Improv again last night here on Bowen Island. It is such a rich learning space for me in many ways. Last night, one of our group kept bringing scenes back to the Olympics, and especially the luge. At times it was funny but it became tiresome in other cases, and in an extended game of freeze tag, when he stepped in, everyone knew where the scene was going. My learning from that is what it looks like when we come to a situation prepared, with a pre-conceived idea of what will work, being attached to an offering, but insensitive to …
Over the years I have really moved away from doing the standard kinds of strategic planning meetings that most every organization seems to do. I recognize the need for management, but I see many organizations either get locked into a control mindset that limits their options, or create huge lists of things to do that can’t possibily be accomplished. I am rather inclined to work with organizations that are trying to find ways of becoming strategically adaptable, but most organizations I work with are already there. Today though I received a call from an organization that I like, that does …
The view from my home island, Bowen Island, looking across the Queen Charlotte Channel to Cypress Bowl, where the freestyle skiing events will be held during the Olympics. It’s 10 degrees and raining, and that cloud deck shows no sign of lifting. Yes there is very little snow. It’s February in Vancouver. It’s always like this. In fact I should have had my snow tires off the car two weeks ago. Daffodils are coming up and spring is just around the corner.
Jack Ricchiuto publishes a new little paper on The Practice & Power of Authentic Community Engagement : When a community is authentically engaged in conversations that matter, the conversation engages their assets in the realization of their dreams. In authentic engagement, the community becomes author of its own future. The opposite of authentic engagement is lip service to engagement. It is an invitation to conversation that simply engages the community’s voices of victimhood and entitlement. Lip service engagement loudly proclaims commitments to change, but has no power to bring it about and is ironically the shortest distance to sustaining the …
One of the cool cultural Olympiad things happening around here for the 2010 Winter Games is an interactive light exhibit which makes patterns in the sky with 20 spotlights along False Creek. We can see these from our house on Bowen Island. They are part of an interactive art installation called Vectoral Elevations. Very cool, and you can play too! Make your own pattern online and submit it. There’s a good chance we’ll see it as we have been completely entranced by these lights the last few nights.