October 7, 2011 Discussion Impossible A few weeks back I participated in a public discussion on education policy. It didn't go very well. In fact, the experience served more as a cautionary tale or a...
August 9, 2011 Room For Growth “Leaving something incomplete makes it interesting and gives one the feeling that there is room for growth.” Kenko (Buddhist monk), from Essays in Idleness, circa 1330 I’ve been thinking a lot about...
June 24, 2011 The Importance of Listening Among the most frequent and positive comments that we receive from participants in our discussions is how much they enjoyed the opportunity to speak with their fellows citizens in depth: ...
April 30, 2011 Flip Charts & Textured Wallpaper I recently facilitated a set of final joint-panel discussions for the IF discussion project on "Food." These meetings went well, and the panelists contributed a lot of good--if sometimes varying--ideas...
March 11, 2011 Reflections From the Storm ’Twas in another lifetime, one of toil and blood When blackness was a virtue and the road was full of mud I came in from the wilderness, a creature void of form “Come...
February 11, 2011 Plainer English “If you can’t explain what you’re doing in plain English, you’re probably doing something wrong.” Alfred E. Kahn Whereas, prior to this point in time, the premise expressed hereinabove...
January 10, 2011 Great Taste, Less Filling I’ve known it for years: that all great ideas derive from beer—or at least television commercials for beer. Though for my purposes here, perhaps a better version of this slogan...
December 9, 2010 Keeping Things Under Control, or Not “This business will get out of control. It will get out of control and we'll be lucky to live through it.” Admiral Josh Painter in Tom Clancy’s The Hunt...