Emails Before
_______________________________
-----Original
Message-----
From: tonypage [mailto:tony@pageconsulting.co.uk]
Sent:
To: 'newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: Hey... what do we talk about?.. invitation
Hi Lindsay, Bruce, Karen, Richard, Brian, Frank, Caroline and all!
I just felt moved to chip in on this today…
Being only 3 years old we're still quite young and like a toddler our GROWTH PHASES happen fast - we're experiencing new things all the time and new potentials are emerging. We started with a website and launch party, then tried email alongside a whole series of face to face gatherings which seemed to carve out a distinctive character (warm, supportive, dialogic, inquiry, sit in a circle, be authentic, contribute from your heart...).
Recently there seems to be a new set of POSSIBILITIES opening to do with being courted to form LINKS and partnerships with other organisations for example:
- An emerging link with Surrey University Human Potential Research Group through Colston
- An approach from an AMED council member about how NI might support AMED and vice versa
- Fiona being invited last autumn to tell Will Hutton at the Work Foundation (nee Industrial Society) about NI.
... and that's without trying. So I wonder ... is there some larger possibility here... to bring what NI stands for out into the world.. partly through alliances and partnerships.. to find our voice and make a difference to how our leaders "do" their organisation, people and change stuff? And we haven't really explored together where we might want to take this and who has a part to play. So what do we do with this?
Another possibility that I'm quite interested in is to get a grip of what it is that happens when we gather in a circle for a day, that feels so powerful and beneficial somehow. Is it perhaps the strength that exists in communities to heal, to transcend differences, to resolve conflict... or something like that? I would like to explore the practical potential of an NI CIRCLE... in an everyday way as a contribution to organisational life... something you just do from time to time... maybe when stuck or when split or when you just want to feel a commmunity around you to help make a decision that affects lots of other people. Maybe some of us are doing this kind of work already when we facilitate meetings?
Anyway, at
times like these, when what is bubbling up in NI is what are we here for and
what do we want to talk about, when new opportunities seem to be emerging - we
tend to call a STOCKTAKE MEETING, and we've not had one for a while. It's
open to all who can make the date which I'll propose shortly (if others agree
this would be valuable). It has an online aspect so you all can contribute
wherever you are.... and a face to face aspect for those who are able to gather
in a circle (remaining mindful of our larger community and potential not
present in the room) somewhere near
Here are some of the questions we might raise:
- What has been happening recently in NI?
- What characterises NI in this phase?
- What next phase is trying to happen?
- What is NI-ness and what happens in the
- What do we give and get from NI?
- What do we want from NI?
- What sort of leadership do we need, and how can we get this need met in NI?
- What do we do about partnership links?
No doubt there are many more!
I would appreciate your reactions to this. Do you want to join the stocktake? What questions would you like to raise?
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Karen Lee [mailto:lsa@ftech.co.uk]
Sent:
To:
Subject: NI - Love the idea
of a stock take!!!!
Would like to participate in
a stock taking, if only to see people face to face and get more connected.
Karen
-----Original
Message-----
From: Andrew Harmon [mailto:andy@actorsmind.com]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: NI - Hey... what do we talk about?..
invitation
Dear Tony,
Your great e-mail came in just as I was preoccupied with my latest rant. As usual, you've clarified a lot of what's going on and indicated where it might be leading. Personally I hate change, so I'm glad to know someone is thinking rationally about it! Love to join a stock take.
Andy
-----Original
Message-----
From: Lindsay Murdoch [mailto:lindsay.murdoch@intaconsult.com]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: NI - Hey... what do we talk about?..
invitation
Dear Tony,
I would really like to take part - but agree it would be nice to meet face to face to discuss.
All are welcome at my house - I could not cater for 120 though !!! And you may not feel like the treck to Warwickshire. But the invitation is a sincere one.
Kind regards,
Lindsay.
Lindsay Murdoch
Director, Intaconsult
-----Original Message-----
From: bthxyz
<brian@sangumaconsultants.co.uk> [mailto:brian@sangumaconsultants.co.uk]
Sent:
To:
Subject: NI - Stock Take -
Great Idea
Stock take - yes - I think
that that's a great idea - NI is a great
community and the occasional bubbles
of chaos are signs of health.
