NATIONBUILDER

Leaders are always building things – companies and organizations, campaigns and political parties, grassroots movements, bases of subscribers and donor networks. By the late 2000s, it was clear that the convergent trends of Internet ubiquity, social media and mobile smart devices were rewriting the rules of how leaders acquire and wield the tools of leadership – and that leadership itself was undergoing a process of profound transformation and democratization.

NationBuilder has positioned itself squarely on the forefront of that transformation, offering leaders an integrated package of software and apps to help them better leverage influence and galvanize supporters. At the same time, inspired by the work of the late M. Scott Peck and the Foundation of Community Encouragement, NationBuilder’s founders built the tenets of community into their corporate culture.

As a result, various departments, work groups and management levels within NationBuilder regularly convene in “circles” – intense meetings often held in a literal circle of chairs - in which participants engage each other with a respectful authenticity as they seek to reconcile - or at least understand - difficult issues with others in the group. A certified facilitator trained by Scott Peck in the Foundation for Community Encouragement’s experiential form of community building, Eric has been privileged to facilitate several circles and to offer consultative skills to NationBuilder on several occasions since 2017.