Invisible Infrastructure

I used to work for a person who talked about “infrastructure” a lot. He had grand plans and always felt like he needed more “infrastructure” to accomplish them. He would say, “I just need more infrastructure.”  The truth is, he was not wrong. He just spent so much time talking about it that it still…

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How to Get From Surviving to Thriving

In 2021, ERG is thriving. We’ve survived a pandemic and are gaining energy from the variety of opportunities to support teachers and students as they navigate this brand-new world of education. We are here for it. But we haven’t always been this way. ERG had to survive before it could thrive. In our early days,…

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From Parent Education to Growing All Learners

Early in the ERG story, Alice was called to a day of jury duty. While she was waiting there all day, she read a book that had been recommended to her as a way to build some business background. It was called Good to Great by James Collins, and The Hedgehog Concept was at the…

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Just Show Up

Once we signed the lease on our new space, we started coming to our new ERG office to work. We had actually been able to negotiate two rooms as part of our lease agreement. There was one large room that we thought would be perfect for having some workshops, as well as a small room…

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We Are Consultants

There is power in words. In fact, there is an entire love language that proves this. When we think back about the early days of ERG, words were a key component. We had been advised – very loudly – not to quit our day jobs. We were told we should keep working our regular jobs…

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Official Business

What would you say if we told you we created the ERG business structure on a napkin at Bonefish Grill? Well, it’s true. Hope had an accountant friend at the time, so over drinks and Bang Bang Shrimp, he sketched out for us a viable way to structure a consulting business that included two partners.…

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How Two Teachers Found Their Glass Slipper

Once upon a time, there were two teachers who had some really simple ideas: What if they could offer professional development for teachers that was useful and applicable right away?  What if they could offer a menu for people to choose from so they could have choice as adults about their own learning? What if…

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The ERG Story

Hope and Alice

“So what exactly do you do?” This is a question Hope and I get asked all the time. The second thing we get asked is, “Are you a tutor?” Not that there’s anything wrong with tutors. It’s just not what we do. In fact, I am a pretty sucky tutor. On the other hand, Hope…

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Around the World in 31 Days

ERG was all over the place this month — in a good way! Here is a quick recap of just some of our travels in case you missed anything on social media. Who: Victoria Brownlee Where: Sydney, Australia What: Keynote at the ACEL 2019 Conference Fun Fact: Victoria had Kangaroo Kabobs one evening at dinner.…

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Free Advice for Future Consultants

Dear Future Education Consultant, Don’t be afraid to say out loud you eventually want to be a consultant. It’s kind of a fun job. In fact, at ERG, we think there is really nothing better than supporting teachers. If you are thinking educational consulting might be for you, it’s important to know what you want…

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