The title said, “Want to help someone? Shut up and listen!”. The title got my attention. It comes from a recent TEDx presentation delivered by Ernesto Sirolli, in New Zealand. The title drew me in. The content kept me. Sirolli has worked for 40 years in the field of economic and community development. His orientation […]
11 Ways to Commit to Restorative Justice Practices
November 30, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
When relationships don’t matter, we are more inclined to do bad things. There has been a lot of media in my neck of the woods this fall, around broken relationships, and doing bad things. I think there is no time like this time, to focus more on our relationships to each other, as a measure […]
A Thanksgiving Story
November 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
[There’s a place in my neighbourhood called Mitchell House. It provides transitional, semi-independent residence, for young men aged 16-21. Graham Kelly is the manager of Mitchell House, part of the Threshold Housing Society. This is his story. I first read Graham’s story in my neighbourhood’s monthly newsletter, dropped off at my door this week. I […]
Go With Your Heart: Create Justice Solutions the Open-Source Way
October 26, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
We love our media. Take away our media? No way. Alas, more media leads to both more ideas, and more arguing and conflict. And, all that arguing can get pretty chaotic. So if you’re in a position of influence for creating justice solutions, how do you address all that complexity and chaos? Go with your […]
The Dynamic Duo: Collaboration and Chance
October 15, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
You know, collaboration as a good news story. The real success stories of our time are about good collaboration: businesses, sports teams, political campaigns, causes… 1 + 1 > 2. And yet, sometimes good collaboration isn’t enough for success. Sometimes you need chance on your side. Think of Felix Baumgartner’s past weekend of incredibleness, that […]
Bruce Saunders and Movie Monday: Bringing Community to my Neighbourhood
October 11, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Watching a movie can be so much more. I’m a huge fan of Bruce Saunders weekly Movie Monday showing at the Eric Martin Pavilion Theatre, here in Victoria. I’m a fan not just because of the movies shown at Eric Martin, though they tend to rock. It’s a community event, where neighbours and nearby citizens […]
Is your relationship on "clock time" or "event time"?
October 9, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Are you always checking the time? Do you jump to conclusion based on first impressions? Do you tend to panic when you find yourself in a difficult situation? It could be you’re working on “clock time”. There is another way. Clock time vs Event time Clock time is about efficiency. It is about productivity, based […]
Cultural Gumbo: Collaboration on culturally-diverse teams
September 7, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
Each day, week, month. I discover how much I still have to learn. After a recent workshop I gave on conflict management, to Canadian immigrants, at the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria, I’ve upped my belief that getting a grip on cultural differences matters a lot. And, it matters whenever, and wherever, you find yourself in […]
RIP Dr. Roger Fisher
August 31, 2012 by · Leave a Comment
I cut my conflict management teeth on the work of Dr. Roger Fisher. His book, Getting to Yes, co-authored with William Ury, and first published in 1981, is the seminal book on interest-based negotiation theory and practice. Dr. Fisher died this week. He is a legend in the conflict resolution community. His legacy includes the […]
