Omphaloskepsis

On Being Present

2008-05-04T18:05:00.003-04:00

Blogging has dropped off the radar as work and family responsibilities and concerns have taken up more mental energy and bandwidth.

I'm working hard to be a container for whatever my favorite artist and the kids need right now. Most of the time it is simply a matter of fully Being There.

Since I'm busy being there, it's hard to be here with any quality. I think of you all often, and I apologize that I have not been present for you. I know you understand.

Jill Bolte Taylor's Stroke of Insight

2008-04-06T16:02:00.003-04:00

TED Talks are one of my favorite media habits. This one is surprising and very moving, and I thought my friends would get a kick out of it, too. It takes a little less than 20 minutes to view.

"Not This Time."

2008-03-19T17:07:00.004-04:00

In this speech, Mr. Obama reveals a amazing grasp of the American racial divide. He is a sophisticated thinker, and in my mind he cuts to the chase about the reality and the politics of this election in this excerpt:

"For we have a choice in this country. We can accept a politics that breeds division, and conflict, and cynicism. We can tackle race only as spectacle - as we did in the OJ trial - or in the wake of tragedy, as we did in the aftermath of Katrina - or as fodder for the nightly news. We can play Reverend Wright's sermons on every channel, every day and talk about them from now until the election, and make the only question in this campaign whether or not the American people think that I somehow believe or sympathize with his most offensive words. We can pounce on some gaffe by a Hillary supporter as evidence that she's playing the race card, or we can speculate on whether white men will all flock to John McCain in the general election regardless of his policies.

We can do that.

But if we do, I can tell you that in the next election, we'll be talking about some other distraction. And then another one. And then another one. And nothing will change.

That is one option. Or, at this moment, in this election, we can come together and say, "Not this time." This time we want to talk about the crumbling schools that are stealing the future of black children and white children and Asian children and Hispanic children and Native American children. This time we want to reject the cynicism that tells us that these kids can't learn; that those kids who don't look like us are somebody else's problem. The children of America are not those kids, they are our kids, and we will not let them fall behind in a 21st century economy. Not this time.

This time we want to talk about how the lines in the Emergency Room are filled with whites and blacks and Hispanics who do not have health care; who don't have the power on their own to overcome the special interests in Washington, but who can take them on if we do it together.

This time we want to talk about the shuttered mills that once provided a decent life for men and women of every race, and the homes for sale that once belonged to Americans from every religion, every region, every walk of life. This time we want to talk about the fact that the real problem is not that someone who doesn't look like you might take your job; it's that the corporation you work for will ship it overseas for nothing more than a profit.

This time we want to talk about the men and women of every color and creed who serve together, and fight together, and bleed together under the same proud flag. We want to talk about how to bring them home from a war that never should've been authorized and never should've been waged, and we want to talk about how we'll show our patriotism by caring for them, and their families, and giving them the benefits they have earned."

Happy Pi Day!

2008-03-14T06:46:00.004-04:00

Things to be thankful for:

Pi Day - 3.14
Sleeping children
Hot, strong coffee
Home appliances in good working order
Herman Miller Aeron chair
The internets
A knowledgeable, compassionate doctor
Lunch with a good friend

New Positive Psychology Association

2008-03-13T07:30:00.004-04:00

I know many of my colleagues, former MPOD classmates, and friends will be interested in this newly forming organization for positive psychology.

David Cooperrider, Martin Seligman, Kim Cameron, and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi are among the many familiar names on the Board of Directors of the new International Positive Psychology Association.

There are several levels of membership to suit psychology professionals and even interested members of the public.

Frozen Grand Central

2008-03-09T12:11:00.001-04:00

Spring Forward

2008-03-08T10:39:00.002-05:00

Eastern Standard Time

Poetry speaks to all people, it is said,
but here I would like to address
only those in my own time zone,
this proper slice of longitude
that runs from pole to snowy pole
down the globe through Montreal to Bogota.

Oh, fellow inhabitants of this singular band,
sitting up in your many beds this morning—
the sun falling through the windows
and casting a shadow on the sundial—
consider those in other zones who cannot hear these words.

They are not slipping into a bathrobe as we are,
or following the smell of coffee in a timely fashion.

Rather, they are at work already,
leaning on copy machines,
hammering nails into a house-frame.

They are not swallowing a vitamin like us;
rather they are smoking a cigarette under a half moon,
even jumping around on a dance floor,
or just now sliding under the covers,
pulling down the little chains on their bed lamps.

But we are not like these others,
for at this very moment on the face of the earth,
we are standing under a hot shower,

or we are eating our breakfast,
considered by people of all zones
to be the most important meal of the day.

Later, when the time is right,
we might sit down with the boss,
wash the car, or linger at a candle-lit table,
but now is the hour for pouring the juice
and flipping the eggs with one eye on the toaster.

So let us slice a banana and uncap the jam,
lift our brimming spoons of milk,
and leave it to the others to lower a flag
or spin absurdly in a barber's chair—
those antipodal oddballs, always early or late.

Let us praise Sir Stanford Fleming
the Canadian genius who first scored
with these lines the length of the spinning earth.

Let us move together through the rest of this day
passing in unison from light to shadow,
coasting over the crest of noon
into the valley of the evening
and then, holding hands, slip into the deeper valley of night.

- Billy Collins

Happy Bissextile Day

2008-02-29T20:29:00.003-05:00

I'm not a leapling, but it was very close . . . my birthday is tomorrow. I'm a Rat. (But you already knew that.)

Happy Bissextile Day!

Thanks to Maureen for learning me a new word.

Anew by Dina

2008-02-18T17:09:00.007-05:00

My brilliant, beautiful, and wise cousin Dina has launched a web site to support her wellness coaching practice. Register to receive her newsletter!

The Meme Stops Here: 7 Random Things

2008-02-09T11:36:00.000-05:00

I've been memed by the triblogular Maureen. (I don't know how she finds the time to feed three blogmonsters.) Here are seven random things about me:

I love the movie The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I can watch it over and over and see something new in it every time. There's no accounting for taste.
I am reading The Mists of Avalon right now. I was reluctant to pick it up because I'm impatient with fiction , but Rosa said it was great and now I'm getting sucked in.
I write or maintain a number of other blogs. The most active one is called Green Buckeye, and it aspires to be a sustainability resource for Central Ohio.
I won the school spelling bee in fourth grade, and my name was in the The Plain Dealer.
I am currently subscribed to 149 RSS feeds. Almost 60 of those are "green" blogs. About 30 are blogs local to Columbus, Ohio. Another 25 pertain to my interests in organization development, leadership, and change management. The remainder cover a mixed bag of topics - everything from writing, blogging, parenting, home schooling (no, we don't home school), online collaboration, art, design, philosophy, linguistics, marketing, and science.
I am painfully introverted. It takes everything I've got to leave the house every morning.

The meme stops here. I will not willfully tag anyone else. If you're moved to play, though, please feel free to share 7 random things about you!

Be For Something

2008-01-19T11:54:00.000-05:00

Patti Digh of the blog 37 Days consistently writes great material. I thought my friends might like to read this post "B is for 'Be FOR Something.'" It's an attitude that resonates for someone who believes that we grow in the direction we ask questions about.

Art is by Donna Miller.

Family Update

2008-01-18T06:58:00.000-05:00

My favorite artist visited the neurosurgeon again yesterday. He was imaged (MRI) up and down for two hours. First the good news: there is no change in the size of the sclerotic bone lesion in his sacrum. Now the bad news: there is no change in the size of the sclerotic bone lesion in his sacrum. More watchful waiting is in order - he goes back in 3 months to be imaged again.

Meanwhile, my youngest son turns 9 years old today. He is very "into" his birthday this year. Last night we took a trip down memory lane by viewing his "Baby Book" at his request. Today Dad is making his favorite brownies for him to share with his class. Tomorrow we'll observe the Big Day officially with gifts, a special birthday dinner, and of course - chocolate cake!

My older son is rapidly transitioning into a teenager. He had exams this week, and is working on a robotics project for the Science Olympiad competition. Last week he received a recruiting letter from the Western Reserve Academy, a boarding school about 3 hours from home. I'm not ready to let my "little boy" leave home yet!

As I review this post, I wonder if I should edit it to move the health news to a more neutral location. It seems appropriate to leave it at the top of the page, though, as it seems to hang over our heads and color everything else in our lives right now. So, friends, know that I am aware of this and acknowledging it, and still appreciating all that is good and light.

