I couldn’t resist … my background as a Health and Safety Consultant make these images as funny and they are scary! We men seriously over estimate our capacity to do things and remain safe!

“As Bloom once told a reporter: “We were looking for exceptional kids and what we found were exceptional conditions”. […] The “exceptional conditions” we found can be summarized under the headings of opportunity to learn, authentic tasks, and exceptionally supportive social contexts.” ~ Lauren Sosniak, p289. I found this quote here in Doing What Works in Solutions Focussed Change and it got me thinking about my work, parenting and change. In my last post, What are you a student of right now?, I shared this little word-graphic on the fields and practices that shape my learning … As parents we …

Here are some words that came to me when doodling on my iPad – playing with the Adobe Ideas App. Some fields and practices that I am a student of … What words would add to this image?

Imagine a world where most people think that life’s events are largely predictable. A world where people believe that planning, expert analysis, centralized control and risk assessments will smooth out the bumps of unpredictability … and ensure that predetermined targets are hit. Sound familiar? Now imagine a world where the universal human tendency is to ‘be prepared for the unexpected’ … because that’s life! In this world, planning is still done, but is balanced by the formation of improvisational teams – teams that emerge in response to what is happening in the moment. In this world, the term ‘script think’ …

As communication via email continues to decline in my world or work, so do the number of email subscriptions. In fact, I take great pleasure in unsubscribing from email lists … it’s almost cathartic! The DO Lectures have a newsletter that puts the subscriber first. Kindling is simple, elegant and integrates across to Twitter and Instapaper – so when something looks interesting and you wish to ‘Read Later‘, you just click the button. For each article it also gives you a ‘time commitment‘ so you know what you’re in for. This is one newsletter that I will not be unsubscribing from! …