"Don't ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive. And then go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Whitman

Happy Holidays!

There is a cold wind in the air now here in the mid- Atlantic United States and many of us are becoming much more reflective as this challenging year draws to a close. At Common Ground, we're looking forward to 2009 with hope and possibility as our work around the world continues to grow exponentially.

This year, our staff have worked with more than a thousand individuals at an unbelievable 45 organizations in more than a half-dozen countries and 15 states! We've logged 140,000+ miles on more than 110 flights. Thousands of people have visited our website and blog; and hundreds more have signed up for our email newsletters.

Click the 'pics' link on the left to view lots of NEW pictures just added to our website!

More than 90% of all of our work this year continues to come from your direct referrals and for that we are overwhelmed with gratitude. We're so grateful for the chance to work and live with passion.

Though this has been a tough year for many of us, we've worked hard to maintain our passion, trust, and hope. We're exercising our creativity and embracing a risk-taking spirit. Even in the midst of difficult times, we saw our nation come together to embrace the notion of what's possible. At Common Ground, it has caused us to become more innovative when it comes to the services and assistance we can offer.

Beginning in 2009, Common Ground Consulting will begin offering Leadership Coaching services to our social sector clients.

Using telephone and internet video communications, we'll be able to help you solve tough problems without you having to incur 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 offering will meet some of your short-term or emergency consulting needs. It has been our experience that coaching can be 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 before the new year's rush, 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 culture to support mission-critical goals; and build high-trust relationships.

Lately, we've been doing a lot of work in this area; and much of that recent work has been achieved through the development of high-impact advocacy campaigns which include state-of-the-art organizational web portals. In each case, our goal was 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 this year, 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 safe, and more ripe with the spirit of possibility.

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 almost 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, "We are such things as dreams are made on." (Shakespeare)

In Community, Craig