David Cooperrider on Appreciative Inquiry

2008-01-15T06:43:00.001-05:00

Regular readers of this blog know that I graduated from the Masters program in Positive Organization Development and Change (MPOD) at Case Western Reserve University. One of the immeasureable benefits of attending that program was the opportunity to study Appreciative Inquiry with AI founder David Cooperrider.

This month you can attend a free online workshop and hear David speak about Appreciative Inquiry. David is an inspiring speaker, and AI is a growing "social technology" that helps organization imagine and design their futures. You won't want to miss this opportunity to hear David Cooperrider talk about Appreciative Inquiry!

You can register for the workshop on the MPOD web site.

You'll notice that this is a recruiting event for the MPOD program. Harlow Cohen, the director of the program, will host an online MPOD Open House after David's talk where you can ask questions about the program and learn more.

MPOD was transformational for me. If you're thinking about going back to school for a Masters in organization development, you should seriously consider the Case program. The Organizational Behavior department at Case has been rated top in the world by the Financial Times for several years running. All the hype aside, the professors are spectacular, the program attracts serious, committed, sincere, talented, and accomplished students, and you will learn more about yourself and the world than you ever dreamed possible.

Tags: appreciative inquiry, David Cooperrider, MPOD

The Story of Stuff

2008-01-12T18:39:00.000-05:00

This entertaining little film about all our "stuff" is one I would like all my friends to view. It takes 20 minutes to watch the entire piece, and I think it is well worth the time.

Annie Leonard, a sustainability consultant, has put together a wonderful and easy-to-understand piece that gets to the heart of sustainability. She brings it all together in one place in a fun way, and I think you will enjoy this show, The Story of Stuff!

Tag: The Story of Stuff

Johnny the Bagger

2008-01-08T07:05:00.000-05:00

I enjoyed this inspirational, if somewhat sentimental, video about making a difference at work. You might enjoy it, too.

Probably veryone knows Ken Blanchard, but you might not be so familiar with Barbara Glanz. She's a speaker and author who has written a number of books, most of them about customer service. I actually contributed a personal story to one of her books,What Can I Do?

Watchful Waiting

2007-12-16T16:52:00.000-05:00

Visits to specialists in two states and scores of tests have produced no definitive diagnosis for my favorite artist. While tests continue, we are officially in a period of "watchful waiting." What are we waiting for? We're waiting for whatever-it-is to become bad enough that it can be fully identified and treated.

Grateful for Friends

2007-11-28T14:28:00.000-05:00

Hello Friends.

Some of you know that my favorite artist is in ill health. This week he has traveled to the renowned Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He is undergoing numerous tests and his illness is being evaluated (characterized?) by the world expert in his particular illness.

It has been a rough few months for our family, and this week it feels like the stress has ratcheted up a notch - probably because we are out of our routines and comfort zones.

I am grateful to my family and friends who continue to call, write, think about, and pray for us. I know we are lucky to have the means to send him to the Clinic, and we are so very fortunate to have you all supporting us. Thank you for your love and kind thoughts.

If you'd like to keep up with him, the artist occasionally posts sketchbook-photos from his travels on his phonecam blog.

Reflections on Facebook #2

2007-10-02T06:53:00.000-04:00

I remember the first time I saw a Mac laptop breathing. You know how when you shut the lid the light surges gently on and off - it gives the sense that the machine is sleeping, as opposed to off (or dead, to extend the metaphor).

The Facebook interface makes me feel the same way as that breathing Mac. In some sense it is alive in a way that MySpace or LinkedIn is not. Updates from friends show up on the interface - pictures they may have uploaded, status updates (somewhat akin to tweets on Twitter), and favorites they have added to del.icio.us. It's quite compelling!

I would love to keep Facebook open on my desktop all day and be able to check in on what's going on. It has an immediate, companionable quality - as if I were collaborating in realtime with a group of friends.

Tag: facebook

First Reflections on Facebook

2007-09-30T20:10:00.000-04:00

When my friend and mentor Loretta Donovan invited me to join Facebook, how could I refuse? She's always ahead of the learning curve and wide open to new experiences in a way that I admire, respect, and want to emulate.

So I joined Facebook. In doing so, I've jumped into a world of light-hearted online interaction. I was surprised to find so many well respected OD practitioners in that environment: Open Space facilitator Chris Corrigan, online facilitator Nancy White, and graphic facilitator Mark Pinto among many others.

Shortly after registering myself, I invited others in my network to join. There have been mixed reactions to the invitation. Some have joined, surprised that they were "allowed" to join (they thought you had to have school emails, or be under a certain age). Some have declined, saying they are already connected through another social networking service like LinkedIn. And a few have joined with reservations about providing the email passwords requested to invite other friends - reservations that I share.

I've been using Facebook for about a week now. Today I created a group for "MPOD and Friends" and invited the MPOD crew (and CIGO and AMOC) to connect. Come and play on Facebook!

Tags: facebook, MPOD

Art of the Appreciative Question

2007-09-27T06:44:00.000-04:00

Most evenings I ask the kids to recount the best thing that happened at school that day. They've come to expect it, so the question and answers have grown a little stale.

Yesterday, in an effort to re-energize the question, I asked my eight-year-old, "What's your teacher's favorite thing to do at school?" He seemed truly puzzled by the question for a moment or two. Then he came to life with an answer, "She loves math games!" He went on to describe the games with much relish and excitement, and we reenacted the "brain vs. calculator" game with Dad and his older brother to really get a feeling for it.

It was a nice family moment.

That appreciative question generated a lot of learning! I learned about something going on in the classroom. I also learned that an appreciative question doesn't necessarily need to be about the person you are talking to (my son). It can be something that will elicit thoughts about someone else's joy (his teacher).

Does the teacher really love math games? I'm not sure, but she's certainly inspired enthusiasm in my son! (Thank you, Miss C.)

(edited 11/28/2007 to correct an error)

OD Network Conference 2007

2007-09-23T18:49:00.000-04:00

I'll be attending the OD Network Conference 2007 in October. Will you be making the trip to Baltimore? If so, let me know so we can connect!

Tag: OD Network Conference 2007

Nexus II: Let the Games Begin

2007-09-23T17:20:00.000-04:00

If you were intrigued by the descriptions of the Nexus for Change conference that appeared on this blog and in many others, you might want to check out the web site. Planning for Nexus II is beginning, and you're invited to join in.

Tags: nexusforchange, nexusII

New Form of Graphic Facilitation

2007-09-23T17:17:00.000-04:00

Tag: graphic facilitation

Five Things I Learned in May

2007-05-27T12:14:00.000-04:00

They aren't as sexy as Terry Starbucker's 5 things, but here goes anyway:

I've become better at accepting and more appreciative of feedback at work. Feedback is a gift and an opportunity for growth, which is an attitude and approach I didn't get growing up. Now I know it gives me something I can reflect and act on, if I so choose.
John Coltrane's "Crescent" makes me hold my breath in the same way I do when I watch a trapeze act. You can hear a commentary on the piece by Dave Liebman over at The Traneumentary.
The healthcare system in the US is broken. No matter how many stories you hear in the media about this, you can't fully understand it until you are faced with a serious illness and you cannot identify the right person or group to help, let alone get their attention.
My oldest son turns 12 today. Parenting is the learning journey of a lifetime, and he never ceases to challenge me on all levels. This month I learned that he still has the ability to short-circuit my higher thinking and drive me straight into lowest-common-denominator reactive behavior! I also learned that I should trust his choices in friends a little more - he demonstrated that he has a more sophisticated understanding of the subtleties of human behavior than I gave him credit for.
Tagging can be a great tool for sharing and gleaning information. Until this month I was mostly using del.ic.ious as a place to store my own favorites. But recently I've started to "mine" other peoples' tags, and I've found a lot of stuff I probably never would have found any other way.

Rapid Fire Learning

The Meltdown

2007-05-01T18:49:00.000-04:00

It's becoming harder and harder to stick to the script. The conversation at lunch began with an innocent-enough question.

"Do you know where to buy fondant?"

"Excuse me?" (Did she just ask me about fondant?)

"Fondant - do you know where I can buy it? I was up until 2:00 a.m. this morning planning my baby's first birthday cake. I'm going to bake two kinds of cake, then cut them into squares and assemble them into blocks. I want to cut the block letters out of fondant, so they'll look really nice."

"Oh. No, sorry, I don't know anything about fondant." (When I'm up at 2:00 a.m., I'm worrying about the coming climate-change cataclysm. I can't think of anything else to say for the rest of lunch.)

The word "fondant" comes from fondre, the French equivalent of "melting."

Who Gives a Dam?

2007-04-24T06:56:00.000-04:00

Miss Malarkey wrote me yesterday asking about the blog and essentially inquiring whether I was still alive.

