Category Archives: Week 4

Week 4 #sequoia “Mutual Enrollment at the Speed of Trust”

“Enrollment means that the person you’re with wants to get on the bus that you’re on, with full knowledge of where you intend to go.” This week want to express my gratitude for our last month together. Thank you Jennifer, Felipe, Elizabeth, Todd and Phil and members of our Shared Ownership Compadres (SOC)! I wouldContinue reading “Week 4 #sequoia “Mutual Enrollment at the Speed of Trust””

My Deepest Darkest Fear Around Shared Ownership

Too Many Cooks in the Kitchen A friend of mine is fond of saying that when you start a business, everything has to go right.  You don’t have any capital, you can’t get credit, and you don’t have any customers.  The conditions have to be perfect for a new venture to work. The same isContinue reading “My Deepest Darkest Fear Around Shared Ownership”

Empathy Warriors

In Octavia Butler’s “The Parable of the Sower,” the protagonist Lauren Olamina has what is called “hyperempathy syndrome.” In this dystopian future society, many people have this condition caused by their mothers being addicted to a certain drug when they were in utero. The symptoms are that Lauren can literally, physically feel what other peopleContinue reading “Empathy Warriors”

Without empathy, can there be a sixth principal?

In this last post of the workshop, I will mix a little of the personal and professional as I ponder the three different kinds of empathy and how they might apply to the cooperative community within the context of the sixth cooperative principle: “cooperation among cooperatives.” I grew up on a farm in Iowa whereContinue reading “Without empathy, can there be a sixth principal?”

3 Reasons Why Our Employee Ownership Center Will Fail

Several years ago I read about Jack Dorsey’s strategy for pitching his new startup Square. Although he had already founded Twitter, a unicorn social media app, Square was a fintech company and Dorsey had no background in finance. It was an issue that potential funders raised repeatedly. In response to this opposition, Dorsey explained “WeContinue reading “3 Reasons Why Our Employee Ownership Center Will Fail”

Why is There a White Man in the Break Room? (And Why is He Eyeballing My Oreos?)

By the time I landed in Charlotte, rented a car, and made my way to Opportunity Threads, I was bleary-eyed and famished. Not only that, I was early. So I rolled my suitcase (in that awkward way where your bag is actually at your side because of the swivel wheels, not behind you like aContinue reading “Why is There a White Man in the Break Room? (And Why is He Eyeballing My Oreos?)”

The University Cooperative: A 4th Industrial Revolution Solution

The projected skills gap resulting from the unique demands of the 4th Industrial Revolution, distinctive characteristics of Gen Z students, and complications related to the global COVID-19 crisis represent major factors putting universities in a battle for relevancy and survival. Employers are struggling to find employees with the requisite skills and competencies they need. GenContinue reading “The University Cooperative: A 4th Industrial Revolution Solution”

Change is inevitable…and so is resistance

Being at a juncture in my life where I am listening for the”what next”, I’m having a hard time knowing how to implement this prompt. So I’m going to use it as a time to reflect upon a couple of examples of what worked/didn’t work in the past to create change. I remember when IContinue reading “Change is inevitable…and so is resistance”