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Charles Handy on Qualities of Vision and Leadership - What does he sees when he looks under the stairs?

2012-01-30T06:06:00.001-08:00

Charles Handy on Qualities of Vision and Leadership

What does he sees when he looks under the stairs?

1-Why do we always assume that growth means more?

Apart from the universe, there is nothing that has unchecked growth

Nothing grows forever - It can't happen

Maybe consumerism is the new cancer of society

Growth does not need to be made of more of anything... but to be different instead

What "different" will that be?

If anything "more", what "more" means?

2- The new need or demand for proper selfishness - or respectful individualism

Employees more and more feel

Employees say they are ready to sabotage their organisation

There is unhappiness

There is aspiration for opting for the portfolio life

Portfolio life: you cannot complain - you are responsible

Don't pretend to yourself

Don't pretend to your people

The greatest gift you can give to anyone is to give them a degree of self-esteem

Can you as a leader take a risk with anybody?

--
Ludovic Odier
Founder & CEO
OIA Pte Ltd - Learning & Travel - TA no 01 770
OIA Learning Hub / OutdòórInAsia / SchòólTripsAsia
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Left brain-right brain - intertwined, interconnected and interdependent

2011-12-03T05:43:00.001-08:00

From: clinton
Date: Sun, Nov 27, 2011 at 3:23 PM
Subject: Left brain-right brain

Joo Hock,

Thought I’ll dwell further on the left brain-right brain discussion we had yesterday.
Yes, agree that the left brain is viewed essentially as the logical side and the right brain, the creative side.
This is primarily due to the properties found on each side:

Left Brain Right Brain

Logic Imagination
Word Colour
Sequence Dimension
Analysis Spatial Awareness
List Synthesis
Number Rhythm
Pattern Daydreaming

Through habit of usage, people tend to be left brain or right brain DOMINANT and hence we tend to label someone a left or right brainer

In practice however, all the properties are intertwined, interconnected and interdependent as the left and right brain are connected via our corpus collasum, which shuttles information, criss-crossing both sides all the time, depending on usage as one learns, thinks and create.

The more properties from both sides are engaged, the better, more wholesome is the solution to challenges likely to be.

An architect would have used just about all his 14 left and right brain properties in designing a building.

So labelling the right brain as the creative side or the creative brain is a misnomer.

Your creative brain is your whole brain!

You are wired to be a genius!

So use more of both sides. And engage the 100 Billion neurons that each of us was born with.

You may want to share this info with the Bucky Group.
Cheers,
Clinton

Intuitive mind / rational mind - Servant and master

2011-11-10T21:28:00.001-08:00

Here I am sharing an interesting point / fundamental distinction /powerful directions shared by our friend Joo Hock - as part of his Bucky's group activities: see below.

I may not need to add anything except - as I am thinking about it - that the mind is a powerful tool - a tool "out of this world", a gift to humanity in a way, something that sets us apart - not so much because we are so great but because it gives us a special power: power of choice, power of discernment, power of intelligible perception, power of intelligence somehow.

I like to think that intelligence comes in various form. Harvard Howard Gardner talks of multiple intelligence. There is one intelligence that has always been very dear to me and it is what I call Heart intelligence - it is a connective, integrative, inclusive form of intelligence and it is governed by the heart. Whereas rational, analytical, brain-based intelligence is more divisive, specialization-focused. I guess I will continue to explore this field.... Kindly contribute if you feel like....Cheerios to All :-)
from Joo Hock email (11/11/2011): Dear Friends and Fellow Buckians,
Last Sat. we listen to a talk by Iain McGilchrist on the Divided Brain. Interesting. Because I use to think that Right Brainers are Creative people, Artistic types, and that the Left Brainers are Logical, the Science types.
McGilchrist pointed that while the Left brain focusses, the Right Brain keeps a lookout at the Big Picture. So though one may be Right dominant or Left dominant, actually the two hemispheres of Brain they work together.
At the end of his Talk, McGilchrist pointed out that Einstein shared that the Intuitve Mind is a Sacred Gift, the Rational Mind is a Faithful Servant. Hmmm... Interesting Perspectives.

Think "Design" - Think "Tools" - Buckminster Fuller

2011-08-29T03:30:00.000-07:00

Another follow-up by Joo Hock to Dr. DeBono's Talk on thinking posted on OIA.

De Bono talked about Design thinking.

In parallel with this idea, Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller, who called himself a CADS, (Comprehensive Anticipatory Design Scientist) talked about "redesigning" our environment in order to change human behavior in preferred ways, for the betterment of total humanity. In other words, instead of trying to reform man, Bucky preferred to "new" form the environment through Design Science Revolution (DSR), rather than watch mankind resort to bloody revolutions.

And DSR is Tools or Artefact Invention, doing more with less, via technology, thus upping the performance of our resources, creating real life-support Wealth.

DSR requires creativity and innovation.

So if you want to learn how to think like Buckminster Fuller?
Think Tools,
Think Artifact Invention.

What can you invent?
Or re-invent? (many years ago I had a friend who say "don't try to re-invent the wheel"? Good thing I didn't take him seriously) Go ahead re-invent the wheel. You might come out with a better wheel, and if not, you would have re-invented yourself, while trying.

So what IS Experience?

2011-08-27T02:51:00.000-07:00

I'd like to share a Poem from my book, "What I feel like saying?"

Because I often asked myself, "so what am I experiencing?" as our lives, who we are may be perceived as a Bundle of Experiences. And Buckminster Fuller linked being in Integrity to speaking, from Experience. He had also defined Universe in terms of Humanity's Experiences.

My poem is entitled:

"What is Experience?"

A nerve-wrecking
roller-coaster ride
getting goose-bumps
listening to ghost stories
in a dark and stromy night
Dunking yourself
in the waterfall's icy bite
Being bruised and battered
in an ego fight
raindrops drumming loudly
on Moonriver Lodge's tin roof
with all their might
(and I might add)
You'll be listened to
as you are in Integrity tonight!

composed by Joo Hock

Joo Hock on Perspectives can be very empowering

2011-08-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

Wow! Edward de Bono posted on OIA's blog. Wonderful. DeBono's is one of those authors whose books I've been reading and recommending to my friends, but some of them tell me that DeBono put them to sleep, hmmm... I'm surprised and I wonder why? Perhaps his style is "dry," but he's substance.

Because I do find that he's really good. What he shares make good sense, especially in the field of creative thinking, lateral thinking, in fact DeBono coined the term lateral thinking, brilliant guy.

De Bono shared that perception is more important than logic.

Nicholas Negroponte (of MIT) said: Most engineering deadlocks are not solve by engineers. Why? Because Perception is more important than IQ!!

I found that his thoughts on thinking parallels Buckminster Fullers practices on thinking.

How so?

Well, Buckminster Fuller (Bucky) saw "things' at many level of perspectives, or put in another way, he has many ways of perceiving a thing.

Take a human being. He described us as a 28 Jointed Biped. Then an Astronaut on Board Spaceship Earth, then subsequently a Unique Behavioral Pattern Integrity.

Now how many other ways can you perceive or describe yourself?

1. A human be....
2. A Spir.... be....
3. A bundle of prog....
4. A bundle of exper.......
5. A cybo...
6. A transcei....
7. A Ver...
8. An Evolut...... Pro....
9. A Func.... of Uni.......
10. As Syntr......
11. As Min..
12. An ener.... eve...
More? What could you add?

Now all these newer ways of seeing ourselves is lateral thinking, for me at least.

But so what?
Well it's very empowering. When we see ourselves differently, we will think differently, and we can do differently.

Otherwise if we keep seeing the same way, well we continue doing the same things. Talk about insanity Ha Ha!

Reminds me of Eliyahu M. Goldratt's TOC (Theory of Constraints) In order to remove the bottleneck, sometimes it's not the physical contraints, it's the policies, the mindset, or the perception, the perspective that has to change.

Edward de Bono on creative thinking and perceptual thinking vs judgemtat and design thinking

2011-08-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

Judgment is concerned about the truth (ref the gang of 3 )

Design thinking is constructive not judgemental, it creates values

It is about making things work

Are you a Verb?

2011-08-26T06:48:00.000-07:00

Some thoughts from Joo Hock to share:

Buckminster Fuller said:
"I know I live on Earth at present, I don't know what I am. I know I'm not a category, a thing, a noun. I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process, an integral function of Universe."

I have often shared this quote of Bucky, in our Bucky Group sessions, because I've found that it make sense.

Hmmm...what do I mean?

Well, who we are truly, is that we are not the physical! We are metaphysical, or as some have realized, we are "spiritual". We're not THINGS!

In the exploration of Universe, when we go from the macro realm to the micro realm, we discover that 99.99999....% of atoms is really empty space. What seemed solid, like our tables and chairs, including ourselves, are actually NOT solid after all. Electromagnetic waves, like X-rays can pass through our bodies simply because our bodies are not solid. The atoms and molecules of which we're comprised of are 99.99% empty space. These atoms and molecules behave according to certain behavioral patterns, which these patterns of behavior may be described as Principles, and the "solids" that we're made up, are Pure Principles operating and interacting in orderliness. Buckminster Fuller termed them as Generalized Principles operating in Universe.

But so what? What's the big deal?
For me it is a reminder not to be too attached to material things. And this is something most spiritual people talked about.

So?
What we really want in this day and age is to Experience.
With "artificial intelligence" power evolving and growing exponentially, we are certainly moving into this Age of Experience, with the realization of the Virtual Reality and Avatars that we can create.
We experience Creating. thus we are evolving and experiencing ourselves as gods.

So?
Future generations of human will be moving away from ownership of "things" to just needing to use "things" because what they really want is to live life to the fullest, and not wanting to be tied "down" to "material things" which they could not take with them when they have to say "bye-bye."

We are truly verb/gods.

Universe as Experiences of Energy Events

2011-08-25T18:23:00.000-07:00

Some (Joo Hock) thoughts to share

I just watched George Smoot (posted on OIA by Ludo) talked about how our Universe was designed, and he's referring to the physical Universe. Brilliant talk on TED, brilliant graphics, etc. However I'm more in tuned to Buckminster Fuller's (Bucky) perspectives of Universe, which I can connect with. He defined Universe in terms of experience. I quote him, "Universe is the aggregate of all of humanity's experience." (He has a longer version, but at the moment this suffice) I find this meaningful, to me. "Universe is comprised of complexes of energy events, and our experiences of these events. End of the day, everything boils down to our Experiences, nothing more, nothing less. Take away our experiences in life and we won't have a sense of what is Universe.

And I appreciate Bucky's definition even more, because when we see Universe from this perspective, as Experiences, then it is truly comprehensive, covering not just the Physical, but inclusive of the Metaphysical, of thoughts, ideas, feelings, the invisible, the relationship of energy events, Generalized Principles, etc.

Like it took me quite a while to come to share with you here on OIA Learning Hub - the Generalized Principle of Lag operating! Ha Ha

Perhaps you might want to pause here for a while and reflect.

And I like his (Buckminster Fuller's) Poem, "Cosmic Plurality" which I've committed to memory, and use as a "tool" to share some perspective with others when appropriate.

It goes like this:

"Environment to each must be
All there is that isn't me
Universe in turn must be
All that isn't me and me

Since I only see inside of me
What brains imagine outside of me
It seems to me you may be me
If that is so there's only we

Me and we
Two which love makes three
Universe perme-embracing
It Them You We"

David Cooperrider and appreciative inquiry

2011-08-25T03:59:00.000-07:00

Richard Boyatzis and resonant leadership

2011-08-25T03:44:00.000-07:00

Charles Handy on Qualities of Vision and Leadership

2011-08-25T03:41:00.000-07:00

Writing about your life to learn about yourself

Listening, paying attention

Businesses who are not connected with a social mission are morally bankrupt and doomed

Businesses should be socially useful - too the world - and not just to themselves

Looking at the things beneath the stairs - things that may become relevant in 20 to 30 years

Creative workforce - what energize people working together?

2011-08-02T10:26:00.000-07:00

When you ask people about what it is like being part of a great team, what is most striking is the meaningfulness of the experience. People talk about being part of something larger than themselves, of being connected, of being generative. It become quite clear that, for many, their experiences as part of truly great teams stand out as singular periods of life lived to the fullest. Some spend the rest of their lives looking for ways to recapture that spirit. (Senge 1990: 13)

When the circuit is closed or on, every electron is polarised, energised and the current flows.

Is that the order or the connectivity we need to remember? the connectivity of course, because that is what generate electricity here. If not, electrons will be static or inert in a way...

What Peter Senge highlight here is:

- the meaningfulness of the experience

- the sense of being connected

- an experience described as being generative as individuals and as a group

That is very much like being a creative workforce: being generative

Feeling as one - not just a part of - or, even worst - having no clues about the rest and the others - even possibly no interest - indifference is the lowest level of being part of something.

Could you feel connected if you do not feel part of a team? NO

Therefore feeling your part of a team, is an important aspect of building a creative workforce.

It needs to be felt and experienced and built upon.

Team learning need to be looked at: the ability to learn as a team

Team building: tapping on the right attributes: trust, openness, commitment, accountability, mission focus

Team maintenance: how to keep a team together? what are people made of? what keep them together? Appreciation, support, tolerance, patience

Is that all? Wonder :-)

Innovation & creative workshop

2011-08-01T21:17:00.000-07:00

Innovation and creative workforce
What does it take to foster a creative workforce?
Quick brainstorming:
- Thinking: do we think? how do we think?
What do we allow ourselves to think?

Safe thinking is like following in the path of what has already be thought...
It may lure us into the idea of avoiding mistakes, ... give us a sense of (false?) confidence...
It leads to stereotype, repetition, boredom...
It may be linked with lack of initiative... and always looking for the leader so that I know what to think

A more open form of thinking allow for originality
The Spanish Chef who created the famous restaurant El Buli (now closed) had an epiphany when he heard a French Chef say: Creativity means "not to copy".
It takes courage and possibly some bold moves... you may feel lonely, unsupported...
You could be wrong... but you would not know until you try
You may have to change, adjust, correct, improve...

Creativity starts at the individual level.
A creative workforce is a workforce where creativity can be harnessed from most individual.
What does it take to achieve such a level of being in a group? A creative workforce would imply things like:
- courage to contribute ideas together with a supportive attitude towards such contribution
- willingness to deal with failure together with willingness to accept mistakes from our staff
- willingness and ability to learn from mistake and take action accordingly together with coaching ability to foster reviews and learning
- etc...

When such attitudes and attributes are in place - and maybe a few more - like goal alignment, vision, etc..., the context for innovation is getting in place. Such attitudes and attributes can be called "learning infra-structure". We could draw parallels with the attributes of learning organisations.

Practically I am listing below small steps towards being creative. These practical steps involve things like:
- brainstorming (idea generation)
- games to think out of the box (lateral thinking - inspired by Edward de Bono. For example the Six Hats methodology)
- ability to create consensus in a group using collaborative techniques: group discussion, dialogue, consultation.
- team learning
- appreciation, leading to appreciative inquiry
- and generally, any steps creating the right atmosphere for innovation to take place: developing emotional intelligence, using multiple intelligence

How does creativity comes into place for such aspects as making decision as a group or discussing options or seeking advise...? The point here is that without the ability to tap into each and every one resource, without seeking maximal contributions from each group member, the group is left to the power of a few few or maybe just one... the potential of the group is wasted.

In a positive way, it means that a creative workforce is a workforce where everyone is contributing and involved to the best of his/her ability. It is a fine balance to achieve that while being able to lead the group to success. A creative workforce is a workforce, which as shown in nature - is resilient while flexible, adaptative / adaptive and has the ability to nurture growth and evolution.

Some of the activities that correlate to building creative workforce could involve language, music and art and the ability to co-create. Such activities would involve creating together, listening, ...supporting each other, leading for creation.

Characteristic of great leaders according to JK Galbraith

2010-12-25T10:08:00.000-08:00

All of thegreat leaders have had one characteristic in common: it was the willingness toconfront unequivocally the major anxiety of their people in their time. This,and not much else, is the essence of leadership.

~JohnKenneth Galbraith

Krishnamurti - being what we are

2010-09-22T08:09:00.000-07:00

"Don't you see, it is really an extraordinary thing that you are so afraid to be what you are.; because beauty lies in being what you are. If you see that you are lazy, that you are stupid and if you understand laziness and come face to face with stupidity without trying to change it into something else, then in that state you will find there is an enormous release, there is great beauty, there is great intelligence."

Think on these things - chapter: The attentive mind
In response to the question: "Why do I hate myself when I don't study"

Cross-cultural awareness, competences and other related jargon. Training ideaS

2010-09-17T04:55:00.000-07:00

I am reproducing an interesting article about cross cultural training... It presents simply what is quite simple. Which is 1000 times better than what most so called expert do: making something simple complicate and trying to make sound simple the resulting complexities. None of this here. Thanks to the author whose website is mentioned below:

Terminology within the cross cultural communications field can sometimes be baffling to those reading the literature, websites or promotional material. Many ask what is the difference between 'intercultural' and 'cross cultural'? What is 'cross cultural awareness' as opposed to 'cross cultural knowledge' or, are 'cultural sensitivity' and 'cultural competence' the same thing?

With a view to clarifying some of the above mentioned terminology, this article will examine terms used in relation to building cross cultural understanding within the business world.Cross cultural understanding simply refers to the basic ability of people within business to recognise, interpret and correctly react to people, incidences or situations that are open to misunderstanding due to cultural differences.

The fundamental intention of cross cultural training is to equip the learner(s) with the appropriate skills to attain cross cultural understanding.Once the foundations of cross cultural understanding have been laid, the learner(s), either through continued training or experiences within the workplace, gradually attains a more acute appreciation of cultural differences.

The different types of appreciation are cross cultural knowledge, cross cultural awareness, cross cultural sensitivity and cross cultural competence. Although all the terms may appear similar in meaning, subtle differences exist between them.'Cross Cultural Knowledge' is critical to basic cross cultural understanding. Without it cross cultural appreciation cannot take place. It refers to a surface level familiarization with cultural characteristics, values, beliefs and behaviours.'Cross Cultural Awareness' develops from cross cultural knowledge as the learner understands and appreciates a culture internally. This may also be accompanied by changes within the learner's behaviour and attitudes such as a greater flexibility and openness.'Cross Cultural Sensitivity' is a natural by-product of awareness and refers to an ability to read into situations, contexts and behaviours that are culturally rooted and be able to react to them appropriately. An suitable response necessitates that the actor no longer carries his/her own culturally determined interpretations of the situation or behaviour (i.e. good/bad, right/wrong) which can only be nurtured through both cross cultural knowledge and awareness.

'Cross Cultural Competence' is and should be the aim of all those dealing with multicultural clients, customers or colleagues. 'Competence' is the final stage of cross cultural understanding and signifies the actor's ability to work effectively across cultures. Cross cultural competency is beyond knowledge, awareness and sensitivity in that it is the digestion, integration and transformation of all the skills and information acquired through them, applied to create cultural synergy within the workplace.