I haven't felt particularly inspired to write, and what I felt like writing didn't seem very positive or upbeat or even coherent, so I stopped lest I visit my funk upon you all. Now I see it has been a month since I've posted.

I hope everyone is well, and that your collective success is proceeding apace. (What the heck does that mean, Tina? Well, now you see why I haven't posted.)

I Never Dreamed . . . Bloggers at the Nexus

2007-03-24T19:10:00.000-04:00

I want to acknowledge the other bloggers I met at the Nexus. It was such fun to walk up to someone whom I had never met before and say, "Hi! I'm Tina, and I read your blog!"

In no particular order, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting or talking with these bloggers:

Gabriel Shirley, key conference convener and a guy who teaches fish to dance
Zach Smith, who blogs from Japan and embodies quiet leadership
Keith Instone, a user experience guy who demonstrated unbelievable courage by spending two days with a group of "touchy-feely" process consultants
Mario Gastaldi, who blogs brilliantly and bilingually in Italian and English
Nancy White, who manages to be creative every second of every day (and maybe even while she's sleeping! - she told me she dreams blog posts . . . )
John Abbe, an old school geek who is far ahead of his time
Myriam Laberge, who is as composed and elegant as she appears in her photo
Loretta Donovan, who group blogs at Appreciative Inquiry Annotations, and . . .
Ivan Overton, a South African change agent who participated in the group Change Management Blog (alas, I didn't meet his fellow blogger Holger Nauheimer)

Other bloggers who were there, but whom I did not meet or perhaps met but did not know were bloggers . . .

Jon Kennedy, who supported the whole conference platform on his GroupMind software (thank you so much, Jon!)
Brian Childs, who was blogging for the host college, Bowling Green State University
Doug Germann, who I think I may have met in a World Cafe conversation, but did not know was a blogger at the time, and . . .
Kaliya Hamlin, who patiently tolerated my fumbling attempts at literally stepping through change during the Leadership Dojo

There's so much from the conference to share, and I know I'll never be able to document it all. Be sure to check out these other bloggers and the del.icio.us or Technorati tag "nexusforchange" for more reflections.

Tag: nexusforchange

3/25 UPDATE: Correcting the link to Gabriel's blog, and adding another blogger:

Peter Jones

On the Road to Nexus

2007-03-21T06:56:00.000-04:00

After work I'll be driving up to Bowling Green for the Nexus. There is excitement with a tinge of nervousness. Why am I going? What is my role?

Rosa told me not to worry about labels and to follow my nose, and that is what I plan to do.

Of course I'm looking forward to hearing from some of the Big Names in OD. But I'm also excited about seeing my former MPOD classmate Rita and her husband Dan. And then there's just the buzz that goes with any road trip!

Nancy White has already arrived in Bowling Green and shared this reflection.

Tag: nexusforchange

My First Meme: Media Consumption

2007-03-17T20:43:00.000-04:00

I've always watched memes wave through the blogosphere with a teeny bit of envy. Like the high school geek observing the popular kids from afar, I was never tagged to join the party.

Then, a few weeks ago, Nancy White tagged me for the media diet meme. After eating my heart out for so long, you would think I would have jumped at the chance to participate. And I did start a post right away. And then, the excitement wore off and the draft post got buried, and the party was nearly over before I joined!

So here I am today, listening to the strains of the last song at the party and helping to clean up the chip bags and confetti . . .

Web
I live online. The first time I saw the Web was on Todd and Kathy's computer in 1994. They were AI (artificial intelligence, not appreciative inquiry) researchers, and they showed me an online art museum site - it might have been the Louvre, I don't remember. I was bowled over, and I fell in love with the possibilities of this new technology. So, with all those years of weblust behind me, you'd think I'd be a truly sophisticated user, right? Oddly, I'm not. I love the access to content (just like that first glimpse of that online art museum), and the underlying tech is just the means to my end of finding great content. So I use the basics.

Browser - Internet Explorer
Email - Gmail
Bookmarks - del.icio.us
Aggregator - Bloglines (83 feeds)
Wiki - No. I have yet to find an intuitive wiki interface, or a wiki with content to which I felt compelled (or qualified!) to contribute. So shoot me.
Groups - Yahoo. I've recently joined a couple of Google groups, and boy-oh-boy am I struggling with those.
Blog Platform - Blogger. I tried Wordpress and couldn't make heads or tails of the interface. I have serious typepad-envy.
IM - Sametime at work. I used AIM when there was a reason - during school Pam and I would IM while we were studying and writing papers. (I sound like a 14-year-old, don't I?)
Skype - Just skyped for the first time a few weeks ago. Had been invited to set up accounts before, but had no built-in hardware (microphone), so I didn't bother.

Radio
NPR news during the weekday drivetimes, and music programs in the evenings (we especially like The World Cafe). NPR and PRI features on the weekend. Starting on Saturday morning at 10, it's Car Talk, Whad'ya Know? Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, and A Prairie Home Companion.

Music
Hubby is the family DJ. He plays an eclectic mix of rock and jazz. We like Radio Paradise online.

TV
Broadcast only. It's on a lot with sound off and closed captioning on. The sound comes up for The Office and severe weather alerts.

Books
If we stopped buying books, the local B&N would go out of business within a month. I'm sure of it.

Podcasts
I download and actually listen to a number of podcasts.

Movies
"Family" movies on DVD. We just watched Mirrormaskfrom the Jim Henson Company.

Communication
Not so much voice comm. Mobile phone. Landline is used for dialup access. I just bought a mobile broadband card for my laptop, and I'm in high-speed heaven.

Magazines
None for me, but I read the kids' Muse on occasion, and I've thumbed through Makemore than once.

Newspapers
Nope. Never. I hate the smell and feel of newsprint.

Now, who to help mop up the stale beer? How about Dave, Maureen, Connie and Steve, Professor Piderit, Cheri, and Starbucker. They're all good sports.

Tag: media consumption diet

Re-Connecting with Case

2007-03-04T18:09:00.000-05:00

While I consider myself quite reserved, you know that I push myself to stretch and grow. Wednesday night I pushed myself by attending an event that I ordinarily would not.

My alma mater, Case Western Reserve University, hosted a "president's reception" for Ohio legislators in the Statehouse Atrium. Case alumni were invited to meet members of the 2007 Ohio General Assembly. I think I met one (minority whip of the house?) very briefly - too briefly to even mention - but that wasn't really why I went.

The fun was in seeing Case alumni whose names I've only ever seen in the news - Lee Fisher and Marc Dann, for example - and in running into an old friend - Sudhir Raghupathy of Ingenuity Cleveland. Current coworker Bernie Rifkin and his wife Barbara were also in attendance, and we learned about plans for a Case Alumni House from the university architect.

I also met Mohan Reddy, the new Dean of the CWRU Weatherhead School of Management. He is incredibly personable, and I wish him the best as he takes the helm at Weatherhead. Mohan shared that there are plans to take the MPOD program to Spain and India! If I understood him correctly, he indicated that the whole program - not simply the international study tour portion of the Cleveland-based program - would be hosted in those countries.

I also met Barbara Snyder, the incoming President of Case. Also friendly and personable, she carries our fondest hopes and wishes for the future of the university with her.

All in all, the event connected me with others who care about the future. I think it was a good stretch.

Tags: MPOD, CWRU

Reflections on the Fishbowl

2007-02-26T19:31:00.000-05:00

The fishbowl is a memory now, but you can view the remnants of that memory on the Nexus for Change web site. It's fascinating to me to see the myriad ways people process reality. The Nexus was consciously processed in real-time through a graphic recording, an audience chat, and a live blog. The call audio was recorded, too. I'll update you when the recording is posted for listening.

What about the prep work that went into creating, planning, and supporting the fishbowl? Steve Cady told a one-sentence anecdote about conceiving the fishbowl during a conversation with Gabriel Shirley. A team of designers, including Nancy White, Karen James, Jon Kennedy, and Steve Pyser worked for months to craft the experience. Thought leaders were engaged and documented. There was a dry-run practice session! And finally the Big Day arrived.

After the call, the fishbowl team convened via Skype for a debrief. Reflections on lessons learned and what we could do better next time (if there is a next time) were elicited and documented. An idea to follow up with the audience via online survey emerged (a draft is out there already!). Statistics of how many were on the call - total, at any one time, and for how long - have been shared via email. The backchannel Skype chats the process team engaged in have been saved down and distributed, too.

Remarkably, the whole is (still) more than the sum of its parts. The sensemaking began long ago and will go on from here, throughout the Nexus event, and into the future.

What sense do you make of whole group methods? Are they a fad, as one thought leader hinted? Too positive? Not grounded in research and/or reproducible result?

