Author: Claude Whitmyer

This author has written 27 articles
A Post Written for this Blog / CW Advice

Briarpatch, Hippie Entrepreneurs, and Open Books, Part 1

Not to long ago, I got a request from a member of the Briarpatch (the alternative business network I coordinate) to listen to a podcast her godson had created about hippies and the counterculture movement of the 1960s. The response I wrote to him follows: I'm a friend of Xxxxx's and coordinator of the "hippie" business network she has been a member of for many years. She invited me to listen to your podcast and I thought it was delightful and pretty damn accurate. As she pointed out, she was in the incubator of the East at the time which…

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2022-09-05
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A Post Written for this Blog / CW Advice

Briarpatch, Hippie Entrepreneurs, and Open Books, Part 2

  Of Historical Note In the Briarpatch's early years, our open books practice spread by word of mouth to counterculture businesses coast to coast. This set the stage for the launch of the "open-book management" movement popularized in the early 90s by Jack Stack and John Case in their books, respectively, • The Great Game of Business: Unlocking the Power and Profitability of Open-Book Management • Open-Book Management: The Coming Business Revolution. Stack chronicles the story of an International Harvester factory in Springfield, Missouri that headquarters was putting on the chopping block. The 130 or so managers and employees who…

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2022-09-05
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The Briarpatch Book
Food for Thought

Mindfulness & Right Livelihood

Meaningful Work Food for Thought "We rush too much with nervous hands and worried minds. We are impatient for results. What we need . . . is reinforcement of the soul by the invisible power waiting to be used." Henry Ford Henry Ford is the ultimate icon of the twins genius and demon. His was a fabulous commercial success and he had a high level of concern for the welfare of his employees. Yet his factories polluted, he conspired to dominate his suppliers and crush his competition, and his people were dumped on the street if they could not adjust…

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2022-08-01
CW Advice / Food for Thought

Good Work and Your Work Portfolio

There are many ways to organize a work portfolio. Gleanings from planet Briarpatch have revealed a simple portfolio model based on the activities required to become and remain visible to your potential supporters and fans. A majority of these activities involve communications in support of increasing trust, building relationships, and delivering meaningful, value-rich products and/or experiences. A Simple Model of Seven Activities for Creating the Good Work Lifestyle Think About It Write About It Speak About It Teach About It Coach About It Consult About It Productize It These activities generally proceed in the order listed, though there may be…

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2020-07-01
Seedthots

Pushing Ideas Out to Your Community

"If we are transparent enough, our ideas gain traction from the feedback and accountability provided by those around us." Scott Belsky, Making Ideas Happen, p. 147. Overcoming the Stigma of Self-Marketing Your ability to access the resources and opportunities in your community depends on others recognizing your qualifications, initiative, and interests. Effective self-marketing builds respect. "Marketing should not be seen as fake. At its best, marketing is building relationships—and learning." Sara Horowitz, Founder, Freelancers Unionas quoted in Making Ideas Happen.RESOURCE: The Freelancers Union. (Free) [https://www.freelancersunion.org/] Stay In Touch

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2014-09-17
CW Advice

Tips for Productive Meetings

Never hold a meeting when action will produce just as much or more. Conduct all meetings standing up (except of course, for those who are legitimately chair-bound). Let no meeting last longer than 15 minutes. Let no meeting be held without a preplanned agenda (including estimated times for each agenda item). Begin every agenda with a statement of purpose (aka the hoped-for outcome). Make sure all "purpose statements" are actionable. Everybody must participate. No spectators. No computers, phones, or other electronic digital devices may be present. Exceptions: These are allowed only if they serve a function to further the meeting.…

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2014-09-17
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Make meetings an adventure
Reviews

Internet Bookselling Made Easy (Book Review)

How to Earn a Living Selling Used Books Online by Joe Waynick (Small Business Press, 2011). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer, 2011. INTERNET BOOKSELLING - The Website At first glance, when visiting Joe Waynick's InternetBookselling.Com site it looks somewhat like all those "get rich quick on the Internet" scams that are so prevalent these days. Don't let that first impression put you off. Click on the links and you'll find out just how good Joe is at delivering a detailed how-to manual for the American dream of meaningful, successful self-employment--this time as an Internet Bookseller. The website promises "A FREE step-by-step…

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2011-06-03
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Interviews

Another Interview about Meaningful Work

Look for an interview with me on "Mindfulness and Meaningful Work" in the Winter 2011 issue of Integral Yoga Magazine. It should show up on newsstands around mid-January. This interview came about because of my consulting practice with individuals who are seeking meaningful work (aka right livelihood) and because I am the author of an anthology called Mindfulness and Meaningful Work. (Available from Amazon). My consulting practice uses a model I developed over many years in sessions with about 500 individuals so far. I do these individual consulting sessions alongside my other careers — as a consultant to small and…

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2011-01-09
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Cover: Integral Yoga Magazine
Reviews

In My Own Way (Book Review)

IN MY OWN WAY: An autobiography 1915-1965 by Alan Watts (New World Library, 2007, Second Edition, 385 pp. with index, ISBN:10-1-57731-584-7). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspectives. "The reason…I became a philosopher is that ever since I was a little boy I always felt that existence as such was weird! I mean, here we are. Isn’t that odd!" Alan Watts Alan Watts is, arguably, the most influential philosopher of the 20th century. When I make such a statement to my friends who contemplate these things, the question most frequently proffered in opposition is “What about Ken Wilber?” Granted, they…

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2007-07-22
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Reviews

Success Without College (Book Review)

SUCCESS WITHOUT COLLEGE: Why Your Child May Not Have to Go to College Right Now—and May Not Have to Go at All by Linda Lee. (Broadway Books, 2000).. Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspective . College is a class issue. Think about it. What if your child decided not to go to college? How would that make you feel? What are your beliefs about life without a college degree? What would you say? “You won’t be able to get a decent job!” “People with a college degree earn more than those without.” “The more education you have the greater…

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2000-12-23
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Reviews

Job Shift (Book Review)

JOB SHIFT: How to Prosper in A Workplace Without Jobs. By William Bridges. (Addison-Wesley, 1994, 256 pp, bibliography, index, ISBN 0-201-48933-3). Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspective. A slightly revised version of this review was published in the Journal of Management Consulting, Vol. 9, No. 3, May 1997.Here's a book to make you sit up and pay attention. The job as we know it is dead, and William Bridges makes a good case for why every one of us, whether worker or self-employed, should take note. As he quotes from Seneca, "The fates guide those who go willingly, those…

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1997-05-22
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Reviews

The Warrior (Audio Review)

THE WARRIOR: Living the Fourfold Way,. by Angeles Arrien. (Wisdom Circles CD series, 1996.) Reviewed by Claude Whitmyer for AHP Perspective. Show up. Pay attention to what has heart and meaning. Tell the truth without blame or judgment. Be open yet unattached to outcome. These are the challenges laid at our feet by anthropologist and organizational consultant Angeles Arrien in her book The Four-Fold Way: Walking the Paths of the Warrior, Teacher, Healer, and Visionary (San Francisco: Harper, 1993). Arrien has also developed a four-part CD set of guidance, invocations, and practices, with one CD for each archetype. These CDs,…

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1996-09-23
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Cover: Living the Fourfold Way-The Warrior