Upcoming Change Agent: Events

There is a lot happening in the next week. Here is the
rundown:

What: ATEN Exchange Fair at Learning Man

When and Where:  Saturday, May 4, 11 am to 4 pm Where: Soma Vida Work/Life Balance Wellness Center, 1210 Rosewood Avenue

The Austin Time Exchange Network (ATEN) supports an alternative currency “bank” that allows members to provide services for each other in exchange for time credits (Hours) that can be traded with any other member of the network. Membership is FREE.

~ My PRESENTATIONS~

Don’t’ call it Money!  - This is about why dollars are NOT money, they are currency; and why things like time can be a currency, too. This will be short, 15-20 minutes and I will repeat if there is interest. 11:30 am

What is a Change Agent, anyway?  - This is an invitation to become a Change Agent and learn to thrive in the current environment of massive change. 12:30 pm

Creating a Personal Vision - Having a Personal Vision is a key part of creating the personal vehicle that allows you to navigate all the change going on in the world. 2pm

Workshops have limited capacity. Sign up, ask questions or get more information by emailing: atenexchangefair@gmail.com A schedule of all the workshops can be found at:   http://wp.me/PvHIQ-54

What: Web Site Launch!

When and Where:  May 1 - Online ChangeAgentPublications.com

The new website will become a hub and valuable resource for communities of Change Agents!

What: Part Two of Become a Change Agent available for free Kindle download

When and Where:  May 3-5 Where: Online at Free Kindle readers for most devices can be downloaded from Amazon.com:

Contact me on Facebook: cliff.collard@facebook.com  or Twitter:   @CliffChange

Top 25 news stories that didn't make the News in 2012

This list is worth reading.  Many of the stories have important implications for Change Agents! Click the symbol to check it out.

ChangeAgentPublications.com launches May 1

30 days from today! 
Stay tuned for details!

Exerpt from my upcoming book on Vision

Here is an exerpt from my upcoming book, Become a Change Agent: Drive the Positive Change you want for yourself and the World  Part Two: Visions. Enjoy!

Why in the World Do I Need a Vision?

 

Where there is no vision, the people perish.

~ Proverbs 28:18

 
There are benefits to having a Personal Vision. There are costs or consequences for living without one.

Benefits

The first group of benefits helps the Change Agent choose the correct actions.

1.       A Personal Vision keeps the Change Agent focused on what really matters.

2.      A Personal Vision allows the Change Agent to make choices more effectively and confidently.

The second group of benefits helps the Change Agent retain focus.

3.      A Personal Vision helps the Change Agent flesh out what is important.

4.      A Personal Vision keeps the Change Agent on track in a crazy world.

5.      A Personal Vision cuts through the haze and confusion.

The third group of benefits helps the Change Agent find happiness.

6.      A Personal Vision helps a Change Agent love life.

Costs

Without a Personal Vision, it is easy to make bad choices.

1.       You get involved with people, activities and projects that you should avoid.

2.      You waste time and energy due to a lack of focus.

Without a Personal Vision, it is easy to be directionless and ineffective.

3.      Day to day life is focused on urgencies, crises and chaos.

4.      You do not have an independent voice and it becomes easy to get “run over”.

5.      You are unable to set true guidelines or boundaries.

6.      Life seems rudderless and directionless. There seems to be no map or future other than spinning your wheels.

Without a Personal Vision, life is one of waste and regret.

7.      You squander your talents.

8.     You dread growing old.

9.      You look back with regret and forward with fear.

10.   You are unhappy and have feelings of being overwhelmed, depressed and sad.

DO NOT LIVE THIS WAY! GET A PERSONAL VISION! Start to change your life with a Positive Personal Vision. 

What is your Personal Vision?

Visions from TEDx Austin - looking back and looking forward

I am excited about attending TEDx Austin’s FearLess conference this weekend. It will be a day where I see example after example of how Personal Visions that are activated make positive changes for the World.

Last night’s “preshow”  Happy Hour was a fantastic series of conversations with other Change Agents on topics including complexity theory, education, gamification, ecommerce and solar power for Africa. Most of the time, I was in a group of 4 people. I got so engrossed in conversation that I never found the cheese tray.

Last year’s conference centered on the theme “Beyond Measure". It opened with Chris Riley saying, “We are going to share amazing stories with the world today!” and it was true beyond measure. Here are just a few of the speakers with messages that I loved:

·         A guerilla guide to improving urban landscapes. Jason Roberts – How to build a better block.

