Eclectic Change

Japan’s oldest citizens are missing. Should we be surprised?

I find it interesting how often I just accept was is being said without serious analysis and then find myself saying - well that makes sense when the "facts" have been disputed.  I found this happening to me when I read one of the headline this week in the New York Times:  Japan, Checking on Its Oldest, Finds Many Gone. I have no qualms about Japan having one of the oldest populations of citizens but really how many people can there be over 110?  Well, apparently Japan thought she had more than...

Rethinking Teams

I am beginning to think that the whole concept of teams is passé.  Don't get me wrong.  I think that my work with team building will be around for the rest of my career and will remain a major source of my income.  However, that said, as I focus more on collaboration I am beginning to wonder if the way we look at working groups is archaic for the new world of work. What brought me to this conclusion?  It was a number of factors.  As I was writing this series on the basic principles for high p...

Are your a futurist?

I was very fortunate to be be able to attend the Lift10 Conference for the past three days.   Lift is a series of events built around a community of pioneers who get together in Europe and Asia to explore the social implications of new technologies. Each conference is a chance to turn innovation into opportunities by anticipating the major shifts ahead, and meet the people who drive them. It was extremely eclectic in topic choices and workshops.  What was exciting for me was not to listen...

Encouraging Differences Starts at Home

Everyone wants to be accepted for who they are.  Mothers are great for that.  While they have high hopes for us, the bottom line is that mothers want us to be happy.  Mothers also quickly learn how their children are similar and how they are are different from them.  The good mothers foster and encourage those differences.  I had a mother like, that even though she worried all the time about me. My mother tried hard to manage me . . . she figured out pretty quickly that I wasn't at all like h...

How toxic before you amputate?

Last September, France Télécom SA announced it would train all of its 22,000 managers to identify staffers showing signs of depression or erratic behavior after unions blamed a recent spate of suicides among workers on the company's recent restructuring efforts.  By October, the situation had worsened and a France Télécom executive resigned after the employee suicide tally had risen to 24.  One resignation?  A good analysis can be found by Gill Corkindale on the HBR Blog at that same time:  Why...

OD Interventions – Future Search

What is Future Search? Future search is a PLANNING MEETING that helps people transform their capability for action very quickly. The meeting is task-focused. It brings together 60 to 80 people in one room or hundreds in parallel rooms. Future search brings people from all walks of life into the same conversation - those with resources, expertise, formal authority and need. They meet for 16 hours spread across three days. People tell stories about their past, present and desired future. Thr...

Is Transparency Always The Right Choice? (Video)

I am the first person to believe that transparency is a good thing. I often preach it.  After reading a respected colleague of mine who does a lot work in the Middle East and Asia, I began to have a few reservations. So here are some thoughts for discussion. I'd love to hear your views. In the above video, I mention the book "Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor"  by Warren Bennis, Daniel Goleman, James O’Toole.  You can find a nice little video of O'Toole discussing the b...

Do we really need engaged employees?

I remember in my twenties complaining to my mother about how stressed I was.  She looked at me as if I had landed from Mars.  She asked skeptically: "What exactly do you have to be stressed about?"  I don't remember what I answered but she told me that, not once living through the London Blitz of WWII did any one stop to complain about stress.  The whole concept was completely foreign to her. I mean really . . . what is all the whining about?  I am sure if we were living from hand t...

We need more “helpers” not heroes: A tribute to Miep Gies

Miep Gies passed away on January 11th at the age of 100.  Her claim to fame was being known as a "helper" of Anne Frank.  I read the obituary of all places on the news channel on my Wii.  There was this quote from Gies that I find one of the most profound things that I have read in a while: "I am afraid that if people feel that I am a very special person, a sort of heroine, they may doubt whether they will do the same I once did. Not many consider themself very talented or courageous and thus w...

A Christmukah Story: Promoting Inter-cultural Respect at Work

I want to wish you all a wonderful and joyous holiday season however you choose to celebrate. I am reprinting an article from a colleague that celebrates our differences and diversity in the workplace. At the end of the post, I have embedded a short video from TedTalks that describes what I think may be the first steps to finding common ground. A Christmukah Story was first published in February 2007. There is a lot to celebrate this month.  In addition to the holiday season, December 3 is...