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Electoral Bickering: Gumboot Style
Editor’s Note: crammed into a Canadian apartment – any Canadian apartment, Michelle, Kurt, Theo, and John watched the Canadian Leadership Debate. With laptops everywhere, the correspondents provided cutting-edge, biting and edutaining commentary on pretty much all of the points made by Steve, Jack, Mike, and Gilles. The original piece was about 4,000 words. This is the edited version.
The Panel of Opinioneers
Michelle Burtnyk-Horn – Healthy Public Advocate of Healthy People and Health
Kurt Heinrich – Federal Liberal with a big heart and a pragmatic streak
John Horn – Cynical Libertarian Cascadian Separatist Pirate
Theo Lamb – The undecided youth demographic
Our Rules of Engagement
- Kurt Heinrich is the authority on all political knowledge, history, leader profiles, and fact-checking.
- Theo can pause the PVR whenever she wants.
- We have to use Babelfish Translator to change all of our comments about Gilles Duceppe into French.
- No bathroom breaks. Just straight-up politicogging (political blogging).
7:00PM EST – GO!
7:01 – Theo: There are a lot of people wearing yellow ties in the crowd.
Topic 1 – The Economy
7:01 – John: “Here we go again,” says the moderator … man, not an inspiring way to get things started. 
7:03 – Theo: Wait a minute, where’s Elizabeth May? Oh right. We failed to allow a leader and a party who earned 8% of the last election’s vote participate in a national leaders debate. #Fail for Canadian broadcasters.
7:04 – Kurt: Gilles Duceppe ouvre la discussion avec la première attaque directe accusant le harpiste des personnes RÉELLEMENT de réponse. Gentil. Comme prévu Duceppe va être le mauvais garçon de la discussion.
7:04 – Michelle: For heaven’s sake, Harper?! Where are you looking?!
7:05 – John: Avec sa passion, Monsieur Duceppe est John Connor au Le Terminateur du Stephen Harper. Littéralement, je pense… Tellement esprit de corps d’un Quebecois passionné.
7:07 – John: Steve, I feel for you. Maybe you can deflect the current threeway attack with some jokes. Try this: “So, a reckless coalition walks into a bar, and the bartender says ‘What can I get for you fellahs?’ and they just starts arguing about whose more communist and then Canada explodes!” ZING!
7:12 – Theo: Thank, Mr. Layton, for bringing up the environment 12 minutes into the debate.
Topic 2 – Canada’s Place in the World
7:12 – Michelle: “Jets, Jails and Corporate Tax Giveaways” – not a bad slogan, Mr. Ignatieff. But can you repeat it like a Harperism for the next three weeks?
7:13 – Kurt: “Let’s tell the truth about jets.” – Stephen Harper
7:14 – John: “’Let’s tell the truth about jets.’ – Stephen Harper” – Kurt Heinrich, 2011
7:15 – John: Mark the time, the debate has broken down into senseless yelling.”
7:18 – Kurt: Layton zings Harper by complaining that he should take some time to read his own press releases.
7: 20 – Theo: This is fascinating to watch, really. Canadians are fairly conflict averse. We work so hard to find consensus and to allow for compromise and peace. To watch four leaders hash it out and not give an inch – it’s all rather un-Canadian. It’s heated and fascinating and uncomfortable and, well, American.
7:22 – John: Theo. Yes. I think that the podium arrangement looks very American, too. But they’re probably made in China.
7:25 – Theo: Who would win in a fight? A vampire or a werewolf? A hammerhead shark-man or a centaur? Jacob or Edward? Jack Layton or Gilles Duceppe?
7:26 – Kurt: Jack Layton just took a cheap shot. Accuses Liberals of ignoring climate change back in the 1990s. C’mon Jack – was it really the Liberals? Or maybe EVERYONE?!
7:28 – John: Agreed. Cheap shot.
7:31 – Michelle: Stephen Harper is now talking about how Canada is a leader on the international stage for the environment. Not sure if that’s the best example.
7:35 – Kurt: Getting feisty when it comes to the auditor general support. Ignatieff literally calling him out asking him “what are you afraid of?”. Harper doesn’t budge. Still in the message box.
7:37 – John: Side note: Remi the cat – to whom Theo Lamb is allergic – just started kissing her…amazing. And, yes, this debate is so repetitive and counterproductive that I was just distracted by a cat kissing a lady. #uninspired
7:38 – Kurt: Stephen Harper talking about climate change is making Theo upset – like the incredible hulk – but red, not green.
7:39 – Michelle: “You gotta know where you’re going if you want to get there” – Jack Layton on Stephen Harper’s response on climate change, followed closely with an accusation that targets have not been set. And need to be.
Topic 3 – Governance
7:42 – Michelle: Harper vs. Ignatieff. The moment everyone is waiting for. 
7:47 – Kurt: Iggy busts out some new guns – what’s the deal with you (Steve) kicking people out of rallies because they are my Facebook friend?
7:54 – Kurt: Shibam – coalition discussion – was Harper planning on forming a coalition over half a decade ago. The (former coalition) partners (NDP and BLOC) say yes – the PM says no. Michael Ignatieff looks smug. Who’s lying?
7:54 – Michelle: Wow! Gilles Duceppe is hammering Harper.
7:56 – Theo: It should be noted that all four of us have been pretty quiet/slack-jawed at what we’re watching right now between Duceppe and the gang.
7:57 – John: Michael Ignatieff is bi-winning. He’s not saying anything, and Harper’s on the wrong side of a threeway lie-fest with a socialist and Jack Layton about the Delta Hotel in Montreal, inappropriate letters, reckless coalitions, piracy, and great scotch. Jack + Gilles = bi-winning.
8:01 – Kurt: Is contempt of Parliament really the big issue all Canadians care about? Ignatieff is striking me as the leader of a philosophy club, rather than the leader of our country.
