Wow! So much has happened since my last post. Suffice it to say, typing one handed left much to be desired. Typing with 1.33 hands in just a little better! Ok, on to the update.
Grace and I are participating in the BOP – Business of People management training program (separate classes). Since this is training and not philosophical course work, be prepared to be guinea pigs! You should begin to notice subtle (and maybe not so subtle) shifts, tweaks or newness in our management styles. I would like feedback.
I believe I heard that there will be an opportunity for everyone to do the 23 steps of Learning 2.0 real soon. If you have not tried this or want to get a head start, go to http://plcmclearning.blogspot.com/ and click on 23 steps. Or if you want to skip the first few lessons, contribute to our staff blog (once you visit the site you will understand this). This is an excellent opportunity to discover new things, refresh your memory of things you’ve been doing/using and have forgotten why, or to dream up applications for web 2.0 tools.
Something came up during my last BOP that made me think about how our cultural climate has changed over the past, say, 40 years. Ok, I know that’s a stretch for some of you. But for the rest of us, you’ll understand. It used to be that literature was tightly written, with layers of depth. Books like My Name Is Asher Lev come to mind. When it came out I could not put it down. Thirty years later, I tried to read it again and was shocked by how frustrating it was to read – too dense – too slow and actually kind of boring. There used to be a big chasm between business writing, technical writing and…literature. Now they seem to have merged. We want good literature but on a business level – fewer words on a page, concise, crisp. And we want this in our day-to-day verbal communication as well. It seems as if in the era of technology and catching the nanosecond sound bite, we have lost the art of patiently listening. The funny thing is, one of the major components to good management, conflict or otherwise is – listening; seriously listening not thinking a head about what you are going to say, or thinking a head as to the solution of the issue, but empty minded listening - hearing and processing what the speaker is saying without forming rebuttals.
Although this is “a managerial” training, I think it is something that each of us can use at work and at home as it may really foster positive relationships. So – I may drop a BOP on you once in awhile if I think it is something we can all consider.
