We are the pilgrims, master

The great stag-hunt

2011-10-10T22:19:00.000+02:00

"who are you?"
"the new number two..."
"who is number one?"
"you are number six..."
"I am not a number. I'm a free man!"
"...HAHAHAHA..."
- BBC series, the prisoner

It's been awhile. I thought it better not to blog last weeks, though anger or worries work magic on my mojo. It somehow refocuses you on the fundamentals. Among other, recent developments (i'm not going into them) have left me pondering motivation for improvement in organizations in general and education in particular. Conversations with students gave me some really deep insights last months. A conversation with @younessezouane on game theory in student-teacher cooperation somehow resurfaced.

We discussed two scenarios:

Education as a "iterated prisoners dilemma"
In the "prisoners dilemma" scenario student and teacher have trust issues. Both sides cannot trust the other side to be a "good" teacher/student, and defection might come in the forms of not studying (student), shirking of duty (teacher), cheating (student/teacher), favoritism (teacher), etc.Like the criminal-code of honor any organisation has all kinds of methods to negate the problem of possible defection, usually in the form of "quality assurance" systems. scoring and grading for the students, assessments and questionairies for the teacher.The threat of possible retaliation keeps us both in check (the "iterated" part)The systems are based on betrayal as the dominant strategy (in laymans terms: we will stab each other in the back when given the chance).

There are some problems with this:
- there's a Nash equilibrium on defection (players will probably defect at some time / it pays to defect / defection is logical)
- there is a negative incentive resulting in a retaliatory arms race instead of cooperation (rational precautions lead to a irrational result (the build up of precautions))
- (I dont want to be in this situation. what's the point? if the point is a game)

education as a "stag hunt"
In the "stag hunt" scenario. Players can work together ("hunt a big stag" together ) or defect ("catch a small hare", in which case the other player gets nothing). The stag represents a larger relative payoff. They is still a trust issue that must be resolved, the system will suffer under defection.Lets say your working together on something bigger, something that represents a really big payoff for both the teacher and the student, and that defection still gets you something (hey, this still is the real world and nasty people exist), but it's really much less that what you could have gained together. According to theory there are two Nash equilibria (risk dominant: going for safety by defecting and choosing a hare & payoff dominant: going for the higher payoff)

I like this scenario more:
- there is a greater payoff on doing morally "right".
- there is actually a positive thing that can be achieved.
- we can actually learn something about cooperation (going for the payoff strategy requires some interaction)

In my life I've worked on stag hunts. They really feel like a hunt. It's really clear what your hunting, it's really clear what the stakes are and what personal risk everybody is running. Hunting together is exhilarating because of this.

The prisoners dilemma? Well, who what to be a prisoner in an artificial equilibrium...?

As teachers (but also managers and leaders) we have (to an extent) power to construct both scenarios. The first one a "divide and conquer" prisoners dilemma based on fear in which we "comply".
The second one a hunt for something bigger with ample room for improvement and building of trust. Others (the students) have no liberties to construct, only to play. Here lie our duties.

I've probably made some fundamental mathematical or logical errors in the writing above. Fuck it... have some metal on me ;-)

8 to be great

2011-09-28T22:01:00.000+02:00

In the last two days I had the first individual conversations (about learnings) with the iLab participants.

The ilab being about innovation and entrepreneurship we use Richard st. John's "eight to be great" as a storyline for reflecting.

In short they are:

Passion: what do you like to do?
Work: how does your work ethic relate to your passion
Focus: what should you focus on? what are your strategies for focussing?
Push: how do you put your ideas into the world?
Ideas: where do your ideas come from? How do you put them into practice?
Improve: what are your strategies for learning and improvement?
Serve: what is your passion's place in the world?
Persist: what keeps you going when you're down?

These conversations are really surprising in a good way, especially the topics on "passion" and "serve". I like to believe the world of tomorrow is geniunely waiting for people with passion and a way to put passion to good use. I'd be fucked if the people weren't waiting for that world.

I had a bit of a discussion on this last curricullum meeting where it was stated that the world was waiting for people with "degrees" ergo the people were looking for "degrees". It would be education's job to make sure the degrees would remain valuable (and with a "certification" business logic an extrinsic/subjective value would imply scarcity)

But what about the intrinsic value? what makes an education valuable "of itself"?
Talking about "passion" and "serve" (which are really difficult subjects when you are the subject) I caught a glimpse of educations intrinsic value. Outside is a world that needs young people, needs them to be "all they can be". Their skills and place in the world are emergent.

