Dialogue

The other day I was facilitating a meeting in an organization I work with. They were trying to solve a business problem. Looking from my outsider position, it should have been relatively easy to solve. Yet they seemed to be stuck.

While observing the dynamics, it occurred to me that almost anywhere I go, the real problem is never “the problem.” Almost invariably the real problem is. . . Continue reading »

Today we are proud to live in the “information age.” Knowledge is enriching, powerful, and can even be inspiring. Scientists want to break every code and genome. Leaders like to think they know a great deal. We like to know because knowledge seems to give us control. Control over ourselves, our organizations, and even our future.

But what if the accumulation of knowledge is not the best answer for innovation and change. What if genuine conversations don’t happen if you think you know everything?What if to move toward greater wisdom does not mean to accumulate more knowledge? What if not-knowing is a gift? Continue reading »

According to the Harvard Business Review, 71 percent of senior executives in major global companies ranked horizontal boundaries as their biggest challenge. Chris Ernst says that working across barriers of function and expertise, rather than above or below them — were the main worry of senior executives.

For leaders, during a merger, in coordinating disparate functions, in integrating a foreign division, a conversation across the fence was more effective than a "do it or else" series of commands to subordinates.

Seems that "Silo busting" has become crucial for success in today’s business world.

The Creative Power of Dialogue and Collaboration. This past Saturday I visited Williamsburg, Virginia, the town that was home to some of the most important architects of the USA. Men like General Washington, Governor Jefferson, and Governor Henry. While walking the Colonial living history site, hearing the stories, and remembering the struggles of a small colonial community, I found myself meditating in the creative power of dialogue and collaboration.

In was in conversation and deep dialogue that a group of the funding fathers of our nation came up with the beginning of deeply democratic principles, which had the power to ignite a revolution and birth a nation. Standing in the historic room of the Capitol, the place where the Virginia Convention Unanimously adopted in June 12, 1776 “A Declaration of Rights” which was the seedling for our Constitution, was a very moving experience.

How Dialogue and Collaboration can Help Accelerate Change.- In his State of the State Address, Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland talked about what the state has been able to do and continues doing through dialogue and collaboration. Especially compelling is what Ohio’s public education system is doing to "reconceive" their educational system.