People Transforming Communities

rick smyre Male Gastonia, NC United States: Share; Share on Twitter; Share on Facebook

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What is your primary focus?

My work as President of the Center for Communities of the Future focuses on helping individuals, organizations and communities develop new capacities to prepare for a different kind of future that is constantly changing, globally interconnected and increasingly complex.

What projects are you working on?

Am working on six projects simultaneously. The two that are the most interested are the Community Innovator program in collaboration with the NC Rural Center, and the Global Rural Network Project that links individuals in fifteen states and five countries who are interested in learning how to seed capacities for transformation in the thinking and action of their local communities.

How big is your business?

The Center for Communities of the Future networks people and organizations

What is your job title?

President

What is your company website?

http://communitiesofthefuture.org

Other website addresses?

www.visioning2026.org

What is your alma matter?

Davidson College and NC State University

Why did you join Community Transformer? What are you hoping to experience here?

Would like to network with individuals interested help seed community transformation

Rick smyre's Blog

Building Interlocking Networks for Community Transformation

In July 2008, Dave Baldwin from Ohio, Larry Wenzl from Nebraska, and I spoke at the World Future Society Conference in Washington, D.C., and introduced the concept of using the virtual world, Second Life, as one way to build connections among people interested in seeding transformative ideas for the 21st century. We were very pleased with the response, and have since used Second Life as a key platform to have local citizens begin to imagine a future that is not in their traditional thinking or e… Continue

Posted on December 19, 2008 at 3:00pm —

Comment Wall (29 comments)

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At 9:58am on May 5, 2009, Shana Ferrigan Bourcier said…: Good morning, Rick!

Reconnecting with Frank, and expecting to chat with Joseph H. too, who you spoke with this week.

I've been working on crafting a breakthrough innovation and transformational strategy project proposal - I'd love to have you peek at the synopsis, if you would. It calls for a world-class multi-disciplinary team, collaboratively designing to catalyze whole systems renewal. Integrative, life-giving - right on the cutting edge! :-)

Are you familiar with David Cooperrider and Appreciative Inquiry? Check out this upcoming conference: http://worldbenefit.case.edu/global-forum/. Makes my heart skip a beat!

Hope is on the rise!

cheers,
shana

At 7:59am on May 5, 2009, Frank Armstrong said…: Hello Rick,
It's great to hear from you and I would certainly welcome the opportunity to chat. The best days for me next week will be Monday,Wednesday, and Thursday. Any time from late morning on is fine for me.

Linda is holding on as best she can; a but weary and fatigued, but hopeful as I am!

Talk with you soon,

Frank

At 7:35am on March 29, 2009, Frank Armstrong said…: Hello Rick,
There are a lot of significant changes happening in our region. Keeping up with them and with Linda's ongoing struggles has kept me out of the loop for a while. However, within the past two weeks, I have been able to get started on some of my work with Covenant Communities for Transformissional change.

Hope all is well with you and yours.

Frank

At 4:55pm on March 28, 2009, Sharon Drew Morgen said…: hi rick: for some reason, i just checked out this site and found a note from you! better late than never...?? so sorry.. the net communications are just a lot to keep up with! and since it's not coming into my inbox directly, i forget where i have 'what'. pls forgive.
my model is based on servant leadership - i've coded the system behind how people make decisions, and created a model (i call it decision facilitation, although it shows up in my daily work as Buying Facilitation ('facilitation' a word i've been using for 25 years and originally made fun of because of it)) that gives each person the tools to help others reach their own best decisions. it works with criteria and values, and is non biased, in that it works with systems thinking and the progression of decisions.
so instead of giving someone reasons they 'should' be doing something, it teaches them how to recognize the reasons they've been doing what they are doing, and leads them to consider what would need to happen within their own values, to be able to shift and add some new thinking/behavior.
i can give you a link to a paper on the 'sales' process used this way, and hopefully you can read between the lines and see how it can be used in communication: www.newsalesparadigm.com/features-functions1.php
My real dream is to have everyone taught this when young, so the world will have the skills to have everyone serve each other.
we can discuss. i'd love to offer it as a communication approach to helping the world heal.it's currently being taught at a few universities as part of the leadership development programs...
thoughts? sd

At 11:33am on January 7, 2009, Shana Ferrigan Bourcier said…: Time flies! Yes, let's find a way to chat soon. Much to share, eager to hear your thoughts ~

At 1:11pm on November 9, 2008, Bill Hammerman said…: Rick, my apologies for not getting in touch sooner, but I've been super-busy planning, coordinating, and facilitating a city-wide "communications" field exercise that involved volunteers (at the neighborhood level) who use both FRS and Ham radios to transmit emergency/disaster type messages. It was more or less the final event to our NERT/ALERT initiative that was initiated shortly after Katrina in 2005.(NERT = Neighborhood Emergency Respponse Team, ALERT = Alliance of Local Emergency Response Teams.) This two-hour exercise was held yesterday, so I slept in this morning.

Many thanks for reconnecting and inviting me to join this group. I look forward to many thoughtful exchanges. My best!

At 2:47pm on October 31, 2008, Renee Bernier said…: Hi Rick, Tuesday is fine, talk to you then. Cheers

At 10:03pm on October 30, 2008, Jon D. Speer said…: Rick,
Thanks for the comment and idea to connect with Dave Baldwin.
Take care,
j

At 11:16am on October 21, 2008, Shana Ferrigan Bourcier said…: Sounds great, Rick! I think you also know my friend Rick Feldman, who contacted you a little while back. I may actually be headed to Boston tomorrow - is the friend you mention out that way?