Kjerstin Erickson who was the founder of an NGO called FORGE blogs regularly on SocialEdge.org about her organization, sharing how it is to work in the field. Currently they are in a dire situation and I guess almost all her energy goes into figuring out how to turn it around.
In her last post she gives her analysis of why they got into a financial crunch that they are in. There were two things that came into my mind in what she wrote.
One of them is that they didn’t have their source of revenue secured once they went into an organizational change that would refocus their fund-raising efforts. From my yet limited experience this is one lesson that I have learnt - always make sure that the financial bottom-line is covered, if nothing else works properly this will at least allow you to survive. Often you will feel that there is a “pipeline” of potential deals, but unless you have a very structured sales/fund-raising process probably this pipeline is worth very little. I have learnt to not trust the pipeline, as it often leads you into a false sense of security.
Secondly, many organizations are very naive about the information systems & websites. Online marketing is a serious challenge which requires a lot of knowledge and investment. Furthermore, she points to visitor numbers which is for sure an important metric - but an even more important one is conversion rates, how profitable they can make their website? (where “profit” can be measured both in raised awareness and donations)
Yet again, it seems to me, from the very little information I have, that a great infusion of a more business like mindset would be useful for them to grow and prosper.
I am, however, really impressed by her openly sharing like this and I wish her all the luck in successfully completing her organizational transformation, I think that she seems like an amazing individual and that the organization is strong and delivering results so the change should definitly be possible to complete and deliver on.
Categories: Saving the world
Tagged: entrepreneurship, Business, social entrepreneurship, ngo, information systems, websites
While this is a bit late, I actually didn’t have time to reflect much right when Ramadan ended, as I got way to busy. As some of you will know., on the last of September the holy month of Ramadan was declared over and the festivity Eid-al-Fitr began.
Feeling connected
For me, I had decided to fast the month of ramadan in order to try and experience a little bit of what it might be like. I managed a little more than 3 weeks of fasting, so not the full month, and at the end of it I realized my workload was so heavy that I had to have full energy for that.
From this month I had a couple of observations that I would like to share with you.
Keep reading →
Categories: Life
Tagged: body, mind, ramadan, reflections
A friend of mine (Daniel Ek) started a company a little over two years ago called Spotify with the mission to connect people to the music they like. For all this period they’ve been in a very limited invite only beta, but today they’ve finally managed to launch their service and more and more invitations to use the service will be available - with a ad-free and freemium model, where the basic version (ad-supported) is free and with monthly subscription & day-passes to get ad-free versions.
I have been using it for a little more than a year and I must say I love it. Previously I was a big fan of Last.fm but Spotify beats it (even though it’s a bit like comparing apple & pears I use them for similar purposes - music discovery & sharing). With Spotify playback starts immediately (no buffering to be seen) and the music archive is huge (though it lacks my girlfriend’s Russian pop).
They have been working hard to enable their service to be legal, and from what I can see they have succeeded. I think they’re doing a good job (together with other sites like last.fm etc.) to bring music into the 20th century. So, go sign up and get your invitation to start listening now 
Categories: Internet
Tagged: entrepreneurship, music, web2.0
This is my third post on how to carbon offset a trip from Brussels to Stockholm. In the first one I dealt with how much carbon to offset and in the second which type of offsetting to do. This post explores how much to pay for offsetting.
So, once I figured out the standards part and what type of offsetting they did - the next challenge came up - what should be the price for a tonne of carbon?
This is not an easy question to answer as the market is very new, and there aren’t really any set standards on how to price carbon. What you can generally see is that CER projects will be more expensive than the VER projects (for explanation read my earlier post), as CER is priced through a market based system whereas VERs can allow their price to be set much more idependantly.
From the 10 services I compared the price of offsetting a tonne of carbon varied from €6 (www.carbonfund.org) to €27 (www.carbonpassport.com, www.clear-offset.com). This would add between €3.4 and €13.86 euros to my trip between Brussels and Stockholm.
Keep reading →
Categories: Saving the world · Sustainability
Tagged: carbon offsetting, price of carbon, traveling
September 20, 2008 · 5 Comments
This is my second post in a series of on carbon offsetting where I compare different providers and ways of carbon offsetting for a trip from Brussels to Stockholm. The first post was about how much carbon you need to offset for a trip.
The second question comes to what type of offsetting to do. Basically there are two broad classes - the ones that are approved through the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in the Kyoto protocol called Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) and ones that aren’t so called VERs (Verified Emission Reductions).
The CERs are usually big projects that have the financial and administrative resources to go through the rigourus certification process required. VERs are generally smaller projects and can be either in developing or developed countries (CDM is only for developing countries).
Keep reading →
Categories: Saving the world · Sustainability
Tagged: carbon offsetting, power plants, travelling, tree planting projects
September 17, 2008 · 6 Comments
I often travel to Stockholm through Eindhoven, as it is quite accessible from Brussels and also has Ryanair connections. Eindhoven Airport is really working hard on their green image, with everything from onsite carbon offsetting to collecting and reusing rain water to flush toilets. The carbon offsetting caught my attention this time, and I played around with the machines that they had put up that allows you to calculate and offset your emissions.
I have read and heard a lot about carbon offsetting, and being a person who aspires to be an asset for the planet rather than a burden, I figured it would be interesting to give it try. However I wasn’t ready to simply trust the machine at the airport but rather I wanted to be a conscious shopper in the field of carbon.
So, I set out to compare and try to understand the market for consumer offsetting.