Out of this chaos,
guidelines and shared understandings need to
evolve. But doing this online is difficult!
Best Regards
Brian
-----Original
Message-----
From: Nick Heap [mailto:nick.heap@ntlworld.com]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: NI - Hey... what do we talk about?..
invitation
Dear Tony and all
I think a gathering would be great and would like to come. If we could, how about an "Open Space" sort of event where the people who turn up create and deal with our items of interest together on the day? This could cope with lots of people and would mostly require a large room and lots of paper and pens. I wonder what would happen if most of us went to it?
Best wishes,
Nick
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject: RE: NI - Stock Take
- Great Idea
Tony and all
I'd love to come to a
stocktake. Only hope that I can make it - I'm pretty busy just now. So it would
be great if we have enough advanced warning..... Best wishes Caroline
-----Original
Message-----
From: Frank Smits (Symphoenix Ltd) [mailto:frank@symphoenix.net]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: NI - Hey... what do we talk about?..
invitation
Hi Nick and all,
I have a proposal, but not about a venue.
Why don’t we organise a day – a whole day-
in which we do the following:
Get more clarity on our Identity as NI, we
have some great starters for it. Link it with what each individually and what
we collectively want to achieve (on a high enough level, mind you, not in micro
detail).
Get a flavour of what our rules of the game
are (for starters); identify (with those rules, formulated on the day!) what
are issues we would like to tackle. Now we use an open forum type approach to
address those issues.
I could facilitate this, hopefully together
with someone else, if we would want this creating –as we go along- a ‘Map’ that
we can evolve over time.
We can than ‘see’ how we work, and whether
the rules of the game, our intention, etc., is
evolving…
Regards,
Frank Smits
-----Original
Message-----
From: Richard F Cooke [mailto:wholean@onetel.net.uk]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: NI - Hey... what do we talk about?..
invitation
Tony,
Count me in.
I’d like to think about ideas to talk about a little
longer before commenting though.
Regards,
Richard F
Cooke
-----Original Message-----
From: Moebius Strips: Just
ONE Side and ONE Edge [mailto:im4xlns@hotmail.com]
Sent:
To:
Subject: Re: NI - What sould
be we talking about...
I'd agree with your point on
a rich and diverse dialogue. it is likely that
I would find people on the
NI network with whom I have some fascinating
things in common (dual line stunt
kites? Early 1930's
Blues? New Mexican cuisine?). The only way to energize the exploration of
possibility space is, as Stuart
Kauffman and others point out, by increasing
the connections between and
among people. It is a tricky and
delicate
balance between even a slightly
"filtered" set of discussion criteria, and a
fully freewheeling dialogue.
I have my thoughts about
what I prefer, but what do others think?
baw
-----Original
Message-----
From: AmandaDudman@aol.com [mailto:AmandaDudman@aol.com]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: NI - Hey... what do we talk about?..
invitation
Having read
Tony's original proposal for a stock take, and then all the other responses
that followed, I like the original proposal and think this is a good agenda/list
of topics/areas to cover.
To me stock taking is about reviewing and assessing and looking back and then
taking things forward.
This is my mini stocktake of the last stocktake, which I attended. We
definitely didn't need a facilitator. The purpose was
quite clear, we all took responsibility for participating appropriately within
the purpose of the event and got loads done and were creative in the
process. We had good healthy debate and shared ideas. We learned
more about each other. Colston did a little chairing which helped the
group move to conclusions, decisions and ACTION for the future.
If I am able to attend, I would very much like to be there.
Go for it Tony. Thank you for the invitation.
Amanda
AJD Learning and Development Ltd
-----Original
Message-----
From: Julia Williams [mailto:julia@personalimpact.com]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: NI - Hey... what do we talk about?..
invitation
Tony
Count me in too. Super idea! Would love to meet people face to face too.
Julia
-----Original
Message-----
From: ChrysUK1@aol.com [mailto:ChrysUK1@aol.com]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: NI - Hey... what do we talk about?..
invitation
Hi Tony:
I didn't get involved in the discussion about what NI should be - I tend
to flip through what doesn't interest me on the site and I have found so
many wonderful tips/ideas discussions in the months I've been on the list, that
I was comfortable with the ebb and flow of the discussions.
I would love to come to the stock-taking though - like Karen I would simply
like to put some faces to names - so if you can organise a space I will
definitely turn up!
