For many people who grow up in small towns, it is almost a race to try to get out and move to a big city. For Amanda, her experiences abroad gave her insight into the tremendous potential that New Brunswick had to offer. She is the Director at NouLAB and in this episode, we discuss her audacious goal to redefine New Brunswick. She is working to disrupt the way her city makes decisions.
She is working to help people see problems from many different perspectives. Quoting Peter Senge, she reminds us that we have a tendency to see the system from our own perspective. Much of her work is about helping people look at problems from different angles. She is working to help a city rethink how they solve problems. As a way of helping people rethink their perspective two powerful questions emerged.
As a way of helping people rethink their perspective two powerful questions emerged.
- What is the work that you are trying to do?
- What is the work you are doing?
Perhaps my favourite thing about this episode is Amanda’s favourite word, Lagom. Lagom is the Swedish word for “just the right amount.” We did not talk about it much in the show, but it is such a powerful concept. Another powerful concept in this episode was Amanda’s favourite quote by Anne Frank.
“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
In reflecting on this Anne Frank’s quote, we are reminded that there are no magic bullets and that this work is about learning together.