Short History

Robert Leaver and Michelle Gonzalez created New Commons in 2004, building on Leaver’s previous firm, Organizational Futures founded in 1982. Organizational Futures was an important force in the beginnings of the “whole systems” movement and pioneered many of the techniques used today in facilitation and strategic planning.

New Commons developed a more technological and media savvy profile, recording speakers and posting audio online. John Speck, who began to work with New Commons in 2006 and ultimately merged his communications consulting practice with New Commons in January 2009.  Speck took the media production to new levels with self-produced short films, information graphics and document layout capabilities.

Clients and Projects

Through all the changes, the core of the practice remains largely unchanged from what it was in the 1980s. The focus always in on helping clients make better choices by guiding them, through their own ideas and words, to a clearer understanding of the complex dynamics that affect their organizations.

Clients could be cities or towns, government agencies, not-for-profit organizations, trade associations, large corporations, small companies or individual executives.

Projects nearly always involve planning of some kind: annual strategic plans, succession plans, transition plans, start up plans, merger plans, community plans, economic development plans or plans for the creation of whole new economic sectors, like the green economy.

But beyond the plan, we work with clients to develop connections to the necessary capability and then execute a realistic plan of work to achieve the desired result.

Think. Link. Do.