Pollen volume 2 December 17, 2009 Lars Leafblad KeyStone Search

Dear friends, I hope this finds you happy, healthy, and keeping warm! Special thanks since last edition to Greg Tehven, Brad Lehrman, Nils Snyder, Jeff Meacham, Beth Kathan, Sean Benson, Matt Musel, Chris Lambe, Julie Cohen, Dan Grigsby, Jason Zotalis, Bill Venne, Hans Thomsen, Joan Olson, Tammy Mencel, Anna Leighton, Sean Kershaw, Dave Walstad, Teresa Morrow, Lindsay Hanson, Karla Ekdahl, Cecily Sommers, Catherine Day, Steve Pederson, Mary Buschette, Regina Barr, Autumn Huiras, Kent Eklund, Anita Patel, Rob Davis, Scott Mosley, Ben Cox, James Kahl, Ben Marcy, Laura Bloomberg, Emily Hutchinson, Tom Nelson, Christopher Orr, Margarette Minor, and Andrea Wood (and anyone else I'm inadvertently forgetting) for your emails and/or referring this to others in your network; thank you! Special welcome to new participants Roger Bentley, Amelia Kendall, Nick Wiebusch, Stephannie Lewis, Bob Bradley, Tom Corbett, Britta Orr, Julie Manning, and Jane Rodriguez, (my sincere apologies to anyone I've missed - if I have, let me know so you can be welcomed next edition). Please consider forwarding this along to others in your network; truly, the more the merrier! Many of you are also on LinkedIn and Twitter and it was suggested by several of you that we provide this community with the opportunity to exchange coordinates. If youre on either site, please forward your profiles and Ill include in future edition(s). You can find me at: http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleafblad and http://www.twitter.com/larsleafblad If you ever wish to leave this e-communication list, simply reply "remove" in the subject header and I'll make it so asap. And now your responses to the new feature added last week: Last Editions Questions (responses with names attributed unless you indicated otherwise): 1) What is a MN-based non-profit you supporting financially this year and why should others join you? - I am supporting Women Achieving New Direction http://www.eac-mn.org/WomenProg/WAND (which is a program of the Employment Action Center of Minnesota) because they help single, working mothers (who are financially supporting their children) upgrade their job skills to find jobs that pay better or provide other benefits including health care. (Regina Barr) Courage Center, and not because I am the chair of the board, but because of the positive impact they make on thousands of individuals with physical disabilities under very challenging reimbursement programs. (Kent Eklund) Wellstone Action -- they train regular people, no matter their political leanings, to be informed and organized political citizens and community leaders. (name withheld)

One MN nonprofit my husband and I support is Community Celebration of Place because we believe they are doing an incredibly creative job of helping young children learn about and honor the wisdom of elders from many cultural traditions. We believe it is a valuable investment in our multicultural future. (Laura Bloomberg) Animal Humane Society (AHS) - as many Minnesotans face increasingly challenging economic conditions, many have had to sacrifice. For many Minnesotans, a cat, dog or even a bird or rabbit is viewed as a 'member of the family.' One of the most painful choices I've heard people being forced to make is giving up a family pet because you are homeless or your budget no longer covers the cost of pet food or medical bills. When people have to make those hard choices, the Animal Humane Society doesn't turn them away. They care for those animals and try to find new families who are able to grow their family. While donations are down to nonprofits like AHS, the need has spiked. I know my donations are being used to care for and find homes for animals who will bring a great deal of joy and love into the lives of their owners. (Teresa Morrow) CaringBridge. A good friend just died, and CaringBridge was a transformative tool in helping his network of friends stay connected to each other, and him. (Sean Kershaw) Faiths Lodge. http://www.faithslodge.org/Donate.htm (name withheld)

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Who is one person that youd like to publicly thank for the impact they've had on your life in the past year and why? - John Yngve, founder of our company, Cincinnatus, on adding the time dimension of his 85 years to help us all remain calm in the current white water. This too shall pass! (Kent Eklund) I'd like to publicly thank Charlotte Preston (who recently signed on to this listserv) for the impact she's had on me this past year. Charlotte is a wise mentor and an innovator. She lives her life as an example of social justice. (Laura Bloomberg)

- My childhood minister, Norbert Johnson. Randy Geller, a friend who died last week at age 45. Donald Jones, the father of my best friend from college. (Sean Kershaw) 3) What is one goal you have for 2010 that youre willing to share publicly with this community? - Continue the quest for a four generation balance of life in our family. (Kent Eklund) My goal for 2010 is to ensure that the U of MN Center for Integrative Leadership highlights and celebrates the courageous cross-sector leadership that occurs "at the intersections" of society's big challenges (e.g., health care and the economy, job security and environmental protection, education and neighborhood development). We can learn powerful lessons from those leaders who reach across differences to share power and resources-- and lead us toward more viable solutions. (Laura Bloomberg) Reduce my monthly hours by 15% AND achieve my goals at work. (Sean Kershaw)

This Editions Question: What 2009 event/opportunity/learning/challenge/growth moment are you most grateful for?

