The Potentiality

John Horn's Website for Community Builders

Co-operative Leadership

Three More Human Capabilities Being Surfaced by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Last week I wrote about three human capabilities being surfaced by COVID-19 and the global pandemic. At best, things are pretty weird times for humanity. More likely, these are definitely uncertain and very scary times, especially for the most vulnerable…

Three Human Capabilities Being Surfaced by the Pandemic

We are amidst a global pandemic and these are unprecedented times. Communities around the world are rallying, failing, connecting, and experimenting amidst the spread of the novel coronavirus. Observing what’s being revealed about human behaviour is everything – I’m fascinated,…

How We Will Realize Our Potential in 2020

Happy New Year! It’s the first day of 2020, which means that our team at The Potentiality is ready to engage in our tradition of publicly declaring bold goals for the year. Godfrey, Michael, Kurt and I are keen to…

Build your Giving Muscles

It’s Christmas Day, which is a holiday that is supposed to be synonymous with giving. More likely, if you’re celebrating Christmas today you will be experiencing something that Organizational Psychologist Adam Grant calls “matching” – this is when people give…

Dear Vancity Interns…

Dear Vancity Interns (specifically those of you from the 2019 Community Leader Internship Program), Thank you, good luck with your next steps, and holy crap you are a talented group of human beings. Last Friday you completed your internship experience…

10 Ways to Add Value Like Italians

For the last two weeks I’ve been exploring the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy with my colleagues from Vancity. Our home base was Bologna, the region’s capital, which is the epicenter of the co-operative movement and in possession of Europe’s oldest…

Seven Strategies for Creating an Awesome Vision

Sharing a compelling vision for your organization’s year ahead, your team’s work priorities or your family’s vacation is a differentiator. When a community clearly understands why something is happening and how it will unfold, shit gets done and people have…

How We Will Reach Our Potential in 2018

Every January our team at The Potentiality engages in our New Year’s tradition of making public commitments about how we will realize our potential as professionals, parents, partners, and human beings. For 2018, Godfrey, Michael, Kurt, and I are leveraging our talents and…

Seven Ways to Embed Co-operative Principles in Your Organization

Co-operatives are an underutilized model for running an enterprise. October 16-20 is International Co-operatives Week and I work for one of Canada’s pre-eminent co-ops, Vancity Credit Union. I am quite biased in my thinking that the world needs more co-operatives….

Six Tips for Thriving after the Collapse of Western Civilization

A few things happened last week. My wife and I watched Mad Max: Fury Road on Netflix (it’s really good) and Rachel Nuwer wrote a depressing article for the BBC Future about how Western Civilization could collapse. Facts are facts…