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SUSTAINABILITY, EQUITY, DEVELOPMENT SOMETHING ELSE: Survival Is Not An Option INTRODUCTION |
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INTRODUCTION If we do
not succeed, we run the risk of failure. A
gentleman can live through anything. Truth is
stranger than fiction; fiction has to make sense.
Something Else is a true story centered around but not limited to a nonprofit training institute with a unique mission and perspective. Located in Tucson, Arizona, The Southern Arizona Institute of Advanced Training (SAIAT) represented a part of the workforce development component of Southern Arizona's economic development. Facts are not coated with sugar or political correctness. Real life is messy, and what follows is NOT FICTION. All names are real. For those interested in economic development and especially workforce development, Something Else contains information pertinent to these issues, especially the training needs of employers as they struggle to become more competitive in the global economy. With the exception of a small number of photographs and drawings I produced myself, all images have been published elsewhere on the Internet. Only the text of this document has been copyrighted. I claim no ownership of images. Also, Something Else features Web 2.0 content that is not fixed and can be modified. Unlike a published book or magazine, this document can change. You do not know what will be here tomorrow. The content is not an academic publication. I chose not to bog it down with thousands of citations, but when using another's material, I usually italicize or quote it and provide the source, date, and author. Depending on how much information I took, I refer to the article with enough information verification, such as "On July 18, 2003 the Star reported that . . ." Acronyms:
DES - Arizona Department of Economic Security Something Else is dedicated to: John Champagne, President of Magma Metals Company, a visionary who had the courage and the character to take an organization where no organization has gone. Errol Anderson, my LDP mentor, had the conviction and integrity to take me places neither of us wanted to go. Authors Robert Reich, Ken Wilber, Peter Senge, Meg Wheatley, Michael McMaster, Jim Collins, John Kotter, and Eliyahu Goldratt. The SAIAT Operating Model was heavily influenced by these brilliant individuals. My terrific parents, Bernard and Nancy Foraker, and my mind boggling, fabulous daughter, Nadina. The SAIAT Board of Directors and SAIAT Staff. Working with them was a profound privilege. The people of southern Arizona. This work is about you and for you. Errol spoke straight with me. I cannot thank him enough. For better or worse, I extend the same.
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