Regards
Lin Grist
-----Original
Message-----
From: Frank Smits (Symphoenix Ltd) [mailto:frank@symphoenix.net]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: RE: NI - Electronic meetings
I did a Masters degree in
There were three things that really worked
well and were affordable when we codeveloped material:
Bulletin Boards (we do that in NI via
e-mail conversations and a history)
Chat rooms
Telephone conferences
I am sure video conferences can work as
well, but are more expensive. As we all know phone conferences, though, become
very difficult to manage with more that a few people on them.
The Plexus Institute, a US-based community
focusing on applied complexity science in the health care sector, has bi-weekly
‘Plexus calls’ in which there is a conversation where you can dial into, but
not speak. If you have questions, you send e-mails to someone next to the
people that are doing the talking, like a ‘virtual fishbowl’ (my word).
Perhaps simple e-mail remains easiest, or
chat rooms (real time e-mail conversations).
Regards,
Frank Smits
-----Original
Message-----
From: tonypage [mailto:tony@pageconsulting.co.uk]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: NI - NI Stocktake(s): 2003 Spring Conference Season!
Well everyone!!!
Remember that What do we talk about thread started by Bruce and Lindsay and others? Then the idea of doing an NI stocktaking. And what an exciting response! So many ideas! So much information about what works and how!!!
And I feel the question hanging now: "so what are we actually going to do?"
I wonder whether rather than reducing this to a single event, on a single date with a single mode of engagement whether we might want to OPEN OUT a few possibilities that recognise how we are spread in space (half of us in London, others spread across UK, some further afield in US, Australia, NZ, Argentina, Sweden...) and time (much to fit into work schedules and busy lives) but we do share some sort of desire to connect.
What if.....
- we kept a common thread of "NI stocktaking" (eg.who and where we are, where we'd like to be taking NI...)
- but held several "gatherings" not just one
- we offered various modes of engagement (online, tele-conference, netmeeting, f2f, open space, turn up and see what happens....)
- individuals or groups took charge of convening events using modes that interested them
- some sort of report from each event was posted into a common pool (the NI yahoo group)
I sort of imagine Bruce in US and Hazel in NZ jointly offering some sort of online mode, maybe Frank could facilitate his Open Space (perhaps with an organising group to reach out and gather a really large group for a day in or around London), who knows if Ann might want to help some of us organise an Appreciative Inquiry, or Georgina convene a Dreams Teleforum.... we have so many resources, people, skills between us!!
These are just thoughts to inspire us. It's a question of: would you like to step forward?
What do you think? Would you like to put on some kind of stocktaking event in our "2003 spring conference season"?
Does anyone want to set the ball rolling with an offer?
Tony
PS. I'm
thinking of calling a small "
-----Original Message-----
From: Moebius Strips: Just
ONE Side and ONE Edge [mailto:im4xlns@hotmail.com]
Sent:
To:
Subject: Re: NI - NI
Stocktake(s): 2003 Spring Conference Season!
Hi all,
it is terribly exciting to me
to see how one piece of correspondence, one
question, could set so much into
motion. It seems the essence of
complexity
and emergence in action.
Depending on when the major
session is scheduled, there is even a chance I
could be there (no promises, as
who knows what the situation world-wide will
be in any of this). But I do have some airline points that might
manage a
ticket.
whatever.
Presuming that I WON'T be
there with you, let me mention a technology that I
just saw for the first time last
week. I was very impressed with a
"webinar"
(hate that, really) done using a service called M-Show. I believe
they are at www.mshow.com
The technology allows you to view a Power Point
type slide show live over the
web. You can also hear the live audio of
the
person or person's originating the
session over the web if you've bradband
connections, or by dialing a phone
number (US toll-free I believe) if you
are using a dial-up slower net
service. A strip along the side of your
monitor screen is for an embedded
"instant messenger" that enables
viewer/listeners to send questions to the
event leaders in real-time. The
questions then get answered
directly. This NOT good for a real
collaborative effort such as is
contemplated here. But I was impressed
with
the technology as a vehicle for
lectures or training to widely-dispersed
audiences. The one I was in on,
was on using balanced scorecards.
Excellent content, and it
was free (suggesting the technology can't be TOO
expensive - always a good thing).
