Idea Architects
AUGUST 9, 2004
Times change, things change, people change, everyone is so busy nowadays, blah, blah, blah. People can use whatever cliché phrases they want, there is no mistaking how difficult it is to be a part of a once-thriving friendship or relationship that seems to be operating on life support. You don't want to see it go or even acknowledge what it has become, so you keep calling, sending emails, trying to connect in person.
Idea Architects
SEPTEMBER 22, 2004
"I'm never going to be a star," she says, "but it's nice to be pushing 60 with more to do than I've ever had before. And my life is a manageable size. So if someone gets sick or someone gets happy or a baby is born, I can be there." Actress Kathleen Chalfant, 59, interviewed in the Wall Street Journal ; Friday, September 6, 2004 And my life is a manageable size.
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Idea Architects
JUNE 23, 2004
Doesn’t anyone use turn signals anymore? That was the thought running through my mind after two recent near collisions with other cars making sudden turns or darting recklessly between lanes. It sometimes seems that people have forgotten that our roads are community spaces meant to be safely shared with others. Doing so requires giving some advance notice to our driving colleagues about what we are thinking of doing before we get involved in doing it.
Idea Architects
NOVEMBER 12, 2004
From where I was standing at the counter I could see signs for the restaurant's employees that someone probably believed they had posted away from the public eye. I couldn't completely make out the first few signs, but they seemed to represent steps in the customer service process. The final sign was in my direct line of vision and was the one that captured my attention: Customize Your Hospitality.
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Idea Architects
NOVEMBER 14, 2004
In a recent New York Times article, the popular actor Hank Azaria commented on how fellow actor William H. Macy had taught him that you don't always have to be the center of attention. "There is a tremendous dignity and honesty in not doing that," Azaria said. "You can really let other people have their thing. And if you do that honestly enough, it’s its own terrific thing.".
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Idea Architects
DECEMBER 13, 2004
During the past few weeks, I've been involved in a number of conversations having a recurring theme: upper management asks for feedback, employees give it, and it seems to disappear into a feedback or idea vortex, never to be heard from or acknowledged again. This, of course, is not a new concern, but the repetition of its expression has been weighing on me causing me to wonder why are so many people from so many different organizations all commenting on the same frustration at the same time?
Idea Architects
NOVEMBER 6, 2004
“We don’t have to let go of what we believe, but we do need to be curious about what someone else believes.”. —Margaret Wheatley, Turning To One Another In the post-election denouement, this seems like sound advice no matter what color your state or what state your emotions. Until we can listen to others with whom we might violently disagree with some degree of authentic curiosity, openness, and respect, little is possible.
Idea Architects
OCTOBER 25, 2004
As a result of several conference general sessions I've experienced the past few weeks I've formulated a few rules that will certainly inform my keynote speaking in the future, as well as the suggestions I offer others about effective general session and workshop design. The longer the session, the less lecture it should include. Unless the speaker is a masterful storyteller and is only weaving a few highly relevant yarns, there are very few people who can command an audience's full attention fo
Idea Architects
SEPTEMBER 16, 2004
You must have helped spread the word quickly as I received notice today that my ChangeThis manifesto on learning and community had been accepted, so now the real work of writing begins. Thanks to everyone whose votes helped make this happen. I'll let you know when the manifesto is on the site. It may be some time given their process. FYI: Because the proposal has been accepted it is no longer on the ChangeThis site and the link in the previous post is no longer active.
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Idea Architects
SEPTEMBER 12, 2004
Enough already. Bad Powerpoint slides. Monotone talking heads droning on and on. Workshops with descriptions that have the sizzle to sell, but whose real content lacks the substance to sustain interest. Aggressive vendor sales pitches loosely masquerading as quasi-educational infomercials. Meeting spaces and room sets so claustrophobic, so cluttered with noise from adjoining rooms, and so utterly constraining that you want to scream in agony.
Idea Architects
SEPTEMBER 2, 2004
"I am not a microwave," said R&B singer Jill Scott when asked recently about why it has taken her several years to release a follow-up album to her smash debut. Last time I checked none of us individually looks like a microwave, and while I know of some organizations with fast-track innovation processes in place, they aren't microwaves either. Yet so many individuals and organizations want both instant output and instant results.
Idea Architects
AUGUST 19, 2004
Are you going to work hard today? Are you going to be nice today? Now remember, what we agreed: No calling names. No yelling. No whining. Have a good day dear. This is what I overheard a woman telling her obviously successful husband as she dropped him off for work at one of our major downtown office buildings today. Or maybe it was what I heard a mother tell her pre-school-age daughter when I was in line behind them at Starbucks.
Idea Architects
AUGUST 6, 2004
How would the conversation be different if instead of talking about the elections in battleground terms, we spoke of it through the lens of the playground ? While some of the negative spirit might be retained (think recess bullies), I can't help believe some childlike curiosity, willingness to play with others, and free spirit might emerge. Though political campaigns are a timely illustration, we are too accustomed to using war metaphors and language to characterize so many regular events that d
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Idea Architects
JULY 14, 2004
Today I learned I am a terrorist. Imagine my surprise. This compounded the surprise I felt when I learned that the future of our country is in jeopardy because someday I might have the right to marry a man. Whew. Glad these things are being cleared up because I was totally unaware of them. Thanks Rick Santorum for so eloquently illustrating in the following remarks on the Senate floor just why some people are suggesting that supporters of the marriage amendment are intolerant.
Idea Architects
JULY 7, 2004
My writing has been plentiful lately, but you have to seek it in other spaces at the moment. If you are interested in rethinking how organizations manage the transition of long-time volunteers see my article entitled "Volunteer Management: Don't Cut the String Tie a New Knot" in the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives magazine, Executive Update , Executive Update Online - Volunteer Management: Don't Cut the String Tie a New Knot.
Idea Architects
JUNE 9, 2004
Retailers have long understood the value of samples and two-fers. When Proctor and Gamble was introducing their home dry cleaning product, Dryel, they shipped free samples to thousands of sorority houses, a target market they perceived as being a natural fit for the new product. Visit any Sam's Club or Costco on a Saturday and you can essentially eat a complete meal if you accept samples given at the end of almost every aisle.
Idea Architects
JUNE 3, 2004
Strange how ideas find their way to us. While strolling through the wonderful Edward Hopper retrospective at London's Tate Modern during Memorial Day weekend, I had one of those "hit by a bolt of lightning" moments. These are the ones that send you scrambling for a pen to capture your thoughts before they escape you. Having such thoughts is not all that interesting or unusual.
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Idea Architects
MAY 25, 2004
I was recently reminded of a quote I've long valued: "People only understand things in terms of their own experience, which means you must get within their experience." Saul Alinsky, Rules for Radicals: A Pragmatic Primer for Realistic Radicals. Despite what I see as the fairly obvious face value in such an observation, I recently have found myself in quite a few settings where people seem fixated on denying the reality of others' experiences.
Idea Architects
MAY 11, 2004
During the Monday, May 10 segment of All Things Considered , NPR focused on new religions and trends in religion, one of which apparently is believing without belonging. While the number of individuals identifying themselves as believers in some religion or spirituality might be increasing, that increase has not necessarily resulted in more people joining faith-based institutions.
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