For more than 40 years I have been a student, teacher, diagnostician, designer, and implementer of practices of social organization. For the most part these have been for large public and private enterprises. Today I work as an independent business consultant in an extended network of consultants, designers, researchers, and academics. We are primarily concerned with preparing and leading teams designing and implementing economically important innovations in many industries. I have worked and studied with Fernando Flores pretty continuously for nearly 40 years, and with Saqib Rasool for a decade.
I live with my wife Shirah in Seattle, Washington. We moved here in 2007 to enable me to take a role in a new company building hospitals. My children are Livia (31, married to Aaron McDermott with daughter Amelia, living in Auckland, NZ), Nicolas (34, finishing law school in New Orleans), and Stefan (49, a fine artist who lives and works in Southern California with his partner Tina Davidson, a professor of nursing).
Chauncey Bell Blog 
Hi Chauncey,
I did a lot of workshops with Fernando in the 1980’s. I read his books and some of your reviews in Amazon. I contacted your wife about a possible book? you and she were writing on anxiety. I purchased a draft from her via pay pal. I found it very interesting and wondered if it has evolved? I am writing my dissertation for my Ph.D. and am professor of acting and voice at Syracuse University. I found value in the draft for my teaching…
Joe Alberti
Thank you for the note, Joe. I remember you from your interactions with Shirah. We have put the book on hold for various reasons.
The new format is quite nice!
Muy estimado Chauncey
didn´t know you had a blog.
Congratulations. I have been blogging for some time now y no pensé en buscarte en la red.
Will be following you!
Cariños a Shirah
I’ve been thinking about the network of promises that bind the participants in an enterprise into a domino chain of promises and consequences. I wonder why it should bother me and make me anxious when a company i work for makes explicit and implicit promises in the form of marketing communications, sales presentations, etc. and yet may be likely breaking those promises by means of the “facts on the ground.”
Do the participants in an enterprise tacitly share in the promises made by the principle mobilizers by virtue of their participation in the enterprise? Is everyone bound together?
Case study: I was recently consulting for a start-up and was asked to complete some literature by the end of Sept as the new product needed to be shipped to a customer at that time. I contacted the manufacturing people to get a product photo to place in the literature, however, i was informed that obtaining a photo was not possible as the first instance of the product would not be coming off the manufacturing line for a few weeks. It suddenly occurred to me that the first instance of a new product would come right off the manufacturing line and into the hands of the customer without the benefit of quality assurance testing.
Maybe the product would operate as promised and maybe not. Why should I feel anxiety? In one sense, someone else made the promise to deliver a satisfying product and it is outside my domain of responsibility to question it. Except, by becoming aware of certain facts, my own promise to deliver satisfying literature may be jeopardized because the claims may not be in harmony with the product. The uncertainty causes me anxiety. Everyone in the web of promises becomes anxious and the enterprise becomes dysfunctional.
We are in the midst of a national election. The same could be said of the national enterprise in the carnival of promises that our national leaders make.
Your thoughts?
Jeff,
You have asked a huge question.
In general, I share with you a sensibility about the importance of keeping our word: not speaking anything that is in any way incoherent with what I am representing myself to be in the world, whether the speaking was promises, or assertions, or declarations, or offers. Further, I systematically watch the way that the communities to which I belong speak, and I separate myself from communities that are doing “mischief,” or where I find I am not happy about what they are saying.
Doing this is challenging, and not always possible. For example, the Democratic party.
I’ll think and maybe say more later.
All the best,
Chauncey
Chauncey –
What a surprise to find that you have joined us in Seattle! Pushpa, now “Dr. Pushpa”, and I moved here in 1986. We have a 7 year old daughter and live in the West Seattle neighborhood.
I certainly prize the opportunity I had to work with you back in the Community Workshop days.
I was just writing to a consultant friend (http://www.solutionsforgood.com/consultants/bness.htm) about moving out of “IT”, where I’ve made my living, and thought of those days. What miracle GOOGLE is!
Best Wishes
Gino
Let’s arrange to visit sometime. My cellphone is 510 717 0183.
Best,
Chauncey
For those searching, correction on the phone number: Now 206 437 7556.
Hi Chauncey,
I am happy to find you. I am glad that you are writing. Congratulations on your publication.
