You Learn Something New Every Day

This business model canvas is awesome, I operated ...

2012-04-28T05:53:57.724+02:00

This business model canvas is awesome, I operated a website development company in Jamaica called www.binaryads.com I have used this business model canvas sample to assist in restructuring and adding more value to our website development business. I love it, great work

I think you raise three distinct and equally relev...

2012-04-25T15:43:21.246+02:00

I think you raise three distinct and equally relevant points.
Firstly I agree with you entirely that it is choices fuelled by self interest at national, local and community levels that inhibit development for others.

Contrary to aid resulting in developing countries producing more children, all the evidence indicates that when aid is directed towards education (particularly of women and girls)the result is decreased population growth, decreased child and maternal mortalilty and improved health and life expectancy. (See Hans Rosling's great TED talk on the issue).

Finally, I understand donor fear of corruption and diversion of aid in some developing countries, but in reality there are a whole range of reasons that aid deosn't get to the people we want to help and many of those are down to those who have good intentions failing to be accountable. In many locations there are criminal elements who seek to divert aid - just as there are criminal, fraudsters and the like in western countries who use the system for personal and political advantage. I have worked in environments where there were "mafia" style elements who attempted to use threats and violence to divert aid. But there are ways to address this within aid structures and the law. I wonder if we don't just throw our hands up and imply it is too hard because the "system" is unfamiliar when we would respond vigorously herehere in Europe. For example, the current corruption of the Murdoch empire is receiving the treatment and response it deserves. If the players were in an aid reciving country we may well suggest that is an example of a flawed system and therefore avoid responding as robustly and simply walk away ( and then use it as an excuse to cease providing aid).

I wish my first instict could be correct, that &qu...

2012-04-25T00:33:21.612+02:00

I wish my first instict could be correct, that "warlords" etc prevent effective aid to African countries, but to whatever extent this isn't to totally untrue steriotype. In discussions with worldly and experienced people, they say that overpopulation is the big issue. Intellectually I would bring them to the point where they would say, we can't feed them because then they'll have more kids. This is despicable and unacceptable to me. We must all rally to help the people who starve to death every day. Accountable aide appears to require a pairing with planned parenthood, a whole bag of worms in this overprivilaged country. I absolutely reject that we can't all live happily, it is the hedonistic choices that the minority of us make that don't allow for a global village of peace and prosperity. Thanks so much for blogging on this subject. scottmcurley@gmail.com

Interestingly, I am only getting articles in Germa...

2012-04-20T19:29:07.744+02:00

Interestingly, I am only getting articles in German and German universities writing about "Thing Studies" and "Studies of Material Consumption". And then I stumbled on Bill Brown's interesting paper about "Thing Theory" that manages to explore this notion every way from denoting the space between identifable and unidentifiable (as in Dr. Seuss' Thing One and Thing Two), to the work with things of the artist Claes Oldenburg (and his quote that a "refuse lot in the city is worth all the all the art stores in the world".) Lots to think about in there (see the article in Critical Inquiry: http://faculty.virginia.edu/theorygroup/docs/brown.thing-theory.2001.pdf)

How interesting! I have never heard of Thing Studi...

2012-04-20T19:06:57.114+02:00

How interesting! I have never heard of Thing Studies, although in this day and age that makes perfect sense. I will look around for that. And thanks Ian, for your suggestion - I will have to go back and watch Amelie again, I think I saw it before I was in the possesion of my very own gnome!
Gillian

I think you are right that storytelling lends mean...

2012-04-19T09:00:42.415+02:00

I think you are right that storytelling lends meaning to mere objects; it brings them to life. There is even a branch of cultural studies now called Thing Studies. If you have not seen the delightful French film "Amelie" you are in for a gnomic surprize!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterkeep/sets/72157...

2012-04-13T03:13:38.916+02:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterkeep/sets/72157629795829839/

You can find more great photos of the TEDxGVAChange event put on Flickr by pro photographer Olivier Borgognon.

Hi Michelle, You are absolutely right about the di...

