🌧️ Future Here Now: April Showers — And What Comes Next

There’s something about April that feels like momentum in disguise.

A little messy. A little unpredictable.
But underneath it all—growth is happening.

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been deep in the work. The kind that challenges assumptions, sharpens ideas, and (occasionally) calls out the uncomfortable truths we’d rather ignore.

Let me bring you into it.

🎤 A Room Full of Planners—and Honest Conversations

Last week, I led a Learning Lab at the National Planning Conference focused on Digital Public Engagement.

In 90 minutes, we covered everything from:

• 🛠️ How to actually choose the right digital tools

• 📉 Why social media is not a public engagement strategy

• 🧠 And the uncomfortable reality: the stories we tell our communities—and ourselves

Let’s be blunt for a second:

👉 Posting is not engaging
👉 Broadcasting is not listening
👉 Metrics are not meaning

This work is part of the American Planning Association’s Upskilling initiative—because the profession itself knows there’s a gap.

And if things align, an online training is coming this fall.

Stay tuned.

📘 The Book That Took Too Long (But Is Finally Here)

After a long delay (the kind every meaningful project seems to demand), I’m releasing:

Tell, Ask, Discuss, Decide: Using Digital Platforms to Engage People in the Future of Your Community

This isn’t theory. It’s a field guide.

Inside, you’ll find:

• 🧭 How to design a real engagement strategy (not just tactics)

• ⚙️ How to choose the right platforms and tools

• 💬 How to moderate conversations that actually go somewhere

• 📊 How to test, measure, and learn from your process

To my knowledge, there’s nothing else quite like this out there.

And honestly? It’s about time.

🏙️ The Beautiful Complexity of Downtowns

At the same time, I’ve started a new strategic planning project with a large downtown organization.

If you’ve worked in or around downtowns, you already know:

✨ They’re engines of identity and economy
⚡ They’re full of competing priorities
🎭 And they bring together… big personalities

This project is about building alignment across dozens of stakeholders—businesses, organizations, and leaders who all shape what that place becomes.

It requires:

• Transparency

• Collaboration

• And a willingness to navigate friction without losing direction

This is my favorite kind of work.

Because when it works—it really works.

🔄 A New Chapter for Future Here Now

You spoke. I listened.

Based on feedback from the March survey, we’re reshaping Future Here Now into something:

✔️ More relevant
✔️ Easier to digest
✔️ More actionable

What’s coming:

• 📰 More insights, news, and case studies

• 🧩 More ways to engage and apply ideas

• 🎯 More focus on what actually works

And for subscribers?

We’re going deeper.

🚀 More Value for Subscribers (Yes, A Lot More)

We’re expanding paid subscriptions to include:

• 📘 Handbooks

• 🎥 Video breakdowns

• 🧾 Cheat sheets

• 🛠️ Practical tools you can use immediately

If you’re already part of this community—this is for you.

If you’re not yet—this is your moment.

🔥 Let’s Be Direct: Here’s What To Do Next

If this resonates, don’t just scroll on.

Take the next step.

📚 Get the Book (and Get Ahead)

Be among the first to access Tell, Ask, Discuss, Decide
👉 Early access + discounts available

📩 Subscribe to Future Here Now

Stay sharp. Stay informed. Stay ahead.
👉 https://www.substack.com/

🎤 Bring This Work to Your Organization

Workshops. Keynotes. Strategy sessions.
👉 http://wiseeconomy.com/

If your community, organization, or team is trying to figure out what comes next—and how to get there, let’s talk.

🌱 Final Thought

The future doesn’t arrive fully formed.

It’s shaped—conversation by conversation, decision by decision.

So the question isn’t whether your community will change.

It’s whether you’ll help shape that change…
or be left reacting to it.