‘Tis the season for family and friends, reflections on times past, and those still to come. New beginnings. One fond remembrance I have of Christmas past, time spent with my kids when they were small, was searching for Waldo. The Where’s Waldo? books (Where’s Wally? in the UK) placed Waldo in a very crowded scene, of Waldo look-a-likes […]
Apply A Culture Map To Visualize Interpersonal Differences
December 9, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
One of my newest, favourite communication tools is a Culture Map. I first came across this better way to visualize cultural differences in Erin Meyer’s book, The Culture Map (published earlier this year). Here’s a short interview of Meyer, about her book: (video not displaying? watch here, on YouTube) The Culture Map The Culture Map is […]
Diverge Off The Problem Before You Converge On The Solution
December 1, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
To solve a difficult challenge, come up with as many solution ideas as possible. Then “murder your darlings”. Converge on the best idea. Good ideas The story I most often tell myself about ideas is the one Steven Johnson articulates in his book, Where Do Good Ideas Come From: The Natural History of Innovation. “Good […]
The Thank You Game
November 27, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
A couple of years ago, I learned about The Thank You Game via local mediator colleague, Julia Menard. Thank you Julia! I thought it appropriate to share it, given it’s Thanksgiving Day in the US, today. Julia credits the McGonigal sisters, Kelly McGonigal (health psychologist) and Jane McGonigal (game designer) for the idea. The McGonigal sisters […]
Keeping It Human While Collaborating With The Robots
November 25, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
I’m old enough to remember the The Jetsons cartoon show on TV. Technology is our servant. Life is wonderful. Fast forward to today. Life online. Living through our devices. Alone Together. Is technology our servant or master? The upsurge in robotics It’s a tricky business, living and working with technology. We’re in a tech soup, to be […]
Family Caregivers Network and Facilitating a Support Group
November 24, 2014 by · 3 Comments
Life was going along swimmingly. Your kids were growing, fast and healthy. Your partner was action, incorporated. Your parents seemed unusually fit, for folks their age. Then, it happened. Out of the blue, that important person in your life had an accident, a stroke, a calamity… A need had arisen. Or, maybe it didn’t happen […]
Are You Configuring The Future to Suit The Facts?
November 20, 2014 by · 2 Comments
“I never guess. It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.” Sherlock Holmes in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s, A Scandal in Bohemia. According to German psychologist, Gerd Gerzenger of the Max Plank Institute, relying on your intuition […]
Public Good: It starts with seeing the big picture in small things
November 19, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
There is a stone in the forest across the waters, the Straight of Juan de Fuca, from where I live. Its a small stone. I haven’t seen it, though apparently, when I locate it, I will hear what ‘quiet’ sounds like. The quiet results from the interaction of many connected things, extending far from that […]
