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Creating the Future is in growth mode, and these days, that growth curve is vertical. We are ramping up, adding programs right and left, adding staff, gaining partners and momentum.
Our goal has always been to accomplish our mission within 10 years of having a full complement of programs to accomplish that goal. We are now fast approaching the starting gate on that 10 year clock.
Yes, the starting gate.
Picture the training it takes a triathlete just to get to the starting line of a race. Picture how that training ramps up in those final weeks, all just to get to that starting line – the last steps before even beginning to run, swim and bike to the finish line. The race may take several hours, but the preparation has taken a year or more.
Our next two years will be the equivalent of those final weeks of training. With a great board already in place, as well as a solid core operations team, 100 fellows around the world, and a growing community of people who are eager to be part of this effort, 2015 and 2016 will be all about that final preparation.
During that prep time, we will be identifying and building relationships with partners, planning together, and building ways for anyone and everyone to participate – all to finally toe up to that “go” line, when the 10 year clock will finally begin. (To learn more about this initiative, head here for a 4 minute introductory video, and head here for last month’s progress report video.)
This is as exciting as it sounds. Yet it often begs the question, “What exactly does that mean you will be doing to prepare? And what progress are you making?”
Ask Me Anything
To help keep you posted, and especially to help you find ways to participate in this journey, we are trying something new for us – a periodic Ask Me Anything* session, where Creating the Future board members and/or fellows will sit down with our Chief Mission Officer, Hildy Gottlieb, to ask about the status on these BHAG** goals.
Our first session will feature Creating the Future fellow Karen Smith, Executive Director of Thrive Child and Youth Trauma Services in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
As with all our meetings, this one is open for you to not only watch, but tweet your questions, your thoughts, and your aha’s. So please join Hildy and Karen on Thursday, May 7th at 1pm PT / 4pm ET. We look forward to exploring this format with you!
* Deep gratitude to the Reddit community for the inspiration we have found in the Ask Me Anything / AMA meme you have pioneered. We hope this effort does justice to the groundwork you have laid.
** BHAG is the term coined by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in their groundbreaking work, Built to Last. It stands for “Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal.”
Please join the meeting by watching right here (if the video doesn’t appear right away, we may just be running late). And add your input and ideas and questions by tweeting to the hashtag #CTFuture.