Topic 4 – Immigration
8:09 – John: I think that 7.9 million Canadians just went to get snacks and beer while Jack and Gilles talk. Kurt Heinrich: “Why does Gilles Duceppe have 55 seats?!” Michelle: “Why is he there and not Elizabeth May?” John: “Because he has 55 seats.” Theo: “But why does he have 55 seats?”
8:10 – Michelle: Gilles vs. Jack is quite boring.
8:11 – John: Oh, Steve! There you are! Thanks for bringing relevance back into this discussion.
8:13 – Theo: Layton asks Harper: “Why did you cut the immigrant settlement services?” Harper to Layton: “Settlement funding has tripled under this government.” Wait a minute? We need a fact checker – who’s right!?
8:13 – Michelle: Kurt is right.
8:13 – John: Kurt is right.
8:13 – Kurt: I’m totally right.
8:14 – Theo: Okay.
8:15 – John: Chacun continue à indiquer que « il n’est simplement pas vrai » ou ils composent juste les nombres (corrects, $6 milliards de Gilles Duceppe au nombre de GM était étonnant). Avec chaque coup, 4,527 Canadiens se développent cyniques et voeu pour ne pas voter pour quelconque d’entre ces yahoos. Et, oui, j’ai fabriqué ce nombre.
8:16 – Kurt: Gilles Duceppe semble être à son propre ordre du jour bizarre, répétant Bill 101 et attaquant le multiculturalisme à plusieurs reprises. Certainement une discussion/discussion qui ne se relie pas vraiment à la plupart des Canadiens (en dehors de du Québec de toute façon).
8:19 – Theo: Ignatieff on multiculturalism and “confidence” in the two official languages. Nice, Ignatieff.
TOPIC 5: The Justice System
8:21 – Michelle: Ignatieff mentions BC! … in the context of gang violence. Et Duceppe l’apporte de nouveau « au crime interne » dans propre partie de M. Harper’s.
8:21 – Michelle: Ignatieff reaches across the aisle (podium) and talks about how we can learn from Quebec’s young offenders program. Commending other parties hasn’t happened very much, if at all, in this debate so far.
8:22 – Theo: I agree, Michelle. It was nice to see Ignatieff reach out, recognize and commend something another leader supports. That’s a Canadian move. Trademark.
8: 27 – Theo/John/Kurt/Michelle: HASHTAG FAIL!
8:27 – Theo: Failing of the hashtag! Layton wins one from the Millennials!
8:32 – Michelle: What does the number of women in parliament have to do with the justice system?
8:33 -Michelle: GUN REGISTRY! I would have thought this would have come up earlier.
8:33 – John: Great saying about guns. It goes like this: Actually, guns do kill people.
8:33 – Kurt: Why is it such a big deal for “farmers and rural Canadians” to register their guns? Yeah, I get it Harper – it’s a pain that they’re affected by gun violence in Vancouver, Toronto and Montreal, but really, police are all saying that this is an effective program. Why can’t they keep it?
8:34 – Michelle: Agreed, Kurt. I like how Ignatieff brought up the police’s stance on the matter. Their opinion probably counts a bit.
Topic 6 – Health Care
8:37 – John: Wow. No friggin’ question about the environment. Amazing. #EPICFAIL to everyone involved in this fiasco – you’re at the top of the list, CBC producers.
8:37 – Theo: I agree, John. I wonder what the thinking was behind that decision. Do they think the public is fatigued by environmental issues? Okay, now I’m eager to turn to Facebook and Twitter and check out the reaction, there.
8:39 – John: FACT: Stephen Harper has never been on a bandwagon in his life.
8:43 – Michelle: Privatization. Harpers talks about how the provinces aren’t experimenting with privatization … but they are with “alternative service delivery”. What exactly is the difference?
8:59 – Kurt: It was a dog pile. Everyone hammered at Stephen Harper for a good 2 hours. Tough stuff. But in the end I have to say Harper was able to own his own (in an aloof sort of way). And Ignatieff stood out as a strong almost folksy sort of way.
9:00PM EST – Did Democracy Win?
Michelle: Yes, democracy won. Interesting how democracy was a key point raised again and again throughout the debate. According to some candidates, an alternative term might be ’bickering’. So at the end of the day, either bickering or democracy won.
Kurt: Yeah – because four leaders with different viewpoints fought it out and if we weren’t in a democracy it wouldn’t happen like that.
Theo: Sure – four leaders were given opportunities to represent their party’s issues on six different topics; Canadian viewers can now decide for themselves. Time to vote!
John: Always – and that’s the problem; meaningful environmental reforms – which roll out over decades, not four-year-terms – can only be driven through by a charismatic, nature-loving dictatorship … or Johnism.
Artists, politicians, and the lost art of letter writing
Last month, our book club* did something a bit different. Instead of the usual book club agenda, comprised of the reading and then discussing of a book (in addition to the not-so-usual quizzes, plays, and trophy bestowals), we wrote and shared letters. The inspiration for this letter writing was none other than Canadian author Yann Martel (of Life of Pi fame), and his book What is Stephen Harper Reading?
For those of you who are unaware of this ambitious endeavor – here’s a brief summary: In March 2007, Yann Martel and 40 other Canadian artists were invited to the House of Commons to celebrate 50 years of the Canada Council for the Arts, our national arts funding agency. Gathered in the visitor’s gallery, the artists waited patiently to be acknowledged for their collective contribution, representing all Canadian artists, to Canadian culture. And brief it was - an address less than 5 minutes in length followed by a lackluster dusting of applause; a Prime Minister who did not even raise his head from the stack of papers sitting before him. And so begins Mr. Martel’s relentless pursuit: to find out what drives Stephen Harper. What makes him tick? What informs his soul, what type of art does he appreciate, what makes up his cultural self?
Barack Obama's letter to Yann Martel about his Book, Life of Pi. C'mon, Harper!
