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#193: Far Away From Here

“Have you heard? That new virus is spreading like crazy in Wuhan, China. That seems just awful.”

“Oh gosh, now there are tons of cases in Italy and Iran. I heard it came from a bat. How terrifying. Thank goodness there are only a few cases here.”

“It’s exploded in New Rochelle, just outside New York city, and cases are increasing across Europe. Close the borders.”

“New York is the epicenter of coronavirus in the U.S. Those damn, godless New Yorkers, all pressed up against each other. Good thing we’re safe out here in Texas. Or Wyoming. Or Nevada. Or in Lagos or Delhi or Mexico City for that matter.”

Sasha DichterApril 16, 2020Sasha DichterComment

#192: We’re All In The Crisis Of Nothing

We’ve all been through moments in life when a crisis disrupts the patterns of how we spend our time. For me, it might be something as small as missing a flight, which forces me to spend the entire day reconfiguring travel arrangements. For others it might be caring for a child with a broken arm, or dealing with a work issue that upends an entire week.

Or, as the case is now, the crisis might be as shared and massive as a global pandemic. It appears to have forced almost half the planet to reconfigure their time to do…. Well….. nothing. Just sit. Nothing.

Robert RoseApril 15, 2020Rob RoseComment

#191: Anti Pet Peeves - A Dose of Joy

No matter how crisis-ridden and unstable the world is, tulips are determined to bloom. - JC Herz

How it doesn’t take me any effort to motivate my son to go on a run (before corona, it was most difficult to get him off the couch) 😂 - Jorgen van der Sloot

Flying (Strange how quickly that changed). - Matthias Hollwich

CommunityApril 10, 2020Anti Pet Peeves, CommunityComment

#190: Leadership During Crisis: 5 Specific Practices

Dr. Morris Pickens is a member of the Community for Change and also is a “wildcard” for some of our Coburn Ventures work. He wrote this piece highlighting 5 practices for leadership during a time of crisis, like the moment we currently find ourselves in, that we shared with our Coburn Ventures audience. We also wanted to share it with all of you. Mo’s piece is attached as a PDF, and there is also a link below for a podcast interview he did with Brynne on this same topic.

Thank you, Mo, for your endless wisdom and giving us guidance during this difficult time.

Morris PickensApril 9, 2020Mo Pickens, Listeners CircleComment

#189: CFC Connection Story

Last year, Elana invited me to be a guest monologist for "The Armando Diaz Experience" (link), an improv show at the Magnet Theater in NYC. In this show, the monologist takes a suggestion from the audience and/or shares true stories from their life. These stories are then brought to life by a cast of improv performers. One show has three acts and it happens every Saturday evening.

Maria SouzaApril 7, 2020Maria SouzaComment

#188: Another Joyful List of Anti-Pet Peeves

I had collected anti pet-peeves for the month of February, asking some community members to share a single anti-pet peeve of theirs. However, I am discovering a common occurrence when I ask people to share their anti pet-peeve: Once they start with one, it's hard to stop!

Below is the list that Matthias graciously came up with and shared. What a great way to start a new month! Enjoy!

Matthias HollwichApril 1, 2020Matthias HollwichComment

#187: Falling Down is the Answer

A few months or more ago, I began greatly reducing the amount of times I help Ellie. Can’t reach something up on a shelf? Oh well. Getting frustrated when her ball rolls under the table, just out of reach. Ugh, bummer. Trips and falls? Even drops her head and whimpers a little? I get a little closer, offer some words or perhaps a rub on the back if it seemed to frighten her, but for the most part, I’m working on giving up “saving her” from her own problems.

Jaime PosaMarch 30, 2020Jaime PosaComment

#186: The beauty of this pandemic

I'm writing this from Amsterdam, the Netherlands, where the schools have been closed for at least three weeks and almost everyone is working from home. Only the most vital functions in society are still fully operational: people in healthcare, educators, law enforcement, fire brigades, government, etc. I'm sure most of you across the globe are experiencing something similar or will soon. We can still go outside on the streets here and when you do, you see a new kind of society. I see parents with their kids playing, educating, and shopping. The rat race has come to a full stop. Everyone nods at each other in mutual understanding. I wondered: can you imagine when society stays like this, what it would feel like? Of course, we have to beat that virus (it's horrible, no question about that), but can you imagine a society in which the truly important functions are really valued for what they do? Can you imagine a society in which the rest of us are just taking a step back and have come to terms with 'less'?

Jörgen Van der SlootMarch 25, 2020Jörgen Van der SlootComment

#185: Vanishing Borders: When Kids Crash the Video Call

A few years ago, in Park City, Utah, near the completion of a two-day gathering we call Road Makers, Rob Rose said that it was so nice and valuable to have a space he could show up not as a superhero—which is often required at business gatherings—but, instead, as his alter ego Clark Kent.

Way back in the 1990s, a family friend switched jobs.

Pip CoburnMarch 23, 2020Pip CoburnComment

#184: Using Social Media for Anti-Loneliness

In preparation for writing about the Community for Change and Instagram, Pip asked me to think about perhaps my own first Instagram post. I remember it very clearly, actually. It was back in 2012 when my older, cooler cousin told me about this app called Instagram where you could post photos. I downloaded it, and my first photo was of bouquets of sunflowers I had hung upside down with twine – with a very heavy, color-saturated filter, of course.