Thanks for this valuable article taken from the following web http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/cultural-services/articles/cross-cultural-understanding.html

What seems to me is the importance of appreciation. The practice of appreciation is what will help seeing the intention beyond and connecting with what is really good in every thing. Culture is often the make up for wanting to do things properly. Because of the general positive inclination of any culture, this very trait is often used and abused by groups of people wanting to draw power and benefit from society - either by their position or by their business or practices. That is how culture or cultural features become degenerative - ie they lose their meaning and become mere instrument of power or control -. This is obvious in some rituals - often religious rituals whose meaning is lost - or some table manners - where to put our hands or forks or knife, whether using hands or not etc... -

A deep training directions would be look very seriously for as many reasons as possible why a behavior A is good and why its opposite A- is also good. Practicing that. Then practicing that on our personal top 10 of what we believe is right - right in business relationship - right at home - right with children - right with friend.

Then the same should be practice with someone else list. Before that, the "someone else" list should be "de-personnalised" ie it should be re-written by someone else (who would read it though) and following that, it should be placed in a box for someone else to pick it up randomely.

This technique would enhance the practice of appreciation, detachment, distinguishing between person and the behaviour. It would help de-personnalise issues while bringing to light the purest intentions (the top ten of what is right). It could create an "arch" of understanding - well above persons, ego and behaviours - under the light of pure intention and universal values, where we all stand equal and united.

Quite a high aim and surely an interesting training session.

Open space facilitation

2010-09-04T20:50:00.000-07:00

Great, authentic sharing about practical 'Open space' facilitation:

Open space technology is an ‘innovation’ that has been created to provide a forum for development stakeholder interaction. It works by breaking away from the stilted western influenced ‘one-man shows’ where an ‘expert’ occupies a position of power, usually on a raised dais with, the others sitting in a square or semi triangular shape below him. In open space there is no boss and the no real rules of interaction. The format is meant to ensure everyone is able to interact with everyone else.

First the people sit in a circle.

There is a minimum of ceremony. The gathered people start by identifying the key issues that have brought them together. If several issues are identified then the circle will break into several smaller circles to discuss each of them and suggest solutions. A closing circle will later be created to bring all this input together. Everybody who wants to speak has a chance to do so. There are no titles here, no affectations and no honorifics. The cleaner sits shoulder to shoulder with the manager and the driver surprises everybody by her well reasoned and animated contributions. It is amazing how much openness and trust this simple but powerful tool brings.

Open space technology was created by Owen Hanson in the 1980’s as a methodology for conducting meetings. He acknowledges that, in developing the methodology, he was influenced by ‘his experience of life in an African village.’

http://nkahihu.wordpress.com/

Learning and facilitation. How to learn? How to teach? How to reach

2010-09-04T20:41:00.000-07:00

It seems to me: learning how to teach is learning how to reach

I am impressed by the following metaphor when it comes to learning, reaching and reaching out: infusion / waiving. In future posts, I will elaborate on the analogies between these seemingly very different fields.

Infusion:
how to let a subject infuse? penetration, penetrability, diffusion, time and space of contact, mixing without disturbing, blending, getting the flavor, getting the essence...
Pictures below can help relate and bring us a little step further in elaborating a clearer notion of an "infusion-based learning and facilitation"

Waiving

The long process(es) - creating thread, dying, weaving, the shuttle, going up and down, the science involved (it is very exact in a way - it goes thread by thread - and if not exact, it will look awkward) , the long, gruesome, time-consuming practice of it and how it is learnt (passed on from mother to daughter - as some form of apprenticeship - and how it often reflects on someone's maturity level or level of preparedness - like in the case of a young bride who is completing her own work or tapestry, or as a matter of fact it could be batik though batik is not about weaving).

Buckminster Fuller in the Critical Path is making explicit allusion to weaving patterns of South East Asia and those weaving patterns that use tri-angular weaving (three points of contacts which make the pattern almost indestructible).

Cross-Cultural Managment - Various concept and approaches

2010-09-04T02:59:00.000-07:00

Cross-Cultural Management - Various concept and approaches
As part of our usual methodology, we explore the immediately-available material on the subject.
We try to cross a few approaches, from which we get a bigger picture understanding
We are then able to articulate what we believe is key to our own approach - namely the dimension of appreciation inter-linked with the various dimensions of communication especially listening, silence and questioning.

Below are some parts of the first step: understanding various approaches...

Cross-Cultural Management:A Knowledge Management Perspective

Description

Cross-Cultural Management, A Knowledge Management Perspective forges a break with the concept of culture that has dominated management thinking, education and research for several decades. Culture rather than being presented as a source of difference and antagonism, is presented as a form of organisational knowledge that can be converted into a resource for underpinning core competence.

"If books are to be judged on the effect that they have on the thought processes of the reader Professor Holden's book is outstanding. This book will provide both a valuable theoretical underpinning and many insights that will move the study of cross-cultural management and knowledge management into the age of the knowledge economy - an achievement that will pay dividends both to researchers and practitioners for many years to come."

Prof Anthony Wensley, Associate Professor of Information Systems, University of Toronto

Features

Criticises cross-cultural management studies for being dependent on traditional concepts of culture that are too detached from the everyday cross-cultural aspects of knowledge sharing, networking and organisational learning in the global economy.
Proposes a new notion of culture based on the modern corporate world in which undergraduates, postgraduates and managers will work.
Suggests new boundaries and directions for cross-cultural management education and research.

Table of Contents
PART 1: ANTHROPOLOGY S AWKWARD LEGACY TO THE MANAGER'S WORLD 1. Culture: the specious scapegoat 2. The anthropologist's legacy 3. Some consequences of culture's consequences 4. Navigating knowledge management 5. Towards culture as an object of knowledge management PART 2: CASE STUDIES: MAKING SENSE OF CULTURE FROM A KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE 6. Case study 1: Novo Nordisk: cross-cultural management as facilitation 7. Case study 2: Matsushita Electric: A learning history 8. Case study 3: LEGO: transferring identity knowledge 9. Case study 4: Sulzer Infra: creating one winning team PART III: REDESIGNING CROSS-CULTURAL MANAGEMENT AS A KNOWLEDGE DOMAIN 11. Language: management's lost continent 12. The cross-cultural management and the translation of common knowledge 13. Cross-cultural management: synergies for participative competence Glossary

Back Cover

Prof Anthony Wensley, Associate Professor of Information Systems, University of Toronto

"By positing that cross-cultural management is a form of knowledge management, he broadens and reinvigorates the entire subject area at a stroke. Researchers, practitioners and consultants are supplied with an array of new concepts, models and insights and , to some extent, a new language - all of which have been long overdue. For the foreseeable future this will be the leading book on cross-cultural management."

Prof Dr Gerhard Fink, Director of the REsearch Institute for European Affairs and Chairman of the Faculty of Business at the Vienna University of Economics and Business Administration

"Holden's book is a milestone in the development of cross-cultural management. It represents a conceptual shift in the field, one that many have been waiting for, redesigning cross-cultural management as a knowledge domain. These new concepts will become references for practitioners as well as for researchers and trainers. In the academic world, where cross-cultural management is more and more to the forefront, no-one can afford not to have read this book."

Marie-Therese Claes, ICHEC Brussels, Business School and Catholic University of Louvain

Cross-Cultural Management: A Knowledge Management Perspective forges a break with the concept of culture that has dominated management thinking, education, and research for several decades. Culture, rather than being presented as a source of difference and antagonism, is presented as a form of organisational knowledge that can be converted into a resource for underpinning core competence.

FEATURES and BENEFITS: " Focuses on 'cross-cultural interdependence' rather than tradititional views of comparative differences and similarities between cultures thereby suggesting new boundaries and directions for cross-cultural management education, research and practice for students and managers for years to come.

Key to the text are four case studies of global companies which analyse rarely observed, yet everyday issues for organisations within the global economy- cross-cultural communication behaviour.
" Supplies models and a glossary of terms to clarify the new concepts which ally cross-cultural management with knowledge management, providing an accessible, learning-oriented student and manager resource.

Nigel Holden holds visiting professorships at the Vienna School of Economics and Business Administration, the Leiden University School of Management and the Kassel International Management School. He was formerly Professor of Cross-Cultural Management at Copenhagen Business School. He has wide international experience as a management educator, researcher and consultant and has been a keynote speaker at academic and business conferences in the UK, various EU countries and the USA.

http://www.pearson.ch/1471/9780273646808/Cross-Cultural-Management-A.aspx

George Smoot on the design of the universe | Video on TED.com

2010-07-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

It was said that Buckminster Fuller understood the architecture of the Universe. I take it to mean that he had a perception of how Universe of Nature organized itself, and continues to organize itself. And here is a guy sharing about the design of the Universe. This should be interesting, I haven't not watched this yet while posting this blog

George Smoot on the design of the universe Video on TED.com

Being childlike - a life of promise and efforts - Learning with Joy

2010-07-03T23:45:00.000-07:00

30 April 2009 and 10 May 2009

An important part of myself has been, ... an important part of my life has been to keep in touch with some precious childhood memories.

These are not really the usual childhood memories, like Christmas, parties, holidays or even people. These are more like impressions - lasting impressions. My problem has been to be able to express them. Even understanding, or 'locating' them has proven difficult. In fact precisely because of this difficulty to understand or to locate them, the ability to express them and share them has been greatly impaired... like limited.

Today, I think that a conscious decision, an important, deep decision that somehow I - or something in me - took, was to remain faithful to these impressions and somehow bring them to life.

***********

A lot of my professional, entrepreneurial life has been determined - like led - by that desire and that 'implicit' decision. In fact - it seems - my professional life became about that:

bringing to life and getting in touch with strong, lasting child / child-like feelings

Only recently - I would say these days, do I start to learn more and approach these feelings closer again.

What are they? Whom are there? The taste of the mango lies in tasting it - words are at loss. Only today is society more willing to invest and investigate into these... Early childhood development, children feelings and intelligences are being studied with a more open mind.

In this 'conflict' or 'tension' between the growing human being and the child, it is often the growing human - more specifically the adult - already grown up - that will look at and judge the child, it is often the growing human - more specifically the adult - already grown up, that will look at and judge the child.

Shall the adults' views prevail over any other? In fact are there been even any others? Rare are the instances in our modern world. The Little Prince stands out in his confinement and solitude. Far away in history are the stories or the representation of child-king, in ancient Egypt or during the Khmer kingdom.

In a world designed for the adults to WIN, shall we be surprised that little be made to uncover what is it that the child has and the adult not?

I am not saying that children should win nor that education is a fallacy and responsibility a mirage. I am giving my best at becoming an educated, responsible adult. But where so many of us, so often fail, isn't it worth to turn back and look at the whole equation differently?

1- What can we learn from children? Is there anything that adult can learn from children?
2- When it seems that from birth the fragile infant 's life is suspended into the adults' hands - primarily the mother and father - is that that children can only take and adults give?
3-Besides love and gratitude is there anything that we adult can receive and our children give?
4- If one has to admit that yes adults will have to win, does that mean a contrario that children must lose? Above the all too common scheme of domination, dependence, sometimes contend and humiliation or their reverse - adoration and glorification - is there another path of win-win openness, education and inclusion?

In view of the multiple talents deployed by our children, the world of adults is put into question...

a/ Yes - no 5 years old created the atomic bomb or the space shuttle or the compass or the chopsticks... Nonetheless if a comparison is possible by any standards the field of possibility for each man seem to shrink with years for most.

The smart student becomes a great professor, the dynamic teenager becomes a successful businessman, the playful boy a talented architect etc... a great violinist, scientist, sportsman...at most. And for most of us, an employee, a staff, a clerk, a worker, a farmer, ...There is absolutely no shame in this status, positions, occupations... And for sure they can be the subject of much pride and accomplishment.

Just that the spectrum of resources being used, the intensity of efforts and the depth of progress being made seem to pale when you compare how much is between achieved between 0 to 6 and 7 to 77. Isn't it? Maybe it could become the subject for new researches for people who have the time and money...

b/ Another reason why we question the world of adults and its traditionally accepted dominance over the world of children is the blatant failure - and irresponsibility - the lies, the perversity that seem to pervade every level and every aspects of the adult's society

Since my daughter was born, besides becoming - maybe - a subject of pride for a loving father - she also become a subject of wonder, such wonder as I encounter with any infant: I cannot help but wondering at the great efforts - inhuman for us adults it seems - over-human efforts my daughetr is making to ajust herself to her new environment and world: conquering, managing space, time, langage, food, objects.... She goes through all those previously unknown dimensions at high speed, overcoming all obstacles one after the other.

Besides signals of pain and absolute needs, she is only smile and laugh. There is an immense sense of enterprise. What drives her?

Conformity and to be totally free from comparison

2010-07-03T05:56:00.000-07:00

Conformity and to be totally free from comparison

When there is absolute freedom from any form of comparison
When within I evolve - I am without any fear - the slightest fear of not being this or that - I is - freely and creatively.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7G-7-ZiiM-o

habits and getting stunned

2010-07-03T03:58:00.000-07:00

We would rather get stunned than fully alive.
We would rather get absorbed into a non-activity: often reading a newspaper, watching TV, certain discussions - rather than to open to something real about using our mind.
We would rather fall back into habits - old habits, or new ones - than really - courageously - think.
Do we think about it? Do we?
Krishnamurthi - on this road - left footprints one may well follow - though they - his footprints - do not lead anywhere else than our own somewhere sometimes...

Governmental or non-profit organizations typically include a specific perspective at the top of their strategy map

2010-06-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

http://www.activestrategy.com/strategy_execution/strategy_mapping.aspx
Without a strategy map, many companies expend endless hours planning a strategy, then falter at deploying, communicating, and executing it properly. Strategy mapping is a proven way to turn the complex and
often inaccessible strategic plan into an interactive, visual roadmap for the plan's successful execution.
A good strategy map is:
- A simple, visual depiction of key parts of current strategic plan
- A way of grouping your highest-level objectives by areas, or "perspectives"
- Comprised of objectives that indicate your desired outcomes
- An explanation of cause and effect relationships
- What creates the foundation for good scorecards and effective strategy execution

Making the Perspectives Fit Your Organization The example above uses the "traditional" perspectives described by Drs. Kaplan and Norton (Financial, Customer, Internal, Learning and Growth). Your organization may require more or different perspectives
to accurately represent all of your stakeholders. For example, hospitals often add a "Clinical Quality" perspective, while governmental or non-profit organizations typically include a
"Constituent Outcomes" perspective at the top of their strategy map, and often move the "Financial" perspective to the bottom, since profits are not the ultimate goal, but rather provide the resources to meet their missions.

Strategic mapping

2010-06-23T05:10:00.000-07:00

In the process of working on a strategic planning exercise for a client, the idea and somehow the need to using something I called "strategic mapping" came up. I then realised - as often - that I had not created something new and that there were already (available) various concept of "strategic mapping". Now I do not feel compelled to forget my initial intentions, and bow to previous thoughts from other consultants. Instead I feel I can learn extra stuff from them while being true and honest to my initial intentions and ideas.
Ludo's initial idea and intention: out of a strategic planning exercise, it seems essential to me to offer an authentic approach to dialog, meaningful dialog, the art and science of conversation. True to that spirit, no strategic thrust can emerge without allowing a meaningful, open, authentic appreciation of what is emerging... various trends, directions, positions, ..... Because it is open, mutli-directional, across section, acros hierarchy and power-structure, a map seems a good way to capture the complexity and the multi-levels of views and perceptions involved... therefore, and quite naturally, a map is to a plan what strategic mapping is to strategic planning.

Now, below some is some introductory info on strategic mapping according to other organisations:.
The information is taken from various websites following a rapid search

taken from http://www.idiagram.com/
What they say: in "The Art of the Strategic Conversation* "
The images we create are tools for catalyzing creative and expansive conversations while keeping those conversations grounded in the reality of the situation.
By literally mapping out the details of your technology, marketplace, strategy, etc. we can give you and your team the opportunity to step back and see better:
see things more clearly
see the big picture
see things together
see things differently

A good strategic map and the process of bringing people together in constructive dialog, can help your team grapple with the complex, various, and difficult issues that are impeding your progress.

Navigating the future without a good map can be difficult and dangerous: difficult to see where you are, and at risk you won't get where you want to go. A good map can help reveal your strategic reality and thus position you to create the future you want. As a tool for generating meaningful conversation and clearer communication, a good map can generateunderstanding and insight, agreement and action.

Another organisation:

taken from http://cdn.information-management.com/

Outdoor education - field of interest to share at the MOE conference

2010-06-17T15:34:00.000-07:00

It is time to submit a list of topics for which I will be keen to share and speak at the MOE outdoor education.
Though I never thought of specialising in outdoor education, I have been running hundreds and hundreds of outdoor training programs - many teambuildings and many camps. I created most programs and I had to adapt to many and many various types of situations, people, environment,.... I cannot help but wanting to contribute. I believe one the interesting aspect I am able to contribute is the freshness and innocence directly at the source of our designs. Our delivery is dictated by a strong, imperious need to engage everybody which means: every body should want to play and every body could and would. Last, learning should be a natural outcome - hence the idea of facilitation: (facil is french means easy - to facilitate is to make things easier: to support learning because learning is there, ready to be picked up... like a fruit when it is ripe or when the chick gets out of the shell and the mum gently helps breaking the shell).

"Natural" learning is something I should expand on.... I believe it is something many people do not get - or totally undervalue - and it is not their fault... there is a major drift in our modern societies between our natural abilities to learn and where "modern" education is bringing us, a drift to where and how learning really takes place and where our schools are leading us.

Now outdoor education is just one among the many ways to help us deal with the question of learning but it is a powerful one. Personnally, outdoors have always been an attraction because there is something "wholistic" when it comes to being outdoors. In no any order, I am listing below some of the reasons why I think so:

1- outdoors, the body - not just the mind - is part of the experience: how you walk, run, jump, hang on to something (or not)... etc... it all makes a difference. It matters and cannot be left aside as opposed to purely mind-based form of questioning. How the body gets engaged - in itself - should lead to much discussion. In particular we could start a reflexion on action - engagement - being. A funny - but essential way - to look at it: we all know Rodin's sculpture: "The thinker". Question: is the thinker really thinking? Or is he simply bored? German philosopher Nietzsche was saying (and I got this quote quoted by a famous jazzman - which is in itself significant): "Only thoughts that come as we walk are valuable thoughts (worth considering)"

2- outdoors there is no way but thinking about space and dealing with space and managing space... This is essentials when I see all too often how poorly human beings plan and manage and deal with their own space, their personnal space, their learning space, the private or public space. Learning to acknowledge and deal with space... a capital value.... missed, forgotten, ignored...

