"The most important thing to remember is this: To be ready at any moment to give up what you are for what you might become"

- W. E. B. Du Bois

Whew! Having logged more than 160,000 miles in the air and on the road last year, I sometimes felt like George Clooney's character in the film, "Up in the Air!"

Fortunately for me, if I'm on the road then I'm doing what I love: using presence, passion, and purpose (thanks Kevin Cashman!) to help people and organizations become the best they can be at doing what they do.

Our job is to help you discover and use your unique gifts in order to manifest powerful change in your life and the lives of those your work touches.

We were blessed last year to work all around the world in service of this mission. In addition to our domestic work in more than 15 states, we worked on four continents in Afghanistan, Argentina, Bolivia, Ethiopia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, Serbia, and Switzerland. Six of those were new countries for us!

More than 95% of all of our work last year continued to come from your direct referrals and for that we are overwhelmed with gratitude. We're so appreciative of the chance to work and live with passion and trust.

Click the 'pics' link on the left to view lots of great NEW pictures just added to our website. Please be sure to take a look at the Kosovo Youth Academy slideshow, too.

Though 2009 was a tough year for so many people, we've been overwhelmed by all of the ways people and organizations are finding not just to survive, but to thrive. This spirit has helped us to exercise our own creativity and embrace a risk-taking spirit.

At Common Ground, it has caused us to become more innovative when it comes to the services and assistance we can offer.

For example, we have begun offering Leadership Coaching services to our social profit and civil society clients.

Using telephone and internet video communications, we're now able to help you solve tough problems without incurring ever-increasing travel expenses. Of course, we'll still be on the road with you as often as necessary, but our hope is that this additional service will meet some of your short-term or emergency consulting needs. It has been our experience that leadership coaching is especially effective when combined with our other organizational development services, making those processes much more efficient.

To learn more about our new Leadership Coaching or to schedule a session, please click the 'coaching' link to the left.

At Common Ground, we are also committed to helping our clients harness the power of emerging social networks; challenge status quo change strategies; leverage organizational charisma; create a culture that supports mission- critical goals; and build high-trust relationships.

This year, we expect to be doing a lot of work in these areas, including the development of high-impact advocacy campaigns that include state-of-the-art organizational web portals. Our goal is to create simple, effective strategies that provide stakeholders and constituents with the tools they need to develop their own micro-movements: small, yet scalable, individual efforts to affect change in one's own life, a particular neighborhood, or within a defined community.

If your organization is looking for innovative ways to tap into the power and creativity of your stakeholders or you're looking to improve your presence on the web, please click the 'connect' link to the left to learn more about what Common Ground can offer.

Finally, please know that we feel honored and privileged to be even just a small part of your amazing efforts to make our world more just, more secure, and more ripe with the spirit of possibility.

As this new year and new decade dawn, may your life be filled with love, your heart with hope, and our world with peace.

Tell A Friend

If you have a colleague who could benefit from knowing about our work and our free social profit resources, please feel free to forward them this email (Click "Forward this email" below).

If they are interested, they'll be able to sign-up, otherwise, we'll leave them alone. You have our word!

We can't wait for you to get involved in our online community! For two decades, Common Ground Consulting LLC has been providing mission-critical consulting services to social profit organizations. We look forward to strengthening our relationship with you.

Remember, "The purpose of leadership is to remind people what is important." (Warren Bennis)

In Community, Craig