Taming self talk
21 May 2016Sometimes, when talking with someone, it’s obvious that they are elsewhere. They have gone into their head. While we can’t know what the other person is thinking, it’s usually pretty obvious that they are not listening to us, maybe even no longer aware that we are there. It can range from slightly annoying to downright rude.…
A morning with David Whyte
1 May 2016First, two confessions. I’d never read, or listened to any of David Whyte’s work. And I didn’t know what genius loci meant. Nor did I know to what extent both might influence me. After yesterday morning, neither is no longer true. I was impressed with the rhythm of David’s performance, the strength, and loudness, of the silences, and…
Assumptions and revelations – a book review of Letters Left Unsent
24 March 2016There’s an activity I did once at an applied improvisation conference about the assumptions we make about other nationalities. We were a large, mixed group from a dozen or so different countries. The Dutch amongst the group sat out and watched as the rest of us mimed and charaded our interpretations of Dutch culture. There was…
Fractals
17 February 2016Have you ever been to an event that is talking about being one thing while being something else? For example, a conference about innovation that uses well-established, mainstream and predictable processes? Or more specifically, focusing on creativity, for example, while sitting in ferried rows listening to an ‘expert’ speaker using poor powerpoint slides? With questions,…
The artefacts of organisational culture
17 February 2016The Senior Citizen’s Clubrooms where I was running a workshop seemed to have every nook and cranny plastered with small, and some not so small, laminated signs issuing instructions of what NOT to do or specifically how to act. It struck me at the time, as the sort of club I would want to avoid.…
Becoming who we are not
11 February 2016My photocopier is broken. I’ve been searching for the manual. I haven’t found it yet. However, I did find a yellow notepad that I paid US1.49 for at the San Francisco Marriot in 2004. The price sticker is still on the back. I remember buying this notepad in the hotel gift shop. I remember walking…
Change your meetings, change your culture
1 February 20161st of February – it’s when the new year ‘really’ starts here in Australia. The kids are back at school, most people are back at work, we’re all planning our next holiday…the weather is great. It really does feel like the new work year has properly begun. And you’re stuck in a meeting! Johnnie Moore…
Serendipity and discovery
1 February 2016It’s hard to get back into work mode after the holidays. It’s tempting to put off the inevitable, but today I had a couple of meetings to go to in Melbourne with some spare time to wander the streets. A bookshop beckoned. There’s not many bookshops around these days, so I was tempted. I never…
Bring your meetings to life in 2016 – February workshop dates announced
20 January 2016It’s a whole new year, and a great opportunity to come to one of my Creative Facilitation workshops – still at 2015 prices. Where? Parkville, Melbourne. When? February 25 and 26 How much? $440 per person for two days (if you book 3 or more people) or $700 for a single registration How many people? Maximum of…
Some musings on facilitating open space
11 November 2015While open space has been part of my facilitation DNA for 25+ years, I don’t always have opportunities to facilitate open space events. That’s changed this past few weeks with two quite different events. The first was for a group of 40 humanitarian workers from the Pacific Region. They meet regularly, but this was the…