I was pleasantly surprised with the way they articulated the emergent meaning and direction of their learning in relation to questions and problems in the world. And I realized that we cannot capture it in a "certificate"

"treat your people like volunteers, they can choose whether or not to be at work every day"

A volunteer needs passion and he needs a purpose. These are the intrinsic values of an education (and life).

Making meaning with @lilisukirman

2011-09-21T09:24:00.000+02:00

Last thursday we had an #iLab session on creating value. DNAMO had flown in Lili Sukirman from Happen to help us make some sense of what value we actually had and how to position them.

When she began about the story of Batman I was a bit confused (this was not the usual session on businessmodels I expected), but soon it became clear that she was showing us a different way to look at your businessmodel. Her talk focussed on making meaning.

here are some take-aways

people make meaning in relation to a frame of reference
your value proposition should interface with their frame of reference
you have to take into account that they will make their own meaning, not yours...
making your "story" work will give you insight into that meaning.
the sequence is: Framework ("did you ever wonder..", single benefit, match "eureka!", the emergence of meaning (at the customers side), giving them reasons to believe you, giving them and instruction for use, tagline ("in the night death wears a smile..." that delightfully freaked me out, Lili!), (and if your doing it right:), the creation of narrative by the customer themselves.
if you positioned your value proposition right, the customer will create their own narrative (as in Apple's or Ferrari's example).

you're gonna need insight into the customers landscape
find paradoxes ("i'd like this, but that exludes that") or pains
be aware of layers in problems. find the ones closest to the ones paying you.

finally she had a little exercise to refine your positioning
usually a business has the perspective of their product (A)
the customer has the perspective (C)
at (B) they interface
By filling in the blanks and checking if they make sense you can refine the boundaries of your value proposition.
note the "anti-C" as it defines the trade-offs of your value proposition

I havent been riveted like this in a long time. Thanks Lili!

Passing through the magnetic field

2011-09-20T22:23:00.000+02:00

"We're passing through the magnetic field! Hold tight! Switch your deflectors, double-front!" the unidentified garbled voice comes over the radio in the iconic death star attack scene.

The voice has reverberated in my head for the last years in which I've seen a lot of transitioning and attempts to transitioning. With the same garbled anxiety as encompasses the attack run on the death star I'm experiencing a lot of change from dad-dom to changes in our enviroment (our global and local economy, changes in technology that impact our education, generations of students that are no longer my own, and our own micro-cosmos slowly trying to deal with pressure for more consistence but at the same time pressure in "making a difference" (which in theory are mutually exclusive, but that is another story))

With my work I was beginning to wonder about if the organization we were transitioning into had a place for me. I love beating new paths, making do, exploring new stuff, standing knee deep in the shit but still smiling because I'm having fun. Which worked for a long time and in a lot of projects in the period I joined in, but as the organization became more professional I think I was drifting a bit. I found myself tripping over procedures, knee deep in complaints, unable to express my ideas and feeling less "useful". Not that there was any bad intent either way, I just had trouble fitting in.

Looking back I realized that most of the change I liked to talk about and work on was behind us, and we were "setting in" again. And, that this might actually be a good thing.I truly believe that change is a "given" not a "variable", in other words the change is neither bad or good it just "is", likewise I try not to have any inclination about how the organization is changing (as long as it is changing, which it is) I was intermittently considering invoking the law of two feet.

In the past I've lamented not being anywhere where things mattered (which, if anything, is a really bad sign for my conduct, I must admit).

Standing on the aft deck of the water-bus that took me to a new learning-project, the garbled voice came back again. I realized I was on my way to attack a death star again.

The playing field in the global economy is changing both geopolitical and social. Its becoming more visible everyday. Seeing it more up close (in contrast with reading about it in a report or in the paper) has opened my eyes. Rotterdam and it's hinterland has been a player in this field, and must work hard and be cunning to remain one. Walking through the innovation dock today I saw a million attempts to play in this field, and I filled my heart with happiness. I'm part of a teeny-tiny attempt too, and it feels right.

partially filled innovation dock (commercial side)

Maybe the ozone is getting to my head :-)

first session in the iLab "turning innovation into business"

2011-09-05T22:15:00.000+02:00

I promised some of you to keep you up to date with my current project. This summer I've started working on an iLab (short for "Innovation Lab")

The idea of the iLab is giving students the opportunity to work on a real problem in a multidisciplinary enviroment (I'm sorry, I dont have any links to a explanation outside the university's intranet, I'll talk to the communications department about that)
Our iLab is called "turning innovation into business" and is in cooperation with DNAMO an incubator on the RDM campus (a converted submarine dockyard). In the iLab we will work on turning an technological invention from the Delft university into business.

