As the year come through these Holidays, it seemed appropriate to share a broadcasted note of thankfulness and serenity. We stopped sending “Christmas cards” years ago, but not of reaching out, to connecting to many with whom we are unfortunately, no longer often in contact with. I was able to stop travelling for TDG, Inc. engagments for 6 weeks, which is increasingly a happy state! So my usual “sign -off” – Peace, Energy Strength, and Joy, in abundance, to you and all your close connections
This year we will not give out any notebooks @ the session, nor any handouts from those presenting. All materials will be posted to this website under Cantigny, under “Materials 2012”. and I will ask all attendees to bring their laptops/tablets/handhelds – whatever – to follow the agenda, take notes, search for other referenced materials, etc.
This experimental use of technologys, for us, will be different for many but is more appropriate now, in my mind, to the kind of session I have always run….i.e., intense interaction, with many new views & ideas, provoking lots of off-line follow-up!!
Get the password from me to review materials for 2012 as they are being posted now, and for 2011 also, as we retrieve them.
Walter Berkowicz, from Allstate, who is a Forum graduate, sponsor, speaker,and facilitator. will lead us in a great dialogue about complexity, innovation, ethics/morals, sweeping change ,and finally family and balance… all based on his personal leadership derived career. If you are a Forum graduate/speaker/sponsor, and have not recieved the appropiate advance material & link, email me @ < dick@thedooleygroup.com>
A cataract operation on my one eye, consumately scary for me, having my right hip replaced, enjoying my 78th birthday, plus a week of R&R in Vancouver with Barbara celebrating our 25th anniversary, have diverted my energies from this website. Now as part of my rehabilitation time, & getting back my mobility, I hope to review, update and refresh its content and organization
Let me know what you think, please
As we shift now with increasing momentum into the new year, I am reminded how much about this site I neglected to update, as I promised myself I would. We’ll see if I can improve to meet my self set goals. Hopefully that’ll be useful [entertaining??] for you!!
Barbara and I just returned from the 44th annual Conference of the Society of Information Management [SIM]. As one of the 11 founders, I have attended 42 so far, and hope to make the 5oth!
It was very rewarding to be approached by scores of attendees, offering thanks for helping start the Society and especially for founding and guiding the development of The Regional Leadership[RLF] progam!
Having just finished choosing, & updating, for my clients, the 50 basic documents, in my prespective, of the Forum process, and it’s “Magic”, it is very powerful for me to see others absorbing this in their own way, and doing internal self- sustaining leadership development progams inside their organizations! It’s wonderful for them ….and surely so for me!!
Barbara and I spent the weekend @ The College of the Holy Cross, attending the President’s Council with many other leaders. 6 special Classmates there. And lots of memories……. a wonderful time and process!! I was provoked to recall how huge an impact Holy Cross had on me in those four years [i.e., in addition to shaping my character & value set, & training my thinking habits, I had my eye removed because of cancer…… I learned how to lead/run all kinds of groups and meetings….. etc., etc.]
So I’ve been more broadly examining how the perspectives and imprints of that period of growth in my life, and the near term years after it, applies today, here on Cape Cod, with 5 Children ,8 grandchildren, many friends, and multiple clients, all over the country, and how will it shape me in the coming years…….
Very provocative
Having just returned from my 55th @ The College of The Holy Cross, I was impressed by the frequency, commonality, intensity of both feelings and perspectives about our Country today: – Very little if any real leadership in either [Any?] political party – Very worrisome lack of jobs or their creation – Deep concern about the lack of debt management & its implications – The number of home towns/cities/states where Classmates live, that are facing serious $ deficits right now – The growing gap between the “Haves” and the “Have nots” – Major industries in huge turmoil/change, e.g. Real Estate, Health Care, Finance, Retail, Higher Education, – Focus on much less relevant concerns, for too long, e.g., scandals by several male leaders, rather enough effective focus on the difficult challenges just referenced.
And not a lot of “Hope”
Was that ever so in such past gatherings?? I don’t think so. Maybe just age. Maybe just my own concerns finding like others to feel validated against. As I said I was surprised, but did feel validted. We’ll see. The next year or two seem crucial.
This has been an oft requested short presentation to my retainer clients. The perspective being that I was in 20-30 organizations ever year and running sessions with hundreds attending. So…. even if I didn’t know the answers, I knew what leaders were worrying/asking/pondering about.
I am traveling less now, but interacting more, either by phone or electronically. Here is my current list. Each point sometimes takes an hour or more of intense dialogue when used as a discussion framework. I plan to do a video on my website for each one, overtime- two minutes or so long, i.e.,-crisp & relevant- every other week or so!
Do come to interact….leaving a comment, suggestion, or alternate view!
The first experimental video we did, was a message on my 76th birthday. It’s stored with others now on this website, but it’s success connecting with many in my personal and in my professional network, prompted the work leading to this new website!
So I’ve just done another. Very short..here is a still shot, taken on the National Seashore by Barbara ,as we walked there on my birthday just now. Such walks are a favorite thing of ours, & one of the strong reasons for moving to Cape Cod 7 years ago.
I hope to be doing this, as happily as today, for 25 more years. And all that while, learning to connect with you all in different ways, like these videos, on this website. Or in ways none of us can imagine yet!!
As I grow into my 6th life phase [ First Scholar program, High Flyer in technology, Executive Floor Leader, Consultant & Professor, Forum designer & facilitator, legacy], and my chronological 4th stage […. each 25 years], I’ve embarked on a new updated, but historically based, interface with my network and the general marketplace.
This website, after 12 very successful years with the first, is much more interactively framed. And easy to change, which means it’ll be more current and relevant. And it provides an easy link to other sites important to my work, e.g., LinkedIn and Ecto. That linkage captures all the connections & materials I’ve put in there over the year. In addition it will allow searches on my site, which is a new capability. Finally it will make available sooner and more completely, my characteristically active future thinking about challenges today that aren’t being attended to well enough in my opinion. This has been a long time favorite with clients and followers [those familiar ” Things I See and Hear”]
So join in, review and ponder, respond how you’d like, and stay in touch.
I will!