Maria
Thank you Maria.
All our best to you.
Give Rodolfo my best regards.
Let’s stay in touch.
Best,
Chauncey
Chauncey,
Can we talk some time? If so, let me know when I can call you. By the way, like you, we now have a boy and girl with the boy older than girl. Isabella was born 6 weeks ago, Sebastian is 17 months. Please email me your contact information.
Best,
Maria
Hello Chauncey,
It’s Kathy (used to be Yaholkovsky) from Logonet. A colleague recently sent me a link to your blog post with Fernando’s invitation, and I’ve now spent a good bit of time reading through your posts and your readers’ comments. Your blog is quite engaging – congratulations!
I’m now an artist, happily married with 3 children (although they are not so young any more) and 2 stepchildren, living in Cupertino.
Glad to see you doing well!
Very best,
Kathleen
http://www.KathleenElliot.com
Hello Chauncey,
This is Kathy (used to be Yaholkovsky) from Logonet.
How are you??!
A colleague ran across your website and send me your link. Your blog is quite engaging – congratulations!
Through life’s interesting twists and turns, I have become an artist. I’m happily married with 3 children and 2 stepchildren. Life is good!
I hope you are well and happy.
Very best wishes,
Kathleen
http://www.KathleenElliot.com
Hello Chauncey,
I met you when you did in-house training at The Zamoiski Company in Baltimore, for ATI’s The Coordinator – circa 1986. You made quite an impression on a new young salesperson, sright out of college, selling circa 1986 Zenith computers and NEC printers to corporate accounts, I remember your presentation, as clear as a “Bell!”
I am very glad to come across your blog and see your interests and passions have steadily evolved.
Looking forward to a “Conversation for Possibilities,” in the near future.
Best,
Mike
Thank you for the nice note, Mike, which I am very late in catching. Did you have something specific in mind?
All the best,
Chauncey
Hi Chauncey,
How was the WEST course?
I’m just finishing a 15 month contract with a client. The value in CBD has never been more apparent!
I hope you’re well, and that your endeavours in Seattle are successful and satisfying.
Kind regards,
Cormac.
Yeah bookmaking this wasn’t a speculative decision outstanding post! . 457695
Hi Chauncey:
It’s been 30+ years since we worked together on BR in the Franklin St. attic. I’ve been doing my own form(s) of BR ever since!
I was thrilled to discover your whereabouts by following the clues in Gil Friend’s book. I’d like to email you some images of my
current ‘BR’ (it has some ‘HP’ blended in, as well). Best regards to Doug & Stefan. Lucky you – A Jewish bride from Brooklyn!
Love, Morty
I have some things to send you.
Where do I find you? Call me at 205 437 7556
Correction 206 437 7556
Dear Chauncey, I have a package to send to you. I saw that Betty’s Diner is closed so I can’t reach tour son. Is there an address where I can send it?
Jill
6212 39th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98115, USA And, please call!
Hi Chauncey – I’m wondering if you might be able to help fill in some blank spaces for me?
In 1985 I participated in the Entrepreneur 2000 course with Fernando. It was among a handful of experiences and learnings that were foundational to my professional endeavors over the years, but I’ve not been able to find much info about it. I still have the contact list for the participants, which clearly looks like it was printed in 1985, but I can’t find any of my notes, course materials, brochures, or any other information.
Any chance you can fill in any of specifics of the program?
I’ve used and adapted that thinking extensively over the years, including in my consulting work on more than a dozen megaprojects across the globe.
Scott
Good Morning!
Best wishes on Labor Day.
Saw that President Biden was at his Rehoboth Beach home. It brought back memories of you visiting with a very young Stefan. I even have movies of that time together. Also, read in the Boston Globe that Brandies University lost a case today to Nelson-Bailey to “a Black woman who is the university’s former vice president of human resources”. That sure brought back the memory of you visiting us when you were in town for a graduation at Brandies. How wonderful that you were here at a time it meant a lot to Don. It brought back so many memories of how important you were in our lives. You certainly enriched our lives. Those were the days, for sure!
Do call me so we can catch up on how you are doing in this so-called Post COVID era.
So grateful that you were in our lives during those DC and Boston years.
Carolyn