Over the weekend, myself and Marty Maher and a bunch of other volunteers stage the 3rd annual Aireys Inlet Open Mic Music Festival. Apart from being an absolutely outrageous success, it was loads of fun and we designed and staged it all without a Steering Committee (yaaay) … or a detailed strategic plan for that matter! Marty has grown and nurtured this event from a seed … an idea that Marty had (and he has lot’s of them). The core of that idea assumes that there are loads of musicians out there desperate to strut their stuff and play music …

I work for myself and vowed last year to collaborate more with other people. It can get lonely and sometimes you fool yourself into thinking you can do it all! Design and art is a growing passion of mine and, through my sister (Janette Derrick who’s Organic Fabric business website is very cool), I met Kieren Tobin and Melinda Chapman of 3D Model Studios. Mel and Kieran are graphic artists with a long history in 3d art, computer games, architectural visualisations, illustration and 2D design. I approached Mel and Kieren to help me turn my ideas into a design for my website. I …

In keeping with name of my blog, I used a quick Impro activity with a group before Opening Space on the weekend. After re listening to this podcast at the 2008 OSonOS confernece, Chris Corrigan and Viv McWaters (and others) took my own understanding of the OS priniciple “Whatever Happens is the Only Thing that Could Have” to a new level. I have always struggled to articulate the essence of this principle. In the podcast, Viv McWaters explains the importance of using Action Methods to help participants ‘experience’ the principles and not just ‘intellectualize’ them. Viv introduces us to the …

What’s Tiger Woods’ win at the 2008 US Open got to with high performance under stress? Allow me to share a quick story first … Recently I facilitated a workshop when in the onset phase of ‘Gastro’. As participants arrived I suffered from weakness, nausea and waves of stomach cramps. If I was at home, I would have curled into bed, shut the door and placed a bucket by my side. I disclosed my discomfort to my client and we decided to press on … 50 people had given up their evening to contribute critical thinking. The stakes were high. …

Wow! Improv has become such a source of inspiration for me of late. If you ask yourself “Improv … what is he on about?” … then read this great summary from Viv McWaters (who I must thank for all of her advise and wisdom over the past 8 years!). Viv has designed these great Improv Gift cards and I was lucky enough to receive her very first set. Recently I spoke over Skype with Viv and Robert Poynton where we discussed our work and how Improv was a core part of what we do. Viv went a step further and …