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Highlights Inside
The Virtual Chautauqua
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Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Quality In Education:
A Primer for Collaborative Visionary Educational Leaders
Robert Barkley
|
The plans for reforming, restructuring, transforming - or simply just improving our schools have been endless, often incoherent, and usually poorly focused.
The author, as his professional career reveals, held significant and unique positions from which to analyze these efforts. Thrust into an educational improvement leadership responsibility shortly before the Nation At Risk was released, he relates his journey and his learning throughout two decades.
Few have seen close-up the struggles of as many schools nation wide while also being deeply involved in the educational improvement efforts of the nation's largest teachers union.
His search for the formulas leading to real improvement led him to the private sector's quality movement. This book will relate how quality principles should be translated into various educational applications. It tackles head-on the role of unions in that process and considers a long list of quality concepts, as it weaves them all together as never before.
The book is both theoretical and practical. It raises questions, offers some possible answers, and draws some specific conclusions. Anyone playing a significant role in sustained efforts at improving public schools should read this book carefully and welcome the reflection it stimulates.
About the Author
Robert Barkley, Jr., Gettysburg College and Western Reserve University graduate, teacher, coach, local union president, Ohio Education Association field manager and Director of Professional Development, NEA Associate Director of Instruction and Professional Development under Dr. Sharon Robinson (later US Assistant Secretary of Education), manager of a unique collaborative school district national reform network and one-time Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award Examiner. Later Maine Education Association Interim Executive Director and Ohio Education Association Executive Director, retiring in 2001, he consults with Ohio's KnowledgeWorks Foundation (a Gates Foundation partner in the High School Transformation Initiative). His informed, balanced perspectives come from unique, deep practical experience. He and his wife of forty-five years have two children, two grandchildren, and live in Worthington, Ohio.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | The Experience Designer:
Learning, Networks and the Cybersphere
Brian Alger
|
The Experience Designer: Learning, Networks and the Cybersphere is a breakthrough for unleashing the power of new technologies to design authentic and interactive learning experiences. In this inspiring and provocative book, Brian Alger illuminates brilliant new approaches for e-Learning and challenges creative thinkers across business, education, government and culture to elevate e-Learning to new levels. This timely and unique book will expand the way you think about learning and provide you with revolutionary strategies to explore.
About the Author
Brian Alger is the founder of Inside Learning. He has designed and implemented projects for KPMG, UNESCO, Connected Intelligence, The Madeiran Ministry of Education (Portugal), Apple Computer, The Learning Partnership, Scotch College, and the Composers in Electronic Residence. Brian has appeared on City TV's Media Television and TV Ontario's Parent Connections, in Computing Now magazine, and has delivered presentations in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and Portugal.
He also spent 11 years as a public school educator. During this time he received the Marshall McLuhan Distinguished Educator Award and produced The Virtual Community Project described by Industry Canada as a national benchmark in the use multimedia in Education. Brian lives in Innisfil, Ontario, Canada.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Knowledge Networks:
Innovation through Communities of Practice
Lisa Kimball, Amy Ladd, and others
Eds, Paul Hildreth and Chris Kimble
|
Communities of Practice are currently attracting much interest among academics, consultants and in commercial organisations. Academic researchers are undertaking research into how CoPs can be supported, the relationships within them and how this can help support the generation of new knowledge. Similarly, consultants in the field are developing tools and techniques for supporting, coaching and facilitating CoPs, advising organisations as to how they can identify and nurture CoPs and seeking to demonstrate how organizations can benefit from them.
Meanwhile, outside the Universities and Consultancies, Communities and Networks of Practice continue to grow and spread: both online through e-mail, bulletin boards and newsgroups and offline through meetings, lunches and workshops.
The network of relationships that develop in a CoP, the inner motivation that drives them and the knowledge they produce, lead to the creation of an environment that is rich in creativity and innovation. CoPs can help in finding and sharing best practices and serve as engines for the development of social capital. Many organisations now regard CoPs as a vital component in their KM strategy. We hope that this book will help the reader to unlock the secrets of CoPs in their own organisation.
There have been a large number of academic papers about Communities of Practice but, so far, only a few books. Most of the books have, by necessity, taken a rather theoretical approach. This book however will examine CoPs from a practical viewpoint; it is directed at the general reader rather than a specialist audience. Our aim is to draw on the experience of people who have researched and worked with CoPs in the real world and to present their views in a form that is accessible to a broad audience.
In this book you will find a blend of the best of current academic research in the field of Communities of Practice, observations from groundbreaking consultancy in the field of Knowledge Management and the accumulated wisdom of practitioners working at the cutting edge of Knowledge Networks. It is presented in a series of chapters each of which seek to offer pertinent and practical guidance for those involved with building or managing knowledge networks in their day to day work
About the Authors
Lisa Kimball is the Founder and lead consultant in Group Jazz, a company that specializes in working with virtual teams and communities. Her background includes twenty years of producing virtual events and communities for global organizations, including IBM, Merck, Hewlett Packard and others. She has trained hundreds of community managers and facilitators. She combines her extensive knowledge of organization design, executive development and learning with experience using the latest media and technology to leverage key processes. Recent virtual CoPs and events designed and facilitated by Group Jazz include the Fannie Mae Foundation's KnowledgePlex community PBS Teacher line, and the US Department of Agriculture's New American Communities Initiative.
