Summer is always a good time to vary perspective. On the book front this summer, “Conversations With Wilder“, by Cameron Crowe, offered me some new perspectives on story. Billy Wilder (1906-2002) was a legendary Hollywood movie writer and director. (Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot, The Apartment and many more). Conversations with […]
Offering a Continuum of Choices is a Trusted Collaborative Problem Solving Technique
August 25, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
When we’re stuck on a problem, and filled with negativity, the options lean to either/or. When we articulate the spaces in-between, new possibilities emerge, a continuum of choices. A continuum of choices reduces the risk of either/or, win/lose, and encourages collaborative problem solving. Offer a continuum As a contract court mediator with Mediate BC, […]
3 Preconditions for Effective Communications
August 21, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
Ever reached out, across the virtual divide, and found your communications efforts less than stellar? (Yep.) Somehow, the conversation seems to have barely begun, before the scene deteriorates and communications fall apart. Puzzled as to why things unfolded that way? Maybe, the conditions weren’t in-place to begin with, for effective communications to […]
Communicating With Your Audience in Their Culture
August 14, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
To communicate effectively we need to already have some areas of commonness between us. Culture is one of those areas. When facilitating virtual teams or in local cross-cultural contexts, I sometimes underestimate the differences between cultures. It’s easy to auto-pilot into my culture’s way of doing things. And, that’s not always a good thing. […]
The risk of letting others do your work: Loss of connection
August 11, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
When I let others do my cooking, I hand over control. And, in handing over that control, I sacrifice connection. When I choose to go fast food over home cooking, I’ve removed myself from the connection between food ‘au naturel’ and finished product. There is risk-reward in letting others do your work. No human, […]
Effective Communications: Adding Verbal and Non-Verbal Capacity in Virtual Contexts
August 7, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
Working virtually can put the squeeze on our full range of verbal and nonverbal communication skills. This is a given with it comes to nonverbal. When we’re in the same physical space together, the success of our communication effort is mightily influenced by our nonverbal, visual, actions. Where is body language, and tone of voice, […]
Facilitating Organizational Change Through Creativity and Ensemble
August 5, 2014 by · 4 Comments
When a new lens on organizational change comes along, I perk up. As a mediator and consultant, I know the value of lens; of changing perspective, as a lead-in to problem resolution. “The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.” […]
Effective Communications: Align virtual channel with feedback requirements
July 31, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
If you’ve ever fired off an email, and mistakenly thought your communication work was done, raise your hand. Mine’s up; both of them! Feedback loops are about working with the effect of your actions, on the other person. Feedback loops get even more complicated, in the virtual arena. Here’s a two-minute screencast I created; explaining […]
Out of This World Collaboration
July 28, 2014 by · 2 Comments
Summer is a time to chill with some good reads. And what could be better than some ‘out of this world’ escapism! This week I read An Astronaut’s Guide To Life On Earth, by Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield). Hadfield was the Canadian commander of the International Space Station (ISS), a multi-nation collaboration, for 5 months in […]