And now on to this edition's brainfeed: Jobs (forwarded by you - not searches being conducted by KeyStone Search):

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Project Manager, ProVation Medical, http://www.provationmedical.com (via Sean Benson) Senior Project Manager, Grassroots Solutions, http://www.grassrootsolutions.com (via Lindsay Hanson) Planned and Major Gifts Officer, Hamline University http://www.hamline.edu (via Hans Thomsen) Business Development position, Mpls St Paul Business Journal, http://www.twincities.bizjournals.com (via Tammy Mencel) Campaign Director, Lundstrum Center, http://www.lundstrumcenter.org (via Joan Grathwol Olson) Marketing Manager, International Market Square, http://www.imsdesigncenter.com (via Bill Venne)

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Props to (please consider sharing good news about a friend/colleague/volunteer for next issue): Regina Barr appointed to another term on board of directors for Breast Cancer Awareness Association (http://www.bcaamn.org) Anita Patel named one of the Top Ten Outstanding Young Minnesotans by the MN Jaycees o http://www.mnjaycees.org/toym.htm Anita Patel, Andy Brehm, Amanda Brinkman, and Ryan Burnet on being profiled in the Graduates top six young leaders under 30 by MN Business Magazine o http://www.minnesotabusiness.com/0t6p334/magazine/ Matt Hemsley & The LEAD Project on success December 5th gala supporting Childrens Dental Services http://parties.mspmag.com/2009/12/lead-projects-holiday-ball-1.html#more Alex Lopes, Stephanie Payne & TORCH community on 100+ attendees for Social Responsibility Challenge event December 9th Cecily Sommers on her new ventures related to continued evolution of the PUSH Conference; http://pushthefuture.org/the-founder/ Gary Cohen on the release of his new book Just Ask Leadership http://www.justaskleadership.com Greg Tehven on his decision to explore a new chapter following Students Today, Leaders Forever More info: http://www.stlf.net/get-connected/blog/leadership-transition-brings-opportunity Ideas: Dan Haugen (belatedly) on his move to join http://www.BringMeTheNews.com Scott Peterson (the Left Lane Scott Peterson) on his new role with Medtronic

- Check out Kiva via http://www.kiva.org (via James Kahl) - A great conversation on leadership featuring the CEO of eBay, Chair and former CEO of Xerox, Chair and former CEO of Carlson Companies, facilitated by Bill George http://www.billgeorge.org/page/leadership-summit-video (via Karla Ekdahl) - Check out blog from Tim Morin commenting on latest thinking from Clayton Christensen http://tjmorin.blogspot.com/2009/12/what-job-is-your-product-being-hired.html - Recycling a thought provoking piece on the Death of the Job Interview by Seth Godin (via Chadburn Blomquist) http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2006/09/the_end_of_the_.html - Another interesting take on the dynamics of what creates exceptional interviews (via TED.com) http://www.ted.com/talks/marc_pachter_the_art_of_the_interview.html - All you need to know about social media in 3 minutes from the founder of Reddit.com (via TED.com) http://www.ted.com/talks/alexis_ohanian_how_to_make_a_splash_in_social_media.html - CEO of Yahoo! on the future of leadership in the information age (via The Economist) http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14742618 - Three very talented Thirty-somethings profiled in The Economist http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=14742286

Engaging: 1) Common Grounds is seeking applicants for its spring 2010 pro-bono consulting project email Ben Marcy for additional information (Benjamin.j.marcy at gmail.com) http://commongroundsmn.org/client 2) The Nerderys Overnight Web Challenge (Via Dan Grigsby and Greg Tehven)

http://www.overnightwebsitechallenge.com/ 3) One Young World Leadership Summit in February (consider nominating a delegate) (via The Economist)

http://www.oneyoungworld.org/delegates/flashindex.html http://twitter.com/OneYoungWorld

Thanks so much for your time and content suggestions. If youd like to be removed, hit reply with "remove" in the subject header. On the other end, please forward this to others in your network and invite them to join us. Thanks SO much for your time and as always, please let me know if there's ever anything I can do for you or yours.

Happy holidays and have a great end to 09 and start to 10! Onwards and upwards, Lars

Lars Leafblad Principal KeyStone Search "Because Culture Matters" 612-375-8989 - Direct http://www.keystonesearch.com/team_leafblad.php http://www.linkedin.com/in/larsleafblad http://www.twitter.com/larsleafblad