On the boat to the RDM campus (situated at a remote part of the old harbor it's detached from the "normal" university)

Discussing learning intentions

The iLab itself is a loosely structured "learn-work enviroment". Because we are working on real problems that are sometimes complex or difficult to define we cannot structure the course using conventional didactical design practice.

Here are some principles we're working on:
- the balance between theory (in support of solving the problem) and practice (actually working on the problem)
- the "learn-working arrangement" (Lappia, 2010). This is the total of the "ingredients" for the learning experience consisting of: intended goals, content, activities, means, roles, stakeholders, time, space, evaluation. I'll try to tell you a bit more about our "ingredients" in another blog post.
- a "cycle" of learning (Lappia, 2010) consisting off: learning as intended (our design), learning as perceived (our observations by which we steer the early process), learning as experienced (the learners experience by which we steer the process), learning as learned (the learners actual competence increase)

will keep you posted!

Cutting back on the internets during the summerbreak

2011-08-21T22:48:00.000+02:00

For my vacation to Italy with my family I decided against taking my laptop (mainly because I didnt want to worry about it lying unattended in a car, hotelroom or a tent. However I did take my Iphone and Ipad with 3 weeks of unlimited data-roaming.

After the first day of roaming the t-mobile account failed (I couldn't even use the normal roaming function), for almost a week, after which is was up again.
At first I was extremely annoyed at not being able to upload my hipstamatic photos (which I had been looking forward to playing with).
Then I remembered an article Ted Newcomb mentioned some time ago in a blog post, about "sacred un-interupted downtime". I couldn't access it at the time (because my internet was down), but the gist of it was we didn't have any time anymore for thinking because we were addicted to information.

During my forced unpluggedness I tried to make some sense of what I was experiencing.

First thoughts:
- I really couldnt "work" anymore. All remaining work required email and social media. Once I got over this realisation, it was OK (maybe really, really good) execpt for some nagging doubts about some ongoing projects.
- I really hated not being able to access wikipedia. I love history, and now I couldnt dive into the layers of the metaverse.
- I didn't really miss the social networks. It was fun to join the convo again once internet was up again.

about the distractions:
- I did not get not distracted without the internet or social networks. Living with a 2 year old is like that. So no sacred thinking space for me. It's hard (but fun) work all day. Eat some nice dinner, and then you go to sleep. I'd love some "sacred time" but it ain't happening. It does hurt your creativeness through distraction from "magic creative moments", however you gain a muse (who boosts creativeness through distraction)
- I did realize my somewhat unhealty attachment to my work. Next to my two year old (but fun) distraction, this was my greatest mental distraction (and the real source of my attachment to connectedness)
- most of the pain and insecurity stems from e-mail. IMHO it's a nasty medium by design.

So back to the article:
- I still think that being connected (or being able to connect at moments notice), brings more than it takes away.
- the internet does not distract, your attachments do (whether they are flesh and blood or mere figments of the imagination).

my comments to the advice in the article:
1. It doesnt work for me. (Well maybe a bit. It did really cut me off from work.)
2. & 3. I did that before I had a little kid. I havent been able to do so afterwards, not even on vacation. I do think not being distracted in this way is good (meditating, walking, exercising etc.). I need to reinstate this, I've already cut back on work (I can't/won't cut back on family life)
4. true, but it has nothing to do with being distracted by the internet. In fact having access to internet (for scriptures etc.) at a moment notice has helped me more than I would have been disconnected (I could check out Zeno's paradoxes when I learned about their existence in a book I was reading)
5. true, but IMHO being connected actually increases serendipity and chances to practice no-intent.

The article is spot on about insecurity and reactionary workflow, but I recommend working on the insecurities, and the design of the workflow (which I suspect is really the gist of the book (which I just ordered)) instead our insatiable need for information (which I believe hasn't changed with the internet).

Futhermore I recommend practicing "infotention" (check out this really good post on it by Kathi Berens). I love my internet walking through the old italian cities, or exploring exotic food. It makes life and learning more fun. Like Kathi says: our experience and use of information, is hybrid. Aescetics and puritans are mistaken.

