#greatprojects — Public Fediverse posts

Rules for Reformers: Is your community skeptical of a big but necessary change? Try selling the change … by the slice. http://otiswhite.com/selling-change-by-the-slice/ #civiclead #greatprojects Sixth of eight lessons

“The coordinated swarm”: The secret to civic progress is to attack big problems from many directions. http://otiswhite.com/the-coordinated-swarm/ #civiclead #greatprojects

“The visionistas”: Here’s how to encourage your city’s most visionary citizens … and challenge them. http://otiswhite.com/cultivating-the-visionistas/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Progress happens when systems are converted into processes. What causes the conversion? Opportunities. http://otiswhite.com/the-opportunity-the-door-to-civic-progress/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Covering city hall: Most big civic projects don’t begin at city hall. So what IS local gov’t’s role? http://otiswhite.com/the-switching-yard-of-change/ #civiclead #greatprojects Lesson two of seven.

Great leaders see the way forward … and sometimes that rises to the level of “genius." http://otiswhite.com/leadership-as-a-kind-of-genius/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Progress comes to cities through civic projects. Why, then, do we know so little about these things? http://otiswhite.com/units-of-civic-progress/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Articulating the “why": It’s critical to building an army of supporters for civic projects. http://otiswhite.com/how-to-build-an-army-of-supporters/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Great projects take shape when leaders discover complementary interests. Oh, and a little luck helps too. http://otiswhite.com/how-odd-couples-complementary-needs-and-chance-can-change-cities/ #civiclead #greatprojects

When does your city need a great civic project, where do these things come from, and how are they managed? Here are seven elements of highly successful civic projects. http://otiswhite.com/seven-habits-of-highly-successful-civic-projects/ #civiclead #greatprojects

How do you put together the team that can lead a civic project to success? First you need to see the road ahead. Then you have to find the mix of talents and connections to navigate all the twists and turns. http://otiswhite.com/how-a-leader-assembles-a-winning-team/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Remembering the activist who changed the habits of every dog owner in NYC … and America. http://otiswhite.com/how-activists-change-minds/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Known and credible: Champions are important second-stage leaders in a change effort. Here’s why. http://otiswhite.com/enter-the-champion/ #civiclead #greatprojects

When you’re advancing a new idea for your city, think bigger than the idea. Think about the “frame.” http://otiswhite.com/framing-your-change-efforts/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Change the way people think about issues with respectful criticism, facts … and a new, positive frame. http://otiswhite.com/reframing-your-communitys-mind/ #civiclead #greatprojects

A map of community change: The final phase is getting a decision from others. This involves focused persuasion. And what persuades people to accept change? Need, vision and plan. Oh, and a little luck. http://otiswhite.com/decision-phase-focused-persuasion/ #civiclead #greatprojects Fifth of five lessons

A map of community change: The key to navigating from one phase to another in a change process is to have a “guiding coalition.” But be aware that this coalition will change along the way. And it should. http://otiswhite.com/connecting-the-phases-the-guiding-coalition/ #civiclead #greatprojects Fourth of five lessons

A map of community change: The planning phase is the necessary slog of civic progress. It’s where you begin with a workable solution and refine it slowly, as you answer objection after objection after objection. http://otiswhite.com/planning-phase-the-slog-of-civic-projects-and-why-its-critical/ #civiclead #greatprojects Third of five lessons

A map of community change: There are three phases. The first involves lots of people talking … in a structured way. And the key here is not to rush to answers. http://otiswhite.com/discussion-phase-how-need-relationships-and-ideas-begin-the-change-process/ #civiclead #greatprojects Second of five lessons

A map of community change: Can you draw a process as complicated as community change on a single sheet of paper? Let’s try. http://otiswhite.com/a-map-of-community-change/ #civiclead #greatprojects First of five lessons

How do you see what a city needs? And once you see its needs, how do you find good answers? Tampa’s downtown in the 1980s was dead after 5 p.m. and its waterfront was largely inaccessible. The answer, leaders figured out, was an attraction that tied the downtown to Tampa Bay, something like … well, an aquarium. https://www.businessobserverfl.com/news/2025/nov/06/opinion-florida-aquarium-changed-city/ #greatprojects

What a legendary public project shows us: Great ideas don’t sell themselves. They need patient advocacy. http://otiswhite.com/why-patience-is-a-virtue-in-civic-work/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Rules for Reformers: Is your community skeptical of a big but necessary change? Try selling the change … by the slice. http://otiswhite.com/selling-change-by-the-slice/ #civiclead #greatprojects Sixth of eight lessons

Rules for Reformers: How the formula D x M x P explains why some change efforts succeed and others fail. http://otiswhite.com/a-formula-for-change/ #civiclead #greatprojects Second of eight lessons

Rules for Reformers: The three Ps every civic change effort must reckon with. http://otiswhite.com/three-ps-of-public-policy/ #civiclead #greatprojects First of eight lessons

“The coordinated swarm”: The secret to civic progress is to attack big problems from many directions. http://otiswhite.com/the-coordinated-swarm/ #civiclead #greatprojects

“The visionistas”: Here’s how to encourage your city’s most visionary citizens … and challenge them. http://otiswhite.com/cultivating-the-visionistas/ #civiclead #greatprojects

Progress happens when systems are converted into processes. What causes the conversion? Opportunities. http://otiswhite.com/the-opportunity-the-door-to-civic-progress/ #civiclead #greatprojects

How do big civic improvements happen? Rarely quickly, rarely easily. Study nearly any big project in your city and you’ll find years of discussion and planning, small steps forward, a few breakthroughs, many organizational changes and leaders who come and go. Here’s an example: How St Louis got its cycling and pedestrian trails. https://nextstl.com/2025/09/25-years-of-great-rivers-greenway-a-timeline-a-conversation-with-grgs-emma-klues/ #greatprojects

Covering city hall: Most big civic projects don’t begin at city hall. So what IS local gov’t’s role? http://otiswhite.com/the-switching-yard-of-change/ #civiclead #greatprojects Lesson two of seven.