Leading training and development expert and Partner in Designed Learning, Peter Block, and Emeritus Professor of education and social policy and coordinator of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University, John McKnight, co-authors of the visionary and thought provoking book The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods, describe the invisible but immeasurable impact consumerism has had on families and communities. Purchases of essential products and services are made from outside the community. Services and necessities of life are outsourced. Because people look outside of their own community for products and services, they think of themselves as consumers and not as citizens and neighbors. The authors offer an alternative concept for creating a satisfying life. They share the possibilities that result from forming a community that nurtures both families and useful citizens. The authors offer practical ideas for developing voluntary and self-organizing structures within a community. The ideas can help rebuild families, neighborhoods, entire communities and strengthen their local economies.The authors offer hope for building peoples' lives on their own terms for their mutual benefit.
Peter Block and John McKnight are my internet radio show guests on Blog Business Success; hosted live on BlogTalkRadio.
The show airs live on Tuesday, November 23, at 8:00 pm Eastern Time; 5:00 pm Pacific Time.
Leading training and development expert and Partner in Designed Learning, Peter Block, and Emeritus Professor of education and social policy and coordinator of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University, John McKnight, co-authors of the visionary and thought provoking book The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods, describe the invisible but immeasurable impact consumerism has had on families and communities. You will learn:
* Why consumerism has created unhappy and dissatisfied communities
* Why communities possess the people and resources to revitalize themselves
* How to develop the spirit of giving and sharing and of building citizenship
* How communities can rebuild themselves, their people, and their neighborhoods
Peter Block (on left in photo left) is an author, consultant and citizen of Cincinnati, Ohio.
His work is about empowerment, stewardship, chosen accountability, and the reconciliation of community.
Peter is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops designed by Block to build the skills outlined in his books. He is the author of Flawless Consulting, Stewardship, The Answer to How Is Yes, and Community. He is the recipient of numerous awards, most recently the Organization Development Network's 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award.
In 2008 Community: The Structure of Belonging was published, and his latest book, The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods, co-authored with John McKnight, came out in May 2010.
He has also authored Flawless Consulting Fieldbook & Companion: A Guide to Understanding Your Expertise (2000). The Answer to How Is Yes: Acting on What Matters (2002) won that year's Independent Book Publisher Book Award for Business Breakthrough Book of the Year. Freedom and Accountability at Work: Applying Philosophic Insight to the Real World was co-authored with consultant and philosopher Peter Koestenbaum (2001).
John McKnight (on right in photo left) is emeritus professor of education and social policy and co-director of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University.
He is the co-author of Building Communities from the Inside Out and the author of The Careless Society. He has been a community organizer and serves on the boards of several national organizations that support neighborhood development.
My book review of The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods by John McKnight and Peter Block.
My book review of Community: The Structure of Belonging by Peter Block.
Listen live on Tuesday at 8:00 pm Eastern, 5:00 pm Pacific time.
If you miss this very informative show, it will be available for free download as a podcast for iPod, iTunes, and MP3 players; or play it right on your computer. To download this, or any other of my guest interviews, go to the Blog Business Success host page and click on Archived Segments. Once there, click on the podcast icon at the end of the episode description, to download the show free of charge for your listening enjoyment. You can also subscribe to the show feed.
To call in questions for my guest, the number is: (347) 996-5832
Let's talk with leading training and development expert and Partner in Designed Learning, Peter Block, and Emeritus Professor of education and social policy and coordinator of the Asset-Based Community Development Institute at Northwestern University, John McKnight, co-authors of the visionary and thought provoking book The Abundant Community: Awakening the Power of Families and Neighborhoods, describe the invisible but immeasurable impact consumerism has had on families and communities. Purchases of essential products and services are made from outside the community. Services and necessities of life are outsourced. Because people look outside of their own community for products and services, they think of themselves as consumers and not as citizens and neighbors. The authors offer an alternative concept for creating a satisfying life. They share the possibilities that result from forming a community that nurtures both families and useful citizens. The authors offer practical ideas for developing voluntary and self-organizing structures within a community. The ideas can help rebuild families, neighborhoods, entire communities and strengthen their local economies.The authors offer hope for building peoples' lives on their own terms for their mutual benefit on Blog Business Success Radio.