I'd be pleased to join in on
any session, given the means. Netmeeting
is
not my favorite, as it does
seem to crash and work poorly. AOL
Instant
Messenger,
or Yahoo messenger, both work MUCH better. Both
also enable
voice in half-duplex mode (one
talker at a time). Not sure about service
like this with whiteboard.
Take care... a snow-covered sunny morning here, and off
to work. Facing
nasty challenges as a result of
being (deliberately?) positioned as the
"training
budget butcher" in my new job. More
about that, and the work of
overcoming control freaks, in a later
post.
Be well,
Bruce Waltuck
Administrator of Training
and Employee Development
-----Original
Message-----
From: Lilly3653@aol.com [mailto:Lilly3653@aol.com]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: NI - NI Stocktake(s): 2003 Spring Conference Season!
In a
message dated
let me
mention a technology
Dear Bruce, Tuny, Lindsay and NI-ers,
This is exciting! As a person with one foot in the knowledge management
camp, I have recently been involved ina few experiemnets
with the use of mixed technology to co-create or explore theme or just
simply connect.
Now that is not nearly as evocative as the fishpond on the wall in Fiona's
kitchen for our breakfast earlier this year! But when we have been in
contact for a fairly long time and shared some deeply felt concerns, our space
starts to become special.
Example. Back in the fall of 1996 about 20 of us
who have previously taken part in Berkana conversation around Meg Wheatley's
book 'The Simpler Way' created a Global Consulting Group as a virtual place
that had member on 4 continents. We had since had one face to face
meeting of 12 member in
It was not a 'business' space. We did not 'do' any work there. We
connected and felt each others energy and heard voices. We shared fears
and hope,.
Just before that session I was a host in an online co-creative sessionwhich
lasted 1 hour around a specific theme. The space allows people to move
around and add different types of contributions where they feel moved. It
is an experiments piece of software and we are exploring its limits now so
could not recommend it for a larger group. However, there is a number of other emerging community facilitation
technologies around. I know a man to ask - George Por who was the
originator of C-o-I-L.
Thanks for moving this forward. Sounds like a Spring Fair could be
another metaphor. Those who want, set stalls and see who turns up.
Some of us move around, others linger, still other go into depth and some just
socialise.
How to make it rich and full of possibility for all irrespective of where they
are is the trick. The suggestions are great.
Kind regards
Lilly Evans
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject: Re: NI -
Stocktaking
Dear Tony and all,
I also like the simple, face
to face idea for a stocktake. Doing a big all inclusive open space event is problematic because somebody's got to take
responsibility to get it all together, organising venues etc, not to mention
scheduling problems. I don't notice a rush to join that particular cue. Why not
just set a date and a simple venue - cricket club for example? If there was
anyone who wanted to get a larger event together they could come along and put
out some ideas and try and get the group fired up.
Andy
-----Original Message-----
From: Complexity Simplified
and Applied [invoke, evoke, provoke -Cirque du Soleil] [mailto:im4xlns@hotmail.com]
Sent:
To:
Subject: RE: NI -
Stocktaking
As
what, or even how. There is the need to know WHO. In this case, shaping or
driving the NI future seems closely
linked to WHO would come, WHO would
organize any in-person session, and
so on.
As before, I remain very
interested in the unique variety of skills,
knowledge, and methods represented by
the NI group. I've welcomed the
opportunity to pose questions and
challenges arising from my own work, and
get some wonderful fresh
perspectives back in return.
Stuart Kaufman writes about
exploring fitness landscapes - exploring
possibility space, or the
"adjacent possible" as I heard it put once. This
is the source of
organizational "genetic variation," and methods like
meetings, Open Space, Conversation
Cafes, and so on, all seem aimed at
fostering the dialogue, exploration,
and hopefully actions that lead to a
new future.
Good luck NI... I'd cast my vote, if I had one, for moving
ahead with your
plans to meet. I just gave up a trip to a conference in
meet some work objectives. So who knows - perhaps I'll be able to treat
myself to a flight over to
the state of this crazy world
we live in.
be well,
peace,
Bruce W
-----Original
Message-----
From: tonypage [mailto:tony@pageconsulting.co.uk]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: NI - Long awaited stocktake invitation - Fri 9th May!