Biweekly since March 2007, Yann Martel has been writing Stephen Harper letters, with suggestions for books to read. And biweekly since March 2007, there has been no response from Mr. Harper – unless you count a few generic responses from his Communications Officers thanking him for his letter.
Tackling this in book club was a treat. We, of course, discussed Yann Martel at length – what continues to motivate him to write letters? Is this becoming a personal vendetta, or is it a clever, politically-driven, advocacy attempt to increase arts funding? Is it pretentious? We discussed the ideas in the letters – what role does art play in defining our identity as Canadians? Do business schools have a place in Canadian Universities? Should there be a required reading list for our prime ministers?
As interesting as the discussion was, the most intriguing aspect of the club was the writing of our own letters: the homework assigned to each member was to write a letter to whomever they would like, with a book suggestion, and then share it with the group. Recipients ranged from, well, me, to Stephen Harper to Lindsay Lohan to Yann Martel to Australia. Each member confessed that it was pretty darn hard to write their letter – in this age of text messages and emails, where responses are fairly immediate and the process fairly interactive, having to convey all of your thoughts in one correspondence where responses are not immediate was a tough endeavor.
Our letters will be sent along to Mr. Martel. We’ll wait to see when – or if! – he responds, and how he will react to our activity, our thoughts, our book suggestions. Hopefully, he’ll see how his activities have prompted our small group to become engaged advocating art through the means of a lost art, with the people, ideas, and nations that surround us.
*Do you like books? clubs? Well, you’re in luck! Stay tuned for an up-and-coming section of the Daily Gumboot, where you will be able to read all about the shenanigans of Vancouver’s coolest and least pretentious** bookclub, The Circle of Literary Judgement
**As reported on by The Globe and Mail
826 Vancouver (A Modest Proposal)
Trust me. I’m going somewhere cool with this.
On Monday afternoon I was skimming a newsletter from up-and-coming twitblog, The Tyee. Two stories caught my attention. The first was about a supercool Downtown Eastside writers collective called Thursdays, which just released its fourth chapbook, Storybox. The second was about the BC Library Association’s teen reading club, TeenRC, getting cut by the BC Liberal government (it’ll be gone in September). So that got me thinking of Canada’s literacy rate, which, as it turns out, is tied for 21st in the world – fun fact, Georgia (not the state, the country) is number one, and, well, there is a direct correlation between literacy and propaganda/communism/the-Eastern-Bloc/Tonga. According to a 2008 report by the Canadian Council on Learning, if current trends continue, by 2031 Canada will have disturbingly low literacy rate. Canada is expected to have more than 15 million people aged 16 and over – representing about 46 per cent of the population – with skills below the internationally accepted standard of literacy required to cope in a modern society, the non-profit corporation projected. And, according to a 2011 report by the Recent Findings Institute, Stephen Harper’s government canned the Canadian Council on Learning.
On Tuesday evening my wife and I watched The Princess Bride. Michelle had never seen it, which – clearly - is pretty weird. Anyway, The Princess Bride is a movie about a book.
And, obviously, this got me thinking about Dave Eggers and the 826 National campaign. Because, with leaders like ours, our communities need to take matters into our own hands.
In a nutshell, here’s what 826 National does:
826 National is a nonprofit tutoring, writing, and publishing organization with locations in eight cities across the country. Our goal is to assist students ages six to eighteen with their writing skills, and to help teachers get their classes excited about writing. Our work is based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can happen with one-on-one attention, and that strong writing skills are fundamental to future success.
It all started with 826 Valencia and the Pirate Supply Store. You can check out the links for information, but there is this beautiful moment in Mr. Eggers’s TED-Talk where he says (and I’m paraphrasing), “…and then something really funny happened; the Pirate Supply Store started to make money!” Of course it did. And, somewhere in France, Johnny Depp gets a royalty check…
In my opinion, we need an 826 chapter here in Vancouver. And here’s a letter to that effect:
Dear Dave Eggers and the 826 Team(s).
Thank you, my friends. The very idea of 826 National makes my heart smile.
I’m a big fan of what you’ve started and an even bigger fan of what your project has become, Dave. And I think that one can make a very strong case for Vancouver being the next location for an 826 chapter. Sure, Vancouver isn’t located in “the United States” and I’m not an “American” but, here’s the thing: Barack Obama isn’t American either. Besides, I’ve read most of your website and I’ve even got a few American friends (plus three that I don’t even like but who would be great at this) who would be happy to help out with the project.
You don’t even need to ask, Dave. I’d be happy to take on the Executive Director role for 826 Vancouver. In fact, I’ve even brainstormed some supercool ideas that totally jive with your innovative storefront business model. Here are the ideas:
- The Recent Findings Institute – we specialize in, you know, making stuff up – like facts and
findings – and disseminating it so that these “recent findings” are seriously cited by hapless media outlets around the world.
- Happy Ninja Yoga Studio – where positive, smiley ninjas – or aspiring ninjas – come to relax and increase strength and flexibility.
- Gumboot Greeting Cards – you know how greeting cards kinda sorta suck? Well, these ones don’t – and, hey, our creative clients can totally contribute to the products in our storefront!
I’m also not opposed to a conceptual combination of some or all of the above ideas either. We’ll talk about it. Our team could also specialize in digital storytelling for kids and youth (ie. blogging and social media management) as well as professional storytelling (ie. creatively making boring career topics much, much more exciting). After all, it’s important to combine creative adventures with real-world experience and goals. Right?
In all seriousness, the 826 project is made of the most inspiring stuff. As far as community-building initiatives go, the positive impact your team is making on young people – not to mention unsupplied pirates – is truly invaluable. And such positive, meaningful and literary waves, I truly hope, will continue to be contagious around America and the world (or at least Canada/Vancouver).
Readers, if you’re interested in starting an 826 chapter – or a literarally-focused non-profit like it – and you live in San Francisco (which is where 47.8% of the Daily Gumboot’s readership lives) then check out this upcoming seminar that outlines some strategies for engagement, volunteer recruitment and retention, and an overview of their unique business model.