Now, what are the implications in terms of OE? There are important and relate in my opinion to a mature audience in the first place: dealing with space is about planning and about developing the ability to see through (helicopter view, mapping things, strategising). To reach to this stage, OE has many steps to cover, starting from the basics: dealing with groups, dynamics of groups, organising camps, to the more advanced: facilitating learning (creating learning space, learning climate, learning tools...).

Here the whole question of learning space can be looked at as the question of dealing with learning ecologies. Each outdoor speciality (outdoor sports and activities) offers a specific learning eco-system, with its idiosyncrasies and its richness. Much education can be derived from there. It needs to be looked into behind the technical aspects, but rather, focusing on what can be more universal and/or relate to behavior, skills and attitude. Of course the technical aspects should be kept and integrated within the bigger picture.

Practically, it could mean looking at building curriculum and lesson plans to train the trainers in the relevant aspects.

3- outdoors and dealing with what is free. The greatest tragedy of our modern world(s) is to have lost touch with the magnificence of what is given and provided to us by Nature and the Creator (in a non-religious sense). Sun, air, water to start with. The very tenets of life are so so taken for granted that we ignore them, we even blame them for most things and we hide and cut ourselves from them. As we do so, the very first thing we should have - gratitude (a with it a sense of love, appreciation, humility, acceptance and the whole gamut of values that build proper attitude, skills and character) - is replaced by a sense of loss, frustration, fear and any opposite to what makes life easy, simple and enjoyable (complexities, negative emotions, ...). Of course, outdoor education in relation to THAT (capita letter because THAT = NATURE = outdoors in this context) teaches about freedom and dealing with freedom as human beings, ie the choice we have to make to find our place in this grand scheme of things and in our lives. OE has a role to play in helping

a- develop a sense of appreciation of nature, leading to respect, care etc...
b- connect the physical reality to the meta-physical reality (our dependancy) and highlight/extract from there the set of values people and society need to adhere to to live live fully, happily, together in peace.(courage, tolerance, patience, determination, collaboration, sharing, listening, and hundreds and hundreds more ....)

In other words, OE has a big role to play in dispensing value-based education

4- As a consequence, outdoors teach us about the essential distinction between NEEDS and WANTS. There is no WANTS in the Nature, there are only needs. Another way to put it is that outdoor education is very strong at reminding us all the time that what we want is only possible to the extent that the circonstance, nature, the weather, the geography allow it.

What about NEEDS AND WANTS is essential for any of us? People, we - are running around crazily talking about what we want to do. Our society has created so many wants so that millions of products can be sold, that we have become consuming machine driven by our wants. That - as early as 1930's how Ford was describing his philosophy of mass-production for mass-marketing. Today, even higher education is using the tricks and selling MBAs to any bored executive in its 30's. As professor, author and educationist Mintzberg puts it in one of his book, let's look for "Managers, not MBAs". It is not about what we have but what we do. We need people with the right values and qualities to run our business and institutions: ideals vs greed, patience vs rushing for quick gain, support of the people vs political backfiring etc....

How do we get OUT of the "wanting" zone? How do we learn about something different? Can we "de-condition" ourselves - after 20, 30, 40 years of exposure to a world bombarded with advertising, malls, commercials, fast food, fast cars, fast relationships, fast jobs... What else do we need to learn? How?

OE puts us in touch with nature and nature has the built-in ability to teach about needs, about reality, real causes and real consequences.... The practical implications are many and very powerful and of great consequences:

a- What does a human being really needs to survive: basics of food, body care and personal hygiene, human inter-personal skills so that I can live peacefully with my peers, intra-personal skills so that I remain a healthy, positive individual?
b- to live, play and enjoy: meanings, purposes of being together in a group or a society, role of rules, punishments, rewards, duties
c- connecting back to our natural learning abilities: what am I good at? what do I really enjoy doing? How do I see myself growing? What is my voice (See the Eigth Discipline by Cowey), my vocation, my destiny?

In Singapore context, any of these issues are highly relevant and can be discussed either in a broad context or in very specific, detailed manner.

Outdoor education - "The curious garden" - what does that mean?

2010-06-17T14:19:00.000-07:00

Thinking about the 4 objectives stated for the 4th outdoor education conference 2010 in Singapore.
As a prelude to sharing more specific, personal thoughts:

1- to explore how outdoor education (OE) can enhance the holistic development of Singapore students as part of the curriculum and/or co-curricular activity programmes
2- to encourage the design and delivery of quality OE programmes through the sharing of best practices...
3- to examine the role of research in the delivery of quality OE programmes in schools through sharing of research findings
4 - to establish an international network through the sharing of knowledge and best practices by academics, educators, service providers and others interested in he field

Edward De Bono - Atlas of Management Thinking

2010-05-24T06:12:00.000-07:00

'I believe that in 100 years' time people will look back with incredulity at the primitive nature of our thinking today'

Recommended reading:
This is the first book to be written deliberately for the right side of the reader's brain.

Research work on the brain has suggested that our usual thinking, dominated by language and logic, takes place in the left side of the brain. The right side of the brain works in images, whole patterns and undefined feelings - all of which cannot be verbalised. This non-verbal type of thinking often works as what is loosely called 'intuition'.

Verbal descriptions of complex management situations are necessarily lodged in the left side of the brain. In order for us to be able to use the right side of the brain we need a repertoire of non-verbal images. That is precisely what this book sets out to provide. The images provided by drawings in this book enrich the perceptual map of the executive. The images allow him to add some right-brain thinking to his usual left-brain thinking. This makes it easier for the executive to recognise situations in a flash instead of having to build them up piecemeal.

Atlas of Management Thinking is another of Edward de Bono's pioneering books, and has become a standard work for anyone concerned with the management of decision making.

With this book as your guide, you pay keener attention to thinking as a skill and gain a clear perception of your surrounding. It is written specifically to stimulate the right -- intuitive -- side of your brain, the side that deals with the abstract and is not logical. Dr de Bono illustrates, then clearly and descriptively defines and gives examples of a vast array of business terms.

Intro to Robert Fritz and his ideas

2010-04-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

Discovering Robert Fritz and his ideas. I guess the next best thing I could do is to read his book "The Path of Least Resistance"

Tension seeks resolution

A basic principle found throughout nature is this: Tension seeks resolution. From the spiderweb to the human body, from the formation of the galaxies to the shifts of continents, from the swing of pendulums to the movement of wind-up toys, tension-resolution systems are in play.

'I call the relationship between the vision and current reality structural tension. During the creative process, you have an eye on where you want to go, and you also have an eye on where you currently are.

There will always be structural tension in the beginning of the creative process, for there will always be a discrepancy between what you want and what you have. Why? Because creators bring into being creations that do not yet exist. Structural tension is a fundamental principle in the creative process. In fact, part of your job as a creator is to form this tension.'

From 'Creating' by Robert Fritz
http://www.robertfritz.com/index.php?content=principles

Ghost in the Machine

2010-03-01T07:43:00.000-08:00

Rene Descartes, a seventeenth-century French scientist and philosopher proposed the concept of dualism in view of the mind and the brain. Descartes viewed the brain as an organic substance whereas the mind was a mysterious cloud of consciousness. The theory was later dubbed as the Ghost in the Machine. The analogy came from the idea that the carbon based machine we call the human body is operated by a nebulous mind that is not rooted in the material world. The question then lies on how do thoughts, ideas, feelings and emotions materialize into reality and impact our life on a daily basis.

The average person has approximately 50,000 to 70,000 thoughts a day which means that a thought is generated every second of our waking life. The world we create begins in a place where we seldom venture due to many reasons. Fear, anxiety, ignorance and apathy could all substantiate our belief in why we should not tread in the domain of the mind. The thoughts that spring up every second most often try to convince our body into believing that the rule of life revolves around fight or flight. We have conditioned our nervous system to react to the external environment instead of creating our reality from within.

The bio-skeletal body seeks to satisfy its needs through addiction that is rooted in thought. Present day situations around the world clearly indicate that the majority of the thoughts that past through the mind are manifested into a reality that begins in negativity. A higher consciousness seeks to address what the lower reptilian brain does not. Though the brain is equipped with a driver, we fail to realize that its on auto pilot heading down into a chasm that we choose to ignore.

Movement throughout history has its beginning through collective consciousness. When the majority of the populace believes that a brighter future lies in their hands, it sets the stage for change. Change begins with individuals who bypass the fear generated by the lower brain and seek to enlighten the mind with possibilities. E=mc2, Mona Lisa, iMac, Space Shuttle Discovery all began with a thought that was harvested from the courage of great men and women. Unlimited great thoughts are waiting to be materialized into our world, one that is seeking an answer to our survival.

Knowing that our thoughts create our reality, how do we rein in our mind when its bucking like a wild horse and nurture it to choose a path of unlimited potential. A simple 10-step solution will not suffice in this ongoing battle. A concentrated effort must be utilized. A process that can bring us nearer to our optimum latent capabilities resides in ideas that will only become visible through our genuine desire for positive change.

Read the Manual

The deluge of information in this century more often confuses and desensitizes the recipient. Over stimulation has created a stressed out society ready to engage in battle on any front. The office, home, countries, earth, all have become battlefields for this. The seeker of truth has to sieve through mountains of information only to be faced with an onslaught of theories, concepts and coping strategies.

If we believe that we have a say in our life, there should then be a manual that gives us an understanding of how the outer world affects our inner reality. The manual is stylized and personalized by the owner himself. He decides on how his life should be. However beyond the uniqueness of the individual lies a constant desire to reach that place of understanding, the owner needs to be aware of how he operates in this world.

Awareness begins by listening to your thoughts and making the realization that they have an affect on your life. Take note of the thoughts that go through you every day. Separate the thoughts that have potential for your growth and those that might cause your downfall. Understanding your own unique manual and mode of operation through your thoughts will steer you towards the life you desire.

Being in the Moment

Life is constantly created in the present. However the past and future intertwine into a mangle that we constantly relive. Getting out from its clutches begins by being still. The eye of a hurricane is where stillness resides compared to the chaos that surrounds it. Take time to be still and let the chaos surrounding you subside. A hurricane loses its energy as it goes further inland and like life, grounding oneself increases your tenacity to survive the chaos that surrounds you. Take time everyday to meditate or just reconnect with yourself through observing your breath. Every breath we take is an opportunity to create a life we desire and reminds oneself of the beauty of life.

Focus on Infinite Growth

Like the bamboo whose beginning might be slow and arduous, once it reaches its potential it climbs toward the heavens in leaps and bounds. Research has shown that the mind and the brain have infinite potential and capabilities. We have yet to utilize even a fraction of what it holds. With our endless stream of thoughts, we are capable of attaching and rooting it down to be manifested into reality. Begin your day by affirming your worthy thoughts and declare your intention to grow as a person. Chart your own growth in all areas of your life and address the areas that are stagnating.

Decide on Life

The negative mindset that we unknowingly cultivate siphons away the very life we are trying to build. The choices we make in life have an affect on our future generations and not taking responsibility for our actions will accumulate in suffering in the future. Question yourself; are you are existing or living in this world right now. What constitutes a life and what does that life resemble? We seldom ignore the fact that we are not making full use of our gifts to create change but succumb to the dreary idea that we have no choice in life. Make a choice today to Live.

Expect a Struggle

Going back to an undesirable routine and self-destructive habits is always a way out from pain. The comfort of knowing that there is a safe place that we can go back to prevents us from reaching the other side of the bridge. When the moment seems unbearable, we source for alternatives to take the pain away, even though the methods we use inflict more pain than we realize. The struggle with the Gremlins in our mind will always be there and expect that it will be a continuous battle. The negative self talk at times seems more favorable without taking a step back to reflect on the consequences of the action.

The journey towards understanding the mind and its power begins with the desire to change and evolve. It’s a long road, filled with wonders and excitement and at times, pain and suffering. No matter what it brings, it’s a life lesson. Take control of the Ghost in the Machine.

Culture, Believes, Vision, Stories - Some thoughts and theories

2010-02-20T01:02:00.000-08:00

'A shared vision is not an idea...it is rather, a force in people's hearts...at its simplest level, a shared vision is the answer to the question 'What do we want to create?' Peter Senge

'Too many young people are being taught to give up their dreams before they have any experience attempting to pursue them'. Robert Fritz 'The Path of Least Resistance'

'It is not so much about to see what no one has seen before but to think what nobody has yet thought about that which everybody sees.' Schopenhauer

'We can no longer stand at the end of something we visualized in detail and plan backwards from that future. Instead we must stand at the beginning, clear in our mind, with a willingness to be involved in discovery... it asks that we participate rather than plan.' Margaret Wheatley and Kellner -Rogers.

'Positive images of the future are a powerful and magnetic force... They draw us on and energize us, give us courage and will to take on important initiatives. Negative images of the future also have a magnetism. They pull the spirit downward in the path of despair..' William James

'A belief is not a belief until you can visualize it, unless you can create a picture of it in your minds eye, especially if you have no doubts that reality can be - or is - possible.' Hedley Beare Aust Educationalist

'There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth - not going all the way, and not starting.' Buddha

'You see things and say 'Why'? But I see things and say 'Why not?' G.B Shaw

No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that created it. We need to see the world anew.' Albert Einstein

'If we always do what we've always done, we will get what we've always got.' Adam Urbanski

'Anecdotes, personal stories, reminiscences, like biblical parables, are the medium through which faith is restored. Stories are a form of poetry, and give us a saving image to personally relate to.' Peter Block Business Philosopher

"There are many definitions of organization culture. We view culture from the ideational perspective (Martin, 2000), and thus define it as the shared beliefs and values of members of an organization that provide meaning to and influence daily work life. Similar to Louis (1985) and Schein, (1992), we understand these beliefs and values affect work behavior in tacit and nuanced ways. These shared beliefs and values are expressed in organizational life through various more visible manifestations including business strategies, performance targets and metrics, management practices, formal and informal rules that govern behavior, traditions, stories and other symbols. While these different cultural expressions are based on the underlying beliefs and values (Schein, 1992), once established they serve to confirm and reinforce those beliefs and values. What results is forceful reciprocal chain of influence that resists disruption and change. We also do not view culture as a monolithic construct where all beliefs and values are shared strongly or entirely across the organization. Instead, we acknowledge that most large organizations are comprised of diverse sub-cultures. Yet we also believe that these sub-cultures share fundamentally similar ways of thinking about things and doing things that distinguish one organization culture from another." from Realigning Organization Culture for Optimal Performance: Six principles & eight practices
Organization Development Journal, Winter 2009 by Levin, Ira, Gottlieb, Jonathan Z

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa5427/is_200912/ai_n42858880/

From wiki

One of the strongest and widely recognised criticisms of theories that attempt to categorize or 'pigeonhole' organizational culture is that put forward by Linda Smircich. She uses the metaphor of a plant root to represent culture, describing that it drives organizations rather than vice versa. Organizations are the product of organizational culture, we are unaware of how it shapes behaviour and interaction (also recognised through Scheins (2002) underlying assumptions) and so how can we categorize it and define what it is? Organizational communication perspective on cultureThe organizational communication perspective on culture is divided into three areas:

Traditionalism: Views culture through objective things such as stories, rituals, and symbols
Interpretivism: Views culture through a network of shared meanings (organization members sharing subjective meanings)
Critical-Interpretivism: Views culture through a network of shared meanings as well as the power struggles created by a similar network of competing meanings
There are many different types of communication that contribute in creating an organizational culture:
Metaphors such as comparing an organization to a machine or a family reveal employees’ shared meanings of experiences at the organization.
Stories can provide examples for employees of how to or not to act in certain situations.
Rites and ceremonies combine stories, metaphors, and symbols into one. Several different kinds of rites that affect organizational culture:
Rites of passage: employees move into new roles
Rites of degradation: employees have power taken away from them
Rites of enhancement: public recognition for an employee’s accomplishments
Rites of renewal: improve existing social structures
Rites of conflict reduction: resolve arguments between certain members or groups
Rites of integration: reawaken feelings of membership in the organization
Reflexive comments are explanations, justifications, and criticisms of our own actions. This includes:
Plans: comments about anticipated actions
Commentaries: comments about action in the present
Accounts: comments about an action or event that has already occurred. Such comments reveal interpretive meanings held by the speaker as well as the social rules they follow.
Fantasy Themes are common creative interpretations of events that reflect beliefs, values, and goals of the organization. They lead to rhetorical visions, or views of the organization and its environment held by organization members.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizational_culture

Culture is represented in a group’s:

language,
decision making,
symbols,
stories and legends, and
daily work practices.

Dialogue, an activity that might well prove vital to the future health of our civilization. Dialogue and leadership

2010-01-19T07:12:00.000-08:00

Bohm Dialogue

"Dialogue resembles a number of other forms of group activity and may at times include aspects of them but in fact it is something new to our culture. We believe that it is an activity that might well prove vital to the future health of our civilization."

"...it is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces society, and indeed the whole of human nature and consciousness today. Moreover, it may turn out that such a form of free exchange of ideas and information is of fundamental relevance for transforming culture and freeing it of destructive misinformation, so that creativity can be liberated."

Dialogue and Leadership

A Dialogue is essentially a conversation between equals. Any controlling authority, no matter how carefully or sensitively applied, will tend to hinder and inhibit the free play of thought and the often delicate and subtle feelings that would otherwise be shared. Dialogue is vulnerable to being manipulated, but its spirit is not consistent with this.
Hierarchy has no place in Dialogue.
Nevertheless, in the early stages some guidance is required to help the participants realize the subtle differences between Dialogue and other forms of group process. At least one or, preferably two, experienced facilitators are essential. Their role should be to occasionally point out situations that might seem to be presenting sticking points for the group, in other words, to aid the process of collective proprioception, but these interventions should never be manipulative nor obtrusive.
Leaders are participants just like everybody else.
Guidance, when it is felt to be necessary, should take the form of "leading from behind" and preserve the intention of making itself redundant as quickly as possible.

some extract are from: http://www.david-bohm.net/dialogue/dialogue_proposal.html

Fragmentation of thought, overspecialisation ... Are we aware? and then? Deadliest poison in town!!

2010-01-19T07:02:00.000-08:00

A theme that is also dear to Buckminster Fuller - though maybe coming from a different perspective - though may be not... ;-) It is not indifferent that both Bohm and Buckminster come from the world of Science and both talk about higher level of conscienceness and the collective implication of raising to these... the individual is limited in scope and power, but the scope and power of what individuals can achieve together is de-multiplied when collaborative strategies are unveiled, unfolded and put into practice...

About fragmentation of thought: P359 - The Fifth Discipline Filedbook - Team Learning
"The theory of dialogue suggests that breakdown in the effectiveness of teams and organisations are reflective of a broader crisis in the nature of how human beings perceive the world. As a natural mechanism to develop meaning, people learn to divide the world into categories and distinctions into our thoughts. We then tend to become almost hypnotized by these distinctions, forgetting that we created them. "The economy is falling apart," or "The people are corrupt," becomes our reality, with a seemingly independent power over us.

