Idea Architects
NOVEMBER 9, 2005
If you're finding yourself a bit dismayed at what's happening in the world around you, perhaps it will be helpful to remember that hope is indeed a renewable resource. An essay I authored with that name was recently published by the Shambhala Institute for Authentic Leadership. You can download it in PDF form here. I'm honored to be in the company of two writers whose work I greatly admire, Margaret Wheatley and Christina Baldwin.
Idea Architects
OCTOBER 12, 2005
In catching up on some newspaper reading today, I noticed two stories of interest. The first appeared in Sunday's (10/9/2005) New York Times and focused on groups of friends joining together and forming "giving circles," clubs in which friends pool their money and make donations to charitable causes. The second was addressed all over the media today when Google made good on the initial installments of getting its charitable foundation up and running.
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Idea Architects
SEPTEMBER 15, 2005
I'm done with ribbons. I'm over rubber wristbands. Each was innovative when the first example was introduced. Each was interesting as it spread to a few other groups or causes and a few other colors. Each is now tired, overexposed, and lacking in originality. Are we really lacking so much in creativity that we can only copy the same idea over and over and over and over again?
Idea Architects
SEPTEMBER 1, 2005
It has been difficult to not want to spend every hour immersed in whatever media I can access to learn more about the tragic after effects of Katrina. To go about my normal daily routine when so many people may not have any sense of normalcy in their lives for so long almost seems offensive. Thinking about all that I have seen and read has left me wondering.
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Idea Architects
AUGUST 8, 2005
I'm participating in Fast Company magazine's Annual BlogJam this week. Regular magazine contributors and a group of readers like myself get the chance to post our perspectives on a variety of organizational issues and see if we can stimulate some interesting thinking. If you need a quick immersion into a pretty diverse mix of thinkers stop by the Jam for a few minutes.
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Idea Architects
JULY 6, 2005
A few weeks ago I stopped by the studio of one of my painter friends, Sam Sartorius, to check out her new body of work. It was a day filled with small insights that have stuck with me. I love that artists define themselves by different bodies of work, ones often reflecting very specific times in their life or particular influences that inspired them.
Idea Architects
JUNE 14, 2005
When you’re trying to bring about change you can make some erroneous assumptions that unnecessarily trip you up. One of the most common I think is that all traditions are bad and reflective of an undesirable status quo. That’s the assumption I’ve seen trip up a few clients and colleagues in the past few weeks. These generally savvy leaders, in their haste to bring about a major change, demonstrated to others what was perceived as an attitude of contempt for the fact that they value some of the o
Idea Architects
MAY 12, 2005
Sometimes it only takes a few good questions to unearth the wisdom in the room. At a volunteer leadership conference for a national association, I was asked to share a few questions that are essential to any considerations about structure for an organization or a work team. Inspired by the thinking of former VISA CEO Dee Hock and his Chaordic Alliance, here are the three I said get at the core of the issue: 1.
Idea Architects
MAY 8, 2005
“Mark didn’t try to impose his style on us as much as integrate his eye to the reality of our lives.” — New York Times , April 7, 2005 The above quote comes from actor Chad Lowe referencing Mark Zeff, the interior designer who redid the home Lowe shares with his wife, actress Hilary Swank. I’ve been carrying it around with me in my daily planner for weeks and have spent a great deal of time thinking about it.
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Idea Architects
APRIL 27, 2005
Sometimes the simplest insights yield the greatest dividends. One of the things I've noticed consistently in my facilitation efforts this year is the following: When Baby Boomers think of community, they tend to place a premium on networking and interacting with people like them: homogeneity. When Generation Xers and Millennials talk about community, they seem to place a premium on spending time with people not like them: heterogeneity.
Idea Architects
APRIL 21, 2005
Could you go to work every day and knowlingly sell an inferior product while charging the customer full price? Apparently so if you work at the Hilton Garden Inn Washington DC Franklin Square. For that is what they do when they sell guests a room on a lower floor overlooking the alley. Let me tell you my story. It is 4:29 a.m. and for the second consecutive night I have received an unexpected and most unwelcome wakeup call at my hotel: the sound of a large trash truck picking up overflowing dump
Idea Architects
APRIL 14, 2005
She's no longer at the right place. She's no longer in the right profession. And so she's looking for what's next. That is what I learned in a colleague's email today. You could amass quite the collection of books on finding purpose in your life, career planning, and the like. I've read many of them, and many are quite good. Rather than a book I offered what I think of as the fundamental five.
Idea Architects
APRIL 7, 2005
Spring is finally here, and that is a good thing. But now that it is warm enough to have the windows open, I'm being reminded of why it is such a joy to close them in late fall. While I'm delighted to live in an urban neighborhood safe enough for children to play outside, as the little lovelies grow up, their outdoor toys are getting bigger and noisier.
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Idea Architects
MARCH 22, 2005
I'm finding everyday life a bit tiring right now, so I'm going on a psychological spring break. It won't involve drinking any Coronas on the beach, but hopefully it will still lead to some renewal. See you again in April. Until then, you might find two feature articles I recently authored to contain insights worth considering. Executive Update Online - Head Games takes you to an article outlining the fascinating premise of Dan Pink's new book, A Whole New Mind.
Idea Architects
MARCH 19, 2005
Absolutely amazing. Most days they seem to be unable to speak civilly about the pressing problems confronting our country. But give them the chance to steal the national limelight, and they are all too willing to extend the long arm of a federal intervention into something that seems to be a state's rights issue. I'm not commenting on the merits of the seemingly complex Schiavo case unfolding in Florida.
Idea Architects
FEBRUARY 23, 2005
I have been thinking a lot lately about the great challenge some people have with seeing things come to an end and letting go. I have been facilitating many conversations with staff and volunteer leaders about what programs need to be sunset, which ones might need a fresh coat of paint, and where do new efforts desperately need to be created. These have been difficult conversations.
Idea Architects
FEBRUARY 9, 2005
In mid-January an untimely and unexpected back injury confined me to the couch for about a week. While there is never a good time to have such an experience, being immobile when your refrigerator is close to empty is even less desirable. So to get by on my own before I leaned on friends to bring me some groceries, I pushed the envelope on expiration dates for milk, yogurt, cottage cheese and the like.
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Idea Architects
JANUARY 9, 2005
I admit it. I tend to only get excited about our Indianapolis Colts football team as the playoffs approach. Sure, I'm a casual observer of their progress throughout the regular season, but I only start watching the games when the stakes get higher. And that time is now. After our thrashing of the Denver Broncos today, we head next to New England to face our equivalent of an arch nemesis, the New England Patriots.
Idea Architects
JANUARY 14, 2005
Idiocy. It's the only thing I could think when I read the account of Guy Womack, lawyer for Specialist Charles A Graner, Jr., defending his client’s behavior. Graner as you probably know is up for a court-martial for his role in the abuse of detainees at Abu Ghraib. Given the deplorable practices at the prison, the intense worldwide backlash experienced when photos of the abuse became public, and the fact that Graner is considered to be the potential ringleader for the abuse, you would think his
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