Dear everyone
Remember all those emails flying around a couple of months ago about doing a Spring Stocktake/Planning session?
Well finally...with the daffodils out, and the tulips still to come!!!... you are invited to take part in one of our traditional and open format NI stocktakes/planning meetings.
This is how it works:
- We announce a venue and time
- Whoever is able to come brings with them their experience of and aspirations for NI then...
- Remains mindful of the wider NI community of 130 or so who may be interested but not in the room, some of whom have sent in their views on email...
- Joins with whoever else turns up to conduct a review of progress to date, sharing experiences and news, and cooks up some kind of plan or principles for where we go in NI this year and beyond
- We sometimes make a plan together on a flipchart and always we publish an account of the meeting for all to read
Then none of us know for sure how... but so far the experience is... the plan just sort of happens... and new unexpected stuff happens too!
So if you are able to please come along to...
WHERE? Royal Festival Hall, South Bank,
WHEN? Friday 9th May from 11am to 1pm, then if you want to...mill around for a bit chatting informally over a drink or a sandwich.
Would you please drop me (in order not to clutter up inboxes) an email tony@pageconsulting.co.uk to give me an idea of numbers.
And if you can't come because you're busy, or ftoo ar away, but want to help shape the future of NI, send in your personal NI review and aspirations ....
With best wishes ...and looking forward to your input in some form...
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Complexity Simplified
and Applied [invoke, evoke, provoke -Cirque du Soleil] [mailto:im4xlns@hotmail.com]
Sent:
To:
newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: NI - 2003 Is
the "Stock" Declining???
Wellll.....
when I first discovered the NI
group, I was excited at the prospect of
entering into a meaningful dialogue
with innovative and interesting people.
My work with organizational
change and human behaviors is filled with
challenge and opportunity. My desire is to bring new and fresh
perspectives
and methods to bear, and
hopefully help people where I work to make better
decisions together. My recent work has been increasingly informed
by my
growing understanding of complexity
science. This all seemed a fine fit for
the diverse and presumably
clever NI members.
The initial controversy
stirred up by my simple and straightforward inquiry
about NI sparked an amazing
series of email responses (in fact, I think
there is a good article in all
that!). The notion of the group coming
together, assessing its current
status, and reaching consensus on future
directions sounded great in my own
view.
But even as I learned the
date, and knew that other obligations required my
presence here, I inquired further
about how I might still be a part of the
NI
dialogue. There are, after all, several of us in places
other than the
with some way for me, and others
around the world, to participate.
How hard could it be to have
a pc set up, with a cam and microphone trained
on the NI session, and
broadcasting over say, Yahoo messenger's free
service? Or even to have one pc going so someone could
take emails, or AOL
Instant
messenger for text in real-time? SOMETHING to
leverage this
technology in the service of a broad,
diverse dialogue among ALL interested
parties.
Sorry to say, I've not
really gotten a positive response on this request. I
can't speak for others in the NI
community around the world. But SOME in the NI community HAVE quietly spoken-
to me directly. I won't
quote them here (some even asked
NOT to be mentioned), BUT--- I would
ask/hope that as a community of interest,
that this NI stock-taking really
focus on the issues of what such
a group wants to be and become, and how the
group, collectively, thinks it
should proceed. And IF any of you happen
to
have an idea that will enable
those of us in the
will be greatly welcomed.
Please don't think this is
about ME. It isn't. but it IS about what
sort
of group NI is, and wants to
be. And THAT, gentle people, is
precisely
where I came into this place.
Peace and wellness to all,
and I look forward to your further
correspondence.
Bruce Waltuck
-----Original
Message-----
From: tonypage [mailto:tony@pageconsulting.co.uk]
Sent:
To: newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: NI - NI meeting on May 9th - online?
Dear Bruce,
Brian, Colston and all
Thanks for
your suggestions and responses about our meeting this Fri being wired to
include you and others remotely, other side of pond.
I
appreciate your enthusiasm and understand Bruce some of the frustration you
express at being far away, wondering if NI stock is falling etc, and Brian
and Colston offering ideas to solve this.
Although
you make it sound easy to wire up, for me it's not given the room is not ours,
we're without phone link and pc, the method you suggest (Messenger) is new to
me/us and there are some reservations about quality, we're only there
for a short time (2hours and a bit). Added to this I'm busy with
projects right now (... and I wonder if others are which would partly
explain the lower level of contributions lately).
