We have had a strange summer on the coast. People have complained that it hasn’t really felt like summer at all weather wise, and while it has been cooler, it has not been overly unpleasant. Mostly what is striking has been the quality of the air, which has never seemed to get warm enough to hold heat in the evenings. As we sleep outside in the summer time, this is not at all a problem, and the sleeping weather has been divine. But it has been a strange summer for me on other scores as well. I have been working …
From an interview with my dear friend Peggy Holman on enhancing creative leadership: Q: What is one practice that people could start applying today to bring more creativity into their work or their business ”¨organization? Holman: If I were to pick on practice that is simple to apply and powerful in its affect, I’d say: welcome disturbance by asking questions of possibility. Creativity often shows up in a cloak of disruption. It makes sense when you stop and think about it. If there were no disruption, there’d be no reason for change. And change opens the door to creativity. Great …
Birth of a Bowen Island dynasty? http://post.ly/2npzu # Summer evening down at The Pier at Snug Cove Ferry Terminal on #SoundCloud http://snd.sc/pGOMn7 # Boats on Mannion Bay http://post.ly/2ohQG # If we knew the causes of the London riots, would that help stop the next ones? No. Society needs a better handle on complexity, not causes. # Trojan T-shirts trap German fans http://zite.to/oxXmBF a left wing rock group in Germany plays a trick on right wing extremists. # “Recreational looting” in perspective http://zite.to/niiDUn via @zite. This is a good summary on what I have been saying about complexity. # That hasn't …
A basic diagram for hosting questions that create extraordinary conversations. In the life of organizations and communities there are times when questions arise that just can’t be dealt with in the regular course of events. This is often when those of us who are consulting facilitators are brought into an organization. We are often told that “we have reached a place where we need a facilitator to help.” Usually there is an obvious need or purpose stated right in the first few sentences of the phone call or the email. This is something that consultants like us have to bear …
I’ve been thinking on similar lines; it’s quite tempting to write stuff about faciliation to guide the “leader”… but maybe it would be more powerful to write for the participants. Steve, in fact, goes ahead and does this, suggesting 12 Acts of Courage to Change Meetings for Good. via Johnnie Moore’s Weblog: Facilitation for participants. Yes indeed Johnnie, and I see this as fundamental to the invitation process, so that participants know what they are getting into.