For episode two of season two, Tim and Tuesday interview Jacob Watkins of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). In collaboration with the International Committee of the Red Cross, Jacob has brought a remarkably different point of view, resulting in an incredibly rich field of learning for the unlikely trio.
Read MoreThis Thanksgiving season, take some time to make the most of every convening. Because the best way to show gratitude — as leaders of organizations, teams, projects, or movements — is to live it by treasuring the time and the value of others.
Read MoreIn the first episode of season two, Tim and Tuesday explore one of the most prescient requirements of equitable change: the generosity necessary to successfully working through difference. How can we draw out and celebrate such a critical ingredient when that ingredient cannot be forced, but earned?
Read MoreThis week, we’re cheering loud and proud for all the young people taking up space and making noise for their birthright: a livable and sustainable planet. Can any one of us make it happen? Nope. No way. But together, the mindset shifts and heart shifts are tectonic. Go kids go!
Read MoreFriends, I’ve been tired. Very, very tired. On the edge of burnout-tired. The work is good. I love the work. But this was a kind of tired that was settling deep in my bones, not solvable by a good night of sleep or even a week off. I had stopped hearing my own song — my own knowing and inner compass, so over-stimulated with new input and responsibility. Have you felt that feeling before? When we do, we need a dedicated pause to find it again.
Read MoreNo day we spend together—as long as we're trying our best—is misspent. Even when something has been irrevocably blown down by the conditions around us. The more important thing is not what has been lost, but how we rally in the chaos to come together and create something new.
Read MoreThat’s right, folks! We’re very excited to kick off the second season of FIND THE OUTSIDE: THE PODCAST, with new conversations, insights, and interviews available on iTunes, Stitcher, or wherever you listen starting on October 1, 2019! Listen and share every second Tuesday, for all the latest learning, methodologies, stories, and reflection on making change for a more equitable, revitalized world.
Read MoreI love the middle of change. The creative chaos when everyone is stretched, relationships are tested, and assumptions dissolved. Uncomfort abounds as a green light to show we are learning, stepping OUTSIDE what we know and into the fertile ground of the unknown.
Read MoreGraphic recording is an emergent piece of theatre. It’s not about comprehension. There will be no pop quiz. It softens our listening by signalling a different space. Just listen, keep your mind open. Together, we’re creating something. It may not be perfect, but isn’t it great?
Read MoreWhen Carolyn Townsend joined Sport Nova Scotia, she entered a passionate team of collaborators. They had energy, devoted partners, and a unique approach to working together, with plenty of opportunities for improvement and growth. But sometimes, a fresh set of eyes means we see what long-time team members cannot. In this guest piece for The Outside, Carolyn writes about how to keep a clear frame of view on our organization, our team, and our work together — whether we’re brand-new or years in — and why it matters.
Read More‘Change’ designed to fit on a billboard is constrained by the size of a single billboard. We all know that. I’m not sure any of us would see that in the airport and think, “Right on! My organization needs to address child poverty / invent new energy / distribute more food / design the city of tomorrow. I’m going to book a call with ABC Consulting and get it done by next Tuesday!” But when we’re working towards long-game change, you’re going to be uncomfortable. Which is exactly how you’re supposed to feel, if the change is going to be real.
Read MoreOn one day, Otto Scharmer may be just the right thing to nudge people ahead. On another, we may pull out some Art of Hosting rules to make sure everyone’s listening openly, or we may map out a series of Agile-inspired sprints to get everyone’s sleeves rolled-up. None of the theories above are big enough to hold what we do. We use pieces of them all and are attached to none. Isn’t it freeing?
Read MoreA story goes that The Beatles felt they played their best music live, in front of an audience. That people listening is what made the music come alive. It’s the same for every art, every interaction, and every collaboration: the quality of listening you give will impact what people say and how well they say it.
Read MoreIn a new environment or in changing conditions, we are mercilessly removed from what feels familiar and safe. We can no longer navigate. When our perspective changes—especially if that shift is unexpected, unfamiliar, or out of our control—we resist. So let’s say you’re right up at a windshield. You can’t see where you’re going. Things are unfolding in a way that feels disorienting, and even upsetting. Remember these two things…
Read MoreSo far, The Outside has been highly emergent and highly self-organizing, but we need structure for order, and order for growth. Not growth in the interest of capacity alone—‘do more work’—but the kind of growth that aligns with our values as partners, parents, friends, and practitioners. After all, if we can’t manage our own change, how can we manage anyone else’s?
Read More“It’s like all of us—all these disparate people and organizations—have dumped out all their streams-of-consciousness on a shared floor. And we’re all standing around looking at it, moving it around. We see redundancies and baggage and a lot that’s shared. We see material and meaning. Even though a lot of our energy in these early days is looking at the mess, we also see confirmation that where we’re going is the right way.” —Joel Veborg
Read MoreIn season one’s final episode, Tim and Tuesday wrap a year of incredible conversations with a summer assignment: how do we cultivate readiness? Along the road as systems change facilitators, we wonder: are we really doing what we set out to do? And how can we find fertile and steady ground in emergent work?
Read MoreThis flash moment of Tim’s slam poetry represents a key turning point we’ll be talking about in the coming week or two with a few clients and collaborators: the process design of how we work together. What kind of flow makes space for new ideas takes shape? What intentions do we share, and how should we best show up in the service of them?
Read MoreIn episode twenty, Tim and Tuesday dig into the substance of change—how to cultivate the kind of big-picture view that validates a good forward path. Most leaders have a few quantified and qualified perspectives on the current reality, but how can we extend our line of sight to future-making?
Read MoreHave you ever had a year like this? When an unprecedented professional leap (movement, idea, project) emerges, it comes with a pretty substantial to-do list of personal growth, and you’re left spinning. You know you need to leap your self ahead in-step with your career—and fast. I knew what was to come, and had a sense that I’d have to change to accommodate this big shift.
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