And if you live in Vancouver and are interested in the 826 concept, well, you know where to find me.
–
Masthead photo courtesy of Arria Belli
Oh Canada, Oh No…
Everything is okay...except, perhaps, Canada's declining international reputation.
I’m on vacation. And, I’ve gotta say, things started off pretty fantastically. Until this morning, that is. As I took an extended dose of daily media, things got a bit weird.
Today I had a little extra time to peruse my Facebook news feed. Wow. Some weird things have happened in Canada over the past few days. No fewer than 30 of my friends have posted videos, stories, infographs, and links about the G8 and G20 meetings in Toronto – the information and opinions range from critical to scathing. Headlines like “Erosion of Rights” and “Wasteful Spending” and “Is this what the world thinks of Canada?” and “What was Stephen Harper Thinking?” Even the National Post gave a fairly biting review of the event.
I mean, I know that Oh Canada is – as far as national anthems go – fairly terrible, but should its being sung in the streets of Toronto be reason to send throngs of riot police into the crowd of peaceful protestors? Check this out:
Sure, the video is out of context – who knows what was said, spat or thrown before – and the Toronto Police did their best to troubleshoot a truly unwinnable situation, but it certainly reflects the powder-keg-esque circumstances into which the City of Toronto was thrust.
Needless to say, Amnesty International has asked for a full review of the 900 arrests that took place during the summit and Stephen Harper is receiving a heckuvalot of criticism from all sides – the left, right, middle, and, haha, anarchist* – for paying too much in human, natural and economic capital because the G20 was held in Toronto.
When I came to this morning, I groggily awoke to the dulcet tones of our iconic Canadian friend, Jian Gomeshi. He hosted a panel discussion of how this event – and the way it was well-handled and simultaneously mishandled – reflects poorly on Canada’s international reputation.
Speaking of our international reputation. The Queen arrived today. And she said, “it’s good to be home.” Okay. That’s a bit weird, eh? And it also nicely reflects the weirdly 
contradictory nature of Canada.
We’re an independent, democratic nation, but technically exist under the rule of a foreign monarch. We are an open-minded, multi-cultural society with a high self-perception of our stance on human rights, but suspend civil liberties when it suits our aims. We’re multi-lateral, but collude with dictators. Like I said, it’s all a bit weird.
Oh Canada, what kind of community are we?
Readers of the Daily Gumboot, what say you on this question of Canadian community?
- JCH
*sorry, jackasses, but global capitalism still exists and will continue to exist as long as there are hardworking businesspeople who wake up early in the morning and rebuild their enterprizes that you heartlessly broke en route from your aimless protest back to your parents’ basement.
Community by Design
An iceberg: such an apt visual for design thinking about climate change.
Gregor. Gordon. Stephen. I hope you guys are reading (or lackeys managing the blogosphere for these fine fellahs; that’s cool too).
In the past year, arguments have been made that Harvard MBAs ruined the world. While partly true, one could make an equally strong case for Physicists killing Wall Street and sending the world into an economic spiral of despair and Fox News. Luckily for Copenhagen, the planet and our future, UBC’s Sauder School of Business has a collection of 40 or so MBAs who are poised to save Earth from annihilation the likes of 2012 by employing innovation, business-sense and sustainability by design. “John, what the heck does this all mean?” you ask. Well, it means there’s hope in the world and that UBC is leading the way in harnessing such a thing to create a better community for everyone. Recently, I sneaked into a UBC 2.0 Sustainable Business by Design workshop at the University of British Columbia’s Robson Square campus. Actually, I didn’t sneak in, I just didn’t want to make the Province, CTV, the Vancouver Sun, CBC, and citycaucus.com jealous by telling them that The Daily Gumboot was the only media invited to this exclusive event that is, as I type, changing the world. Alright, perhaps, “snuck in” or “only representation of media” are a little too strong of terms, as might in fact work for UBC and may or not have been invited.
Moving on…
The purpose of the conference is, according to eminent game-changer/world-saver, Dr. James Tansey, “engage students in an active dialogue with world experts on major issues that will shape the business environment in which they spend their careers.” The project focuses particularly on three key frontiers for UBC graduates: the geographic frontier of being a major trading hub between North America and the rest of the world; the technological frontier of UBC being at the epicentre of R&D on the West Coast; and the cultural frontier between, arguably, the Western World and Asia.
The way that students were encouraged to create ideas and concepts was even cooler. Enter Moura Quayle, one of Sauder’s newest faculty members. The group of 40 plus MBAs were shown how to incorporate Design Thinking into their planning. So, what is design thinking? Well, Ms. Quayle has some great explanations for such questions: “design thinking is a collaborative, exploratory process, rooted in user research, in which a multi-disciplinary team applies creative and critical thinking techniques to conceive, test and develop innovative responses to design, policy or business challenges and opportunities.” Design thinking is all about being integrative and holistic, thinking visually and spatially, iterative and non-linear, and it’s a safe way to risk (testing ideas before implementing them). Now, not everyone is a fan of design thinking. Take Peter Merholz, for example, who argues that design thinking marginalizes the “spreadsheet crowd” and, really, is actually just “social science thinking” in disguise. Ms. Quayle, as I imagine she does all the time, has an answer for this, given that her approach actually fuses “business” and “design” thinking, well, it’s easy to see why Sustainable Business Design lives up to Ron Kellett’s, UBC School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture, quote: “as a matter of survival, successful business will learn to design and continuously improve itself as a matter of course rather than exception…” The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management turned to a Design Thinking concept on the heels of last year’s financial meltdown.
Here’s a brief glimpse of the process (the previous link to Jim Ratcliffe’s Apple.com blog has six steps, while Moura Quayle’s model below has eight):
- Define: where is the opportunity?
- Discover: what are the resources? Engage participation!
