Play with Impact

Written by . Posted on May 4, 2011. Filed under Retreat. No comments.

Play with Impact

May DwD was hosted by Zahra Ebrahim of the architecture and design think tank, archiTEXT.

THE WORKSHOP
“Play”….it’s the four-letter word that petrifies the establishment.  It’s messy, the process is different every time – as is the outcome – and yet, it remains the tool that best produces honest, creative, innovative, and unique results. This workshop will explore the process of using play to uncover possible solutions to issues challenging corporations, governments, and not-for-profits.Participants will be encouraged to explore the following principles in order to fully engage with the possibilities that using play to create impact can uncover

1. Play is not easy.2. Play is difficult.3. Play is necessary.4. Play is not frivolous.

Zahra is the Principal, Partner, and Founder of the architecture and design think tank, archiTEXT.  Zahra has spent the last two years as Innovator in Residence at Canada’s National Design Museum, the Design Exchange. Ebrahim brings together diverse groups to tackle the intersections of architecture and design with social change, the environment, politics, economics, equality, health, and pop culture. Using various methods ranging from curation to public engagement to conceptual art, she engages a broad spectrum of the public across the country in design discourse.

Globe and Mail article or video

Masters Workshop: The Reinvention of Civilization

Written by . Posted on April 16, 2011. Filed under Masters Workshop. No comments.

The Reinvention of Civilization : Our Historical Opportunity to Innovate Everything

The Reinvention of Civilization is an ideological shift in what constitutes the center of history. Such an invention comes about because of a change in awareness, which provides movement from a single locus of imagination and the knowledge it evokes, to an awareness of simultaneous, multiple, yet sovereign centers of history. This shift in the source of the imagination that constitutes knowledge brings a revolutionary matrix of history into existence.

In this workshop Yogiraj Charles Bates models his commitment to serve all sentient beings with designing in system inquiry (‘We’ can Relate), innovation (The 10th Dot®), reinvention endeavors (The Reinvention of Civilizationtm) and leadership (Integrity and The Fourth View).

A collaborative dialogic process (Sacred Dialogues) provides the practicum format to demonstrate the ideas he will bring forth. This is a participatory experience with developmental and transformational intent. Anyone contributing to creating sustainable models that seek to benefit humanity will be supported by this workshop.

This was the first workshop in the Masters series.  A companion workshop ‘We’ Can Relate was held Saturday April 30, 2011 at the Redesign studio, 7 Fraser Ave. #12, Toronto.

The Toronto Star: Dialogue on Thriving in a Changing News World

Written by . Posted on April 12, 2011. Filed under Retreat. 1 Comment.

DwD hosted John Cruickshank (Publisher) and Kate Collins (Product Director, Star Media Group – Digital) from The Toronto Star for a special community design workshop. This was a DwD “innovation fishbowl” that explored:

What might the Toronto Star look like in the future as a dynamic and thriving content platform that effectively serves a range of audiences from loyal traditionalists who are used to paying for a singular authoritative newspaper product to younger ‘digital natives’ who participate in real-time news and meaningful content from a distributed network of sources utilizing a variety of devices?

The session unpacked the context, trends, audiences, and possible approaches for The Star to take with its platform to continue with its civic imperative and remain a thriving commercial business.

Results of the session are not provided publicly, as this was an invitational event and was held for the benefit of aiding the Star in its strategic innovation by drawing on the experience and intellectual and creative diversity of the DwD community.

 

Transilience: Adapting urban living for a changing future

Written by . Posted on March 6, 2011. Filed under Retreat. No comments.

A special Design with Dialogue event was held in conjunction with the 2011 McLuhan Centenary and U of Toronto’s KMDI, as a panel and participatory workshop in which the public is invited to engage the questions:

  • How are ecological changes moving us toward planning for urban resilience?
  • How might we make the transition to resilience as a community and not as competing resource users?
  • How is the city a medium, a media system? Can McLuhan’s notion of media ecology help guide historic changes in resource ecologies?
  • What are the risks if we don’t act, or we fail to cooperate in “transilience?”

