31 (More) Days of #BIF7 - Day 2

31 (More) Days of #BIF7 - Day 2 - Angela Blanchard

There was a moment during Angela Blanchard's presentation at BIF-7 when she nailed it.

"You can't build on broken."

She was talking about community development and how so often we try and build by focusing on what's wrong: all the myriad issues and problems and what we need to fix. An alternate and better approach, she elaborated, is to look at what's working and can be reproduced, as a model for effecting change.

Angela's current vehicle for change is Neighborhood Centers, where she is President and CEO. Neighborhood Centers is a non-profit bringing resources and education to residents in Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast.

One other point about Angela's story at BIF. When she presented, I was strongly reminded of the book Switch by the Heath brothers, which also emphasizes focusing on the positive (among other tactics) to impact dramatic change.

Additional information:

Neighborhood Centers
http://www.neighborhood-centers.org/
@NeighborhoodCtr

BIF Profile Page
http://businessinnovationfactory.com/iss/innovators/angela-blanchard

This is part of my 31 (More) Days of #BIF7 blog series.

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