What’s your learning story?
August 26th, 2008
My good buddy Maddie has posted the slides from our “What’s Your Learning Story?” session in San Diego. Maddie explains the whole session approach in her post, so I’ll just go ahead and add comments related to my slides, which are the even-numbered slides in the Slideshare deck, beginning with Slide #4.
Slide #4–I learned again what I’ve always believed…when you bring your curiosity to the table, you learn so much more. We unnecessarily limit our capacity to learn by focusing only on what’s immediately relevant, instead of opening ourselves to learning that answers our deeper questions, builds understanding and creates new meaning.
Slide #6–I learned from my good friend Patti Digh that if we’re going to have a serious discussion around diversity and inclusion in the association community, we need to “change the structure of the land,” i.e., we will not make real progress until we change the underlying system in which we operate.
Slide #8–I learned that regardless of the form it takes, conversation itself is the most powerful medium of human exchange. Our ability to engage effectively with one another and with the world depends heavily on the stories we share, how they make us think and what they make us feel.
Slide #10–I learned that not all infectious behaviors are bad for you! YAP is infectious fun…anyone who has ever been to a YAP gathering knows the basic truth of this statement. And at last Monday night’s 80s Dance Party, resistance was futile. Whiskey’s Girl was filled with the YAPfun virus, and we infected everybody in the house!
Slide #12–I learned that secrets sell. It’s true, people want to be in the know, and so secrets are powerful tools for activating our sense of discovery. At the same time, we cannot allow secrets to overwhelm our intended outcomes or core beliefs in the name of creating a buzz.
Slide #14–I learned that engagement is a choice, and increasingly the most important one we must address in associations. I’m glad we have a resource like the Decision to Volunteer research to help us answer a very fundamental question: how would our organizations be different if we designed them for engagement from the very first moment of membership?
Slide #16–I learned that our world really is small. It was great to see so many international attendees in San Diego, and I was especially excited to see friends I made when I visited Australia last year. Speaking at a conference in Sydney in August 2007, I was greeted by Robert Barnes, who introduced himself as one of my blog readers. WOW! So you can imagine how great it was to see Rob again in San Diego.
Slide #18–I learned that sleep is no longer optional. This meeting was the final, sad confirmation that I am now too old to stay up for 21 consecutive hours. In Toronto, I will need to keep it to no more than 20.
Slide #20–I learned that the future demands a leap. We’re not going to strategically plan, best practice and benchmark our way to what’s next for our organizations because tomorrow will not be like yesterday. The future demands a leap.
Slide #22–I learned that a ribbon can create community, even when that ribbon quotes a line from a really cheesy movie. You can’t imagine how many people sought me out during the meeting to ask for a ribbon. It was a very fun and very cool experience.
I was incredibly impressed with the learning stories shared by our colleagues in the session. Maddie has the notes posted on her blog. This was a really fun session for me, made more so by the opportunity to collaborate with Maddie. Mads, thanks for being a great co-presenter, colleague, friend and totally awesome YAPstar. YOU ROCK!
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