If you want a job done right, you have to pay for it. This silly idea demeans both work and worker, particularly when it comes to volunteers. You can’t trust volunteers because they aren’t being paid, or so the story goes. Let’s take a closer look. Mothers typically don’t receive direct financial compensation for their [...]
Archive for the ‘Observations’ Category
A Really Sweet – and Powerful Article
I just read this blog post written by Sarah Hipolito and wanted to share it with you. Besides telling a beautiful story from a really sweet person, it makes a couple powerful points. Please pay attention to the shift between volunteer – staff – volunteer roles – all in growing and deepening service. Here ya [...]
Scarcity Mentality
Does it feel like there’s less and less money circulating around you? Around your business? Around your organization? Does it feel like all the money is being hoovered up? That the places you’re used to finding money are looking pretty dry? Does it feel like people who are usually generous are tightening up? Like people [...]
Combo
Here’s my personal recipe for alphabet soup: Compine HR, CI, OD, and CM in a pot that’s strong, wise, fun, and irreverant. Stir for twenty years – more or less – and serve hot! Ingrediants: HR stands for people – not human resources. We want to work with real people, organic and whole – not [...]
Organization or Busy-ness?
“Organization” is about people and work; “business” is about money and, well, busy-ness. At least that’s how it shows up for me. My commitment is to people and work. I shutter every time a decision is made based on money without regard to people. And I’m forever whining about the work – can we please [...]
Reconciliation
It’s challenging to reconcile our spiritual growth with our worldly growth. By growth, I mean our changing, developing, and deepening our understanding, beliefs, and skills. Spirit and work present two ever-moving entities existing in the same field – me. How do we handle challenges and opportunities that appear to present conflicts between spiritual beliefs and [...]
Why not?
Ok, so everything is breaking down. Do you have to break down? So what if there are not jobs for you today? Does that mean you can’t work? Why not help the other guy? Why not give when you lack? This is a time to reach out to those who, like you, need help. Could [...]
Conversation write-up
Thanks to everyone who joined today’s “Focus on Volunteers” – our meaningful conversation around volunteers. Thanks especially to the Sedona Community Center, our partner and host. We enjoyed being in the room and sharing a meal with others who, like ourselves, are passionate about volunteering. Here’s my summary based on the notes I took during [...]
For Our Town
Joyce and I just returned from a breakfast meeting with the mayor of Sedona and about fifty community leaders. The mayor’s idea, and the thrust of the For Our Town programs springing up across Arizona, is to partner government and faith-based organizations, along with nonprofits and businesses, to tackle the big problems and issues facing [...]
Rethinking volunteering
Typically, when I think of volunteering, I imagine an organization with a mission and work to do, recruiting free labor and supporting individual recruits to accomplish both their own purpose and the purpose of the organization. I’m beginning to see things a bit differently. For example, when I help my mother around the house or [...]