Amy Ladd specializes in facilitation of Virtual Teams and Communities of Practice (CoPs). Her experience includes design and facilitation of virtual interactive communities and collaborative meeting design process. Amy has served on planning committees for national and regional conferences, co-designed and facilitated organizational retreats and workshops, and taught courses on Virtual Teams and Sustaining CoPs with Lisa Kimball. As a Community Facilitator at Caucus Systems and Metasystems Design Group, Amy helped to evolve and support some of the first online social networks. Amy was a Special Projects Coordinator at Appalachian Center for Economic Networks where she convened a training program linking businesses in the manufacturing sector; and facilitated the first online CoP for Microenterprise Training Providers in the Specialty Foods Industry.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Beyond Branding
How the New Values of Transparency and Integrity Are Changing the World of Brands
John Moore
Chris Macrae, Denzil Meyers, Julie Anixter, and Jack Yan |
Beyond Branding challenges business to adapt to a world of transparency by adopting new ways of meeting the needs of stakeholders and by operating with openness and integrity.
It is the view of the writers of this book that when businesses account for 51 of the largest 100 economic entities in the world, not only should branding have a wider social perspective, it must do so if it is to have continued relevance.
Business has to have a human perspective so that it benefits people rather than manipulates. It has to be transparent and open if it is to overcome suspicions of duplicity.
We argue for a long term, people-centric view that stresses substance over hype. This will help to restore credibility and trust for brands. It will re-affirm the mutual commitment of the employee/employer relationship. It will give power to the consumer. And it will stress the pre-eminence of the genuine shareholder over the speculator.
About the Authors
Beyond Branding is a collaborative effort by writers from around the world. They have been meeting each year at a retreat in Medinge, outside Stockholm, to discuss ways of using brands to shape a better future for society. The following contributors are our guests for Chautauqua:
John Moore is the founder of ourhouse, a marketing consultancy based in London. He is particularly interested in bringing human qualities back into business and works to help organisations market themselves with integrity and authenticity.
Chris Macrae is a mathematician and innovation adviser with offices in London and Washington, DC. He maps how companies can transparently value intangibles. Leadership advantage now depends critically on seeing human relationship ?ows of trust required for living systems to network economic and social win-wins. Chris's books and research of brands in 30 countries over two decades benchmark how global branding has steadily deteriorated across a broad spectrum of human relationship needs.
Denzil Meyers is a branding and communications strategist, consulting since 1992 as Account Planner to many top 25 US ad agencies and their Fortune 500 clients. Previously, he worked at ad agencies Chiat/Day, Foote Cone & Belding, and D'Arcy Masius Benton & Bowles.
Julie Anixter is an author, speaker, designer and educator committed to positive change for organizations an and individuals through design, branding and innovation. She is the Strategic Director of Lipson Alport Glass & Associates, a brand marketing and design consultancy headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, where she leads the company's consulting efforts working closely with clients on a wide variety of brand and design projects.
Jack Yan founded Jack Yan & Associates in 1987, one of the earliest virtual companies, with bases and representatives in over a dozen countries worldwide. In the late 1990s, he examined how brands and business performance were linked, discovering the best practices of organisations that he now applies to his company's clients. His branding research has included work on the success factors of cross-media brands.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Simplicity Survival Handbook
32 Ways to Do Less and Accomplish More
Bill Jensen |
START DOING LESS, AND ACCOMPLISHING MORE...
NOW!
Best-selling author, simpleton, and trusted corporate advisor Bill Jensen is back again! This time he'll be
sharing time- and labor-saving tips and tools from his
latest book, "Simplicity Survival Handbook: 32 Ways to Do Less
and Accomplish More."
Fast Company just selected it as one of their Books of the
Month, the Miami Herald raved about Bill's passion for
helping people to work smarter, and next month, Microsoft
and MCI are co-sponsoring a Jensen webcast seminar.
This is your chance to learn from this simplicity guru.
His message:
There's too much silliness, noise, and crap coming
at you, and you want to find the shut-off valve.
You want to do less, and accomplish more -- making
more of a difference, working on only what truly
matters. Right?
Then you do not want to miss this session with Bill!
You will love his practical advice for dealing with
bosses and clients who just don't get it, how to get
out of meetings, how to delete 75% of your emails,
how to do less to get the budgets you need, and
much more.
You will leave with:
- Practical tips for doing less
- Tips for educating your clients and bosses
- Feeling jazzed that you have a lot more control
over more-better-faster than you thought you did!
Be there for this exciting, interactive dialogue.
Bill's candid advise is both unbelievably practical and
provocative. You'll be challenged to think differently...
and thankful for it!
About the Author
 Bill Jensen has spent the past decade studying
business's ability to design work. (Much of what he
has found horrifies him.) He is an internationally-
acclaimed author and speaker who is known for
provocative ideas, extremely useful content, and his
passion for making it easier for managers and employees
to work smarter and accomplish extraordinary feats.