·         Emergency Shelters. A revolutionary design for those displaced by natural disasters by Michael McDaniel.

·         Preemptive Love – Violence unmakes the World. This can be fixed one person at a time. Jeremy Court discovered that something like 1 in 7 Iraqi children are born with a broken heart, litterally. These are birth defects can be corrected surgically by Turkish doctors (Turkey and Iraq are historical enemies). US Iraqi war veterans are seeing it in their children, too. This guy would have recieved the Nobel Peace Prize if I were awarding it.

·         There were so many more amazing presentations Check out the playlist.

If you only have time to watch one, please watch Jeremy Court, Preemptive Love. This story has so much heart and is an example of how ancient hatreds can be bridged.

What is your favorite TED Talk?

What are the characteristics of a Change Agent?

A Change Agent is someone that thrives in the current environment of massive change. He or she does that with a vehicle that harnesses the power of that change when the change's flow is favorable. The Change Agent also has the tools to help recognize when to temporarily seek shelter from unfavorable changes. Most important, a Change Agent understands that absolute stability is an illusion.

I have spent most of the last year working on the concept of “Become a Change Agent”, drawing on my experience in the workplace. I am writing a Kindle miniseries on the subject. More about Parts One and Two at the end of this post. I was not always a Change Agent. I tried to cling to the “UsedToBes” in my business and it caused me to work harder and harder for a shrinking return. I did not learn to embrace change until I was well into my second career in Information Technology.

There are several characteristics that make anyone a Change Agent:

1.       A Change Agent holds Vision.  It is important to have and be mindful of a Vision. You need a Vision to know where you are going. Change Agents review thier Vision constantly to make sure that actions are consistent with the Vision.

2.      A Change Agent knows about change and harnesses its power. The title of Part One in my “Become a Change Agent” series is “Understanding Change. A Change Agent stays in the flow of change to amplify his or her effort. You must be able to understand the flow before you can harness it.

3.      A Change Agent is resilient. That mean he or she has the ability to persist, recover or thrive amid disruption. So do the groups that the Change Agent influence.

4.      A Change Agent inspires others, primarily by sharing an infectious Vision and expressing the appropriate amount of gratitude.

5.      A Change Agent leads by doing and example. The Change Agent does NOT sit in the corner office and bark orders!

6.      A Change Agent is able to humbly assume the role of resourceful follower when the situation arises.

7.      A Change Agent co-creates. Creative collaborations with others create strong interpersonal bonds. Unity is a powerful force for positive change!

8.     A Change Agent knows that adaptability is the new wealth. Change Agents constantly seek and choose options because they know nothing is permanent – good or bad. The ability and willingness to adapt conquers fear.

9.      A Change Agent produces more than he/she consumes. This is a cornerstone of personal responsibility. It is also the only way to ensure long-term sustainability of your customer base.

Here is a link to PartOne of my Kindle miniseries. Part Two is Now available. If you sign up for the mailing list, you will get an opportunity to download Part Two for free in early May!

Are you a Change Agent?http://amzn.to/VtNhV4

Introduction to Leadership

 Part One of Become a Change Agent: ended by describing vision as the cornerstone of your leadership. Part Two dives straight into the nature of a vision because you can’t lead without an idea of where you are going! This series of blog posts will act as the bridge between Parts One and Two.

Chapter 3 even lists the negative trends that we readily see in today’s institutions and the “leaders” that manage them. Now is the time to ask…

What is a leader?

A leader organizes and directs people in a common direction. It may be toward a goal or a series of goals. Leaders and Managers are different; even though there is some overlap for managers of people. It is possible to manage a process, a service or inventory. You can only lead people. Managers have titles, budgets and infrastructure. Their authority is granted from a higher authority. Leaders have followers and their authority stems from their actions and skills. Leaders have roles.

Leaders lead from the front. They are doers, not managers. Those that follow them know they pull their weight and give more because they can see what the leader is doing – not cowering in a corner office. True leaders embrace their followers as equals. They celebrate the accomplishments of those they lead and freely give away credit.

Two critical components of leadership are transparency and the ability to present a coherent message. The leader’s vision may be huge and complicated. Presenting the parts in “digestible” pieces is key. At the same time, the pieces must both make sense and fit together in an easy to understand and follow format. This is the message or the vision in an easy to communicate form.

