Thoughts

‘Tis the season to watch How the Grinch Stole Christmas, so a blog about Whoville seems timely. Plus I love it when a book makes a simple but potentially life-changing point.

That happened for me this week with Dan Sullivan’s new book, Who Not How. Rather than asking yourself, “How can I achieve this vision or address this problem?” how might it change your approach to ask, “Who can help me reach this goal or solve this problem?” Can you hear how that switches the issue from occupying mind space in your head to taking up residence in someone else’s? (Ideally, someone who is far better equipped to find a solution than you are?) Your job becomes casting a compelling vision of the desired impact rather than figuring out the path to get there, then recruiting skilled help. Continue reading “Let Your Whos Handle the How”

“I don’t like winter.”

At least that’s the story I’ve always told myself.

Last year, I escaped winter a few different times for work, and it made the long season manageable. This year, that ain’t happening. Winter 2020 has just begun where I live, and I’ve been dreading it.

But I’ve had a small breakthrough. I’ve realized that winter isn’t the problem. Winter driving is. It causes me stress. I don’t like wondering if I’m going to be able to get somewhere, or how long it will take, or if my less-experienced-driving kids will be safe in the snow. Continue reading “Winter Driving”

When I took piano lessons as a child, I remember learning how to play a cadence. It was a two-chord ending that gave a sense of finality to a piece. I loved the way it sounded — it reminded me of saying, “Ta Da!” at the end.

This past weekend I attended the quarterly gathering of Thought Leaders Business School. One of my favourite features of that event is the Genius Bar, where successful, experienced people offer mini coaching sessions one-on-one and others can listen in. Several of those conversations left me highly motivated this time around, and I realized they had something in common. In each case, the person added a tag at the end that required action on my part and commitment on theirs. Continue reading “Add the Tag”

I’m going to break one of my cardinal rules of facilitation right off the top: don’t remind a group of all they’ve lost. Avoid any variant of, “If we were meeting in person, we would…” or “If only we were together, we’d be able to…”  Instead, leverage what you do have and can do. It keeps the energy positive and allows our attention to move to a more generative place.

But let me just say: don’t you miss variety in our venues? Continue reading “Set the Tone”

“I had the privilege of attending an Annual General Meeting recently…”

Said no one ever.

Except me today, as the AGM of the International Association of Facilitators really inspired me this week. Not because of the content, which was encouraging but pretty standard. It was the diversity of attendees that caught my attention. I didn’t know everyone on the call, but we were a group of 51 people and I counted at least 23 countries represented! (These global meetings have become my vicarious travelling life…they make me happy.) Continue reading “When Disconnection Accelerates Connection”