Wise Economy Workshop

11/03/2025

The Differently-Distributed Future

The world of business is shifting fast — away from long, predictable supply chains and toward locally-rooted, people-centered, and flexible systems.

Globalization isn’t ending — it’s evolving.
We’ll depend more on nearby products, services, and talent — yet ideas and innovations will flow across the world faster than ever.

In this new landscape:
⚡ Predictability is gone — volatility is the norm.
🤝 Every business depends on its ecosystem of partners and people.
💡 The most valuable resource isn’t machinery — it’s human creativity, adaptability, and collaboration.

To thrive, organizations must plan for uncertainty, build strong local relationships, and empower people to think, not just execute.

🔹 Want to explore how to navigate this shift?
Read the full essay and more insights like this in Future Here Now, my weekly newsletter about how work, business, and communities are changing.

👉 Subscribe here: wiseeconomy.substack.com

📘 Buy Guide to Surviving the Fusion Era for deeper insights.

🎤 Contact us for speaking engagements, workshops, or consulting on building future-ready organizations.

10/31/2025

This piece explores how something as simple as a roof shape once reflected deep social and political divides — and what that teaches us about how our communities signal identity and change today.

10/28/2025

10/22/2025

The Three Main Barriers to Meaningful Public Engagement

Why does real public engagement feel so hard to achieve? 🤔
Because the traditional debate model — stand up, make a speech, sit down — just doesn’t work anymore.

Here’s why:

1️⃣ Outdated Format: The old “one person talks, others listen” approach was built for a time when only a few voices mattered. Today, we need everyone’s voice — but not everyone thrives in that setup.

2️⃣ Complex Issues: Modern communities face interconnected challenges that can’t be solved in 3-minute speeches or simple yes/no debates.

3️⃣ Changing How We Learn: Education today focuses on active engagement, not passive listening — and our public conversations need to do the same.

💡 True engagement means:
✅ Bringing everyone to the table — not just the loudest voices.
✅ Helping people understand the issues deeply.
✅ Working together to build realistic, community-based solutions.

If businesses can collaborate across diverse teams to solve small challenges, shouldn’t our communities do the same for the big ones? 🌆

👉 It’s time to rethink how we involve people in shaping the future.

📘 Read more in The Local Economy Revolution — weekly insights from the book now on localeconomyrevolutionbook.com.

💬 Subscribe to Future Here Now on Substack for daily reflections on building better communities: futureherenow.substack.com

🎤 Interested in talks or workshops on meaningful engagement and future-ready communities?

Let’s connect and make it happen. 🤝

10/16/2025

Future Here Now: Where are the people in our planning?

👀 We say our work is for the people — but do we really understand them?

Too often, planners, leaders, and innovators design based on what we think people want… not how they actually live, feel, and act.

And when they don’t respond like we expected, we call them “irrational.”

But maybe the problem isn’t them — maybe it’s us.

Real change starts when we get curious, humble, and empathetic. When we design with people, not for them. ❤️

Let’s create cities and communities that feel human.
🚀 Be part of the movement:
📘 Buy our books
📰 Subscribe to Future Here Now → wiseeconomy.substack.com
🎤 Contact us for speaking & workshops

10/14/2025

🌍 Future Here Now: Future-Ready You

💡 Change isn’t coming — it’s already here.
And yet, most of us still try to operate with outdated assumptions. The real challenge? Our brains are wired for comfort, not for change.

But here’s the good news: 🧠 You can rewire your mind to thrive in uncertainty — just like learning any new skill. Small, steady practice builds the mental muscle that makes you future-ready.

Future-Ready Habits to Build
1. 🧩 Challenge Assumptions: Ask “Why do I think this?” and look for other possibilities.
2. 👂 Listen Beyond Your Bubble: Learn from people with different backgrounds or perspectives.
3. ⚖️ Rethink Binaries: Life isn’t black-and-white — explore the messy in-betweens.
4. 🌫️ Notice Your Reaction to Change: Do you resist, freeze, or get curious? Awareness is step one.

4 Tiny Actions You Can Start Today
✅ Pick one regular assumption and list 3 alternative explanations.
🎧 Explore 3 new sources outside your usual echo chamber.
🌗 Find something that exists between two categories you usually separate.
📝 Reflect on a recent change — how did you react, and what would you do differently next time?
💬 Extra credit: Write a quick note to your future self and tuck it somewhere only you’ll find.

💪 Your Future Self Will Thank You
Being future-ready isn’t about knowing what’s next — it’s about being ready to adapt when it arrives. Start small, stay curious, and keep practicing.

👉 Subscribe to the Future Here Now newsletter for deep dives, resources, and videos: wiseeconomy.substack.com

📚 Buy the book — The Local Economy Revolution Has Arrived — for the backstory.

🎤 Invite me to speak or run a Future-Ready Workshop for your organization.

💬 Share this post with someone who’s resisting change — gently 😉

🌟 Follow for weekly insights that make the future less scary (and more doable).

09/30/2025

🚫 Toxic workplaces cost more than you think.

Workers—especially women—are willing to trade higher pay for safety and respect. Companies that ignore this? They pay the price in turnover, wages, and lost trust.

The future of work is clear:
✨ Hostility-free workplaces aren’t optional—they’re essential.
📚 Buy our books
📰 Subscribe to Future Here Now
🎤 Contact us for workshops & speaking engagements

09/09/2025

Innovation isn’t optional anymore.

We’re navigating systems that weren’t built for the challenges ahead — and we can’t afford to keep using old models to solve new problems.

Everybody Innovates Here is for leaders, communities, and teams rethinking how innovation really happens — and who gets to lead it.

Thanks to Isaac Kremer for this thoughtful review.

📘 Learn more or get a copy: https://wisefoolpressbooks.com/everybody-innovates-here/

09/08/2025

Innovation doesn’t happen in isolation.

The best results come when people with different experiences, skills, and perspectives work together — intentionally.

Everybody Innovates Here is about building systems that make that possible.

It’s for teams, communities, and leaders who are ready to rethink how innovation really works.

📘 Learn more: https://wisefoolpressbooks.com/everybody-innovates-here/

09/04/2025

Innovation isn’t just a buzzword.
It’s how we survive systems that weren’t built for the work ahead.

Everybody Innovates Here looks at why our current approaches aren’t enough—and what a more intentional, inclusive infrastructure for innovation actually takes.

For:
⚙️ Teams that feel stuck
💡 Real-world innovators
🤫 Quiet problem-solvers

The stakes are high. But we’re not starting from scratch.

📘 Learn more: https://wisefoolpressbooks.com/everybody-innovates-here/

08/28/2025

When we think of innovation, we’re told to picture big tech, flashy labs, or billion-dollar startups.
But that’s not the full story.

Innovation is already happening — in barber shops, at kitchen tables, in school gyms, and in quiet libraries. It’s in the ways people listen, learn, and solve problems together.

The truth? Everybody innovates. And the future we need starts by recognizing and supporting that.

📘 Everybody Innovates Here by Della Rucker invites us to rethink innovation — not as disruption alone, but as inclusion, trust, and people working side by side.

Learn more: https://wisefoolpressbooks.com/everybody-innovates-here/

07/03/2025

Real talk: the best ideas come when generations listen to each other. 🧠✨

If you're young, grab lunch with someone older. If you're older, go learn from someone young. Then high five — you just made the world better.

DeMarco Cannon of Studio 107 Media is living proof that future-ready leadership blends wisdom across generations.

🎥 Full convo here: https://youtu.be/K6jGbpYONnY