Video by Gregory Greene, ResilientPLANET

Although starting from different perspectives and communities, both movements are coordinated, advance responses to near-future impacts to urban planning, transport, food and water supply, energy, ecology, and habitation. The big question remains for citizens and communities, that, if foresight is true, what ought we to do – today?

Two global movements have emerged in the last few years as a civil societal response to foreseeable constraints and societal shocks resulting from changes in climate and energy resources – Resiliency and the Transition Town.

Peter Jones (DwD, OCADU) hosted the session and workshop. Peter Rose moderated a one-hour panel discussion with three leading thinkers and planners.  (Presentations are now available)

  • Resilient City planner Craig Applegath (Dialog Design)                                  PDF
  • Jeff Ranson (Innovolve and OCADU Strategic Foresight & Innovation)     PDF
  • Transition Town planner Blake Poland (UofT Public Health).                       PDF

Many thanks to Patricia Kambitsch, whose live sketches provided visual reflection. And to documentary videographers Greg Greene (ResilientCITY, End of Suburbia) and Dexter Ico for their coverage and photos (all photo credits, Greg and Dexter).


Over 70 people from around the GTA joined us for an engaging, creative, hands-on thinking and doing workshop. Participants left the session wanting to know and do more. We planned this session with the hope that we might help our communities change values, habits, and communication to create and adapt to a more resilient future.

Designing our Minds for Leadership

Written by . Posted on February 25, 2011. Filed under Retreat. 1 Comment.

March 2011 DwD was hosted by Fernando Lopez, executive coach and president of Bridgespace Consulting.

THE WORKSHOP

Just as the designer of a ship’s structure exerts more influence on its performance than does the captain or the crew, the structure of our thinking is the primary determinant of our actions and thereby the pattern of results we are getting in our lives. A change in how we think translates into a change in the results we are creating. Actions and results that were not possible before become possible. It is that simple—and also that difficult.

The most effective leaders are by no means perfect leaders, but they do have an upgraded thinking structure. This workshop will introduce you to and immerse you in this structure.

Key learnings:

  • A ground breaking model for leadership
  • Insight about which of 3 most commonly held illusions is getting in your way.
  • A powerful tool for creative relating when experiencing conflict or resistance.
  • An exploration of what really matters to you

The following image reflects the model used in the workshop process. A sample survey of how an organization might fit the different dimensions overlays the circle model.  The circle map shows the  the definitions of the creative competencies and reactive styles.

Also see:  Leadership: Uncommon Sense

 

FernandoFernando Lopez is president of Bridgespace Consulting Inc., an executive coaching firm that specializes in helping clients create the space for powerful collaboration. Fernando coaches (in English or Spanish) clients in North America, Latin America, and Europe.

Fernando is well known for his expertise in organization and relationship systems coaching. He is a faculty member of the Center for Right Relationship and the Coaches Training Institute, an industry leader that has trained over 20,000 coaches worldwide. Motivated by discovering new coaching approaches and sharing them with others, he has been a speaker at both Toronto OD Network and International Coach Federation conferences and workshops.

Fernando’s mission is finding often-surprising solutions to leadership and relationship challenges.

Before founding Bridgespace, Fernando was at Medsite Inc. (now part of WebMD) where he bridged technology and business teams. Having lived in Mexico, Toronto, New York, Hawaii, Munich, Brazil, and Chile, Fernando is comfortable operating in different cultures.  Fernando has a dual degree in Management and Technology from the Wharton School and the School of Engineering of the University of Pennsylvania.

Dialogue with Clowns

Written by . Posted on February 16, 2011. Filed under Retreat. 1 Comment.

