February 15, 2010

Trying to Hard#2 – A personal story

Just got home from a terrific Karate session! After nearly passing out at the last 2, grueling sessions, my Shihan (teacher) gave me some advice. “Geoff … you are trying to hard. Loosen it up … breathe. Let go of that tension across your shoulders.” he suggested.

So tonight, my focus was to ‘let it happen’ and stay loose even when ‘trying’ to learn new moves and techniques. Over the weekend, I thought back to my competitive tennis days and remembered the game I used to play when my tennis game went off. It is called ‘Bounce-Hit’ and I learned it from a book called Inner Tennis by Timothy Gallwey. (The story of how the book came to me I will leave for another time).

‘Bounce-Hit’ is simple in theory, but much harder in practice. When playing, you simply say the word “Bounce” at the instant the ball bounces on the court and “Hit” at the instant the ball makes contact with the strings of your racket. “Bounce … Hit!” The tough part is keeping your voice relaxed and saying the words without any strain or tension. This becomes an exercise in letting go of tension in the voice and becoming completely present to your own body and it’s relationship with the fast approaching ball. The Inner Game trains us to use only the muscles we need. It trains us to let go of the fear of failure and allows the tennis player to remain still and centered. When I think back, playing ‘Bounce-Hit’ as a 14 year old was the first time I learned to meditate.

So tonight at Karate, I came up with my own version of ‘Bounce-Hit’ and used words “Push-Pull”. Many of the Karate moves in punching and kicking involve a forward thrust (punch) and a retraction of the opposite hand/foot so it is ready to strike. And we vocalise a lot in Karate so my words were drowned out by the others in the class. Here’s what I observed in myself …

Initially, I was surprise how tense my voice was, even during the basic moves. When the degree of difficulty went up, so did the tension in my voice. As I observed this tension in my voice and gradually relaxed it (by letting go), my focus and physically coordination for even new moves increased sharply. I also noticed a new freedom and awareness in my retracted hand. My Shihan has always pointed out that my retracted hand does go all the way back and I now realise that my awareness of that hand had not developed … that all changed tonight. I could now ‘feel’ my retracted hand in space (the one I cannot see without looking down). Because of this, my movements and technique flowed more. I was also snapping out punches with more speed and accuracy. I got to the end of the session with much more energy in the tank as well. You could say that tonight was a very BIG Ah-Ha moment for me.

Funny how we unlearn things when the context changes (eg. tennis to karate … teenager to adult). Interesting how small games like ‘Bounce-Hit’ game make such a huge difference to our presence focus and performance. Fascinating to rediscover something familiar and apply it to something new. Exciting to realise that I practice what I preach as a facilitator and help groups (through Improv games and action methods) to learn from the neck down (as Viv McWaters calls it). And tonight, at my request, Johnnie Moore emailed me the 3 books he would recommend I read … one of them was Inner Work by (you guessed it) Timothy Gallwey!

Cheers, Geoff

ps Friend and colleague Russell Fisher recommended this book to me ages ago … and I forgot to follow up on it!

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February 15, 2010

Trying too hard!

I have been noticing some stuff written about working and trying too hard. Allow me to ramble and explore some emerging thoughts on this and other related (or maybe unrelated) things …

One example was in an email conversation and gave the example of a ‘process/model’ (for doing things differently) that appeared on the Open Space list. A comment made about it was something like, “yer working too hard …”.

So where are you/we/I working too hard? Where are we working hard at following processes and linear schemes to get things done better and more effectively? Are these processes a distraction from what is actually happening? Do approaches like Solution Focus, where descriptions of ‘Future Perfect’ are central, distract us from the the here&now?

Johnnie Moore comments here on Dave Snowden’s latest post ‘Avoiding reality in favour of a Vision‘. Dave suggests that a future focus provides a good excuse to avoid dealing with the drudgery of reality:

“Present possibilities are rarely as compelling as future visions… visionary journeys through the silvan forests to the land of milk and honey that lies beyond is much more fun that dealing with the harsh reality of the present.”

