In Their Own Words
As a natural philosopher, I have been developing a systems body of knowledge that extends from systems philosophy to Viable Systems Model (VSM-6) to practical applications in small business and community development.
I began developing my systems thinking orientation during my studies at the University of Alberta in 1978, where I had the opportunity to learn under Dr. Richard Jung. He was a distinguished cybernetician later recognized by the American Society for Cybernetics with the Wiener Gold Medal for his lifelong integrative contributions. My early work included a cross-cultural impact assessment methodology developed for Petro-Canada in 1981, followed by my M.A. thesis in Community Development, Community Systems Science: A Paradigm for Development (1982), which explored community development through a systems lens.
I spent ten years as a business coach, serving roughly 200 entrepreneurs and using cognitive coaching methods to help people strengthen judgment, strategy and practical decision-making. I have more than twenty years’ experience in community and regional economic development, applying systemic analysis to organizational, social and economic challenges.
Today I am co-founder and President of Wayfinders Business Co-operative in Alberta. Through Wayfinders, I work to apply systems thinking, collective intelligence and practical business support to small business development and local economic development. My current long-range project is the development of a systems body of knowledge that I call the Unified Code of Nature, an effort to articulate a more coherent, scalable and actionable systems worldview.