Carl Nordgren ’73

Carl Nordgren ’73 recently released his fifth book, Common Ground for US, which became the No. 1 New Release in Psychology of Creativity and Genius, No. 13 in Political Philosophy, and No. 30 in Popular Psychology on Amazon. The book addresses the deep and broad creative capacities we are all born with. Nordgren has taught at Duke University and given multiple guest lectures at Knox as part of the Professionals in Residence Series. He also taught two sections of 'Creativity, Entrepreneurship, and the Liberal Arts' at Knox during the Fall 2007 term. 

After two decades as an entrepreneur and 25 years as an educator helping students, entrepreneurs, educators, scientists and leaders develop their creative capacities, Nordgren inadvertently found a source of common ground that transcends political, social, and economic differences. His newest book offers strategies for preparing for an uncertain future, fostering sustainable abundance, and creating a grassroots renaissance based on the shared foundation that unites us all, regardless of political, social, or economic differences. Carl spent part of his teenage years working as a fishing guide with Ojibway Indians. 

You talk about creativity in business ventures and working together. What is your creative process when it comes to a subject you want to address, whether it is a business idea, a book, or a subject you want to talk about in class?

I’m a guy who believes in the wisdom of everybody else. As soon as these ideas start to take shape, I try really, really hard to make them become other people’s ideas as well. I like to share ideas with friends, colleagues, and associates, and hear how they talk about them and respond.

What is it like seeing your book go to No. 1 on Amazon? 

It is funny; in one way, it is validation to tell your friends you have a number one book on Amazon, but I also try to urge people to buy books from a source other than Amazon. But with a book, you have to use Amazon now. Amazon's success happened right before the PR campaign for the book kicked off, so the early momentum can drive people to sources to get the book.

What is writing like for you?

It’s lonely being a writer, no matter how much research or socializing you do for a book before you write it, because then when you sit down and write, you’re pretty much all by yourself trying to get it done. When you do get the validation at the end, it is nice.

What was it like delivering a presentation at Knox as compared to teaching courses at Duke?

I’ll say this to you about an audience at Knox. At Duke, I thought I was getting pretty good at teaching, but the Knox kids taught me how to teach this stuff. The way they respond to the material, the content. The Duke students were studying it so they could do well on a test. The Knox kids were playing with it; I learned so much more about my content by teaching it at Knox.

You were involved with StartUp Term with your daughter, Krista Ann Nordgren, who is a 2012 Knox graduate. What was that like?

That was such a blast. We guest lectured in some classes, but we also did a whole lot of talks and workshops. We would talk about how blown away we were by Knox students and the whole experience. It was a self-selected group coming to our talks, but I’m pretty confident they represented the Knox student body. I became extraordinarily fond of Knox students; then I went from fond to head over heels in love with them, partly because of how they responded to my daughter, but also because of how they approached learning.

What’s the thrill of accomplishment and completion like, whether it is in entrepreneurship and starting a business, or writing a book and finishing?

In my case, I’m proud that my entrepreneurial career focused on serving within an organization and developing products and services that served an audience. I feel the same about my books. I wrote them to serve a particular community. I wrote novels to serve an audience. So for both, I feel delighted; I feel exhilarated, because after all the time I’ve put in, I’m so happy to see that. 

What did you study at Knox?

I was an anthropology major, and I had so many creative writing courses that I could have been both an anthropology and creative writing major. I was an anthropology major because the professors let me write up my experiences with the Ojibwa Indians and treat it as field study. My passion was creative writing. Philip Sidney Post Professor of English and co-founder of Knox's Program in Creative Writing Robin Metz was the guy who kept me in the guardrails; I don’t know how far I would have spun off if it wasn’t for creative writing. Along with Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages and founder of the Prairie Fire men’s and women’s soccer programs Jorge Prats, I played soccer and did creative writing; those were the two things that kept me from getting lost during my time at Knox.

You played soccer at Knox and are in the Knox-Lombard Athletic Hall of Fame. What do you remember from your playing days?

My first year, it was still a club sport, but the next year it became a varsity sport. My senior year, I was the captain. The year after I graduated, Knox had me come back as the assistant head coach. I think it was because I was this guy who was at the end of the club era and was a coach of the team that won the conference championship; I think it was more like the Oscars’ Lifetime Achievement Award to put me in the Hall of Fame. But I played soccer; I loved Jorge and writing was my life. I just thought Robin Metz was the most magnificent man I ever met.