summitmeetings

Ever noticed that meetings are more than words?  Ever feel the power and presence of the “emotions” in the room? Ever see the “connects and disconnects” in the session?  Ever wonder what it all really looks like?

We remember Marie Curie’s discovery of radioactivity, a term she coined.  Her discoveries opened the world of sub-atomic particles and their dynamics.  What are the dynamics of human activities: presentation, discussions, dialogues and disagreements?  Can they be visualized? And if we could “see” them, would we better feel and grasp the meaning of what we’d just experienced?

Claudia Linz will likely not get a Nobel Prize for her efforts in “Atmospheric Visualization,” nevertheless she is already helping many understand the wonderful dynamics of interaction, something that adds richness and meaning to these encounters.

Charles Savage, 28 Dec 2011

Useful links: http://www.linz-art.de, www.kee-inc.com

Fifth Generation Management: Dynamic Teaming, Virtual Enterprising and Knowledge Networking

Is your organization operating as seamless, smooth and virtuosic like an orchestra? Do people say your organization is like music? No? Miha Pogacnik is a violinist and a organizational transformational speaker. He is bridging the gap between arts and business. Should art be sponsored by business? For Miha Pogacnik the answer is definitely no. Art has so much to contribute for the business world that it has already become a sponsor. Art can help leaders (or more likely mere managers) to broaden their perspective and think beyond the bottom line and quick money. It makes them ask what is my contribution to the world and think of giving rather than only taking. The arts can help leaders to make turn their enterprises into multi-stakeholder ventures with environments where people grow and love to work for. He takes an anthropomorphic view of organizations. As the body is a microcosmos with two hemispheres, so it is with organizations as well. Miha asks how can we create companies, which are modeled by human nature with rationality and a place for inspiration. At the moment money is burnt in wrong places rather than it is invested in peoples development. Too many companies talk about “our people, our customers”, “our employees are in the center”, but mostly these are only paroles and they do not walk the talk. Sustainable companies will become the New Economy (dot-com is already Old Economy). Why not having an inspiration center in a company? We can not force inspiration, but we can prepare the ground for it to come.

How to create and successfully an Inspiration Center will be part of a consulting project. Ask for details!

“Inspired by” is the beginning of a series of articles about personalities with an impact to the future of business.

The sociologist Philip Slater wrote a remarkable article in 2003 (http://www.utne.com/2003-03-01/connected-we-stand.aspx) about two types of cultures. The one is called the Divider culture which builds boundaries and is characterized by preoccupation “with control over nature, other people, over our own body and feelings.” In contrast, the Connector culture is characterized by preoccupation “with linking people, concepts, places.”
Now you may start wondering and what culture my company is in.
Take a look at the vision & mission statement and the values of your company. Is it an invitation or is it demarcation. How do you feel about it?
Listen to presentations, meetings and the chit-chat. Do you often hear “hard-sell”, “hunter” often used for sales guys, “shape or ship out” and do you think you are in a “dog-eat-dog-world”? This is a Divider culture. On the other hand is networking used for deeper learning and understanding rather than for short-sighted profit generation? Are ideas, values and people linked and co-creation is on top of the agenda? In a Connector culture the word sustainability is no longer needed as it is already part of everyday procedures and it has become something natural like breathing, eating and drinking. An authentic ecosystem approach is a way to move towards a Connector culture. Summit-Meetings’ café style settings provide a frame to foster and accelerate the co-creation of questions that matter, answers that spark new ideas and innovations that reshape the company and even the world. Diversity and connecting people are no longer buzz-words, but build the basement for the way we work, learn and share.

Preface

Since the dawning of the Internet-age communication habits have changed and are changing rapidly. 30 years ago people were used to have only 2-way communication tools. These were writing and sending a letter (which took a lot of time until the answer was received) or they had a chat via the plain old telephone. Sending messages to a large number of people was only available for companies (print ads, commercials e.g.). There was no feedback channel.

Then the internet brought us email in the late 1980s and since a couple of years we are all talking about Web 2.0 and social media.

What did change? As soon as you have a computer, a smartphone or a tablet (like the iPAD) and access to the internet (Ethernet, wireless or 3G network) you are part of the „Global Village“. This means you can spread your messages not only to one or a very limited number of people, but you can share what you want with the whole world.

Now we can spread the word about Toastmasters, publish our meeting details, give valuable advice on public speaking and leadership to the community and to companies.

As life teaches us, it is not all gold what glitters. This means there are pitfalls and there is a downside we have to look at later on.

Topics to be considered

Your goal
Your entity’s vision & mission statement and your values
Your target audience
Rules which should be applied

This is just to give you the glimpse of an idea what has to be covered in a guideline for social media. Please do not hesitate to contact me for a professional consultation.

What will be the next big thing? This is nowadays a popular question when we think and discuss technology, the successor of Web 2.0 and the internet in general. Information is really at your fingertips now. This vision of Bill Gates from the 1990s has come true. We hardly can exchange information at a higher speed. Let us look what people are looking for. There is the field of healthcare & biotechnology. In the mature countries people are getting older and older and they want to stay healthy and care for their body. This will foster biotechnology. After the catastrophe of Fukushima German politics made a U-turn in nuclear power. There will be a strong focus on renewable energy rather than on cheap nuclear power. Yes, it is once again the German “Angst” which is so hard to understand, when you are not living here. On the other hand this turn to renewable energy could give it an economic boost for the next decade. Upcoming posts will discuss the 6th Kondratieff wave and how companies strategy and marketing approach will be affected. Stay tuned!