As I’ve been talking with people since launching this new endeavor, the question keeps coming up, “Why ‘Concord’?” Here’s what I tell them.
During a transition early in my career, I was advised by someone smarter than I to register a business under which I could do project work until the right new role I wanted presented itself. At the time, I was steeped in both the principles of democracy and of my emerging Unitarian Universalist faith. Concord, the place, figures prominently into both. Like our democracy, all that I do occurs in a dynamic tension — leading vs following, knowledge vs intuition, personal power vs institutional power. And, like my Unitarian Universalist faith, all that I do must be grounded in a dedication to the inherent worth and dignity of all people. Making this place name central to my work identity reminds me to remain alert and connected to my values.
Moreso, it’s about what the word means and how it relates to the work I do. Concord means to find agreement or harmony between people and actions. Over the course of my career, I have witnessed many moments when organizations assumed they had agreement—between words and deeds, among constituents and across processes—only to find their goals compromised because they really didn’t. My work has often been focused on getting things back on track when that happened and putting agreements in place so it didn’t.
Concord Strategies is focused on helping leaders find the sweet spot between their organizational position, relationship engagement and operational practices.
