We’ve talked frequently here about listening skill building and we can’t let it become a tired topic. We live in an age where his opinions are as valid as her facts, everyone talks loud and long and few people actually listen. Resolving human conflict at any level requires finding common ground. Finding common ground requires… read more →
In the practical, objective, scientific method world of observation, testing and refined decision making that most of us are tied to, it is sometimes easy to dismiss the emotional elements as fluff, irrelevant, and to be avoided. But any objective reasoning, especially in the public sector, invariably requires an element of policy developed by deliberation… read more →
You’re tired… we’re all tired. The silent majority has become the exhausted majority and the research and evidence shows that depression, alcohol abuse, stress, domestic violence and all of the other maladies that you might imagine occurring in these strange times are on the rise. Our social lives are upside down and when you’re engaging… read more →
Beliefs are funny things. For instance I’ve always believed that ‘Eleanor’ by The Turtles is one of the finest lyrical masterpieces in Rock & Roll history, but most of my friends believe that I’m nuts. Clearly, I need new friends – ones with better judgement…but I digress. Three out of four people globally say they’ll… read more →
Queen Elizabeth is a practicing cannibal, Justin Bieber is a member of a race of reptiles, and Chemtrails make liberals the demons that they are. If you’re not aware that 5G technology causes Covid-19, the earth is flat and Bill Gates is implanting microchips in the forthcoming vaccine you might not be a conspiracy theorist.… read more →
As the credibility of public institutions and leadership continues to erode it’s easy for people who work in those institutions to descend into a pit of despair and believe that there’s no way out of this mess – but there is. Rebuilding trust and credibility starts with acting and operating in a trustworthy and credible… read more →
One of the tougher challenges for most of us doing public work is convincing the people who run the organizations we work for that communicating with and engaging people really is the priority that we know it is. Most organization leaders that I’ve consulted or worked with start out believing that no harm comes from… read more →
By the time you’re reading this, you may have seen two Presidential and one Vice-Presidential debates and you’ve gotten a lesson in the value and challenge of facilitation. Managing discussions or debates with people who are aggressive, aggrieved or just dominant requires skills that not everyone necessarily has, including seasoned journalists. Chris Wallace got a… read more →
Most people like to avoid conflict in their lives. Sure, some people get their jollies from chaos (and media feeds on it because it attracts an audience and produces lots of revenue), but the rest of us don’t go out of our way to invite the pain and confusion that goes along with it. But,… read more →