Tag: conversations


Our Increased Distrust Of Institutions And What It Means To Your Association, Conference

“I’m done with __________________!” Go ahead and fill in that blank with any type of institution. Big business, conferences, education, government, medicine, membership associations, nonprofits, professional societies, religious organizations, trade organizations, etc. We are witnessing the rise of the Dones, as Dr. Josh Packard calls them. Groups of people that are done with traditional, outdated … [Read more…]

Nurturing Conference Experiences That Foster Skillful Collaboration To Create Progress

We can’t solve today’s and tomorrow’s problems with yesterday’s thinking says Dan Pink. Most of us only know one way to address our challenges. Our problem solving skills, our communication strategies and our capacity to bend our ideas as we bridge gaps have not evolved fast enough. We think there is only a right and … [Read more…]

Conferences During Hinge Times

We are living in a world of hinge time. Our conferences are planned to educate attendees for an era that no longer exists. The challenges our attendees face are vastly different from the ones of the past. Most of our conference attendees were educated on how to be right. We focus on individual and collective … [Read more…]

Creating Sticky Learning To Combat Our Illusion Of Knowing

Much of what we take for gospel about how to learn is wasted effort. Learning is grossly misunderstood. The most effective learning strategies are counterintuitive. We believe that attending education and listening to a presenter leads to learning. Just give me the crib sheets, the list of tips, the high level takeaways and I have … [Read more…]

Encourage Conference Experiences That Lead To Practice-Rich Lives Not Knowledge-Rich Brains

Your conference doesn’t have to be the place that only offers expert lectures. It doesn’t have to only offer authorized, approved speeches. Or one-way monologues and panel dialogues. You have the opportunity to pave the way for rich, two-way, peer to peer dialogue. You can create education offerings that provide time for audience elaboration, discussion, … [Read more…]

Are You Guilty Of Advancing The Height Of Conference Arrogance?

The sound of a great conference is not the thunderous applause following an inspiring speaker. It is the creaking of our mind’s doors and windows opening to fresh vistas and perspectives. It’s the low hum of people talking to one another in pairs about their insights, thoughts, reflections, concerns and opportunities around short chunked critical … [Read more…]

Bringing Authentic Conference Conversations To Life

Peer conversations are more important to your conference than you know. I’m not talking about one of your attendees serving as a speaker talking at the audience. That’s a lecture. I’m referring to peer conversations in pairs, threesomes and small groups. You know when it’s happening at conferences because the rooms are buzzing with discussions. … [Read more…]

Using Five Eyes To Improve Online Community Engagement

You may be familiar with the five eyes of Buddhism: human eye, divine eye, wisdom eye, dharma eye and the omniscient eye (or Buddha eye). So how familiar are you with the five eyes of online discussions? The Five Eyes Of Online Discussions Think of the following five strategies as different entry points to start … [Read more…]

5 Reasons Why Learning To Disagree Without Being Disagreeable Is Hard

Recently I’ve written about learning to disagree without being disagreeable. Sometimes I ask hard questions. Sometimes I’m willing to ask the question that everyone is thinking but won’t say. Some accuse my questioning of being negative to the process. (What process?) Some say I have a hidden agenda. Some say I’m just attacking. When did … [Read more…]