Sean Kershaw's Weblog
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February 13, 2007
Nate Garvis: A Truly Civil (and fun) Discourse
I joked at the end of Nate Garvis' talk last week that this was the only event in the past year that I actually could relax and enjoy myself. I knew he would do a great job -- and he did.
But before talking about what Nate said - I was so impressed by the nerve he struck. We had a record turn-out. We had over 200 people stay after-wards for the reception. We had the room until 8:30 - but stayed until past 10:00 because people wanted to talk and hang out together!
The "buzz" wasn't just because he did such an amazing job - it was confirmation of how people are hungry for something more than the usual complaint-ridden public conversations.
So - the content of Nate's talk.
1. Unlike most, Nate goes right to the role of institutions. For a talk that was only 40 minutes long, he covered an enormous breadth of history and subjects. But buried in all of this was the role that actual institutions and "sectors" (media, business, NGOs, etc) play in our public discourse and outcomes.
And unlike most, Nate was able to put forward a strategy on how these institutions need to function differently in the st Century. We could have had an all-day in-service on the implications of his talk for everyone and every institution and every sector.
And maybe we should….
2. Nate's call for "intent" - intentionally deciding to do something differently - means a lot to the Citizens League right now. It is essential that we translate our visibility and our early policy success into real growth in membership and engagement. I was glad that Nate didn't mince words on this - and that we got over 40 new members that night!
I hope one of the clear take-aways from the night was a sense that people wanted to recruit others to join the Citizens League.
Posted by Sean Kershaw at February 13, 2007 7:40 AM