His first book, Simplicity, has been hailed as
a "breakthrough in the design of communication
and understanding," and was the Number 5
Leadership/Management book on Amazon in 2000.
His next, Work 2.0, took the People vs. Profits
debate to a whole new level. His latest book is
Simplicity Survival Handbook: 32 Ways to Do Less
and Accomplish More.
Bill has 25 years of experience in communication and
change consulting, and holds degrees in Communication
Design and Organizational Development. He's CEO of
The Jensen Group, whose mission is 'to make it easier
to get stuff done'. Among the Jensen Group's clients
are Bank of America, Merck, Pfizer, Duracell, NASA,
The World Bank, Walt Disney World, American Express,
the US Navy SEALS, the government of Ontario,
Singapore Institute of Management, Guangzhou China
Development District, and the Swedish Post Office.
Bill's personal life fantasy is to bicycle around
the globe via breweries.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | The Next Enlightenment
Integrating East and West in a New Vision of Human Evolution
Walter Truett Anderson |
In his introduction, Walt Anderson writes: "The basic propositions of this book are that (a) the Buddhas, Sufis, and other Eastern mystics were on to something -- something of enormous importance both to individuals and to the species as a whole, and (b) that something can be understood -- perhaps better understood, in fact -- without becoming a convert to any of those traditions. Today's world -- this globalizing, postmodern, knowledge-based, multicultural, scientific, high-technology age -- can be stressful and confusing in many ways, but it is still a remarkable time in which to be alive and human. It presents us with an opportunity to engage in a new way with new information the ancient challenge to understand what we are, and grow up."
He then explores a variety of themes, from existentialism and psychoanalysis to contemporary brain research and cognitive development theory, to sketch out an emerging "enlightenment project" with a new view of personal growth and human evolution. Richard Farson, president of the International Leadership Forum, called it "a valuable guide for the inquirer, a warning to the true believer, and an elixir for the discouraged" . . . "a remarkable and wonderful book."
About the Author
 Walter Truett Anderson, Ph.D. (political science and social psychology) is a futurist, journalist, and author of wide-ranging interests whose previous books include Evolution Isn't What It Used To Be and All Connected Now: Life in the First Global Civilization. He lives near San Francisco and currently serves as president of the World Academy of Art and Science.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Lights, Cubicle, Action!
100+ Directives for Survival in Corporate America
Anthony Cantor |
Lights Cubicle Action! 100+ Directives for Survival in Corporate America is the first in a series of three books uncharacteristically shining light on life's fiction. Lights! is a Bible for every cubicle in America, capturing the essence of corporate reality with a humorous yet insightful display of original business "anti-quotes." Lights! is truly unique. No other self-help/business book would boldly state, "People who work really really hard are often viewed as underachievers." or "What self-help books most inspire is the bank account of the author."
A cutting-edge work that propels readers past the typical motivational hype and hoopla, Lights! quotes delve into every area of business: job satisfaction, money, processes, excellence, power, ideas, and success. They leave no corporate stone unturned. An entertaining paragraph accompanies each quote for a quick and powerful read. One page-one-quote. They're biting, sticky, and dead-on accurate. These truths are too often thought but rarely discussed. Now they can be. As it refreshingly states in Lights! "Attitude is nice but 99% of all problems need action and not attitude to be solved."
Many of the quotes already appear in corporate articles around the country where author Anthony Cantor uses his same humorous and provocative style as found in Lights! Now they are synthesized into one easy-to-read publication.
While other inspirational and self-help works shoot motivational static through your veins Lights, Cubicle, Action! grips you uniquely. Through its "anti-quotes", you'll see the glossy ideology of corporate life stripped clean leaving you at center stage with the edge to see business more clearly.
About the Author
 Anthony Cantor, a.k.a. DocVoc© is an Independent Consultant that manages multi-million dollar Human Resource implementations for Fortune 500 companies. In 2000 he founded DocVoc Enterprises, a compendium of Human Resource and Vocational Products dedicated to idea that "Just a Job is a Terrible Thing." In addition to the DocVoc Workshops he facilitates, and the articles published on the www.docvoc.com website, Anthony is training with the Columbia School of Broadcasting to bring on radio a syndicated call-in show addressing vocational dream pursuit and corporate conflict resolution.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | The Wisdom of Passion
Mapping Your Way to Vitality, Fulfilment, and Success
Peter Wallman and Rachel Flower |
In these times of relentless high-tech, high-speed living, it is easy to lose touch with what really matters. It can be hard to imagine, let alone live, a life that is rich and full.
There is one thing, however, that can make it easy for you to reconnect - and that thing is passion.
Peter Wallman and Rachel Flower have developed an exciting new technique to take people to the source of their passion. Their work with individuals and corporate teams has broken new ground in personal and professional development, offering practical and inspiring tools to bring clarity and empowerment into people's lives.
This book is an invitation for you to explore the world of your own passion and what it means for you. You will learn how to connect with your whole person awareness and step into the fullness of your passion. And, most exciting of all, you'll learn how to channel it into your life and work.
