A month ago I watched The Social Dilemma on Netflix. My mouth was agape for most of it. It was a seriously disturbing account of the devastating impact that software has on our human psyche. “There are only two industries that refer to their ‘customers’ as ‘users’; illegal drugs and software,” said Edward Tufte, American statistician and Yale University Professor. The movie left me … [Read more...]
Tortoise or Hare?
Have you read the fable of ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’? The speedy Hare is always bragging about how fast he can run, so the slow and steady Tortoise challenges him to a race. All the other animals gather in the forest to watch. The Hare runs for a while and then pauses to rest. Looking back at the Tortoise who is way behind, he yells out “How can you win the race when you are … [Read more...]
Curious Not Serious.
Next week I’m kicking off an online purpose storytelling course for 12 employees from a company in the Aged Care sector. What I’m most excited about is that the participants are not the usual C-suite executives but those who’ve been providing exemplary acts of service on the frontline. The outcome of the course is for each participant to share a 2-minute talk that brings the company … [Read more...]
Punching Through.
“If it comes too easy, dig into it, find something else in it, go into a tangent, punch through the false bottom of your writing,” urged Nadine Davidoff in the recent manuscript masterclass I attended with her. Nadine challenged everything I’ve ever believed about writing and my approach to it. I was way out of my comfort zone and it resulted in a temporary crisis of confidence. “You need to be … [Read more...]
One Question Please.
Since calling for nominations for stories for Community Rising, I’ve had many conversations with people about what makes their community tick and stick together. Thank you if you’re one of those people I’ve connected with. (Nominations are still open.) It’s been fascinating to see the list of secret ingredients already emerging from my research. It’s clear there’s a certain alchemy to community … [Read more...]