Disclaimer: my work doesnt suck. I consider working on the future an honor, and it's fun to boot. However the place I give it in my life is sometimes unhealthy, as are the workload caused by governance and compliance (most of my worrying is about forgetting (or having forgot) some "fail-deadly" paperwork. Which is silly, I've taken responsibility and made my peace with the consequences either way (done or not done)). I think a lot of people deal with these insecurities, but they do fuck you up mentally. The key lies in dealing with it as a person, not lobotomy or over-systematization.

higher education as a common: exploring why?

2011-04-06T12:52:00.000+02:00

I've decided to focus a bit more on higher education. (though most of these ideas come from the primary schools that I'm visiting now with Olga)

In the history of education as a "service" there are several things that I see right now:

- Knowledge as a "gift"
Most of everything that I learned was given to me (in fact it was given from generation to generation), a big amount of all knowledge was "learned" of "given" very little was "produced" (like you produce a car). It differs from production.

- "non-zero sum" qualities of knowledge
Knowledge does not perish if you exchange it.

Game theory does apply but a different set of rules. (I think that current ideas for motivating a student or knowledge-sharer are bogus). In modern education: To exchange knowledge both parties have to overcome a "prisoners dillema" (bad reviews for me, bad grades for the student), while it could be a "stag hunt" (I just realize: maybe it is a "stag hunt" but we arent transparent enough to understand)

- co-creation of the service
learning is an activity that involves agency in order to be "delivered".

- the pervasiveness of building blocks
A lot of traditional classroom stuff (the 10% that we do in school) is freely available. Is it time to think about the other 90%?)

- the distributed qualities of knowledge
My own work with "wicked" problems (like coaching students on their theses), illustrates this nicely: without the help of my co-workers and the networked knowledge they provide, my effectiveness would diminish rapidly.

this all gives me the idea that the essence of learning (and thus education) is a Common thing.

digging deeper...

School as a "Common"

2011-04-05T15:39:00.000+02:00

Trying to put the things I learned at Howard U to practical use (and try to get out of a bit of a negative spiral).
I'm toying with the thought as a "Common" resource instead of a privately owned and exploited resource.

The idea behind the Commons is that of a commonly owned or shared and finite resource. Dont worry, I'm not trying to be a communist. But I am trying to find a way to better use this resource (which in our country is kinda commonly owned).

Most students come to school "to be transformed" ("by someone"). I think this breeds detachment ("us" vs. "them")
"School as a platform" is a "place" where people transform themselves and each others (not only students btw...)

The last 3 years and several projects. I've been working on how to use "Commons" and "Common Assets" (like knowledge) to find a better way to prepare our kids (and ourselves) for a future that is unknown and unknowable.
I am trying to find some ways to better understand and build upon this concept so that I can find some ways to work with the idea. Already the #mindamp course has given me insight in how we learn and how we can use technology and each other to "amplify" our human potential. (which I think is actually what any education should do)

There a are some things I worry about:
- We are trying to commodify education. If education is a common, it will cease to be a common (and "we" wont be able to reap the full benefits)
- We seem (students and educators) to become more detached to our common, and our responsibilities. a symptom that our common isnt a common anymore.

On a micro level I still see a lot of motivated people (student and educators alike) passionately work their given common.

There's some theoretical stuff that i'd like to explore:
- How could school be a common?
- How can we circumvent the tragedy of the commons?
- How can we make this work?

the death of the ball turrent gunner

2011-04-04T22:25:00.001+02:00

From my mother's sleep I fell into the State,
And I hunched in its belly till my wet fur froze.
Six miles from earth, loosed from its dream of life,
I woke to black flak and the nightmare fighters.
When I died they washed me out of the turret with a hose.
- Randell Jarrell

A beautiful poem that I found in the LIFE app. According to the wikipedia page on the poem, the poem is about "the state" of institutionalization. Detached from earth and the dream of life, we play out our roles. Except I'm not waking to FlAK or nightmare fighters.

Our institutions take us 6 miles up, where we feel safe. Where we cannot see the cost or the progress we make. We simply fly our missions and hope that it's not us that get washed from the turret.