- Re-think: what does it all mean?
- Envision: brainstorm!
- Select: what concept should we develop?
- Develop: how can we translate this concept into tangible, testable form?
- Deliver: empower and implement.
- Evaluate: what is our process for ongoing monitoring?
Very important. These concepts are to be arranged, visually-speaking, as part of an interconnected circle into which you can enter through any theme, depending on where your body, heart, mind, and soul are in the design process. ACTIVITY: draw a circle and create eight sections (think pie, people).
Six Thinking Hats - a cool graphic with some expansion below!
If you haven’t already, check out Vancouver’s handsome Mayor’s face on the cover of The Georgia Straight. Gregor Robertson’s vision is to make Vancouver the Greenest City on Earth. Fair enough. Great idea. And it’s going to take more than just him, the Vision Vancouver team and committees of enthusiastically uncompromising bureaucrats. Such a project must be designed by all of us. And here’s where it gets interesting. My suggestion is that, no matter what community you’re trying to build, you engage your clients, collaborators, neighbours, stakeholders, partners, and/or sheep with the following tagline: this is our community by your design. “Our community” implies ownership, inclusiveness and importance – we all have a stake in this community. “Your design” implies collaboration, accountability and impact – you will play a major role in shaping this community with your ideas.
To wrap things up, here are eight simple tools (one for each stage of Moura Quayle’s design thinking formula) that you can use while collaborating with your friends, neighbours and, possibly, sheep to better design your community:
- Tool 1 – Free Write: just as it sounds, find a blank piece of paper and start writing about ideas!
- Tool 2 – Asking questions: whether you ask “why?” five times during a conversation or try to ask 10 open-ended questions beginning with “how” or “what” – well – this is a great way to discover key concepts about your project.
- Tool 3 – Six Thinking Hats (see amazing image to the right and below based on Edward de Bono’s theory): depending on what problem you need to solve or what conversation you need to have, you might require a different thinking hat; it’s always great to have visual aides to get a point across.
- Tool 4 – Brainstorm: pretty straightforward; remember, everyone contributes good ideas during a brainstorm.
- Tool 5 – Synetics: take your idea apart and put it back together to make sure it works.
- Tool 6 – Open Evaluation Matrix: well, it took until 3/4 through this business-minded article to get to the word “matrix,” which was, I think, Forbes Magazines business word of the year for 2009…
- Tool 7 – Time-task Schedule: while being realistic, outline the whole process and assign tasks to people, no matter how minor they might be.
- Tool 8 – Storytelling: keep an accurate and detailed record of your idea’s story so that you can effectively evaluate it’s impact on your community; more importantly, how can you present something amazing if it doesn’t have an amazing story to go with it?
So there it is. People in communities reading this blog. I encourage you to get out there and work together to better design your community. After all, we don’t want the MBAs of the world to get all the credit again, do we?
Have fun with it!
- JCH
Copyright Paul Foreman - de Bono's "Six Thinking Hats" - which one is your favourite?
The Pirates of Copenhagen
This has nothing to do with the Climate Conference - but it truly is a pirate ship with Danish quotations. I say, "close enough!"
During a recent trip to a bookstore I came across Michael Crichton’s newest – and posthumous – book, Pirate Latitudes. That’s right. Mr. Crichton’s legacy, in this humble editor’s opinion, will not be dinosaurs or terminal men or aliens or medical dramas or climate change. It will be pirates. But, wait a second, let’s go back to that second to last topic. The climate change one. Mr. Crichton’s controversial piece on climate change, State of Fear, combined with his newest work, Pirate Latitude, rolled into the most recent – and hilarious – prank by The Yes Men inspired an epiphany and gave me an idea: what can the heads-of-state, protesters, businesspeople, lobbyists, scientists, fake-scientists, corrupt-scientists, students, and spectators learn about the environmental landscape as it relates to pirate communities?
Obviously, the answer is that we can learn a lot about the relationships between pirates, culture and the environment. So, Copenhagen, I hope you’re listening. Because it will be pirates, not lobbyists, businesspeople, scientists, or governments, who will save the environment. Here’s why and how.
Pirates as Environmental Stewards
Copenhagen stakeholders – Copenholders – pirates can teach you, all of us, really, about reducing and reusing; they know how to help people get by with less. Just ask any Fleet Street Banker or Liverpudlian Businessman or West Indies Plantation Owner or Admirals of the Royal Navy during the seventeenth and eighteenth-centuries. These Captains of Industry and Government changed the environmental and cultural landscapes of our planet (slaves from Africa and introduction of new crops to the New World) to produce millions of things that made them millions of dollars. From time to time, though, pirates reduced the flow of such overproduction and – ahem - reused it themselves or recycled it amongst their brethren. Here is a specific example of how pirates don’t use the natural environment to produce things, in the recorded and unrecorded history of pirates, only one Captain ever commissioned a ship; pirates don’t build new ships. They reuse them. In 1695, Captain William Kidd (the self-proclaimed “Pirate Hunter”) built himself, I kid you not, a galley in England – no, he was not a viking. This was an odd decision. Speaking of odd decisions, here is a lesson for the COP15 decision makers to consider: use what’s already there! A recent story I had to hear from Fox News, divulged that over 1,200 limosines and 140 private jets had to be imported in order to accommodate the climate conference delegates. Pirates would’ve commandeered a bus and shared it. I’m just saying…
Pirates as Creators of a new Cultural Landscape
What happens on a pirate ship when the captain chooses a direction that the crew doesn’t like? Well, the captain changes his mind or goes overboard. It’s democracy at its finest. A recent article in The Independent by Johann Hari suggests that modern day pirates, like their historic brothers and sisters, have rejected today’s unequal, corrupt and punishing global “system.” Hari cites the last words of William Scott, a pirate hanged in Charleston, South Carolina during the Golden Age of Piracy: “What I did was to keep me from perishing. I was forced to go a-pirateing to live.” In spite of the consensus amongst the planet’s brightest minds, well, alarm bells aren’t really going off around the world. Greed is a big part of it. Manipulation and spin are parts of it. Fear of difference is a huge part of it. And the authoritative concentration of power is, perhaps, the biggest