... As Bohm has suggested, fragmentation of thought is like a virus that has infected every field of human endeavor. Specialists in most fields cannot talk accross specialties. Marketing sees production as the problem. Managers are told to "think", while workers are told to "act". Instead of reasoning together, people defend their "part", seeking to defeat others. If fragmentation is a condition of our times, then dialogue is one tentatively proven strategy for stepping back from the way of thinking which fragmentation produces."

Exploring thoughts and dialogue with David Bohm

2010-01-19T06:23:00.000-08:00

David Bohm's approach is meaningful to Peter Senge's theory of dialogue - in the section concerning team learning of the Fifth Discipline Fieldbook. As stated p359 of the Fieldbook: "As Bohm conceived it, dialogue would kindle a new mode of paying attention, to perceive - as they arose in conversation - the assumptions taken for granted, the polarization of opinions, the rules for acceptable and unacceptable conversation...the group would have to learn to watch or experience its own tacit process in action. Dialogue's purpose, as we now understand it, would create a setting where conscious collective mindfulness could be maintained." (inspired by Unfolding Meaning by David Bohm 1985)

David Bohm - on Meaning, Purpose and Exploration in Dialogue
(Extracted from a webpage - see below - where it had been edited with permission from tapes of an August, 1990 conversation)

Communication has been ailing in the human race for a long time and Dialogue is concerned with that. But the primary purpose of Dialogue is not to communicate. It is much deeper. It addresses the blocks in communication, not merely to understand them, but to meet them directly. It is aimed at seeing resistances to communication. In Dialogue we are ready to raise topics serious enough to cause trouble. But while we are talking we are interested in being aware of what's going on inside us and between us.
The word "dialogue" has many meanings and we are giving it a particular meaning. In this Dialogue we are not trying to make our points prevail or, if we are, we need to look at that. Our challenge is to see when each of us is trying to prevail, because if anybody prevails it means the dialogue has failed. Or, if we simply agree, the dialogue may also have failed because this means that we haven't gone deeply enough into the process or into the consciousness behind it. What begins to transform culture into something quite different is that ultimately the frustration or anger or rage or hatred that arises can lead to a crisis in which these feelings are transformed giving rise to impersonal fellowship - to thinking together and participating as if we were one body - by establishing a common consciousness. The group then becomes a kind of instrument of consciousness which can function differently.
It is essential to state the theory that this is what is possible. What I am saying is that a particular kind of dialogue is needed. But, as we talk together the question of what, if anything, its purpose is keeps arising. Sometimes we say that it should not have a purpose and sometimes we seem to say that it should. If we restrict the purpose too much it is clear we are going to be in trouble. None of the purposes is fixed because we find that as we go further into it the purpose begins to change; we discover a new purpose, and so on. So really, when we set a purpose, we set it only as a beginning, as a point of departure, not as a purpose we hold to. This is the crucial point. We may at any moment have to have a purpose, but we are not holding to that purpose. Purpose flows out of significance and value and that's what we're exploring. We expect that meaning is going to change through our learning as we go along and therefore purpose changes naturally.
In Dialogue or in our own meditation, or whatever, the attitude is one of exploration and emptiness - that is, not having fixed assumptions but rather an empty space where there is the possibility of exploring all sorts of things. This is a proposal for exploration. But even this is not final. It too has to be constantly open to exploration - seeing whether the proposal, as made, is coherent. In other words, we're not even saying exploration is the answer. The purpose is constantly changing and flowing out of the meaning.
But we can't give the meaning in a nutshell. If everybody knew the meaning, we wouldn't need the Dialogue. The dialogue is not aimed at settling anything. We explore meaning together - the creative perception of meaning - thinking together and feeling together. But meaning is active. It is not merely sitting there. The consideration of this meaning may act - or it may not. The whole point of having the Dialogue is that we're not trying to produce a result. That's very important. It may never do it. Or it may do it at some moment when we least expect it. The seed has been planted. And the meaning is naturally, spontaneously active and transformative.

http://www.david-bohm.net/dialogue/dialogue_exploration.html
Copyright © 1990 by Sarah Bohm
Use only with prior permission.

Some competencies for Learning Organisations

2010-01-14T00:38:00.001-08:00

•Some Core Competencies
–Personal Mastery
–Focusing on Mission & Vision
–Solving Problems
–Creating and Innovating
–Unleashing People Potential
–Performing as a team
–Using Heart skills
–Relationship Building
–Building partnerships

Inspiring quotes on Simplicity

2010-01-14T00:11:00.000-08:00

‘Understanding evolves through three phases : simplistic, complex and profoundly simple’

William Schutz, Profound Simplicity

‘It is very difficult to teach things that are obvious (and hence difficult to learn that which is simple) because the mind takes it for granted and wants to move on to something complicated which is presumed to be more valuable.
Because we understand something, we believe we practice it. Attention to the obvious (the simple), a deliberate effort to use that which is obvious can be effective’
Edward de Bono, The Happiness Purpose

‘Small changes can bring forth great results but these points of leverage are the least obvious’
Peter Senge, The Fifth Discipline

‘What is essential is invisible to the eye. It requires the heart to see it. ‘The gap between knowing and doing is the gap between the mind and the body.

What connects the mind and the body is the heart, the breath. Therefore, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart’

‘The skilful are not obvious. They appear simpleminded. They know the larger patterns. To know the patterns is the subtle power’
David R. Hawkins, M.D., Ph.D

‘We are so busy trying to prove that we are okay that we forget we are magnificent’
Gay Hendricks

‘Reality is always kinder than the stories we make about it’
Byron Katie, Loving What Is

Less is More and More is Less. Slowing down can enable us to speed up. Learn to see things upside down, backside front, inside out. Embrace paradoxes.

‘Appreciation allows depth, texture, dimension to life. Without appreciation, the world is flat. No fizz, no sparkle, no passion. To appreciate is to give life, to bestow being. Appreciation fosters connection and partnership’
Ron Bynum

Life comforts the disturbed, and disturbs the comfortable. The willingness to step out of the comfort zone simplifies life.

Learn to see how the rules of the game are shifting rapidly .. from the industrial age to the network age. The shift from Force to Power, from hierarchical organisations to hyper-linked ecologies, from the work ethic to the play ethic, from linear, sequential approaches to non-linear, quantum realities.
Learn to see. And see to learn.
The mantra is ‘Observe. Observe.Observe’

collected by Kiran Gulrajani - writen by Kiran as well when no other mention is made

Driving Simplicity

2010-01-14T00:05:00.000-08:00

The following work on the theme of Simplicity is the result of a co-creation between Kiran Gulrajani and myself. How to evolve your organisation from a culture of processes, initiatives, internal competition to an approach to things driven by SIMPLICITY. How to simplify?

Cultural Attribute: ENTREPRENEURIAL
Simplifier: EMBRACE PARADOXES
Slowing down can enable us to speed up

Cultural Attribute: ENTREPRENEURIAL
Simplifier: APPRECIATE THE NEW WORLD
Shift from Enforce to Empower

Cultural Attribute: PASSIONATE
Simplifier: CONTACT THE GREATNESS IN YOURSELF AND OTHERS
Authentically notice and appreciate your and other people’s strengths and contributions

Cultural Attribute: IN TOUCH
Simplifier: CONNECT THRU CONVERSATION
Shift from ‘advocacy’ to ‘enquiry’ by listening from the heart

Common sense - Something the world is lacking

2010-01-13T23:59:00.000-08:00

As Krugmans puts it - quoting Marvin Minsky " what people vaguely call common sense is actually more intricate than most of the technical expertise we admire." And Krugman adds: "it takes common sense to deal with the physical world - which is why , even at the end of the XX century, there are still no robot plumbers."

Multiple Intelligences in the context of education

2010-01-13T23:37:00.000-08:00

Below are some extracts that I hand picked from a book by Howard Gardner entitles Multiple Intelligence

Assessment and Beyond: Beyond Assessment: The Aims and Means of Education

“I have sought to provide some degree of focus by insisting on four elements:

(1) the goal of an education that is geared to understanding;

(2) a stress on the cultivation of performances of understanding, which can be assessed primarily in context;

(3) a recognition of the existence of different individual strengths; and

(4) a commitment to mobilize these productively in the education of each child.

To orchestrate these different elements into a seamless educational regimen is no mean task; but there are promising signs abroad that progress can be made, and that we can secure and education that celebrate our common heritage as human beings, the particular cultural backgrounds from which we come, and the ways in which each of us stands out as an individual”

(Page 207)

“Imagine an educational environment in which youngsters at the age of 7 or 8, in addition to – or perhaps instead of – attending a formal school, have the opportunity to enroll in a children’s museum, a science museum, or some kind of discovery center or exploratorium. As part of this educational scene, adults are present who actually practice the disciplines or crafts represented by the various exhibitions…”

(p 198)

“On the one hand, youngsters live in a time of unparalleled excitement, where even the less privileged are exposed daily to attractive media and technologies….

On the other hand, science museums and children’s museums have become the loci for exhibitions, activities, and role models drawn precisely from those domains that do engage youngsters….

If we are to configure an education for understanding, suited for the students of today and for the world of tomorrow, we need to take the lessons of museum and the relationship of the apprenticeship extremely seriously.”P 200

What kind of knowledge is required in schools

“It is in rich, situation-specific contexts that intelligences are typically and productively deployed.”

“The kind of knowledge required in workplaces and in one’s personal life usually involves collaborative, contextualized, and situation-specific thinking (Gardner, 1990; Resnick, 1987; Rogoff and Lave, 1984)”

“Schools do provide some group activities, but students are usually judged on their individual work. By contrast, in many social and occupational settings, one’s ability to communicate effectively and work productively with others is critical to a successful outcome.”

“A comprehensive effort to enhance a student’s “school intelligences” must address at least several factors:

- Conditions particular to the environment

- Students particular skills

- Measurement tools to measure achievements”

“Our underlying premise was that students who thrive in school need to learn, apply and integrate both academic knowledge about subject domains and practical knowledge about themselves, academic tasks and the school system at large.”

The infusion curriculum

“An infusion approach” rather than teaching students how to be practically intelligent in school through a separate “stand alone” set of lessons, we infuse these themes throughout the course of students’ daily work in the major subject matter areas or disciplines.”

The Practical Intelligence for School (PIFS) Projects

1- Choosing a project

a. “Understanding projects”

b. “Choosing a Project Appropriate to You”

c. “Planning a Project Appropriate to the Audience and Resources”

2- Principles

a. Practical intelligence skills are most fruitfully nurtured in domain-specific contexts

b. Taught concepts are most effectively implemented when used in service of a particular purpose

c. Students acquire knowledge best when it is related to their own sets of abilities and interests.

d. Practical intelligence skills are most powerfully integrated when presented in both scholastic and real-world contexts

e. Self-monitoring helps students to take responsibility for their own learning.

Evaluation of PIFS Units

1- Do students understand the issues addressed in the project and why they are important (Definitional component)

2- Task completion assessment as students are asked to either start or complete a task, or perhaps to work through a problem area (Task component)

3- Reflecting on the nature of the process or skills involved in the particular tasks. Students are asked to evaluate whether their performances were successful, and if not, how they could be revised or improved (metatask component) Approaching School Intelligently: Practical Intelligence at the Middle School Level: A New Conception of Intelligence (p121)

Assessment and Beyond:

“Rather than being imposed “externally” at odd times during the year, assessment ought to become part of the natural learning environment.”

“As much as possible it should occur “on the fly”, as part of an individual’s natural engagement in a learning situation. Initially, the assessment would probably have to be introduced explicitly; but after a while, much assessment would occur naturally on the part of student and teacher with little need for explicit recognition or labeling on anyone’s part. Assessment and Beyond: Assessment in context: the Alternative to Standardized Testing: General feature of a new approach to assessment

How to Achieve and Demonstrate Understanding

“Upon closer examination, it is clear that understandings can only be apprehended and appreciated if they are performed by a student”

“Students need to begin to “practice” these performances from the first days of class. And by the same token, students ought to become partners in the process of assessmsnet as soon as possible.”

“An individual is most likely to achive a satisfactory life – to make a contribution to society and gain self-esteem – if he or she finds vocational and avocational niches that complement his or her own aptitudes.” Beyond Assessment: The Aims and Means of Education

Conflict resolution 101

2010-01-05T23:43:00.000-08:00

The fact that conflict exists is not necessarily a bad thing: As long as it is resolved effectively, it can lead to personal and professional growth. Effective conflict resolution skills can make the difference between positive and negative outcomes.

Benefits:
Increased understanding: The discussion needed to resolve conflict expands people's awareness of the situation, giving them an insight into how they can achieve their own goals without undermining those of other people;
Increased group cohesion: When conflict is resolved effectively, team members can develop stronger mutual respect, and a renewed faith in their ability to work together; and
Improved self-knowledge: Conflict pushes individuals to examine their goals in close detail, helping them understand the things that are most important to them, sharpening their focus, and enhancing their effectiveness.

Understanding the Theory: Conflict Styles

In the 1970s Kenneth Thomas and Ralph Kilmann identified five main styles of dealing with conflict that vary in their degrees of cooperativeness and assertiveness. They argued that people typically have a preferred conflict resolution style. However they also noted that different styles were most useful in different situations.

Thomas and Kilmann's styles are:

1- Competitive: People who tend towards a competitive style take a firm stand, and know what they want. They usually operate from a position of power, drawn from things like position, rank, expertise, or persuasive ability. This style can be useful when there is an emergency and a decision needs to be make fast; when the decision is unpopular; or when defending against someone who is trying to exploit the situation selfishly. However it can leave people feeling bruised, unsatisfied and resentful when used in less urgent situations.

2- Collaborative: People tending towards a collaborative style try to meet the needs of all people involved. These people can be highly assertive but unlike the competitor, they cooperate effectively and acknowledge that everyone is important. This style is useful when a you need to bring together a variety of viewpoints to get the best solution; when there have been previous conflicts in the group; or when the situation is too important for a simple trade-off.

3- Compromising: People who prefer a compromising style try to find a solution that will at least partially satisfy everyone. Everyone is expected to give up something, and the compromiser him- or herself also expects to relinquish something. Compromise is useful when the cost of conflict is higher than the cost of losing ground, when equal strength opponents are at a standstill and when there is a deadline looming.

4- Accommodating: This style indicates a willingness to meet the needs of others at the expense of the person’s own needs. The accommodator often knows when to give in to others, but can be persuaded to surrender a position even when it is not warranted. This person is not assertive but is highly cooperative. Accommodation is appropriate when the issues matter more to the other party, when peace is more valuable than winning, or when you want to be in a position to collect on this “favor” you gave. However people may not return favors, and overall this approach is unlikely to give the best outcomes.

5- Avoiding: People tending towards this style seek to evade the conflict entirely. This style is typified by delegating controversial decisions, accepting default decisions, and not wanting to hurt anyone’s feelings. It can be appropriate when victory is impossible, when the controversy is trivial, or when someone else is in a better position to solve the problem. However in many situations this is a weak and ineffective approach to take.

Understanding The Theory: The "Interest-Based Relational Approach"

The second theory is commonly referred to as the "Interest-Based Relational (IBR) Approach". This conflict resolution strategy respects individual differences while helping people avoid becoming too entrenched in a fixed position.

In resolving conflict using this approach, you follow these rules:
Make sure that good relationships are the first priority: As far as possible, make sure that you treat the other calmly and that you try to build mutual respect. Do your best to be courteous to one-another and remain constructive under pressure;

Keep people and problems separate: Recognize that in many cases the other person is not just "being difficult" – real and valid differences can lie behind conflictive positions. By separating the problem from the person, real issues can be debated without damaging working relationships;

Pay attention to the interests that are being presented: By listening carefully you'll most-likely understand why the person is adopting his or her position;

Listen first; talk second: To solve a problem effectively you have to understand where the other person is coming from before defending your own position;

Set out the “Facts”: Agree and establish the objective, observable elements that will have an impact on the decision; and

Explore options together: Be open to the idea that a third position may exist, and that you can get to this idea jointly.

Using the process below to resolve the conflict:
Step One: Set the Scene
If appropriate to the situation, agree the rules of the IBR Approach (or at least consider using the approach yourself.) Make sure that people understand that the conflict may be a mutual problem, which may be best resolved through discussion and negotiation rather than through raw aggression.
If you are involved in the conflict, emphasize the fact that you are presenting your perception of the problem. Use active listening skills to ensure you hear and understand other’s positions and perceptions.
Restate
Paraphrase
Summarize
And make sure that when you talk, you're using an adult, assertive approach rather than a submissive or aggressive style.

Step Two: Gather Information
Here you are trying to get to the underlying interests, needs, and concerns. Ask for the other person’s viewpoint and confirm that you respect his or her opinion and need his or her cooperation to solve the problem.
Try to understand his or her motivations and goals, and see how your actions may be affecting these.
Also, try to understand the conflict in objective terms: Is it affecting work performance? damaging the delivery to the client? disrupting team work? hampering decision-making? or so on. Be sure to focus on work issues and leave personalities out of the discussion.
Listen with empathy and see the conflict from the other person’s point of view
Identify issues clearly and concisely
Use “I” statements
Remain flexible
Clarify feelings

Step Three: Agree the Problem
This sounds like an obvious step, but often different underlying needs, interests and goals can cause people to perceive problems very differently. You'll need to agree the problems that you are trying to solve before you'll find a mutually acceptable solution.
Sometimes different people will see different but interlocking problems - if you can't reach a common perception of the problem, then at the very least, you need to understand what the other person sees as the problem.

Step Four: Brainstorm Possible Solutions
If everyone is going to feel satisfied with the resolution, it will help if everyone has had fair input in generating solutions. Brainstorm possible solutions, and be open to all ideas, including ones you never considered before.

