Reflections on May - Movement

• If you will be in Austin this coming Thursday, June 12th, don't miss "A Conversation on Conscious Capitalism with John Mackey," which I am producing at St. David's Episcopal Church, downtown. Sounds True will be recording the event for release on a multi-CD set next year, and we will be video taping the event too.

• And if you want more good content, in a somewhat less ideal location, John, Michael Strong, and I will be at FreedomFest in Las Vegas, July 10 - 12. John will be participating in several panels and debates, and Michael and I will be presenting Friday morning (the 11th) on FLOW's Peace Through Commerce and Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs programs.

• The biggest news for me right now, which bridges both May and June and beyond... I have a greed to publish my first book, entitled Working for Good, with Sounds True. I began working on Working for Good in the context of my work with Peace Cereal, three years ago, and engaged FLOW to create a curriculum for the initial W4G program, which I produced in collaboration with the Global Nomad Group, Zaadz.com (now gaia.com), and others. The book reflects my experience and insights into, well, working for good, as well as those of others, and will support others in their quest to successfully engage in working for good. I will be delivering the manuscript at the end of the year and we are targeting September 2009 for publication.

• The book and related publishing deal is catalyzing a whole array of activity related to W4G. Among other things, my friend and colleague Elad Levinson and i are designing a W4G workshop, which we will begin delivering later this year. More to come...
  

• Those of you who know me well, know that my number one "project" is that of being "dad" to Meryl Fé. May was a big month for us in many ways. Among other things, after a year and a half of living together full time (as I had been granted temporary sole custody), Meryl Fé's mom has left and temporary has essentially become permanent. The liberation (from anxiety of not knowing) this has lifted from Meryl Fé is profound. I nearly have to tie her down to keep her from flying off (in a good way).

• After 2 1/2 years of building the channels, so to speak, FLOW is flowing without a lot of heavy lifting. Now the challenge is to keep up with the accelerating flow! Without going into full detail, here are some highlights:

• Wiley & Sons wants to publish the first FLOW book (and a series of FLOW books). This is a very good thing.

• The FLOW programs are rolling. Since the beginning of my tenure as ED and Chief Activation Officer, I have been applying the Cause Alliance Marketing model to the FLOW programs, and refining the model in the process. The alliances and programs are kicking in:

• Peace Through Commerce®: We are catalyzing a deep partnership with the Institute for Corporate Responsibility at george Washington University, and will be co-producing a PTC conference there this November. We've just completed (after a few minor edits) a promotional video and finishing up a treatment for a full length documentary. We also have a curriculum and game in the works. FLOW has just engaged our friend and colleague Chris White of 3G to work with us to cultivate and engage corporate partners for the conference and program overall.

• Conscious Capitalism®: As mentioned above, next Thursday John Mackey will present a public talk and engage in conversation with Tami Simon, founder of Sounds True. On November 7 - 9, FLOW is convening a CC conference (by invitation only) at The Crossings in Austin. Ron Pompei of Pompei A.D. is serving as Creative Director for the conference. Working with him and seeing his work is great fun and inspiring.

• Accelerating Women Entrepreneurs®: This program is great fun for me, as collaboration and alliance is core to its very existence, and is flourishing as it unfolds. Coming out of the AWE retreat in Austin in March, we have an array of organizations and individuals collaborating to develop and implement a long term campaign. FYI. As part of the AWE program, we are developing a pilot project (actually various projects) in Liberia, again, as an alliance. I expect to have more specific news to report soon, including a trip to Liberia in the Fall.

• The FLOW Activation Circles are flourishing in NYC, Austin, and San Francisco, and about to expand to other cites. Building local community has been a great and rewarding challenge, and it is encouraging to witness community emerging. My FLOW colleague Phyllis Blees, and various FAC participants, have played a pivotal role in the birthing process. Let me know if you are interested in starting an FAC and I will introduce you to Phyllis.