If you are moving through a time of change, personal crisis, are seeking clarity about your life, contemplating a significant life decision, or simply want more passion and vitality in your life, then this is the book for you.
About the Authors
 Peter Wallman and Rachel Flower have found the key to take you to the wellspring of your passion. Their techniques of mapping passion for personal and business life have astounded people trying to grasp the mystery of self-fulfillment at home and at work.
The authors brought together their skills in founding Sydney based Passion Maps Pty Ltd (http://www.passionmaps.com). The company aspires to help people develop their passion and their greatness. Peter and Rachel have mapped the passions of hundreds of individuals and teams from many organizations. The authors share a profound interest in developing the 'whole person ' - body, mind, emotions and spirit. In this book they share their unique discoveries.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Who Really Matters
The Core Group Theory of Power, Privilege, and Success |
Art Kleiner
Enter Chautauqua to view an archive of Art Kleiner's session, or view transcripts here:
Who Really Matters, part 1
Who Really Matters, part 2
Who Really Matters, part 3
"The customer comes first" is one of the three great lies of the modern corporation. The other two are: "We make our decisions in the interests of our shareholders," and "employees are our most important asset." Underneath the mission statements and organizational charts, there is a more genuine purpose and structure representing the fundamental nature of organizations. All of them, from multinational corporations to political parties, exist to satisfy the collective will of some key group of people who comprise The Core Group, the people "who really matter." The makeup of this Core Group varies from organization to organization; but those who understand their Core Groups can foster organizational greatness. Art Kleiner offers his new theory along with a gift for telling stories of all kinds of organizations, gleaned from his years as a management consultant, journalist, educator, and historian. For more information, see his website at http://www.well.com/user/art.
About the Author
 Art Kleiner is the director of research and reflection at Dialogos, a
consulting firm based in Cambridge, MA; a faculty member at New York University's Interactive Telecommunications Program; and the "culture and change" columnist for Strategy & Business magazine. He is also the editorial director of the Fifth Discipline Fieldbook series and a longstanding writer on the human impact of management and technology. He lives outside New York City.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Nameless Organizational Change
No-Hype, Low-Resistance Corporate Transformation
Glenn Allen-Meyer |
This book explodes the assumptions behind currently accepted methods of organizational change by demonstrating the power and pervasiveness of the marketing paradigm in the field of organization development and change. Any time a leader or change agent feels like a "salesperson" of change, she or he has felt the pull of the marketing paradigm. This book offers a revolutionary approach that will help leaders successfully implement organizational improvements without the hype and without the resistance associated with traditional methods of change.
About the Author
 Glenn Allen-Meyer has a fourteen-year track record of success as an organization development specialist helping leading organizations plan, implement, and evaluate change. He has held internal positions as the manager of organization development at Epcot at Walt Disney World and as a senior consultant for organization development at Cornell University. He founded nameless.org, has served as an external consultant to numerous corporate, government, and not-for-profit organizations. Glenn is a member of the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | The Consultant's Calling
Bringing Who You Are to What You Do
Geoffrey Bellman |
This thoroughly revised and updated edition of The Consultant's Calling- the book that has become a classic in the field- is written for anyone who wants to know what consulting is really like as a career, as a living, as a life. A successful consultant for more than thirty-five years, Bellman knows how to make the job rewarding, both financially and personally. He understands today's marketplace, the vocation, and the art of consulting. Every aspect of the work is examined including the practical, the profound, and the curious. This is a book for all types of consultants, all those who work with consultants, and all those who dream of becoming consultants.
About the Author
Geoffrey Bellman lives in Seattle. He has consulted to organizations of all sizes, from the inside and the outside. Bellman is the author of best-selling books Getting Things Done When You Are Not in Charge, Your Signature Path, and The Beauty of the Beast.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | The Seashell on the Mountaintop
A Story of Science, Sainthood, and the Humble Genius Who Discovered a New History of the Earth
Alan Cutler |
In the bestselling tradition of The Map that Changed the World and Longitude comes the tale of a seventeenth-century scientist-turned-priest who forever changed our understanding of the Earth and created a new field of science.
It was an ancient puzzle that stymied history's greatest minds: How did the fossils of seashells find their way far inland, sometimes high up into the mountains? Fossils only made sense in a world old enough to form them, and in the seventeenth century, few people could imagine such a thing. Texts no less authoritative than the Old Testament laid out very clearly the timescale of Earth's past; in fact one Anglican archbishop went so far as to calculate the exact date of Creation…October 23, 4004, B.C.
A revolution was in the making, however, and it was started by the brilliant and enigmatic Nicholas Steno, the man whom Stephen Jay Gould called "the founder of geology." Steno explored beyond the pages of the Bible, looking directly at the clues left in the layers of the Earth. With his groundbreaking answer to the fossil question, Steno would not only confound the religious and scientific thinking of his own time, he would set the stage for the modern science that came after him. He would open the door to the concept of "deep time," which imagined a world with a history of millions or billions of years. And at the very moment his expansive new ideas began to unravel the Bible's authoritative claim as to the age of the Earth, Steno would enter the priesthood and rise to become a bishop, ultimately becoming venerated as a saint and beatified by the Catholic Church in 1988.
