Why a blog on change?

Why change

And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.
- Anias Nin

I am a change-wonk. For as long as I can remember, I have been motivated by an interest in how change takes place on an individual, small group, institutional, societal, and global levels. In my formative years I came to the realization that the problems in the world are the result of the actions and inactions of human beings. This leads to the question what actions (and inactions) will contribute to a better world?

This is an ethical and moral issue for me. The meta-goal of my life has been to leave the world a better place than I found it.

My bachelor degree is in Sociology from the University of Michigan, where I studied social change movements. My honor's thesis was on the socialist party in Flint, Michigan, which ironically is where I live now. In 1911, a socialist mayor and two alderman were elected to city council. The reaction of the establishment in Flint paralleled the national response to the socialist movement, which involved both cooption and coercion of the movement.

Frustrated with the lack of practical solutions in the sociology department, I moved to Urban, Technological, and Environmental Planning for graduate school at Michigan. My initial focus was on the design and development of simulation-games to support organizational change processes. From there, I expanded into organizational studies with a focus on information systems and organizations.

In 1992, I left Ann Arbor after three years of graduate school to start work for a new non-profit organization with a mission to disseminate global change information over the Internet. I worked in a variety of positions, including marketing, information systems management, and program development. From there I moved to another non-profit to look at developing a community health information system. After that project fizzled, I started my own consulting business, before I ended up back in higher education and eventually got around to finishing my dissertation, which looked at how city governments were using the Internet in the late 1990s to engage their communities.

Through all of these professional experiences my focus has been on how does one bring about change on an individual, team, or organizational level. I like to believe I have learned a few things along the way.

Why a blog

A week or so ago, an old friend of mine and former employee, Joey, asked me for advice about a situation he had become involved in regarding comments that had been made on a blog. I started to read his blog as well as some others discussing this particular situation, and I decided it was time to try my hand at this media.

My goals

My intent is to share my ideas about change here, link to resources on the net, and connect to other related blogs. Suggestions are certainly welcome!