February’s Design with Dialogue featured nonverbal participation exercises – some of which required attentive listening beyond hearing. Dexter Ico captures the Four Clowns at  Bus Stop exercise, performed here by all participants. The “lead clown” is given a scenario, the others, without peeking, peripherally pick up on the behavior and act the part until they all, somehow, learn together the scenario without it ever having been communicated. This is as funny as it sounds …

Evolving Community of Design with Dialogue

Written by . Posted on February 8, 2011. Filed under Retreat. No comments.

Design with Dialogue has evolved into a learning and practice community.

The purpose of DwD was to create an ongoing venue for practice whereby we could develop established and emerging methods of dialogue and structured group engagement for community and social design. As the community has grown, we have a total group of about 150 past and present participants, and we’ve explored, hands-on, everything from Art of Hosting to Sensemaking. We’ve gone from just learning methods to inventing them, from trialing new practices to conducting them as live facilitation in community engagements.

It’s clear to me that DwD is having an impact on cultural change. People in the community are actively entering into new conversations with community stakeholders and clients to introduce more effective ways of social learning and action.  And while our monthly community sessions are extraordinary experiences, the lasting value shows up in how DwD informs our work and everyday lives. This is where culture starts to change around us.

We now have a Stewards Council of 6 regular, committed leaders that share a vision for a higher-impact DwD learning and practice community. And we have never made requests on the community before for a commitment, other than those who have graciously offered to present a session. But we’re not going to reach these goals on our own, we would love some more volunteers. We promise that you will get more from participating than you put into it.  I know this is true of all this work, a learning community that changes culture and eventually helps everyone we work with.

We need help in the following activities:

  • Two new programs getting started (KMDI and a Master’s series)
  • help setting up and striking down the gathering space
  • video and photo documentation at sessions
  • posting documentation and session follow-ups
  • Blog (DwD.com) management and posting relevant things from other sites
  • posting session invitations on dwd.com
  • toolkit development and management (for online methods resource)
  • outreach (help us find and connect to other leaders for masters or methods sessions)

We have action teams for Community, Communications, Programming, and other functions as well.

Please contact me, or Greg, to let us know you’d be interested. And how you would like to help.

Shut Up & Dialogue! (with Clowns)

Written by . Posted on February 5, 2011. Filed under Play. No comments.

DwD presents DwC: Dialogue with Clowns

What do clowns know that you don’t ?

The international clown troupe of Patricia Kambitsch, Heidi Madsen, and Elsa Lam presented the February edition of Design with Dialogue.

Through nonverbal, visual, and interactive experiences drawing from theatre games, we explored the essence of dialogue beyond words.

Eighteen people joined us in an inter-personal inquiry into the questions:

* What is dialogue, really?
* What does it feel like?
* How can we understand if we’re talking all the time?
* How might we experience understanding of each other through a dialogue between I, Thou, and Crowd?

Moving from Dialogue to Action

Written by . Posted on December 31, 2010. Filed under Retreat. No comments.

When we convene dialogue for the purpose of understanding, can we also inform decisions and achieve outcomes?

Can strategic dialogue - a process for informing decisions – also include open dialogue? Are they mutually opposed in practice?  How do we move from collective inquiry to decisive action?

What are the conditions that grant authority to frame the inquiry initiating dialogue?

What conditions enable authentic inquiry and co-creation?  What dialogue structures empower leaders to make decisions?

Case studies of our own examples of dialogue in action will be elicited from participants in the open dialogue.  Stories will be captured visually in sketches and harvests. Café groups will break out to explore action scenarios, closing with a group discussion on the dynamics of organizational co-creation and authority.

ALIA’s Little Book of Practice

Written by . Posted on December 8, 2010. Filed under Retreat. No comments.

Download this book as soon as you read this. And then read the book at your leisure – the ALIA folks created a wonderful gift for energizing a culture of dialogue. From their website:

The Little Book of Practice for Authentic Leadership in Action chronicles the principles, people, and practices that have come together to create ALIA’s unique approach to actualizing authentic leadership and transformational change.

Download the free PDF ebook: Little Book of Practice

Printed copies are available for purchase at ALIA.