Step Five: Negotiate a Solution
By this stage, the conflict may be resolved: Both sides may better understand the position of the other, and a mutually satisfactory solution may be clear to all.
However you may also have uncovered real differences between your positions. This is where a technique like win-win negotiation can be useful to find a solution that, at least to some extent, satisfies everyone.
There are three guiding principles here: Be Calm, Be Patient, Have Respect…

Taken from: http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_81.htm

Feeling the feelings

2009-12-31T11:44:00.000-08:00

As I feel the feelings
As I stop, breath and listen to the feelings
---- what grips me, what burden me, what ... anything that affects me... any affects
as I stop, I can feel my feelings

And I feel the pain... and I feel the fear and I feel the weight and the burden
There are there... palpable
they have been there all the way
they were there
--- even when I was fleeing, escaping, hiding from them.... in hiding somewhere in braveland - the country where the coward can pretend to be courageous and never scared... because they are too scared and would not face it

Face what?
It is NOT ABOUT FACING YOUR FEARS
IT IS ABOUT FACING YOUR FEELINGS WHEN YOU ARE DAMN SCARED
Feel the pain, the panic, the sense of being at a loss, disappearing, scrambling
Feel the panic
Feel the heavy look - feel the heavy gaze - of yourself to yourself

What is my fear
What are my fears... this or that... some ideas
What is real is....
the sense of being less less less less, ... minus minus minus, losing losing losing ground, losing touch
alone,

NOW, Oh now, here they are... Now ho now I can recognise them
Here they are... darlings, ... dare I?, darlings!! My fears
As I feel my feelings, then they appear,
more perceptible, more domitable
MY FEARS... here you are
Here you were

As the rain stops
the sun sets
As the sun clouds, the rain falls
and cleanse the air, and the valley, and the house, and the room and the heart... and the Hearts

In this game lies my strenghth, my balance
my love, my love
my dove

**************
Facing your fears is meaningless until you can face your feelings
Feel your feelings and you will tenderly embrace your fears
The emotions will pass - as any cloud -
The storm will clean the air
Feelings are like thunder, wind or sunshine
Emotions are like smoke, clouds or shadows
emotions are not real but complex creations
feelings are real

Shall we learn to feel our feelings
as they speak the truth
so may we

Learning and racing

2009-12-31T11:25:00.000-08:00

(Quoted from an interesting website listed below)
"In racing, the consistent winners have learned that assembling the most knowledgeable and motivated people is not sufficient. Rather, the key is whether the working group becomes a learning group. The diagnostic ability of the driver–crew chief pair is critical to making the right choices in more than a dozen adjustments on the car. The pit crew, through its elaborate choreography, seeks to save a tenth of a second. Back at the garage, the 20 or more engine builders, chassis builders, test and instrumentation people, and their respective suppliers must collaborate at the idea level regarding design and fabrication as successfully as the pit crew does at the physical level.

The challenge in creating a team learning culture is to harmonize competition and collaboration. Many a highly talented person, fiercely dedicated to winning in competitions, simply cannot collaborate in doing, let alone in colearning by doing. Transforming a person’s values to team winning without suppressing the urge to innovate is key. Personal and group learning must meld into a specific “feel” that permeates the team.

To carry the automobile racing analogy just a little further, consider that an engine uses air and fuel to produce horsepower for the drive wheels, which, barring loss of traction, overcome both inherent inertia and motion-induced drag to maximize the speed of the racecar. Often the fastest car does not win because the engine fails, the tires overheat, or some other weak link becomes overstressed. The winner is the fastest car that finishes. In business, air is ideas, fuel is cash, drive wheels are the products and services that carry value to customers, and traction is the strength of the network of relationships throughout the team. Horsepower feels a lot like enthusiasm, which can overcome both structural inertia and dynamic drag, also known as fear. Enthusiasm, coupled with a learning culture, can even transform negative energy into increased motivation, which leads to superlative results.

Where is the learning? Learning is everywhere and happens every time someone wonders which ideas to pursue, what proportion of profits should be used for what purposes, how to generate enthusiasm, or whether the wheels are spinning because the right relationships do not exist. However, lack of knowledge or integrity—or too much greed—can overstress any one of these factors and create a loser.

Most organizations cannot get a grip on learning. Learning is necessarily multifaceted, but most organizations are filled with linear thinkers (this event causes that result) or scenario thinkers (these related events combine to cause that pattern of results) but few thinkers who consider entire systems (when salespeople overcommit our production, the factory output is actually below full capability). Besides, when joining the race, most organizations believe that business is about generating profit, not about learning."

http://agelesslearner.com/articles/learningbydoing_jring_tc600.html

Emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman

2009-12-23T23:59:00.000-08:00

Social awareness — the ability to sense, understand, and react to others' emotions while comprehending social networks.

(Mixed) models of EI (taken from wiki - see link below and )

The model introduced by Daniel Goleman focuses on EI as a wide array of competencies and skills that drive leadership performance. Goleman's model outlines four main EI constructs:
1- Knowing your emotions - Self-awareness — the ability to read one's emotions and recognize their impact while using gut feelings to guide decisions.

2-Managing your own emotions & Motivating yourself.- Self-management — involves controlling one's emotions and impulses and adapting to changing circumstances.

3- Recognising and understanding other people's emotions as well as Managing relationships, ie., managing the emotions of others.
Relationship management — the ability to inspire, influence, and develop others while managing conflict.

Goleman includes a set of emotional competencies within each construct of EI. Emotional competencies are not innate talents, but rather learned capabilities that must be worked on and can be developed to achieve outstanding performance. Goleman posits that individuals are born with a general emotional intelligence that determines their potential for learning emotional competencies. Goleman's model of EI has been criticized in the research literature as mere "pop psychology" (Mayer, Roberts, & Barsade, 2008).

Measurement of the Emotional Competencies (Goleman) model
Two measurement tools are based on the Goleman model:
1) The Emotional Competency Inventory (ECI), which was created in 1999 and the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory (ESCI), which was created in 2007
2) The Emotional Intelligence Appraisal, which was created in 2001 and which can be taken as a self-report or 360-degree assessment.

EI Competencies as criteria for success at work
Dr Goleman asserted that “The criteria for success at work are changing. We are being judged by a new yardstick: not just by how smart we are, or by our training and expertise, but also by how well handle ourselves and each other. This yardstick is increasingly applied in choosing who will be hired and who will not, who will be let go and who retained, who past over and who promoted…”

Goleman’s definition of emotional intelligence proposes four broad domains of EQ which consist of 19 competencies:

Self-Awareness

Emotional self-awareness: Reading one's own emotions and recognizing their impact
Accurate self-assessment; knowing one's strengths and limits
Self-confidence; a sound sense of one's self-worth and capabilities
Self-Management

Emotional self-control: Keeping disruptive emotions and impulses under control
Transparency: Displaying honesty and integrity; trustworthiness
Adaptability: Flexibility in adapting to changing situations or overcoming obstacles
Achievement: The drive to improve performance to meet inner standards of excellence
Initiative: Readiness to act and seize opportunities
Optimism: Seeing the upside in events
Social Awareness
Empathy: Sensing others' emotions, understanding their perspective, and taking active interest in their concerns
Organizational awareness: Reading the currents, decision networks, and politics at the organizational level
Service: Recognizing and meeting follower, client, or customer needs

Relationship Management

Inspirational leadership: Guiding and motivating with a compelling vision
Influence: Wielding a range of tactics for persuasion
Developing others: Bolstering others' abilities through feedback and guidance
Change catalyst: Initiating, managing, and leading in a new direction
Conflict management: Resolving disagreements
Building bonds: Cultivating and maintaining a web of relationships
Teamwork and collaboration: Cooperation and team building

There is general agreement that the factors that Goleman and his colleagues have identified are indeed emerging as a key element of workplace success. This is because the way that most organizations work has changed in the last 20 years. There are now fewer levels of management than there were and management styles tend to be less autocratic. In addition, the move towards more knowledge based, team working and customer focused jobs means that individuals generally have more autonomy, even at fairly low levels within organizations.

taken from:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_intelligence
http://www.psychometric-success.com/emotional-intelligence/emotional-intelligence-in-business.htm

Emotional intelligence - a sound enterprise

2009-12-23T23:34:00.000-08:00

Emotional intelligence...how should this notion be approached?
Intelligence has long been thought to be the matter of the intelligible, ie the logos. Whereas emotions are derived from the world of passions, ie the pathos.... Schematically, intelligence would be about what I think, emotions about what I feel.

The notion of emotional intelligence seems to dispel the idea that the distinction is clear-cut and straight-forward.

It is not just intelligence on one side, emotions on the other and nothing in-between. Emotional intelligence is telling us about a mix, a bridge between two worlds. Descartes, the French XVII century philosopher, was applying his mind in ways to discover an intelligible world - a world of what we are sure about, as opposed to what is only illusion, superstition or ever-changing.... "Cogito" - the thinking mind - became the angular stone of what defines human being - cogito ergo sum - I think therefore I am.

Towards the end of his life, Descartes was hard-pressed to think and write on the domain of passions, emotions... He too had to deal with this question, whether and how we can either separate or combine thoughts and emotions.

In a simple way, intelligence is what helps us coming up with decision, for which we need to clarify issues, try to understand, share and communicate, using various tools like languages etc...

Emotions are a complex, unclear network of thoughts and feelings... It is important to distinguish between emotions and feelings as emotions are usually expressed... in "body-form": shaking, blushing, smiling, crying, as well as through language... words, signs... Feelings are anchored into every human being without taking any form... they are felt within... in our core.... As such they are felt. They are not perceived by the five senses. Feelings are not about seeing something, hearing or touching... it is an inner-perception. Feelings are just that. They may be triggered by senses or by something we get, some discussion, some ideas coming or passed on to us... Nonetheless feelings will always be of an inner-invisible-intangible-substance: fear, joy, anger, peace, plain satisfaction, plain discomfort...

Emotions will be a result of our feelings... In the same way as light is produced out of electricity, emotions are born out of feelings. You see the light but not the electricity. You see the emotions, but not the feelings. Another way to put it is to look at feelings like fire and emotions like smoke. This analogy highlights the primary aspect of feelings over emotions. It also helps understand the complex nature of emotions: complex in the sense that they are the result of a mix, something equivalent to a combustion, the combination of feelings with thoughts and langage.

These distinctions help us understand the role of emotional intelligence: trying to understand better, to decipher what rules the world of emotions... trace back to the feelings, look at expressing what happens (the mechanisms behind the "combustion"), make sense out what happens, ie allow the intelligence - the meaning, the intention - to emerge in this typically human language.

What does it take to understand the human language being displayed via our emotions and feelings?
What to see through the smoke?
It may be that feelings are not easy to describe. Besides, feeling are states of being, from which actions will follow. Whether I sleep, eat, work, rest, study... many actions are driven by what we see, think and feel.
Whenever we think or see, we also feel. Feelings are there at all time...

Feeling what we feel - becoming aware and conscious about it - is a powerful way to free ourselves from the pain and burden of many heavy emotional states... like stress, fear, worries, or over-excitement, or even intoxication. As we feel our feeling, we take ownership for them and can intelligently, rationally, come back to sound decision making - and it could be simply deciding to stop for a while, to relax or to suspend any action... A French writer - Michel Tournier - used to say that anger always triggers action, but it is always the wrong action which is being triggered by anger.

Emotional intelligence may be the skill, the art and science of understanding - listening to - what links our feeling to our thoughts and while acknowledging our emotions, in the meantime avoiding the trap of falling into confused emotional states while favoring and fostering true self-expression of what we feel and light-headed, sound, intelligent decision making.

Looking forward - thinking ahead

2009-12-21T08:54:00.000-08:00

Taken from "Looking Backward" (1996) last chapter of the Accidental Theorist by Paul Krugman
The world as viewed in 2096 and Five great economic trends in the XXI century

Soaring resource prices (superrich will be, more often than not, prime land owners or those with access to mineral)
The environment as property (no more free air)
The rebirth of the big city (urban density favoring the kind of close, face-to-face interaction that turn out to be essential... the most effective mass-transit system yet devised: the elevator)
The devaluation of higher education (many of the jobs that require a college degree today have been eliminated, while many of the rest can, it turns out, be done quite well by an intelligent person whether or not she has studied world literature.... academic credentials will have hardly any monetary value... Harvard has become - as it was in the nineteenth century, more of a social institution than a scholarly one - aplace for the childrne of the wealthy to refine their social graces and make friends with others of the same class.)
The celebrity economy (although business gurus are proclaiming the predominance of creativity and innovation over mere routine production, in fact the growing ease with which information is transmitted and reproduced makes it even harder for creators to profit from their creations.... creations must make money indirectly... by promoting sales of something else....)

Krugman is without pity for the stereotyped but too common futuristic views of the coming of an "information economy", mainly producing intangibles, and where the good jobs would go to "symbolic analysts", who "would push icons around on computer screens".

Who then wants to think with me and prepare the future of education? You know how to find me :-)

Attributes of servant leadership, a powerful driver to enhance teamwork

2009-12-13T03:09:00.000-08:00

Selected text from Wiki on Servant leadership

Greenleaf , in his classic essay, The Servant as Leader, described the servant-leader in this manner:

"The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types. Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.

The difference manifests itself in the care taken by the servant-first to make sure that other people’s highest priority needs are being served. The best test, and difficult to administer, is: Do those served grow as persons? Do they, while being served, become healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, more likely themselves to become servants? And, what is the effect on the least privileged in society? Will they benefit or at least not be further deprived?"

Models of Servant Leadership

Most writers see servant leadership as an underlying philosophy of leadership, demonstrated through specific characteristics and practices. The foundational concepts are found in Greenleaf’s first three major essays, The Servant as Leader, The Institution as Servant, and Trustees as Servants.

Larry Spears, who served for 17 years as the head of the Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership, identified ten characteristic of servant leaders in the writings of Greenleaf. The ten characteristics are

listening,
empathy,
healing,
awareness,
persuasion,
conceptualization,
foresight,
stewardship,
commitment to the growth of others,
and building community.

Leadership experts such as Bolman, Deal, Covey, Fullan, Sergiovanni, and Heifitz also reference these characteristics as essential components of effective leadership.

The Center for Servant Leadership at the Pastoral Institute in Georgia defines servant leadership as a lifelong journey that includes discovery of one’s self, a desire to serve others, and a commitment to lead.

Servant-leaders continually strive to be trustworthy, self-aware, humble, caring, visionary, empowering, relational, competent, good stewards, and community builders.

Dr. Kent Keith, author of The Case for Servant Leadership and the current CEO of the Greenleaf Center, states that servant leadership is ethical, practical, and meaningful. He identifies seven key practices of servant leaders:

self-awareness,
listening,
changing the pyramid,
developing your colleagues,
coaching not controlling,
unleashing the energy and intelligence of others,
and foresight.

James Sipe and Don Frick, in their book The Seven Pillars of Servant Leadership, state that servant-leaders are individuals of character, put people first, are skilled communicators, are compassionate collaborators, use foresight, are systems thinkers, and exercise moral authority.

Unlike leadership approaches with a top-down hierarchical style, servant leadership instead emphasizes collaboration, trust, empathy, and the ethical use of power. At heart, the individual is a servant first, making the conscious decision to lead in order to better serve others, not to increase their own power. The objective is to enhance the growth of individuals in the organization and increase teamwork and personal involvement.

The Quadrants of Human Action

2009-11-30T07:34:00.000-08:00

adapted from "First Things First", Stephen R. Covey, A. Roger Merrill, Rebecca R. Merrill, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1994, ISBN: 0-684-80203-1 (Pbk).

To understand how to deal with sustainability, we must first understand ourselves and how to direct ourselves in positive directions.

About integrity.... a framework

2009-11-30T07:19:00.000-08:00

VALUE 1: Integrity

Responsibility

Taking 100% responsibility claiming vs blaming

Responsibility as a leader: Evoking a response dialogue and conversation
vs debate, discussion and instructing

Commitment and ownership seeing opportunity
vs feeling obliged and bound

Keeping one’s agreement

Authenticity and honesty presence, commitment and ownership vs mask and persona, blamism and escapism

Emotional honesty trust and openness
vs fear, dissimulation and escalation

Emotional literacy I-ness and we-ness (claiming)
vs. i-or-u-ness (blaming)

Trusting our intuition
vs cluttering the mind

Authentic speaking

Speaking from the heart Reaching out
vs breaching out

Assertiveness Confidence with kindness and truth
vs force and hurt

Curious / resonant listening

Openness to learning Welcoming feedback
vs shutting down people

Learning from others
vs teaching others

Do Three Things And The World Changes

2009-11-30T07:03:00.000-08:00

Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks
www.hendricks.com

Do Three Things And The World Changes

An initiative is the first step in a process that determines the future. A revolution is a dramatic change in ideas or practice. We invite you to join the revolution and take the initiative. We invite your participation and contribution to help it sweep the world.
Here are the basic moves that will create the kind of future we want to live in.
They’re based on the thousands of miraculous transformations we’ve seen when
people do these three things:

•Speak honestly, rather than concealing the truth.
•Take healthy responsibility, wonder rather than blaming others.
•Express appreciation, rather than criticizing.

Let’s Come Together And Imagine A New World Into Being

Imagine a world in which everybody tells the truth. Imagine a world in which everybody takes
100% responsibility and nobody ever blames. Imagine close relationships in which you enjoy a constant flow of appreciating and being appreciated.

http://www.hendricks.com/conscious_initiative/index.html

Customer Service in the new world

2009-11-30T06:46:00.000-08:00

With my partner and friend Kiran Gulrajani (Co-Evolve), we are both passionate about the new world... It is becoming rather common and buzzy to say... but yes... we are living at a juncture, a special time where a lot of change is taking place and will continue to take place... not just a financial crisis... this is the end of an area... the industrial age has come to age... the way we learn, the way we teach are going to change drastically... how we live too somehow and obviously the way we do business...

Now because things are changing does not mean that the old good becomes bad and the usual bad becomes good. In fact the real old "good" remains... may be the way it is talked about change... or the way we look at it... or the level at which it impacts us... Look how fast information is spreading these days... how fast talent is being spotted during a reality TV show. There is more speed and more scope for impact... What remains is the need to discern and distinguish between the good and the bad, the seed and the chaff...

I asked Kiran: "what are the key dimensions of customer service in the new world"
His reply:
"
1- Getting in the world of the customer - understanding, empathising, appreciating
2- Responding - with clarity and authenticity
3- Learning from the client and his industry and designing creative and co-creative solutions to delight them and their customers
4- Inspiring the client to care for their employees (the internal client) the way they would like them to care for the customer
5- Assertiveness needs to be looked at also... in the sense of being in touch and communicating with the clients"

Feelings and Bucky and the whole Humanity

2009-11-27T17:30:00.000-08:00

I am quoting Bucky from the Foreword of Critical Path

"The way only-our-own, individual integrity of being responds spontaneously only to our own exclusive sensing of any given otherness episode is what I mean when I use the word feeling: How do I feel about life? How do I feel about it now? ... and again now? Our feelings often change. What do I feel that I need to do about what I am feeling"

As bucky said: "Exploring, experiencing, feeling, and - to the best of my ability - acting strictly and only on my individual intuition, I became impelled to write this book."

Feelings are the nearest ad purest impulses to our most authentic and selfless acts?

Learning - the risk and joy of learning - the gut to learn... and the curiosity

2009-11-26T08:57:00.000-08:00

The only risk with learning is facing the unknown.
How many of us do like facing the unknown?
I spent too much time trying to make up things... thinking I like adventure and going for it... but in reality... escaping the possibility of any real learning...

REAL LEARNINGS: where are you?
Dear ones, shall I learn to love and welcome you?
Sometimes, what we learnt best is to turn our head... towards the other side...
Do you know the story of the good Samaritan? Before he was rescued by the good Samaritan, the injured lying down the sideway after beeing robbed and beaten by some daicoits - this poor man had just been ignored by a priest and another powerful man.... They had turned their head...

