Riding the Current Blog

What do you get when you put objective and subjective together?

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 25 May 2012 15:33:34 +0000

Marsha Hughes-Rease is a coach and facilitator of learning who works with professionals who are often executives. As we talked about the various ways she keeps herself current – reading, constantly asking questions, purposely listening to those with whom she …

The Tether that Offers Freedom

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:07:24 +0000

When I was doing the original research for my book, Riding the Current, among those I interviewed, I found a small group slightly different from the others. They had three characteristics that appeared to distinguish them. Each was an individuals …

Amazing Space

Madelyn Blair — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 20:13:40 +0000

25 some years ago, I taught a class on how to gain benefits through technology. I always asked my classes what dream for technology would each like to have to make life easier. They would say things like having a …

White Space, Innovation, and Co-habitation – designed to work

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 07:00:03 +0000

I’ve often talked about the white spaces between disciplines – a place in which you can discover new insights because you can see the world from another perspective. I didn’t invent the term. It was John Seely Brown who did …

Cathedrals of Our Millennia

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:46:04 +0000

The New York Public Library was featured in a recent NYT’s article discussing the “overhaul [of] its branches and to renovate its Fifth Avenue flagship.” I love public libraries. Having grown up on a farm, the nearest one was so …

Three Strategies for Learning to Hold Conflicting Thoughts with Delight

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 17:25:21 +0000

Have you ever tried to consciously hold conflicting thoughts in your head? There is the famous one of the image of a vase – or is it the profiles of two faces? One of the characteristics of executives is that …

Virtual Sky with Real Impact

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:23:11 +0000

For those of you who have read the Harry Potter series, you will recall the amazing ceiling of the great hall that always appears as the sky does outside – pinpointed with stars on a clear night, running clouds on …

Putting My Mind on Seeds

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:36:52 +0000

My mother often (very often) said to me, “You can learn anything you put your mind to, Madelyn.” And so I put my mind to things.

As a teenager, I put my mind on seeds. I collected seeds from all …

Holiday Reprieve

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 13:51:53 +0000

This holiday completely distracts me. No matter if I have all my shopping done, presents wrapped, and decorations hanging, I find my mind drifting into the most pleasant thoughts. I hope my readers will forgive this relapse. Like the snow …

What are we longing for?

Madelyn Blair — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:39:40 +0000

We long for things throughout our lives. When we are very young, we long for Christmas to arrive sooner. When we are in our teen years, we long to be accepted as we are. When we are parents, we long …