I hope this isn't it. There must be another way.

building a netvibes dashboard

2011-02-11T00:30:00.000+01:00

note this is a crosspost for the #mindamp course

I've been playing with netvibes for a week now. And so far I am really happy with the way that it's organized and the look and feel. It truly has a more dashboardy feel too it. I am in the process of abandoning the heeps of feeds that are in my google reader and embracing a more organized approach in netvibes from scratch.

So far it looks like this:

trying to work from a "need" standpoint I've organised my tabs into area's of interest with the current priorities at the left.

Starting with 2 courses that I teach. I try to fill these with feeds that are current news items or snippets
Then I got the ego tab. (currently empty. Drat!)
a tab on emergence (something that intrigues me, but I dont have enought time for)
a grab bag of general educational insights that I hope to apply or use (maybe I'll move that forward)
and a monitor for my university (you probably wont get Dutch news, but things arent looking good for dutch education)

I love the "magazine" lay out!

But then I realize: feeds never were my problem (allthough it was nice to do some gardening).

It's getting from feeds to coherent thought to applied thought. I am searching for tools that let me copy/paste thoughts into a space where I can structure them (I use a magnetic whiteboard and stickies IRL). I loved Howards post on which tools he uses to manufacture thought from feeds.

Does anyone have some more tips on this?

my feeds and me & the concept of infotention

2011-02-07T22:40:00.004+01:00

This is a cross-post for the #mindamp course.

There is no denying that the internet changed my life (I cursed it after the dotcom crash, and it saved me when I didnt know where too look anymore (sounds extremely vague, but that's what it is)

@Tonzylstra was the one that introduced me to the serendipidous qualities that web 2.0 provided. It broke me free from feeling like a drone in an organization (any organisation for that matter) and made me an agent (that could work for the greater good, the organisation and myself)

(The need for infotention really hit home when I found out I missed something important he tweeted some days ago...)

When I first started reading feeds they gave me the inspiration that I needed at the time that I needed them (not being a religious man, I still kinda like the concept of this deity regaring serendipity), and they still do. But over the time I started following more and more feeds and started new categories. When I look into the stream I cant see as clearly as I saw before.

In the session on friday Howard mentioned "attentional methodology" as a way to "slice and dice" the information that streams along. I like the way you can organise netvibes (I only just started an account but will post about my findings later) in several dimensions (to stay in the OLAP vocabulary) to do this slicing and dicing. I tried it out in tweetdeck with the #tags that I am following for my projects at my work and immediately felt some more control.

Doing the same for my rss feeds is a lot harder because they do not come pre-tagged. I have relied on tags to retrieve information from delicious and flickr but I realize now that to build a dashboard I need to have a better concept of what I actually want to pay attention to and in what priority.

This is where it becomes very difficult for me. I am a "happy-go-lucky" guy, and I half of the time I dont know what the stuff that I am doing is called. I dont do well in a highly structured enviroment. On the other side not having some form of structure will destroy me fairly quickly.

I have only just started trying to build a structure that works for me. I revolves around themes that matter to me (I try to keep them at around 5):

My close-family and close-friends
Me (my hobbies, and stuff that keeps me sane ;-)
change/entrepreneurship
applied innovation in education
strategy (emergence in particular)

I'm even considering some form of "mission profile" for these themes. because these themes are too vague themselves.

So that can be a structure for the netvibes tabs, but even then it's too much and too unstructured information. I really liked the strategies that were discussed in the "medieval information strategies" article in the journal on the history of ideas. Offcourse! People were struggling with the same problems as me, 400 years ago.

Deciding where to direct my attention might depend on what I would like to do with the information. Based on the "medieval strategies" I've come up with the following idea:

Lemmata: noting biography and it's relation to the points interest
Adversaria and Sentieae: notes on descriptions (concepts maybe?) and "sayings" (I'll call that findings)
Historiae: examples

Maybe this classification might help in making information more malleable by knowing what I am seeing/ what to look for.

the not-to-do list

2011-01-03T11:27:00.002+01:00

After my 2010 TaDa! list I was inspired by and article of the Drucker Exchange on setting "posteriorities" (instead of priorities). Meaning abandoning things.

to be honest looking back last year was a year of abandonment for me. I abandoned some ambitions that weren't really mine (but were programmed (by none other than myself, I might add)), and that were slowly making me miserable.
- being loved by everyone (I'll settle for the important ones)
- not failing, especially in "simple" tasks (I love "complex", failing is mandatory. I do not love "simple" because I suck in it. I'm getting over it.)
- being the "manager". I found out I am much more the crazed entrepreneur type. People dont need me as a manager. Luckily business is not all about management (as I am finding out), and there are lost of opportunities to pursue.

