Cooperative Economics | "Impact-First" Investing | Transformative Leadership

Why draw maps?

I’ve been awakening to the power of visuals to help teams with decision-making. Too often, we don’t have a common mental model and end up talking past each other. This is where I’ve found myself inside my own organization more often than I’d like to admit recently. Today, Max Harper came to our Shared Ownership workshop and […]

Have you been thinking about masks?

Have you been thinking about masks?

If you’ve been thinking about how to buy masks, disinfectant supplies, PPE… Perhaps our co-op effort to find suppliers that can deliver may be of help…   Curious how others are thinking through re-opening and estimating PPE supply needs? Curious what co-op pricing looks like for masks?   Or “no contact” thermometers? (coop price: $50… vs $85) Worried about making […]

A Few Essential Ingredients for a Purchasing Cooperative

A Few Essential Ingredients for a Purchasing Cooperative

Composting & Buying “Compostable” Paper Goods in Durham, NC A local environmental leader, Crystal Dreisbach, Founder and Executive Director of Don’t Waste Durham, invited me to join her and two local restaurant and food truck owners to imagine how we could help them purchase biodegradable plates, cups, and carry-out containers as a co-op. The basic […]

Innovative Companies Change their Customers: My CPA Co-op Experience

Michael Schrage’s insight about how innovative companies change their customers has stuck with me. And it’s changed the way I understand the work my organization does. Successful innovations go beyond the quid pro quo; they’re targeted investments in the customer’s future value.  Most customers believe that “the market” sets the terms of engagement for service […]