What does it take to learn? Be willing to learn
And what does it take to be willing to learn: face reality...
and for that: be at peace with your reality...
It is ok to be scared, it is ok to doubt, to worry...
Now as I am facing those feelings, they lighten up, releasing their grip on me

The risk of learning is the one of facing one's fear... this panic stage I often experienced when things take too fast a turn or when I lose all sense of control... panic... lets enjoy the panic... let's enjoy the butterfly in the stomac... let them be the premises of something great coming up.... the joy of facing reality

THE JOY OF FACING REALITY... of getting one's hands dirty, of being there and now, no matter what,
Being there for the poor man or the angry client
May be scared, may be sorry, may be mute, but be there and happy to be and committed to the best possible outcome. A CAPTAIN IN THE STORM.... and a good laugh... and god laughs
THERE IS IMMENSE JOY IN THE COURAGE IT TAKES TO FACE A STORM

There is a quiet resignation that may the best prevail and the wind blow in the right direction
It is not resignation... it is detachment, while I am there heart, mind and body ready to die while ready to fight to the last minute

READY TO LOSE, HARNESSED TO WIN - THERE IS NOTHING TO LOSE

What do we protect ourselves from when we turn our head from learning situations
Why do we cheat in exams?
Why do we say yes 'i understand', when we mean no 'i don't'?
We do not want to lose, lose face to our parents? our teachers?
Sometimes we just learn to "Not care". 'I just don't care' become the excuse
Looking good and avoiding looking bad
Avoiding conflict...
Not standing out

Now ... what about curiosity?
Curiosity pale to conformism
Of course curiosity is a powerful engine, when drivers slow down to watch this accident on the opposite lane of the highway... this even creates trafic jams... no risk of being spotted though...
Now as to asking a controversial question in a group... who dares?
Why dare? why not just ask?

Real learning attitude manifest naivety and a thirst stronger than the desire to look good...
In fact, the authentic thirst for learning look almost always good
Except maybe when it is compulsive or neurotic... and... still... why not?
What's this? What's this ask the 2-year old girl - 20 time in 5 minutes?

Knowing Joo Hock... we need more of it :-)

2009-11-26T07:40:00.000-08:00

Every Saturday morning at the Hereen, you can meet Joo Hock and be inspired during the Bucky group session from 8 am to 9.50 am, weekly (unless otherwise advised) at Hair Affair at the Adelphi, 1 Coleman St. If you like to find out more, please send your enquiries to joohock@gmail.com ...

talks, dialogues, videos... about the best the world has to offer... inspiring, cooling, seldome heated but often passionate.... better than coffee

Joo Hock (JooHock)

About Me

Speaker, Trainer, Business owner and Social Entrepreneur, Joo Hock has been championing the Thinking, Philosophy and Ideas of Buckminster Fuller. He is a catalyst, in the Bucky Group’s (the unofficial Alumni of the Money & You Seminar) activities, as a True Learning Organization. A practitioner of the philosophy of the 20th Century Leonardo da Vinci, Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller (the inventor of the Geodesic Dome.), Joo Hock has facilitated various Workshops and Retreats on Innovation, Creativity and Change (based on The Generalized Principles of Universe as uncovered by Bucky) for corporate organizations and the public. Interfacing for the somewhat difficult to comprehend thinking, ideas, and the works of Bucky, JooHock shares from a layman perspective, and his (Joo Hock's)life today demonstrates that living the "principles" as shared by Bucky, has made a difference to his (Joohock's) life and could make a difference to the lives of others. Bucky is, in his opinion the forerunner in the Great Marathon of Humanity, JooHock feels "Learning" should be fun. This blog is also dedicated to his mentor, Dr. R. Buckminster Fuller.

The love potion you made tastes terrible. How will you drink it?
Usually when I'm faced with having to drink a potion of Chinese medicine which is basically a concoction of yukky tasting stuff, I pour it into a wine glass, and say "cheers", or "Yam Seng" to a friend, at the same time downing it in one gulp, follow by a glass of water. Love potion? No problem. "...urgh...burrp.."Interests
Reading Buckminster Fuller
Anthony de Mello
Krishnamurti
Deepak Chopra
Neale Donald Walsch
Charles Handy
Barbara Marx Hubbard Paulo Coelho
Eliyahu M Goldratt
Eckhart Tolle
Margaret Wheatley
Irene Sanders
Hugh Prather
Edward deBono
Tony Robins
Anita Roddick
Fritjof Capra Travelling
Speaking
and conducting Bucky Fun workshops
Favorite Movies
Shawshank Redemption
Tuesday with Morrie
Einstein Big Idea. Conversations with God.
Favorite Music
Inspirational Songs
When You believe
Follow your Heart
Color of the Wind
Songs from the Musicals
Les Miserables
Phantom of the Opera
Favorite Books
Critical Path
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth
Grunch of Giants
Intuition
Buckminster Fuller on Education
Awareness
Age of Unreason
The Empty Raincoat
The Hungry Spirit
The Elephant and the Flea
and many more

Customer service and Jay Abraham's strategy of Preeminence

2009-11-26T07:28:00.000-08:00

A friend of mine organised the first Jay Abraham seminar in China. This was in 2007 in Shenzen. I met Jay there. I do not find anything of what he says revolutionary nor he is a seminal author because a lot of what he shares is well accepted wisdom. Jay Hendricks is sharing somewhat of the same idea in his work Corporate Mystics: true ethics, authentic care, 100% responsibility, integrity are at the core of what makes a business leader a great leader. And these are the foundations to real success.

Now what I am impressed with Jay Abraham is his commitment to making his clients successful... reading his books, it is all about the little details that can make a difference... So in a way, Jay illustrates well what he believes in... and he is working hard at it... giving seminars, talks etc...

THE STRATEGY OF PREEMINENCE (taken from a pdf file whose link is below)

"You have to change your philosophical approach and move to what I call a “Strategy of Preeminence,” which is a whole new way of looking at the relationship you have with your marketplace. It’s seeing yourselves, and your company, and everyone in your organization as the ultimate fiduciary, as an advisor, as a trusted, respected, expert advisor. And you have the responsibility and the obligation to counsel those people in what’s in their best interest. To give them the best short and long-term outcome. And when you start advising them with their best interest at heart, you no longer will accept or allow them to buy less than they should… fewer combinations than they should… less quality of products or services than they should… and less frequently than they should.

You’ll never again, take the order just because they’re willing to buy. You will never again be struggling with how to manipulate, what kind of things to say or do. You’ll always be focused on the fact that the more value you add, that is perceived by them, the more success you will have. You will start thinking of your relationship with them all as “clients.” If you talk to them or think of them all as customers, you should change – and I’ll tell you why. In a world that is trying to slam everyone down to commodity and marginalized status, you have to draw a line in the sand and distinguish yourself. And the way to do that is to start thinking of your relationship as an advisor, and the people you deal with as clients.

Look up the word “customer.” And look up the word “client.” “Customer” is defined as, “someone who buys a commodity or a service.” “Client” is defined as, “someone who’s under the care and the protection of another.” You want to move the whole relationship that you have with your “customer” to where they are your “client.” Someone you see as under your care and your protection. Someone whose well being is important to you.

The biggest problem that I observe with companies that I serve, and most companies that I study, is they fall in love with the wrong thing. They want their company to be the fastest growing, the biggest, and the best, the Inc. 100, the Inc. One, Fortune 500. They fall in love with the mega-organization, the worldwide impact.

The way to greatness today is to transfer your ultimate passion away from your product, your service, your company, and instead, fall in love with your client. If they’re at the top of your awareness all the time, and if all you focus on is constantly getting them the very richest, the very best, the most productive, the most profitable, the most enjoyable, the most enriching, the greatest protection in whatever your product or service provides… you will dominate everyone else in your business sector, because they don’t look at it that way. They’re in love with having the biggest company, and as a result, they don’t.

You also have to fall in love with your three tiers of “clients.” The people who pay you and the two tiers of people you pay. You have to fall in love with your team members, and you have to want greatness for them. And you have to know that you are the vehicle to their and their families’ richness and security. And you have to envision the fact that their kids are going to go to college because of you, and lives are going to be enriched because of you. Just as with your clients, you have to see their businesses or their personal lives thrive, their prosperity grow, and their security enhanced. If you can’t visualize that you’re going to lose torque.

A Strategy of Preeminence is truly transforming. It’s the most liberating, the most animating, and it’s the most passionate concept you’ll ever embrace."

http://tumiskangkung.googlepages.com/JA_101.pdf

Customer Service 101

2009-11-26T06:46:00.000-08:00

About Customer service: looking for inspiring views on customer service, I picked up these 8 points from a website (see link below). I will freely add my own comments to it. I am also waiting from Kiran's views on it.

8 Keys to Good Customer Service

"Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it.
It is what the client or customer gets out of it."
PETER DRUCKER

"If you have the keys to good customer service, you have access to minds and hearts of customers. It isn't hard to learn these key principles... the proof of the pudding is in the eating! Talk is cheap as they say.

1. Positive Attitude
"To my customer.
I may not have the answer, but I’ll find it.
I may not have the time, but I’ll make it." (Unknown)

A positive attitude is a 'can do' attitude. It's deciding to do whatever it takes to help the customer, and not hide behind excuses, non-existing policies, other colleagues. I wish I could say that a positive attitude is trainable, but it starts with a natural desire to help people. The goal is to find people with such a desire, and eleminate those who demonstrate a lack of desire. This is the key that unlocks all other keys to good customer service!

2. Keep your Promises (this is part of something even bigger - because it applies not just to our clients but to anyone and anything we are in touch with: it is INTEGRITY)

"Well done is better than well said." (Benjamin Franklin)

If you promise something to your customer, keep that promise. Not keeping a promise to a customer feels like betrayal to customers, and once betrayed they won't trust you again. Adopt a method of keeping track of your promises, and do regular checks on the progress you made on delivering what you promised.

3. Listen to your Customer
"In business you get what you want by giving other people what they want." (Alice MacDougall)

If business is about giving to your customers what they want (so you get what you want), you need to know your customer wants. So whenever you can, ask! Show a genuine interest in your customer and listen to what they have to say. This also means that you'll have to aks subsequent questions to get to the core. And show that you have heared your customer by not making him or her repeat it... yes, even when you changover to a colleague!

4. Delight your Customer
"Quality in a service or product is not what you put into it.
It is what the client or customer gets out of it." (Peter Drucker)

A delighted customer is a customer for life. for this, you have to work hard at making sure that your customer gets the maximum (value) out of your product or service. When they buy it. When they use it. when they read about it. When they search information about it. If you reduce friction at every customer contact, you will delight them!

5. Trust your Customer
"Give trust, and you'll get it double in return." (Kees Kamies)

Many, many businesses shy away from giving good service to customers, because they fear this will just a flurry of scrupulous customers who come to take advantage of their willingness. While there are customers out there that will take advantage of your willingness, there will be so many customers that will come and stay with you, it will not matter! Simply trust your customers: you'll be greatly rewarded.

6. Work as a Team
"None of us is as smart as all of us." (Ken Blanchard)

Make no mistake. Delivering good customer service is a tough, tough job. Customers can ask many questions, and it's unlikely that any one person is able to answer all the questions. Make it a habit to engage the help of others in the company, in order to give the best answers to the customers.

7. Train
"Train, don't strain." (Arthur Lydiard)

Confidence in execution comes from repetition. Other than personal experience, there is no substitute for training for the situations you may encounter in customer service. Setting up a training program is a given!

8. Do it NOW!
"The longer you wait, the harder it is to produce outstanding customer service." (William H. Davidow)

Here's a powerful lesson I learned: if something is important (and I think these keys to good customer service ARE important!), do it now! Don't wait. Do what's important, right away!

These are my 8 keys to good customer service, unlock the door to more great business!

http://www.customerservicepoint.com/keys-to-good-customer-service.html

Facilitation - being in the now

2009-11-14T22:39:00.000-08:00

Kiran and myself just facilitated a 1-day session. After the session, Kiran is sharing and reflecting with:

"Actually in the session being in the now, stepping back and inviting everyone to observe together what’s happening .. demonstrating our work.. 100% responsibility, deep listening, authentic speaking, questioning to evoke wonder and silence. Owning. Seeing how this is my mirror.. so seeking to understand.."

What a nice idea? Isn't it in fact - not just a nice idea - something of the essence? the essence of what our job - here - is about. What are we here to facilitate?

Clients do call us and do have aspirations for their own "internal" clients - the participants. It is sometimes about mixing few objectives together... sometimes it is about knowing each other better and bonding, sometimes it is about creating a positive experience, from which participants will not only bond but also feel motivated and may be stronger... Often it is also about dealing with, helping to solve some issues... Other times it may be about focusing on some specific business objectives and enabling participants to achieve these.

Alignment: Now to achieve that, to help participants achieve their objectives, it means that there is alignment between the participants in their teams, with their bosses or co-workers. There also need alignment between participants and trainers... Alignment between people is about respect, trust, and the ability to communicate and in particular to the ability to agree to disagree, while keeping faith in the objectives and in our ability to achieve them.

Any dysfunction in the team - some could say: any lack of integrity in almost any way - will at some point lead to a lack of alignment and/or to a lesser level of alignment: there may be various groups formed in the organisation and this may slow down, hamper the ability to deal with change, adapt, adopt new ways... there may be mis-trust - silently or up to the extent of defiance.... Of course there are various degrees of dysfunction but it is capital for the organisation to spot these areas which are dysfunctional and to start addressing them...

It is hard to imagine a very effective, high-performing team which is not well aligned: it seems important that participants are aligned - as person: trusting and respecting each other, able to communicate etc... - but also as the various links and chains of responsibility leading to the big picture. Therefore it must be a continuous balance and tension between aligning ourselves to the organisation's goals and addressing issues that may block or disturb the same process.

It seems to me that what Kiran is highlighting is precisely this. Seldome are the Human Capital consultants, trainers, given the luxury of time in their intervention. Dealing with business goals and issues like motivation, willingness to take responsibility, character building, integrity... may require many and separate interventions but isn't there a way of facilitation which is powerful enough, holistic enough to handle both personal, behavioural aspects together with organisational, business issues and objectives?

"stepping back and inviting everyone to observe together what’s happening .. demonstrating our work.. 100% responsibility, deep listening, authentic speaking, questioning to evoke wonder and silence."

Being in the now: that 's it... the now of any organisation .... dealing with this beautiful situation where anyone's attitude does have a direct impact on the business outcome... the nice dichotomy between individual behaviors and business outcome is convenient to theories because through compartementalisation it is easier to address issues one at a time.... Now, it is very unconvienent to business people because it all happens NOW... if the market requires this change to my product's positionning, I will take action now as required and will deal with whoever my team, my staff is at this time....

Therefore facilitators learn to handle people and tasks not as sets of challenge, but as one challenge... and therefore one opportunity... The opportunity is to make things work... which is what integrity is about. The conditions to face and ripe the opportunity is to tackel and address the conditions of integrity:

- 100% responsibility and keeping one's agreements in this context
- commitment to effective communication: emotional literacy, authentic speaking, resonant listening,
- commitment to trust and openness - especially openness to failure and mistakes

Among these 3 points, the easiest to achieve is the last: building trust and openess... It is also the most pressing and the most fondamental, as it will enable effective communication and willingness to take charge and own to it.

How do we build trust and openness in our facilitation? Maybe the participants become a mirror and the situation in the classroom mirrors what happens in the office. Maybe the challenges they - the participants - are facing become a mirror to the challenge we as facilitators are facing: what if we - participants - are tired, stressed? We feel pressurized... Nobody really listen to us at work.... Every new project is followed by another one, newer, more pressing and already overshadowing the last one.... therefore real efforts and focus seems less relevant, laughable almost... Now thisd is a bleak picture of someone's view of the office... but assuming some of it at least - is real, then... would not slugginesh, demotivation, cynicism, skepticism be at least understandable from some of the staff?

In any case, isn't it all the more important for the facilitator to show that he/she - as facilitator - operates from a platform of 100% responsibility and full integrity? If it is the case, then YES, it will be crucial during the training to - at some point - stop and observe: what is happening in the room? and how does it mirror some of the challenge we are facing? First: challenges as facilitator and trainees / participants? Second: challenges as staff and colleagues.

Facilitating and processing this reflective process will create trust and openess because it is showing
1- Willingness to learn from the facilitator and openness to the outcome of the training
2- Authenticity about the situation... dealing with the now ... facing reality rather than forcing outcome or discussions.

For the process to be succesful, it needs to be facilitated clearly and set in a context of listening and questionning: how are we functionning as a group now? describe... some keys to highlight and for participants to come up with examples could be: caring about the meeting outcome, caring about others in the meeting (this is the responsibility aspect), patterns of communication and understanding the source of it... , noticing and observing any obstacle to trust building...

Integrity - A holistic approach to integrity

2009-11-09T06:27:00.000-08:00

I was asking Kiran Gulrajani, CEO of Co-Evolve and OIA Learning Hub: "Kiran, what are your thoughts about integrity." His answer was:

"Integrity is about 4 aspects:
1- Emotional literacy
2- Authentic speaking and deep listening
3- Keeping agreements
4- Responsibility"

In the line below, I will endeavor to shade more light on these 4 aspects. Each of them will - I am sure - generate more posts as they uncover wide area of learning, behaviors and theories...

Emotional literacy

Definition of Emotional Literacy by Steve Hein: The ability to express feelings with specific feeling words, in 3 word sentences. For example, "I feel rejected."

(Brief info on Steve Hein: "For the past 10 years or so I have been traveling around the world. I have now been to about 60 countries. I believe I have a lot of experience to share with people. I share many of these experiences freely on my main website EQI.org. I have also been doing a lot of volunteer work, particulary with emotionally abused youth. From them I have learned a lot about emotional intellignce and emotional abuse. My writing on these subjects now is in the top 3 on Google in both areas." )

Developing your emotional literacy (by Steve Hein)
"The purpose for developing our emotional literacy is to precisely identify and communicate our feelings. When we do this we are helping nature fulfill its design for our feelings. We must know how we feel in order to be able to fill our emotional needs. And we must communicate our feelings in order to get the emotional support and understanding we need from others, as well as to show our emotional support and understanding to them."

"Also, one of the first steps to developing our emotional intelligence is to improve our emotional literacy. In other words, to improve our ability to identify our feelings by their specific names - and the more specific we can be, the better. Though the term emotional literacy is not used in theMayer Salovey model of emotional intelligence, they do say that the first branch of emotional intelligence is ...the capacity to perceive and to express feelings. They then add that Emotional intelligence cannot begin without the first branch..." Mayer and Salove have also written that the "ability to label emotions" is part of the third branch of their model (Emotional understanding)"

"In the English language we have thousands of words which describe and identify our emotions, we just don't use many of them. (I have been compiling a list of such words since 1995 and the list is now over 3,000 words.)"