I think I resonate most to something thought-leader Peter Block said: "When we plan an event in community . . . the work into planning the event builds community . . . there's a nuance in all of that." For me that means that it isn't about the outcome per se, it is about the process.

What do you think?

Tags: nexusforchange,

What Good Is It If No One Uses It?

2007-02-19T15:35:00.000-05:00

On the Nexus for Change site there is a list of community of practice and pre-conference gatherings. Each of them provides a link to a registration page where you can indicate you'd like to attend. Someone has even provided short instructions at the top of the page that tell you how to access the registration page.

It's interesting and I think important to note that the only registration page with any RSVPs is the one for the technology enthusiasts.

Clearly, these Web 2.0 technologies, intended to support communities of all kinds, are most widely accepted and used by those who have an established comfort level with technology.

How can those of us who are enthusiastic about the value of these social technologies help others see their value and become more comfortable with them?

Tags: nexusforchange, Web2.0

Great Writing: Seth Godin Says It's All On Me (And He's Right)

2007-02-18T21:16:00.000-05:00

Seth Godin is an A-list blogger (among other, more important things). I don't generally link to these super-successful bloggers, because you'll find them on your own. But he said some things about writing this week that hit me hard and have been nagging at me. In writing about writing, Seth wrote:

"The thing most people miss most is that they no longer have an excuse. Without a publisher/editor/boss to blame, your writing is your writing. Your followup is your followup. That means some people become trains without tracks. They just sit there.

The barriers are gone, the costs are zero. The question is: what are you going to do with your writing?"

He's right, of course. So there's no one else to blame that this blog isn't more thought-provoking or more interesting or prettier than it is. It's all on me. How annoying. Reminds me of the Mary Oliver line:

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?"

A Great Reference: The Change Handbook

2007-02-17T21:10:00.000-05:00

It appears that the Nexus for Change is in part an offshoot of the publication of this new edition of The Change Handbook and The Handbook of Large Group Methods. Many of the editors and chapter authors of both will be in attendance at the Nexus.

A few weeks ago Nancy White, an author featured in The Change Handbook, offered a copy of the second edition to the first five commenters to a post on her blog. Since my comment was among the first five, Nancy forwarded a copy to me. (Thanks, Nancy!)

Saturday I opened the book and started reading - it was tough to put down. There are 61 different whole system change methods detailed in the handbook. The format makes the information readily accessible (what else would you expect from people passionate about organizational learning?) and eminently browsable. One-page descriptions and a longer chapter describe each method. The methods are presented in a consistent format that makes them easy to compare.

If that isn't enough, there are chapters that provide an overview of the emerging "field" of whole system change methods, as well as thoughts about what aspects are shared among the methods and what makes each unique. All in all, it's a great reference for organization development practitioners and community change activitists.

Tags: nexusforchange, changehandbook

(Spelling) Bee Season

2007-02-14T17:56:00.000-05:00

My 11-year-old son is representing his grade in the district-wide spelling bee. In preparation and celebration, we picked up the DVD Akeelah and the Bee. It was fun and inspiring, and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

Unfortunately, I think it was also a little intimidating - those words at the national level are tough! And how many kids have a dedicated coach who is an English professor and knows Latin? It would be hard to compete with that kind of preparation, no matter how long you studied on your own.

My son and I are going to have to redouble our efforts if we want to make it to the Nationals. Yes, I know I'm using "we." As Akeelah discovers, there are "50,000 coaches" who want to help.

AOM ODC Reviews Due Tuesday

2007-02-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

So I'm back to reading and reviewing the paper for the Academy of Management Organization Development and Change division. I've been through the paper at least five times now, and it's finally becoming more understandable. It is clearly the work of someone who has mastery of a lot of knowledge that I'm just beginning to tap into.

I wish I could write more about the content of the paper, but that could undermine the double-blind reviewing process. So you'll just have to read all of the ODC papers when they are presented at the meeting in August!

New Toy for the Nexus: Attendr

2007-02-10T12:25:00.000-05:00

I've written before about a conference I'm planning to attend in March - the Nexus for Change. One of the Nexus organizers, Gabriel Shirley, has created an "Attendr" site for the Nexus. I always get a kick out of these new Web 2.0 toys, so I had to try it out.

One of the features Attendr provides is a tool to indicate people you'd like to meet at the conference. This feature caused me a lot of consternation - not because it is difficult to use, but because it made me ask myself some questions. For example, how selective should I be in listing people? Part of the fun and learning at a conference is meeting people outside your usual circle - people you might never pick out of a directory as someone you just had to meet. So would naming people ahead of time be limiting that emergent experience at the conference? Would those people I named, presently strangers to me, feel weird - like they were being stalked? Would the people I didn't name feel left out?

The safest thing to do was to name no one. Since I'm trying to grow out of doing the safest thing all the time, that choice was easily eliminated. The next thing I tried was naming three people - these were people I've "met" online, but have never actually been in the same physical space with. Okay, that's still pretty safe. So the next thing I did was name everyone on the list. Being the connector that I am, I want to meet everyone anyway! And it seems like it would be a nice thing to see on your Attendr profile that someone wants to meet you. So that's what I finally landed on.

A related feature in Attendr is the ability to indicate who you know at the conference. This is intended as an aid to networking - if Jane wants to meet Larry, and she can see that you already know Larry, it's an easy thing to ask you for an introduction. Again I was faced with questions and dilemmas. Should I name people I've only met online as people I "know?" Will the people I truly have met in person be uncomfortable in any way by having me declare that association publicly? I decided that my virtual acquaintances would go on the "to meet" list, and that anyone brave enough to list their name in Attendr would be brave enough to have my name associated with theirs on the World Wide Web.

Gabriel writes about Attendr and provides a brief user guide on his blog, Dancing Fish. If you're going to the Nexus, check out Attendr as part of your pre-conference experience!

Tags: nexusforchange

Snow Days!

2007-02-06T19:24:00.000-05:00

Monday, Monday

2007-02-05T07:22:00.000-05:00

I managed to read the AOM paper again this weekend. It's starting to come easier - one more time through and I'll probably be confident enough to actually begin the review itself. I better get a move on, though - final reviews are due February 13.

Schools across the region are closed today due to the cold - it was -1 degree F when I left home this morning. Luckily, my 10-year-old Saturn coughed to life on the first turn of the key in the ignition. One more thing to be thankful for!

The work week promises to be extremely busy, with one new project being added to my personal book of work and two smaller ones being transitioned to other PMs.

East Meets West Columbus

2007-02-03T17:28:00.000-05:00

For months I have been downloading and listening to the Alan Watts podcasts. While some of his language is dated, sometimes the thoughts he expresses are crystal clear and transcendant. It's like having your own personal Zen master whack you hard between the eyes.

If you're interested in Eastern thought, you really should check out these free recordings. It's important to note - they aren't a complete and comprehensive study. They're 15-minutes free samples that entice you to purchase the complete recordings. That can be frustrating when Watts makes some brilliant connection or seemingly outrageous pronouncement and the end-of-the-podcast drumbeats kick in!

I'm not complaining, though. I'm grateful to Mark Watts, Alan's son, for making these free recordings available. I likely never would have heard them otherwise.

Media Overload

2007-02-01T20:48:00.000-05:00

When I saw a (legitimate) email in my personal Inbox with the subject "Tortilla Prices in Mexico," I knew I was oversubscribed.

Yes, I know this is a serious issue in Mexico. And I understand that it's an indicator of large-scale social and environmental issues. But you know what? A gal can only process so much.

If I unsubscribe from your listserv or yahoo!group or google group or e-newsletter this week, I hope you'll understand - it's nothing personal. I just cannot take any more input.

2007-01-31T07:01:00.000-05:00

Sunday I spent a good part of the day reading. I started with good intentions - I would begin reading the paper I have been assigned as a reviewer for the Academy of Management Organization Development and Change Division.

I thought I would read through the paper once without making any marks or comments - you know, just to get an overall sense of the meaning and the flow. It didn't work out that way. From the abstract forward, I needed Wikipedia open at all times so that I could make sense of the philosophical references. I like to think I'm somewhat intelligent and relatively well read in my field - this paper made me feel not so much!

Of course, being an academic paper, the author made reference to many other works. Some of these I have in my own library. One I had been meaning to read for over a year. So when I got to page 17 of the paper (about halfway through after 2.5 hours of "reading"), I set the paper aside and picked up that book.

I didn't get back to reviewing the AOM paper that day. I will. But thank goodness that the AOM has the sense to assign 3 (differently abled) reviewers per paper!

