There is lot’s happening in my local community and that’s where my energy has been directed lately. It feels like there has been an explosion of local, community issues. Wonderful ideas have also emerged and I have noticed a great deal of leadership from within our community – I have been working at the edges in whatever way I can. Tomorrow night it’s my turn to play a lead role. I am co-hosting a conversation that is centred on a question of Need – “What does our school community need from the Parent Club in 2012?” The other question I …

I am on the road for a few days and my journey brings me back to the Latrobe Valley in Victoria. I rode my bike from Traralgon up to Tyers this afternoon and I was struggling to remember the events and people from this chapter of my life. But then I smelled that smell … the unmistakable odour of the local Maryvale Australian Paper Mill (APM). Once I smelled this, the memories came flooding back and I tweeted this … Serendipity strikes again … I realized it was 20 years to the day that Kirsten and I moved everything we …

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 travel quite a bit. Mostly day trips with the occasional 3 to 4 day stretch away from the home office. Sound familiar? When traveling (and facilitating) I go lightweight – it’s an operating principle at the core of my practice. Now that I have worked out how to sync stuff across my MacBook, iPad & iPhone, I only travel with the phone and pad. The larger, heavier and more valuable MacBook stays safe at home. The options available to protect the phone and pad are staggering and many products do the job. But, how many are truly beautiful? I …

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 …