I was surprised to realize I had gotten the room for all this at my work. and I am grateful for it.

so having learned from this, looking forward: what am I extending/defining as a posteriority for 2011.
- anything that does not accept the student as an agent in the system that we are part of (i.e. the student as "raw material"/"capital"). I do not believe in it.
- anything that does not accept the employee as and agent in the system that we are part of.
- anything that is based on centralized organizations as a basis for the future. It may be legitimate but I want to find a different way.
- anything that is based on business dogma, or the idea that a degree will give you certainties. I do not believe in it.
- doing any teaching that is not based on a solid foundation of ambition. It will fail.

* I will try to avoid anything that is not related to our direct environment (Commercial activities in Rotterdam, the Netherlands), or teaching stuff that comes from a book but has not been combat tested (or where applying isnt the stress test itself). This is going to be the hardest...

I think these posteriories are in line with my role at my work.

reflections

2010-12-30T21:29:00.000+01:00

having read a "life hacking" article on a thing called a "ta-daa!!" list. I was thinking about making one myself.

- started "startupcafe Rotterdam". This is on the top of my TaDa list. It proves that learning can be fun and informal. It is my first step in putting some oxygen to the spark I got in Copenhagen 2008 (#REBOOT10). In short it's a platform for "entrepreneurial spirits" by-and-for these entrepreneurial spirits (a barcamp). It's extremely fun and inspiring to work with inspired people.
- delivered a plan on how to "pimp" our office. I seems that it will be implemented the coming weeks.
- made a QFD for our workplace. initiated some moves against "groupthink". (but have to think of a way to keep things going). Abolished fixed workspace and introduced hot-desking. It created a ruckus among my colleagues but I am secretly proud of it.
- did a gig outside the school on another (form of) school. (It went crap, but was satisfying nonetheless as it proved I could ask for a higher pay (so I know I can be worth it))
- got a cognitive edge accreditation. This opened my eyes, but I still have to find a way to make it work for me in a team environment.
- gave a new course called "the bottom line". tried lot's of new ways of lecturing, sense-making and problem solving. loved it.
- ran a pilot on "peer assisted learning". ran a project as a project leader. without getting depressed! ;-) I learned a lot about how I can be a leader/facilitator (it's not the way I thought it would be)
- ran a pilot on webcasting. nice, but a bit nerdy
- attended Ton's #WSTM unconference. spark... spark...
- starred in a recruitment video (FUN!). I always fantasized about being an actor. it rocks!
- sold an apartment
- got 3 students graduated while being allocated none... really satisfying (if you teach it is important to see the results)

Why did I write this list? I have been struggling for years, figuring out what I should "be". Recent learnings have taught me that I should not plan for "being" but instead learn from "being" (and doing).

My metaphor is an explorer not knowing where he goes, but charting his progress to ensure he's not going home.

in the CV I had to turn in at the beginning of the year I wrote down three "bandwith's" I would like to "be something" in.
- applied educational innovation
- entrepreneurship/intrapreneurship/change
- Business lecturer

I am really chuffed to see that I actually did something in these areas... I wouldn't have realized this if I hadn't written this list.
- It seems that the last one is being "eaten up" by the previous ones passion-wise.
- Every single TaDa item came to be because of passionate people. Not just "me doing a great thing" but "me as part of a greater thing". This is what is broken in a lot of "projects" I am seeing lately. Can we fix it? if we become passionate...?

final thoughts:
- the unknown that I am sailing into intrigues me beyond belief... surely I must be able to make a difference sailing into the unknown for something/someone?

my "action" sticky #reboot11

dont get treed by a chihuahua...

2010-12-06T23:56:00.000+01:00

This weekend I finished the book "the men, the mission and me" by Pete Blaber. surprisingly it wasn't the typical "How do I turn my company in a band of commandos" book, but a reflection on the lessons he learned fighting in an asymmetrical environment.