part of it. Many pirates could have been members of the East India Trading Company or Royal Navy – some were and chose to leave the respective greed of the Merchant Marine (merchant ships were notoriously and unsafely under-staffed, as less sailors meant less overhead and more profit for businessmen in London, New York and Boston) and authoritative culture of the Royal Navy (apparently, you weren’t allowed to throw your captain overboard or take a nap that wasn’t scheduled). If true democracy really allows us to chuck our captains overboard then what do we really have now? Most of the world is on board with re-examining and altering humanity’s relationship with the environment. And the majority of our planet is also part of this wholly elaborate, interconnected global system that is moving forward like the smelly inertia-proof juggernaut that it is. For anything to change, our system as it exists today must be transformed. Or rejected and created anew. Whatever the case, pirates can – and should – be the drivers of such change. After all democracy existed on pirate ships before it ever existed in France or the United States. I’m just saying…
Pirates as a Product of their Environmental Landscape
Over the last two decades an unknown amount of toxic waste has been dumped off the coast of Somalia – what would cost $1,000 USD per tonne in Europe costs $2.50 USD per tonne in Somalia. Combine this with the overfishing along Africa’s longest – and most unprotected – coastline (nearly 3,000 kilometers long), and a different story of what makes a Somali pirate a “pirate” begins to develop. Greed and corruption from the rest of the world have thrust upon the people of Somalia, Nigeria, and the Strait of Malacca material conditions that represent just how much we need to take matters into our own hands. For example, over 70 per cent of Somalians refer to their former fisherpeople as “The Somali Coast Guard” not as “pirates.” Let’s take this as a horrible synecdoche of how things may very well unfold for the rest of the world; soon the coastal communities of Vancouver Island may harbour a few more pirates than they do today. I’m just saying…
Whether we all believe it or not, our planet is being pushed to the brink. We are a part of its landscape. As part of Team Earth, the world needs people to protect it from what is happening. So, play within the system or take a Yes Men approach and mock it through covert operations. Just take piracy as a metaphor and be nice about it, okay? I’m glad we had this chat. Now get out there and change the world!
- Sir John the Pirate Piratologist
Thriving in an Employer’s Market
I bet he had friends on the Death Star, too...
As it turns out, the recession is effecting the global economy, which, consequently, is negatively impacting the Canadian economy. Shocking, I know. And you heard it here first, from The Daily Gumboot.
“What’s that? Oh, everyone already knows this? Um, okay, we’ll have to think of something else, then.”
So, it turns out that the Canadian jobless rate is going to hit 10%, or so says Mark Carney and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). According to the OECD, Stephen Harper and the Conservative government need to act quickly and decisively if the country is to avoid a crisis of joblessness. Depending on when and where you read “news” in BC, we are in the midst of a terrible recession (unfortunately emphasized by massive youth unemployment and under employment), or we are on the “cusp of recovery” because of cool new job numbers. No matter what, the employment situation in Canada is tougher than it’s been in a long, long time. A recent National Post article even revealed that many job seekers out there are dumbing down their resumes in order to remain competitive. And, to close the loop on this terrible situation, Tavia Grant’s article in Tuesday, September 22nd’s Globe and Mail accurately paints a picture of Canada’s workplaces being part of “an employer’s market!” Are you searching for work in your community? If so, we wish you the best of luck.
I mean, you can wait for Stephen Harper, the Canadian government, industry executives, Mark Carney, your mom, and Batman to do something about it, or you can combine some savvy career advice from this publication with your own awesomeness, and get out there and find meaningful work.
Here are some sure-fire, can’t-miss, foolproof, golden, and amazing tips on how you can thrive in an employer’s market.
1. Learn about emerging industries and new trends. The world is changing. Obviously. And now is the time for you to find your new place in it. For example, first year university and college students in Canada will, most likely, finish school and secure a job that doesn’t exist today. And whether you’re a 50-plus year old forestry worker from Prince George or a nickle worker from Sudbury, you are in a position to re-invent yourself as an employee. Things are changing, after all. Even when they stay the same. Alternative energy, corporate social responsibility and information technology are all pretty hot right now. It turns out that we will continue to use technology and people to overcome envirnmental challenges and the sinful human practice of greed. Not bad things to get involved in, if I do say so myself. Oh, and by 2012 immigrants will account for all net labour market growth in the Canadian economy, so, yeah, I guess do some reading up on where some demographic-related holes are going to emerge, too.
2. Hide in school. MBA applications to North American B-Schools are way up, according to Business Week. Why? Well, school is a great place to add value to your professional toolkit during an employer’s market, where opportunities are scarce and hiring and promotions are in a bit of a holding pattern. Now is a great time to invest in your education and get trained in anything from urban planning to social media marketing to library science to any shot-term, additional degree/diploma/certificate that compliments your existing education. Just make sure that your value is being increased while in school (ie. if you think a communications certificate is going to land you a project management position in a public relations firm when you have no work experience in the field, well, then the recession isn’t your biggest problem).
3. Get up early. Then network. This kind of thing is common sense, but it’s not common practice. Listen to leadership gurus like Robin Sharma to learn what it takes to get up early. Every day. It seems simple enough, but it’s not; especially for people who are un-employed or under-employed, as they lack motivation. Figure out what it takes to motivate yourself to get up early and be ready for action. Then go and talk to the people who work where you want to work (in a specific position or in an industry/organization about which you are thoroughly passionate) – we in the career development business call these folks “decision makers” (ie. they make the decision to hire you or not). Twitblog the interscape, read newspapers and magazines, peruse the Yellow Pages, visit libraries, and talk to people in order to find out where the decision makers you want to meet hang out together. Then go there and learn more about what it takes to work in their industry and/or for their organization. There are countless resources and tips about networking, especially for all you introverts out there. After you get up early, make sure you relax, too!
