The Voices That Guide Us
lessons from dolly, the dreamer
At almost any Solidago Institute program, you’ll see a table labeled “Books We Love.” This table functions as a sort of living “works cited” page that highlights the eclectic mix of authors, artists, and changemakers whose work informs what we do at the Solidago Institute. This collection of books allows us to showcase great work, inspire further reading, and to symbolically welcome these thinkers into the space as additional “participants” in our programs.
During a program, it’s not out of the ordinary for me to grab one of these books and read an excerpt to further a conversation. In that moment, it’s like the author has joined the conversation—even though they don’t know they were even at the table.
Over the past few weeks, my heart has been heavy as three individuals who profoundly shaped our thinking at the Solidago Institute passed away. Dolly Parton, Wendell Berry, and Gloria Steinem lived radically different lives from one another, but each of them has shaped our thinking on what just and equitable workplaces and communities can look like.
Dolly Parton was a country music star, artist, philanthropist, and someone who inspired kindness and a spirit of possibility. Wendell Berry was a poet, farmer, and a tireless advocate for an ethical respect for nature and humanity—and notably a University of Kentucky grad (Go Cats!). Gloria Steinem was a writer, feminist organizer, and a transformative voice for equality.
Each of their “intellectual fingerprints” can be found in the work that we do, as we pursue our mission to “help people lead lives, create workplaces, and build communities grounded in justice and well-being.” These are the lessons we’ve learned from Dolly, Wendell, and Gloria…
The Dreamer
In the spring of 2009, Dolly Parton gave a commencement address at the University of Tennessee (okay fine, Go Vols!), where she encouraged the graduating students to dream more. But Dolly cautioned the audience to “not confuse dreams with wishes”…“There is a difference,” she continued:
“Dreams are where you visualize yourself being successful at what’s important to you to accomplish. Dreams build convictions because you work hard to pay the price to make sure that they come true. Wishes are hoping good things will happen to you, but there is no fire in your gut that causes you to put everything forth to overcome all the obstacles.”
I think about this sentiment whenever I discuss strategic visioning with any of our clients. This exercise, which is aimed at getting a group really clear about where they want to go, is all about dreaming—not wishing.
But most people, and most organizations, resist crafting a really clear vision because it can be terrifying. It’s one thing to get really clear on where you want to go as an organization, or as an individual—but sharing your dreams is one of the most vulnerable things you can do. You’re telling everyone how you really want things to go, and in doing so, making it abundantly clear what it would look like if you fail.
During her address, Dolly also shared a story from her high school graduation day in 1964. All of the students were asked what they were going to do with the rest of their lives, and Dolly said, “I’m going to Nashville, and I’m going to be a star.” The whole audience laughed. The meaning of the laughter was clear: they didn’t believe she would accomplish her dream… or fulfill her vision.
The Solidago Institute has a vividly clear vision of the future and what success looks like for us. Our vision is dated “October 3rd, 2028,” and in this vision, our entire team and close friends of the organization have gathered at a gorgeous retreat center on the side of a mountain in Ouray, Colorado. It’s specific and clear. We’ve gathered to celebrate 5 years as an organization and all of the amazing and beautiful memories we’ve created through the work we’ve done.
October 3rd, 2028 is 753 days away from today. I’ve got my work cut out for me. But I know exactly where I want to go. I’ve seen it. I’ve been there. And I have complete clarity on how I want the work and impact of the Solidago Institute to grow.
Dolly had that clarity too—and her vision was not confined to being a country music star; she wanted to be a star who made an impact. She shared that the vision of the Dollywood Foundation was to help children “dream more, learn more, care more, and be more.” Like ours, her definition of success was deeply communal.
Dolly also had a spirit of fairness and equality at the heart of her work.
One of her most famous songs, “9 to 5,” is about the frustration of working within a system that exploits its employees—especially women. While I have listened to this song countless times, until recently I had never watched the film 9 to 5. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s wild and hilarious—and it tells the story of three women navigating work with a horrible boss. As a brief aside, I want to be very clear about this: The Solidago Institute does not condone kidnapping awful bosses, poisoning their coffee, or suspending them from garage-door openers.
But there is one moment near the end of the film that I found to be particularly striking. In the aftermath of kidnapping the boss, Dolly’s character shares with him that in his absence they “made a few changes.” As the elevator doors open, a look of shock washes over the boss’s face. “Holy shit,” he proclaimed as the camera panned across a wholly reimagined workplace full of vibrant colors, plants, and an incredibly diverse collection of people, including visibly disabled individuals working together.
This moment in the film offered a vision of a radically reimagined workplace that didnt just take on the “aesthetics of diversity”— it was structurally designed for equity and inclusion. Not only did the office look different, it was also now a workplace structured around flexible work hours, job-sharing, substance abuse education, and an in-house daycare center.
So what might it look like for us to apply Dolly’s own thinking about dreaming when we think about the sort of workplaces we want to create? Dolly reminded us that to make dreams come true, you have to visualize success, and “work hard to pay the price to make sure that they come true.” Wishing is just hoping that good things happen. Pursuing dreams requires fire in your gut.
One Last Dolly Story
At The Solidago Institute programs, it is also not uncommon to see a large cooler filled with drinks for our participants. The cooler is covered with stickers from places across the country where we have led programs. A Dolly Parton “Patron Saint of the Smoky Mountains” sticker was the first one we ever added, following a visit to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2024. While the cooler is certainly functional, it has also come to represent the journey we’re on as an organization.