2012-04-13T02:47:09.516+02:00

Hi Michelle, You are absolutely right about the distinction. We had three Visual Facilitators with us (what they do normally) who were doing graphic recording for the TEDx event!

Thanks for pointing that out! Gillian

I just read a post-event Press Release that stated...

2012-04-12T11:06:31.777+02:00

I just read a post-event Press Release that stated that not 16,000, but 35,000 people attended the event!

Congrats the event looked fantastic and very cool ...

2012-04-10T17:03:10.701+02:00

Congrats the event looked fantastic and very cool to see how it unfolds...a LOT of work! Also glad to see the graphic recorders. To me there is a distinction between visual facilitation and visual notetaker (or graphic recorder). The recorder is usually off to the side or back and is listening and notetaking with a mix of images and text. A graphic/visual facilitator designs and facilitates using visuals - including recording conversations/brainstorms, participatory graphic exercises, visual templates, etc to help the group see the bigger picture/whole picture. It's very hard to do both at the same time (i.e. facilitate and record).

Nice discussion! It is interesting, Mehrdad, to un...

2012-03-30T16:10:43.785+02:00

Nice discussion! It is interesting, Mehrdad, to understand more of the origin of the famous academic 15 minutes (so in that case I guess people who respond to the bell are not technically "late").

Andrea, that is a great reframe from the point of view of the participants (if all those early participants are like you :-) and as long as they aren't irritated by having that 15 minutes of open space while they watch their colleagues hustling in. I guess you could assume also that the people who are early are very efficient and productive people who get lots done in their work hours, so the extra time might be a welcome break (that would be nice anyways).

And, Penny, if the facilitator/trainer/meeting host builds that in (if they can) then it can help the meeting end on time (although I guess you will get less things done with less time available). I find that a hard one as starting late can set the tone or example for late returns from lunch/coffee/etc. but starting on time with only 25% of the group is equally challenging.

I just liked the math in this example, little things when extrapolated can make very big things!!

As a facilitator, one of the things I try to get a...

2012-03-30T11:25:19.847+02:00

As a facilitator, one of the things I try to get a feel for early on is that people assume about meeting start times (and end times). I routinely build in 'arrivals' into my meeting plans, and have a task for people to do if they do arrive before the others. Agendas circulated in advance may have include something like this: "Coffee available from 9.15, meeting to start promptly at 9.30".

It's interesting to reframe this: who is wasting time - the people who arrive later or those who arrive earlier?

And of course Andrea's reframe of whether the time is wasted or not is a useful reminder!

The crucial thing is to be realistic about how much can be accomplished in a meeting of a certain length, once you know what the organisational meaning of a 9.30 start is.

The situation you describe is common...even accept...

2012-03-30T08:24:12.620+02:00

The situation you describe is common...even accepted/expected in many organisations and parts of the world...but to frame the 15 minutes as lost is perhaps a mistake. I have a tendancy to be on time to meetings, and I have a plan for what to do with those 15 mintues if the occasion arises. If there are people invited to the meeting who I need to talk to about other work, I use the 15 minutes to have those conversations. If there aren't, I take some of my paper stack into the meeting to dig through it while I'm waiting. Or I use the time to organise the rest of my day (writing to-do lists).

This is funny - and reminds me of my time studying...

2012-03-30T00:43:49.631+02:00

This is funny - and reminds me of my time studying in Frankfurt and Kiel, Germany, where this was/is a common and accepted behavior. There is even a special term for it: Akademisches Viertel. Apparently, this dates back to when the ringing of the church bell informed students to go to their class. So when you heard the bell, you had 15 minutes to get to the lecture. I do recall that university schedules in Germany had special notations for having to arrive on time sharp: s.t. (sine tempore, "without time") identified lectures which started on time (or so the lecturers belived). :-)

Wow, great additions from all of you dear Facilita...

2012-03-26T21:36:47.888+02:00

Wow, great additions from all of you dear Facilitation Team members! Cuauhtemoc, indeed working in pairs was a great way to do peer learning, and also give us support and an extra brain and pair of hands for changing things on the spot.