Write or Wrong

2007-01-30T06:49:00.000-05:00

Each morning I approach the computer, ready to start the day by writing a post on my blog. Lately, though, I've been stopping off at Bloglines first to see what all my favorite writers have been up to since I last checked. It seems like a good idea - I really ought to know "what's going on" before I try to join the fray, right?

Trouble is, I get distracted and end up spending all of the time that is supposed to be committed to writing to reading what others have written.

A key reason for the existence of this blog is as a writing practice for me, and I have not been writing. I'm writing this post to remind myself of my purpose. If I don't discipline myself a little bit and get back to actually writing, I will have to abandon the whole blogging thing. It is supposed to support the writing practice, not replace it.

TGIF

2007-01-26T19:32:00.000-05:00

This week was soooooo busy. (That sentence reminds me of when the kids were babies, and we said they were "Sooooooo big!") But the Meg Wheatley lecture on Tuesday was a huge lift and so sustaining that the rest of this stressful week was also extremely productive and positive. So, I am grateful.

I am also grateful that my favorite artist was able to attend the Joel Meyerowitz lecture at Otterbein the next evening. He, too, was apparently renewed by his "brush with greatness."

The cherry on the top of the week: the artist brought home a 4-pack of organic Cru D'or. Heaven.

Margaret Wheatley Lecture Today

2007-01-23T07:04:00.000-05:00

This weekend, in the most roundabout of ways, I heard that Margaret Wheatley is lecturing here in Columbus. I had some time to publicize it to my friends and colleagues, so you can get more of the details over on the Green Buckeye or CCODN blogs.

Several friends have told me they're dropping everything to get to the lecture, Mary M., Lisa K., Nancy P., Melissa P., and Cindy C. among them. I'm planning to attend the lecture today, too. Maybe I'll see you there!

Reflections on My Tribe

2007-01-12T06:37:00.000-05:00

The last few weeks has seen a small flurry of communications from MPOD friends. Former classmate Chris speculates that people made renewed commitments at the new year to work harder at keeping in touch. I don't know if that is why, but it sure feels good, as Joanna said in her new year's email, to see the familiar names in my Inbox!

Significantly, and perhaps surprisingly, David Cooperrider of Case wrote an extensive email to faculty, staff, and alumni of the Organizational Behavior (OB) department at Weatherhead. His message invites us to help develop a more robust OB alumni community that will include more and more varied opportunities for networking and ongoing education. I'm excited by that prospect, and I'd love to participate in developing that community.

I find that I truly cherish my MPOD friends and the overall community of organization development researchers and practitioners. They value and cultivate open communication and hope for the future. OD as we experienced it as Case is more than a discipline - it's a worldview.

John Lennon wrote:

You may say I'm a dreamer,
But I'm not the only one.

Being in the OD community helps me recognize that "I'm not the only one."

BlogHer Terms of Service (TOS): Say What?

2007-01-06T16:37:00.000-05:00

I was thinking about registering on Blogher.com, the site whose tagline reads, "Where the women bloggers are."

So, I'm reading thru the TOS as I'm registering and I find this clause :

By submitting content, which shall include your user name, to any "public area" of the BlogHer Network, including forums, comments and your account, you grant BlogHer a royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, non-exclusive right (including any moral rights) and license to use, license, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, derive revenue or other remuneration from, communicate to the public, perform and display the content (in whole or in part) worldwide and/or to incorporate it in other works in any form, media, or technology now known or later developed, for the full term of any Rights that may exist in such content.

I've always had a good feeling about Blogher. They have that clever name and that nifty little logo. Other women bloggers I admire and respect are registered there. I thad always planned to join, and I thought the time had come given the commitment to "professional" blogging I've made at Green Buckeye. Now I'm not so sure.

Maybe I'd better doublecheck the TOS at Blogger and del.icio.us and Feedburner and Google and . . . need I go on?

What Are You Optimistic About?

2007-01-01T21:26:00.000-05:00

Edge asks this question of some of the great scientific minds of our era in The Edge Annual Question - 2007.

There's lots here to explore.

Since Time Magazine has made you the person of the year . . .

What are *you* optimistic about?

When It Rains...

2006-12-28T09:48:00.000-05:00

After we got home from the hospital yesterday evening, I was in bed and "resting comfortably" (that's the last time I'll take that expression literally) on Percocet by 9 p.m. (Pix of the day from the hubby's perspective are here.)

A piercing screech awakened the household around 8 a.m. (No, it wasn't me - yet!) The smoke detector had gone off in response to the clothes dryer electronics catching on fire. Kids and I were freaked out - youngest is whimpering and hanging onto his favorite softie, and I'm trying to get out of bed quickly without ripping my incisions open. Ouch.

Stinking Sears. The dryer is less than 2 years old. This is the third replacement of washer/dryer combos in this house in the last 9 years.

The husband is online shopping for a clothes dryer right now. I told him anything but Sears. Sounds like it's a Maytag this time around.

Kids are playing Lego Star Wars.

My head isn't in this thing, so I'll quit for now. Peace out.

What I Aspire To

2006-12-23T21:45:00.000-05:00

Autobiology

Just Like Any Other Day That's Ever Been

2006-12-22T06:21:00.000-05:00

I grew up in an Apocalyptic family. The end of the world was imminent, and there was really no point in preparing for a future 'in this world.' As a kid, I expected that the end would come long before I turned 25.

It was a shock to wake up on my 25th birthday and find myself still alive. In fact, it was somewhat of a disappointment.

Overall, I never much cared if I lived or died - what difference could it possibly make? The end was near anyway.

And then I became a parent.

Twenty-some-odd years later, I'm distressed to find myself facing surgery (and by extension my own mortality). It's not so much that I care about extending my life for myself, but I know that my kids would suffer without a mom.

So, I'm going to talk to the surgeon today.

Make-a-Flake!

2006-12-21T20:32:00.000-05:00

Nexus For Change

2006-12-13T07:12:00.000-05:00

This week my friend Debbie sent me an invitation to Nexus for Change, a conference she is helping to plan on participative change methods.

Scheduled for March, the conference is close to home in Bowling Green, Ohio. Lots of OD luminaries are scheduled to attend, including some of my personal heroes: Billie Alban, Peter Block, Juanita Brown, and Nancy White.

To my friends and colleagues with an interest in OD - check it out! The conference fee is relatively inexpensive ($299) and the lodging costs ain't bad, either.

nexusforchange

Another Pleasant Valley Sunday

2006-12-10T17:05:00.000-05:00

I've spent hours and hours uploading and editing links on del.icio.us the last few weekends. I'm not sure it's very useful for anyone . . . if you've clicked over there and discovered something interesting or unusual, let me know, won't you? It's time-consuming, and I don't have a sense that it is adding value for me or my readers (all 10 of you).

Part of the reason I'm doing so much backroom maintenance is that I'm feeling a little overexposed. Adding the extra blog (greenbuckeye, remember?) has been a bit of a mental burden, even though I haven't written any content over there, either.

For some reason I feel like that blog is going to require more disclosure than I'm comfortable with right now. I've also become hyper-conscious all of a sudden that I'm not nearly as knowledgeable about sustainability as I thought I might be, and on top of that I don't 'walk the talk' in any significant way. I suppose that realizing this is important in my personal development as a leader and a citizen. But do I really want to open myself up to criticism of my personal Midwestern suburban housewife lifestyle? Don't I have enough on my plate?

If I Could Save Time in a Bottle

2006-12-05T21:33:00.000-05:00

A year ago yesterday, members of the MPOD 2006 class landed in London and Brussels for the international residency. Half the class studied complexity with AMOC in Ashridge, and the other half studied group dynamics with CIGO in Leuven.

It was the time of my life.

For me, the learning that began in Leuven continues to deepen over time. The quality of my experience of the people associated with CIGO and Kessels & Smit was so different from my day-to-day experience here. Of course, it was a peak moment and one that all of us were anxious to optimize on many levels, so it was special. Somehow, though, just the nature of their culture of open and direct communication was eye-opening and life-changing.

None of this is anywhere near making sense as I re-read. I wish so much for my words to touch your hearts, and I fall short every time.

To commemorate the day and the memory, I called and emailed a few of my fellow travelers yesterday. I wish we could raise a glass of Leffe Brun together on the sidewalk cafe at the Hotel Metropole in Brussels to celebrate. Instead, here is a link to some photos from the trip.

There was a time.

The Answer to How is Yes

2006-12-05T06:39:00.000-05:00

It's a strange title for a book, isn't it?

I finished reading Peter Block's The Answer to How is Yes this weekend. This book is a kind of manifesto for leadership and "acting on what matters," the subtitle of the book.

