Change at the Speed of Thought

I told the kids the other day that, after a year of pursuing my Masters degree, I finally think I understand what I'm studying in school. Max asked me to explain what my studies meant to him. I explained that I couldn't explain what my studies meant to him. I had only figured out WHAT I was studying, not what it means or why it matters!

I like to share this kind of information with my kids. I want them to know that I don't expect them to understand everything the first time they hear it - I sure don't understand everything the first time I hear it! Sometimes it takes perseverence and repetition and just plain old faith that if you keep on plugging away at it, eventually you'll get it.

My original pronouncement was brought on by some reading from Appreciative Inquiry and Organizational Transformation: Reports from the Field. I used the chapter written by Marjorie Schiller, "Imagining Inclusion: Men and Women in Organizations," to ground my thinking about how AI could be used to study diversity in my own organization. And guess what? I understood what I was reading! Not only did I understand it on a cognitive level, but I felt it at a gut level. Further, I was able to take what I read in that chapter, combine it with my experience of studying diversity in another organization, and create something fresh and new and richer and deeper for my own project.

As I wrote up the proposal for my own project, I could feel the changes happening in me, too. That is one of the most remarkable things about this kind of organizational change work - even as you begin the thought process, the change begins to happen. It's magical!

Blue Christmas

I'm really sad today. I can't understand why - nothing has changed. Wait - maybe that's why. Nothing has changed.

What if . . .

. . . everyone I knew, and everyone you knew, and everyone they knew were to begin working to make the UN Millenium Development Goals a reality?

Grease is the Word?

No, INNOVATION is the word for 2006.

This contest solicited ideas from 'ordinary Americans' about how to improve the economy.

SinceSlicedBread.com

In a couple of weeks you'll be able to vote for your favorite ideas. The winner takes home $100,000.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town!

We're still preparing for Santa! Kids are bouncing off the walls! Groan-ups are pulling their hair out at the roots!

Coolaboration

I created a new "team blog" today: Positively Complex. Only "members" can post. I've invited all of the AMOC, CIGO, and MPOD students and faculty to participate.

Home Cooking

Niko wrote this post about assembling baklava this week. I'm wishing I was there to savor his baklava, even if he does put pistachios (?!) in it. He does add my favorite ingredients: lemon juice and love.

Metaphor for Wendy

Writing a resume is like creating a beautiful floral arrangement. You don't choose wilted, dead flowers to display; you choose the freshest, brightest ones. And you don't overstuff the arrangement with dozens of different flowers or different colors; you limit the palette to create a harmonious, unified composition.

Of course, the exception proves the rule.

If you build it, will they come?

What if I started a new collaborative blog for the CIGO and MPOD groups?