Aug 08, 2009

Aug 08, 2009h in Cognition & Communications, Collaboration Strategies, Leading Change, Organization Development, Strategic Planning, Sustainability by

FiredUpImage - Group Learning Interview With Sibbet I was interviewed for Gordon Rudow’s web radio show “Fired UP” recently on the subject of Group Learning. Gordon began his own consulting business Bonfire Communications back in the 1990s and I was one of his mentors. If you can ignore the over-the-top intro music and rah rah framing from Webmaster Radio, it’s a great interview.

I’m increasingly impressed with how different speaking in the moment in direct response to other people is from composed writing or designed presentations. I always find myself saying things that surprise, and in this case, delight me.

Have a listen. I’d love to hear your reaction. You might also enjoy Gordon’s other interviews. The ones with Dawna Markova and Terry Pearce are excellent.

Jul 19, 2009

Jul 19, 2009h in Family, Personal Transformation, Sustainability by

Reilly'sLittleSmile - Rainbows For ReillyIt’s been a roller coaster week with two clients starting work and one moving toward closure on priorities and a quick trip to Phoenix in time for seeing little Reilly Herron Solonche come into our lives. It was hot in Seattle and even hotter in Phoenix, so my awareness is a fugue of themes including global warming, design, international cinema and forest restoration and renewal, and new life.

I’m filled with the experience of how completely Reilly has trumped all my other thoughts and feelings. She is the first daughter of Jerda Marie Solonche, Susan and my youngest.

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Mar 17, 2009

Mar 17, 2009h in Graphic Facilitation, Sustainability, Visualizing by

SunWheel - Visualizing SustainabilityMerc Martinelli—CEO of a new startup, Verdafero, focusing on green business.—sent me a link to an incredible website that has collected 138 illustrations of sustainability concepts. See Computing for Sustainability’s Visualizing Sustainability, a full panorama from simple to complex, mapping onto every conceivable base map. Here is a sample; visit the website for lots more.

I’ve contended for a long time that a sustainability mindset requires systems thinking, and that systems thinking requires visual thinking—even if the display is just between your ears. You can’t understand relationships if you don’t have some display structure to illustrate the elements that are in relationship. This collection is a great testimonial to that assumption.

 

Mar 14, 2009

Mar 14, 2009h in Mental Models, Sustainability, Visualizing by

Colin Ware provided the keynote at this year’s VizThink conference in San Jose and a follow-up workshop on “How Do Patterns Structure Visual Thinking.” He’s a researcher from the University of New Hampshire and quite academic, but in his talk I found validation for a growing consensus that intention is the key player in perception.

He began with an inquiry into the primary uses of visual language. I took a lot of notes, which you can read here if you click to magnify. But then he went to the findings from his research.

ColinWareJournalPage - Intention Guides Visual Perception

 

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