Combining a thrilling scientific investigation with world-altering history and the portrait of an extraordinary genius, The Seashell on the Mountaintop gives us new insight into the very old planet on which we live, revealing how we learned to read the story told to us by the Earth itself, written in rock and stone.
About the Author
Alan Cutler has a Ph.D. in geology and is a writer affiliated with the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Cutler was a contributing editor to The Forces of Change: A New View of Nature, and his articles have appeared in The Washington Post and The Sciences, among other publications. He lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Find out more on his web site: http://www.alan-cutler.com
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Inside Out: Using Classic Children's Stories for Personal and Professional Growth
Rod Johnson and Myron Radio |
Stories have been an effective form of communication for thousands of years. And now, authors Johnson and Radio bring back this learning principle by reshaping classic children's stories for an adult audience. Stories like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer, the Three Little Pigs, and Little Red Riding Hood are eloquently retold to enlighten and enrich the human soul and mind in unexpected ways. Each story breaks through the paradigm that business books must be tedious and filled with mind-numbing details. Instead, the reader's imagination opens up in new and unexpected ways, capturing the same dynamics to that of a child listening to a story for the umpteenth time. Yes to think, to learn, and to unleash the power of your child-like imagination once again. "Inside Out" is an electrifying book that breaks new ground for people seeking personal and professional growth. It unleashes its readers to learn and be entertained at the same time. But most important of all, "Inside Out" can transform individuals, organizations and ourselves.
About the Authors
 Rod Johnson is president of the Giro Group, a consulting firm based in Minnesota. His firm focuses on thought leadership issues relating to change management, strategic thinking, and storytelling in corporate environment. In addition to his work as an executive coach and consultant, Rod writes a monthly newsletter called the "Giro Briefing." Rod has written extensively in numerous trade publications and is a sought-after public speaker.
 Myron Radio is president of The R Group; a consulting firm whose primary focus is to build high-powered teams and develop the people who lead them. Myron offers a complete range of organizational development programs that include meeting facilitation, training, workshops, keynotes and coaching in the areas of change management, strategic and tactical planning, and organizational effectiveness. He is also the author of Dream Makers, a soon to be published allegory for personal development and growth.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | The Leadership Spectrum
Mary Lippitt |
Results matter! And to achieve results leaders must balance a spectrum of six business priorities to produce the right results at the right time in today's fluid, fast-changing business environment. Using this proven, priority-based framework, learn what, when, where and how to shift gears throughout the organization's life cycle and avoid being blind-sided by change. Flexibility is key.
Get optimal results by recognizing what priorities are critical at given stages in the organizational life cycle. While personal preferences or style guide how to interact and competencies instruct on how to get it done, priorities focus on what decisions can produce results for the short- and long-term. These key priorities are: developing new products or services (Inventor), winning and retaining customers (Catalyst), designing a supportive infrastructure and systems (Developer), focusing on efficiencies and improving quality (Performer), building the culture and developing people (Protector), and scanning the future and seizing opportunities (Challenger). By observing where the organization is within its organization life cycle and understanding the corresponding priorities, leaders can correct cycle imbalances, maintain momentum, and get results. The cycle also alerts them to potential drawbacks at each stage.
Examples, anecdotes, questions, and lists of strengths and liabilities help leaders bring new priorities into the mix, rebalance, and take action. Check out where you are on the "leadership spectrum " and learn the steps to adjust priorities to meet current circumstances and potential threats.
About the Author
Mary Lippitt is Founder and President of Enterprise Management, Ltd., is a recognized expert in the areas of implementing change, leadership, team development, and executive development. Mary Lippitt helps organizations and people achieve results.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Virtual Team-Building
Simon Priest |
What is a Virtual Team?
How do teams evolve?
What events should I use?
Which technology is best?
How do I facilitate these events?
About the Author
 Simon Priest leads virtualTEAMWORKS.com and finds time to advise and guide corporations as they develop their own virtual teambuilding initiatives. He has authored over a dozen books and a hundred articles related to teambuilding and leadership. His presentations on virtual teamwork and global leaders have been featured at conferences around the world. He currently holds adjunct professorships at management institutes and universities in several countries. His consulting work is in executive leadership for numerous "Fortune 500" companies.
Previously in the Virtual Chautauqua:
 | Rewiring Organizations for the Networked Economy
Stan Herman, editor
Jeremy Lurey and Patrick Ahern, contributors (among others!) |
In Rewiring Organizations for the Networked Economy- a book in The Practicing Organization Development Series- OD expert Stan Herman and a stellar group of contributors have written a definitive resource book for OD practitioners that focuses on the effects of information technology on organizing, managing, and leading people within organizations. Throughout the book, you'll learn what new structures, processes, and attitudes are needed if organizations are to succeed in the new economy.