"There are a lot of reasons we don't make much use of this rich vocabulary which is available to us. One is that we just aren't taught to speak using feeling words. I have found, though, that many people can identify their feelings quite well when given a little help."

"If you are interested in working on your emotional literacy, the first step is to start using simple, three word sentences such as these:
I feel sad. I feel motivated. I feel offended. I feel appreciated. I feel hurt. I feel disrespected.

This may feel strange at first, since not many people do this. But it gets easier with time, and as you find other people who you can share your true feelings with. (See also emotional honestly)"

"In my experience, sometimes just by naming a feeling, we begin to actually feel the feeling. It seems that by naming the feeling we help our mind access the emotional part of the brain where feelings are stored. This step of identifying the feeling by name is, I believe, essential to a high development of one's innate emotional processing abilities. I also believe that most of the literature on EQ and EI fails to acknowledge the importance of this and of the importance of having a rich emotional vocabulary."

What is and isn't emotional literacy

Examples of Emotional Literacy Examples of What is NOT Emotional Literacy
I feel....
criticized
unimportant
disrespected
bored
I feel like ....I feel that...
I feel like you .... (This is a "you message" in disguise. See below)
See also "Making Predictions vs. Expressing Feelings"
Taken from: http://eqi.org/elit.htm#Definition of Emotional Literacy

Authentic Speaking and deep listening
Based on Kiran Gulrajani's work

Resonant Listening : Openness to learning
To deeply learn the vital foundational skill and attitude that can transform relationships
To be able to tune into the greatness and wisdom of another person
Realizing the 3 levels of listening through practice
Appreciating what interferes with good and great listening- the science and the art
Discovering the subtleties and nuances of being open, receptive which can impact productivity
Authentic Speaking: Friendship with reality
To find out how to communicate from the heart and hence reach to the others heart
To deal with fears and hesitation which can interfere with speaking with honesty and caring
Learning to tap into the power of truth in communication which can be transformational in personal and team effectiveness
Being able to speak with confidence and clarity things which are difficult to express normally

http://www.outdoorinasia.com/sales-excellence

Keeping agreements
What comes to mind here is the work of Gay Hendricks - especially as he puts it in the "Corporate Mystics"

The lines below are inspired by G. Hendricks work and written by Marlene Neufeld

HOW TO MAKE AND KEEP AGREEMENTS

Part of the art of successful living, successful working and successful relating depends on learning how to make and keep your agreements or change agreements that aren’t working. Many relationship issues rise out of conflict about agreements.

1. See agreements as contributing to your aliveness and energy. Many of us approach agreements as something that someone else is making us do. This approach keeps us from making clear agreements and contributes to our breaking of agreements. Learn to see when an agreement is necessary and how to proactively create agreements that you want to make, how to make agreements that are important to you. When you learn that making and keeping agreements is in your own best interest and when you learn how to do so easily and successfully, you will notice your life working better.

2. Think carefully before you make an agreement. It is much easier to not make an agreement than it is to get out of one you no longer want to keep. An agreement is anything you have said you would do, or anything you have said you would not do. Typical agreements that couples need to make for their lives to run smoothly range from mundane things like “who does what” to important agreements about how they express their sexuality with people outside of their relationship.

3. Make the right agreements. Make only agreements that you believe in; agreements that you want to make and keep; agreements that your whole body/mind says “yes” to. If you don’t have your whole self behind the agreement, whether it’s your child’s baseball game or attending the annual shareholder’s meeting, why bother? Agreements that are unimportant to you, but that you make anyway, have a tendency to come back and haunt you later because some intuitive person will perceive that you are not really there, or because something will stop you from keeping them.

4. Make agreements only about things that you have control over. For example, you can’t control how you feel but you can control how you express your feelings. It’s also not helpful to agree to do something or be somewhere, if you know that you have something else planned or aren’t going to be able to do it.

5. Make it safe for yourself and others to speak freely about any facts or feelings that are relevant, as you are formulating your agreement. Share any significant facts that will impact your ability to keep the agreement. Share your feelings, specifically:

Anxiety, fear, nervousness
Irritation, anger, aggravation, resentment
Discouragement, sadness, resignation
Excitement, happiness, exhilaration.

Keep tossing your agreement back and forth until it feels right to both of you.

based on the work of Drs. Gay & Kathlyn Hendricks, www.hendricks.com

Responsibility
Based on Kiran Guljani's training material

The Transformational Mindset:

Responsibility… Discovering the freedom to respond creatively
To enable the participants to shift from helplessness and victim mentality to a proactive and creative stance
To inspire them to shift from blaming to claiming their reality by being open to learning
Learning to utilize adversity as an opportunity§ Appreciating ‘Responsibility’ and ‘Commitment’ from a very powerful place
Shifting from resignation to possibility thinking
Discovering the power within to shift reality

Dialogue, Stages and Components of a Dialogue Session

2009-11-08T02:26:00.000-08:00

Dialogue is not merely a set of techniques for improving organisations, enhancing communications, building consensus, or solving problems. It is based on the principles that conception and implementation are intimately linked, with a core common meaning. During the dialogue process, people learn how to think together - not just in the sense of analyzing a shared problem or creating new pieces of shared knowledge, but in the sense of occupying a collective sensibility, in which the thoughts, emotions and resulting actions belong not to one individual, but to all of them together.

Stages of Dialogue
PHASE 1 (instability of the container): Invitation -> Conversation -> Deliberation ->
PHASE 2 (instability in the container): Discussion (to shake apart) or Suspension (to hang in front)
PHASE 3 (Inquiry in the container):
Discussion leading to Skillful discussion (the flow of speech, logical analysis) vs Debate (to beat down)
Suspension leading to Dialogue (the flow of meaning),
PHASE 4 (Creativity in the container)
Dialogue leading to Metalogue (meaning moving with/among)

Components of a Dialogue Session (taken from a blog of the Alliance of Christian Development Agencies - see link below)

William Isaacs in the book The Fifth Discipline Field Book enumerates the basic components of a dialogue session and these are:

Invitation: The process begins with an invitation. When being invited, people are given a choice whether to accept it or reject it. Extending the invitation to dialogue opens up the space to for people to express feelings of discomfort, resistance or fear. Unlike in a monologue, dialogue cannot be forced into anyone. There has to be an agreement to partake or participate in the process. The challenge for every facilitator is to create a space where potential participants will feel safe from traditional structures of authority and hierarchy or any element that will inhibit their engagement in a dialogue.

Generative listening: This is the “art of developing deeper silences in yourself, so you can slow your mind’s hearing to your ears’ natural speed, and hear beneath the words to their meaning.” This is also perhaps, what the Psalmist refers to as “applying my heart to what I have observed.”

Observing the observer: This has to do with the developing of an environment that is “quiet” enough for people to observe their own thoughts and the team’s thoughts. Once this is achieved, dialogue now becomes possible.

Suspending assumptions: Every individual possesses a lens or a framework by which he or she interprets the world around him. In any conversation or dialogue, it is inevitable for us to bring with us these assumptions. In suspending ones’ assumptions, he or she does not lay these aside but rather, these assumptions are brought forth into the collective for them to understand, consider and weigh. One must be aware of his or her assumptions and must be willing to invite others to see a new facet in this very thing that he or she is thinking or saying.

http://www.acda.org.ph/?p=264

Team Learning: a discipline that goes far beyond team building

2009-11-08T01:23:00.000-08:00

Team learning is not team building and should not be taken on lightly... But you can focus immediatly on your organisation's chief concerns and issues....
Abstracts written by Charlotte Roberts, taken from The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, Team Learning

The discipline of team learning goes well beyond conventional "team building" skills such as creating courteous behaviors, improving communication, becoming better able to perform everyday work tasks together, or even building strong relationships. This discipline inspires more fundamental changes, with enduring application that will ripple out through the organisation.

Team learning is also the most challenging discipline - intellectually, emotionally, socially, and spiritually. The process of learning how to learn collectively is unfamiliar. It has nothing to do with the "school learning" of memorizing details to feed back in tests. It starts with self-mastery and self-knowledge, but involves looking outward to develop knowledge of, and alignment with, others on your team. Most of us have had no training in this. This discipline will lead you there. Do you have the necessary patience with yourself and others?

Members of the team should know that there will be times of frustration and perhaps embarrassment, as they develop their collective capabilities. Ideally, they should have the opportunity to chose the practice of team learning, with no penalty if they say "no" (although this may be unrealistics if the rest of the team says "yes").

CHARACTERISTICS OF A LEARNING TEAM

For a team which practices this discipline, it is helpful to have a reason to talk and learn - a situation that compels deliberation, a need to solve a problem, the collective desire to create something new, or a drive to foster new relationship with other parts of the organisation.

This first concern will become the preliminary "practice filed" for the team's development. As it gains confidence and ability, the team will move on to consider other matters.

THE TEAM FACILITATOR

The team can develop skills faster if it has an outside facilitator who is trained in techniques for building reflection and inquiry skills, as well as dialogue facilitation. Team members of unknowingly collude to misrepresent reality to each other, and cover up the ways in which they do so......

GROUND RULES FOR LEARNING

Teams need to set up their own ground rules for conversation. These may include agreements to tell the truth as each person knows it, bring relevant information immediatly to the team, or limit the time each person can speak. Teams may decide to clarify how decisions will be made and by whom, and to establish ways to safely check and challenge each other. Once the rules are set by consensus, it is important for the team to discuss how it will deal with violations. These rules are meants to help the team shape its conversations, not as an end in themselves; and they should never become so dominant that they override the team's purposes and learnings.

When results don't turn out as expected, you and the other team members will need to master the art of forgiveness. Looking for someone to blame may mean abandoning the team's learning. Forgiveness means standing with the persons who were leading the experiment at hand, and helping the team discern what forces at play contributed to the unexpected outcomes. Forgiveness also means not holding the mistake as a trump card to be used some time in the future when politics would encourage it.

Teams and capturing the significance of teams

2009-11-08T00:30:00.000-08:00

Within and around teams - History has brought us to a moment where teams are recognised as a critical component of every enterprise - the predominent unit for decision making and getting things done. Nonetheless, most aspects of existing infrastructure - such as measurement and compensation systems, as well as rewards - have not yet "captured" the significance of teams. And many people who espouse the importance of teams still believe, when push comes to the shove, that the key unit of effectiveness is individual. This will inevitably change.

The prevailing definition of "team" will change as well.

From The Fifth Discipline Filedbook, Team Learning

Teams: the word "team" can be traced back to the Indo-European word deuk (to pull); it has always included a meaning of "pulling together". (The modern sense of team, "a group of people acting together" emerged in the sixteenth century.)
We define "teams" as any group of people who need each other to accomplish a result. This definition is derived from a statement made by former Royal Dutch / Shell Group Planning coordinator Arie de Geus: "The only relevant learning in a company is the learning done by those people who have the power to take action" - Art Kleiner, From The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, Team Learning
Photo of Arie de Geus

Can astrology/numerology (not the predictive aspect but the self awareness aspect) help us discover our gifts?

2009-11-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

Two recommended books about astrology (quoting Kiran Guljarani - see facebook link below)

"2 amazing pieces of work I have found are:
1. Dan Millman's 'Life u were born to live' (same guy who wrote - the way of the peaceful warrior - also a great movie)
2. Astrology for the Soul - Jan spiller - "

Astrology for the Soul by Jan Spiller, proved to me to be a book of exception... Simply and without pretence, it did open the door to a very deep and authentic reading of myself. Somehow but coming from a different approach it offers as powerful an understanding as Jung theory of archetypes and how it was then practically turned into a self-discovery tool by MBTI.Jan Spiller cut through the academism and offer plain wisdom-reading about the stuff we are made of. The stuff we are made of... I like that...not who we are - we are what we become - but what has been shaping our Self, our inner-structure... Moons, stars, Sun...and the inter-relation of these... these phenomenoms have been and are the pillars of what we know, what we do and what we create... science is based upon their observation... Pythagore, Ptolemee, Newton are considered great astrologists... but as the separation grew between science of matters and objects and science about people, science in the Western sense became exclusively focused on things rather than people and behaviours. Astronomy was real science and astrology was not anymore... I guess we are living in a world where we are re-learning who we are, re-learning the deep connection between people and things, subject and object... People like Jan Spiller show that despite the gutter into which much of astrology has fallen, there is an ancient-wisdom-based-science-driven astrology which still belongs to the nobility of man.

This was in comment of a question asked by Kiran: can astrology/numerology (not the predictive aspect but the self awareness aspect) help us discover our gifts? ..

http://www.facebook.com/kirangul?ref=nf

Build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't

2009-11-02T09:56:00.000-08:00

Appreciative inquiry - Beyond Problem-solving

This is what I feel is a new, powerful framework to get people working WELL together, not just working or working together...Why could things not flow? What if man was actually what can either obstruct or let go...?

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is an organizational development process or philosophy that engages individuals within an organizational system in its renewal, change and focused performance. AI is based on the assumption that organizations change in the way they inquire and the claim that an organization which inquires into problems or difficult situations will keep finding more of the same but an organization which tries to appreciate what is best in itself will find/discover more and more of what is good.

Appreciative Inquiry was adopted from work done by earlier action research theorists and practitioners and further developed by David Cooperrider of Case Western Reserve University and Suresh Srivatsva in the 1980s. Cooperrider and Srivatsva say that an organization is a miracle to be embraced rather than a problem to be solved. According to them, inquiry into organizational life should have the following characteristics:

Appreciative
Applicable
Provocative
Collaborative

It is now a commonly accepted practice in the evaluation of organizational development strategy and implementation of organizational effectiveness tactics.

Appreciative Inquiry is a particular way of asking questions and envisioning the future that fosters positive relationships and builds on the basic goodness in a person, a situation, or an organization. In so doing, it enhances a system's capacity for collaboration and change. Appreciative Inquiry utilizes a cycle of 4 processes focusing on:

DISCOVER: The identification of organizational processes that work well.
DREAM: The envisioning of processes that would work well in the future.
DESIGN: Planning and prioritizing processes that would work well.
DESTINY (or DELIVER): The implementation (execution) of the proposed design.

The basic idea is to build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't. It is the opposite of problem solving. Instead of focusing on gaps and inadequacies to find blame and remediate skills or practices, AI focuses on how to create more of the occasional exceptional performance that is occurring because a core of strengths is aligned. The approach acknowledges the contribution of individuals, in order to increase trust and organizational alignment. The method aims to create meaning by drawing from stories of concrete successes and lends itself to cross-industrial social activities. It can be enjoyable and natural to many managers, who are often sociable people.

There are a variety of approaches to implementing Appreciative Inquiry, including mass-mobilized interviews and a large, diverse gathering called an Appreciative Inquiry Summit (Ludema, Whitney, Mohr and Griffin, 2003). Both approaches involve bringing very large, diverse groups of people together to study and build upon the best in an organization or community.

The basic philosophy of AI is also found in other positively oriented approaches to individual change as well as organizational change. As noted above, " AI ...fosters positive relationships and builds on the basic goodness in a person, or a situation ...." The idea of building on strength, rather than just focusing on faults and weakness is a powerful idea in use in mentoring programs, and excellent performance evaluations. It is the basic idea behind teaching "micro-affirmations" as well as teaching about micro-inequities. (See Microinequity Rowe Micro-Affirmations and Micro-inequities in the Journal of the International Ombudsman Association, Volume 1, Number 1, March 2008.)

AI has been used extensively to foster change in businesses (a variety of sectors), health care systems, social profit organizations, educational institutions, communities, local governments, and religious institutions.

from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appreciative_inquiry

More: http://appreciativeinquiry.case.edu/

And: http://www.margiehartley.com/home/wp-content/uploads/file/APPRECIATIVE_INQUIRY_IN_Orgnizational_life.pdf

The summary of which reads: The position that is developed can be summarized as follows:

1- For action-research to reach its potential as a vehicle for social innovation it needs to begin advancing theoretical knowledge of consequence;

2- that good theory may be one of the best means human beings have for affecting change in a postindustrial world;

3- that the discipline's steadfast commitment to a problem-solving view of the world acts as a primary constraint on its imagination and contribution to knowledge;

4- that appreciative inquiry represents a viable complement to conventional forms of action-research; and finally,

5- that through our assumptions and choice of method we largely create the world we later discover.

The 4 practical steps to enact the laws of attractions... and background info on quantum mechanics

2009-10-28T05:52:00.000-07:00

Wiki Overview of the Law of Attraction and 4 practical steps to make it happen
The Law of Attraction claims to have roots in Quantum Physics. According to proponents of this law, thoughts have an energy which attracts whatever it is the person is thinking of. In order to control this energy to one's advantage, proponents state that people must practice four things:

Know exactly what you want.
Ask the universe for it.
Feel, behave and know as if the object of your desire is already yours (visualize).
Be open to receive it and let go of (the attachment to) the outcome.

Thinking of what one does not have, they say, manifests itself in not having, while if one abides by these principles, and avoids "negative" thoughts, the universe will manifest a person's desires.

See Quantum mind/body problem#Consciousness Causes Collapse - as quoted below:

Quantum mind/body problem
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The quantum mind/body problem refers to the philosophical discussions of the mind/body problem in the context of quantum mechanics. Since quantum mechanics involves quantum superpositions, which are not perceived by observers, quantum mechanics apparently places observers in a special position.

The founders of quantum mechanics debated the role of the observer, and of them, Pauli and Heisenberg believed that it was the observer that produced collapse. This point of view, which was never fully endorsed by Bohr, was denounced as mystical and anti-scientific by Einstein. Pauli accepted the term, and described quantum mechanics as lucid mysticism.[1]

Unlike Heisenberg and Bohr, who always described quantum mechanics in logical positivist terms, Hugh Everett took the wavefunction of quantum mechanics as a real description of the world. In the many-worlds interpretation, the memories of the observer splits at every measurement, leading to the subjective appearance of collapse.

This observation was separated from many-worlds interpretation by Wigner, who proposed that the consciousness of the observer is what causes collapse of the wavefunction, independent of any realist philosophy or splitting observers. Colloquially known as "consciousness causes collapse", this interpretation of quantum mechanics states that observation by a conscious observer is what makes the wave function collapse.

The interpretation identifies the non-linear probabilistic projection transformation which occurs during measurement with the selection of a definite state by a mind from the different possibilities which it could have in a quantum mechanical superposition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_Attraction

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantum_mind/body_problem#Consciousness_Causes_Collapse

PRINCIPLES OF WAR at a glance

2009-10-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

Thinking about strategies and utilisation of resources, the data below will be useful to create a referential.
What I will recall: concentration of force, economy of force, flexibility of maneuver, surprise...

We should think about the leading western figure in the field of war thinking: Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz, 1780-1831

quoting from some western military web (see the reference below)

As you can see, the principles of war differ from country to country.

