Third best job in the world
13 October 2016My job – working with groups, helping them come alive, unearth their creativity and make discoveries – is the third best job in the world. Sometimes I’m called a facilitator, but facilitation is only part of what I do – it’s a skill that helps me be useful to all those groups I work with.…
Birdwatching from my desk
18 November 2014Glancing just a little to my left of my computer screen, I can see, through my office window, one of the bird baths in our garden. It is an endless source of joy for me. This morning I saw four different species using the bath at the same time: Grey Fantails, Red-browed Finches, Brown Thornbills…
The introduction to a book I never wrote
19 November 2013I wrote this in 2007, and published it in my blog in 2012. I found it again today, re-read it and thought to myself that I really should blog that. Luckily I checked before blogging it again. Here’s what I left out of the blog post: “This book explores what facilitators can learn from improvised…
A peak inside aid
13 July 2013A whole bunch of luck, certainly not planning, means I do quite a bit of work with aid organisations. Well, one in particular, but it’s so large and diverse, it may as well be a number of smaller organisations. I have no illusions. I’m not an aid worker, or a humanitarian professional. I hang out…
Waking up in Cambridge
9 July 2013This morning I woke up in Cambridge. That would be Cambridge in the UK, my home-away-from-home for the next three months (with a huge thank you to Johnnie Moore for providing said HAFH). Just in Cambridge itself there’s lots to do. I have a bike to get around, some familiarity from a short visit last…
Making a difference
3 April 2013The drive from Jaipur to Delhi took over five hours – 270 kms. My driver, Ashok, stopped at a restaurant for lunch. It was packed. It was packed with Indians, the women all in lovely saris. It was noisy. It was Sunday. Lots of families. I felt out of place, I visited the bathroom. It…
Remember that time..
3 March 2013You know that time you felt nervous before you stood up in front of a group? And that time when you thought everyone was glaring at you? And that time when you forgot to say something really important? And that time you wished the floor would open up and swallow you? And that time something…
The illusion of control
6 August 2011This came to me via a circuitous and interesting route – reminding me of the power of turning up and of serendipity. You can read the original here, at Zen Habits. This is important for me to remember. We stop setting goals, and instead do what excites us. We stop planning, and just do. We…
Menus
19 April 2011I’ve been eating out a lot. Not because I don’t like to cook, or can’t. The simple reason is I’ve been travelling a lot and eating out goes with the territory. I find myself always sighing with relief when the menu is short. And what’s even better than a short menu? When someone else does…
Off-line
31 March 2011For the next two weeks I’ll be trekking in Nepal – something I’ve wanted to do for a long, long time. So that means pretty much no contact with the outside world. Play nice while I’m away.