Knowledge Through Awareness & Creativity

Watching the New Year’s Celebration with the Vienna Philharmonic on PBS this evening (January 2, 2010) was as mesmerizing for me as it is every year. Strauss waltzes are truly beautiful musical pieces, and extremely difficult for orchestras to perform. The Vienna Philharmonic each year produces these little miracles without flaw every year on this date. I have performed with many orchestras throughout my life (French horn) and I know even the best of orchestras have difficulty with Strauss waltzes. As a hornist, the amount of concentration required to get the never ending “pah pahs” on the second and third beats of every measure is intense. Try tapping your finger with the horns without tapping the “ooms!” Note the many tempo changes. How many variations do you hear in the different sections? Sometimes the second and third “pahs” are exactly on the beat. Other times the first “pah” is anticipated, like this: oom-pah……pah, oom-pah……pah. Watch the conductor and you rarely see him/her conducting the background rhythm; but, the orchestra always gets it right! How is this communicated?

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“You are a thought leader for thought leaders!”

“Excuse me?” I turned to ask the woman behind me. I was getting my things together to leave a meeting at my church. The meeting was one on prosperity, and this woman came up to me, surprising me again with:

“I said, you are a thought leader for thought leaders!”

In that moment I was inspired. A new process for my consultancy was born in that short sentence. At the beginning of the meeting we each were asked to introduce ourselves and state in a few sentences what we did and what we want to create for ourselves. In my case, I was thinking ahead of a session with a firm in Chicago that asked me to help them create a blog. I positioned the session with the firm as a means of demonstrating globally that the firm was a thought leader in its field. So in my introduction I said the usual, that I take the vision and strategy of an organization or individual and lead processes for discovery of hidden opportunities for that vision and strategy to be implemented or take form. This time I added that I want to take this further and assist people in their becoming thought leaders in their field.

I instantly saw the process in my head. It was magical for me. Read more

I am still feeling the awe inspiring, loving energy that took over the entire city of Chicago last night as the now President-Elect Barack Obama made his acceptance speech. It is the next day and the whole city is still in that wonderful vibe.

In the past two years, I found myself in situations that allowed me to face directly challenges where I had to make choices. Many of the choices were painful and emotionally draining. I cannot tell you how many times I felt more like screaming and running away rather than facing these challenges. Today, I see how these situations were the greatest gifts I could have ever been given. Read more

This is the topic of a keynote presentation I will be co-presenting with Elizabeth Monroe-Cook of Monroe-Cook and Associates to the DuPage Executive Network on November 20, 2007, at the College of DuPage.

Liz and I will combine our professional experience and training to present this overview of two major approaches and tools that assist individuals and organizations in transition. The attendees will be introduced to two models: Barry Johnson’s Polarity Managementâ„¢ model and the Osborn-Parnes model for Creative Problem Solving. With Polarity Managementâ„¢, one looks at situations through the lens of interdependent factors or values that work together, e.g., change and stability. The Creative Problem Solving method is centered around divergent and convergent thinking (another polarity) as the key elements of deliberate creativity. These two models combined can help one think and act in ways that use one’s existing thinking skills and suggest some ways to enhance those skills as one faces ransitions in life. This keynote presentation will serve as an introduction to a week-long workshop coming in the early months of 2008.

For more information, see the web site for the DuPage Executive Network (DEN).

I attended the Creative Problem Solving Institute Conference at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, GA, last week. I had the opportunity to present my Orchestra of Life workshop as a Nite Flight presentation. I also presented music during the Springboard CPS class throughout the week. For those who attended, I am posting the music presented below.

Orchestra of Life Nite Flight presentation:
1. Prelude to an Afternoon of a Faun by Claude Debussy. Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti, Conductor.
2. This Majestic Mountain by Michael Hoppe from the album, “Solace.”

Springboard Class “C:”
1. Homeland Theme from the album, “Homeland,” by Michael Hoppe.
2. This Majestic Mountain from the album, “Solace,” by Michael Hoppe.
3. Circles from the album, “My Romance, an Evening with Jim Brickman,” by Jim Brickman.
4. Dear Father from “Jonathan Living Seagull,” from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
5. Canon in D Major, by Johann Pachelbel.
6. Shenandoah from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
7. Theme from “Dances with Wolves,” from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
8. Theme from “Lonesome Dove,” from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
9. Feather Theme from “Forrest Gump,” from the album, “The Nature of America, A Musical Impression.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.
10. The Magnificent Seven, from the album, “Round Up.” Cincinatti Pops, Erich Kunzel, conductor.