2023: We Can Do This

LET'S CONNECT

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all the darkness.”

– Desmond Tutu

Digging Deep

Last year I wrote: unprecedented stress is showing up at work as we grapple with never-ending turmoil. At the time of year when we aim to celebrate our achievements, we’re wondering if divisiveness, violence and gloom will ever end.

Distress persists. Pain shows up regularly at work related to deeply personal challenges, interpersonal divisions and global upheaval. People are grappling to make sense of senselessness.

In spite of this deep-seated angst, I believe:

Hope is possible.

We cannot change all the heartache around us. But we can make a difference in our sphere of influence. At Kaplan Consulting we co-create organizations for people and businesses to thrive. Workplaces that are radically human-centered are gaining traction in virtually every sector. We discovered one luminary, TiER1, and wanted to better understand how they’ve grown their business – B Certified and employee-owned - with heart, soul and profitability. So we reached out to collaborate and are delighted that TiER1 will be a case study for MJ’s innovative master’s course Managing Human-Centered Organizations for an Evolving World. You can learn more about their inspiring story in founder Greg Harmeyer’s book, Impact with Love: Building a Business for a Better World.

Hope inspires people to act.

Our theme for 2023’s reflection is ‘We Can Do This’ based on our hope and conviction that progress is possible. We change organizations one team and experiment at a time. Consider this year’s bright spots – and disappointments – and how they will inform your focus, actions and grit next year.

Choose hope. We must.

“Hope is not blind faith that things will get better. It’s a realistic belief that things can get better. Despair is an illusion of certainty. Hope is an appreciation of possibility. Change requires a way. There is no way without will. There is no will without hope.”

– Adam Grant

‘Tis the Season for Love, Light, and Luster

Cherish your time with loved ones during the holidays. This season offers time to pause from the intensity of work to play, sing, cook, saunter ... whatever activities bring you connection, joy and rest.

I’ll be frolicking with one-year old grandson Beau and cuddling newborn Josie who arrived six weeks early and reminds us that humans are unique and spirited from the get go.

Org. Transformation - One Step at a Time

Since 2000 Kaplan Consulting’s core practice has been to guide teams to develop the operating system that aligns their vision, principles and business model. In 2023 we continued to partner with organizations to navigate the complexities of work and develop approaches to flexibility, talent retention, adaptive strategy and multi-generational teamwork. A few highlights:

We’ve supported media organizations committed to truthful reporting for several years and are thrilled to contribute to the merger of Rhode Island public television and radio to strengthen their local reporting and community engagement.
We’ve worked with SOLE Colombia for three years and finally traveled to Colombia to deepen our partnership with the team. They progressed in leaps this year, establishing self-managed nodes in 32 communities in 17 municipalities most affected by armed conflict. SOLE Ambassadors facilitate learning, dialogue, economic empowerment and promoting a culture of peace. SOLE Lab for the Wayuu indigenous community is a community space that brings people together to learn, connect and importantly access the cloud technology. They will expand this pioneering model to communities in El Tambo, Cauca and in Chía, Cundinamarca.

We supported a manufacturing enterprise to recalibrate their strategic focus and operations to address environmental impact;
We worked with a food innovator to support multi-generational and multi-racial teams to bring new products and solutions to market faster;
We coached co-leaders to complement their strengths to grow a nonprofit dedicated to urban space. They were featured in this article

Project for Public Spaces, co-executive directors

MJ in Colombia working with SOLE founder Sanjay Fernandes.

Pivots on Purpose

It’s been ten years since I lived in Aotearoa New Zealand to research social purpose business as Ian Axford Fulbright Fellow. This experience unlocked countless opportunities for me to stretch professionally and personally. I leveraged the hiatus to join Loomio, a tech start up, and to teach award winning courses at Brown University in entrepreneurship and adaptive strategy.

Our network expanded globally and when covid hit we were already adept at supporting fully remote businesses and poised to advise clients how to shift on a dime.

People crave the opportunity to take a break from work. In our coaching, we hear about stress, conflict, arbitrary deadlines and incompetent bosses. And wasted time in meetings! So many people hunger for space for reflection, rest and renewal. During my fellowship year, my husband stepped away from his practice in cancer medicine to enjoy down time in New Zealand. Renewed, he took on an exciting new role in global health when he returned, working with Dana Farber’s Center for Global Cancer Medicine. We love to share our story because the time we carved out in New Zealand ignited not only ‘second careers’ for each of us but whole new mindsets and energy to embark on a new decade.

Envision your next journey!