Johnnie’s response really has me thinking (and re thinking) about the processes I use like Solutions Focus …

“However, I think when we really get attuned to what is happening now, really see all that is going on, it can turn out to be a lot more interesting and thought-provoking than we imagine.”

Viv McWaters also buys in by asking …

“Ideas, and thoughts are rarely linear. Makes me wonder why we try and capture them that way, why we struggle to make order out of chaos. And why we focus on what might be, sometimes avoiding what’s happening right in front of us.”

Dave Snowden is right. As a consultant it is easier to take groups into “Future Perfect” and avoid the ‘harsh reality of the present’. I still believe that future-focused processes serve an important step as they help groups to imagine new ways of doing and being. Experientially, they can help groups to feel open to the possibilities of the present and generate enthusiasm and energy.

So, this blog post started out with the title “Trying too Hard” … it started with a direction in mind and as I read more and wrote, it evolved into something else. That something else is challenge to myself. A challenge to hold space for groups so they can focus on (and be present to) what is happening right in front of them. No linear roadmap will help here. Instead I’ll continue to explore and learn from these types of ongoing/iterative processes …

• Watching how my own kids grow, learn and adapt
• Notice more of myself in pursuits such as learning Karate – my biggest block here is in the ‘trying too hard’ which was the original inspiration for the post
• Playing more with Improvisation and watching groups struggle and learn about themselves – I feel inspired to jump in and take Improv to my son’s school community … or join an Improv group … or start one up myself!
• Re engage with playing music with others and notice what happens as we develop over time and finally …
• Use Open Space more in my work with groups – why don’t I use it more is the big question???

Geoff

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February 3, 2010

From the Feed

A snapshot from the feed …

*Firstly, Father Brian Bainbridge passed away in his sleep this week. Brian was one of the pioneers and fathers of Open Space Technology. His wisdom, humour and generosity will be missed by us all. 2 of his closests friends and colleagues have written beautiful words about him. Viv McWaters and Chris Corrigan

*Johnnie Moore writes here about a talk given by Euan Semple called ‘Changing Innovation’. In this talk Euan ‘argues that management doesn’t disappear when organisations use social network tools, but it changes.’

*And this piece from Euan called ‘I’ll show you my scars if you show me yours‘. He makes a suggestion at the end of this post that I really need to remember more …

“Understanding where people are rather than getting frustrated at them for not being where you think they should be is something I should remember to do more often.”

*Tenneson Woolf reminds us here about the importance of ‘Harvesting’ with design teams. My understanding about design of gatherings and workshops has recently been taken to a new level. A very relevant post for me at the moment.

and lastly …

*Robert Peterson writes about “The traditional organisation is a machine and we are human“, inspired by his own observations and relates to this picture (from Delta7.com) …

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February 1, 2010

Put Down Your Clever & Pick Up Your Ordinary

I have read and written much about the fear of failure and criticism lately. Viv McWaters has also been exploring the concept ‘Putting Down your Clever & Picking up your Ordinary” (see below). Here’s another way of looking at it. Seth Godin’s talk called ‘Quieting the Lizard Brain‘. I have some first cut reflections below the video …

Seth Godin: Quieting the Lizard Brain from 99% on Vimeo.

“What you do for a living is not be creative, what you do is ship,” says bestselling author Seth Godin, arguing that we must quiet our fearful “lizard brains” to avoid sabotaging projects just before we finally finish them.”

The first reflection is the fact the these 2 images show up in my own slideshow presentations more than any other …

I see this all the time in myself and in others – and many I point it out to are not even prepared to admit it. In myself I see it here at my own blog. I get writer’s block. Why? Mostly because I care too much about what ‘other people’ will think. The process feels like this:

I see/learn something new that grabs my attention … I decide to share it on my blog … I start writing and thinking aloud … then I self edit and start trying to be clever … sometimes my idea/learning is condemned to the draft folder and never sees the light of day! It never gets ’shipped’.

In Viv’s post ‘Letting Go of the Hero‘, she touches upon the improv theatre principle: putting down your clever and picking up your ordinary. It relates nicely to Seth’s message. Here is an explanation from David Robinson of The Circle Project.