I'm
delighted that a good sized group of NIers are able to come along and will I
think be able to reflect the feelings and needs of those in the larger NI
circle who are not able to come. I'll keep you and all in the loop with
whatever comes out... and as I invited before please input through email
any other stocktaking planning contributions you want us to include in our
discussion.
By the way,
in case it appear otherwise, I for one do not see NI as being London or UK
centric and welcome our cross Atlantic and global chat/connections ... but
in ruling the online link out for next Fri I'm mindful that in NI we've got a
mix of cutting edge "onlinies", "technophobes" unhappy with
whizzy solutions, and as I read it a vast majority of people who although
reasonable adept with email etc just simply prefer face to face, so I have
decided to call the meeting in face to face mode only..
Perhaps the
online and greater global potential of NI requires someone (yourself? a small
band of enthusiasts?) to tell us how and get it moving, but not to
expect everyone will want to join in initially at least.
By the way,
on the question of stock falling, I wanted to add that being quite busy
lately I've somewhat lost my way with NI and I'm hoping on Friday to
reconnect and rekindle the fire... but that depends on what all of us want
and I am not wanting to pre-suppose this will or can happen.
Tony
-----Original Message-----
From: Complexity Simplified
and Applied [invoke, evoke, provoke -Cirque du Soleil] [mailto:im4xlns@hotmail.com]
Sent:
To:
newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: NI - NI meeting
on May 9th - F-R-U-S-T-R-A-T-E-D
Tony,
thanks for writing back on this
issue. But I confess it is not a
satisfying
response. I keep reading about 135 NI members, and I
have seen personally
the rich variety of talent and
expertise possessed by the NI group as a
whole. So I am all the more baffled that no one in
this group can come up
with any sort of option to allow
people at a distance to participate in SOME
way.
You seem to dismiss out of
hand the ideas about using technology that YOU
are not familiar with. I daresay that AOL Instant Messenger, or its
Yahoo
or Microsoft equivalents (I
have all three at home to accommodate different
groups of people) are so
ubiquitous that many if not most of the NI 135
likely use them.
Since there seems to be a
paucity of initiative onthis issue, let me offer a
very specific proposal:
1. Someone coming to this meeting bring one of
the two following devices:
- a
laptop with a modem, connecting cable, and some sort of internet
software (AOL, or whoever you use);
- or
a T-Mobile (Deutshce Telekom) "Sidekick" (also known as a
"Hiptop" in
does up to 10 simultaneous AOL
Instant Messenger (AIM) conversations. I
bought one for my son, for US$99
with a US$39 a month plan including 200
voice minutes and unlimited data
minutes the forst year. Works on GSM
standard, all over the world. Has a swing-up screen and nice little
"qwerty"
keyboard for rapid thumb typing.
2. At the start of the meeting, someone
volunteers to be the liaison to us
"away
team" correspondents.
3. That person will sit
quietly in the corner, plug in the laptop to some
phone jack (I would think there
is ONE in the room at least), and dial in.
Or simply turn on the
Sidekick and log in. They'll run AIM,
logging in
under a nickname that has been
emailed in advance to all NI folks.
4. As the dialog unfolds, the liaison will type
notes and send them out on
AIM. Others who are logged in to that chat will
get the messages, and be
able to respond.
5. As appropriate, the liaison will relate
questions or comments that come
from others not physically
present. All must understand that there
will be
some lag in the ability to
interject comments into the ongoing
conversation(s).
6. As it occurs, the liaison will type replies
and ongoing notes back into
the AIM stream of conversation.
Now I ask you, Tony and
everyone else-- how
hard is this? Anyone who can
manage a Yahoo Group site can
surely handle this. I can tell you that
I
have personally sat at lunch,
pint in hand, using my Sidekick to correspond
via AIM over to the
Finally, I would like to add
a comment/question. Do you, Tony, or
does any
one person in particular
"own" NI? I understood you and
Fiona to be
coordinators, or chairs, or something
along that line. But as I read your
email, it is a lot about "I.
. ." as in "I am busy" and "I don't know that
technology." Isn't this a collaborative effort? I don't mean to sound off
here, but I have wondered what
is really going on, and why others among the
135 NI'ers seem so silent-
even those who ARE going to be there on the 9th.