Taken from this website: http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/prinwar.htm

Cultivating victory and Tactical dispositions - SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR

2009-10-27T07:29:00.000-07:00

To summarise what I just read (below), this is what I am getting:

What makes us win? Patience - What makes us lose? Useless moves, fighting and attacking without clear control. Now here is the translated text (web reference below):

IV. TACTICAL DISPOSITIONS


 1. Sun Tzu said:  The good fighters of old first put
    themselves beyond the possibility of defeat, and then
    waited for an opportunity of defeating the enemy.

 2. To secure ourselves against defeat lies in our
    own hands, but the opportunity of defeating the enemy
    is provided by the enemy himself.
 3. Thus the good fighter is able to secure himself against defeat,
    but cannot make certain of defeating the enemy.

 4. Hence the saying:  One may know how to conquer
    without being able to do it.

 5. Security against defeat implies defensive tactics;
    ability to defeat the enemy means taking the offensive.

 6. Standing on the defensive indicates insufficient
    strength; attacking, a superabundance of strength.

 7. The general who is skilled in defense hides in the
    most secret recesses of the earth; he who is skilled in
    attack flashes forth from the topmost heights of heaven. 
    Thus on the one hand we have ability to protect ourselves;
    on the other, a victory that is complete.

 8. To see victory only when it is within the ken
    of the common herd is not the acme of excellence.

 9. Neither is it the acme of excellence if you fight
    and conquer and the whole Empire says, "Well done!"

10. To lift an autumn hair is no sign of great strength;
    to see the sun and moon is no sign of sharp sight;
    to hear the noise of thunder is no sign of a quick ear.

11. What the ancients called a clever fighter is
    one who not only wins, but excels in winning with ease.

12. Hence his victories bring him neither reputation
    for wisdom nor credit for courage.

13. He wins his battles by making no mistakes. 
    Making no mistakes is what establishes the certainty
    of victory, for it means conquering an enemy that is
    already defeated.

14. Hence the skillful fighter puts himself into
    a position which makes defeat impossible, and does
    not miss the moment for defeating the enemy.

15. Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist
    only seeks battle after the victory has been won,
    whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights
    and afterwards looks for victory.

16. The consummate leader cultivates the moral law,
    and strictly adheres to method and discipline; thus it is
    in his power to control success.

17. In respect of military method, we have,
    firstly, Measurement; secondly, Estimation of quantity;
    thirdly, Calculation; fourthly, Balancing of chances;
    fifthly, Victory.

18. Measurement owes its existence to Earth;
    Estimation of quantity to Measurement; Calculation to
    Estimation of quantity; Balancing of chances to Calculation;
    and Victory to Balancing of chances.

19. A victorious army opposed to a routed one, is as
    a pound's weight placed in the scale against a single grain.

20. The onrush of a conquering force is like the bursting
    of pent-up waters into a chasm a thousand fathoms deep.

[To Chinese text |To Top]

SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR 
THE OLDEST MILITARY TREATISE IN THE WORLD
 
Translated from the Chinese
By LIONEL GILES, M.A. (1910)
From this website: http://www.chinapage.com/sunzi-e.html

Team Learning: what does it take to act together?

2009-10-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

Team learning. Such learning is viewed as ‘the process of aligning and developing the capacities of a team to create the results its members truly desire’ (Senge 1990: 236). It builds on personal mastery and shared vision – but these are not enough. People need to be able to act together. When teams learn together, Peter Senge suggests, not only can there be good results for the organization, members will grow more rapidly than could have occurred otherwise.

The discipline of team learning starts with ‘dialogue’, the capacity of members of a team to suspend assumptions and enter into a genuine ‘thinking together’. To the Greeks dia-logos meant a free-flowing if meaning through a group, allowing the group to discover insights not attainable individually…. [It] also involves learning how to recognize the patterns of interaction in teams that undermine learning. (Senge 1990: 10)

The notion of dialogue that flows through The Fifth Discipline is very heavily dependent on the work of the physicist, David Bohm (where a group ‘becomes open to the flow of a larger intelligence’, and thought is approached largely as collective phenomenon). When dialogue is joined with systems thinking, Senge argues, there is the possibility of creating a language more suited for dealing with complexity, and of focusing on deep-seated structural issues and forces rather than being diverted by questions of personality and leadership style. Indeed, such is the emphasis on dialogue in his work that it could almost be put alongside systems thinking as a central feature of his approach.

What it is like being part of a great team - Peter Senge and the 5 main dimensions of Learning Organisations

2009-10-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

For Peter Senge, real learning gets to the heart of what it is to be human. We become able to re-create ourselves. This applies to both individuals and organizations. Thus, for a ‘learning organization it is not enough to survive. ‘”Survival learning” or what is more often termed “adaptive learning” is important – indeed it is necessary. But for a learning organization, “adaptive learning” must be joined by “generative learning”, learning that enhances our capacity to create’ (Senge 1990:14).

The dimension that distinguishes learning from more traditional organizations is the mastery of certain basic disciplines or ‘component technologies’. The five that Peter Senge identifies are said to be converging to innovate learning organizations. They are:

Systems thinking
Personal mastery
Mental models
Building shared vision
Team learning

He adds to this recognition that people are agents, able to act upon the structures and systems of which they are a part. All the disciplines are, in this way, ‘concerned with a shift of mind from seeing parts to seeing wholes, from seeing people as helpless reactors to seeing them as active participants in shaping their reality, from reacting to the present to creating the future’ (Senge 1990: 69).

Taken from this good website: http://www.infed.org/thinkers/senge.htm#_Systems_thinking_%E2%80%93

Learnings in Life - Earning a living

2009-10-24T04:27:00.000-07:00

My first day as a Swami
The first day after I was ordained in the swami order, my master said, " Do you know that to be a swami you have to beg alms?' I said, "Huh?"

He said, "The ego in you says that you exist independently of others. You have to purify this ego, and you cannot do so without becoming humble. I will send you begging to houses where the people are poor, and then you will come to know who you are." I said, "Okay."

I will never forget what happened then. I was healthy and I was waering silken garb. Can you believe it, a beggar in silk? I used to walk freely with no cares. According to yoga you should stand and walk straight - but then people are likely to think you unduly proud. I went to be alms early in the morning, and came upon a woman who was milking a cow. She was singing and milking and had an earthen pot between her knees.

I said, "Narayan Hari." [This is the name of the Lord which swamis use to announce themselves.] She was so startled that she jumped up and the pot fell and broke. I thought, "Oh, Lord."

She was so angry she started shouting. "Such a strong, healthy man begging! You are a burden to the nation and a burden to yourself! Who taught you this begging? You have money to wear a silk garment, and yet you are begging!"

I felt very small. I implored her, "Please don't call me names." She said, "This was an antique pot given to me by my mother-in-law! You parasite! Get out of my sight!" She was so attached to the pot that she went on and on.

I went back to my master. It had been his custom to ask me every day, "Have you taken your food?" I expected him to ask me that day as usual, but he didn't. The whole day I remained quiet, and so did he. He was quiet by nature all the time. In the evening I complained, "Today you did not ask me if I have taken food."

He said, "I did not, because you are a swami now."
I asked, "What do you mean by that?"
He answered, "A swami is master of himself and master of all his appetites."
I said, "So, this swami business means you will not take care of me?"
He told me, "Now you are a swami and I am a swami. What is the difference between you and me? You wanted to become a swami. Now take care of yourself. Why should you use me as a crutch?"

I became very sad and pensive and decided that I should be independant now. I said, "I promise that from this day on I will never beg alms, no matter what happens. If God wants me to live, I will live and meditate - but I will never beg alms."

He said, "If you want to stick to your promise, that's your choice. I have nothing to say.You are a swami."

With this vow I went and sat on a bank of the Ganges. People came to see me there and everybody assumed that someone else was caring for me. Many brought flowers and bowed before me, but no one brought fruit or anything to eat. For thirteen days nobody asked me whether I had eaten. I became so weak that I could hardly walk. I thought, "Why did I ever do such a silly thing as become a swami?"

After thirteen days I started weeping. I began talking to the Divine Mother. I said, "I have taken a vow to follow this path righteously, but there is not even a loaf of bread for me." Suddenly I saw a hand coming out of the water - only a hand holding a bowl filled with food. It started coming toward me, and I heard a woman's voice saying, "Here, this is for you." I took the bowl and ate. No matter how much I ate, the bowl did not empty.

I kept that bowl for three years. I used to distribute the food from it to many people and it wouldn't be exhausted. If you put sweets in it, you could not fill it. This was witnessed by thousands of people who used to come and see it. They would continue to pour milk in it, but it never overflowed.I became a slave to that bowl. People did not learn anything from me; they came just to see the miraculous bowl. My master advised, "Throw it in the Ganges." And I followed his advice.

God presents many temptations to you when you are on the path. Only when you reject all the temptations will you have arrived. When a little child weeps, what does the mother do? The mother may first give the child candy. If the child goes on crying, the mother tries several other bribes - a doll, a cookie. If the child still does not stop, then the mother picks up the child and holds her. It is some time before the mother holds the child; first she tries several other attractions. The same thing happens to us on the path of self-realization.

Begging alms is a must for a monk, but a humiliations to others. I realized that those who totally live on the grace of the Almighty receive the necessary food to eat and shelter to live. Worrying for food and shetlter is not complete faith. I will believe till the last breath of my life that God alone is my property and depending on any other thing except God will bring disaster in my life. I find my lord always walking before me providing all the things I need.

Swami Rama, Living with the Himalayan Masters

Welcome to Joo Hock

2009-10-22T22:40:00.000-07:00

We come to Joo Hock
Joo Hock has agreed to become an author for OIA Learning Hub blog. That's an honor and a privilege for us as we are inspired by Joo Hock's turn of life... the book he wrote, his passion with Buckminster Fuller and how he dedicates his life and time to spreading the wisdom of Buckminster Fuller. Joo Hock do share with us as much as you feel like and we hope to grow and attract more followers in our quest for "playing together, learning together, living together".
Ludo

Story telling, story telling and organisations, story telling in the broader frame of things, an intro...

2009-10-16T19:30:00.000-07:00

I am wanting to tell you more about story telling... Reality is... the best is to listen and captivated by the story and the narator of course. It comes in pair.... If you are interested, why not check these links which I just uncovered... we could start from there...
In Singapore:
http://www.asianstorytellingnetwork.com/
http://www.bookcouncil.sg/sisf/
In the US, from the Smithsonian Associates (The Smithsonian Associates is recognized as the largest and most esteemed museum-based continuing education program in the nation):
http://www.creatingthe21stcentury.org/

A inspiring intro to an event from these people:

"This event is a bridge between the worlds: storytelling and organizations.
You are part of this story... in ways we don't yet understand. We are part of this story... in ways we don't yet understand. This story is being told through our lives.
This story is larger than us.
.
This story is not finished being told.
Today a new chapter will be written here, in our gathering

What will your contribution be? It's a mystery.
It's alive.
It's in you.
It's in me.
It's in this room.
And, it has been here since
the beginning of time.
Welcome.

The Power Of Storytelling, Parable and Simplicity, An Economist Viewpoint

2009-10-16T18:58:00.000-07:00

"There is also a deeper point: A simple story is not the same as a simplistic one. Even our little parable reveals possibilities that no amount of investigative reporting could uncover. It suggests, in particular, that what might seem to a naive commentator like a natural conclusion - if productivity growth in the steel industry reduces the number of jobs for steelworkers, then productivity growth in the economy as a whole reduces employment in the economy as a whole - may well involve a crucial fallacy of composition"

Paul Krugman, in The Accidental Theorist, 1997

This photo is published on my blog with the authorisation of Gary Waidson (© Gary Waidson 2009) and here is a link to the web site it was created for: http://www.lore-and-saga.co.uk

On Play And Innovation - Views from a Nobel Prize Econonomist

2009-10-16T18:25:00.000-07:00

"I use the word "play" advisedly: Innovative thinkers, in economics and other disciplines, often have a pronouced whimsical streak. It so happens that I am about to use my hot-dog-and-bun example to talk about technology, jobs, and the future of capitalism. And I plan to make some serious points about those subjects - the kind of points that can only be made if you are willing to play around with a thought experiment or two.

Extract from a book entitled "The Accidental Theorist" published in 1998 and written by Paul Krugman, Nobel Prize for Economy

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Krugman

The Laws of attractions

2009-10-10T10:07:00.000-07:00

The Secret is a movie / documentary.

The first 20 minutes can be viewed online for free. Enough to at least grasp what it is about: In a nutshell "So you think, so you become", in other words, you become what you are thinking about... whether good... or bad...

Therefore... the power of thoughts... the power of positive thinking... the need for an internal form of discipline... Thoughts may not be "controllable" but the attention we pay to them may... it all starts from being aware of our thoughts, paying attention... and them making conscious choices... a journey

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_b1GKGWJbE8&feature=player_embedded

Increasing Awareness with the Johari Window

2009-10-06T21:16:00.000-07:00

The principle of Johari window (named after Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham) is that, if you open yourself to others through Sharing and Self-disclosure, and if you look for others to show more of you by seeking feedback - then you enlarge your Arena (quadrant 1). This is crucial for creating openness in your team and developing effective interpersonal relationship. Being able to provide feedback to the team members, especially those that are negative, is equally important.

There are certain aspects of our lives that are known to us as well as others our P'ublic Image, which is Transparent. This is the Arena.

There are other aspects, which we know ourselves but others don't know - the Hidden or the Private Self or the Façade.

Certain aspects about ourselves are known to others but we don't know about them - the Blind Spot.

And then there are always some aspects of our lives about which neither we ourselves, nor others know about - the Unknown!

Most people don’t take advantage of or make effort to enlarging the ARENA (See shaded area) due to the perceived risk involved in their disclosing about self or providing genuine feedback (particularly the negatives) – the Fear of Consequences! In an atmosphere of Trust and people start comfortable with each other, the group then becomes ready to function and Perform as a Team.

New begining... and continuity

2009-10-02T06:06:00.000-07:00

OIA Learning Hub has emerged....

Two years later I am proud to write this new post. So much has happened and yet we are still where we were... the teacher... and the student.... Two positions which sometimes - often - interperse....

Well to start fresh and revigorated, I would like to call on a very special person... and a special personnality... Mr Buckminster Fuller

Welcome to OIA learning blog - a forum on learning and experiential learning

2007-01-31T07:10:00.000-08:00

Well - I can forsee a lot of input from a number of very smart, very valuable people. The good news is even if you feel that you are not so smart after all, and u feel that your contribution may not be valuable - why? - in fact it does not matter provided you are a sincere contributor.

The beauty about experiential learning is that it involves much, much more than just the brain or the mind. In fact we are definetly not interested by preaching or teaching in the old way... Experiential teaching is something which decentralise the role of the teacher, no more position of authority, nothing like I talk and you listen.... So what it is? let's see, let's start the ball rolling...

Examples of Emotional Literacy	Examples of What is NOT Emotional Literacy
I feel.... criticized unimportant disrespected bored	I feel like ....I feel that... I feel like you .... (This is a "you message" in disguise. See below)

OIA Learning Hub - Experiential learning - www.outdoorinasia.com

Charles Handy on Qualities of Vision and Leadership - What does he sees when he looks under the stairs?

Left brain-right brain - intertwined, interconnected and interdependent

Intuitive mind / rational mind - Servant and master

Think "Design" - Think "Tools" - Buckminster Fuller

So what IS Experience?

Joo Hock on Perspectives can be very empowering

Edward de Bono on creative thinking and perceptual thinking vs judgemtat and design thinking

Are you a Verb?

Universe as Experiences of Energy Events

David Cooperrider and appreciative inquiry

Richard Boyatzis and resonant leadership

Charles Handy on Qualities of Vision and Leadership

Creative workforce - what energize people working together?

Innovation & creative workshop

Characteristic of great leaders according to JK Galbraith

Krishnamurti - being what we are

Cross-cultural awareness, competences and other related jargon. Training ideaS

Open space facilitation

Learning and facilitation. How to learn? How to teach? How to reach

Cross-Cultural Managment - Various concept and approaches

Cross-Cultural Management:A Knowledge Management Perspective

Description

Features

Table of Contents

Back Cover

George Smoot on the design of the universe | Video on TED.com

Being childlike - a life of promise and efforts - Learning with Joy

Conformity and to be totally free from comparison

habits and getting stunned

Governmental or non-profit organizations typically include a specific perspective at the top of their strategy map

Strategic mapping

Outdoor education - field of interest to share at the MOE conference

Outdoor education - "The curious garden" - what does that mean?

Edward De Bono - Atlas of Management Thinking

Intro to Robert Fritz and his ideas

Ghost in the Machine

Culture, Believes, Vision, Stories - Some thoughts and theories

Culture is represented in a group’s:

language,decision making,symbols,stories and legends, anddaily work practices.

Dialogue, an activity that might well prove vital to the future health of our civilization. Dialogue and leadership

Fragmentation of thought, overspecialisation ... Are we aware? and then? Deadliest poison in town!!

Exploring thoughts and dialogue with David Bohm

Some competencies for Learning Organisations

Inspiring quotes on Simplicity

Driving Simplicity

Common sense - Something the world is lacking

Multiple Intelligences in the context of education

The infusion curriculum

Conflict resolution 101

Feeling the feelings

Learning and racing

Emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman

Emotional intelligence - a sound enterprise

Looking forward - thinking ahead

Attributes of servant leadership, a powerful driver to enhance teamwork

The Quadrants of Human Action

About integrity.... a framework

Do Three Things And The World Changes

Kathlyn and Gay Hendrickswww.hendricks.com

Do Three Things And The World Changes

Let’s Come Together And Imagine A New World Into Being

Customer Service in the new world

Feelings and Bucky and the whole Humanity

Learning - the risk and joy of learning - the gut to learn... and the curiosity

Knowing Joo Hock... we need more of it :-)

Customer service and Jay Abraham's strategy of Preeminence

Customer Service 101

Facilitation - being in the now

Integrity - A holistic approach to integrity

Dialogue, Stages and Components of a Dialogue Session

Team Learning: a discipline that goes far beyond team building

Teams and capturing the significance of teams

Can astrology/numerology (not the predictive aspect but the self awareness aspect) help us discover our gifts?

Build organizations around what works, rather than trying to fix what doesn't

The 4 practical steps to enact the laws of attractions... and background info on quantum mechanics

PRINCIPLES OF WAR at a glance

Cultivating victory and Tactical dispositions - SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR

SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR THE OLDEST MILITARY TREATISE IN THE WORLD Translated from the ChineseBy LIONEL GILES, M.A. (1910)

Team Learning: what does it take to act together?

language,
decision making,
symbols,
stories and legends, and
daily work practices.

Kathlyn and Gay Hendricks
www.hendricks.com

SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR
THE OLDEST MILITARY TREATISE IN THE WORLD

Translated from the Chinese
By LIONEL GILES, M.A. (1910)