“Cathedral thinking” is the kind of vision that takes generations to realize. I first heard the term in 2008 in a speech by Jim Rogers, then CEO of Duke Energy. He described how medieval cathedrals were built across centuries — and how that kind of multi-generational commitment was needed to transform our electricity grid. I […]
Pope Francis refused to keep faith locked inside a Sunday box. Laudato Si’ compelled us to connect climate, consumerism, loneliness—to see the only true way forward: spiritual conversion. When I finally stopped hiding from my quarterly statements, I imagined Pope Francis himself opening the envelope. What would he see? A letter that landed In 2019 […]
Last month, a dream came true. After three years of relationship building “to find the others”. We organized a gathering around Catholic social tradition and investment practice. And it was more than a gathering. It was a deep encounter. People felt moved by how deeply they were able to relate, and how meaningfully they could […]
I wrote this in 2020, but just found it and felt like it really meets some of what I’m up to right now as we finish the 7th workshop cohort & aim to build small teams within our broader Francesco / Catholic Impact Investing community. Let’s start with a definition I picked up from a […]
In our Livable Future Investing workshops, we like to start with a question that gets people talking about the heartbreak. We feel it’s important to connect with this grief, pain, as a way of opening up our empathy muscle to begin to strengthen the bonds of community and kind of culture we’re trying to create. […]
An area of significant learning for me this year was my work supporting an Investment Committee through a significant decision around their endowment. What I didn’t realize, was that the leader of the committee had a certain point of view and as a result was uninterested in taking the time to ask the committee to […]
As I reflect on 2023 and prepare for 2024, I wanted to name a few inquiries that have begun to marinate inside of me. As Rilke says: Live the questions! Big Picture A couple macro trends I hope for over the next few years: On a more personal note Integrating with the big picture I […]
A couple years ago, I was advising an organization that was transitioning to employee ownership. In that process of their senior leadership asking me questions, I shared this excerpt — which draws on my own organizational leadership experience and the deep resonance I’ve felt with Pope Francis’ concept of “overflow” — which has now (in […]
Morgan Simon has been pushing the definition of impact in the oft used phrase “impact investing” for many years. Her definition and principles have helped Elizabeth Garlow and I immensely and many of the Catholic asset stewards we work with. I was grateful to record a conversation with her this afternoon, where she surprised me […]
From theology and political economy to an analysis of our moment — making intelligible the mega-trends of capitalism — and how we as Christians “can’t accept it’s terms and conditions as good”. Drawing on Jeremiah 29:7 — Luke says we’re “called to bear faithful witness within it and transform and convert it”.