For myself, I totally
welcome collaboration, especially with intelligent,
innovative people. The promise of NI is great. I hope the stock-taking
results in a clear vision, and
clear assignments of responsibility to move
the NI agenda forward. And I believe that the more inter-connected
the NI
community is, the richer the emergent
ideas and decisions will be.
Good luck to all,
be seeing you (and no one
picking up on the Portmeirion comment eh? tsk
tsk!)
Bruce Waltuck
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent:
To:
Subject: NI - Can't make
Friday, value NI
I also can't make Friday,
but wanted to say I really value the NI
community. I've been to one
face-to-face meeting, but there's also
something different, and specifically
good, about the online
interactions (can't put my finger on the
difference) too.
Recently I've had a lot of
change at work (merger) and a lot of my
communities (on and off line) have been
mixed up and changed. I've
found with NI, as with the
others, that there's a mixture of lack of
time, and a change in my own focus,
making it hard to be attentive and
interactive to existing communities in
the same way. I've found it
hard too to step back from the
community (i.e. read and post less)
while still feeling part of it.
(It seems impolite to want to be part
of the community while not
reading all the postings). I must say
though that I do still feel part
of the community even without posting
or reading, and really value
its continuing existence.
For me this feels like an
important 'phase change' - something about
how communities and/or their
members survive big changes in
membership, context, challenges to
what they do and how they work.
I'm not sure how much is me
and how much is NI: but thinking about it
and living through it while
consciously thinking and learning feels
like the right sort of thing to
do - and the ability to do this in NI
is what makes NI special.
I suspect that from a
theoretical point of view there's something
going on here about
're-emergence' - what happens if enough
context/membership changes that our current
'simple rules' start
feeling uncomfortable, how do you
re-create new simple rules from an
existing community rather than from
nothing?
-----Original Message-----
From: Caroline Denny [mailto:inspring@btopenworld.com]
Sent:
To:
Subject: NI - a rare
thing... It allows people to be wherever they are
I am aware of a discussion
going on around the value of NI and having
chosen to be less online recently,
of not having read it all... but wanted
to contribute anyway!
I think NI is a rare thing -
an active, open forum where people truly share
their ideas, expertise,
experience as they share a similar desire to learn
and to support people through
change.. The events are wonderfully varied
and create a space for us
working indepently to learn and explore our
ideas, ways etc from and with
others, rather than just a book. The online
forum is a source for ideas and
answers and has the space to opt in and out
as we choose - and again
provides a connection better than being part of a
corporate as it is real opinions and
is not censored or limited by a culture..
I love the lack of structure
and co-creation of NI, as it allows people to
be wherever they are and
appears to encourage commitment as people feel
free to be themselves and bring
their own creativity to the group. Its easy
to make up rules around what a
community is, to try to define it so much,
that its natural growth and
development is limited.. There is a spirit and
energy around NI that attracts
people, which makes me feel that it is being
true to its purpose and I would
be sad if this changed and it felt like
just another online/meeting up
group.
I am sorry I cannot join you
on Friday - but wish you a good get together
and much fun exploring NI.
All the best,
Caroline
-----Original
Message-----
From:
Sent:
To: Tony Page
Subject: RE: NI - NI Stocktake 9 May - Venue Change
Dear Tony,
Recent mails about NI and the stocktake called me to attend tomorrow's meeting. I realise as have progressed thru the day today that I am crying out for a time for me, space, and nurturing. And what I know is if I do not give myself this my body will let me know, one way or another!
So I am choosing
to look after myself tomorrow and not to travel to
What I wnat you to know is NI is one of the most thriving, creative, loving groups of people I have experienced. The diversity among us is a joy. The way we can experiment and grow alongside each other in workshops, events and online is precious. I am up for having NI continue.
I am looking forward to hearing how the meeting goes tomorrow.
Love
Danusia
-----Original Message-----
From: Complexity Simplified
and Applied [invoke, evoke, provoke -Cirque du Soleil] [mailto:im4xlns@hotmail.com]
Sent:
To:
newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: NI - Re: Stock
Take... Tick...Tick...Tick...