A good impression on paper, sure, but how about in person? You can barely see the guy!
4. Manage your expectations, and love change. So you want to be a Product Developer with Google. Well, a lot of people do. And since a lot of Product Developers just got laid off, um, everywhere, things just got a lot more competitive. Needless to say, now is a great time to consider where (geographically, functionally, by industry, and by company) you can find the type of professional experience you are looking for, even if it might not be your dream job. CareerLeader, a Brookline, Massachusetts career consultancy has the following to say about bringing discipline to the dream during the recession: “We need the discipline of analysis to identify the skills and experience we need to advance toward our dream and to explore all of the various work settings where we can gain those skills and experience. If we have our vision before us, to revisit for renewed inspiration, then we won’t experience these skillful adjustments as failures or the abandonment of ‘the dream.’ Rather, we’ll feel new energy when we see them for what they are: true progress toward something that is real and important, toward what we want to be doing, and to be.” Your dream job will come eventually (even for you, Astronaut Cowboy), you just need to be patient. For you graduates, remember that where you start your career usually has nothing to do with where you finish it.
5. Make a polished and professional first impression: in person, on paper and online. This one is complicatedly simple. It all begins with knowing your audience and doing the research that will make them say, “wow, that was a great question!” Knowing the most about anything will make you stand out from the crowd. Being appropriately dressed (ie. if you want to be a server in The Bump ‘n’ Grind on The Drive, don’t show up in a freakin’ suit!), groomed and offering a solid handshake are all key. Eye contact and active listening are also phenomenally important for making a good impression in person. As for the impression on paper, here’s the deal: if you are a student, go to your university or college career centre right now; if you aren’t a student, check out the multiple career centres around your community and make an appointment to build a great resume. Here’s a tip: no matter how amazing, professional or experienced you are, try to create a one-page resume that you can use as a follow-up after meetings or networking events. As for your online impression, well, it turns out that the internet is on computers these days. Whether it’s something as simple as cleaning up your Facebook account, creating (and using) a LinkedIn profile, or showcasing your knowledge and style by blogging about an indutry in which you are, having a positive and interesting online presence is becoming more and more important.
So there it is. A healthy and sustainable community, after all, is made up of people who do meaningful work – and you deserve nothing less. Once again, as I say to my students, such ideas might be common sense, but they are not common practice. As you begin to create good career habits, be sure to have fun with it, too!
- JCH
The Symbiotic Connection or “Socioeconomironmentaleducationealth”
Hopefully these little guys or gals will be around next year to see the Olympics
I have a wonderful friend named Catherine. And she really, really likes bears. Especially polar bears. But especially grizzly bears. So you can imagine how upset and angry she is over the recent Globe and Mail article that predicts thousands of black and grizzly bears will starve to death this year. BC’s Environment Minister, Barry Penner, has even issued a bear count, as many conservationists have already reported a drastic drop in numbers. Are there less tourists for them to eat? No. In fact, there are more tourists in grizzly country – and they are much more delicious – than ever before. But the sockeye salmon population – from which the bears gluttonously grab most of their food – in BC has been cut in half. And there will be problems to overcome this, um, problem, as we humans have a very, very difficult time articulating the interconnectedness of warming oceans, depleting salmon stocks, suburban sprawl, starving bears, soaring food costs, slowing eco-tourism, unemployed Parks Canada people, and an un-balanced (which means un-healthy) ecosystem. I mean, we just “misplaced” 510,000 cubic meters of water in Lake Louise for crying out loud! Like a coral reef and Kevin Bacon’s global reach, everything on this planet is connected. And, still, we continue to separate it. Sure, it makes things simpler to compartmentalize ideas and things, but life on this planet is made of complicated stuff, so I say we owe Earth a more complicated, interconnected attempt at problem solving.
Take this example, for instance. A few months ago, Peter Robinson, CEO of the David Suzuki Foundation, outlined the top five issues that Canadians wanted addressed during the last four federal elections. In no particular order they are: the economy, health care, the environment, education, and social problems (ie. why do we have poor people in Canada?). Mr. Robinson’s
argument is that these are not separate issues. They are all connected because they are all environmental issues. Here’s what he had to say in a recent interview with Vista Magazine Online: “the link between human health and environmental health is not being addressed properly. Part of that has to do with putting a value on what nature provides us as human beings other than monetary. We’re exploring a full ‘systems assessment’ for each natural resource. For example, when we build a dam, traditionally all we consider is the value that is contained in the water as an energy source, used like a battery to generate power from the force of the water. And a forest, in traditional accounting, has no value until you cut it down. But in fact, a forest provides many other services in terms of filtering CO2, and various species that we rely on within it, like spawning grounds for fish, that only remain if the forest remains.”
The Walrus‘s Chris Turner has a much funnier assessment about the need for global symbiosis not unlike that of a teeming coral reef: “And then there’s the extraordinary symbiotic web the reef’s myriad denizens have woven, enabling this aquatic Babel to thrive more or less self-sufficiently for
Don't get too close to this photo: there are sperm and eggs everywhere.
millennia. Hermaphrodites and sex changers abound. A great many of the reef’s coral polyps mate once a year, simultaneously, in a great cloud of eggs and sperm whose release is precisely timed with the lunar cycle.” I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: if our planet is going to survive we need more hermaphrodites engaging in orgies based on the lunar cycle.
Moving on…
Educationally, there are several effective strategies for teachers to incorporate environmental issues (which nicely include health and economic topics as well). My personal favourite is the BC Ministry of Education’s CARE document, which outlines four environmentally-based learning outcomes that teachers from kindergarten to post-graduate seminars can role into their classroom. Such an interdisciplinary approach is where the world of education needs to go if we are to solve such complicated, interconnected problems.
