Seth Kahan

14th Amendment

My birthday was Saturday, July 9, which was also the 154th anniversary of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution. There’s an interesting story about its ratification. The 14th Amendment overturned the infamous 1857 Dred Scott decision, which said (a) Black men were not citizens and did not have the rights of citizens, and (b)

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Activating an Ecosystem for Grand Challenge Success

Big, bold initiatives that tackle some of society’s wickedest problems are called Grand Challenges. Successful Grand Challenges rely on several elements, the most impactful being a large and diverse network of allies – an ecosystem. The key to leading a large-scale change initiative is the ability to align players from multiple dimensions simultaneously around a

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activating an ecosystem

Fireworks!

Our new dog, Kaya, is a timid soul. She experienced some sort of trauma before we rescued her and does not display any form of aggression toward people. I have seen her sit on our living room couch and watch calmly as strangers entered our home. But, fireworks and thunder are another story. To those

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A Deer Approach

My wife and I walked with our dog, Kaya, in one of the city parks here in Bethesda, Maryland, when we had a chance to see two deer eating close to the trail. They were obviously used to people as they took a moment to look directly at us and then kept feeding on the

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Implement the Plan

In 2001, a research team led by Dr. Christina Economos studied four movements that created a flip in societal thinking: Breastfeeding Smoking Cessation Seat Belt Use Recycling Through that research, the team identified 10 Key Elements to Creating a Social Movement – critical to the success of any Grand Challenge or internal change work. I’ve

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Implement the Plan

Juneteenth

Yesterday was America’s Juneteenth and today we have a federal holiday that allows every employed American to take a day from work to consider what this holiday is all about. On June 19, 1865, some two months after Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox, Va., those in Galveston, Texas were informed that enslaved

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Juneteenth

Gather Allies

  In the last two issues of Visionary Talk, we’ve explored the 10 Key Elements to Creating a Social Movement. The elements were identified in 2001 by a research team led by Dr. Christina Economos. The team studied four major social movements that created a 180-degree flip in societal thinking: Breastfeeding Smoking Cessation Seat Belt

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10-Key-Elements-to-Create-a-Social-Movement-scaled

One Step at a Time

A few weeks ago while visiting my son for his commencement ceremony in Amherst, Massachusetts, my daughter, Ruchi, and I decided to go vegan. I made a big switch a couple of years ago after watching the movie, GameChangers (which I recommend – it focuses on world-class athletes who are vegan). I stopped eating beef,

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One Step at a Time
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