Kevin's Remarkable Learning Blog - A weblog of Kevin's thoughts, ideas, and lessons learned regarding learning on every level. Read Kevin's Remarkable Learning blog today.

Two days ago I posted about autism and potential and mentioned my neighbor Chris.

When his mother Dawn read the post she told me that Chris was selected as "Student of the Month" for his 7th grade team last week. He was also asked by a principal at a school in Avon to address his staff on what it is like to have autism.

Then she attached his essay that will be the basis of what he presents to those teachers. It has been published in a couple of newsletters, and I'm proud to publish it here.

.......

Autism: A Gift of Challenge

I was born with autism, but my parents did not know it, until I was almost three. Looking back, there is evidence that I could read, before I was two. However, when I was three years old, I spoke only twenty words. I had memorized many videocassettes, from start to finish, with background music included, but I would not talk to people. My mother taped pictures and words all over my house, so I knew what to say. When I was six years old, if someone could tell me their age, I could name who was President of the United States at the time of their birth.

Now, I am a twelve-year old who successfully made it to seventh grade. I am good at drawing details, especially maps. Sometimes, I want to make my work perfect. I can remember things that most people forget. I need to keep my life in order, because I can get through the day pretty well. Sometimes, I am compelled to rearrange things or repeat what I am saying, until I say it just right. People are usually kind, but I suppose they lose patience with me sometimes. I wonder if kids make fun of me, but I am never sure why they would do that. I would never make fun of someone else, because I couldn't use put-downs. We are all doing the best we can, in our lifetimes.

Autism can make things difficult. Sometimes I hear, see, feel, smell and taste many things all at once and my brain does not tell me, which is the most important thing to focus on. Temple Grandin, an expert with autism, says that the brains of people with autism are like those of animals of prey. The jumpy anxiety that keeps these animals alive is unnecessary and must be medicated in humans. I take seven pills a day, to help me stay calm and connected.

I have spent my life learning appropriate social skills, in the same way that other people have to study their notes for a test. I did not have to be taught to read, draw, or make music because that came to me as naturally as social skills come to other people. You can learn social skills, especially at the social skills camp at Brebeuf. Mrs. Susan McDowell, who taught my dad about autism when I was two years old, has helped me learn social skills this summer. At camp, I drew pictures, learned social rules, went on field trips, and played some games with other people my age. I worked on saying, "Excuse me," when it is appropriate; keeping personal space of one arm length away; starting and ending a conversation; speaking about things that are appropriate; and raising my hand and waiting for the teacher to call on me. We all have strengths that make us valuable. People with autism appreciate friendship, as well as everyone else.

I am encouraged about my future. I have special talents that help me succeed in school. I will find a job that is rewarding, like being a teacher, a cartographer, a computer a technician, a graphic artist, a mentor for other kids or an author. I believe I can really be good at being a speaker, giving a speech about valuing the differences in people. I believe that I will always have friends who understand me. My future is a gift of challenge.

I am encouraged about Chris' future too.

Thanks to Chris McGrath for writing his and helping us learn about him, his challenge, and our potential.

Thanks to the whole McGrath family for allowing me to share this here.

Also posted in Creativity and Learning.

Autism and Potential

Posted at 12:18 PM on Sunday, February 26, 2006

Until about 10 years ago or so, I didn't know much about, and hadn't thought much about autism.

While I am still not an expert by any measure, I know more than I once did because we live next door to Chris, a bright, funny, high-functioning autistic middle-schooler.

I'm not writing to share a medical discussion - you can learn more here and here. I can tell you that Chris while might be different than those of us who are "normal" in some ways, watching him grow up has certainly inspired me in many ways. His growth socially has been amazing. His ability to succeed given his limitations is inspiring.

Another way to learn more about autism in a visceral way is to read the great book - The curious incident of the dog in the night-time. You can read my blog post about the book here.

I write this today because I saw a video account of the exploits of another high-functioning autistic young man - this one in high school.

If you want to be inspired, watch this clip.

If you are a sports fan, watch this clip.

Just make sure you have some tissues handy, you might need them.

Also posted in Creativity and Learning.

A Nintendo Game For You?

Posted at 11:51 AM on

When reading Thursday's print version of the Wall Street Journal (article only available online by subscription), I read an article titled Nintendo's Brain-Training Game Targets Older Players. It talks one of Japan's best selling games (and its sequel). These games, played on Nintendo's DS hand held machine, have a very unsexy title: Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day.