“The way to really be present and powerful with yourself is to put down the idea that you need to be right, that you need to be brilliant, that you need to BE anything, AND in fact what you need to do is to pick up your ordinary, because the thing you have labeled as ordinary IS what makes you special, it’s your most powerful, most potent gift, it’s where your talents are, and yet it is ordinary to you. You think everybody has it. You deny the very thing that is your most potent gift. So this is all about not investing in the Hero so we can let go of the Anti-Hero. Letting go of ‘good enough’ so that ‘not good enough’ has no power.”

I think this mindset of ‘letting go’ and ‘being average’ is critical.When Seth talks about ’shipping’ your product/idea/thing, part of it is about letting go of the the fear of criticism and fear. Let’s stop sabotaging our ideas and products and ship/share more of them! How … put down your clever & pick up your ordinary!

Geoff

ps. stay tuned to Viv’s and Johnnie Moore’s blog because they will be doing a podcast on this with David Robisnon soon.

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January 25, 2010

Metaphorically Speaking

Here is a short presentation by James Geary @ TED on ‘Metaphorically Speaking‘

About 5 minutes in, James talks about how our langauge influences the way we interpret the world and in the decisions and predicitions we make. Metaphor is another lens through which we can view human behaviour.

Cheers
Geoff

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January 20, 2010

The Home Office Project

Between August and December last year I dramatically increased my contribution to greenhouse gas emissions by spending money on resources to create a home office!! And … their is a story to share about how this building will pay for itself, albeit slowly, in relation to it’s running costs and greenhouse emissions over the next decade or 2.

The details will follow in a series of blog posts where I will share what I learned.

Working from home is becoming the norm in some sectors and many people struggle to juggle that separation of roles between work and home … I know I did!

Also, many people want to create a space that is ’sustainable’, requiring very little energy to keep cool, warm and well lit. A healthy space free of toxins is also high on the agenda. and for us in Aireys Inlet, a building that is bushfire-smart.

So, in coming months I will write about the design, materials, successes and compromises along the way. I will write, use photos and videos to do this.

Feel free to share this with anyone else.

Here’s the Intro Video

The YesAndSpace Home Office Story_Introduction from Geoff Brown on Vimeo.

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January 3, 2010

My blog, posterous and twitter

Plenty of my good friends and family still haven’t a clue why I write a blog, upload online photos (to Posterous and Flickr) and use Twitter and Facebook. They still find it strange that my online buddies attracted me to a conference on the other side of the world. I’ll just go on daring to be different and try new things as they emerge.

Recently, I fell right out of the ‘habit’ of going online. An iphone crash hasn’t helped things either as most of my online interactions happen through the iphone these days.

Well people, I’m back and my online spaces are active once again.

This Blog … YesAndSpace – this is where I write about the things that matter most to me … stuff that really grabs me … some posts start with a tweet or a Posterous pic … this is where I think and write out-loud and unedited for all to read

My Posterous Blog – I have been using Posterous to house my iPhone pics. This year, I’ll take my Posterous blog to another level and use it to write stuff that comes up in the moment. Posterous is particularly cool because you can do it directly from your email client and auto link posts to Twitter/Facebook.

Twitter and Facebook feeds -  These are one in the same these days and a great way to stay connected with a whole range of cool people … I reckon more than half of the stuff I find useful on the internet comes from twitter and facebook feeds.

Cheers

Geoff

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January 2, 2010

As we enter a new year … a new decade

Just like that … BANG! 2009 is over and we enter a new decade.

As I brew my first morning coffee for 2010, here are a few reflections on the things that stand out most from 2009.

Witnessing my middle (4yo) boy’s growth in confidence and independence, my eldest (6yo) boy’s quest for learning and my youngest (2yo) develop a personality that will land him in both trouble and success

Seeing my beautiful wife rediscover herself and her fitness (through lap swimming and Yoga) and then compete in her first ocean swim just before Christmas … now working on her to compete in the Danger 1000 in a coupla weeks!

