Thomas Clark Durant
“I would love to live like a river flows,
carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.”
― John O'Donohue
As an artist, I've created
The Sparks and the Fire
I write and sing the songs. I play rhythm guitar, some banjo and piano. Griff Roberts plays lead guitar, bass, and leads production. Anna Surento writes and sings all of her parts. Collin Whitlock plays piano and organ. Ben Derrico plays the cello. Calvin Martin plays the trumpet. New album coming in August of 2024.
As an entrepreneur, I've created Thrive Circle
Thrive Circle helps you find your way on the paths that matter most to you. Step by step. We use "how can I" questions to illuminate the path. Here are a few of mine:
The app will be available for beta-testing this summer, and on the app stores this fall.
As a peace scientist, I designed a turn-taking institution to amplify empathy between two opposing leaders
Fostering personal trust is a foundation for improving the quality of government, which impacts many things in our world, for better and for worse. I believe that there is hope for our world to be better governed - that there are ways to build more creative, collaborative, self-regulating governments - if we do it “two by two.” These are some of my papers related to this topic:
As a strategy consultant and executive coach, I help my clients improve their businesses
I partner with other leaders to clarify vision, diagnose challenges, design strategies and tactics, and develop other team-members by working through the challenges that arise along the way. I am fascinated by organizations that embed “two by two” leadership as their core leadership model: in particular, Toyota, the Mayo Clinic, and the Armed Forces. I apprenticed at McKinsey & Company in the DC office, from the end of 2010 to the beginning of 2016. I started my own shop, Noble Partners Consulting, in 2016.
As a teacher, I help my students learn problem-solving methodologies
I teach a class at the University of Florida called “Structuring and Solving Business Problems.” I help students learn problem-solving methodologies (or what Mike Rother calls the improvement kata) to be able to solve business problems across functions and disciplines “in the wild.”
As a father, I tumble back
and forth between shaping my kids and being shaped by them
I have two beautiful children, Pepper and Kirk. Here are some recordings of us improvising together.