It’s been a long journey. I’m just a little bird, and I’ve travelled from far away, thousands of kilometers. I’m tired and I’m lonely. I’m looking for a safe place to bed down, meet others like me, and start afresh. Can you help me? “Why, yes I can”, said a gentleman in my neighbourhood. And […]
The Future of Work and Multi-Organization Collaboration
March 12, 2014 by · 3 Comments
Over the last couple of months I’ve been assisting a local foundation that supports not-for-profit initiatives. The project I’m involved with has a HR (human resource) focus, and asks – how can non-profits better collaborate, with each other, to resource and deliver services, to make a difference? So, the jobs/work landscape was on my mind […]
Virtual Dilemmas in Communications and Collaboration
March 6, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
Yesterday, I did a webinar for the BC Human Resource Management Association on the topic of Virtual Collaboration. The webinar attempted to address some of the typical challenges, dilemmas we face, as we try navigate and work together, in the virtual medium; be it using email, text, audio, video… Here’s some of those virtual dilemmas: […]
Speculations on a machine-human interface to reduce your zone of conflict
February 14, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
When you find yourself in difficult conversation, are you quick to the defensive? Or, maybe you lash out, unintentionally, with a few harsh words to the other person? Sometimes we need a little help, to get ourselves under control. There must be an ‘app’ that can help, right? A recent post on IdeaConnection, […]
For a better virtual collaboration, apply a “progression of communication”
February 3, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
Your inbox is full. You’ve received 40 text messages so far today, and it’s only noon. There’s 10 messages on your phone, just waiting for you to do something with them. Now what? Choosing the right communication channels When I’m collaborating virtually on work, it makes sense to have some sort of strategy on […]
It’s not your fault: Move forward through collaboration
January 23, 2014 by · 2 Comments
Things aren’t what they used to be. The church knows that, quite well. Where I live (and odds are, where you live, too), the role of church in society has changed over the last generation. In large, its’ influence in society has decreased, at least if judged by declining church membership and attendance. […]
Picture Collaboration: An Illustrated Guide for Working Together to Solve Problems
January 20, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
People work together, collaborate, to solve problems. Yet, more often than not, getting to a place where you can say “problem: solved” comes with an array of challenges to navigate; negativity, uncertainty, silos, command and control, time, conflict, limited options, bad habits… obstacles to overcome. Picture Collaboration So, how do we collaboratively get from […]
Collaboration from a CIO’s perspective
January 16, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
Over the last few months, CIO Magazine has been posting snippets of a video interview of Sheila Jordan, SVP, Collaboration and Communication IT, Cisco Systems and Jim Love, CIO, IT World Canada. (Note: CIO stands for Chief Information Officer) The last snippets of that interview were aired this week. Having spent a previous career as […]
12 Things you should know as a Facilitator of effective “communications”
January 3, 2014 by · Leave a Comment
As a mediator and facilitator of various types of conversations, in-person and virtual, I’m always learning when it comes to being a better “communicator”. In 2013, I added to my list of insights on that front. For instance, did you know… Inter-personal communications is essentially the process of sending and receiving messages. The word […]
