New Positive Psychology Association

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.

David Cooperrider on Appreciative Inquiry

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

First Reflections on Facebook

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

Re-Connecting with Case

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 My Tribe

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."