The games were designed based on the work of Ryuta Kawashima a Japanese neuroscientist and author who has studied how we can keep our minds sharp with simple math problems.

The games flash questions on the screen which players then answer. The drills are timed and at the end, the game gives you a brain age. The best score is 20, because it is around that age that most people's brains are fully developed yet still agile.

Playing the game regularly can bring down a players brain age (the game also allows you to chart your progress).

Much research shows that as we age if we do specific things to keep their brain active and working, we have a better chance of having a "younger" brain. This game gives us one way to do that, and proves that perhaps we can teach older dogs newer tricks.

The two games have sold over 3 million copies in Japan. The games will be relased in the U.S. April 17 - I'm sure Nintendo hopes to teach a large group of older people a new habit - playing a video game.

Also posted in Creativity, Learning, and Training.

True Team Building - a New Change This Manifesto

Posted at 11:20 AM on

Some Thoughts on The Secret

Posted at 7:58 AM on Tuesday, February 21, 2006

Learning Leadership From the Best

Posted at 7:23 AM on

There are many ways we can learn new things, including leadership. Two of the most widely used are to read about principles and ideas and to learn from an expert.

Team of Rivals - The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, can help you do both at once.

Maybe you would prefer to learn from a mentor who is alive, but on the other hand you would be hard pressed to learn from a leader more extraordinary than Lincoln. President Lincoln is one of the most written about people in history, so you might wonder what new can be learned about it.

While I am no Lincoln scholar, I can tell you I learned a lot about this man, and more importantly in the context of this post, I learned much about leadership.

All would agree that leaders need to build alliances and relationships with a wide range of people in order to be most successful. I have trouble thinking anyone has ever done this more effectively than Lincoln.

Here are a few questions to ponder . . .

Would you invite people into your inner circle who had previously ridiculed your professional skills rudely, directly, and very publicly?

(Lincoln put at least two of these people on his Cabinet.)

Would you count your chief adversaries among your most trusted advisors?

(Lincoln put all three of other Republican nominees for President in 1860 and people from other parties on his cabinet too.)

Would you stick with people long after they had become political liabilities (and when they spoke publicly against your policies) because you believed in their ability to get the job done?

(Lincoln did this more than once.)

Would you reject the resignation of a member of your team even when they were openly campaigning for your job?

(Lincoln did it at least twice.)

A Team of Rivals is a book about the history of the United States at it's most critical juncture. It is a book that sheds light on the times, sentiments, and forces that lead to the strife and turmoil that was the American Civil War. It is a book about Abe Lincoln, both before and during his Presidency.

But this book is much more than that.

This book is also a study of leadership - not just Lincoln's but several of his rivals who became a part of his Cabinet.

Through the lenses of history and some great writing by Doris Kearns Goodwin you can learn about the approaches and foibles of one of our greatest leaders. You will learn about many leadership virtues, such as patience, loyalty, consensus building, relationships, vision and much more.

While you could go to the bookstore or click to Amazon and find books written specifically on each of these topics, you won't learn more from them than you will right here.

This book is a history book and a biography, so you won't get leadership models, templates, cheatsheets or checklists.

What you will get is the opportunity to watch, and learn from the lessons of one of the best - and you will have the opportunity to make those lessons your own through reflection and thought.

I'll read other books on leadership this year, probably many.

And while they will each be useful in their own right, I doubt I will learn as much that will stick with me as long as what I learned from a Team of Rivals.

Also posted in Leadership, Learning, Teamwork and Training.

Making a Connection

Posted at 11:23 AM on Sunday, February 19, 2006

Last week I had a wonderful phone call with Stacy Brice, the guru of Virtual Assistants and self titled Chief Visionary Office of her whole business.

It was our first conversation over the phone, though we have been aware of each other and "known" each other for a long time. It was a great conversation and during the call I told Stacy that if a third party were on the call, they would never have believed it was our first conversation.

I sat in the Indianapolis Airport Friday afternoon waiting for my delayed flight to Newark and read that Stacy had posted a wonderful commentary on our conversation - taking it into a long conversation about truly making connections with people. I left her a comment that she had written about our time together much better than I could have.

Then I closed my laptop and waited to board the flight. As I waited I read a copy of the e-book Nine Lives of Leadership, written by Lisa Haneberg (another of my virtually connected friends I've first talked on the phone with this year).

