http://www.scottlondon.com/blog On Creativity, Innovation, and Renewal Thu, 21 Jan 2010 23:17:19 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en "Nonprofit." It's a curious word. It doesn't tell us what it is, but it tells us what it's not. Given that the term has come to define a vast sector of American society — one that encompasses more than 1.5 million organizations and accounts for some 10 percent of the nation's ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/102 In his much-discussed new book, Community: The Structure of Belonging, Peter Block makes a point of not trying to define a healthy and well-functioning community. The idea isn't to create a visionary ideal for people to try to live up to, he says. Rather, it's to encourage a shift in our ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/101 Some thirty years ago, historian and presidential biographer James MacGregor Burns introduced the concept of "transformative leadership." It was a powerful idea, one that continues to shape how I think about great leaders — in politics, certainly, but also in organizations, in communities, and even in small and informal groups. Burns ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/100 I'm here in Oslo covering President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. His acceptance speech earlier today at Oslo City Hall was forceful, eloquent, and beautifully crafted. But, as I noted in an interview with NRK (Norwegian Radio and Television) after the lecture, I was dismayed by the address. Here's a ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/99 "Art in an Ephemeral Age" is the theme of the Institute of Art and Ideas' annual Art Festival at Hay in England, and among the many highlights this year is a look at Burning Man, perhaps the world's preeminent gathering of ephemeral artists. Several discussion forums will tackle the subject ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/98 Today I read a remarkable passage from Nigerian novelist Ben Okri. It touches on the fate of great ideas and how the world tends to marginalize "true believers" and drive them down the path of disillusionment and defeat. The quote is from Okri's book In Arcadia: If you believe in something ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/97 "Be anything you like," Thomas Merton once said, "be madmen, drunks, and bastards of every shape and form, but at all costs avoid one thing: success." I love this quote. It's a reminder to slow down and reexamine what we're doing. The fierce drive to accomplish something and make a name for ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/75 About a dozen of my photos from Burning Man 2009 appear in the October issue of Common Ground magazine. It's a Bay Area-only publication, but you can view the full issue online at www.commongroundmag.com. My images begin on page 18. Check out the spread here. http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/96 I was delighted by the news that this year's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics went to Elinor Ostrom (along with Oliver Williamson). She's a maverick, someone who has challenged conventional wisdom in her field for some time. By recognizing her work in understanding resource management systems, the Royal Swedish Academy ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/95 It's been a big week, juggling a thousand projects and, in the midst of it all, getting swept up in the media whirlwind surrounding the announcement of this year's Nobel Peace Prize to Barack Obama. Like many people I was stunned by the news. I certainly agree with the Norwegian ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/94 The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize will be announced in Oslo on October 9. In recent weeks, there has been a lot of speculation — as there is every year — about who will get the award. The Norwegian Nobel Committee will pick from a record 205 nominees this year (172 ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/93 It was a beautiful and amazing week, wind and dust notwithstanding. Attendance was down by over ten percent this year — a first in the festival's 24-year history — which made for a smaller and somewhat more intimate event. There was also a sense among many I spoke with that the ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/92 One of Hegel's great contributions to Western philosophy was a theory he called dialectical progression. As he saw it, ideas and worldviews tend to evolve through a series of stages. First there is an idea or concept, a thesis. Over time it inevitably gives rise to its opposite, its antithesis. ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/90 I don't believe in paying your dues, but sometimes it's the only way to overcome self-doubt or a lingering suspicion that you're a charlatan. http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/89 In horticulture, the art of grafting involves fusing the stems, leaves, flowers, or fruits of one plant with the rootstock of another. The process is especially useful with plants that can’t be propagated easily by seed. The basic principle also applies to ideas. Sometimes the best way to introduce a new concept is to marry ... http://www.scottlondon.com/blog/archives/87