tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560Sun, 15 Jan 2012 14:20:24 +0000presence initiative intentiontransformationradical acceptanceintentionchangeprojectsInitiativelovedesign thinkingcollaborationpresenceAmy Schwab @ WorkIntegrating work and life, innovation and routine, process and projects.http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)Blogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-3576221197039014894Sat, 23 Jan 2010 14:40:00 +00002010-01-23T06:51:19.730-08:00Shift Happens - and sometimes it's TectonicThe earthquake in Haiti has been tragic. Hundreds of thousands killed, injured, left homeless, their lives disrupted beyond resolution. Tectonic plates shift and nothing is ever like it was again.It's been eighteen months since I last posted. Eighteen months since my experiment lapsed - my experiment to see if I had anything interesting to say, often enough, to make a blog. My tentative http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/pVvdXH2BdWk/shift-happens-and-sometimes-its.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/pVvdXH2BdWk" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2010/01/shift-happens-and-sometimes-its.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-5246663860720004248Sat, 19 Jul 2008 17:56:00 +00002008-07-19T11:47:43.161-07:00Stupid Human Tricks and System-anticsIn David's recent PureSchmaltz blog post Going Organic, he fleshes out a notion he calls "management-ism", and recommends the ethic of "working the system so the system can work" - something that often feels like benevolent subversion.In the comments responding to the post, Glen Alleman, a frequent commenter and sometimes harsh critic of David and my work, comments "The notion that systems workhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/uDN378vkaEg/stupid-human-tricks-and-system-antics.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)7<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/uDN378vkaEg" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2008/07/stupid-human-tricks-and-system-antics.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-3720766751410168832Tue, 04 Mar 2008 01:52:00 +00002008-03-03T18:50:55.498-08:00Mapping RelationshipsDavid's been blogging at Pure Schmaltz about the usefulness of (and some techniques for) mapping the relationships needed to make work work well.Lately there has been a lot in the trades about social network mapping. I find all of it interesting and my inner data geek really is fascinated by the methods for tracking email or other communication in an organization. A piece of me wants to pull out http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/-12EqL5hVBQ/mapping-relationships.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/-12EqL5hVBQ" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2008/03/mapping-relationships.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-4892986819191895277Thu, 03 Jan 2008 20:46:00 +00002008-01-03T13:16:35.982-08:00Shifting MetaphorsThese days, every time I get in front of a group, the topic of shifted metaphors comes up. Inevitably, whether at a gathering of Agile practitioners in San Francisco, a Stanford class of Program Managers looking for ways to better integrate their programs, or Austrian executives and consultants looking for ways to be more effective, the topic comes up.It starts with someone mentioning their http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/r5LPAkVthY4/shifting-metaphors.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/r5LPAkVthY4" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2008/01/shifting-metaphors.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-4875481726642809235Mon, 19 Nov 2007 17:36:00 +00002007-11-19T10:10:21.195-08:00Magic!Last week's Mastering Projects Workshop was, once again, magical! What started as a group of strangers rapidly coalesced into a community of interest. When we finished we were walking on a cloud, finishing each others' sentences, and, the best thing of all, had reached our collective objective and each of our individual objectives for the journey.For more about how the week progressed, check http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/VwSmm04MW80/magic.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/VwSmm04MW80" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/11/magic.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-6249714623889215966Thu, 27 Sep 2007 17:33:00 +00002007-10-09T16:33:42.165-07:00Human Centered Project DesignLast week at Stanford we again saw the subtle and pervasive impact of shifting the metaphor for our collective efforts from mechanical / industrial to living / human systems. We pose the fundamental question:Are we pesky humans infesting a machine-like organizationor are we humans working (and thriving) within living organizationsthat use mechanical support for our generative, creative, and http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/G2xkFjd6Cvk/human-centered-project-design.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/G2xkFjd6Cvk" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/09/human-centered-project-design.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-6012946091132873780Mon, 20 Aug 2007 18:32:00 +00002007-08-20T13:12:00.778-07:00Good to Great Decision MakingI just ran across a great article from a June 2005 Fortune magazine interview with Good to Great and Built to Last author Jim Collins. Collins went back through his research to see what it says about decision making and leadership. Here are the key points from the interview:What isn't very important -- who is. Over and over Collins makes the point that it isn't terribly important what a leaderhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/ki-M73rGe8I/good-to-great-decision-making.