This e-book is the result of Lisa talking with the authors of nine books on some facet of leadership. I may post more about this e-book soon but I want to stay on track here. Suffice it to say you want a free copy - which you can get from 800CEORead here.

The first chapter, titled Go Deep Fast - Develop Strong Relationships as a Catalyst for Success is Lisa with Keith Ferrazzi, the author of Never Eat Alone a book I highly recommend.

The chapter discuses relationships and building connections. Here is part of Keith's quote about networking:

"...so if I need to stop saying 'networking' so people will understand that I'm spreading a different message, then I will. 'Connecting' is better. 'Connecting' is nothing more than building genuine, generous, intimate, sincere relationships for mutual success."

That is exactly what Stacy and I did last week, and Lisa and I did a month or so ago, and Don and I did on Friday. Build a connection, or as Stacy says, "meet in the middle."

Later in the chapter Ferrazzi shares four tips that further solidified the ideas shared by both Stacy's post and this e-book.

Seek to serve others.
Be generous.
Don't be a deadbeat (follow-up and keep your promises)
Continuously seek out new connections.

This last tip is one of my plans for 2006 and beyond. My calls with Lisa and Stacy were two of the results. Thanks to all that I read (and that you have now read too) I am more convinced and excited about this goal. The benefits you will gain by making true connections will expand across every part of your life.

I urge you to make a new connection today.

Also posted in Leadership, Learning, Teamwork and Training.

Thinking About Thinking

Posted at 10:57 AM on

A lot of research is being done about our brains, how they work, and what their potential is. I quote Brian Walsh, in his great book Unleashing your Brilliance, "As of 2005, about 99% of what is known about how the brain learns had been revealed in just the last six years." (emphasis mine)

In the same book Brian cites research that I is utterly fascinating to me (I've been quoting it in speeches and conversations for 5-6 weeks now). This research shows that the nonconscious or subconscious mind processes information 10,000 times faster than the conscious mind. (THAT should give you a new view of your potential!)

With these two facts in my head (and now in yours) I encourage you to read Thought for Thinkers published 2/17 in the Boston Globe.

Again, I quote:

"For relatively simple decisions, he said, it is better to use the rational approach. But the conscious mind can consider only a few facts at a time. And so with complex decisions, he said, the unconscious appears to do a better job of weighing the factors and arriving at a sound conclusion.

The finding, published today in the journal Science, would have practical implications if borne out by further research."

The article describes the experiments that were done to come to this conclusion and raises questions for our consideration.

Can our subconscious help us solve problems? Sure it can. Any one who has had an "aha" about a problem while driving or taking a shower knows that. What all of this research tells us is that not only can our subconscious help us, but it can do it extremely well.

So the next time you have complex challenge, let it go.... and let your subconscious work on it awhile.

Maybe you'll find the real key to multi-tasking - thinking without thinking.

Also posted in Creativity, Leadership, Learning and Training.

Mentoring and Podcasts

Posted at 4:50 AM on Friday, February 17, 2006

Your Escape Plan

Posted at 7:19 AM on Wednesday, February 15, 2006

There is so much we can learn from our kids (or kids in general if we don't have any).

Kids are naturally curious . . . which means they tap into their creativity more naturally and are rapid learners. Kids are more spontaneous and tend to find more ways to have more fun more of the time.

We of course were all once kids and so we had all of these capabilities. And everything I read says we still have these capabilities inside us, we have just misplaced the keys. (After all, how valuable is your car without the keys?)

Enter KimandJason.com whose tag line on their home page is: Escape Adulthood. Return to Childhood. If that line doesn't make you smile, there's no need to read on, because you don't get it. But I hope you will, because you need to get it.

Are Kim and Jason suggesting we ignore our adult responsibilities? I don't think so - and neither am I. What they want us to do is attack adultitis. And in their quest to annihilate adultitis, they created a 40 day Escape plan. This plan was designed as a challenge between Kim and Jason (they are married). Each day they created a challenge for themselves to do something to attack adultitis. (One really cool thing is that we as readers can vote with which of them we think did a better job that day based on their blog posts - how cool is that?)

These challenges are all fun and all relevant to all of us - even if on the surface it might not seem that way. How can you apply The Escape Plan?

