I work with individuals and enterprises looking to stretch themselves, sharpen their habits of thought, or reflect on their circumstance with a view to making changes.
The help I offer is therapeutic in nature, but it is not therapy per se. My concern, rather, is with questions of meaning; or, if you’d prefer, with the cultivation of critical nous.
Often those who approach me find themselves struggling with something, be it professional direction, an intimate relationship, or some daunting responsibility. Sometimes I can be of practical help; a varied professional history affords me a parallax view on the worlds of design, technology, education, and philanthropy.
More often, our conversation takes the form of a guided exploration. My view is this: thinking, the kind that opens new horizons, is like swimming in open water. It demands patience, courage, respect for one’s limits. This kind of thinking cannot be taught, but it can be learned, via dialogue. Dialogue is what I offer.
You can think of it as a kind of bespoke graduate seminar. As the conversation unfolds we’ll build a repertoire of interpretive strategies informed by your needs. My role is to help you become the author of your own development as a thinker.
With time, steady attention yields interpretive maturity, confidence reasoning extemporaneously, and facility probing one’s own beliefs. Above all our purpose is to cultivate openness in the face of confounded expectations; to learn to face the senseless with curiosity and resolution.
Tempo. Some situations call for an hour a week for 24 months, others for 10 hours/week for three months. I’m open to a range of tempos, and I understand that circumstance may oblige one to miss sessions here and there.
Fees. For one-on-one work my standard fee is €250 per hour, with some flexibility for asynchronous time. For extended engagements, a retainer is possible. For collectives and enterprises the fee structure will vary with the engagement.
My enterprises practice emphasizes clarification of purpose and ethos. I’ve worked with three-person startups and mature incumbents in areas ranging from slow fashion to civic literacy to climate justice. References are available on request.
Confidentiality. Our conversation is confidential from the moment it begins. My commitment in this regard is grounded in two decades’ experience as an anthropologist and historian, working with a range of sensitive materials. Your trust is a privilege that I must earn anew in every moment; this trust forms the basis for whatever we accomplish together.
Can I hear you in action? Here’s an interview about my third book.
The conversation begins with a twenty-minute chat at no cost. If you sense I could be of use, write.