I'm so impressed with this work that I'm thinking about giving copies of it to all of my fellow MPOD 2006 graduates and my colleagues and friends who want to make a positive difference in their workplaces and in the world.

Peter Block doesn't pull any punches about what it means to question the status quo, and what it could mean for your own personal advancement in an organization. Questioning whether our collective actions are directed toward important and meaningful activities as opposed to accepting the goals defined by others is a sure way to make yourself unpopular. However, Block tells us that this is part of owning our own lives and earning our personal freedom and citizenship.

This is a dangerous book.

Monday Report-Out

2006-12-03T20:13:00.000-05:00

I never made it to the Community Congress II. The Detroit coordinator called me late Friday afternoon and encouraged me to stay home. He was concerned about the weather and minimal turnout, and he thought it would not be worth the risk, effort, and time to drive the 3.5 hours.

Since I was having second thoughts about it, I decided to listen to my gut and his Buddha-nature. I'm disappointed, and I'm hopeful that I'll be able to work with AmericaSpeaks soon.

I spent a bunch of time this weekend working on the Green Buckeye blog and learning more about blogging in general. For example, I have a del.icio.us account now.

Very briefly, del.icio.us allows you to share your bookmarks, and to see the bookmarks other folks have saved. Click the little blue-black checkerboard icon that appears in the right-hand column of this page to see what I've got shared. It's not much right now, but I anticipate that it will grow over time.

Second Thoughts

2006-11-30T07:05:00.000-05:00

The facilitator orientation for the UNOP Community Congress II lasted over 2.5 hours last night. The amount of information one is expected to master and implement is more than a little intimidating!

Of course, each facilitator (and participant) is coming to the event with his or her own professional experiences and preparation, and the whole will be larger than the sum of its parts.

I'm having some second thoughts about the time, effort, and money I will be expending to participate in this thing. This is a huge effort for me personally, and from what I can tell there is the possibility that no one will even show up to participate in Detroit. And what benefit will there be for those who do show up? They will share their preferences, "voting" for the options that are presented. But as Ed pointed out to me last night, who created these options? (Some of them were created at the first Community Congress, some of the options will come from the participants in this event, and some of them were created by a variety of consultants who have researched the issues.) And what obligation does the leadership in New Orleans have to act on any of these choices?

On the other hand, I'm hearing Pam's voice in my head right now: "Trust the process!"

More to come?

Who are you with?

2006-11-28T06:59:00.000-05:00

I emailed an RSVP to attend a local conference on green business this week, and the coordinator responded to my message with this question: "Who are you with?"

I've been mulling the answer over. Who am I with? My initial reaction was that I am coming alone . . . but I know that isn't what he's asking. He wants to know what organization I'm representing. He wants to know where my energy is. He wants to put me into an easy-to-understand category. He wants to know what to put on my badge.

So . . . what organization am I representing? My employer? No, I'm taking time off from work to attend this event because my employer isn't interested in the future of local green business, as far as I can tell. Even if my employer were interested, I'm not their official representative.

So, am I representing another organization? Maybe I'm representing "Tina, Inc." But that wouldn't look very good on a badge, and I don't know what rap I'd deliver to anyone who asked me about Tina, Inc. - it's just a gleam in my eye right now.

Should I go as a member of the media - as a blogger - for the Green Buckeye blog? That's in its infancy, too, but maybe this is a way to give it a boost!

What would you do?

And who are YOU with?

The Green Buckeye Blog

2006-11-27T07:14:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I had a brainstorm and decided to start something new. I think it fills a need in the Central Ohio community of ideas . . .

The Green Buckeye Blog

I anticipate that it will be a portal to sustainability resources for Central Ohioans.

Wish us luck!

Introducing Rankaroo™

2006-11-26T14:31:00.000-05:00

One of my colleagues from the "old days" at Compuware has started a new online venture called Rankaroo. Now that the project is in "public beta," I'd like to invite you to check it out!

Rankaroo is a way to organize your favorite bookmarks, rank them, and refer them to others. You can see other members' rankings and find new, fun stuff that you might not have found otherwise.

While the people I work with today are intelligent, they are cut from a different cloth than the young innovators I worked with at Compuware. I do miss my old Compuware "family" - it's so great that they still reach out to share their fun stuff with me!

Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans?

2006-11-25T11:21:00.000-05:00

I'm very excited to report that I've been invited to be an AmericaSpeaks table facilitator at the Community Congress II in Detroit, Michigan. The congress is intended to allow the New Orleans diaspora to participate in planning for the future of the region, which was devastated by hurricanes last year.

From the invitation:

Facilitators are crucial to the success of the meeting and the work is varied, challenging and fun. Facilitators are responsible for drawing out equal participation from their table of ten people, focusing the group’s conversation and holding respectful space for difference of opinion. In community location and library sites, data collection will be challenging and so facilitators will need to assist with this work when not facilitating.

I'm looking forward to working with and supporting these folks in their efforts to envision and plan a bright future for their hometown and region.

Can We Talk?

2006-11-21T07:14:00.000-05:00

Have you noticed the cottage industry that has sprung up around the book Crucial Conversations? It seems that everyone I talk to has recently read the book, seen the authors present at a conference or in a webinar, or is planning to do one of the above.

Today I'm signed up for a 2-hour lunch-and-learn on this topic. In preparation, I've been listening to a recorded version of the book. It seems to provide a comprehensive introduction to dialogue. I'm curious to see what the presenter, my friend Diana, does with the material in two hours.

Put Me In, Coach! I'm Ready to Play

2006-11-17T06:44:00.000-05:00

Today I'm having lunch with Lisa, another old friend from my ISPI days. We're planning to talk teaching opportunities at Columbus State and just generally reacquaint.

It dawned on me yesterday that there is probably a connection between how much I've been mourning the loss of my MPOD community and my reaching out to old and new colleagues, friends, and acquaintances. Maybe now that the connection has been brought to awareness I can act on those impulses more consciously.

Yesterday I attended a full-day internal training called "Coaching for High Performance." The instructor/facilitator, Kay, was a self-aware, confident, and gracious young woman that I'm happy to add to my growing network of local professional connections (see paragraph above!). The training itself was learning-filled, with lots of opportunities to practice different aspects of coaching.

Ah-ha or reminder moments for me:

Powerful, open-ended questions stimulate the coachee's thinking. We performed a coaching exercise where we were limited to only asking "powerful questions" of the coachee. As the coach, it's very difficult to hold back from giving advice or even simply paraphrasing what the coachee has said. But as I experienced the coachee side of the "questions only" equation, I could feel how my own thinking was being drawn out and amplified by the questions. Very powerful.
I have many opportunities to self-coach if I choose to be more cognizant of them.
Mindful observation of a practice coaching session can be very enlightening. My observations of two coaching sessions led me to remember how important framing (context) is in any conversation. In one instance as the observer, I had no frame of reference for the situation being coached . . . it was really difficult to figure out what was going on in the conversation! Another important aspect - specificity. During another observation session of "corrective coaching," I couldn't tell what behavior the coach was trying to correct in the coachee. During the debrief, I checked in with the coachee - he wasn't sure what change the coach wanted to see either! It's so important to give examples and be explicit about what needs to change.

I'd like to set up a formal mutual coaching relationship with someone else who wants to keep practicing these skills. Any takers out there?

Michigan Week in Central Ohio

2006-11-15T11:22:00.000-05:00

It's the week leading up to the OSU/Michigan game, and the whole town is dressed up for the event.

Block O

Refriending

2006-11-13T18:08:00.000-05:00

Last week I had lunch with Nancy, an acquaintance from my days on the board at ISPI. It was nice to reconnect with her, and I find that I "get" so much more about her now than I did five years ago. We talked OD consulting, facilitation, Open Space, World Cafe, and Appreciative Inquiry. You know how it is when you find someone who speaks your language - you quickly fall into a very comfortable shorthand. You feel that you can say a lot with just a few words.

In some ways, I think she may be the professional here in Columbus with whom I resonate most closely. It has been a joy to rediscover her. Meeting with her has given me a glimpse of a potential future in this market - one that I had not considered possible previously. I'm hoping I'll get to see more of her in the coming months.

2006-11-10T04:48:00.000-05:00

Spooky

2006-10-31T07:20:00.000-05:00

Carve your own virtual jack o'lantern. It's a lot less messy than the pumpkins the kids carved last night!

Anticipation

2006-10-30T07:09:00.000-05:00

Just before he drifted off to sleep last night, Max listed all of the activities he's looking forward to participating in this week. Among them: Math Counts (a competitive math team) on Monday, Halloween on Tuesday, lunch with his friends on Thursday, and Friday "just because it's Friday."