1. Do it for yourself. Start with today as your day one and Spend at least 15 minutes immersing yourself in a field you know nothing about. (the Day 1 Challenge) . Using my New Learning Game could even be one way to do this challenge!
2. Do it with a partner - challenge each other in much the same way that Kim and Jason did.
3. Do it as a whole work group - and if you can't do one a day, do one a week- and you have a tremendous team-building activity for the rest of the year 52-7 = 45 weeks left, take out a few weeks for holidays and to get started and there you go!
4. Find specific challenges to use with a team or group. Wanting to build the creativity of a group? Find a challenge! Wanting a fresh new icebreaker for your next training session? Adapt one of the challenges.
5. Engage your Customers in these challenges. I won't give you the answer here - I challenge you to find a way to do it!
6. Follow the plan and then share your experiences and challenges with others through conversation, email or a blog. If you are a leader this will help others see you as a learner, a risk-taker and a human - something followers don't always think of their leaders as (unfortunately). If you are a parent, your kids will either think you are crazy, the coolest parent ever, or both (don't worry, they probably already think that - this will just be a confirmation).

Those are just a few ways I have thought of this morning. You will think of more.

My real advice is go to their site and do something.

Remind yourself of your kidhood and you will rediscover a valuable part of yourself that will not only make your life more satisfying and enjoyable, but make you more successful in everything you do.

Thanks to Phil Gerbyshak for pointing me to The Escape Plan and to Kim and Jason for challenging all of us.

Also posted in Creativity, Customer Service, Leadership, Learning, Teamwork, and Training

Valentine's Day Ideas at Work

Posted at 6:35 AM on Monday, February 13, 2006

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day.

You know, the day of dinners and diamonds. Roses and romance. Chocolate and well, more chocolate!

While there is nothing wrong with those views and customs for Valentine's Day, I want to propose a different view for you today - while you may still have time to do something about it.

Think about the Valentine's Days of your kidhood - those days before hormones. Remember that everyone gave everyone else a Valentine's card (even the people we didn't like)? Remember that while we may have had one person we secretly liked, the day was about everyone?

Fast forward to today. You work in an organization. You may lead others in one way or the other. With that as a context let me tell you three truths about adult Valentine's Days:

1. Some people have a Valentine and this is a great day for them.
2. Some people don't have a Valentine and because of that this is a rotten day for them.
3. All of us loved Valentine's Day as a kid.

So as a leader or part of an organization, how can you put those three facts to work for everyone's benefit?

It starts by re-defining Valentine's Day as being about love and caring, and not about romance. With that new definition, here are five things you can do tomorrow to celebrate Valentine's Day in your workplace.

1. Send your version of Valentine's cards - which could be some left-over Garfield ones from the store, or could be a simple note or red index card with a note of thanks and caring on them.
2. Invite the group to lunch. Let everyone go to lunch together, just for the fun and fellowship of it. You could pay the tab, but you sure don't have to. Just get people together - and use Valentine's Day as the "excuse."
3. Put a heart on everyone's door or cubicle wall and invite everyone to go by and write a note of appreciation to each other on the door. People can sign them or not, and if they don't want to be "caught" encourage them to write their notes on post-it's so they can post them and not spend so long writing in public!
4. Give everyone a bag of candy hearts or carrot sticks if they are more health conscious. Just like in school, it isn't about the size of the gift, it is about the sentiment. The small little bags will guarantee to elicit a smile and raise morale on Valentine's Day.
5. Do a white elephant gift exchange. You can tell everyone about it today - tell people not to buy something but to bring something from home, or even better, something from the workplace that they don't want - and exchange those "gifts" in a short afternoon meeting - there will be laughter and mirth and you will perhaps start a new Valentine's Day office tradition.

One more thing...

About half of you reading this are men and you may feel these ideas won't work for you. My advice? Get over yourself. The reasons for doing this if you are feeling this way are even bigger. Taking this perceived risk of being "mushy" or sentimental may have an even greater impact for both you and those who you share your actions with.

These are by no means the only things you could do - they are just some suggestions to get you started. If you try something else, I'd love to hear about it - so please email me or leave a comment to this post.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Also posted in Creativity, Customer Service, Leadership, Teamwork and Training.

Curious About Curious George

Posted at 6:12 AM on

While I probably read the Curious George books as a kid, but I don't really remember for sure. I know that I read several of them to Parker (my 13 year old) and have been reading them to and with Kesley my 7 year old. Yesterday on a Daddy and Daughter date, Kelsey and I went to see the new movie based on the books.

