BEING AND DOING

We are in day 3 of the ETDA Summit. Edie and Charlie Seashore facilitated our gathering and the emphasis has centered around the "SELF". What has emerged for me, is the need to BE for an ample period of time before the being begins.

ETD Alliance!

Heading to Baltimore to participate in the ETD Alliance Summit. I am thrilled to jump back into the Experiential world that has created the base of all of my work. I am wildly curious about intersections and connections. As my worked is broadening in scope, I am certain I need beginners mind more than ever. More news to come!

This year, 2008, we are pleased to announce Charlie and Edie Seashore as our distinguished guests that will engage the group in meaninful conversation about Authentic Leadership. Topics will include personal development and awareness of the 'use of self' as consultant. We will be invited to thoughtfully consider, ponder, and apply the concepts and exercises to our individual businesses.

::TIP3::

"Don't give up... no matter what" - Pete Seeger

Pete Seeger at 89 still sits and entertains with his stories and his music. What makes his performance different is the sage wisdom, stories and perspective. He has earned the place of "elder" and we are hungry to hear what he has to say. He delivers stories centered around his memories of his father that are timeless and have perfect lessons even in these times. He speaks slowly with intent and through his heart. He speaks of graditude and acknowlegdes those who have supported him on his journey. He speaks globally, sings globally and speaks of things that are uncomfortable.

My curiousity piques and I want to know more.

Why do we want to hear from those who have seen far more than we have?
Why are we monitoring their panic/peace thermostats?
Who are the Pete Seegers in organizations and do they know what their role is?
Do we recognize how CRITICAL it is that we slow down long enough to hear with our hearts.

You will hear this more than you want to on this blog. I am thrilled by the opportunities that are before us! I am listening more, asking more questions, calling BS more often and challenging my own feelings of fear.

The opposite of "giving up" is to fully engage.... and the challenge to me is to fully engage.... NO MATTER WHAT!

Pete Seeger occupation: Activist, Legend

::TIP 2::
Inspired action is easier when we believe we can make a difference.

"And then small happened....
Enron (big) got audited by Andersen (big) and failed (big.) The World Trade
Center was a target. TV advertising is collapsing so fast you can hear it. American
Airlines (big) is getting creamed by Jet Blue (think small). BoingBoing (four
people) has a readership growing a hundred times faster than the New Yorker
(hundreds of people). Big computers are silly. They use lots of power and are not nearly as efficient as properly networked Dell boxes (at least that’s the way it works at Yahoo and Google). Big boom boxes are replaced by tiny ipod shuffles. (Yeah, I know bigscreen tvs are the big thing. Can’t be right all the time). I’m writing this on a laptop at a skateboard park… that added wifi for parents.
Because they wanted to. It took them a few minutes and $50. No big meetings, corporate policies or feasibility studies. They just did it.
Today, little companies often make more money than big companies. Little
churches grow faster than worldwide ones. Little jets are way faster (door to door)
than big ones. Today, Craigslist (18 employees) is the fourth most visited site according to some
measures. They are partly owned by eBay (more than 4,000 employees) which hopes to stay in the same league, traffic-wise. They’re certainly not growing nearly as fast.

Small means the founder makes a far greater percentage of the customer interactions.
Small means the founder is close to the decisions that matter and can make them, quickly.
Small is the new big because small gives you the flexibility to change the business model when your competition changes theirs.
Small means you can tell the truth on your blog.
Small means that you can answer email from your customers.
Small means that you will outsource the boring, low-impact stuff like manufacturing and shipping and billing and packing to others, while you keep the power because you invent the remarkable and tell stories to people who want to hear them.
A small law firm or accounting firm or ad agency is succeeding because they’re
good, not because they’re big. So smart small companies are happy to hire them.
A small restaurant has an owner who greets you by name.
A small venture fund doesn’t have to fund big bad ideas in order to get capital...."

written by Seth Godin http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2005/09/whos_there_the_.html

100 TIPS Project.

I am starting the 100 tip project! Because we are in an "unprecedented time" meaning there is no previous evidence established to inform the present day... we need to find small tips that combine providing common threads. I am curious about that those threads might be and what we can learn from them.

::TIP 1::

We tend to think that leadership is something that happens at the top. True, but what is perhaps more true is that acts of leadership happen across and throughout business, day in, day out. Identify these acts of leadership, encourage them and communicate them widely. Doing so helps to demonstrate that all people can offer leadership and will also help acts of leadership to flourish.

What does your business recognize as leadership?

We need a reminder right now, more than ever!



A video that brings the power of the image to the dreams and ideas we hold and have hope for. I think we are all in need of ideas that inspire action and those ideas need a new elevation and wide open spaces. Happy ideaing!

Keep posted on Possibility NOW! We anticipate having something concrete very soon!

We have started the project. We had 8 people at our first cafe. We learned so much about what is needed and what we need to do to get it right. We feel good that this is what is needed right now.

We presented a 4 hour program in 2.5 hours. It was fast... too fast. We know that this work needs at least 4 hours or more. We used Graphic Recording to archive the meeting and we used a template packet to help further the learning. We filmed the process and I will post that here as soon as I get it edited.

We are looking for opportunities! Please contact us if you have any leads!

Janine

Possibility Project- Possibility Cafes!

