I like conferences when I learn something new. Or get a new idea about how to apply and express something old. Or reinforce an angle or an approach. So here’s some stuff I liked a lot at the AFP International Conference in Boston, March 19 – 21…All in the Rebels, Renegades, and Pioneers Track.
Leadership by Marcia Coné [Making change easier]
- Seeing from 30,000 feet, then deploying on the ground. Leaders have both perspectives.
- Normative behavior is safe and secure. Change is: Turbulence (rocking the board). Inviting controversy. Forcing discomfort. Causing difficulty. Upsetting people. Causing a problem.
- Research says that change makers have these 5 qualities: Persistence. Biased to take action. Transparent. Optimistic. Adaptability.
- Visit Marcia’s website. Attend her workshops. Read her stuff. Great info. Great presenter.
Why business won’t change the world [Michael Edwards]
- Read Mike’s marvelous book, Small Change – Why Business Won’t Save the World.
- 3 sectors: Government. Business/for-profit. Nonprofit (also called civil society). They are different! And the differences matter. Today’s blurring of lines are rather troublesome.
- Business (the marketplace) satisfies wants and needs at a price.
- Civil society (the nonprofit or NGO sector) provides entitlements without price. The strength and impact of the nonprofit sector may actually be diminishing. See Mike on YouTube.
Raising money for justice [Roger Craver, Jennie Thompson, Daryl Upsall]
- Solidarity. Movement. Activism. Fighting for justice. Roger, Jennie, and Daryl have worked in social justice and movements for years and years. Oh the stories they told!
- All movements begin with a small group of people seeing something wrong. Grassroots organizing then morphs into organizations. And then the long march into the political arena. Citizens > Political > Mainstream
- Threats: Intimidation by government and special interests.
Gender equity…diversity…dominant and non-dominant groups [Laura Liswood]
- We need to have enough people involved to make change. Just one “different” person doesn’t work.
- The dominant group’s performance is improved by the non-dominant group. Heterogenous groups are great! To make change in any organization requires much more than diversity. Read Laura’s book The Loudest Duck.
- What do you think women leaders – of nations – are talking about? Check out Laura’s book.
- Check Laura’s presentations on YouTube.
