Chuck Frey over at Innovation Tools is asking this question, for the second year in a row, in the context of innovation, creativity and brainstorming. I’m going to answer him, but I’m interested in readers’ answers to this question in the broader context of everything you’ve learned this year. So, kind readers, please tell me, in the comments thread below: What Was the Most Important Lesson You Learned in 2005?
Here are my top 25 in David Letterman Countdown Format. I learned that:
If my question is too broad for you to answer, pick some of the topics from my blog taxonomy (diagrammed above) and answer it in the context of those topics. And if your answer ties in to the subjects of innovation, creativity and brainstorming, don’t forget to drop Chuck a line by Friday as well. |
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Thanks for the nod, Dave.9. Complicated ‘solutions’ don’t work if the ‘problem’ is complex. Forget root cause analysis, systems thinking, and easy answers. Engage a lot of people in conversations, observe, listen, pay attention, be open, and allow possible approaches to such situations to emer Exactly … and why deeply engaging and engaged processes like Open Space, Future Search and Participative Work Design (and other similar simple processes) were invented. Much more organic and much less mechanistic than how we in the scientific-management-dominated cultures like to approach things (at least the decision-makers). And some days the more intractable and complexity-driven the issues seem to become, the more the machinery of decision-making seems to fall back on bringing into play highly structured (and highly marketed) … and deeply flawed … *solutions*.
Thanks Dave.. your lessons are indeed a treasure for me that has to be exploited.
My first feeling is about ………..7. Nature is the best teacher. We just need to re-learn how to learn from her, and how to pay attention. Ask and people will tell you what they think is happening. Watch and you will know.This year I learned that my thoughts are not clouds floating inside my brains moved by the wind of my emotions…….I finally reached my thoughs as being an integrated part of myself experienced through sensorial sequences and decoded in language; words, gestures, tones, silence….Carlos Vallés (a Catholic priest) in his book : My friends, the senses, writes about his experiences with Hindú and Rainforest people: once talking with some jungle people in a night by the fireplace, a man gets close to him and says : I don´t understand how can the white man heal himself if the priest, the doctor and the psycologist are three different persons…when and how do they agree in what must be done?……….Meditation, or this contemplative attitude of non modern cultures constantly religate themselves and their enviroment -“Nature”- through some ancient natural knowledge that flows and confirms they are all a unit… they do not need to talk about it….Mariella
Hard question to answer, Dave. In fact, my intuition keeps suggesting that my most important, recent lesson is this: whenever I’m faced with this sort of question (“choose one/the most important/…”, etc.), look further; think deeper; don’t trust your choice. Having said that, the one that leaped out at me from your list was (17): “People learn more from stories than from even the most brilliant analytical discourse.” However, 13, 11, & 2 also resonated strongly.
All those I suppose rang true most importantly for me, as I have learnt all of them at once for the first time today- yet sort of knew them intuitively at the same time beforehand, I can’t explain it. You just put things better into words I guess. :)
Jon: Agreed. It’s going to take some pushing (or greater sense of urgency) to get KDMs in organizations to push past their aversion to the ‘fuzziness’ of complex adaptive approaches before they will appreciate this.Mariella: You have so many interesting stories, and your readings are so different from mine, that I always look forward to reading what you have to say. Your lesson, as usual, is important.Pravesh, Pete, Danielle: Thanks for your comments.
#6 seems to have a wording problem …