Transparency means that people know what a leader is doing. There are 2 levels of transparency, internal and external. External transparency is communicating concrete and verifiable facts that indicate the leader and organization are playing by the rules and executing on their plan/vision.  This must be balanced against the needs to protect the confidences that have been entrusted to the leader. Leaders cannot openly talk about the organization’s “special sauce” – the special knowledge that makes the group’s deliverables unique.

Yet another aspect of transparency is a leader that openly owns his/her own mistakes. This has the added value of helping the group avoid repeating that mistake!

 

Leaders must vigilantly guard against falling into the ego trap. True leaders are constantly complemented because they are effective. Flattery can be addictive to the ego. The best way I know to preserve humility is to understand where the ego fits in the self. (A description of this is found at the end of my report on Models. You can get a free copy by subscribing to my mailing list.)

 True leaders lead with passion and love. Passion is an intensely positive attitude toward the leader’s vision and goals. Love is the genuine affection the leader feels for his followers. Leaders that fake either of these traits will be exposed in the long run!

Is there more than one kind of leader?

The short answer is yes, there are several kinds of leaders. Here are a few of the important types of leadership.

Business leaders lead organizations that produce goods and services for a profit. The leader may be over a small business or a specific unit of a large business. Large organizations tend to be run by professional Managers that don’t necessarily fit the description of leadership listed here.

Non-profit organizations are also run by leaders. These organizations tend to provide services that cannot be expected to earn a profit as defined by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. They must operate by a specific set of rules to qualify as non-profit organizations.

Community and political leaders tend to have common goals. They organize for the good of a specifically defined group such as the citizens of a city or a defined interest group. Their primary concern is the well-being of the people they both lead and serve.

Thought leaders strive to be at the cutting edge of new ideas. They both observe and create new methods and technologies. Thought leaders are recognized for innovation by their peers, typically in a specialized business environment. Most people additionally consider thought leaders as mentors that deliver value to customers in the form of innovative ideas.

Want more about Leadership?

Kevin W. McCarthy has written a couple of great books on the subject. He takes the subject of both personal and team leadership on in much more detail than I do.

On-Purpose Leader

What is coming in the next post in this Leadership Series?

The next post deals with visionaries and why they never go out of style.

 

Get my new Kindle book now!

Become a Change Agent:

Drive the positive change you want for yourself and the world!

Part One Understanding Change

http://amzn.to/QJ1yqX

 

Don’t have a Kindle? Here is a link to download a reader for PC, Mac, Android, iPhone and many others.

http://bitly.com/UDp7Ie

Be the change...

Review of Become a Change Agent: Drive the positive change you want for yourself and the world! Originally posted on Amazon.com on October 25
- by Occupy Texas

There are some very interesting positions posted here. Unfortunately, some are posted without reason or explanation. For example, he stated that our founding fathers believed, rightly, that democracy was undesirable. He offers no justification or explanation. What is desirable? A Plutocracy? An oligarchy? Who gets a voice? The rich? The college educated? Who decides who gets a voice, the ones with the largest guns? One aspect of our lack of direct democracy(The author errs in saying that direct democracy is undesirable, not in saying that we lack it.)is the Electoral College, which resulted in a candidate who had received fewer popular votes than his opponent being pronounced president by the Supreme Court. Thanks to that lack of direct democracy, the whole world paid and hundreds of thousands died. The people will make themselves heard, if not through the democratic process, then some other way.

Which brings me to the second disagreement I have with the author. He called the Occupy Movement disorganized and without goals. Like above, the author was partially correct. The Occupy Movement began as a reaction to what the people saw as grievous wrongs and the uprisings in the Middle East and Madison Wisconsin. The resulting anger caused Zucotti Park and the subsequent occupations of 1500 other towns and cities. As the author said, there was no planning or organization before the occupation, just a spontaneous expression of anger and passion.We went on that way for over nine months, but during that time, Occupy Philadelphia was organizing a national gathering in Philly, scheduled for Independence Day. At that gathering, the Visioning Statement was drafted. This was a list of our demands. The top ten demands, which are rank ordered, are (1)clean water, air and food, (2) free education for all, (3) no war, (4)a sustainable human society, (5) a culture of direct democracy, (6)free universal healthcare, (7)local food production, community gardens and permaculture agriculture, (8)economic equality, (9)localized economies and (10) a world where basic needs are met.