Ho‘ohana Aloha

As I’d shared a few posts back, I attended PodCamp Hawai‘i just this past weekend. One of the sessions I attended presented the Alltop story, and was called “Aggregation without the Aggravation.” The brainchild of Guy Kawasaki, Alltop is a website aggregator functioning as an “online magazine rack” with the latest from a wide variety of news sources and blogs.

When presenter Neenz Faleafine opened the floor for questions, I asked her, “With all that Guy Kawasaki has going on, why bother with something like Alltop at all?” Her answer was short and to the point: “Money, and the prospect of making more of it. Alltop is a business.”

I liked her answer…

Today’s Tuesday Coaching is our wrap-up for the month of October on Nānā i ke kumu; “Looking to the Source and Finding the Truth.”

Which words?

Your words.

Which ones?

Whatever ones are the most important to you: Which are the ones you want everyone to understand most clearly, and without confusion?

I’m somewhat of a stickler about words and their meanings, for our vocabulary is one of the most powerful tools we have at our ready disposal. Therefore, it drives me crazy how so many words in our spoken languages have more than one meaning.

Just back from four days on the island of O‘ahu, with the last two spent at the inaugural run of PodCamp Hawai‘i, and from the standpoint of someone who has spent much of her career in the catering and convention planning business, it was impressive.

The attendance was not huge, but this was a conference you would not describe as small - not by a long shot.

I have updated my Talking Story Got Influence? posting with this link today asking, “How much will General Colin Powell influence you? …an article this morning by a respected Democrat may prove counterpoint for you.”

We are now exactly two weeks from the November 4th elections. Some can’t believe there are still people undecided on who to vote for. Methinks it’s because its so so tough to discern fact from fiction. We do get to the point where our decisions may finally be made as a result of others influence. Do the homework required for your own vote so that you can feel good about those votes you finally cast —- in all races, not just the presidential one.

There are some eternally nagging questions that get thrown at you when people know you are a coach who tackles management and leadership. One is about the difference between them (I’ll add a management versus leadership link at the end) and another is, “Are you one who believes leaders are born or made?”

My favored response is with another question, “Well, what do you think, so I know more about why you’re asking?” It’s the coach in me; their response helps me give them the answer that is best for them individually, and within their context. It saves us time, and cuts to the chase —their chase. Whichever they chose, “I think leaders are born to be leaders” or “I think leaders are made, and shaped by their experiences” I will usually respond, “Well then, let’s go with that,” and I’ll continue the dialog from that point on.

What do I think? I think the answer is, “Both.”

I believe that we all are born with the potential and the capacity for leadership, and that harnessing our potential and filling that part of our capacity is one of the choices we make.

We all do. The question is if we know how much, and if we take complete responsibility for the effects of the influence we have, and choose to wield. When we use it, influence gives us leverage.

When do you choose to deliberately use the influence you are aware you have, and when do you choose not to? What criteria goes into your decision? How important does an issue have to be to you? How much risk will you incur?

Merlin Mann wrote a list of 9 things which make for a good blog, and then he ended with this:

“And, yeah, you should disagree with potentially all of this. It’s because I have an opinion, and so do you. It’s why you probably have a blog. See? The system works. Coming soon: the blogs I read, enjoy, envy, and admire.”

I don’t think he ever did publish his list of blogs he reads, and I’m glad he didn’t. I like his list of qualities, but if I don’t agree with the blogs he chose as evidence I won’t like his list anymore.

Mark your calendars to virtually attend PodCamp Hawai‘i with me this Friday, October 24 for a session which will present our Joyful Jubilant Learning case study! As of Friday, our JJL-styled collaborative learning m.o. hits the un-conference circuit!

I am very happily nagged and following up.

I dish it out, but this is a time I am taking it joyfully. I am a nag when it comes to coaching people to follow-up on their ideas, especially with my clients, for I figure that holding them accountable is part of what they pay me for.

I also hate seeing good ideas die; every idea is a seed which has the potential to blossom if we take the time to fertilize it (and sometimes prune or graft it).

Click on the penny for all the details, and then join us.
Click on the link of this posting for my own story of involvement.

Preface:
Initially I had written this as a comment for JJLer David Zinger in response to his current leadership initiative here on JJL, however I then decided to toot sweetly for him and do this as a posting: I did not want my comment to be missed in the depths of our other conversations here. I crave leadership in our world, we need it. I believe we have several leaders in the making here at Joyful Jubilant Learning: One of the reasons I am here, is to surround myself with their influence. So when I see examples like this I will do what I can to herald it, toot sweetly and trumpet loudly.

This is my Blog Action Day post. I need some preamble to get where I want to get with what I want to say, and I hope you will bear with me! Mahalo.

People will write me after they have read my book, and ask for exercises for the small business or for the single team in a larger organization, saying, “We don’t have access to the resources the big guys have.” You don’t need them!

This is precisely the reason I blog here in the first place, to offer you possibilities for discussions (“talk stories” as I call them) that can turn into exercises and mini-studies you can personally apply to your own situation and within your own context.

Changes versus Constants is a beauty.

Tuesday Coaching Day on MWAC:

We’re looking at “both source and capacity to learn” in another way, as constants (source) and as change (capacity to learn). At any given time, and with any given effort, we are working on one or the other: Either we are

• Working to maintain our healthy constants, or
• Working to effect a change we desire.

Further, it is in effecting a desired change that we experience our most elevated experiences with learning…