Rebuilding Broken Systems

Introduction

By intention the title of this book, Rebuilding Broken Systems, is a challenge and an invitation. Perhaps you share my conviction that our democratic society is in a period of crisis. That’s the challenge. My belief is that, regardless of how far up the ladder you have climbed, by doing the hard and at times uncomfortable work of rediscovering our common ground and rebuilding our institutions on that common ground, we can fix it. That’s the invitation. And the reward.

The point of this book is to provide a guide especially addressing early-stage and mid-career professionals working in the four forces of civil society, namely nonprofits, philanthropy, governments, and corporates. Reading these chapters will provide a deeper understanding of the connectedness among the four forces and how redefining their roles and realigning their goals are the accelerants to achieving meaningful and sustainable social change.

Over the course of my career, I have worked for impact in all four forces. In the public sector I was proud to serve as counsel for most of the public sector unions in the country, I served as State Director of SEIU in Wisconsin and Senior Counsel for AFSCME DC48, Chief Information Officer for Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, and a US Congressional staffer for the incredible Congressman Jerry Kleczka who served on the Ways and Means Committee. My corporate experience included being GM for Microsoft’s and SVP for Salesforce’s Global Government businesses, then, ...