About

I grew up in Oregon on a farm along the Willamette River. My family’s ideals of teamwork and day-to-day effort are a major influence on the work I do.

Of course, at the time, I didn’t think too much about teamwork, and the part about day-to-day effort wasn’t always appreciated. I recall a strong dislike for getting up before sunrise to milk the cows. Bringing in the hay in 90-degree weather wasn’t exactly a favorite activity, nor was cleaning up after the horses and cows. But it was all part of what it took to keep the farm going.

The natural environment of my youth had a profound affect on my life. The wide and meandering river, grassy fields, the sun sparkling through the trees, the misty winter pastures–this was the sanctuary of my youth. I clearly recall my many conversations with nature. Having easy access to the outdoors continues to be important.

I’ve grown to value my father’s efforts to pass on an appreciation for our natural environment. My father related to the land as one who had been entrusted to be a good steward. Over the years, he was watchful and noticed what worked and what didn’t. Late in life he became a strong believer in organic farming based on what he observed from years of working with the land. I recall a conversation with him not too many years before his passing in which he remarked “Chuck, the people who do organic farming understand the land and have it right.”

On board the Claire, Christmas Cove, Maine

My hero when I was 5 years old was Christopher Columbus. I packed my suitcase and ran away from home when I was five to explore the world. I only made it as far as dinnertime. Fortunately, the neighbor’s down the road invited me in for dinner. I postponed my travels until I was 18.

The theme of exploring continues today. Although today, my travels are focused more on human nature, community, the natural environment, education and youth.

It’s been said that we know who/what we want to be by the time we are ten years old. I am not sure if that is true or not. However, I do recall overhearing a conversation my father was having when I was ten. He was talking about some close family friends. During the conversation he remarked (in reference to the father of the family) “I don’t know if I have ever heard Elmer say a negative thing about anyone.” At that moment, I heard myself say, “Someday I want to be just like that. I will be someone who can see the best in people and help bring it out.” That’s still my dream. Seeing and encouraging the best in others is no easy task, however. We have to be able to see and bring out the best in our own life, and that is a challenge!

After high school I left Oregon and lived on the east coast for a short time and then Japan for a couple of years. Eventually I returned to Oregon to attend the University of Oregon with hopes of being a teacher. It doesn’t seem that I was ready to teach, however. Just before graduating I had one semester of student teaching and I decided I wasn’t ready for a classroom full of teenagers–at least not then.

After graduating from college I traveled the geography of work for several years working with a variety of businesses in telecommunications, sales, production, and management. By 1993 I settled (somewhat) into the ambiguous field of organizational development, facilitation, training, and leadership coaching.

While I do value reading (there is generally a stack of books on my desk) most of my learning comes from experiencing life. I find it interesting that Thoreau could explore the world of nature from Walden Pond. His vast learning and understanding of the natural environment didn’t require traveling the world.

I have been fortunate to do a bit of traveling and live outside this country. However, it is my experience that if we pay close enough attention and seek it out, the diverse world of people and culture can be discovered close to home.

Life is full of unexpected twist and turns. Some people are well prepared for the journey. Others of us set out on the journey ill equipped and unprepared, led forward by a gentle inner voice. The maps necessary to traverse the geography before us are varied, unknown, and often misunderstood. We must find our teachers along the way. Having many good teachers throughout the journey is one of my many treasures.

Along the way, there are moments when the experience actually makes sense. One of those moments occurred for me in December of 1989. I had been working at a McDonald’s Restaurant for a period of three months. Considering my education and some of the excellent positions I had held, it was a little embarrassing to be working at McDonald’s. Yet, the job fit the rhythm of my life at the time.

That December I received a call from a professional contact in Portland, Oregon. He called with a job offer. In addition to a good salary, I would receive a new company car. Accepting the position was easy (considering the alternative). There was a condition, however. The condition being that it was an experiment to see if there was sufficient business to justify having a full-time person located in Southern Oregon.

At the time, I was keeping a journal and doing a significant amount of intuitive writing. One morning, shortly after accepting this new position, I sat down to do my morning writing. I posed the question, “What would you do if you weren’t concerned with what people thought of you and money wasn’t an issue? The answer came quickly. What followed was a long and diverse list of jobs I would work. Working at a fast food restaurant was included on the list.

Scanning the long list, I realized that I had held all the jobs listed, with one exception. Included on the list was that I would work graveyard shift in a manufacturing business that works with metal. The other idea that was jotted down was that I would write about what I was learning from each workplace experience. In my observations and writing I would pay attention to the people and organizational culture–this would be my research project into the culture of work.

That is exactly what I had been doing from the time I was in college all the way up to that moment.

That experiment lasted nine months. I was offered an opportunity to continue with the company if I would move to Portland. Before giving my answer I headed to the Oregon coast for a three-day personal retreat. During that retreat the answer came clearly that it wasn’t time to move. “You have more to learn where you are” was the still quiet voice in my heart. So I turned the offer down.

A short time after leaving that company I was having lunch with a friend. My friend owned and operated a metal fabrication company. During our lunch I shared about the position I had turned down and concerns with the present job outlook. As I sat there my friend responded, “I would like to help you, but the only thing I have to offer is that I need someone to work graveyard shift to operate the laser machine.” It wasn’t until well into this new position that I realized this job was on the list that I created several months earlier.

For the next three months I worked graveyard shift. That experience led to several years of assisting the business with a number of human resource, customer service, organizational development and perhaps most important, life issues. Like other jobs I had held, my appreciation and understanding of the people I worked with and the specific work they did was enhanced.

From that period in early 1990 up until approximately 2008, my work was organized mostly around facilitating and coaching individuals, teams and organizations seeking improvement and transformation. I’ve had the opportunity to be involved with several private and government organizations coaching leaders, facilitating workshops and facilitating communication and teamwork.

Throughout these many years the “still quiet voice” that had encouraged me to be a teacher was never silenced. Perhaps I wasn’t ready or I was just too resistant to follow the voice of my heart. Or perhaps I have been teaching all these years through a willingness to be a life-long student of life.

In the fall of 2007, I began focusing more effort to engage with youth. It began with part-time work on the weekend in a program serving special needs youth. Later I began substituting in the school district classroom. That effort grew into accepting a position to work in a summer youth program in 2008.

It wasn’t long after that, in September 2008, that I accepted a one-year assignment with the Bethel School District at Kalapuya High School working with “at-risk” youth. This unique open space school exposed me to many fine youth. In addition, the open space design of the school provided daily interaction with a dedicated and passionate staff committed to seeing the best in youth.

I have never had a work experience end in which I felt such a deep level of appreciation, gratitude and completion. During my year with Kalapuya I invited many people visit the school. Guests would come with a certain expectation of what a school of “at-risk” students was like. A common remark when touring our school was “Wow, these are really nice kids!” Well, yes they are.

The open space design allowed me to observe and notice a beautiful unfolding of so many students during the course of the school year. I was also able to witness the synchronicity, teamwork and collaboration between the teachers and support staff—who gave so much.

I appreciate the opportunity to have made a difference at this school, but what I learned from the students and staff is perhaps greater than anything I might have given. I am grateful for such a beautiful experience.

And the journey of possibility continues…

Christmas Cove, Maine