I’m very pleased and very excited to see some new posts on one of my favourite blogs Stories From The Intersection. As the tag line states, “Stories about breakthrough insights at the intersection of fields, disciplines and cultures”. Give it a read!
Some recent posts:
From Seth Godin
http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2007/06/just-one-post.html
A lot of people have blogs. But most people don’t.
I think you should. Even if you only have one post in you.
Having a blog is pretty daunting, especially if you don’t like blank paper and are the sort of person that hates falling behind. I can imagine that the idea of posting 50 or 300 times a year is a little bit nuts for many people.
But what if there’s just one thing you need to say, but you can say it clearly and well and in a way that hasn’t been said before? What if you’ve got one great blog post inside of you, and, even better, you’re willing to update that post as you learn more and gain more insight?
An entire post about a certain kind of fossil. Or the misuse of a certain word. Or about a key difference between two kinds of bluetooth…
Why not?
Sue Richards:
Calendar Girl Blog: http://calendargirl.breastofcanada.com/
My Menopause Blog: http://www.mymenopauseblog.com
Blog Guelph: http://www.blogguelph.com
The Breast Views: http://thebreastviews.blogspot.com/
One of my favourite books ever.
Carl Honore has an insightful blog as well – check it out at http://www.inpraiseofslow.com/slow/blog.php
My good friend Jeff sent this my way. Hilarious.
I haven’t been able to put down William C. Taylor & Polly LaBarre’s book Mavericks at Work. They also have a great blog (accessible by clicking on the image above). The book pulls you in with positive, real-life examples of how mavericks have gone against the grain and been successful in their business innovations. It’s a great read.
Here’s two of my favourite quotes:
…organizations that aspire to create a disruptive presence in the marketplace have to devise a distinctive approach to the workplace. Companies that compete differently tend to work differently from the competition.
…formal lines of authority rarely determine how things actually get done. Most creativity happens in spite of the organization, not because of it. That’s why successful innovators don’t ask for the most resources or the strictest oversight; they ask for the most room to maneuver and the fewest bureaucratic hurdles.
In a previous post, I mentioned that I recently went to hear Thomas Homer-Dixon speak. During his talk, he spoke about working together, pooling our brainpower and creativity to solve problems. Nobody is smarter than everybody. Homer-Dixon mentioned that his next book (which he hasn’t started writing yet) would be about “Open Source Democracy”. This got me thinking about the publication quoted below:
The parameters of possibility of the internet are vast because it is the product not of a single point of reference but of its users seeking innovative ways to employ it for their own ends. In turn, it has brought together people across the world to work on solving common problems and bugs, creating a network of shared ideas and shared experiences from which we can all learn.
— Douglas Alexander, from the forward to Open Source Democracy by Douglas Rushkoff. NOTE: You can download the publication by clicking on the link. Go back and do it.
Think of the possibilities! If we can get people from around the world, from different walks of life to collaborate openly on solving problems. This network could surely move mountains. I wonder if Homer-Dixon needs some help writing his book…
Last night, I went to hear Thomas Homer-Dixon talk in downtown Guelph. It was a packed house, which is great to see. Homer-Dixon is currently on a book tour, promoting his new book, The Upside of Down. Catastrophe, Creativity, and the Renewal of Civilization.
From the book’s website:
“In The Upside of Down, political scientist and award-winning author Thomas Homer-Dixon argues that converging stresses could cause a catastrophic breakdown of national and global order — a social earthquake that could hurt billions of people. But he shows that this outcome isn’t inevitable; there’s much we can do to prevent it.”
“Drawing parallels between the challenges we face today and the crisis faced by the Roman empire almost two thousand years ago, Homer-Dixon argues that these stresses and multipliers are potentially a lethal mixture. Together, they greatly increase the risk of a cascading collapse of systems vital to our wellbeing — a phenomenon he calls “synchronous failure.” Societies must do everything they can to avoid such an outcome.”
“On the other hand, if people are well-prepared, they may be able to exploit less extreme forms of breakdown to achieve deep reform and renewal of institutions, social relations, technologies, and entrenched habits of behavior. This is likely our best hope for a prosperous and humane future.”
I just put the book on reserve at the local library. Unfortunately, I’m 26th in line.
I’ve done a fair amount of work with the Office of Open Learning at the University of Guelph, in Ontario, Canada. Open Learning does a number of great things in the areas of continuing and distance education. A team of close to 50 are in charge of all production, administration, technical support and instructional design of programs and courses. It’s a great place to work.
Because of the breadth of what the office does, different “teams” get established. The web technologies staff live in their own office and have little or no dealings with the marketing people. The staff charged with financial duties have only a fleeting understanding of what those who produce and distribute manuals actually do. This is far from unique to this office. The image is “we do it all”, when in fact “we have groups of specialists who do various things so that we can get it all done”.
My position in this office is that of “program manager”. I translate technical information so that non-technical people can understand it (and vice-versa). I ensure that proper supports are in place. I provide training where necessary. I make sure that things run smoothly.
Some years ago, at an office meeting, we were given the task of describing, in 7 minutes or less, what it is that each of us do. Creativity was encouraged. Individuals did PowerPoint presentations, groups did skits. Then, it was my turn. For seven minutes, I described an busy intersection with vehicle and pedestrian traffic, signals and signs, traffic cops (when needed), corner stores, newspaper boxes, the occasional car accident. I drew what I thought were nice comparisons to what the office does. Newspapers and signs were websites and manuals, cars and pedestrians were instructors, students and information.
At the end, a colleague piped up, “ok, I follow you, but who are you in the intersection?”
Thing is, I’m not in the intersection, I am it.
The Medici Effect, by Frans Johansson, is a fabulous commentary on intersectional and generalist thinking. If you haven’t read it yet, you should.
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