Peter Block

In addition to The Abundant Community, co-authored with John McKnight, Peter Block is the author of Flawless Consulting, Community, Stewardship and The Answer to How Is Yes. He serves on the boards of Elementz, a hip hop center for urban youth; Cincinnati Public Radio; and LivePerson. With other volunteers, Peter began A Small Group, whose work is to create a new community narrative and to bring Peter's work on civic engagement into being. Peter's work is in the restoration of communities and creating systems that restore our humanity. He is a partner in Designed Learning, a training company that offers workshops he has designed to build the skills outlined in his books.
130 POSTS

A Future for Journalism: The Story of What’s Working

Most of what you read about the field of journalism is grim. Journalists now rank below lawyers as being trusted in the eyes of the public. Print news and TV channels are in a steep revenue decline. We are...

The Latest Executive Tool: The Weed Whacking Golf Driver

We often criticize our consumer society in this space, but some purchases are just too good to pass up, especially when it comes to something that will give us an edge in the ultimate Corporate Sport: Golf. Before getting...

Biding My Time

For those concerned about the side effects of consumerism, about the “new normal” recession that will not go away, about disparity of living standards, about the well-being of our children, our health, our elderly, our safety and our food...

The Nervous American Empire or Raise Your Hands Over Your Head and Don’t Move

It will soon be ten years since 9/11 and the effects are still with us. One of the obvious ones is the U.S. military’s adventures in the rest of the world. Just as important, we keep expanding our militarism...

A Real Community Learning Center

There is a movement afoot to turn every public school building into a “community learning center.” Use the buildings to supplement day school with programs in the afternoon and evening for children and adults. Nice idea. The question is...

Seeing Ahead

Social invention pioneer Al Etmanski asked me this question recently: What would you like to see made visible in 2011? It’s a great question because it constructs a world where the future we desire is close at hand, if we...

John McKnight and Peter Block: The Abundant Community

Interview with Wayne Hurlbert on Blog Talk Radio November 23, 2010 Listen to the podcast here.

Home Economics Redux

We now use the term “dysfunctional family” for a reason. In the evolution of the consumer society, the family has lost much of its use or function. What the family used to do has been outsourced to educators, human...

Peter Block: Empowerment, Stewardship and Bringing Communities Together One Conversation at a Time

Interview with Mary Claybon of Middle Way Health November 4, 2010 Listen to the interview podcast here.

The Wrong Conversation about Health Care

The current Health Care debate is a conversation that is not going to make us any healthier. It is the wrong conversation. To begin with it is not about Health Care — it is really a polarized discussion about the...