Presencing Toolbook

I just found that Otto Scharmer and his Presencing Institute have published a new online version of their Theory U Toolbook, with eight interesting exercises that can be applied in the practice of change facilitation:

Stakeholder Dialogue Interviews
U Journaling Practice: A Journey through Your Field of the Future
Case Clinic
Bagger Vance Journaling Practice
U Blueprint for a Strategy/Innovation Task Force
Embodied Presence Practice
Meditation Practice in Presencing
Capturing Case Stories

My Steep Learning Curve and a Meeting of the Israeli Complexity Group

I really enjoy my stay in Israel. For several reasons, some of them are private (climate, food, liberal, European atmosphere, etc.). But besides, I have a steep learning curve. Until now, when I visited Israel, I went straight to the West Bank or to Gaza to do work there. I never really had the chance to experience the Israeli Israel. It is so difficult to find the political correct words - and there aren't any which would suit both sides. When people talk about Palestine in Ramallah, they mean the entire territory of Israel, West Bank and Gaza (even if they are moderate). In Israel, some people distinguish now between Israel and Palestine, but not all. Read more...

3rd Global Gathering of CFAN Has Ended with a Promise

From April 21-25, 35 folks from all part of the world met in Austria for the 3rd Global Gathering of the Change Facilitation Associates Network. While we still have to process the wealth of video, slide, audio and photo material, here is a first report:

We started on Day 1 to reconnect. Participants came from: Finland, Norway, Lebanon, Israel, Germany, Philippines, Romania, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Czech and Slovak Republics, Albania, Canada, UK. Using dialogue techniques, we explored the questions that would help us to digg deeper into our tasks and to recognize our joint emerging future. In the evening of Monday, Prof. Susanne Weber talked about Dynamics in Regional Networks. Read more...

Holger Nauheimer on Complexity

During my presentations in the United States, I shot a couple of video clips. Here is a 7 minute clip on complexity in organizations, including some reflections of contemporary models such as those of Dave Snowden and Ralph Stacey:



If you want to see the video in a bigger window, go to Google Videos.

The Story of Change, Told at Nexus

At the first evening of Nexus II, on March 30, 2008 in Bowling Green, Ohio, Sandra Janoff facilitated a time line which allowed us to look at the fourty years history of the Whole Systems Change Movement. The storyline has now been published as a three part video on YouTube. Watch 20 minutes of collective memory of 80 folks who were part of this history, told by Barbara Bunker, Dick Axelrod, Peggy Holman and others: Read more...

Still at Nexus: Peter Block on Communal Transformation

Peter Block, author of books like Flawless Consulting and The Answer to How is Yesgives us an entertaining afternoon, speaking on community transformation.

Peter about elements of convening

• Leadership is about convening capacity
• Subsitute curiosity for advice
• There are no answeres. Everybody who offers you an answer wants to sell you something
• Transformation is based on a platform of relatedness
• Ask groups not to report their findings but what strucks them

Peter about stories

• Some stories are more powerful
• "Even the past is unpredictable"
• "I was born and I made the rest of it up" - it is all a social construction

"Those large change efforts that were successful and sustainable started slow, small and underfunded. So when you want to be successful as a change manager, as for lots of time, a small project and only some bread crumbs of money."

"I desparately look for clients who don't need me. That's were I learn a lot."

Day 1 in Nexus II

Day 1 in Bowling Green started with an evening facilitation of Sandra Janoff, the co-developer of Future Search conferences. Sandra ket the group of 80 people into a timeline on development of the OD and Change Management field. Within 2 hours, the group developed a - maybe not complete - but comprehensive summary of the major events and developments of our 40 years history.

I've got everything on video tape. Bear with with me, I am processing the material...

Wikinomics in Berlin

After attending Don Tapscott's great presentation in Brussels on Tuesday November 6th 2007, organized by The Lisbon Council, I was very happy to find this video of the writer of Wikinomics on the web.

Since a project manager is used to working without formal authority and in a flexible team, I am convinced Don's approach of massive collaboration he talks about in his book is a very powerful way of realizing more successful projects. Think about it, you would have to create such and enticing vision that people actually join your project out of their free will (this is what is happening at Boeing in their R&D department for new ides by the way). This also means a Wiki is a very powerful tool for co-creating your project, so please consider setting one up for your next project.


Link: sevenload.com

It is referenced by his own website, so you can hardly call it a bootleg! Sit back and relax, this is easily one of the best speakers I have seen in the circuit over the last months.

This post is also published on the blog of the author: Propellor - Changing Projects - Pascal's Blog: Wikinomics in Berlin

A Book about Social Entrepreneurs

There have always been individuals who had a significant impact on the world - for the better or for the worse. Usually we know the big names, for example Mohamed Yunnus, last year's nobel price laureate, who helped to improve the lifes of millions of people in Bangla Desh by giving them access to micro-credits. There are, however, a lot of people who remain unknown to a wider public. It is thanks to authors like David Bornstein that we get know about those people.

I haven't read a non-fiction book for long that kept my full attendance for quite a while, a page-turner so to say.

How to Change the World is such a book. It is the story of the Ashoka Foundation and of social entrepreneurs and the power of new ideas. The Ashoka Foundation was created by Bill Drayton in the eighties and it has become the leading organization for supporting social activists who create new concepts to help marginalized groups in all parts of the world. People who were able to find innovative solutions for the pressing problems of our times.

