Friends, today I’ve got another incredibly powerful conversation to share with you. Joining me is Rich Harwood, a man whose work and life experience have shaped the way communities across the country—and the world—solve problems and come together. Rich is the founder of The Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, and for more than 30 years, he’s been leading the charge to help communities rebuild trust, solve shared problems, and deepen people’s civic faith. But Rich’s journey begins with something deeply personal: growing up with a chronic illness and feeling like he wasn’t seen or heard.
In our talk, Rich opens up about those early struggles and how they shaped his understanding of hope. He shares how setbacks in life—whether personal or community-wide—can either break us or build us into something stronger. For Rich, those challenges helped him see the importance of hope as a tool for resilience, something we all need, especially in times of uncertainty and division.
But this episode is about so much more than hope. Rich and I dive into the critical issue of civic engagement and the real, lasting impact of community-led change. We talk about the challenges of building trust, especially when it feels like our society is pulling apart. Rich emphasizes that the only way forward is through shared aspirations—finding that common ground where we can all come together and take collective action.
One thing that really struck me is Rich’s focus on conversations—real, meaningful conversations—as a way to bridge divides and break down assumptions. Whether it’s a small-town issue or a national crisis, Rich, much the same way I do, believes that conversations are the key to healing those divides and creating a healthier civic culture.
We also talk about the need to turn outward. This is something Rich teaches through his work at The Harwood Institute. It’s the idea that we need to focus not just on our own interests or beliefs but on what truly matters to others. It’s about taking intentional action to create change that reflects the needs of the whole community, not just a select few. Politicians play a role in this too, and Rich challenges them—and us—to engage in a fundamentally different way, one that fosters environments where communities can solve their own problems.
As we wrapped up, Rich shared a message of hope that really resonated with me. People are yearning for a better path forward. They want to believe that progress is possible, and under the right conditions, people can come together to create something better. It’s not always easy, but as Rich says, if we focus on rebuilding trust, having real conversations, and turning outward, we can make it happen.
Whether you're interested in civic engagement, community problem-solving, or just trying to understand how we can come together in divided times, this episode is for you. Rich Harwood’s insights are not just inspiring—they’re practical, actionable, and rooted in decades of experience.
website: https://theharwoodinstitute.org/
Facebook: @HarwoodInstitute
(X) : @HarwoodInst
LinkedIn: @the-harwood-institute
What have you done today to make your life a better life? What have you done today to make the world a better place? The world is a better place if we are better people. That begins with each of us as individuals. Be kind to one another. Be grateful for everything you’ve got. Make each and every day the day that you want it to be!
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