I have listened to fewer podcasts than usual in recent months, as I used to turn them on in the car. I rarely drive anywhere anymore. But today, I drove down from our cottage on my own and savoured the two hours of solitude and what felt like a rich conversation with two people I admire, Brene Brown and Priya Parker. Continue reading “What do we need now?”
The Gift of Less Collaboration
“Just tell us what to do.”
I am usually a fan of co-created decisions and strategies. But these days, I’m not so sure. I’ve already told you I’m a collaborative strategist who doesn’t enjoy group work. Now I’m becoming a collaborative strategist who’s advocating a less collaborative approach to strategy making. What is going on here?! Continue reading “The Gift of Less Collaboration”
Follow Your Process
One of the techniques I often use when helping a group make a big decision together is to identify how to make the decision before actually making it. Identifying decision-making criteria and processes slows the pace (in a good way!), lowers the temperature, and helps people make their thinking explicit to one another.
But then they need to follow the process they’ve set. Continue reading “Follow Your Process”
Awe Full
Have you ever bought a car, then seen that car everywhere? It’s as if everyone bought the same car as you that very same month.
Ideas are often like that for me. I learn about or notice something, then I see it everywhere I look.
“Awe” is showing up that way for me right now. Continue reading “Awe Full”
The Ability to be Hopeful
One of my favourite opening questions to build connections in meetings (other than, “Share the most boring thing about yourself,” which is actually hilarious), is “Put one adjective in the Chat that describes how you are really doing today.” Sometimes, I’ll ask it twice, with the second round adding the cloak of anonymity, which tends to increase candour. I use it several times per week. Continue reading “The Ability to be Hopeful”