The contributors- Mary E. Foley, Bill Bruck, Jeremey S. Lurey, Richard Hames, Carol Willett, Roland L. Sullivan, Linda K. Fairburn, William J. Rothwell, Perry Nelson, and Jana Markowitz- are experts in the field who have years of experience working with or within organizations that have been directly impacted by the changes brought on by the information age. You will find Rewired for a Networked Economy - Offers practical tools and approaches for organizations who must respond to the demands of the information age
- Reveals the powerful potential for connectedness within an organization that instant information handling provides
- Shows how to respond to unanticipated opportunities and challenges
- Illustrates through numerous real-life case, models, and techniques how the networked economy really works within organizations
- Includes a comprehensive array of basic information technology resources
- Shows how technical and human organizational skills are being combined in new and unexpected ways In addition, the book includes much-needed information about strategy, collaboration, virtual teaming, globalization, and the impact ofinformation technology on human resources.
About the Authors
Jeremy S. Lurey is the Founder and Principal of Plus Delta Consulting. Jeremy specializes in organization and leadership development and works closely with his clients to help them manage large-scale organizational change initiatives. Most of these projects focus on implementing enterprise applications, transforming business processes, facilitating executive and management development, and enhancing overall team performance.
Stanley Herman, OrgScan Director, has 30 years of experience as an internal manager (GE and TRW) and external consultant working with senior and middle management, of Fortune 200 and smaller companies. Focus on coaching and counseling executives, planning and implementing highly focused, 'situation-specific' improvement efforts, large-scale change, team assessment and development, conflict management, and other organization issues. He is the author of four books, "The People Specialists" (Knopf), "Authentic Management" (Addison Wesley), "A Force of Ones" and "The Tao at Work" (Jossey Bass), and more than 100 articles.
Patrick Ahern, OrgScan Associate Director, has been a management consultant for 10 years primarily focusing on strategic planning and navigation with senior management, the application of knowledge management, team building on several levels, coaching, and motivating change and learning. Most of his work has been with technology, financial, and government organizations.
He applies his foundation of real world business challenges, an extensive background in human interaction and his long-term fascination and application of systems thinking, complexity theory and other perspectives to continuously improve overall human performance and bottom-line results for his clients.
Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
 Howard Rheingold
Smart Mobs: The Next Social Revolution
How the convergence of mobile communications and computing is driving the next social revolution-transforming the ways in which people meet, mate, work, buy, sell, govern, and create.
When Howard Rheingold sneaks off down an untrodden trail, everyone else follows. He is always onto something marvelous no one has seen before. An ever-considerate guide, he navigates this new world with ease, compassion, and grace, and gives you the inside story, with no punches pulled. Tech talk? Howard could get your mother to understand.
From Tokyo to Helsinki, Manhattan to Manila, Howard Rheingold takes us on a journey around the world for a preview of the next techno- cultural shift-a shift he predicts will be as dramatic as the widespread adoption of the PC in the 1980s and the Internet in the 1990s. The coming wave, says Rheingold, is the result of super-efficient mobile communications-cellular phones, personal digital assistants, and wireless-paging and Internet-access devices that will allow us to connect with anyone, anywhere, anytime. - description from amazon.com
About the Author
Howard Rheingold is one of the world's foremost authorities on the social implications of technology. Over the past twenty years he has traveled around the world, observing and writing about emerging trends in computing, communications, and culture. One of the creators and former founding executive editor of HotWired, he has served as editor of The Whole Earth Review, editor-in-chief of The Millennium Whole Earth Catalog, and on-line host for The Well. The author of several books, including The Virtual Community, Virtual Reality, and Tools for Thought, he lives in Mill Valley, California.
Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
 Jody Lentz
Serious Play
LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is an innovative process that uses LEGO bricks and play as a means to enhance business performance. Based on research that shows that the learning that happens during "play" produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the world and its possibilities, LEGO SERIOUS PLAY is a quick, practical and effective process that can work for everyone within the enterprise. Participants come away with skills to express themselves more effectively, to engage their imaginations more readily, and to approach their work with increased confidence, commitment and insight. Why does work need play? - Play helps release thoughts that are locked in the head and the heart.
- You see things differently. Ideas come to life with more concrete detail than ideas expressed through just talking.
- Discussion during play happens on a more level playing field.
- The group at play thrives only when everybody participates, so frustrations are reduced, team coherence and direction is more solid.
- Play lets you experiment, explore and take risks with ideas without fearing consequences that might happen in "real life."
- You generate a wider and more imaginative range of possibilities during play than you would during a traditional business meeting.
- People at play are more present, more engaged, more passionate and better performers.
Why does play work? - Play is special: if it's routine it's not play.
- Play is voluntary: it can't be coerced or mandated.
- Play is imaginative: you can suspend the rules of the real world.
- Play isn't explicitly productive: direct consequences don't matter.
- Play is unlimited and delimited: play exists for its own sake and is different from work.
- Play happens at an agreed upon location: but it can be anywhere.
- Play has its own rules: it is not constrained by the rules of work.
Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
 Terrence L. Gargiulo
Making Stories
A Practical Guide for Organizational Leaders and Human Resource Specialists
Not only do we communicate through stories, we also learn from them. Stories are efficient ways to store, retrieve, and convey information. They help us to understand business processes; create and modify corporate culture; manage change; facilitate the management of knowledge and its transfer. They also help develop, coach, and mentor others, improve training, and help us behave and interact with others in the organization "proactively." Story making and story telling are skills that can be learned, and Gargiulo shows you how to do it. Clearly written and focused pragmatically on getting organizational results, his book is an innovative and welcome addition to the field of organizational development and management. Terrence L. Gargiulo is a management consultant, organizational development specialist, and group process facilitator based in San Francisco, CA. He holds a Master of Management in Human Services from the Florence Heller School, Brandeis University, and is a recipient of Inc. Magazine's Marketing Master Award. Among his numerous clients, past and present, are General Motors, Merck, Arthur D. Little, Raytheon, Coca-Cola, and the National Association of Manufacturers.
Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
 Bill Jensen
Work 2.0 rewriting the contract
Now that the economy has tanked, it's time for
corporate execs to remind their employees of who's
who and what's what, right? Wrong, warns Bill Jensen
in Work 2.0, his rousing but practical blueprint for
creating the productive workplace of the future.
Employees are any company's most important
investors, Jensen reminds the forward-thinking leader;
how their contributions of time, attention, ideas,
knowledge, passion, energy, and social networks are
respected and rewarded will determine the success
or failure of the company.
Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
 Alan Stewart, Professional Conversationalist
The Conversing Company: its culture, power and potential
In a paper presented at the 1st World Conference for Systemic Management in Vienna, May 2001, Alan Stewart begins:
Do you feel exhilarated in the company of lively people when the coffee's hot and the chemistry is right? Do you long to experience such a spirit in your work place? It could happen, if you put into practice the ideas in this paper! 'Conversing is working; it is integral to doing good business, any sort of business.' 'Conversing is the lifeblood of an organization.' 'Making time to converse at every level of an organization is not an indulgence, not a luxury, it is an imperative.' 'Believe in the power of conversing and trust where it will take you.' These organizing ideas could make a great difference to the success of your enterprise. For they are highly practical ideas, particularly in this time of rapid change, with the rise of the knowledge economy, new understanding of knowledge ecology and the need for ongoing flexibility of response. People who recognize the vital importance of these ideas can help create a Conversing Company. Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
 Waiting for My Cats to Die: A Morbid Memoir
She'd cringe at the comparison, but Stacy
Horn is a real-life Bridget Jones.
Except, of course, that Stacy's situation
is worse: she's fortysomething, not
thirtysomething, and already lives with
two cats. What's even worse is that her
cats--who aren't related, by the way--are
both diabetic. She's having a midlife
crisis, watches too much TV ("Look,
I'm not saying it's ideal, but I would
call watching TV a life"), and is
obsessed with death:
I keep coming back to
death the same way I can't stop
touching a sore tooth with my tongue
to see if it still hurts. Death.
Still terrifying? Yes. How about now?
Yes. And now? Yes.
She spends her days drumming
with a samba group, pulling weeds in
graveyards, praying to dead relatives,
caring for her diabetic cats, crafting
detailed fantasies, and running EchoNYC,
the online community that she created.
Why on earth would anyone want to read
about that?
Because it's funny; sometimes, even laugh-out-loud-
then-feel-sheepish-because-you're-on-the-bus
funny. Stacy's shocked realization that
she is in the unconscious habit of
shouting out her cats' nicknames while
she walks down the street ("Munches!"
"Boo!" "Belly!") is
worth the price of the book alone:
So it hit me: I am one
of those crazy people who talks to
herself on the street, one of the
ones who makes you wonder where she
came from and how she got to this
sorry state. Great. How did I get to
this sorry state, yelling to cats who
are not there?
Waiting for My Cats to Die
also can be heartbreaking, however, as in
some of the brief interviews that she
conducts with elderly people, or when she
reveals her fears that she'll spend the
rest of her life alone, or when one of
her cats does indeed die. In the end,
however, Stacy is hopeful, past her
midlife crisis, and resolved that, in the
absence of "one true love," she
will "fall in love with everyone and
everything a little." Tama Janowitz
describes reading the book as being
"like getting to hang out with a
wonderful friend." We should all be
so lucky to have friends as genuine, and
funny, as Stacy Horn.
--Sunny Delaney, Amazon.com
About the Author
 Stacy
Horn is the founder of Echo, a
NYC-based online service of over 3,000
members. Founded in 1990, Echo has an
eclectic population of writers, artists,
professionals and mostly likeable
loudmouth, know-it-alls whom she calls
"the dysfunctional family Echo."
Horn wrote about Echo and the internet in
a book called, "Cyberville: Clicks,
Culture and the Creation of an Online
Town" (Warner Books). Echo produces
a monthly reading series called Read
Only, where writers on Echo read from
their recently published books at a bar
in the East Village of Manhattan called
KGB.
Horn grew up on Long Island, went to
college a few places and got a degree in
fine arts from Tufts University and the
School of the Museum of Fine Arts. There
isn't much to say about her twenties. She
basically didn't accomplish much as she
moved from one depressing job to another,
until she went to graduate school, got a
degree from the Interactive
Telecommunications Program (ITP) at NYU,
and started Echo, which some may call a
"dubious achievement" but it
makes her happy. Horn teaches a class at
ITP called "Virtual Culture."
Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
 Simplicity:
The New Competitive Advantage in a World
of More, Better, Faster
Choosing among infinite
possibilities is the toughest part of
today's work, when information is
abundant and the most precious resources
are people's time and attention. We need
easy-to-use tools that help us choose
what to do and what not to do, especially
when any hesitation or misstep can spell
disaster. But how do you make sense of
the clutter? In Simplicity, Bill Jensen
offers a highly engaging and pragmatic
approach to competing in the fast-paced
information age by being disciplined
about how you make sense of everything
around you.
Simplicity is...
- All about competing
on clarity
- Being disciplined
about how you make sense of
things
- Being passionate
about how you use people's time
and attention
- When everyone knows
how to get what they need to make
a decision
Among the questions
Simplicity answers:
- What is your cost of
confusion and the value of
clarity?
- Are you using
clarity to go faster, work
smarter?
- Do you have a
strategy for creating a simpler
company?
- How will you
continuously figure out what you
don't know?
About the Author
Bill Jensen, is
President/CEO of the Jensen Group, a
change and communication consulting firm.
An expert on applying the principles of
simplicity in business management and
organizational design, he speaks widely
on the subject and has written articles
for many publications, including Strategy
and Leadership and Knowledge Management
Journal. He lives in Morristown, New
Jersey.
Previously in
the Virtual Chautauqua:
 Virtual
Teams
Virtual Teams, Second Edition emphasizes
the importance of focusing first on
people rather than technology when trying
to make a virtual workplace happen.
Successful virtual companies observe the
"The 90/10 Rule. " It's 90%
people and 10% technology. Along with
focusing on the 90/10 theme, the authors
have updated all examples and cases,
adding new ones from Shell Oil,
SCIENTECH, Ernst and Young, United
Nations Development Program, Verifone and
Palm Pilot.
About the Authors
Jessica Lipnack and Jeffrey
Stamps, Ph.D are co-founders of
virtualteams.com parent company NetAge
Inc. Jessica serves as "Chief
Networker," making connections among
the people and organizations that are at
the forefront of virtual work. Jeff is
"Chief Scientist," applying his
expertise in systems theory to the
development of virtualteams.com and all
other NetAge products. Together, they
have spent the past 20 years developing
the theory and practice of networked
organizations.
 
Lipnack and Stamps are now
widely acknowledged as two of the world's
leading experts on networked
organizations. They have co-authored five
books and numerous articles; given 150
speeches in the past three years in the
United States, Canada, Europe and Japan;
have appeared on many radio shows and are
often quoted in the press. They have
conducted scores of inhouse workshops
that have launched networks of all kinds
within both commercial and non-profit
organizations.
Jessica and Jeff were
founding principals of The Networking
Institute Inc., a consulting company
formed to help organizations work
together better across boundaries.
Lipnack and Stamps met while students at
the University of Oxford in England.
Married in 1972, they have two daughters,
Miranda, a recent graduate of Barnard
College, and Eliza, a senior at Bates
College. They live in West Newton,
Massachusetts.
Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
 The
Power of Spirit
(Click
here to hear Harrison)
Just as consciousness evolves in
individuals, so too does it evolve in
organizations. As spirit forms and
transforms in people, they become strong,
focused, and vibrant - and wonderful
things can happen. But when the spirit is
down, nothing else seems to make a
difference - because not too much happens.
Many of us today find
ourselves trapped in just such
organizations. The spirit in our
workplace, to say nothing of our own
spirit, is getting a little tattered,
showing the early signs of what Harrison
Owen calls "Soul Pollution."
Those in the advanced stages may find
themselves plagued by exhaustion, high
levels of stress, and the abuse of just
about anything in sight - including
spouses, substances, and fellow workers.
So what is the secret to transforming
organizations? The answer, says Owen, is
simple: we simply have to consciously be
what we already are - and organization
will happen all by itself.
Owen examines the world of
Spirit/Consciousness in organizations and
offers practical help to those who find
themselves dreading another day on the
job in an organization seemingly bent on
its own destruction, as well as the
destruction of its members. Widely known
for his Open Space Technology - a broadly
used meeting management tool - Owen now
suggests deeper applications and
implications, showing how what has been
experienced in a typical "great
meeting" with Open space can be a
365 day-a-year reality.
About the Author
 Harrison Owen is a
champion of an idea that has
revolutionized the way many of us think
about designing group experience. What
could happen if we allow the group to
self-organize? What if we focus the
content of a meeting around the themes
and ideas and problems that participants
are passionate about right now? What if
we break the paradigm that some
participants are there to be "experts"
and others are there to receive
expertise? The Power of Spirit joins a
series of Harrison's books about Open
Space Technology, leadership, and
organization transformation.
Harrison is president of the
consulting firm H.H. Owen and Co. His
clients have included Owens/Corning
Fiberglas, the Internal Revenue Service (Appeals
Division), Procter & Gamble, Arthur
Young, Shell Canada, Volvo, the American
Society for Training and Development, and
the US Forest Service.
Previously in the Virtual
Chautauqua:
Open excerpt window
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