Bornstein, besides recording the history of this unique organization follows the path of some of the Ashoka fellows who are selected according to the strict system of the foundation. Take, for example, Jenoo Billimoria, who gave the kick start of what now has become an India-wide network of telephone hotlines for street kids, called Childline. Or Fábio Rosa, who fought against windmills until he was able to implement a programme for affordable electrification in rural Brazil. Or J.B. Schramm, who developed a system for helping underpriviliged kids to enroll in universities of the U.S.

These are stories of people who share a few things in comon: they are brave, they follow their vision regardless of how many stones are put into their way, and they find innovative ways of marketing and reproducing their ideas. They are true entrepreneurs - in the original sense of the word ("undertakers").

Reading this book, I was reaffirmed that a better workd is possible, and that there are lots of people out there who have helped to make that dream come true for millions of poor and marginalized people.

It goes without saying - this is a must read book. More information can be found on the website howtochangetheworld.org.

The World is Watching Burma

I believe that blogs can make a difference to the world. So here is my request to all other blogs: Please post the following message in your blog:

In Burma (Myanmar), thousands of Buddhist monks are marching through the streets every day to protest against more than 40 years of dictatorship. They are joint by major parts of the population. In the past, any anti-government protests have been stopped by the army with fierce violence and the arrest of the protestors. So, far, the military has not intervened on these latest civil movement.

We want to tell to the Government of Myanmar: the community of bloggers - and therefore the world - is watching every step you take. Do not excert any violence on the peaceful protesters.

We want to tell to the monks and to the people of Myanmar: you are not alone. The time for change in Myanmar has come and the people of Myanmar have a right to enjoy the same economic growth than your neighbouring countries and the increase of democratic rights.

So, we ask all blogs to post this message. Feel free to translate this message into your language. If you are a blog reader, write a message to your favourite blogs and ask them to participate in this joint action. Please follow the news on BBC World or any other news channel.

We further ask you to report us that you have posted this message. Please go to
http://cf.humap.com/tool/quout_login.php?passwd=burma and enter your blog name, the URL, and the estimated number of readers.

Thank you for you support.

Deeper analyses of the current situation can be found at
GET TO KNOW BURMA SO CALLED MYANMAR
The Bloggers from Burma: You Are Truly Ours

Can Media Change the World?

Blog Action Day on The Environment: October 15, 2007



Can the web change the world? Can media change the world?

What if all bloggers of the world would post about the same topic at one given day? Would that make a difference? There are an estimated 70 million blogs out there. Let us assume, 90% of these blogs are abandoned, and let us further assume, one in ten of the remaining 10% would participate. Let us further assume that those 700,000 blogs have an average readership of 200. That would mean that you would reach an audience of 140 million people on that given day. And maybe more.

More...

People Who Might Change the World

In the 1970s, U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger asked Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai his opinion on the chief consequences of the French Revolution. "It's too early to tell," Zhou is said to have replied. (from: Trevor Butterworth: Fifteen People Who Changed The World, Forbes.com).

Forbes has published a nice series on people who have changed the world within the last 50 years and people who might change the world soon. Do you remember the names of Gregory Pincus, M.C. Chang, and John Rock? These are the scientist who invented the birth control pill, which gave way to sexual revolution, the '68 generation, with all positive and negative impacts. Or think of Tim Berners-Lee who is the single most important person in the history of the World Wide Web.

More...

Think about change...

"Computers in the future may weigh no more than one and a half tons."
—Popular Mechanics, Forecasting the Relentless March of Science, 1949

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"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
—Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943

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"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country and talked with the best people, and I can assure you that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
—The Editor in Charge of Business Books for Prentice Hall, 1957

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"But what . . . is it good for?"
—Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Divisions of IBM, commenting on the microchip, 1968

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"There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home."
—Ken Olson, President, Chairman, and Founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977

Found at the website of the National School Boards Association

An example of rapid change caused by technology

Finally, there is a change message that I got today (here in San Francisco, it is still Tuesday, and Nokia is sponsoring the party):

Since last year, more photos world wide are taken by cell phones than by digital cameras. Think of rapid change.

Digitizing the World Knowledge: Another Change Initiated By Google

For the last 5 years, there is no other company that has changed the way we work and look for evidence like Google. To Know more about this 21st century corporation, read "The Google Story" of David Vise and Mark Malseed.

After Google Earth, the next exciting project these guys are up to is to digitize all books that exist on earth (or, for the beginning, a major part of them). This is what "Der Spiegel" writes in its English edition:

This library would represent the culmination of a democratization of knowledge that began with the invention of printing. The little Google search window would be the gateway to the content of the 32 million books, 750 million articles, 25 million songs, 500 million images, 500,000 films, 3 million television programs and 100 billion public Web pages that Wired writer Kevin Kelly estimates humanity has published since the days of Sumerian clay tablets. To store all of this gigantic volume of data -- estimated at 50 petabytes -- would still require a building the size of a small town's library, Kelly wrote in a 2006 article for the New York Times. But in the future, all of that knowledge will be only a mouse click away -- and will fit on a single iPod.

Challenges and Hopes for South Africa

During our recent training course on Change Management in Johannesburg we had the opportunity to discuss a couple of hot issues that impact the South Africa society nowadays. In one of the breaks, I interviewed Ryk Croukamp (Sasol), Corlette Molefe (Tshumisano), Adrie El Mohamadi (GTZ) and Lowen Smith (Simeka Consulting) on the challenges of the country.

Ryk Croukamp (left), explaining the future cooperation
models of South African Change Facilitators

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