Life often unfolds in circles. Though I ran my own consulting firm for nearly 20 years, it’s been more than a decade since I closed shop to take on CEO/Leadership roles with Bissell Centre, Tamarack Institute and most recently as the inaugural Executive Director of the Edmonton CDC in January 2018.
Now I want to effectively parcel my time for my creative life as a writer and digital artist, my numismatic interests, and my passion for helping with community change efforts through consulting services outlined below.
Transformational Thinking
Changing the world is about changing minds and for minds to change we have to think differently, often radically different. I work with groups and individuals interested in moving through status quo restraints toward new visions. I help organizations populate their Thinking Tool Box. Topics include lateral, critical, systems, convergent, divergent, integrative, creative, and episodic thinking as well as my own thinking approach called, Upside Down Thinking
Identifying your Strategic Touchstone
What’s at the core of your organization? What is its heart, mind, and spirit? What are the vital drivers of action that must be in everyone’s mind as your navigate a landscape of challenges, barriers, and opportunities? A Strategic Touchstone is a brief document (three to five pages) that can serve as a policy document as well as your core long-term strategy.
Planning for Game-Changer Evaluation
Often, non-profits try to do far more than they have the capacity to handle; they end up evaluating too many things across the spectrum of services they provide but may give short shrift to a more vertical, deeper approach to understanding impact. Game-Changer Evaluation is about measuring the big changes and major impacts your group wants to bring about.
Research, Analysis, and Writing Services
If you are struggling to make sense of your data or need assistance to identify trends within or beyond your organization or could use a hand doing some quick and timely research, let’s have a conversation to see if I can be of service. I am open to writing proposals as well or a case for support.
Past Roles: ED of Edmonton CDC; CEO of Bissell Centre; Senior Director at Tamarack Institute; VP Business Services at United Way; ED of Operation Friendship; and Providing consulting services to the community sector.
Mark Holmgren 