There are lots of textbook causes for conflict, but one of the root reasons that I run into has to do with some kind of power imbalance. People will almost always rebel (or try to) if they feel they’re being oppressed by people with more power. The art and science ...
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It’s common human arrogance to assume that anything we say, write or deliver in some way will be interpreted by the receiver exactly as we intend it – and we’re probably wrong. The nuances – tone, temperament, setting, vagaries – of communication have everything to do with what people actually ...
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Over the years, I’ve responded to lots of requests for a facilitator with very specific expertise in some kind of technical field or another, like transportation, public lands, public health, education, mining, environmental contamination or whatever the topic might be. Clients are most comfortable feeling that you know what they ...
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Nobody changes the minds of others; people change their own minds. Nobody talks you into anything – you decide. Consensus and compromise are how big things actually get done and that comes about when people are able to collaborate and change their minds to some degree. This requires people with ...
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Government officials started calling the public customers several years ago which, I guess, was an homage to the pressure that “government needs to run like a business”, which is BS because government isn’t, and isn’t supposed to be, a business – but don’t get me started. We can continue this ...
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As a facilitator and evangelist of civil discourse, it gives me no pleasure to say that civil discourse feels dead – at least in national politics. The general national malaise that we now read and hear about (depression, drug and alcohol abuse) has happened before, so I’m going to believe ...
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To many people, government is this big, scary, secret and intimidating institution run by a bunch of robotic bureaucrats. There are consequences for that perception – that government has allowed to fester – and we see those ramifications playing out now before our very eyes. Fixing the disconnect between the ...
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In an age of unchecked, professional propaganda, keeping people on edge and jumping at boogiemen and shadows is a very useful strategy. It works because we suck at judging things to be true or not. It helps to better understand where conspiracy theories come from. Read More …...
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Here’s the list of 20 important words that slithered into our vocabulary in the last decade. I’m not going to mansplain any of them; you’re on your own. Read More …...
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Here’s a slightly different perspective on one of the hottest topics that we all face these days. You’ll find eleven (11) straightforward, simple traits of people who are trusted. Read More …
If you’ve paid any attention to the saga of the Boeing 737 Max 8, you probably realize ...
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