I need to take a lesson from Max in appreciative anticipation.

Who is it? What is it?

2006-10-29T18:49:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a new blog that will support my emerging professional identity. Trouble is, since the identity is emerging in fits and starts, the blog is, too.

Without a well defined purpose and focus, I'm finding it tough to write.

Yeah, right.

2006-10-27T07:16:00.000-04:00

Today another young and highly talented colleague and friend walks out the front door at work for good.

So what? There's no shortage of high potential leadership in this country - plenty more like him wherever he came from.

Fare you well, HN.

2006-10-24T23:18:00.000-04:00

Two Roads Diverged

2006-10-24T20:49:00.000-04:00

I drove to work this morning as expected. After I logged in, I opened my browser to find Sandy's comment on the blog. I clicked the link and discovered a personal invitation to attend the BAWB Global Conference as a member of the media - in other words, as a blogger! I giggled to think of my little blog as a media outlet, but I admit the offer was far too appealing.

First I stressed over never having "enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them." Then I checked my calendar, my gut, and my heart and decided to make the time. Within 10 minutes I had answered my new emails and declined any non-essential meetings. I had one call at 3:30 p.m. that I felt compelled to attend, but it's a call, right? So I recorded the conference call number and determined that I could dial in from Cleveland on my mobile phone just as easily as I could from Columbus on my desk phone. (Thank you, technologists everywhere!)

About 7:05 a.m. I started out the front door of the building (against the incoming tide of puzzled earlybirds) and jumped in the car. I crossed my fingers that the "Service Engine Soon" lamp on the dash, which has been lit for several days, was due to the hanging muffler strap and wouldn't pose a significant problem.

Up and back in a little over 12 hours. It made all the difference.

Thanks, Sandy! You helped me think about myself (and my blogging) in a new way.

I Left My Heart in San Francisco . . . and Cleveland

2006-10-23T07:22:00.000-04:00

My heart this week is with my mentors, colleagues, and friends who are participating in the BAWB Global Forum in Cleveland.

Appreciative Inquiry Annotations promises to blog the virtual (and live?) event, so I'll be checking in there when I can.

If I could be in two places at once, I'd also be in San Francisco at the OD Network 2006 Conference. Matt Minahan is journaling that event through the ODN listserv. And I know that Melissa and Page were planning to attend in person, so I hope I'll hear some rich stories when they get home.

What was the question again?

2006-10-23T07:05:00.000-04:00

I started reading The Answer to How is Yes last week. It isn't an easy read. Block uses small words and short sentences, but he uses them in unfamiliar combinations!

I'm Floating in a Most Peculiar Way

2006-10-22T12:17:00.000-04:00

Earlier this week I dialed into a virtual improv workshop featuring Izzy Gesell and Andrew Rixon. Carla Rogers of Evolve Facilitation and Coaching sponsored the event, and she has planned a number of similar free "Leading Lights" conference calls that you might want to check out.

For me, the most interesting exercise on the call was an effort to have 5 people count upward from 1 to 10. The rules, which were designed for an in-person exercise, stated that you could not visually or verbally signal to the other counters who should proceed with the next number. If more than one counter said the same number, the game started over from 1 again.

The level of listening and awareness on the call during that exercise was intense. It was as if the entire group of almost 100 people on the call was collectively holding its breath in anticipation of the next number.

What would happen if we listened to each other with that kind of intensity at home? What if we listened to each other with that kind of intensity at work? What would the world be like if we could get our leaders to listen to each other with that kind of depth?

By the way, Andrew Rixon runs Anecdote, a very cool blog that I've been meaning to point out for some time.

It's Been Such a Long Time

2006-10-17T19:57:00.000-04:00

I've been walking the razor's edge the last few weeks. It has taken a lot of concentration to stay balanced, and I don't think I've come to the end of the journey yet. So bear with me as I eek a little more out of this metaphor. I'd like to point out some milestones along the path . . . in no particular order . . .

Blues Chasm
Parenting Passage
Road to Rockside
Niko's Sea of Loves
Little Brother's Wavering Visage
Cracked Tooth Cairn
Bright Spot of Renewed Friendship
Dark Cavern of Professional Uncertainty
Jealousy Green

I Can See Clearly Now . . . Right?

2006-09-28T06:53:00.000-04:00

Almost daily I am astonished by some insight into human relations that I could not have imagined before I entered my program two years ago. I'm not talking about general understanding or theory here. I'm referring to the way I view and participate in my own relationships and interactions with my colleagues, family, and friends.

It's almost as if I used to be blind to certain aspects of my own experiential reality. I didn't have a frame into which to place some observations, and so the observations were either discounted, processed as intuition, or ignored. In many ways I thought I was "crazy." In other words, I knew that I was observing some things, but I didn't know what it was I was seeing or how to interpret it. It was like those people whose eyes can actually receive light, but whose minds cannot process the visual data they are receiving.

Today, I "see" aspects of relational reality that I could not previously interpret. I can intentionally participate in ways that used to be impossible. It's as if there is a whole new world out there for me. Yet, I know that world must have existed before I could see it - I just didn't recognize it.

It makes me wonder what else I might be missing.

Helpless

2006-09-26T06:55:00.000-04:00

It seemed I had things at work under control yesterday. I was feeling content and satisfied that maybe I'm potentially competent in this job after all.

When I walked in the door at home, I was greeted by distressed little boy who expressed his worry that I might someday "not come home from work because of a terrorist attack."

Competence is situational.

Imitation is the Sincerest Form of Flattery

2006-09-24T16:31:00.000-04:00

If and/or when I ever create a professional blog, I want to remember to create a page like this one for it: eLearning Technology: First Time Visitor Guide.

Got to Have a Good Vibe

2006-09-24T15:05:00.000-04:00

My masters program is one of only two in the country that incorporate the word "Positive" in the title. The program name created a psychic tension that both intrigued and repelled me.

Fully believing myself to be a realistic pessimist, but wanting something more, I signed up with some trepidation that attending anything that included the word "positive" in it would make me a laughingstock with my intellectual and professional peers. (Or at least reinforce my standing as a fluffy nonconformist.)

While the 18 months I spent in the program weren't relentlessly positive, they did help me switch figure and ground mentally. (You know - looking at the same glass and seeing it as half full instead of half empty. That kind of thing.) My cohort was committed to seeing the world in new ways, and I think we created a supportive community for the changes we were trying to make in our personal outlook and our impact on the world.

This week I attended a workshop in improv, and it hit me full force that since graduation in May I've been imperceptibly regressing into my old ways.

According to the workshop instructor, the key to improv is the "Yes, and..." principle. You always accept what the other person gives you and build on that. Talk about positive! We did exercises where we cheered each other on no matter what was done or said. We told each other how wonderful we were. We said "Yes!" to any idea or suggestion. It was miraculous! All of a sudden I felt creative and competent, and I'm sure others did as well.

Over and over again I am amazed at how our social environment shapes our attitude and our abilities. I knew when I left that cozy "positive" community at Case that things would change, but I didn't think that within four months I would be completely out of practice. I need to find or create a small community here that will help keep me focused on the positive. This is essential to my ongoing well-being.

You're So Vain

2006-09-23T17:53:00.000-04:00

I read Tuesdays with Morrie last weekend. I don't know what to make of it. At first I was truly put off by the author's tone and self-centeredness. He started to move through that as he experienced the failing of his professor and friend, Morrie, which I guess was the point.

It was difficult to hold at bay the thought that Albom knew he would be writing a commercial book as he taped his old friend's dying words, especially since he got back in touch with Morrie through a piece on national television. Clearly, here was an opportunity to capitalize on someone else's fame (and wisdom). For some reason the whole premise struck me as self-serving and self-congratulatory.

I know I'm in the minority with this opinion. Sorry to those of you who loved this book. Obviously, Morrie Schwartz was a wonderful professor and human being - I just didn't care for his biographer.

2006-09-14T16:29:00.000-04:00

Here at the End of All Things

2006-09-14T06:44:00.000-04:00

I received an automated flush letter for the "Detroit" gig yesterday. I guess I'm not completely surprised (or heartbroken), but I thought I had a good chance with that one. If I decide I care enough, I'll write and ask for feedback. (Tried that on another opp and never got a reply. It's hard to keep putting energy out into what feels like the blackness and vacuum of space.)

Lots of anxiety today - project status meetings, deadlines looming, tire repair scheduled, etc. How do I turn this anxiety into positive movement - need to change the frame somehow, but I grow tired and lose the ability to focus and redirect the energy.