Raj, It's great to hear that the planning came in handy - as Michael says, preparation can pay off when you know where you want to go. And it was indeed good to have friends to share a glass of wine and tell war stories of the day.

And Michael, you are right that having a clear view of objectives helps our tools be a means to an end and replace-able/adaptable when the need arises (even when it is in the moment).

All terrific comments and what a team!! Thanks to you all!

It also seems to be that this was one of those sit...

2012-03-26T16:13:57.509+02:00

It also seems to be that this was one of those situations in which detailed preparation pays off - knowing precisely what you planned to do, and how you would accomplish this, paradoxically gives you great flexibility.

Because of course, we never meet the reality that we imagined during our planning work. I find that the detailed planning, with a focus on clear outcomes, gives you the latitude to make adjustments that address the reality you encounter. Whether this is a room that is set-up differently from what you requested, or a session that runs long, or even far more/far fewer participants than you were expecting, you can make adjustments with great ease, because you are clear on your intent...

Hi Gillian- the strength of the team was the real ...

2012-03-26T09:31:03.112+02:00

Hi Gillian- the strength of the team was the real keystone in the Forum experience. In addition to learning from peers and seeing how others adapted their approaches, it was invaluable to have a sounding-board at the end of the day. There was a reassurance in hearing that your peers were facing similar success/frustration- and hearing how they were coping with challenges and seizing opportunities with their sessions and clients. The investment that you made in planning can't be overlooked in all of this- the team functioned well as a result of knowing 'where to be and what to do'!

Dear Gillian, along with the need of adapting and ...

2012-03-23T14:10:00.389+01:00

Dear Gillian, along with the need of adapting and being flexible yourself as facilitator, you are challenge by the changing environment, being with someone else in this case being in pairs (2 facilitators), helped a lot, I learnt from my colleagues not only new techniques and tools or ways to manage a session, but how to face with the same tool different size of groups (ranging from 1-15 for instance). In that way, we were also "controlling" our own emotions and expectations

Thanks Michael, I think that this distinction beca...

2012-03-04T04:21:14.100+01:00

Thanks Michael, I think that this distinction became even clearer to me in that 5 minutes than ever before! Since then I have been very happy to identify another process person with whom to share these roles and am convinced that it produces a higher quality output!

Sophie Maxwell's talk - "Designing the Fu...

2012-02-26T20:52:50.320+01:00

Sophie Maxwell's talk - "Designing the Future of Taste" - from TEDxEcoleHôtelièreLausanne online now: http://tinyurl.com/tedxehl-sm

Maeve Ryan's talk - "(Re)Creating Spaces:...

2012-02-26T09:38:45.642+01:00

Maeve Ryan's talk - "(Re)Creating Spaces: Thinking Like A Novelist" - from TEDxEcoleHôtelièreLausanne online now: http://tinyurl.com/tedxehl-mr

Kynan Eng's talk - "Interactive and Influ...

2012-02-26T09:38:23.791+01:00

Kynan Eng's talk - "Interactive and Influential Spaces" - from TEDxEcoleHôtelièreLausanne online now: http://tinyurl.com/tedxehl-kye

Gillian - This was a really helpful distinction, ...

2012-02-23T15:48:18.421+01:00

Gillian -

This was a really helpful distinction, and one I didn't fully appreciate until you enumerated everything that happened to you in only 5 minutes.

These process roles are all different, requiring a different kind of listening and engagement with what is going on in the room.

A big part of our job is helping our clients to understand the differences and clarifying their expectations.

Thanks for the great post.
M

Thanks Jean-Philippe for sharing your own story ab...

2012-02-22T23:46:46.018+01:00

Thanks Jean-Philippe for sharing your own story about the need to take care of yourself as a facilitator. I'm sure it will sound familiar to many of us!

Hi Michael, You are right about the important role...

2012-02-06T23:53:58.393+01:00

Hi Michael, You are right about the important role that process designers and facilitators play in this kind of learning process. Sometimes it just doesn't get done if there isn't a structure, some drive, and an element of surprise!

I am always very happy to share what I have learned and appreciate it when others do too - like you do in your new blog! http://michaelrandel.blogspot.com/