Keep reading →
Categories: Saving the world · Sustainability
Tagged: carbon neutral, carbon offsetting, flight, offsetting flying, traveling
So, from my earlier post you now know that I am observing the muslim fast during this month of Ramadan (until 30th of September). However, Muslims are not the only ones who have regular fasts, in fact some kind of abstention from food is prescribed in most religions - and gluttony, which would most accurately relate the Wests “everyday” relationship with food, is even a cardinal sin in Christianity.
Buddhists wouldn’t say they fast, however many buddhists monks actually eat only once per day - before noon. This is quite comparable to the muslim fast. The general stance of the Buddha, who tried (unsuccessfully) an almost complete fast in search for enlightenment, is to (as always) use the Middle Way as guidance and avoid eating excessively but also not starving yourself. From what I’ve read it seems spiritual Buddhist laymen and women often also observe the one meal per day during one or two days per week.
The major day of fasting in Judaism is Yom Kippur (October 9th this year) which encompasses a full 25 hour period without food or drink. Similar to why Islam practices Ramadan during the month Mohammed recieved the first parts of the Qur’an, so is Yom Kippur a mark of when Moses had recieved the second part of commandments from God.
For the full list of fasting, see this Beliefnet article.
The common thread in all fasting in religions seems to be that it is practiced in order to be able to completely focus on introspection, prayer/meditation and the higher being. By practicing self-restraint and keeping being in control of your actions you will enhance the skill that will allow you to abide by the many other rules that apply all year around.
Categories: Life
Tagged: buddhism, fasting, judaism, religion
Yesterday marked the beginning of the month of Ramadan, during which, according to Islam, is the month when the Qur’an was revealed to Mohammed. During this month most of the around 1.2 billion Muslims around the world fast from sunrise to sunset. The fast not only means refraining from food and drink but also other things like sexual activity. All believers are encouraged to be extra mindful of God and observe the rules and commandments.
Since my girlfriend is Muslim I decided that it was a good opportunity to try how the month of Ramadan feels to pass through - while at the same time supporting her - and even though there are certain feelings that I wouldn’t be able to understand without being a person of the book myself, I do believe that the feelings related to self-restraint and focused introspection is available to anyone.
Over the next month (I am aiming for being able to keep the fast for that long) I will update you on my reflections and progress here.
Image by babasteve.
Categories: Life
Tagged: fasting, islam, ramadan, religion
Most of us have jobs and lives that presents us with a huge breadth of activities that we’re supposed to handle each day.
In order to manage all this without going crazy I find you need to start developing a razor sharp focus. Focus is one of the most useful tools to get a lot done - it allows you to achieve more during less time and improve your results.
One of the best teachers of focus that I have found is Zen (or Chan) Buddhism - and while I would not refer to myself as Buddhist, I find that there is a lot to be learnt from this school of thought. At the heart of Zen Buddhism practice lies Zazen (”seated meditation”), which in essence (in my interpretation) is a way to clear away all the layers that lie between you and your true inner self, in order to reach Nirvana.
Zazen isn’t only a good practice to build mindfulness (which I could dedicate a whole other post to), it is also a great training ground for you to develop the three key elements for building a razor sharp focus:
- Single-task, only do one task at a time and do it until completion. Don’t try to complete 100s of tasks at once, but take them one at a time. This doesn’t only hold for your goals and activities but for many things such as goals, studies, etc. Choose one thing and focus on that. During a work day you can apply this by writing down 3-4 things you want to accomplish during the day and then schedule 3-4 times when you are going to completely focus on one of these tasks. Then work focused until you’ve completed it.
- Eliminate distractions, once you have chosen your single task eliminate as many possible distractions before you start. In an open landscape office? Put on your headphones with some great music. Got a cellphone (of course you do)? Put it on silent. Got MSN running? You know what to do.
- Be self-aware, when starting to learn Zazen you’re taught to be aware of your breath and the feeling of your body and clear all other thoughts - making note of when your mind wanders and silently returning to your focused awareness. Apply this when you’re working, by simply being aware of what you’re doing, what distracts you and what takes your time. For example, you can get a pen and pad and write a mark every time you find yourself loosing focus.
However, remember not to scold yourself for being distracted (we all do get distracted at times) just silently make a remark of it and then return to your focused state. Just like zazen shouldn’t be force, your focus will develop much better if you don’t make it a pain.
By applying these three habits to your activities you will find that your focus gradually, slowly develops sharper and sharper. Don’t get frustrated if you find yourself distracted many, many times in the beginning - focus is like a muscle, it takes continuous practice in order for it to grow strong.
Photo credit: Harpersbizarre.
Categories: Life · Work · productivity
Tagged: buddhism, chan buddhism, focus, razor-sharp focus, zazen
Robin Sharma writes on his blog about success how it isn’t something you can strive to achieve but rather a bi-product of making lives better. It is a short, but good post and I relate it to what I wrote previously about Work and Life balance, I recommend it and I agree with him that it’s all about delivering value - to all your stakeholders.
In his post he quotes Studs Terkel who is an American historian and radio broadcaster:
“Work is about daily meaning as well as daily bread: for recognition as well as cash; in short for a sort of life rather than a Monday through Friday sort of dying…we have a right to ask of work that it include meaning, recognition, astonishment and life.”
So, take those words and make this day about daily meaning and not a Monday to Friday sort of dying
Categories: Life · Work
Tagged: meaning, robin sharma, studs terkel, work & life balance
