My dad is dying. His health and vitality has diminished rapidly in recent weeks. We all knew this time would come, but nothing can really prepare you for the final part of the journey. Dad has been living with cancer for the past 10 years. He has had some fit and active years in this time and he has experienced the birth of new life in the form of 5 grandchildren. He has bravely fought liver cancer for over 4 years – it takes most people within 2. My mum’s strength and love has played a huge part in his …

I have written about Vulnerability before, in the context of change and mental models. In this post titled Our Mindset, Mental Models and the Human Condition, I pointed to a great TEDx talk be Brene Brown on Vulnerability. I invite you to watch it if you haven’t already. Recently I attended the Story Conference in Melbourne – hosted by the wonderful Andrew Rixon. At the conference I was fortunate enough to have my story played back me by Melbourne Playback Theatre. My story fitted the theme of taking Creative Methods to our work and I revealed my inner fears about …

Last week’s karate session was a master-class in more than just physical movement and coordination. What started out as a drill in Kihon (Japanese for the basics), soon became a true test of mental toughness, physical exertion and the power of the group. Our group also demonstrated the classic Improv principle … Make each other look good! The scene is set … Our Sempai started with a hundred-count for a basic set of alternating punches. Left mid-punch, right upper-punch and then right lower-punch – and all 3 punches done in under 2 second so it’s fast! After each punch, everyone …

Last Tuesday night I went dancing! Not to a nightclub and not to a structured form of dance like Flamenco, Ballroom or Swing. It was a practice of dance known as The 5Rhythms. The classes have a host/facilitator to hold the space and invite participants to move, play and interact. In my case, the facilitator is a long time friend of mine, David Jurianz. Whilst I am intensely interested in the application of improv, movement and music to my facilitation work, I didn’t attend this workshop to figure out some magical formulae of how I can “apply it”. I showed …

I spent some precious time with my dad yesterday, he is very unwell and we shared some memories and stories. We looked through photos of my 3 boys and reflected on family holidays when I was a boy. Afterwards, I reflected on some of dad’s words and counsel. In his own way, he reminded me that my own boys are always watching me. Learning from me. Imitating my own behaviour and reactions to events – the good, bad and the ugly. We all have a blind spot when it comes to the influence that our actions, no matter how small, …