New Commons is involved in many projects around leadership, next economy, strategic planning and organizational and association development with our clients, we also build campaigns or movements where we know change is happening.
Below are three such initiatives we are involved in currently with an overview of our past initiatives:
Soul at Work: is a program we started in 2007 as a series of Cafes to women from a variety of disciplines together to share new leadership practices to shape their lives, networks, organizations and the world to make change happen. Since 2007 we have hosted over 300 women in conversation about economics, leading organizations through change, writing books, climbing Mt. Everest and doing what you can to solve the social problems of the world through enterprise. Click here for more information!
City and Soul: This site reviews the work of James Hillman and others around city-making and introducing the image that soul matters for cities and people, as more than a built environment but a place that continues to unfold community, ecology, and people.
Next Economy: A series of essays, provocations, and resources that connect individuals and communities to reimage the next economy as more than another phase but a desruptive technology that shapes our sense of wealth creation, organizational structures, and falsehood of "growth".
Past initiatives:
Providence & Beyond
A Year in Providence
Entrepreneurship Forum of New England (EFNE) was an intiative New Commons, along with many partner organizations, built from 2003 with the "Festival" until 2008. The aims of the EFNE was to build a community for New England entrepreneurs, investors, and business practitioners to come together and create new enterprises.
Through a combination of highly focused events, membership and website portal entrepreneurs connect, interact, and share successes among their peers. Here is what our featured entrepreneurs had to say in 2005, it still resonates today!
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Innovation in your business model sets you apart from others: What nascent or emerging practice are you working on that can use the help of other entrepreneurs? |
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In my next start-up I need help in the areas in help with fraud, fraud detection over the internet, and identity theft. This is a large problem. - Brad Waugh |
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I work with entrepreneurs and organizations in order to help them to achieve their maximum level of effectiveness and/or profitability by locating and identifying their "Bigger Know". The manner in which I do that is by introducing a different way of thinking and "being" as well as a set of principals. The result is that the stakeholders and the organization become much better at identifying, mining, focusing and then releasing the collective intellect and energies contained within them thereby exceeding predetermined expectations and goals while reducing stress and anxiety levels. I am presently working on articulating the meaning of, and defining the principals of how one accesses, the "Bigger Know" in writing. I am also developing training seminars in order to disseminate these methods so that others can become proficient in the skill sets and techniques required to tap into their "Bigger Know" within their own organizations - Jeff Deckman |
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Long term legacy thinking and practice regarding both our business and our community.
Think centuries. - John Abrams
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In my business, I am trying to connect my clients in a meaningful but not intrusive way to the suppliers, who are artisans in remote communities in Brazil. By "connect", I mean I need for customers to feel and understand the "voice" of the artist in the product they buy, and to help me translate their purchase into a greater status for the producer. This I need as a marketing tool as well as a way to stimulate the production side of things. For this, I would like to study models of other entrepreneurs with similar challenges. - Ilma Paixao |
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It seems as though my professional position consistently revolves around and relies heavily upon the relationships that I develop and manage, both internally and externally. Within my company, we have always prided ourselves in creating a uniquely warm and supportive environment for our employees. An environment where everyone has a voice of their own and endless possibilities. However, with such a continual focus on both the relationships within our team and the development of unique and effective policies to support that structure, there are inevitable challenges with continued staff growth. So I pose the question, “At what point do you give too much voice to your employees and not enough to yourself?” - Gina DiSpirito |
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What break through could other entrepreneurs join in on? Re-thinking the distribution chain. The conventional approach to scaling your business is to fight your way up to big box distribution. In many cases by the time you get to that point, you are punished so hard on the margins, if you don't dumb down your product you can't stay in the game. That's why we're surrounded by so much low quality junk. Not only is unconventional distribution a practical alternative, it's a scalable alternative. Two examples: Dell Computer - who by-passes the retail chains and sells direct and Goddess Granola. They both provide quality products, excellent customer service, by-pass the retail chains and use UPS for direct shipment to the end user. This alternative distribution channel recaptures margin which you can share with your customer, which increases value, which drives sales and offers no limits on scalability. - Andrea Lyons |
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What we're trying to do in Providence is an excellent example of collaboration between entrepreneurs. To revitalize a neighborhood like Downcity, we've needed to pool tremendous resources and talent. We've had to engage almost every level of government and the corporate community, and we've even had the opportunity to spin off other entrepreneurs through our own projects. For instance, in order to animate our streetscape and provide a positive experience for our residents, we need to attract retail tenants. These retailers are entrepreneurs in their own right, and by deciding to locate Downcity, they're affirming our belief in the neighborhood. Just another example of how true entrepreneurial ventures are self-perpetuating and self-reinforcing. - Buff Chace |
Reanissance Dinners
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