The social determinants of health as outlined by the World Health Organization certainly interconnect with economic, educational, and environmental issues. Check this out: the 1986 Ottawa Charter pretty much started the discourse of environmental factors having to do with health. Let’s walk the talk here, Canadians. Perhaps start walking down to the cool graph in the article, which shows how people with permanent jobs have much, much higher rates of mental health. Like I said, it’s all connected.
Unemployment, underemployment, stressful or unsafe work is associated with poorer mental health (Source: Wilkinson and Marmot, 2003)
And for all you Canadians out there who are concerned about unemployment, GDP and the economy, well, I encourage you to consider what exponential growth on a finite planet looks like. Is the expansion of humanity and the shrinking of biodiversity sustainable? Will shrinking of biodiversity result in the detrimental function of our world? Is using the word “sustainable” sustainable? David Suzuki has some ideas about what we need to start doing with our global economy – bottom line: stop being selfish. David A. Wilson, President and CEO of the GMAT exam, recently gave a talk at UBC’s Sauder School of Business regarding the role of the MBA in a new sustainable business model. Mr. Wilson’s arguments were fairly simple: as humanity moves forward, economic growth can, and should, only happen within environmental and social contraints. And if biodiversity and/or people are compromised in order to make a buck, well, then such growth is truly unsustainable and – ahem – musn’t be sustained any longer.
Here are three things you can do to encourage a discourse of connectedness between environmental, economic, health, educational, and social issues:
1. Read things and talk about them. Whether you learn about the science warning about the danger of climate change or about the science warning against the science warning about the dangers of climate change, learn about the issues and have an educated opinion about them. As for talking about what you read, I recommend public transit as a fantastic place to strike up a complicated conversation. People like learning new things when they can’t escape…
2. Demand more from our political “leaders.” I use “quotations” because modern democracy is based more on self-interest and party-preservation than it is on large, collaborative, global strategies for real, positive, effective, longlasting change. Still, write letters to Steve, Mike, Jack, and Gilles about how the environment – and all things symbiotically existing within it – is slightly more important than who gets to be Prime Minister during the Olympics. Perhaps you’d like to speak with Gordon Campbell about why the HST is great because it taxes consumption, but should probably be higher for Hummers and not apply to bikes, lightbulbs, seeds, and vehicles that are more environmentally friendly (like our Premier). Just a thought.
3. Be the change you want to see. If you think the disappearance of millions of salmon, starving bears, ferocious pine beetles, and a global economy that feeds (and is fed by) a population that expands while biodiversity shrinks are important challenges, well, do something about it. Join a community group, start a business, teach a class – whatever you do, get involved.
So, the next time someone asks “what’s your issue?” Think about responding with something along the lines of “all of them.” Because it’s not just about the economy or the environment or health care or education or social issues. Our challenges are completely and symbiotically connected and the environment is the thing that binds it all together (mostly because it’s where we live). So it is with coral reefs and salmon and grizzly bears and tourism and my friend Catherine, who, like millions of people around the world, is none too pleased that so many cuddly, naturally peaceful and delicious creatures are about to starve to death.
“In spite of what such signals as the gross domestic product or the Dow Jones Industrial Average indicate, it is ultimately the capacity of the photosynthetic world and its nutrient flows that determine the quality and quantity of life on Earth.” Well said, Paul Hawken. Well said.
Now. Go out there and read, demand and be the change. Most importantly, have fun with it!
- JCH
A tip o’ the hat to our favourite Canadian Author, Margaret Atwood
The traditional role of a writer is pretty straight forward: write a book, get it published, go to a few signings, and move on to the next. However, in this new media, new technology savvy world, this traditional role is sure to be a-changing. Take for instance, the blog-turned-novel overnight success of Julie Powell, the self-proclaimed “government drone” who spent a year cooking and blogging about her adventures Mastering the Art of French Cooking, a la Julia Child. Not surprisingly, she’s received some backlash: some more “traditionalist” writers do not see any room in their art for a *gasp* blogger. Going a step farther - a year’s worth of blog content has now been turned into a major motion picture, Julie & Julia, starring Meryl Streep. Talk about culture clash.
What is a writer to do? Jump in to these new-fangled worlds of blogs and tweets and risk being ostrasized by the ‘traditionalists’? Take the plunge and hope your fans and fellow writers will maintain their respect for you as an artist (and perhaps, just maybe, have it increase a little?).
And herein comes my (very reverant) tip o’ the hat to our (my) favourite Canadian author, Margaret Atwood.
Ms. Atwood has bestowed upon the world a remarkable amount (over 25 volumes) of poetry, children’s literature, fiction, and non-fiction. She is not afraid to broach difficult or controversial subjects (just Google search ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ’Banned’ and see what comes up …), or advocate for the rights of underfunded or marginalized groups (check out Ms. Atwood’s scathing critique of Mr. Harper and his decision to cut funding for the arts). Oh, and given the timely release of her latest nonfiction Payback during the crux of the global economic meltdown, she’s also been touted as a fortune teller of sorts.
Indeed, Ms. Atwood is one cool and talented (and potentially psychic) lady. What makes her even cooler and talented (but perhaps not more psychic) is the fact that she is blogging and tweeting throughout the duration of her current promotional tour for her latest novel, The Year of The Flood. Not only is Ms. Atwood embracing these new technologies that so many others have been too afraid or too snobby to embrace, but she is also building and expanding ethical, sustainable, and relevant community in other ways. For instance, she’s making her current tour as green as possible – eating local and vegetarian food, purchasing carbon offset for travel, and staying in hotels with stellar environmental policies. She’s also challenging traditional assumptions of ‘the novel’, incorporating music and plays performed by local musicians and artists into her readings.
Margaret Atwood – a tip o’ the hat to you for challenging traditional norms, embarking unafraid into strange, new, online worlds, living by exemplary sustainable means, and staying true to your delightful, eccentric self.