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#unSquirrel Manifesto 1: It Is About POWER.

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Why is it important to share, to #unSquirrel? Because we are all important. The knowledge, experience, perspectives we have all add value. I am heavily influenced by the pithy epiphanies of gapingvoid. The ‘empowerment’ art captures the Gack! feeling about  that term. Empowerment has been corrupted by HR – something the organization enables in us. No. the em and the ment are not required. This is about POWER yo. Power to the people. I am powerful. Say that sentence out loud. It sounds good. ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading #unSquirrel Manifesto 1: It Is About POWER.

Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The World1 Comment

The #unSquirrel Manifesto

ThisMuchWeKnow

Everyone needs a manifesto. My own is the TMWK Manifesto that I shared here when I started the blog. It really does guide me in the work I produce and the thinking process. The TMWK Manifesto is mine, but are there others that can be given away? This one is a #WorkOutLoud process. I expanded on my #unSquirrel series of posts – of sharing more, even the minutiae, within your networks. I will go write a little on each of these in the next few posts. Today, here is the visual… ←This Much We Know.→ Continue reading The #unSquirrel Manifesto

Story + Narrative, The Future of Work2 Comments

Manifestos…To Understand: Responsive Org

ThisMuchWeKnow

As with yesterday’s Manifesto of the Cloud, the Responsive Org Manifesto is less one to live by as to understand. The shifting sands of organizational design and experience behooves any worker who wants to remain relevant and politically successful in their organization to ‘get the future.’ I happen to know some of the #ResponsiveOrg crew, and their mission is a meaningful one. They understand that technology will only get you so far. The technology is already available to fundamentally change organizations (for the better!) This technology flattens hierarchies, creates live and living communities of practice that can start up and dissolve … Continue reading Manifestos…To Understand: Responsive Org

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Manifestos…To Understand: The Cloud Revolution

ThisMuchWeKnow

Early on in the blog, I wrote a few posts about manifestos that proved quite popular. I reviewed them at the end of the year with this thought: People like directions. Me too. I like simple, evocative calls-to-action; they stir the Head-Heart-Hand. Manifestos drive conversation – it is not necessarily about believing everything in them; but using them as a riff / filter for your own thoughts and ideas. In the interim, I have found a few more manifestos. Let’s continue the series, and also continue to use them to riff on our own thoughts and ideas… I discovered The Cloud … Continue reading Manifestos…To Understand: The Cloud Revolution

Personal Branding2 Comments

Personal Branding: Get Lucky

ThisMuchWeKnow

You may recall that personal branding begins with reflection. It takes on a life of its own through stories that are amplified. You create a social object. The outcome is you get lucky… Serendipitously, today I wrote up some notes from Reid Hoffman’s The Start Up Of You. In the Invest In Yourself section, his action item is Update your profile on LinkedIn [where he is Chairman] so that your summary statement articulates your competitive advantages. You should be able to fill in this sentence: “Because of my [skill/experience/strength], I can do [type of professional work] better than [specific types of … Continue reading Personal Branding: Get Lucky

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Personal Branding: Solidify Through Stories

ThisMuchWeKnow

Your personal brand begins with reflection. You sense ideas of your brilliance. Now, you need to make them come alive. If you are an “analytical” accountant, well, so is every other accountant. So exactly what was your process or insight that allowed you to do that great work? Dig around for words, dig around for stories, especially. Share those stories. Others may not remember your direct strengths, but they will relay a good story about you. These stories are data points. They weave together to build your narrative, and as John Hagel so eloquently explains, your personal narrative is never finished, … Continue reading Personal Branding: Solidify Through Stories

Personal Branding2 Comments

Personal Branding: Begin With Reflection

ThisMuchWeKnow

I had a long chat with an old friend last night, on the subject of personal branding. He is someone who is commendably reflective in considering how he adds value in his professional life. Already, this puts him ahead of most others. He wanted some practical advice on how to develop his brand. He started out young and dumb, worked hard, became pretty successful, but perhaps wants to get better at reading a room and making his presence felt, making his experience and ideas count. So, I suggested, keep on reflecting: Every day, consider how you were successful at doing … Continue reading Personal Branding: Begin With Reflection

Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

Redundancy And Repetition Are Good For You: Revisited

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Reading a recent Harold Jarche post – Ten Years, Ten Thoughts – thought 7 reminded me of a few posts I wrote last year that are worth revisiting, not least because redundancy and repetition are good for you! Jarche reminds us that: An informal professional learning network, with its redundant connections, repetition of information and indirect communications, is a much more resilient system than any designed professional development program can be. I made a few tangential points in this direction. In How we learn, channeling an older version of the Jarche post: [Repetition and redundancy] sounds luxurious, but it is not. Digital, networked … Continue reading Redundancy And Repetition Are Good For You: Revisited

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Curious Kids: Smiling Is Happiness And Love

ThisMuchWeKnow

When I am mulling over a topic – like I have been about smiling – I often ask the kids for their perspective. Sometimes some genius insight, always delight. Smiling is good for you yo! https://t.co/bxoQRMZKCY — Jonathan Anthony (@ThisMuchWeKnow) April 21, 2014 Smiling boils down to two concepts: happiness and love. Good enough for me. ←This Much We Know.→   Continue reading Curious Kids: Smiling Is Happiness And Love

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My De Facto Facial Expression: Annoyed. Smile, Yo!

ThisMuchWeKnow

The subject of smiling is foremost at the moment. Yesterday, I talked of its life-saving properties. Today, something far more prosaic: inviting people in. Recently, I have attended 2-3 events where part of the attendance schtick is that you get a portrait photo from a professional photographer. Although I smile quite authentically(!), when asked to pose, I get my facial muscles in a knot. How much of a smile is good for a portrait? This much, that much? Reviewing the final content,  I realize I have no idea how I look! I also realize how grumpy my de facto expression … Continue reading My De Facto Facial Expression: Annoyed. Smile, Yo!

Story + Narrative1 Comment

Real Miracles Make Little Noise. Essential Events Are So Simple!

ThisMuchWeKnow

As usual, waiting for serendipity to strike is time well spent. Learning happens when new neural pathways are created, and they do so when your brain exclaims: “Huh? Heh? Hmmm! Who knew?! I will squirrel that one away for another day.” So, how important is a smile? Nothing short of miraculous, of course. I had this image on my desktop for a month or more. I knew I wanted to share it, but had no context. This morning, I thought, “well, I can just share it with an upbeat note.” [I don’t take the blog too seriously that I think … Continue reading Real Miracles Make Little Noise. Essential Events Are So Simple!

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Change Agents Are Peasants On A Hillside, Hearts Open, Mouths Shut

ThisMuchWeKnow

Undertaking some garage spring cleaning on Easter Sunday, I found some old picture frames, one of which is worth resurrecting from storage TODAY. Ripped from the intro page of a Paul Theroux book, if memory serves, it highlights perfectly my own #FutureOfWork point of view as an advocate of change. “A peasant must stand a long time on a hillside with his mouth open before a roast duck flies in.” I have been there, for years too long, alongside colleagues too many, a powerless peasant in a system I neither controlled nor understood. Yet… “The movements which work revolutions in the world … Continue reading Change Agents Are Peasants On A Hillside, Hearts Open, Mouths Shut