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Tene Wells
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Finding Freedom in the Grip of Uncertainty
After leaving Women Venture as its President and CEO, Tene Wells slipped into self-doubt. For 10 years, that pinnacle job had been her identity.
"Leaving that job — where I had a lot of success — was unsettling," she says. "For two years, I'd known I wanted to be an independent consultant. But potential employers tend to pigeonhole you."
At the same time, Tene was surrounded by supportive relationships that helped her overcome the doubts. She re-emerged after connecting with her passion: consulting with non-profits to help them become risk-taking, disciplined innovators.
"Here we are, 48 years after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s I Have a Dream speech. If we find ourselves living in fear and out of control it’s because we choose to.
"Non-profits and social entrepreneurs can thrive in this economy," she says. "However, they need a new paradigm to be able to create worth, develop assets, and take risks."
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Mike Hanson
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Redefining What's Possible
Mike Hanson, a Twin Cities attorney who is blind, was unemployed, newly divorced — and feeling highly vulnerable. He chose to make a powerful statement about independence and the creative spirit: hiking the Appalachian Trail.
"The unemployment rate for sightless people is 70% to 80%," he says. "I knew I wanted to make a statement about competence and independence. Something eyecatching. I'm an avid hiker, so the Appalachian Trail was a natural choice."
He spent two years programming a hand-held GPS unit to provide precise voice instructions over his cell phone. At the age of 45, he completed 1,700 miles of the 2,174-mile trail between March and October of last year.
Mike's daring choice delivered unexpected gifts. While on the Trail, he received a phone call with an invitation to join a start-up company which will provide real-time navigation tools to people with visual impairments.
And there's more. He's writing a book, has launched a blog, and plans to join the speaking circuit. A documentary film about the hike is on tap, too.
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Peter Bailey
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Choosing to Set Out on a Heroic Journey
As a senior vice president for organization development at The Prouty Project, Peter Bailey finds inspiration in classic tales such as The Lion King, Wizard of Oz, and The Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell. From those stories, he developed his Heroic Journey model, with its keys to the cycle of life and learning.
"What those stories have in common is some precipitating event which asks the characters to step over a threshhold," Peter says. "They're compelled to leave familiar surroundings, seek out an adventure, then return to share what they have learned."
The path may be full of adversity. It may be dark and dank, wet, and you find you've brought too much luggage. But it's important to be aware, Peter says, that we have all set out on such adventures in the past.
"You enroll in grad school. You get married. Your first child arrives. And when you get through the adversity, you see the gifts. Who were your allies? What did you learn? And who can you now be an ally to?
As a consultant, Peter specializes in engaging business leaders and teams in transformational experiences which enhance their skills, systems, and processes for working better together.
His favorite quote: "Something wonderful is about to happen!"
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