Author Archive for George Nemeth

Carole finds herself talking to other people in the neighborhood

Published by George Nemeth on September 11, 2008 in Reviews. 0 Comments

Carole Cohen reviews Instructions from the Cook and finds herself recalling a bunch of stuff, including the famous Jane Jacobs book The Death And Life of Great American Cities. Wow! It’s a honor to be mentioned in the same post as Jacobs:

Have you ever read a book that stays under your skin and makes you think about it as well as ideas that seem to spawn in your mind because of it?

Are you tired of negativity in your city and among your neighbors? Do you feel like you live in a community without the actual community cohesiveness that would be nice?

Have you ever wondered to yourself, ‘there are so many issues that need to be tackled in my neighborhood and I would love to help but I don’t know where to start.’ I know I have. And now I’ve read a book that is both under my skin and causing my mind to go off in what could be some good directions. What is the book? Instructions from The Cook, written by Cleveland’s own George Nemeth (BFD) (@georgenemeth) and Jack Ricchiuto (@DesigningLife.com). You can read about or order Instructions from The Cook here.

Have you ever had an idea about something you’d like to do for a neighbor, for your neighborhood, or something you’d like implemented into City life? Or maybe you have an idea for neighborhood kids or a business venture. It all seems overwhelming but Jack and George wrote this book to show how it doesn’t have to be. And as a matter of fact, they say two important things:

- good things, ideas with longevity, usually start out small not large.

- “people will authentically support what they help create” (page 55 of the book).

- there are lots of good ideas, not just one

- meeting to talk about ideas with people of all sorts of mindsets is usually much more productive than just meeting with people who think like me (this ties into the ‘lots of good ideas’ truth above).

When Jack and George wrote about ’slow and small’ being better than ‘fast and big’, it took me back to how we learn (my education training kicking in). We learn at our best, our most comprehensive, when we start with a solid foundation of information and then expand our knowledge on that topic/subject as we go along. It helps us not live with pre-conceived ideas, but to be open to possibilities…and yeah it helps us retain the information in a way that leads to the ability to be creative with the knowledge…

Real Estate Blog - What Do Zen, Cooking, and Neighborliness Have To Do With Each Other?

As Simple As Stone Soup

Published by George Nemeth on August 2, 2008 in Reviews. 0 Comments

The beginning of a book review:

During the arms race that dominated the 70’s and 80’s a friend of mine remarked something to the effect that “to accomplish change requires the intellectual ability to both accept that the situation is hopeless at the same time you believe it can be changed.” This statement haunted me for years, because if I focused on the gravity of the world’s problems, I immediately became overwhelmed and doubtful of my ability to make a difference. I felt powerless, and, if the cynicism and apathy of my generation is any indicator, I was not alone.

We regarded making change a difficult and complex task. We ordered studies, studies that took years before they told us what we already knew, things needed to change. Oh, and they also told us that change takes years and lots of money.

But what if we were wrong? What if change is as simple as making soup?

Instructions from the Cook, says it is…

Instructions from the Cook - Review « Five Husbands

Thomas Mulready interviews “Instructions” authors Ricchiuto and Nemeth

Published by George Nemeth on August 2, 2008 in Reviews and Video. 0 Comments

Thomas Mulready of CoolCleveland.com does a video interview with authors Jack Ricchiuto and George Nemeth. Here’s the excerpt that accompanied the video in the newsletter:

Jack Ricchiuto & George Nemeth, local community-builders, have teamed up to author a new book entitled Instructions from the Cook, a collection of creative recipes and and ideas for engaging and empowering a community to change. Based on zen principles, their book speaks of how small acts can bring big change. Listen to this video interview at their book signing in Tremont with Cool Cleveland’s Thomas Mulready and learn how to initiate conversations, both on the internet and face-to-face, that maximize our individual gifts and talents to build our community.

When is the last time you actually made soup for a senior, exchanged stories with a homeless person or used one of your unique gifts to reach out of your comfort zone and help someone with lesser resources? Dive into this little gem and become authentically engaged.

Creating Wealth on Common Ground

Published by George Nemeth on July 30, 2008 in Recipes. 0 Comments

There’s a recipe in this story:

Seeking Common Ground and the programs that operate under its umbrella are the embodiment of that dream. The programs include a community organic farm at Denome’s home on Hicks Road in South Bristol; a farm-to-cafeteria program that works with Ontario County Cornell Cooperative Extension, local farmers and food service directors to increase the use of local foods in cafeterias; and Herb Haven, an herbal gardening and retail training program for women and children who are striving to become economically self-sufficient.

