A short poem from Edwin Markham, called “Outwitted”: He drew a circle that shut me out – Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout. But Love and I had the wit to win: We drew a circle that took him in. Hat tip to my friend Janie Leask in Alaska, who posted this on her facebook wall.
Meg Wheatley on great questions to ask as we think about measurement, especially in complex living systems (like human communities): Who gets to create the measures? Measures are meaningful and important only when generated by those doing the work. Any group can benefit from others’ experience and from experts, but the final measures need to be their creation. People only support what they create, and those closest to the work know a great deal about what is significant to measure. How will we measure our measures? How can we keep measures useful and current? What will indicate that they are …
In May I am co-hosting a conference in Australia with Geoff Brown, Viv McWaters, Anne Pattillo and Johnnie Moore on evaluating behaviour change in sustainability initiatives. Sounds dry eh? Well I invite you to visit Geoff’s blog to view the invitation and the slideshow he has put together that provides some context for the gathering and adopts the playful and exploratory tone of the conference we are designing: Show Me The Change is “coming ‘atcha live” | Yes and Space. Working with Geoff is great because he has a terrific facility with all kinds of social media, including a mastery …
Clara Hughes, one of Canada’s all time great athletes, wrapped up her competitive career yesterday with a bronze metal in speed skating. In her press conference she had this to announce: The international media and Olympic visitors noticed the Downtown Eastside. So did the five-time Olympian who carried Canada’s flag in the opening ceremony. Winnipeg’s Clara Hughes won bronze in 5,000-metre speedskating on Wednesday at the Richmond Olympic Oval and donated her $10,000 bonus to the Take A Hike Foundation. The charity runs outdoor recreation programs for inner-city youths. “I took a wrong turn and ended up in the Downtown …
From a recent Art of Hosting in Sweden comes a learning from some young leaders thinking about how to lead in networks: 1. Open and transparency of decision making process and “organizational” structure, even if it’s dynamic. No Taboos or un-written rule. The aim should be to make the system as visible as possible. 2. Empowers loads of action (systemically): What is the minimum structure needed to enable self-organizing and action? 3. Good communication culture (this is the real challenge I guess) 4. Clear process of creation and updating the leading thoughts 5. Low entrance step, it’s easy to join, …