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Archive for Uncategorized – Page 2

Our Collective Wisdom

Alan-briskin (BK) Author and photographer Alan Briskin has long been one of my
very favorite visionaries, and I have had the pleasure of working with
him on three projects now – his personal website, the book site for the
seminal book he recently co-authored on The Power of Collective Wisdom
and Trap of Collective Folly, and now an interactive business site/blog
called the Power of Our Collective Wisdom. In this latest site, Alan
puts his brilliant thinking mind into a dialogue about collective
wisdom; seeing it, applying it, and talking with others about it.

Alan’s star, already bright, is rising – subscribe to his site and
mailing lists to keep track of his trajectory and watch for an
announcement of a series on applying collective wisdom that I’ll be
helping him produce in the coming months.

Italy Venice, photography by Alan Briskin

Liminal Songlines

Gisela Wendling (Ph.D.) recently moved from a position of Associate Professor at Sonoma State University in northern California to a housewife in Australia, where her husband was relocated. Some women might find such a drastic shift completely disorienting, but Gisela hasn’t lost a beat.

Following her doctoral research interest in indigenous ways of knowing, Gisela is taking full advantage of the remarkable opportunities (spiritual and creative) she now has to dive deep into aboriginal culture. Not long after arriving in Australia, she found herself in the incredibly fortunate position of joining Aboriginal women elders in sacred ceremony deep in the desert, an experience which not surprisingly has had a profound effect on her.

At the same time, as an artist inspired by the Aboriginal art she is studying, Gisela’s own creative style has been evolving and growing. Here’s an unfinished version of hers which has now become an absolutely glorious painting called “Men and Women in Sacred Circle”:

Circle
At some point Gisela found herself wanting to write about what she was learning and experiencing (while respecting the ceremonies she’d been part of and protecting what needs to be kept secret). She also wanted to share her creative process in a culturally sensitive way, using her experience and deepening knowledge to forge a path of understanding between cultures.

She began to look around for a collaborator – someone to help her realize her ideas in an interactive form. Around that time a mutual friend re-introduced us (we’d met before) and I found myself blessed to be working with Gisela on Liminal Songlines.

Using Skype’s video VOIP to bridge the distance between California and Australia – at 5pm my time it was 10am the next day for her – it was quite an adventure! An artist herself, Gisela knows what she wants to see, and I was determined to give it to her. I remember one epic 4.5 hour process tweaking the banner of her blog to get it exactly right that left us both punch-drunk with fatigue and at the same time deeply satisfied with the result.

I warmly invite you to become a part of what Gisela is doing with Liminal Songlines – I think you will be entranced with the beauty she sees in the desert and its people, and touched the way it is impacting this German-born academic and seeker. You may even find your own perceptions beginning to shift.

Berrett Koehler Publishers – A Company with a Vision

BKcornerlr Berret Koehler Publishing, known to many simply as “BK”, is an extraordinary company. As you can read on the logo, their mission is to create a world that works for all and with a publishing list that includes Meg Wheatley’s Leadership and the New Science, Ken Blanchard and Mark Miller’s The Secret, Peter Block’s Stewardship, Joe Jaworksi’s Synchronicity and The World Cafe: Shaping our Futures through Conversations that Matter, they’re really doing it.

A BK fan for many years, I am honored to serve as online strategist and designer for many BK authors, so you can imagine how excited I was to be called in as chief consultant for the development and launch of their online BK Community site. Already vibrant less than a month since its launch, this online community features wit, wisdom and informed inquiry from a diverse set of stakeholders ranging from BK authors to readers of these brilliant books to the full impressive array of BK staff and other luminaries in the publishing and promotional industries.

One of my favorite things about BK is their forward-looking understanding and application of digital media, and their early adoption of a community platform is a great example of their foresight in this area. With David Marshall at the helm in digital developments, BK is a company ready for the future.

If you are a BK author or reader, or if you just care about books and where they’re going, time spent in this community will be illuminating and definitely worth your while.

Use Your Own Voice

Speak Personally and
Authentically

Be brave enough to show professional efficacy
without losing your humanity. Don’t pretend to be perfect or feel that
you always have to be right. It’s beautiful to be human.

Showing yourself as you truly are liberates others to do the same and
inspires a culture of trust.

Speak in your own voice. You’re the only one who can. Take courage in
knowing this is not just a quirky little trend some beauty-obsessed web
designer is promoting. 🙂 No less a luminary than than Seth Godin
shares this point in a wonderful interview
he did for TypePad on authenticity.