Sep 23, 2007

Face the Music

I’ve just had dinner with some new friends. My head is spinning with all new thoughts and ideas generated during the “The Power of Positive Change” conference in Orlando. It has been such a joy to hear and meet people such as David Cooperrider, Marcus Buckingham, Barbara Fredricksen and Martin Seligman talk about strength-based development, Appreciative Inquiry and positive psychology. It was also heart-warming to see all the people turning up at the EuroMingle and for the Wisdom Circle workshop.

Today the sessions ended on a high note, actually literally speaking since Frank Barrett did one of his performances, demonstrated how jazz can be used as a metaphor for organisational learning. I commented on one of his articles in my blog a couple a weeks ago, but to hear him live really made a huge difference. I definitely say yes to the mess with more emphasis now, and I also have a soundtrack to go with the theory.

One of the things Frank emphasised was how comparison is crucial to learning. By using jazz as a metaphor he has provided a really good example. But my favourite quote from his presentation is the notion of Destiny as "living on the appreciative edge".

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