Cormac Russell, Author at Nurture Development

The Paradox of the Marketplace

November 16, 2016

The paradox of the marketplace is that even when we are not wanted as producers, we're needed as consumers. It promotes forms of production and...

Leading by stepping back, while still caring

October 25, 2016

0 Comments

Great leaders, mostly lead by serving while walking backwards, cheering as they go. Because they understand: "It is a misuse of our power to take responsibility...

Communities and the State: a question of proportionality

October 13, 2016

10 Comments

First, let me say thanks to everyone who took time to participate in the conversation around last week’s blog. Building on that conversation, I’d...

Neoliberalism with a Community Face?: A critical analysis of asset-based community development in Scotland?

October 5, 2016

8 Comments

The paper ‘Neoliberalism with a community face?: A critical analysis of asset-based community development in Scotland (MacLeod, MA & Emejulu, A) 2014, is one...

Expert by experience, or experienced beyond expertise?

September 22, 2016

4 Comments

Imagine a context in which it makes sense to call a horse an unwheeled automobile. Where to gain respect for the natural things in...

It’s not about reforming systems; it’s about reclaiming the Commons.

September 15, 2016

2 Comments

After we've figured out our institutional systems, we may discover there are limits to what institutions can do for us in our pursuit of...

Taking a Strengths-based Approach to Young People: Moving from ‘at risk’ to ‘at promise’. Part 1

September 2, 2016

1 Comment

When I read British tabloids their messaging around young people is unmistakable, young people: CAUSE PROBLEMS. HAVE PROBLEMS. ARE PROBLEMS. This is not peculiar to...

The Change Spectrum

August 24, 2016

0 Comments

I’ve had the privilege of seeing a lot of professional practitioners wrestle with the dilemmas that Asset-Based Community Development presents; serving while walking backwards...