The clock IS ticking... and I remain very disappointed that the
people who
organized the NI stock-taking did not
see fit to think about, or devise even
a simple plan to permit live
input and dialogue with those of us (in the
My understanding is that
Tony and Fiona, and a few others, have been the
core organizers of NI activity
in the past. Forgive me if I am mistaken
on
that. But there has been a surprising, and yes,
disappointing silence. I
really don't feel that asking to
be included in dialogue with a group that
describes itself as NI does (see
below) is unreasonable. There ARE very
simple, and free options to use
the same pc's we all use for these emails,
and link oursleves up in
real-time.
I continue to believe that
many of the 135 NI participants would benefit
from some arrangement whereby we
could engage in the dialogue tomorrow in
some fashion.
Surely Tony, and everyone
else involved in planning this event knew all
along that I and others had an
interest, but could not be there. It has
been what- a couple months
now? So that being the case, WHY no
computer,
telephone, whatever? Frankly, I got to feeling that in fact,
actions were
speaking louder than words, and that
ideas and input from me and some others
might NOT really be welcomed
after all. Hate to say that- but what should
we think?
On the whole, I am really
just disappointed. I wasn't ever looking
to knock NI. What I wanted was to find a
cool group of fascinating people with whom to engage in meaningful
dialogue. There are some who do that-
just look at
the threads the last couple of
days- but this stock taking, after my spark
that seemed to have provoked it,
is shaping up to be a let down. At least
I
have tried to provoke some
thought, some exploration.
And I offered a simple and
specific plan for inclusion of anyone around the
world.
I have yet to hear why no
one could plug in a laptop, dial up to the
internet, and run AIM.
Dr. Deming taught the
importance of full and open communication in
organizations- to drive out fear was one
of his key points. Is NI, or even
some of its people, afraid of
the greater diversity of thought and opinion?
I sincerely hope not.
I remain willing to get up
at an early hour here tomorrow, and be with the
group, in some fashion. I leave it to others to try and make this
happen.
If it does not, well, I'll
have to come see you all in person sometime then,
won't I?
Best wishes,
Bruce Waltuck
-----Original Message-----
From: tonypage [mailto:tony@pageconsulting.co.uk]
Sent:
To:
newintermediaries@yahoogroups.com
Subject: NI - May 9th -
holding the space
Bruce
Not intending to add to your
frustration.
Sorry your earlier idea of
dropping in in person has not materialised.
It's hard for me, yes
really, to entertain the link up you describe. I'm not trying to be awkward but
I am genuinely seeking to "hold the space" for a kind of meeting that
is of the high quality pure NI, that we have experienced joyfully in the past.
Little consolation from other side of the pond I know.
> You seem to dismiss out
of hand the ideas about using technology that
YOU are not familiar with.
I did not mean to do this. I
did suggest other ways to feed in and stay in the loop. It's true that sadly I
have not previously experienced this pure quality of contact through techno
links, email, screens, PCs, gizmos ... I have through voice in a
well-facilitated teleconference, but never in a mixed f2f/teleconference where
something quite different seems to be happening for those in the room and those
on the phone.
Maybe you and others have
different experiences. Maybe I will "get it" one day, but tomorrow
did not seem to me to be the time/place to try. Given the short time we have
together I was not wanting to turn our meeting into
some kind of frustrating communications technology experiment.
And I did mean to let you
know clearly that I was not able personally to take this experiment on at this
time, and if there seems a lot of "I" in this, it's because the royal
"we" would be a lie: there is no NI organising committee, money,
building or resource pool here - we're just a bunch of individuals drawn
together through some common interests. When a meeting like tomorrow happens
it's because someone has put themselves out, raised their head above parapet
and even put a little money and time at risk already to organise it.
Doesn't the opportunity
exist for everyone in NI, including you, to call a meeting at any time on any
topic using whatever medium you choose?
Maybe others, more familiar
with the links you describe, will come along tomorrow and accomplish this link
up easily and unobstrusively... And
that's OK with me provided the technology follows/supports not leads/distracts,
otherwise the meeting I called will have been hijacked, and I will have failed
to "hold the space".
My instinct is to include
not to put a barrier up - I hope this intention comes
across to you but I fear this email will just add to your sense of frustration.
Sorry Bruce, but at least I've offered you a fuller explanation and perhaps
that helps a tad.
You'll certainly get to know
what happens one way or another!
Tony