might just be catching on. It's particularly exciting to watch Brian Byrnes, the CEO of the Vermont Community Foundation, blog about the process they are going through to utterly revise their core business model. I highly recommend his first large post: From Transactional to Transformational Philanthropy: Exploring a New Community Foundation Business Model. Posted: 9/30/05; 4:10:14 PM #

Good ICT Practice in Development Activities

My favorite thing about the Danish International Development Agency's Good ICT Practice in Development Activities web site is the name. I'm so tired of the phrase "best practices", especially since the people using it almost never have any criteria for determining what is best and therefor often use the phrase to really mean "prevailing practices". There is something delightfully modest about this site, despite it being rather rich in smart content. Posted: 9/30/05; 3:58:43 PM #