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Reflections on careers, democracy, and the real story Some people leave you thinking about what they accomplished. Others leave you thinking about how they accomplished it. That was my takeaway after watching Steal This Story, Please, the documentary about journalist, activist, and Democracy Now! co-founder Amy Goodman. If you stood behind her in a coffee shop line, you might never know who she was. She’s unassuming. Honest. Grounded. Earnest. Deeply committed to doing goo

Why does meaning often live in contradiction? At 84 years old, I saw Paul Simon live. “A Quiet Celebration” was exactly what the title promised—softer, slower, more restrained. His hearing loss was visible in how carefully the music was shaped. The performance felt less like a performance and more like a reflection. The opening set featured newer songs written after the pandemic. Less defined. More wandering. Not quite the clarity of his earlier work—but honest in what they w

You're allowed to. Somewhere along the way, changing your mind became associated with weakness. We admire conviction. We celebrate people who stake out a position, defend it, and stand firm. We praise certainty. But when did changing your mind become something to apologize for? Every decision we make is based on the information, experiences, and circumstances available to us at that moment. And those things change. We gain new information. We discover new possibilities. We re

Last week, I celebrated the retirement of one of my most cherished mentors, Ellen McDonald, someone I've worked alongside for nearly fifteen years. Together, we opened the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. We launched capital campaigns, created new spaces, produced festivals and performance series, and, at one point, edited a press release through 47 versions. Forty-seven. She's also the person who finally looked at me and said, "Bess, you really need to tell people yo

I've been spending some time listening to The Beatles' White Album lately. It's an album that shouldn't work. It's sprawling. It's inconsistent. It's experimental. At times, it feels like four different artists pulling in four different directions. There were disagreements during its creation, competing creative visions, and moments when the collaboration itself seemed to be fraying. And yet, many critics consider it one of the greatest albums ever made. The more I listen to

Yesterday, I put this website out into the world. As I looked at the calendar and realized June 1 marked nearly the halfway point of the year, I knew it was time to leap—one that I often encourage others to take themselves. Is the website perfect? No. Do I feel completely ready to take this on? Not really. Was I holding myself back? Absolutely. I often ask people, "What decisions would advance the work?" Publishing this site was one of those decisions. It moved me from consid

Welcome aboard. I'm thrilled to introduce Sea Change , a new consultancy built to help mission-driven leaders turn drift into direction —...

Most of us know when something isn't working anymore. We feel it before we can explain it. A process no longer fits. A team has lost momentum. An idea that once worked begins producing diminishing returns. The need for change is obvious. The path forward rarely is. That's the question I explore in my latest essay, Change Doesn't Happen All at Once. Continue reading on Substack → https://fromdrifttodirection.substack.com/ The work is about finding a path forward and being will