While I have always enjoyed the books, something always left me a bit cautious about them.

(In case you don't know or haven't clicked the links above, George is a monkey and the stories revolve around the predicaments George gets into because of his curiosity.)

The underlying message of the stories, I have always felt, was that we should be wary of our curiosity. While it might lead us to some great adventures, it would also get us in trouble.

Curiosity is a wonderful thing - and one of the things we too often leave behind in our childhood. And this is too bad because curiosity is one of the key building blocks to our learning capacity. When we re-connect and re-affirm our curiosity, we flip on one of the switches to our learning potential.

The thing I love about the movie (beyond the fact that I shared it with Kelsey) is that in the movie, George's curiosity leads to adventures, but in many cases to more positive outcomes I won't say more, I don't want to give away any of the joy you will find in it.

I applaud Ron Howard and everyone involved in this film because it does incorporate several of the familiar book stories, and yet I believe provides a better message for all of us related to the value and potential that rests in our wonderful curiosity.

Will this movie be considered one of the best of the year? Maybe not. But it has a great message, some very nice music, and it is rated G. Find a little one to take, or go yourself, pondering how curious you have been, are, and will be in the future.

Also posted in Creativity, Learning and Training.

Acknowledge Reality

Posted at 7:53 AM on Sunday, February 12, 2006

Steve Pavlina, one of the brightest of all bloggers recently wrote a post called Beyond Self-Delusional Positive Thinking This is a long post that I highly recommend you read. While I could comment on any number of his points, I found one to be especially relevant to my experience.

He writes, "Did you know that it's possible to acknowledge your weaknesses with no loss of self-esteem? If you have a bad marriage, a job you hate, or a belly that's way too big, it's better to acknowledge it and keep your awareness high than to try to convince yourself the problem doesn't exist and lower your awareness. You can't solve a problem if you don't acknowledge its existence. Don't allow yourself to lower your awareness even when faced with problems that seem intractable."

Read the middle section of the passage again.

". . . it's better to acknowledge it and keep your awareness high than to try to convince yourself the problem doesn't exist . . ."

The opposite of this, is of course denial. Which organizations and individuals do all the time. We go into denial as to why profits are down. We go into denial about the loss of market share and finds ways to explain it away as an aberration. We go into denial when we renew our license plate and post our weight. We go into denial often, expecting that things will return to what they once were.

As the old joke goes denial is a river in Egypt.

Since most of us don't live there, we can't travel on "denial."

Maybe things aren't so good. Maybe the change is permanent and not temporary. Whatever is true, acknowledge how things are. Not to berate yourself or your team and don't become a victim; simply acknowledge reality.

Now reread the second to last sentence.

You can't solve a problem is you don't acknowledge its existence.

This is completely true, profound even. As long as we are in denial we can't right the ship or solve the problem. Once we acknowledge the situation and look at it as it truly is, we might decide it is a problem we want to tackle. Or we may look at it as a opportunity to choose to do nothing. But you can't do either of these things until you acknowledge reality.

Also posted in Leadership, Learning, Training and Teamwork.

An Interview with Me

Posted at 5:33 AM on Monday, February 06, 2006

Thoughts From Around the Desk

Posted at 1:44 PM on Sunday, February 05, 2006

I have a collector of quotations and ideas for a long time. (Powerquotes and Powerquotes Plus are just two pieces of proof.)

Anyway, in recently cleaning the area around my desk I found a few very random thoughts on index cards, and before I record them elsewhere, I decided to share them here.

Fair warning... they are random in topic, but very thought provoking. Read on at your own risk. :)

....

"The right word may be effective, but no word was ever as effective as a rightly timed pause."
- Mark Twain

....

"in the door, ready to learn more..." (What I hope for and hold as a positive expectation when I am about to facilitate any sort of learning event.)

....

Dream + Prepare + Decide + Act = Results (a formula that I believe I noodled out myself, because I have no attribution on the card)

....

"The purpose of any talk is to create action - of the mind, of the body or both."
- Kevin Eikenberry

....

"How badly do you want it?" (whatever the it is...)

....

"Reading is a little thing that makes a big difference." (on a fortune cookie)

....

"High expectations are the key to everything."
- Sam Walton

....

FIDO - First in Defeats Others. (3M philosophy)

Also posted in Leadership, Learning and Training.

