Archive for 'Uncategorized' Category
It’s the environment stupid
Posted by Sharon 13 July 2010Reading the Heath’s book Switch: How to Change when change is hard, reinforces what I have been teaching for years: we can create a life environment that can support and nourish us or make it hard for us to achieve what we want.
As I reflect on my life, I know that I have been “lucky” […]
Bill Gates starts the ‘Innovate to Zero’ party
Posted by Sharon 19 February 2010Thanks to Remo Guiffre from my favourite online shop REMO, for conneting me to Bill Gates’ latest TED Talk.
Bill believes that climate is even important than “vaccines and seeds” and is challenging us to “innovate to Zero” emissions. I love that he is using a positive word like innovate - rather than a call to […]
Today’s Social Enterprise Ideas
Posted by Sharon 2 February 2010Ideas for this week.
Check out Fast Company’s list of the 5 Social Capitalists for 2010 and their businesses. From a number of sources I am getting the message that mobile phones and the accompanying connectivity are life changing in rural areas, where landlines are non-existent.
Also check out Better World Books which recycles books.
How were you better today?
Posted by Sharon 27 January 2010The cute video advertising Daniel Pink’s new book Drive, suggests we ask two questions:
1. “What’s my [epitaph] sentence? E.g. “She loved connecting people with ideas that their growth”.
2. Was I better today than yesterday?” …or the strengths-based version - “How was I better today than yesterday?”
Do we really need abundance?
Posted by Sharon 29 July 2009A good take on the abundance vs sufficiency dilemma from writer and personal life coach Bruce Elkin here.
I agree with a lot of his sentiments and am working to ensure that we reduce our family and company footprint from its current level of 2.4 planets to something approaching 1.
It’s hard to avoid the lure of […]
Work life flexibility - a useful business strategy
Posted by Sharon 13 June 2009A Fast Company leadership article about CFO views of work life flexibility strategies is yet another example of the knowing - doing gap. Yost’s study of CFO perspectives confirms that American CFOs recognise the business potential of work life balance, yet few of the American companies surveyed have formal policies, or their use is constrained […]
Rolling out the Red Carpet for Stakeholders
Posted by Sharon 18 May 2009Imagine organising a stakeholder meeting, say for staff, community or suppliers, where there was a red carpet leading to the door?
What message would that send to participants of the meeting?
What expectations would that create for you as the organiser?
How might the conversation be different?
This idea comes from Peter Block’s book Community: The Structure of Belonging
Block […]
Are you an Indian Giver? And do you want to be?
Posted by Sharon 14 April 2009I came across a reference to the original definition of an “indian giver” in the 25th anniversary edition of the book The Gift, by Lewis Hyde. The American Indians gave gifts with the expectation that the gift would be returned or passed on, or an equivalent gift given in return. Rather than describe this […]
Above the line / Below the belt
Posted by Sharon 6 November 2008Above the line / below the line is a commonly used concept to talk to managers and employees about what sorts of words and behaviour are helpful / not helpful in the workplace.
I have devised a facilitation activity entitled “Above the line / Below the Belt” which explores this concept through mock debates. If you […]
Developing Middle Managers
Posted by Sharon 19 June 2008Caught in the Middle, a new article by Wharton School of Business captures the dilemma of middle managers quite starkly. When they do their job well, they co-ordinate the needs and efforts of many people spread across the organisation and often have no visibility from senior leaders. They are accountable for execution of strategy, […]