I look around the world I live in and I am overwhelmed with one thought... "There is too much I want to do!" It's a sentiment that I have had since I was small, and it is both a source of energy and motivation and also a curse. Because the taking of one path implies the letting go of another - and therein lies the fear. What if that chosen path is not THE one... The fear of not using this one wild and precious life in the best possible way can be paralyzing - but if channeled, it can be a source of inspiration. So when we at Start Close In - Bray Cohen, Geoff Brown, Sarah Perdriau - gathered to share ideas, we quickly honed in on the most critical and inspiring elements of the work we do, and we reflected on how we can do more of it. After many hours of discussion and years of working together on clients, we arrived at the foundational elements of: Connection Agency Energy We realized that these lie beneath everything we do and that their beauty is in their simplicity and depth. As we peeled back the layers, we realized that these ideas are a purpose for what we do, they are the structure of our approach, and they are a methodology. We will explore these more over time, but a brief outline of our thinking is below. Connection to others - team dynamics, collaboration, and cooperation to a vision, future strategy, or desired state to purpose and meaning Agency Once you are connected to others, a vision, or purpose, then agency arises. Relates to the ability to find your own agency or create the conditions for others to Satisfies the deep human need to feel of use to the world Energy Both the outcome of connection and agency and the input into the system Multi-faceted, and relates to physical, emotional, intellectual, and source (or purpose) So this is us! We look forward to reaching out to more of you soon and sharing ideas as well as finding ways to do work we love. Regards Matt & the team