A New Learning Game

Posted at 11:17 AM on

It is Super Bowl Sunday, so there is one game that is likely on most people's minds today... it will take place in Detroit (or in the living room or bar where you watch, where you will have interest in the game inside the game - depending on how much money you have wagered on bizarre and unusual events like the last digits of the score in any given quarter.)

But today, I am inventing a new game, spurred by a the joy post on the Deep Fun blog.

In that post, my friend Bernie talked about googling the word joy to see where it would lead him.

So I decided to try this myself. The word I chose? Gratitude. 19,100,000 entries (I won't look at them all) :)

Here is what I found in 15 minutes of "playing":

The How Grateful Are You Quiz
Quotes on Gratitude and more quotes and a few more.
Operation Gratitude - Sending Care Packages to Troops
The Abounding River Board Game
Gratitude Theory - Researchers find the health virtues of gratitude
Gratitude Journals and more and more.
A Day Without Rain Blog - I love this one. I found it on a link from Curt Rosengren's Occupational Adventure Blog (here is his post)

All of this comes from clicking on and reading the things listed in the first 30 search results from Google (as of today). I didn't click on everything - I let my interest, intuition and serendipity guide me.

While this was a very useful and enlightening 15 minutes (and I am appropriately grateful for it), it allows me to explore the constructs and uses of this new game.

How to Play this Game as an Individual

Pick a topic of interest and Google that word, spending 30 minutes (or whatever time you want) to read, research and enjoy this topic.
Spend 10 minutes per day doing this for your topic of choice, working towards building your expertise over a longer time period.
Make it a daily exercise in expanding your knowledge by playing the game on a different topic or keyword everyday.
Put your lessons learned, favorite links, etc. in your journal or blog. (At this moment I'm thinking about making this a part of my blogging process... we'll see!)

How to Play this Game as a Leader

Working on building a group vision or mission or doing strategic planning? Encourage people to google the appropriate term and bring their insights to the first/next meeting.
Encourage people to play the game on an individual or team strength or area for development.
As a learning leader, play using one of the ways suggested above for yourself, and share what you are learning while playing with others.

How to Use this Game as a Trainer/Facilitator of Learning

Use as pre-work for a workshop. Give people the instructions and encourage them to preview a topic of upcoming training as a way to prepare them for the session mentally. This could include a specific action item (bring two ideas, sites, etc. to the session - we will discuss at the beginning of the workshop), or just be open ended.
During longer training sessions, or sessions that are part of a longer process, encourage people to play in the evenings (between days of the session) or in the interim between sessions if they are spread out.
Use it during the workshop if internet access is available. Make it a team game where teams find new ideas and thoughts and team teach them back to the rest of the group.
Use as a workshop follow-up suggestion. If you have gotten people excited about what they have learned, suggesting this game (perhaps with a way to collect the ideas they find with the rest of the group), could help them build confidence and integrate what they have learned/are learning into their work.

Recognize too that as a leader or traininer you might be able to have people search your intranets too as a way to modify or perpahps make the game more relevant.

I'm confident I will expand my thoughts on this new game in the coming days and weeks. I welcome your comments and ideas.

Also posted in Creativity, Leadership, Learning and Training.

Participation Rules

Posted at 10:55 AM on

If we are trying to build a better relationship with others, we need their participation.

Want to engage your Customers in your products and services? Get them involved in meaningful ways.

Want to create greater levels of success and productivity as a leader? Involve those you lead more fully.

Want to make the learning you are facilitating more lasting and relevant? Get the learners involved in both the planning and execution of the learning.

Want your team to feel more cohesive? Get everyone more involved.

It is a universal truth that we need to get people participating in actions, activities and decisions if we want greater levels of engagement.

It is because of this truth that I was enamored by a post called "The Next Sims" at B2Day blog.

This post talks about Spore, the next game by the creators of The Sims, that will come out in about a year. While I encourage you to read it for yourself, here is a relevant snippet...

For the longest time, games have been considered almost a new form of movie, but that ignores the really interesting opportunities we have in games. Games are in a unique position to bring content consumers into the role of creators.

In short, this game will engage participants in the creation of their own characters and worlds, and will allow players to eventually enter the worlds created by other players.

Not only does this participation make sense from the perspective of the players...but from the designers as well - they are now co-creators of the game with the players.

