When Results Are Not Enough

Results in an initiative, project or enterprise are imperative for many reasons.  They demonstrate progress, justify effort and funding, build confidence within and without and they build community acceptance and pride.  There are obviously many more and other reasons that results matter, but results are only one part of the equation.

The Culture of Greed – required: a moral revolution

We are witnessing the biggest financial heist in the history of the world; the most prominent and visual is from banks in most countries, but especially in America.  The culprits, not satisfied with cleaning out the banks, have now found a way that will bankrupt many governments.  But such thievery is evident in many other […]

The Dilemma of Big – the quandary of human ego

We keep hearing the phrase “to big to fail” in the context of banks, corporations and even governments during this economic transformation that is affecting the entire world.  It has become a mantra of those charged with “fixing” the economy; as if it could be fixed.  This somehow justifies the approach to the solution that […]

Achieving Balance – in a world with little

It is in the dream that inspiration is born  It is in the heart that hope is developed  It is in the belief that faith is secured  Inspiration, hope and faith are dimensions of the spirit.  It is the spirit that challenges the mind the most. In March I made what has become an annual […]

Life’s Transformations – renewal or regression

Recently one of my friends quoted a well known American economic guru saying that we are in the midst of one of the world’s fifty years cycles of economic change.  This reminded me of an essay which I read over tens years ago written by two economists; a Brit and an American. They were espousing […]

Life’s Whispers – the stirring of dreams

  It is in the silence that life is conceived  It is in the quiet that the heart is discovered  It is in the whispers that dreams are stirred Whispers are all around us if we but hear.  Christians would say that God whispers to us continuously.  Other faiths all suggest something similar from their […]

Building Trust – in a world of mistrust

Recently four of the local communities that have been part of my work completed a community survey with help from one of my university colleagues.  These surveys provided interesting insights into the thinking and life of rural Ukraine. This piece of research was developed with the intent of helping the small development groups in these […]

Finding Truth – in a world of spin

Watching intently the media coverage and hype of the British child ‘Maggie’ who went missing in Portugal in May has demonstrated for me how susceptible that we have become to spin.  Spin, as you well know, means to turn or twist something quickly and can be used in processes to fabricate.  In this world of […]

The Day the World Stood Still – and for some it stopped

On a recent brief visit to Crimea to the sea, while exploring the area near my hotel, I noticed a partially constructed building, obviously left derelict for a number of years.  It was similar to so many that can be seen in cities, towns and villages all across the country.  It would appear that on […]