Over the last few weekends we watched the Lord of the Rings movies. I can really relate to poor Frodo this week - I feel like I'm slogging through Middle Earth with a heavy weight around my neck and strange enemies around every bend.

Wooly Bully

2006-09-06T07:38:00.000-04:00

While I haven't written about my struggles at work with a troublesome internal client, some of my friends have heard bits and pieces.

Previously this guy (we'll call him Candor) has ignored my direct questions or responded to me indirectly by going up and down the chain of command. (You know - he goes to his Senior VP, who then goes to my SVP, who then goes to my manager, who then comes to me with this guy's concerns.)

A few months ago I met with Candor and expressed my concern over this style of communication. I asked that he come to me - the project manager - directly with his questions or thoughts about the project so that I could address them. I explained that this would be more efficient and productive, and that it is my preferred workstyle. He agreed to this, and he saved face by telling me (and my management) that he wasn't aware that I was the PM on the project.

Further, Candor has an administrative assistant keep his calendar, which is unusual for someone at his level in this particular organization. If I want to ensure his attendance at a meeting, I have to call this admin and ask her to manually check his calendar. I also assume that she has to ask his permission to place anything on his calendar, because she typically cannot answer definitively whether he will attend any given meeting or accept an invitation on the spot. Just for reference, nearly everyone else in the organization uses an automated Lotus Notes calendar and either accepts or rejects invitations herself as she sees appropriate.

Last week I scheduled a core team discussion at the request of another core team member. The discussion is intended to open up the dialog between the line of business and IT on a more efficient and cost-effective way to implement and operate one of the processes associated with the project. Candor apparently did not like the topic of the planned discussion and had his admin call me to suss out what would be discussed and why. When provided with the proposed details of the conversation, the admin admonished me that Candor had already provided his opinion on this topic and saw no reason for the meeting. I was to "hold the line" on the conversation and cancel the meeting.

I did not cancel the meeting, given that I believe it is a discussion that will benefit the company overall, and he has had his admin call me several times in the last 24 hours to find out why I have not cancelled it.

From my perspective, it appears that Candor, having had his usual manipulations through upper management both named and short-circuited, is now trying a different manipulation approach through his administrative assistant.

I now see Candor as a bully, and I've determined that I will not sit meekly and mutely by while he attempts to pull strings behind the scenes (and from behind the skirts of his SVP and administrative assistant) to obtain his own outcome - an outcome that to my mind is not beneficial to the company overall. Further, no matter the outcome, I object to his methods, and I will work to expose those methods.

I realize that this is a high-stakes challenge. Unfortunately, this guy has bullied those around him for years without being called on it. It must be working for him (and the organization) on some level, and I am a low-level PM. Who am I to question his methods? Then again, if not me, then who? If not now, then when?

Don't Hate Me Because I'm Bored

2006-09-02T13:54:00.000-04:00

My friend JP teaches an entire undergraduate class at Franklin University based on Jim Collins' book Good to Great. He frequently uses terminology from the book in day-to-day conversation, and I finally decided I needed to read the durn thing if I wanted to both understand what he's going on about and support him.

(Just so you don't think I'm completely ignorant - on this topic, anyway - during MPOD we were assigned the chapter on the Hedgehog Concept, which I reread several times, but I never indulged in reading the rest of the book. Another assignment had us researching Meg Whitman, CEO of eBay, who referred to herself as a "Level 5 leader," so I had read something about that subject, too.)

So, I've been reading Good to Great. While it has a lot of solid data in it, I find the writing not particularly juicy or compelling. In other words, it's appealing to my left brain but not my right.

I have about 100 pages of the core text left to read (there are hundreds of pages of epilogue, appendices, notes, and indexes, too, but I'm giving myself a break and not reading those since doggone-it, they aren't "assigned!"). If I spend the next couple of hours reading, I can probably put this baby to bed and feel like I've fulfilled my obligation as a student and a friend. (Although, after reading this post, he may not feel so friendly toward me . . . )

I wish I had taken this one out of the library as a cassette tape and listened to it in the car during my daily commute instead of spending my precious free-reading time on it.

Music to a Mother's Ears

2006-08-31T09:15:00.000-04:00

Mom: "How was school today, Max?"

Max: "Great - we played with fire in science!"

2006-08-30T08:18:00.000-04:00

Deja Vu All Over Again

2006-08-29T07:10:00.000-04:00

One of things they don't tell you about parenting is that you relive your own childhood experiences as your child goes through them. This can be a double-edged sword, of course. Sometimes the memories are good; sometimes not so much. My dreams last night played out my childhood anxieties about homework, school bullies, and mean teachers.

Never Going Back to My Old School

2006-08-27T17:36:00.000-04:00

It's back to school tomorrow morning. Both kids are in schools new to them. Max is now in middle school - yikes! And Sam has moved from the K-1 building to the 2-5 building.

Max has mastered operation of the lock on his locker, and he knows where to be for that first morning "advisory." Dad will drop them both off tomorrow morning with backpacks, school supplies, and snacks and hope for the best.

This week I travel to Troy, Michigan, in pursuit of the next opportunity. As Ed says, getting to the interview in another city on time seems to be one of the tests to pass this time around. Is this because I'm reaching for something that's a little further out of reach than usual? That's what I'm telling myself.

Middle School Mania

2006-08-23T10:06:00.000-04:00

We're going back to school!

Middle school orientation is today. I think I'm as excited as Max is!

Impatience and Impatiens

2006-08-19T15:17:00.000-04:00

My impatience with the search for more meaningful work is wearing me out. Yesterday Rosa pointed out that I have planted a lot of seeds, and I need to wait for them to grow. I like this metaphor, and I'm going to continue planting seeds and nurturing them!

2006-08-16T11:12:00.000-04:00

2006-08-13T17:02:00.000-04:00

2006-08-09T22:53:00.000-04:00

The Wives Are In Connecticut

2006-08-09T20:00:00.000-04:00

For those that are following the saga in the 3D world, Connecticut is a bust. This wife will not be in Connecticut.

Next imaginary stop: Chicago.

You Can Take This Job and . . .

2006-08-09T19:32:00.000-04:00

The cutthroat politics at work are killing me. The sad part is, they're killing the organization, too. Because they kill the regular working person's spirit.

So many of the best "workers" I know are afraid. Afraid to tell the truth. Afraid to stick their neck out. Afraid to share what they know! What the hell?! How is this a good thing?

A mind is a terrible thing to waste. And we're wasting a lot of them.

Have You Ever Been Experienced?

2006-08-07T20:00:00.000-04:00

I spent about four hours Sunday documenting my "experiences and skills." I tried to let if flow, and when I looked at what I had written, I found it interesting that I chose to list my "experiences," as opposed to my "experience."

This seems to be a key insight into my life and personality. I cherish my experiences, and I learn the most and the best from them. My perspectives change as I move through experiences. Perspective shifts are much more significant (to me) than any "skill" I might pick up along the way. Not that skills aren't important, but they have the feeling of another tool in the toolkit, where an experience feels like I've been inside a new workshop.

Next It'll Be the McArthur 'Genius' Grant

2006-08-02T21:05:00.000-04:00

The other day I came home from work and opened the mailbox to find a letter from the Council for International Exchange of Scholars (CIES). I assumed it was something for my brilliant Max, of course.

When I opened the letter, it was an invitation from CIES to stop by their booth at the Academy of Management meeting. They administer the program for Fulbright Scholars.

It tickled me to think that someone out there thinks I might be a candidate for a Fulbright scholarship. It made my whole evening, as a matter of fact! It made me picture myself in a new way.

Move over, Max. Academically speaking, Mom may decide to give you a run for your money!

My Dinner with Patricia Shaw

2006-07-30T14:40:00.000-04:00

In exploring complexity theory as it applies to human systems, I've read a number of authors - Dee Hock's Birth of the Chaordic Age, Margaret Wheatley's Leadership and the New Science, and Patricia Shaw's Changing Conversations in Organizations, to name three. I loved Changing Conversations, so I decided to see what else she might have to share on the topic.

This week I'm reading Experiencing Risk, Spontaneity, and Improvisation in Organizational Change: Working Live. I purchased it a few months ago, but was waiting for the right moment to read it. Since we've booked an improv program for the next CCODN meeting, I thought this would be a good time to dig into this book.

I'm home alone today, so I also had an opportunity to watch a movie that wouldn't interest anyone else in the house. Yesterday I thought I would watch Do the Right Thing, but as I started reading the new Shaw, I thought of My Dinner with Andre. Today, I popped the Andre into the DVD player. (Andre's misgivings notwithstanding, how can you not love technology?) It was an interesting complement to the book.