Archive Library: PlexusCalls 2017

Imagination: A Resource for Radical Change, Friday, May 5, 2017
Guests: Brian Reich and Lisa Kimball

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In his new book The Imagination Gap, Brian Reich says that imagination and creativity aren’t the same thing. He says creativity is a powerful tool that leads to wonderful insights and messages. Imagination, he says, is a resource for dreaming up a new future that once  seemed impossible.Brian Reich is a strategist and writer for executive leaders at global brands, media companies, startups, and advocacy organizations.Lisa Kimball, Ph.D. is an entrepreneur with more than 30 years experience as an organizational consultant with business, government and nonprofit organizations.

Transforming the Educational Ecosystem: A Futures Culture, April 28, 2017 
Guests: Rick Smyre and June Holley

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Rick Smyre is an internationally recognized futurist specializing in the area of preparing local communities for a different kind of future. A graduate of Davidson College and NC State University, he is President of the Center for Communities of the Future and is an architect of the new field of “comprehensive community transformation.” June Holley has been weaving economic and community networks for more than 25 years. In 1981 she discovered complexity science and became intrigued with the process of transformation.With others in Appalachian Ohio, she catalyzed cascades of experimentation, observing and documenting the dynamics that enabled many hundreds of people to start and then expand businesses. She is the author of the Network Weavers and book and has helped communities around the globe form Smart Networks by training and supporting Network Weavers. 

Transforming Health Ecosystems:Lessons from Nature, April 7, 2017 
Guests: Chris Lawer, Frank Weber, and Daniel Pesut

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Chris Lawer and Frank Weber, in conversation with Dan Pesut, will explain how they apply core ecological concepts such as ecosystem structure and hierarchy, resource sharing, providing service, biodiversity and adaptive capacity to the health ecosystem. Chris Lawer is CEO of Umio, a consultancy he founded in 2010, to help clients apply advanced ecosystem principles, frameworks and methods in exploring new health, healthcare and social opportunities and design the strategies, technologies. Frank Weber is the CEO of HealthCareCoCreation. He is a senior director with over twenty years of experience in the international healthcare IT and med-tech industries. Daniel Pesut, PhD, is professor of Nursing Population Health and Systems Cooperative Unit and Director of the Katharine J. Densford International Center for Nursing Leadership and holds the Katherine R. and C. Walton Lillehei Chair in Nursing Leadership at the University of Minnesota School of Nursing.

Neuroscience and Breakthrough Thinking, Friday March 24, 2017
Guests: Judah Pollack and Barrett Horne

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Our brains change through out our lives, and we don’t have to let ourselves become neural couch potatoes. In The Net and the Butterfly: The Art and Practice of Breakthrough Thinking, Judah Pollack and co-author Olivia Fox Cabane provide historical and recent examples of breakthroughs of many types. They also present tools, practices and exercises that can help us develop new ways to see, observe, her, behave and think.Judah Pollack is an author, professional speaker and strategic advisor on the art of leadership in a complex, shape-shifting world. Barrett Horne recently retired from serving with Yukon Government as an Organizational Development consultant

Surprising Insights from Improv!, Friday March 17, 2017
Guests: Rich Battaglia, Nedra Weinstein, and Jon Gailmor

There’s nothing like acting it out to discover the hidden truth, the disconcertingly obvious, and the spark for creative breakthroughs. These guests know how it happens. Rich Battaglia is assisting with teaching Improv to special needs students at George Mason in Fairfax this semester.Jon Gailmor is a Vermont-based singer, songwriter, creative facilitator and educator. Nedra Weinstein is principal with Arden Consulting, an organization development firm that provides services to clients in the private and public sectors.

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Partnerships for Success in South African Schools, Friday February 10, 2017
Guests: Louise van Rhyn and Lisa Kimball

Research showed that while 20 percent of South Africa’s schools were excellent, students who attended the other 80 percent of the country’s schools were not being well prepared for economic success in their lives. What made the good schools successful? Their principals were equipped with skills to lead and manage, and the schools had solid community support.  How could those conditions be created for all schools? In 2010 Louise started the School at the Centre of Community social change process and the Partners for Possibility (PfP) leadership development process: an innovative process to change education in South Africa through collaborative partnerships between business leaders and school principals.  Louise van Rhyn is a social entrepreneur whose  approach to change is shaped by 20 years of working as an Organisational Change practitioner.

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Design  and Structure That Serve Values and Purpose, January 13, 2017 
Guests:Bernard Mohr and Donald DeGuerre

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