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/ki-M73rGe8I" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/08/good-to-great-decision-making.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-1847980096761174628Mon, 16 Jul 2007 19:49:00 +00002007-07-16T16:44:12.149-07:00projectsdesign thinkingcollaborationThinking about Design Thinking (and Doing)When I meet someone new, especially a potential client, there is one question that always comes up and, as simple as it seems, has been very hard to answer."Just what do you do?"Sometimes I talk about our adaptive approach to projects and initiatives, sometimes its about helping people innovate well together. Up until now, I've not been satisfied with either my response or with the puzzled looks http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/bhCRTfUwRis/thinking-about-design-thinking-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/bhCRTfUwRis" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/07/thinking-about-design-thinking-and.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-5298303185568745802Tue, 26 Jun 2007 17:45:00 +00002007-06-26T11:45:53.807-07:00Presence and Intention - Why Bad things Happen to Good PeopleI've been following with interest the phenomena of The Secret and the stories and philosophy behind the people featured in this movie. Although the movie is, as one friend put it, "Over the Top" - over-dramatized (or melodramatized) the principles behind it seem to fit nicely with the principles of intention, presence, and action behind my work and with the explanations I've found for how these http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/lS9nGOgBI18/presence-and-intention-why-bad-things.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/lS9nGOgBI18" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/06/presence-and-intention-why-bad-things.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-611208206288622445Fri, 18 May 2007 23:42:00 +00002007-10-09T16:31:23.111-07:00Bring Yourself to Work DayOn the fourth Thursday of May, the 24th, we invite you to Bring Yourself To Work Day™. This is an invitation to experience work in a really different way and an opportunity to create with others a workplace that’s engaging, motivating, and maybe even fun!For more information, including warm-up exercises for everyday practice visit the Bring Yourself to Work Day site. On Bring Yourself to Work Dayhttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/tODgwg6Gu-8/bring-yourself-to-work-day.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)1<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/tODgwg6Gu-8" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/05/bring-yourself-to-work-day.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-2742753604396231627Mon, 14 May 2007 06:49:00 +00002007-05-14T00:14:24.160-07:00presence initiative intentionBring Yourself to Work Day - May 24The Five Freedoms Network™ is sponsoring a great idea this year. On May 24, join us for Bring Yourself to Work Day™, a day dedicated to showing up more fully by exercising the five workplace freedoms. It might seem risky - after all, what if they really heard how you experience work? What if they knew how you see things? What you are hearing? How you feel?I don't know about you but I learned http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/0_j2OOCkO08/bring-yourself-to-work-day-may-24.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/0_j2OOCkO08" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/05/bring-yourself-to-work-day-may-24.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-7317986698917144081Tue, 17 Apr 2007 17:12:00 +00002007-04-17T11:20:45.421-07:00radical acceptancepresenceintentionchangetransformationInitiativeInitiative - Intention and Presence in Action"Initiate - to introduce by first doing or using" Webster's New Universal Unabridged DictionaryLately David and I have been considering what our clients gain from working with us. Where does the magic come from? What elicits the fire and the drive that seemed so distant from their work before? How do we adequately describe that magic we create in their world? The word that we keep rolling acrosshttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/aNUfSjv65tY/initiative-intention-and-presence-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/aNUfSjv65tY" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/04/initiative-intention-and-presence-in.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7895750412968511560.post-2676260864252360583Tue, 10 Apr 2007 00:06:00 +00002007-04-09T18:06:35.522-07:00radical acceptancepresenceintentionchangeloveIn the Beginning was Intention - or was it just really showing up?Warning: This post contains likely mis-use of navigational references. I hale from the middle of the land sea of North America's great fly-over zone. I profess no expertise with sailing. However I do know wind. So, treat me generously when I use the sailing metaphor. I think you'll get my drift!"All change rests on the full, albeit temporary acceptance of the status quo." Virginia SatirThe http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~3/_1V1LI16bSk/in-beginning-was-intention-or-was-it.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amy Schwab)0<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/AmySchwabWork/~4/_1V1LI16bSk" height="1" width="1"/>http://amyschwab.blogspot.com/2007/04/in-beginning-was-intention-or-was-it.html