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A good time to do right.

June 11, 2013 By Being, Community, Flow 3 Comments

Martin Luther King Jr., writing from teh Birmingham City jail in April of 1963, mused a little on time:

I am coming to feel that the people of ill will have used time much more effectively than the people of goodwill. We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the vitriolic words and actions of the bad people, but for the appalling silence of the good people. We must come to see that human progress never rolls in on wheels of inevitability. It comes through the tireless efforts and persistent work of men willing to be co-workers with God, and without this hard work time itself becomes an ally of the forces of social stagnation. We must use time creatively, and forever realize that the time is always ripe to do right. Now is the time to make real the promise of democracy, and transform our pending national elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood. Now is the time to lift our national policy from the quicksand of racial injustice to the solid rock of human dignity.

I was thinking on this as I approach my 45th birthday and as I was thinking about my beautiful 16 year old daughter and my spirited 12 year old son.  Coming back today from a glorious gathering of leaders from the new world of community, one might say “rock stars of the new consciousness” in Petaluma California, I was thinking about the way I want my children to use their time on this earth.  What came to mind was the Mary Oliver quote: “Tell me what you will do with your one wild and precious life.”

And of course they can’t tell me what they will do, because the work my children will do hasn’t been invented yet.  But if there was some advice for them lurking out in the ether, it would probably be in that King quote.

This is a good time to do right..

Pacing the Cage

June 5, 2013 By Music 3 Comments

Bruce Cockburn is probably my favourite songwriter.  This is Pacing the Cage, a hymn for our times:

Sometimes the best maps will not guide you

You can’t see what’s round the bend

Sometimes the road leads through dark places

Sometimes the darkness is your friend

Harvesting from a harvest

June 4, 2013 By Art of Harvesting 2 Comments

Last month I was in Chicago working with a great group of Art of Hosting  practitioners  in the Illinois community of practice.  We ran a three day Art of Hosting and then did a one day Art of Harvesting workshop with about 40 members of the community of practice in Chicago.  The focus of the day was on the art and practice of harvesting.

Our design was simple…we began in circle with a check in around questions and thoughts about harvesting.  Those of us on the stewarding team – myself, Teresa Posakony and Kathy Jourdain – spoke a little on our experience and recent thinking in response to what we heard and then we entered a Cafe.  In the afternoon we ran a one round Open Space for people to bring harvesting questions to the fore, and to work together on actual projects.

I cracked a good insight about the practice of harvesting and some of that is captured in this terrific newsletter from the group. I’ll write more about this later, but perhaps you’ll be inspired by what Kevin Johnson, Andrea Johnson and Janice Thomson captured from our time together.

Peggy Holman on Designing for Community

June 2, 2013 By Art of Hosting, Community, Conversation, Design, Facilitation 2 Comments

My friend Peggy Holman is about to write a short series of posts on how to manage the tension between hearing from luminaries and hosting participation in gatherings that aim to:

  1. Make the most of the knowledge and experience of the people in the room;
  2. Support participants to make great connections;
  3. Bring the wisdom of luminaries – respected, deep thinkers – on whatever subject drew people together; and
  4. Deepen collective understanding of a complex topic.

Peggy notes that:

A common design challenge with such gatherings is to work the tension between hearing from luminaries and engaging participants. When the mix is off, it shows up in missed expectations and at its worst, a revolt by participants.   (It didn’t go that far at this gathering, though I’ve been on the receiving end of a revolt.   But that’s another story”)

I left this conference contemplating four design choices to support the four goals I mentioned above.   They are:

  • Invite thought leaders with different world views so that participants benefit from a tapestry of ideas.
  • Mix theory and practice so that they inform and amplify each other.
  • Do activities that make the experience in the room visible so that we meet kindred spirits, discover each other’s gifts, and learn as much as possible about what works.
  • Take a co-creative stand, so that the unexpected becomes a source of engagement and learning.

As a participant from time to time, I find that I can be cynical about how I am hosted (as if I am a perfect facilitator every time!).  But what I like about being hosted is the opportunity to practice participation.  Let go of the “perfect container” and show up as curious and committed to learning as possible.  IN this way I can honour the host (and sometimes help a process succeed by moving the conversation towards substance and away from process).  It will be good to read Peggy’s thinking, as always.

via Designing for Community: Luminaries and Engagement | Peggy Holman.

Rediscovering conversation: mighty altogther

June 2, 2013 By Conversation, Leadership

It had to be an Irish politician that finally suggested this!  Ireland has been leading the European Union the past six months, including chairing and hosting the EU’s meetings.  Micheal Ring tried a different approach to having all 27 ministers show up and read a speech.

Sports Minister Michael Ring might actually have made a difference. At the Council of Sports Ministers in Brussels, the Ringer pioneered a new approach to these meetings. The usual drill sees each of the 27 ministers reading a prepared script outlining their country’s viewpoint. It’s tedious stuff.

Minister of State Ring decided to change this. He announced to his fellow sports ministers: “No scripts today! If you cannot speak without a script for thee minutes ye shouldn’t be in the job you’re in.”

The politicians looked a little uncertain. Their civil servants looked horrified.

”Let me tell you this,” he continued, “I came through Westport town council and the county council, I’m in the Dáil and now I’m a Minister and we had more debates in the town council than we’ve ever had here.” The ministers were discussing drug misuse in sport. They had brought their scripts, but after initial misgivings and a bit of cajoling from Michael, they decided to throw caution to the wind and have a proper discussion. Ring banished officials to the margins and let the ministers do the talking.

“It was mighty. Mighty altogether,” he tells us. “I was told this was the most successful meeting in Brussels for 20 years. We had a lively exchange of views and a frank and open debate. The place was packed and the meeting went on for nearly four hours.”

via Miriam Lord: Scourge of the scripts has a Ring of truth – Political News | Irish & International Politics | The Irish Times – Sat, Jun 01, 2013.