The Blog

This week, Vogue published an exquisite piece titled “Meet the ‘Mwani Mamas,’ a Group of Zanzibari Women Changing Their Lives Through Seaweed Farming”. The expertly written and photographed article unveiled the moving story behind the batch-created luxury skincare line called MWANI Zanzibar, macroalgae & plant-based skincare made by the ocean, in nutrient-rich micro- batches, by the Mamas of Zanzibar. (This is not a sales pitch for the skincare line, though I have no doubt its efficacy is remarkable.) Rather, it illustrates what can happen when individuals seek to shift culture if they...

As we rethink the cultures we find ourselves in, whether that be professionally, personally, or communally, it is imperative to have a vision that expands the horizon for what is possible. In an attempt to cast such a vision, I am suggesting a list of characteristics we hope for as we transcend the present culture. It is by no means exhaustive, but it is a start. Goodness and kindness prevail A soft place to land People deeply care about each other Polite and respectful There is a spirit of natural generosity Adult-like behavior where people want to contribute to the good of the whole People...

Co-founder, Carol Engel-Enright talks to Michelle Deines on her podcast, Serving Locally, with Michelle. Listen in the embed above, or click here to listen on Spotify Podcasts.

During my time as Longmont’s Public Safety Chief, I shifted my department’s philosophy, policies, and practices to embrace the activation of the common good. I believed the reality and the perception of safety were mostly the responsibility of citizens, both individually and collectively. The department would identify neighborhood connectors, citizen activists, cultural brokers, heads of nonprofits, along with others who wanted to be involved and bring them together to talk about what role they could play in surfacing, activating, and coordinating the social capital in their neighborhoods,...

Are you satisfied with the current culture? What would motivate you to explore ideas and strategies for shifting culture in your family, workplace, neighborhood, community, state, nation, and the world?  SOSSAS is excited for our new classes coming in April and May that will expand your mind, knowledge, and skills in creating the COMMON GOOD. Research shows that 83% of Millennials in the workforce identify the culture of an organization of people (humans) as the most important aspect when choosing a position, more than pay and benefits. But what is culture?  Where does it come...

SOSSAS is a non-political organization working to create unity, accountability, respect, and compassion in our society among citizens, leaders, and organizations by educating all stakeholders on civility, servant leadership, civil discourse, and much more.  As we have been working on the programming and development of our course offerings, we have heard time and again how much the world needs this education and movement. It seems that we, as a society, have hit the breaking point from the ill-effects of the ever-increasing divisiveness between different groups. SOSSAS courses are...

The word ‘transparency’ is often utilized when characterizing the attributes of a good organization or perhaps as a component of integrity. Transparency was certainly a part of what was important for us in our police department in Longmont, but what really helped us emotionally connect with our community was our evolving vulnerability. I think back to those early days of first becoming a police chief and the meetings with citizens in the community, the media, representatives from other organizations, and our own staff. Almost to the person, people expressed a variety of feelings and...

Your transformative journey began in the SOSSAS Level I courses as you were introduced to the idea of what Effective Communicators can do. The first five courses focused on you learning how to cultivate a leadership presence, foster empathetic listening and communication skills, conduct civil discourse while continually honing your critical thinking skills. While all those courses may sound quite lofty and idealistic, they are attainable with practice and adopting a new way to interpret your life’s journeys.   My life’s journey taught me that lessons, moments, learnings all start...

Have you ever been in a room where several different people had persisting divergent ideas about how to move forward, solve a problem, or respond to a set of circumstances? We all have, and we tend to know that it happens much more frequently than it used to. Name a political, social, or economic issue, and one will discover multiple potentially polarizing perspectives with any of them.   Did you wish you had the skills and the internal wherewithal to harmonize the contrasting perspectives or to somehow integrate all the perspectives into one overarching idea that accounted for each...

If the media, the pundits, the columnists, the podcasters, leaders at all levels, and each of us talked of the prevailing and abundant goodness in our midst instead of any one personality or partisan politics, our country would feel much differently. Let’s speak of what’s working, what we want to see more of, what’s good, for that which we have gratitude, and for the better nature of our angels! It’s not about overcoming partisan politics, divisive personalities, or even evil. It’s about recognizing the amazing gifts we have. Goodness, when acknowledged, will expand and crowd out what we...