“Give me twenty-six lead soldiers and I will conquer the world.” By Tom Peterson What is the most powerful human force? Some say it’s reason, some say love, some say cooperation. They all depend on communication. So does your cause. Having a great message is not enough, you also need a way to […]
By Tom Peterson Storytelling is an ancient art. It’s what makes us human. And stories are the building blocks of culture. Because they speak to our emotions they are the heart of an effective message. They resonate. Get to know the power of stories. They can move the rest of […]
By Tom Peterson Not too long ago many nonprofits looked askance at the idea of marketing. In the mid-nineties, an organization I worked with was raising about $3 million a year from what we would today call marketing. Some colleagues—particularly Michael Cervino, who had helped grow Habitat for Humanity—and I had […]
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.” —Yogi Berra By Tom Peterson If you or your group have a past littered with unfinished efforts you’re not alone. Many of us face this challenge of starting things but never getting the benefits because we didn’t make it to the finish line. All that’s left is a half-cooked […]
Use nonprofit discounts to shift funds to your mission By Tom Peterson When you get to be my age you can buy your movie ticket for less because the theatres would rather have an oldster than an empty seat. Or maybe they’re just nice. Either way, I save money doing something […]
Be clear about what you want people to do. By Tom Peterson Al Gore’s 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth gives an inside look at a presentation the former vice president made more than a thousand times. After two hours of information alerting the audience to the crisis of climate change, Gore ends with […]
By Tom Peterson On a Friday morning in August, some three dozen people gather in a large meeting room at the Forsyth County health department in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Down the halls are public clinics and offices for the staff who inspect restaurants, track diseases, or otherwise keep the […]
Mind Mapping, Part 2 To read Part 1 “Mind Maps: who, what when to use them” click HERE. By Tom Peterson Visually outlining through mind maps opens up creativity and helps you see structures and connections in fresh ways. It’s great for tasks like understanding complex issues or starting new enterprises. […]
By Tom Peterson Although we’re rarely conscious of it we use maps all the time. Every day we use mental maps to navigate the rooms of our home, get to school and work. Maps teach us as children about our strange and wonderful world—green is vegetation, tan is desert, bumps are mountains. And we learn […]
Click HERE for “Reframing” Portal at Cosmorock.org By Tom Peterson The mere formulation of a problem is far more essential than its solution, which may be merely a matter of mathematical or experimental skills. To raise new questions, new possibilities, to regard old problems from a new angle requires creative imagination […]