The feeling I get every time I enter the karate dojo … and the heightened presence afterwards. The only downer on this was my ill health in November/December prevented me from participating in a whole of dojo grading

Attending the 2009 Applied Improvisational Network conference in Portland Oregan – apart from being my first trip to North America, this event brought me face to face with a whole new world of people. I also got to hang out with Viv McWaters, Chris Corrigan and Anne Pattillo, play some improvised music on stage and catch some stunning scenery in both Oregon and northern California

Designing, delivering and improving a training program and that Viv McWaters and I call Insanely Great Slideshow Presentations

My big artistic project for the year was the design and building of our home office. I designed it to require no powered winter heating or summer cooling. I also project managed the whole thing and sourced all the materials. All timbers are reclaimed and all finishes are non toxic. Very proud of the end result and we are busy completing the landscaping and vege garden areas around it at the moment. The structure is also designed with the threat of bushfires in mind. More to follow about the design, materials and end result! Hat tip to my architect friend Mark Sanders for his advice over the years too!

Being a part of the 2009 Aireys Inlet Open Mic Music Festival back in March. Marty Maher is both the brains and muscle behind the event whilst I (and a few others) fiddle about at the edges and help out where we can. I admire Marty for his passion for music and for the sense of community that this festival creates. Looking forward to stepping up again this year Marty!

My most visited 10 blogs for 2009 …

Johnnie Moore – for his unanny ability to see through the ’shit’ and write about it … also love it when he rants!

Euan Semple – for his unassuming style and ability cut to the core about how social media is useful

Nancy White – Nancy’s graphic facilitation, wiki resources and writing on communities of practice is a treasure

Chris Corrigan – Chris’ Parking Lot has been a source of inspiration for years now AND now I actually know Chris after 4 together at the AIN conference in November. Is a pleaure to be designing a conference this year with Chris and Viv where we get to work together on the stuff that matters most!

Viv McWaters – Viv introduced me to facilitation, blogging, twitter, presentation zen, the iPhone and Improv! Now that I write this I realise that Viv has shaped my DECADE more than anyone. Thankyou once again Viv.

Garr Reynolds – Presentation Zen continues to draw me back time and time again

Dave Pollard – How to Save the World has moved so update your feeds folks. Thanks to Dave for providing me with more useful links to really useful stuff than anyone else.

Mark ‘Herdmiester’ Earls - Another Englishman who knows how to say it like it is. Mark’s book Herd has influenced my own thinking about CHANGE more than anyone else

Dave Snowden – Yet another Englishman! Mark Earl’s work, together with Dave’s writing on complexity, has shifted my worldview and given me the language and tools to help others in my own work. If you haven’t seen Dave’s video titled “How to organise a children’s birthday party“, then watch it now.

Patti Digh – 37 Days is an amazing blog and Patti’s presence on Twitter and Facebook is amazingly real … how does Patti manage to comment so often and interact with so many people?

As for my own theme for 2010 (I don’t do ‘resolutions’ and ‘goals’ anymore) …

Notice more of life

Stay connected with my friends

Create space at home

See you soon

Geoff

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December 11, 2009

How stuff spreads

My wife came home from her day at work in Colac (Victoria) yesterday. Ingrid was inspired by 2 stories she heard. Colac is a semi rural town with many authentic, elderly locals who have done (and still doing) extraordinary things.

One of the stories relates to a visit to the local fruit shop and this punnet of berries …

The story behind the berries …

A elderly man in Colac lost his wife of many years a while back. He is wheelchair bound and his family has been trying to admit him into an aged care facility (probably out of concern and love).

Ingrid pressed the shop keeper for more details about the man who grow and picks the berries. She was told that his berries are everything to him now that his wife has passed. They are his passion. Despite his age and physical dysfunction, he is has invented his own ways of cultivating and harvesting one of nature’s delights.

I have no doubt that the ‘word is out’ about these locally grown berries and the story is spreading. Ingrid was touched and our kids amazed.

Next time you want to communicate something or engage people, what is the ’story’ you are going to tell? It doesn’t need to be about old people doing amazing, heart warming things … it just needs to be authentic and real.

Geoff

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