What’s catching my attention
26 August 2009Performance Reviews I’d had a discussion with a friend earlier this week about performance reviews. I haven’t heard many good comments about them. And luckily I don’t have to partake – my performance is reviewed, well, every time I perform! Alex Kjerulf posted this update on Facebook today: The link he refers to – why…
Community rebuilding
18 August 2009I’m writing this as I’m watching a 7.30 Report on the rebuilding of Marysville, pretty much destroyed in the Feb 7 bushfires earlier this year. Live blogging a TV report, I guess. There’s concerns expressed by members of the community about the pace of the process, and ‘safe, unresponsive’ government authorities. Too much bureacracy. Too…
Me too!
5 August 2009Nancy White has a great post about how she uses social media. Here’s a summary with some of my favourite choconancy comments in italics. online community “Eminds” was where I learned that online relationships can be real, how they get real, and how they break and fail. online learning together But regardless of the technology,…
What presses your buttons?
5 August 2009The term ‘change management’ presses my buttons. So instead of responding straight away with a rant, I thought I’d explore what the term means to me. First ‘change’ – there’s two types of change: change that I initiate, like changing jobs or moving house, or taking a vacation. Then there’s change that is imposed on…
Some reflections on the bushfire recovery process
23 June 2009It’s nearly five months on from the Victorian bushfires that claimed many lives, homes, livlihoods, habitat, livestock and wildlife. I don’t live in the affected area. I’ve done a few workshops with people who do, and with people who have been affected indirectly. I’ve seen some of the effects – physical and emotional. I’ve seen…
Lessons from the field
10 June 2009After eight days of facilitation training in Indonesia, what did I learn? Before I answer that, a bit of context. I was working for an international aid organisation. Some 55 people took part in the first three days, then 30 of them disappeared to take part in an emergency simulation. The remaining people stayed to…
Generosity
17 April 2009Generosity is such a wonderful gift. One that I’ve been the recipient of this week. I could, and should, write more. Suffice to say ‘thank you’ to Chris, Johnnie, Geoff and Nic.
World Cafe reflections
10 April 2009I’ve been using the World Cafe process a lot lately – with groups of policy makers, scientists, planners, community activists and bushfire survivors. Here’s what I’ve learned. 1. Use a broad theme for the discussion question, and use the same question for all the rounds of discussion. People will naturally diverge and talk about what’s…
Disconnected
10 April 2009Last week my skype account was hacked which meant I couldn’t log in. After no response from skype support (and a hilarious email from them wanting feedback on their customer support!) I gave in and created a new account. Now the sidebar with the green ticks is back and I’m gradually reconnecting with my contacts.…
Learning from fellow facilitators
16 March 2009I love sharing stories with fellow facilitators. In this podcast, Geoff Brown and I chat with Nicole Hunter about her experiences with rural communities following the Grampians bush fires a few years ago. Go here to listen.