Lauren CulbertsonMarch 19, 2020Lauren CulbertsonComment

#183: Too Small to Fail

I am highlighting April Tam Smith’s note below on PS Kitchen…

For context…

I remember back in 2009 as some extremely large companies were bailed out the phrase “too big to fail” became popularized… and quickly demonized. People HATE that phrase.

I think NOW we are quickly understanding too small to fail.

I have no idea what the actual numbers are, but everyone I know knows people who will have no work and people whose small businesses may face real survival issues.

I am highlighting this note from our dear friend April.

April Tam SmithMarch 18, 2020April Tam SmithComment

#182: The Second Wave

A week ago, I felt ahead of the coronavirus curve. Our town had closed schools as of the prior Sunday night, so our kids were already at home. Our community had started social distancing and I was already staying home from work. Meanwhile, the rest of the country, and most of the rest of the world, was going about business as usual.

What a difference a week makes.

If last week my community was living through a first, early wave, this week everyone everywhere got hit head-on with a mammoth second wave, and it’s knocked us off our feet.

Sasha DichterMarch 17, 2020Sasha DichterComment

#181: An Opportunity for Nearing

I feel blessed to be a part of this community. In thinking about the serious challenges and uncertainty we face a few things have come to mind that Pip invited me to share.

Irwin KulaMarch 15, 2020Irwin KulaComment

#180: Friendship in the Times of Pandemic

Earlier today, I replied to a message from Melissa, who, as usual, wrote me a kind note of friendship and encouragement. I told her that lately, our Zoom sessions and dinners about community made me connect even more with a passage in a recently published book about the biology and evolution of friendship (Isn’t it great? Friendship has a fundamental biological aspect to it, and it goes beyond human physiology! I am totally hooked on this book!).

Maria SouzaMarch 14, 2020Maria SouzaComment

#179: The Eye of the Storm

Like many, I’ve found my week and life disrupted by the Coronavirus.

First, over the weekend we decided to keep our 60 Decibels New York team working from home for the start of this week, since two of our team members live in Westchester County (which has been leading the nation in total number of Coronavirus cases). Then I learned late on Sunday night that our school district was closing until March 18th.

Sasha DichterMarch 11, 2020Sasha DichterComment

#178: What Cissey Taught Me: More than Tolerating

The CFC Writer’s Circle has perhaps inadvertently become a place to share the wisdom of loved ones who have passed away. I have really enjoyed hearing about Pip and the Posa sisters' respective fathers, Pip’s coach, as well as Amanda’s former boss in Florida. I am sure there have been others too. I lost a friend a year ago very unexpectedly, and as we come up to the one-year anniversary of her passing, I have been wanting to put into words some of the things she taught me.

Lauren CulbertsonMarch 5, 2020Lauren CulbertsonComment

#177: February Anti Pet Peeves Collection

When people offer me a seat on the subway, especially when my backpack is heavy and I have an hour commute. - Sandra Diaz

My watch tells me the sunrise and sunset every day, and it makes me SO HAPPY to see the time the sun sets get a little later each day - I’m not the biggest fan of short winter days! -Lauren Culbertson

Getting gas the other day I had a really, REALLY friendly attendant. This gentleman was truly remarkable, such that I asked him if telling his manager how great he was would help in any way. He affirmed that it would be, so I did. I often encounter people who seem to be grudgingly doing their work in this world... I was really grateful to encounter someone who brought joy to his work. -Richard Uniacke

CommunityFebruary 28, 2020Community, Anti Pet PeevesComment

#176: Tithing Time

A long time ago (1996) my incredible coach of 20 years Ken Davidson said: “Do you think I have a thought of what you should do in this situation? I truly don’t.. I have enough trouble figuring out my own life to spend any time thinking about what others should do with theirs.” And I stopped my own habit of contemplating what others should do with their lives that day as well. Why do I mention this “anti-advising” idea? It is one of the core core design principles of the Community For Change and all the writing in this series that Amanda brings to life for us. I am anti-advising. I think there is so much relief from self-consciousness when we feel we are truly in a space of zero fear of judgment and spaces filled with advisement (solicited or unsolicited) I sense can so often cut off genius and learning and community way too instantly. Perhaps I will write on this topic in the future more widely just to share the weird thinking I have migrated toward on the “advising” topic.

Steve CrandallFebruary 26, 2020Steve CrandallComment

#175: The Fringes of Community

I work remotely a majority of the time, and last week I decided to do a free trial with KettleSpace, a group that partners with restaurants in New York that are only open for dinner, transforming them into a coworking space during the day. Anyone can try them out for free for 7 days, so I thought why not?

The location closest to my apartment is a pretty unassuming restaurant that shares a building with the Czech Consulate on 73rd street. When I arrived, I was pleased to find only about seven people spread out around the room, either working silently on their laptops or in small groups. A KettleSpace employee greeted me when I walked in, gave me a short tour, and then I sat down with a black coffee to get to work.

Lauren CulbertsonFebruary 19, 2020Lauren CulbertsonComment

#174: Ruminations on Ruminating

So – in my experience one of the more common challenges we have as leaders is to make decisions under pressure. Where should we focus our time? Where do we start with our new strategy? Will the other team think we are stepping on their toes with our new approach? Should we back off our ambitious goals?

We can become so focused on what the right decision is, we lose the ability to even make one.

We think rehashing problems in our head helps us figure out the answer. It almost never does.

Overthinking often rears its head as we plan out a complex change we have to make. Mapping out all the things to we need to create, stop creating, or modify usually involves more unknowns than knowns.

Robert RoseFebruary 14, 2020Rob RoseComment