The Potentiality

John Horn's Website for Community Builders

Year: 2023

Four Ways that Tough Feedback Makes Work Better

Our team has written quite a bit about feedback – both how to give it and how to ask for it and act on it. But in our day to day work, we are often confronted with input and criticism…

A Travel Haiku

Travel to learn. Culture. Knowledge. Connection. Oh, and lobster rolls. – A travel haiku written to reflect on the Horn family’s recent awesome trip to Nova Scotia

10 Professional Lessons from Dancing

In April 2015, 25 colleagues and I danced to Bruno Mars’s “Uptown Funk” as part of the entertainment for V After Dark, Vancity Credit Union’s annual employee recognition and celebration event. Here’s the video and a blog post about 10…

Five Ways to Triumph Over Jerks

This article tells the story of five ways to triumph over jerks and other mean people who will infect your community. Recently, I encountered a wide variety of jerks. Let me tell you, it took adaptability, creativity, thoughtfulness, and great…

A New Friendship Haiku

Basketball* feelings. Infinite conversations. New friendship is here. – A haiku about new friendship, which started with *basketball feelings and has grown into the best vibes on Vancouver Island!

Four Lessons in Interdependency from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

In their excellent book, Laziness Does Not Exist, Dr. Devon Price argues that the myth of the heroes journey highlights how individualistic problem-solving and world/galaxy-saving is wrongly elevated in pop culture. While I take issue with some of Price’s examples (the…

A Family Shenanigans Haiku

Good family vibes. Connection. Generations. Ridiculousness. – A Family Shenanigans Haiku by John Horn co-written by three generations of Hornboys

Why We Should Do Hard Things

We should do hard things because they shape us into resilient and confident learners. When we embrace challenges that push us out of our comfort zones, we not only learn more about ourselves, but we also develop the mental fortitude…

A Taking Stock Haiku

Observing the world. Privilege and potential. Gratefully taking stock. – A haiku about taking stock of our worklife by John Horn

Six Professional Game Changers from Improv

I’m part of a team that is delivering a big piece of work using agile methodology, which I’ve written about before. With our project moving and changing so quickly we find ourselves reacting to new circumstances and having to improvise…