July 8, 2009

A NEW PARADIGM IN ORGANIZATON DEVELOPMENT
Sustainability thru Discerning Ourselves as Living Systems
Milt Markewitz & Gary Langenwalter

The evening is intended to dispel three myths by showing that:
• Understanding living systems brings a simplicity to our work;
• Learning what makes a living system a living system is relatively easy; and
• Flowing with systems rather than managing them is a key to success.

The evening is designed as a series of short presentations followed by conversations. The approach will be to answer the following questions:

• What brings life to the organizations about which we most deeply care?
• What does it mean to be sustainable?
• What makes a living system a living system? and
• How does this new understanding inform our organizational interventions?
The desired outcomes for the evening are –
• A deeper appreciation of life that positively informs our work?
• A familiarity with helpful website constructs, learning and tools?

About the Speakers

Milt Markewitz retired from IBM in 1991, and became immersed in ‘Learning Organizations’, public education, and helping a sustainability startup company. In 2001 he began a Masters ‘Organizational Systems Renewal: Whole Systems Design’ program at Antioch University and 2002 an ‘Appreciative Inquiry’ certification at Case Western Reserve University focusing on, ‘What brings life?’ His graduation project was facilitating a small town’s articulation of their desired future in terms of balanced sustainability and their public schools to respond with the necessary learning. Chapter’s VI-1 and III-3 from Milt’s most recent work, http://www.appreciativesustainability.com/ will serve as the basis for our evening’s presentations – attendees are encouraged to visit the site.

Gary Langenwalter is the founding partner of Sustainability Partners International, which assists businesses in creating and executing strategies for sustainability. They show clients how to use Sustainability to attract and retain the best customers, best employees, best suppliers, best financing, and best relationships with regulators, thereby assuring the highest profitability. At the core of their approach is the philosophy that business is all about empowering people and building community. Gary has more than 30 years of business experience, including 20 years as a successful consultant to companies large and small across the globe. Before starting his own firm 20 years ago, he worked for KPMG Peat Marwick and PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Gary is also the Director of Education of the Sustainable Catering Association. He has written The Squeeze (a business novel about Sustainability), plus 4 professional courses and 2 professional reference books.

~ Time / Location / Cost:

Location:
Portland State University
Market Square Building, Room 1054
1515 SW 5th Ave.
Portland, OR 97201

Click here for a campus map.

Cost:
The cost for chapter members is free.
The cost for non-members is $10. The $10 fee can be used to offset the annual membership investment of $75.00 if paid at the program.

Future Meeting Dates:
Click here for future meeting dates. Due to our unique relationship with our meeting host PSU, our meeting dates can vary from month to month. Our monthly newsletter will help to remind you of future events as well.

Meeting Time:
Networking: 5:30 - 6:00 pm
Program: 6:00 - 7:45 PM
Continuing the Conversation/Networking: 7:45 - 8:15 PM