If the game keeps this universal truth of participation in mind, I believe it will be a runaway hit.

Also posted in Creativity, Customer Service, Leadership, Teamwork and Training

In the Beginning . . .

Posted at 10:24 AM on

I had a wonderful meeting with Bernie DeKoven,the maven of Deep Fun a couple of weeks back. During the course of our conversation he said something wonderful and quite profound.

He said, "It is kind of like the Bible; in the beginning there was fun."

He said it with a twinkle in his eye and it struck me hard. In a flash of insight I knew that this was very true.

The more and longer I think about it, the more true I believe it is.

Think about the beginning of most anything:

The start of a new project.
The start of a new relationship.
The introduction of a new product or service.
The time when you first learn something new.
The beginning of a game.
The beginning of a party.
The beginning of a vacation.

In the beginning there was fun.

Fun comes at the start from a mixture of excitement, anticipation, wonder, surprise and passion. Often though, like a too-long game of Monopoly, the experience changes, and fun is replaced by a host of other adjectives.

Why does this profound truth matter to us and how can we use it to our advantage?

Good questions - and the reason I didn't rush home and blog Bernie's comment after our meeting. I've been soaking on it, and now I want you to soak on it too.

I'll share my answers in a couple of days, and will encourage you to share yours in return.

Until then, In the beginning there was fun.

Also posted in Creativity, Leadership, Learning, Teamwork, and Training.

Happy Groundhog Day!

Posted at 6:26 AM on Thursday, February 02, 2006

For most of my life, I hardly thought of Groundhog Day at all. I suppose I was lightly amused at the thought of thousands of people, the press and cameramen from around the world waiting and watching for a rodent to tell us about the weather.

All of that changed when I saw the movie Groundhog Day. (If you haven't seen it click the link for a synopsis before reading on) You can also read the post I wrote on Groundhog Day 2005.

I have long been enamored by the value of movies to help us learn - a story well told in a multi-sensory fashion.

What follows is a perspective written several years ago for a now semi-dormant project called Magical Movies. I encourage you to read this perspective and ponder the questions I pose.

....

In his unique predicament, Phil tries everything he can think of - first to find pleasure, then to escape, and finally to simply peace. He quickly realizes that his situation provides him with special abilities. He can tell the future; he can read people's minds; there are no mortal consequences to his actions. He is not omnipotent. He fails to save a homeless man, whose time to die has come, or manipulate the woman he wants into sleeping with him. But compared to normal folks in normal circumstances, he is justified in calling himself "godlike." With all this power, Phil might expect to find satisfaction easily.

And yet, for years - perhaps decades - of iterations, joy eludes him. He indulges excessive appetites, manipulates women, steals money, and finally kills himself over and over again - without ever finding what he is searching for. So, what is the secret? Ultimately, what does Phil do to achieve fulfillment?

He focuses on others.

As long as he is concentrating on his own pleasure or his own pain, he cannot move forward. As long as he sees the people and places around him only as barriers or paths to his own selfish desires, he is stuck. When he uses his unique knowledge to help others, he discovers love and a purpose to his life. All of a sudden, a kid in a tree, who never says "thank you"; a twittering group of older ladies with a flat tire; and a young, bickering couple become a sacred trust to be nurtured and protected. And, in the process of caring for them, Phil attains his peace.

When we focus only on ourselves, it can feel like there is so much that can confound our desires - other people, illness, time, work, the weather. But somehow, when we step outside our own needs and provide for others, we discover more power to affect the world, and more help in achieving our own goals than we ever expected.

So - perhaps ironically, perhaps inevitably - by concentrating on others' needs, Phil gains not only the joy of helping them, but everything that he had come to desire for himself, too. And he wakes up "tomorrow" with his love in his arms, looking out on the town he had originally dismissed with disdain and viewed as a prison. And he says to her, "It's so beautiful. Let's stay."

Some Questions to Ponder

- What do I want out of life?
- What would I do differently if I were Phil?
- What would I do if there were no consequences to my actions?
- Was Phil's situation a curse or a blessing?
- What would I have done in Phil's situation?
- What role does learning have in this story?
- What changed to allow Phil to move to the next day?
- How many times did Phil live February 2nd?
- If I had to pick one day to live over and over again, which day would I pick?
- Do I believe a groundhog can predict the coming of spring?

Have a great Groundhog Day!

Also posted in Creativity and Learning.

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