Nearly 4 weeks ago, I was watching The Big Idea by Donnie Deutsch- the episode named Fighting for Main Street and it was at that moment that a number of things fell into place for me. As the economy has spiraled downward, my curiousity has spiraled upward. I had been asking myself how I could apply what I do best to our current situation to help those who are feeling the effects of our economic downturn. I became somewhat obsessed thinking about this- as I went to bed, as I woke up, as I was doing other work. It was in the moment that Donnie looked directly in the camera and said "we have to come together to survive these hard times, we need to find ways to survive and thrive". I thought... that's it! "How do I create something beneficial and make it available to those who need it". I can help people survive this time and come out the other end having learned new traits, with a big picture they feel passionately about, and clear about their thinking! I spent the next day or so in lots of creative tension. The name of the program came in the shower, the form of the program came to me in the car, and a number of resources have just showed up. It been amazing how things have come into line. I put together some ideas and made a call to some dear colleagues and told them my idea. They all said yes. We are piloting our first Possibility Cafe on November 5.

The concept of "cafe" embodies conversation and dialogue. I think it is critical for us to have conversations that are directed toward positive outcomes, this is the first step in reversing the downward spiral. I know that tools and information are only helpful when we have time to explore, reflect and make it real in our lives. The concept of "possiblity" means everything to me. I live in this state almost all of the time. I think we can make it through almost anything when we are able to envision the possibilities that live on the other side. My colleagues are the best at facilitation, convening conversations, asking curious questions and helping their clients to connect to the work they are doing. They practice experiential learning, systems thinking, mindset and belief work, visual learning, storytelling and "indoor/outdoor" communication, strategy planning, goal setting, visioning, and group training. We will be using the work of Systems Theory by Peter Senge, World Cafe techniques by Issac and Juanita Brown, Creative Problem Solving by Robert Fritz, Blue Ocean Strategy by w. Chan Kim and Renee Mauborgne, Law of Attraction made famous by Esther and Jerry Hicks, and Neuro Linguistic Programming, Marketing ideas from Seth Godin.

OUTCOMES
We are creating a program that will help individuals move from a place that might feel stuck and hopeless, to a place where action is inspired action. We are creating learning maps to help anchor the information and experiences and we will start to build a resource book.

We welcome anyone who wants to participate in this FREE event
Weds November 5th
6-8:30pm
2465 Sheridan Boulevard
Denver, CO 80214

If you would like to reserve a spot, please call 303 523 1072

If you are interested in learning more, please contact us after November 5th- we will know a lot more then!

Have a great week!
Janine

Gift for Susan Schacterle Book Campaign

Mapping Possibilities
Personal Visioning and Planning

By Janine Underhill

Possibility Maps are part of a visual learning process designed to help you identify and work with thoughts, energy and direction.

Janine Underhill, the founder of Idea360 (www.idea-360.com), a consulting company specializing in combining meeting processes and visual learning, presents a highly engaging and fun way to pull your vision components into a powerful, focus-magnet roadmap. We have created a graphic template and a discovery learning process that you can download and begin working with immediately. You will have an opportunity to explore your vision, focus areas, beliefs and thoughts, stops and starts.

We will include directions on how to enlarge the learning map to poster size or you can work with it in it’s original form- 11x17. You will have an opportunity to use this template over and over again or as a supplement to other coaching or personal development work. (valued at $150.00).

UPDATE: Due to a technical hiccup, I am unable to embed the templates into the blog... so instead, I would like to email the tempates directly to you!. Please leave your email address in the comments line or email me directly with your email address and I will promptly send you the discovery templates! (janine@idea-360.com).

Thanks so much for your patience!

Very Best!

Janine

LOHAS!!!

We have just returned from the LOHAS conference-June 18-21st, Boulder, CO http://www.lohas.com/forum/

Idea360 http://idea-360.com was asked to graphically record the key note and general sessions. The intent is to capture the essence of the discussion and the specific points, statements, and agreements in a graphic format. I use felt markers and large sheets of butcher paper. The output of each session are large, illustrated maps that you can use to unpack the conversation at a later time. This visual method is a powerful tool that assists learning and communication between groups and individuals. All of the maps will be made available to all of the participant via the LOHAS and Idea360 websites. We are also creating a "Learning Report" that will pair right brain memory and high level learnings from almost all of the breakout sessions. The intent of this document supports systems thinking because people’s sense of how elements relate comes from displaying distinctions in form or framework. We hope to provide a tool that encourages the juicy conversations at the conference are carried back to the office. Too many times learnings from gatherings of this magnatude dimish over time- we hope to make the invisible- VISIBLE!

Joseph Coplans, Wendy White, Julie Primozich and myself are so excited to announce a new venture!

PROJECT GREEN DREAMS! http://projectgreendreams.com


Project Green Dreams, a Denver and Raleigh/Durham based firm, consultants with organizations to empower sustainability. With 30 years of combined experience consulting with Fortune 500 companies, Project Green Dreams opens the door for the flow of possibilities and ideas. Project Green Dreams was created to accelerate innovation and magnify vision! We want to make it possible for people to believe in what’s possible, share ideas, imagine outcomes and figure out the best way to get there!


What are GREEN DREAMS? Green Dreams are discovered from the heart of the organization, working to inspire a roadmap for innovative sustainability success. A company’s green dream gives new choices to its customers and prepares its employees for a viable future.

To celebrate, we will be taking applications from organizations that would like to partner with PGD’s to envision and create their own Green Dream. Complete the application (located on our website) to win up to $25,000.00 in free PGD consulting