People remember the first, not always the best. This was sage wisdom that my doctoral advisor shared when speaking about not waiting to share your ideas. This advice reflects much of what we know about human psychology — for good and otherwise. What are your earliest fears from the COVID-19 pandemic? Did you spend a …
Systems change is so difficult because is the link between the past, present and future is tight and often invisible. The term “system(s) change” is often used without a clear sense of what it means. What is the system that needs to be changed and how is that system defined? These are two important questions …
Social and emotional baggage is what we bring with us and, like the real thing, it’s all in what we pack, how we pack it and how aware we are of what we’re packing it for. And like the real thing, individuals and organizations can’t go on much of a journey without carrying some of …
Reflective practice is the cornerstone of developmental evaluation and organizational learning and yet is one of the least discussed (and poorly supported) aspects of these processes. It’s time to reflect a little on reflection itself. The term reflective practice was popularized by the work of Donald Schön in his book The Reflective Practitioner, although …
Evaluation is supposed to be driven by a program’s needs and activities, but that isn’t always the case. What happens when the need for numbers, metrics, ‘outcomes’ and data shape the very activities programs do and how that changes everything is something that is worth paying some attention to. Since the Second World War we’ve …
Knowledge Hypocrites: Take Two!. The link above points to a great post by KMBeing that deserves some re-blogging here. It looks at the issue of hypocrisy in espousing the values of taking knowledge and putting it into practice, without practicing it. It’s worth a read. There are a lot of professions and practices where we …
This week professional designers from the United States and beyond descend on Phoenix to attend the AIGA Pivot conference. While much will be discussed about the art, science and craft of design, an equally important focus (and one that may not be as visible) is that of the designers themselves and the role they play …