About 50 women are participating in one or more of the programs. The community farm is a cooperative that offers the chance to learn about agriculture and help grow a variety of vegetables and other edibles in exchange for having healthy, homegrown food. At Herb Haven, women attend eight to 10 hours a week to learn life skills (such as budgeting and setting goals), horticulture and retail job skills and attend a support group. They plant, tend and harvest the garden, create useful products with the herbs and then sell them from a shop at the site in Crystal Beach on Route 364. Free nutritious meals are provided for women and children, and a child-care program offers arts, crafts, song, dance, gardening, cooking and creative play…

Group of women fighting poverty at home - Wellsville, NY - Wellsville Daily Reporter

Reaching out to my network

Published by George Nemeth on April 7, 2008 in An Intentional Model and Recipes. 0 Comments

Jack writes on his blog regarding Instructions from The Cook:

The start of AA was a small act realizing a big dream. Two men started by helping two other men toward recovery and today million of lives are transformed by the community they built. If you have examples you know of or have been a part of, send them to us. The book, that will be titled “Instructions From The Cook: Recipes for Building Community” will feature descriptions, implications, and applications of a community building model around these recipes.

View the Intentional Model Recipes here. Email your recipes to recipes@radicaltransitions.net. You can also leave them here in a comment.

Wasting time building consensus

Published by George Nemeth on December 7, 2007 in Questions. 9 Comments

One of the theme of Radical Transitions that resonates with people that we share the model with is the realization that their process is stuck in what we refer to as a shadow conversation—conversations that can’t build community. Last night I was talking with someone whose group is bogged down trying to build consensus for a new logo and tagline that will be used to market a district. What to do about it? We propose:

The reality is that we don’t need to agree on everything for any of us to take action in the direction of our dreams. There are many small acts and invitations that do not require permission, support, or even interest from the whole.

Could that work for your group?

An Intentional Model - Shadow Conversations

About this site

Published by George Nemeth on November 21, 2007 in About. 0 Comments

Radical Transitions is the companion of Instructions from the Cook, a new book by George Nemeth and Jack Ricchiuto about conversations that build community. More info at www.IntentionalModel.com

Practicing Radical Transitions

Published by George Nemeth on November 18, 2007 in Questions. 1 Comment

Not sure if Ed Morrison’s taken a look at this blog or the wiki, but he’s another practitioner who’s work can be described by AIM. These are comments from a post on my blog. From Jack Ricchiuto:

What is it, Ed, that distinguishes other regions and leaders who are further ahead in green policies and structures? Are they more knowledgeable about green, are they more connected to the green professionals in the community, do they have more of a personal passion for things green? Or something else? I ask because you have a perspective on other regions that many others don’t have here in this region. Most importantly, when I happen to have the attention of a policy maker here, or someone in their first circle, what can I say or ask that can shift consciousness?

Ed Morrison replies:

Jack, thanks for the question. As usual, you have provoked me to think.

I would characterize the difference in regions as “the capacity to act”. Regions that are moving ahead with renewal have found the capacity to act. The capacity to act emerges from a widely shared responsibility to act and a an equally shared commitment to collaborate.

We’re all familiar with the “incapacity to act”. Organizations, communities, regions get stuck. Issues never seem to get resolved. Plans, often elaborate, get made but implementation fails. Action rarely follows. Worse still, we lose track of our priorities, and no one is quite able to explain why plans “sit on the shelf”.

The incapacity to act is characterized by several patterns. They include denial (we don’t have a problem), procrastination (this issue is not so important), suppression (the problem exists, but people are not able to share in finding solutions), complacency (leaders recognize the problem, but nobody believes it will change, so nothing is done), confusion (leaders are unable to pick among many competing priorities), blame (we tried our best, but someone else undercut our efforts)…

What questions are you asking that provoke transitions?

Four observations

Published by George Nemeth on November 17, 2007 in Questions. 0 Comments

From these four observations:

1/ Until a community learns how to have new conversations together, it will act in fragmented ways

2/ Fragmentation is the source of most issues we call “problems” in a community

3/ New conversations do not depend on politics or economics, but rather on the willingness of people to have new conversations

4/ Conversations that create a new future together are conversations about our dreams, small acts, our gifts, and invitations

Questions emerge:

What are the old conversations in this community that have been unproductive or fragmenting for the community?
Why do you think these conversations have lacked power?
Who else’s dreams and gifts in the community have also not been engaged by these conversations?

Where is your community at discussing these questions?

Surrogate

Published by George Nemeth on November 17, 2007 in Examples. 0 Comments

On his blog, Jack Ricchiuto writes:

Voting is at best a surrogate for direct engagement in one’s community. When I vote for a specific public action, like giving money to a school system, I am not taking a direct part in that action. I am voting to have someone else do that for me, holding someone else accountable for the choices I and a majority of my neighbors make. They are a surrogate to my engagement. I am not going to a school of my choice and giving my money to a teacher, custodian, or coach for a specific project that I have passion about. The surrogates who execute the intentions of a majority of my neighbors mediate a task I never personally engage in…

If you choose not to engage in community, do it intentionally, but don’t misconstrue casting a vote for an idea as taking action. It’s not.