We encourage people to sidestep life’s frenzy to pursue new adventures. Gen Z’s have a reputation for carving non-conventional paths that combine work and play. Some managers criticize this predisposition - we celebrate it! Twenty-somethings are not the only ones shunning traditional job paths. Our coaching practice includes people of all ages and stages who are crafting unique portfolios and paths that blend paid work, play and other passion pursuits.

Is it time to consider how to rewire your portfolio?

Would a pause from your ‘day job’ crack open space to reflect, rejuvenate, redirect?

What’s holding you back? What do you need to orchestrate your new story?

A first step might be to read the New York Times best-selling book Design Your Life by Bill Burnett and Dave Evans. Or give us a call to set up a coaching conversation.

MJ was keynote speaker at the Social Enterprise Forum in New Zealand

The Future of Work Gets Real

The students in my inaugural course for MCAD’s master program in Creative Leadership arrived with aspirations and skepticism. They felt profound tension between our exploration of what work can be and their experience of bureaucratic stagnation at work.

The course addresses the why, what and how of progressive companies that are human-centered and tech-enabled such as WL Gore, Teach for All, and Buurtzorg. We study organizations that exist to serve people and purpose. Their structures and systems are designed to bring out the best of people rather than control them. Yet, most people still work for and with organizations that are dysfunctional, even toxic. The course provoked hearty exploration of why so many businesses are stuck in antiquated approaches and what it will take to transform work to be noble, creative, nourishing and enduring. The Atlantic writer Annie Lowry describes this transition as an era of ‘creative destruction.’

The students concluded that the genie is out of the bottle, and legacy bureaucracies are on the way out. What’s less clear is when radically fulfilling work will be the norm and what form it will take. Can’t wait for the insights of the 2024 student cohort...

MJ launched this course as part of MCAD’s new master’s program in Creative Leadership

We’re All Stewards –
Give Generously

I’ve volunteered from an early age and I don’t need research to know that giving back feeds the soul (yes-research backs this up!). For ten years I’ve served on the board of Social Enterprise Greenhouse, most recently as co-chair. We support entrepreneurs – primarily people of color and women – to start and grow social purpose businesses. As I complete my term, I’m thrilled that SEG is more impactful than ever.

Our communities count on us to lend a hand whether you serve on a board, donate to a personal cause or show up for a special event. Check out Giving Multiplier, a matching system that promotes blended contributions to personal causes along with high impact ventures such as Clean Air Task Force or Against Malaria Foundation that are validated by research.

No doubt, you’ll get back more than you give.

Vice President Harris and former Governor Gina Raimondo with entrepreneur Sterling Clinton-Spellman at SEG’s Hub, 2021

Partnerships

Our social impact projects and consulting benefit enormously from our relationships with robust global networks. We explore new thinking and practices with exceptional thinker-doers through Greaterthan and Community for Change. I also cherish my 30+ year connection with the Institute for Conservation Leadership where we strengthen leadership and strategy for groups working on the front lines of climate change and environmental resilience.

Team retreats are more important than ever for hybrid teams to build culture and trust. People relish the spontaneity of unstructured time to deepen relationships and have fun together. Creative work and strategic alignment happen more fluidly in person. Partnering with stellar colleagues from Greaterthan means we’re ready to serve teams all over the world to shape and facilitate powerful gatherings that are transformative for individuals, teams and whole enterprises.

Let’s shift the tide together.

2024 Future of Work Focus

DESIGN CULTURE

Culture is the invisible glue that differentiates how people interact and the spirit and values that ground them. While these norms vary from one enterprise to another, we’re noticing transcendent principles abound where people truly love to work . They include trust, respect, integrity, accountability, fun. It’s a myth that showing up at the office builds culture. Curated experiences enliven culture and support people to do great work together. Culture doesn’t just happen.

PROMOTE FLEXIBILITY

The research is clear: flexible policies and practices are an imperative, not an option. The challenge is to align organizational, team and individual needs so that boundaries are clear and people can be fully present at work. Of course, flexible practices don’t succeed in a vacuum. Flexible work hums when autonomy, transparency, inclusion and other pillars are in place.

LEARN & ADAPT

Rampant change and complexity mean we need to accelerate our individual and collective capacity to learn and adapt. The key is to rely on each other to make sense of what is unfolding as we co-create strategic direction. Teams that hone this capability are poised to confront whatever surprises pop up.

MAXIMIZE TECHNOLOGY FOR HUMANS

The explosion of AI requires a clear roadmap for proactive, responsible adoption. Leverage its capabilities through structured assessment and candidly address disruptions to human-centered principles and priorities. Tech-celeration promises real-time actionable insights and newfound agility in an uncertain world. It also fuels the emergence of new risks and “unknown unknowns” in ever-changing ecosystems.