Day: September 9, 2010
Training log: 9 September. 16 km Rose Bay- Bondi Circuit
Good run across 16 km tonight with some good undulating ground. Headed out just after a sprinkling of rain so the air was fresh and cool, and about 20 minutes before ending some welcome light, cold rain started falling.
The course departed Hyde Park to Rose Bay via New South Head Road, then heading south to Bondi via Curlewis St and returning to Hyde Park via Bondi Road and rejoining New South Head Road through Ocean St.
This is a good course- good views and with some good flat stretches mixed with some ups and downs that make for a challenging run.
I felt fresh tonight, and ended strong feeling in good shape. I didn’t time the run by across the three ‘legs’ (Rose Bay, Bondi and finish) but did keep track of total time taken. I as maintaining a reasonable and comfortable pace, but not smashing any land speed records either. I didn’t measure heart rate, but did note weight before and after the run.
For anyone training for the City to Surf next year, this is a good course to keep in mind.
On the homeward leg I bumped into Jamie Chivers and spoke briefly. Jamie has been active supporting causes addressing poverty in India himself over the last two years.
Agency, brand and trust: help or hindrance?
Bringing in the money is not the most important thing for us to do if we want to eradicate extreme poverty. Clearly that is part of the solution, but if it was the solution then there has been enough invested to make change already, and the end of poverty remains elusive.
I actually think it comes down to ‘political will’. I don’t mean a sharper focus within a country or institutions like the UN or G20, although that is helpful. I actually am talking about our own actions. Where do we place our priorities and what will we no longer accept?
There has been a lot written about consumer advocacy and how this might start to impact on poverty. In some respects, I would place that in the same bag as Corporate Social Responsibility- well meaning initiatives with a narrative around change, but ultimately in themselves they fail to be levers to make change happen. Muhammad Yunus argues this point strongly in his recent writing, and I like what he writes.
There is a need for greater participation, on both incremental and radical interventions. And not just by ‘big brand’ not-for-profit NGO.
Brand and trust have become confused concepts, possibly intentionally. ‘Agency’ starts to trade on a currency of brand because it brings with it high level of trust. Meaningful systemic change suffers for the sake of maintaining that brand.
This is not true of every organisation, and there are some awesome thought leaders and interventions happening most of whom are working selflessly and tirelessly in unseen places because of a driving passion to help others.
Has ‘brand’ gone too far? Is there still room for the maverick social entrepreneur?
Building Bridges 