blog

:.my blog
:.speaking
:.home


blog archives
- Archives - 2003-01 2003-02 2003-03 2003-04 2003-05 2003-06 2003-07 2003-08 2003-09 2003-10 2003-11 2003-12 2004-01 2004-02 2004-03 2004-04 2004-05 2004-06 2004-07 2004-08 2004-09 2004-10 2004-11 2004-12 2005-01 2005-02 2005-03 2005-04 2005-05 2005-06 2005-07 2005-08 2005-09 2005-10 2005-11 2005-12 2006-01 2006-02 2006-03 2006-04 2006-05 2006-06 2006-07 2006-08 2006-09 2006-10 2006-11 2006-12 2007-01 2007-02 2007-03 2007-04 2007-05 2007-06 2007-07 2007-08 2007-09 2007-10 2007-11 2007-12 2008-01 2008-02 2008-03 2008-04 2008-05 2008-06 2008-07 2008-08 2008-09 2008-10 2008-11 2008-12 2009-01 2009-02 2009-03 2009-04 2009-05 2009-06 2009-07

Putting the BLOG in BoLOGna.

I'm in one of those odd moments where I'm ready to go but have a few hours before I have to leave for the airport. I can't tell if I'm in a bit of denial, or if I'm good to go, but I feel ready.

It's hard leaving my wife and son for two weeks. That's the hardest part. I also feel a sense of obligation and duty to discover something useful and actionable, yet strategic to bring back with me to Vancity. It's a responsibility to my fellow staff and our members that I appreciate and want, but I know that it's critical to deliver something.

As I work on our next three years online with my WEB Team (Web Engagement & Banking), we've been putting our opportunities into three buckets. The Strategic (this aligns with our vision of Redefining Wealth), the Opportunistic (what will be easy to implement based on other work going on at Vancity, especially in IT and at Central1) and the Fixit (what do we just need to get right). I like this sense of planning, because it creates clarity on what is strategic and what we just need to get done.

I feel the same way about this trip. Meeting with cooperatives in Bologna, learning about cooperative economics, seeing different models of how cooperatives operative, innovate and deliver should give me the same three levels of ideas. There will be a strategic layer that aligns with our vision, where every transaction our members make at Vancity has some positive benefit or impact on the greater region and our citizens. Those things won't be quick fixes, they will require some effort and planning and likely several steps to get us there. There will be some things we can do opportunistically, those things that are low hanging fruit or tie into other things we're doing that we can try almost for the sake of trying. And there are those things we just have to do because it would just simply make us better.

I say all that, but I'm not sure what it will look like. Will those ideas come to me? Will it be a lot of philosophy and great discussion that will be a struggle to turn into action? Or can we get some stuff done?

In the meantime, I've said goodbye to Ivan for what will be the longest time by far that I've ever been away from him, and to Amy, whose support is always so appreciated. I've set my out-of-office messaging. I've written and submitted my first of three guest columns to ChangeEverything, which Kate will publish during my time in Italy.

There's nothing to do except open my mind and go experience something.

If you have questions, let me know. If you want to understand something while I'm there, drop me a comment. Part of my obligation is to you, the people who somehow find what I write interesting enough to follow along. I am eager to engage in discussion about what I am discovering.

Assuming I can find wifi...

Labels: bologna, cooperative, credit union, vancity

posted on Friday, June 26, 2009

make a comment

---

5 comments
Hey Wm-
I look forward to hearing about your trip, and to me the strategic-level insights that align with our vision have the potential to be the most powerful. This trip could be great opportunity to step outside of the opportunities and restrictions that are a part of Vancity, and on a bigger scale, are a part of a credit union, and get some out-of-the-box ideas about co-ops and how Vancity can be revolutionary in bringing its vision to life. So, take Vancity's legacy of being "rooted and reaching" to heart and see what big new ideas could be out there for us. Buona fortuna!
comment from  Patrick on June 26, 2009  
--


Thanks Patrick. Your support means a lot to me.
comment from  wazaroff on June 26, 2009  
--


Internet searches for Italian wi-fi hubs can be misleading. Locations marked as "wi-fi" are routinely internet cafés or kiosks instead. If I remember correctly, you may also need to bring i.d. (passport).
comment from  David Cesarini on June 26, 2009  
--


Thanks David, very handy to know!
comment from  wazaroff on June 26, 2009  
--


I hope you made it there in one piece (of proscuitto salami, that is). Looking forward to reading your blog updates. You're the best representative I can think of to carry the standard for us as someone's who's actually really, truly committed to changing everything...for the better. I dare say, you'll get more out of this trip than most of your fellow travellers, past or present. Provided you say something interesting (and you always do), I may even tweet and share your adventures with all 47 of my followers! :)
comment from  Lesli Boldt on June 28, 2009  
--



make a comment

---

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 2.5 Canada License.