Collaborative Silos

A friend of mine, Jason Wells, guest wrote a blog for the Iowa Biz blog, hosted by the Business Record.  He asked about what could be done to foster more collaboration among organizations in Des Moines. I’ve been trying to figure that out for the last 7 years.  For the reputation that Des Moines has…

A Worthy Honor

Late last week, the piece of document above was placed in my hands.  I’m not one to publicly announce to the world anything about myself.  That’s not how I roll.  I’ll tell a few people who would be interested in knowing about it because they are people who care about the community and are willing…

Biking for a Cause

  The last time I rode a bike was in high school.  A buddy of mine, Matt Fischer, and I rode our bikes from our neighborhood in Highland Park (the one in Waterloo, not Des Moines’) to East High to do our off-season workouts for football. Matt did the smart thing by taking his bike inside…

A “Mission” Statement (sort of)

I had an interview two weeks ago that still bothers me today.  Check that, it made me dumbstruck.   I sat down, as I have several times in the past and the process began. The first question out of his mouth:  “What is your passion?” Oh, hell no. Sitting there stammering and stuttering for 3 minutes trying…

The Health of the Organization

I need help.  I can’t think of another way in putting this out there but I will.  Fundraising and talking is something I have feared for a long time.  I hate asking for money and public speaking is something I can’t do at all.  Marketing, well, I couldn’t market or sell you a lemon torte,…