It’s been a while since I’ve posted a blog. I do a lot of writing, but in recent months it has not taken the form of a blog post. It’s time to get back to that. There has been plenty of activity and work underway.
Better Next completed three years of operation this April! I’m moving into year four focused on growth. Stability in the fractional/consultant professional life has given me space to think bigger. The feelings I have currently are filled with duality. At times, I feel crushed by the weight of living in a state of poly-crisis as a white, hetero, middle-class, American woman who benefits from the roots of multiple of these crises. At other times, I observe change in myself and goodness in others that lifts the weight enough so I can breathe and keep going.
Working On
Client work continues! I did a look back and quick analysis over the past three years. I found the following breakdown of client projects:
36% seeking expertise, as an adviser, speaker, or facilitator
29% in need of research, including but not limited to benchmarking
21% adding measurement support to their team, being their “measurement person”
14% exploring strategy updates
Better Next launched a training! Our first cohort in April 2024 had 10 participants. Everyone rated their learning in each session and I was pleased to see takeaways across the board. The group sustained participation through the month – 93% attendance rate! The feedback was wonderful and the constructive criticism bits are helping guide how I’m re-shaping and shuffling content and activities to further improve the flow for our next session this Fall.
Thinking About
Change
What makes people change their behavior in their life? When and how do I make changes? One of my yet-to-be-published writing pieces is about change management for the modern era. The problem isn’t enough information or money to make societal change, it’s that people with power won’t make changes in how they act or make decisions.
Blending of E and S
For some, this might call to mind environmental justice. That’s certainly on point. In addition, I’m interested in how organizational structures will change. Major investments in reporting staff are underway. These people serving as an internal connector of information will inevitably begin to point out functional overlap, previously considered to be required because the issues were different. The more we learn, the perceived scale of differences between issues will shrink.
Politics
Elections are major, but with so much dysfunction in American legislation, I’m becoming more interested in all the departments and institutions funded by taxpayer revenue. Relatedly, what effects do corporate money and corporate staff members have on how these departments operate?
Learning About
I’ve been reading and joining webinars/virtual events that lean more in the direction of the technology sector. This is out of necessity rather than excitement. We have plenty of efficiency and more than enough content. We need help getting back to our basic human motivations around community and mutual aid. Still, if you turn your back on the ocean you will get sca-dooshed (Perez family term for getting pulled under a wave). Even if the topic worries me, I always enjoy learning. I value my human intelligence and its ability to determine how much about artificial intelligence I need to know, for now.
Reach Out
Thanks for reading. Use the contact me form on this website if you’re working on, thinking about, or learning about anything related to what I’ve shared here.
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