I found many connections with today's management practice.

the prime lessons were:
- "dont get treed by a chihuahua" is about overreacting, under-reacting or not reacting at all, because you do not have an adequate grasp of the situation or you are jumping to conclusions. I see this a lot in management practice "the customer always is complaining", "those students always try to screw us", "management is screwing us, as always", "the personnel is complaining again" etc. etc. Not paying attention to the underlying patterns will put you on an ego fueled goose-chase which usually makes matters worse.
- "when in doubt, develop the situation" is about interacting with the environment and its agents to gain valuable new knowledge. The idea does away with the "golden bullet" plan (one plan to rule them all) and its flawless execution. Most situations are dynamic and complex. Moreover physical, temporal or mental distance to the actual arena is exponentially detrimental to your understanding of the situation. IMHO traditional planning "schools of though" emphasize to much abstraction and detachment.
- "always listen to the guy on the ground" is about the dilemma of the leader that because of his coordinating task is detached from reality. He must trust the guy that is in fact interacting with reality and question his appreciation of his perceived (but detached and therefore flawed) reality. Maybe it's a bit esoteric but Blaber relates how he told one team leader was "fulfilling his destiny" in carrying out one vital part of the mission. That is trust and it illustrates that you don't interfere with with a professional's "destiny" (/work). You can give him information to help him complete his mission and you can steer him, but you cannot decide his action for him (you can make decisions about him as illustrated in the sentence "I do not care if you live or die. right now you are the right person for this mission")
- "it's not reality unless it is shared" is about the networked organization and distributed cognition. The man on the ground (every man on the ground) can benefit greatly from shared information on which he can act. Traditional C&C depends on centralized sense-making and decision making. In fact this makes your personnel blind and puts them at the mercy of your decision making (based on a flawed sense of reality).
- "humor you imagination" is about the power of asymmetrical thinking and the power of collective thinking (saturate, incubate, illuminate) versus traditional analysis and planning. Collectively developing the situation and generating options is a process that should involve all the people involved and should focus on the simple attainment of the mission not a complicated planning method.

Vincenzo! il conto!

2010-09-22T19:34:00.002+02:00

Just returned from our local Pizzeria. What a marvelous place!

From the love for the bambini and the eyes for the regazza to the contempt for breaking some obscure unwritten italian food rule. whatever they do it is done with their whole spirit

Sometimes there are little fights that stop as quickly as they start. It feels like an opera.

are they rich? probably not...
are they happier than most companies? I think so..

I always come back an inspired man.

Forza!

quick reflection on cognitive edge course

2010-09-14T21:33:00.002+02:00

Last week I attended Cognitive Edge's accreditation course on sensemaking. Two very inspiring days in the heart of Amsterdam.

beautiful and inspiring sight

I havent really "made sense" of it all (but that's probably complexity rearing it's head), one or two things seemed to stick.

The concept of bounded applicability
This is the idea that some problems really are best solved with the type of solution meant for them. People tend to stick to one way of solving problems (pattern entrainment), and I am always quick to point out entrainment errors in other people. But I realized I off course suffer from the same problem (sticking either in the "total control" trap or the "fluffy bunny and group hugs" approach). I really feel at home on the complex side which seems to be a bit paradoxical.

every problem has it's own domain

the influence of our hopes and fears on our decision making
The Heaven and Hell exercise caught me off guard, because we somehow produced two very hellish pathways (so the way to heaven was hell too, really) when asked about the credit crisis. which told me something about my fears and how they severly narrow down your percieved options

the path (as in our perception) to hell (for this problem)

the stories in my organisation have more meaning than I realized
We did some story extraction techniques. the stories produce exagerrated archetypes that show the best, but also the worst in your organisations undercurrent. really insightfull if you want to achieve things with your organisations.
The archetypes form a really good focal point for interventions.

fail often fail fast
I really love the safe-fail idea. I'm so happy I found a scientifically approved way to take risk! :-)

"experiment" and "action", I'll tattoo them to my knuckles

"Too big to fight it, we'd have to fight that slope instead"

2010-05-29T10:19:00.004+02:00

I was reading about Snowden's Cynefin framework, when through Weick's research on sensemaking I came across this song on the Mann Gulch fire.

It's about the teamleader's confession on his deathbed years later (he was on of three survivor's of the catastrophy).

His team of smokejumpers parachuted into the forest to fight a fire, but the fire overran then and cut off their escape route. And they had to race the fire up a hill. It soon became evident that they werent going to make it, and he thought of something he heard the Indians did in fires on the plain.

Sky had turned red, smoke was boiling
Two hundred yards to safety, death was fifty yards behind
I don't know why I just thought it
I struck a match to waist high grass running out of time
Tried to tell them, Step into this fire I set
We can't make it, this is the only chance you'll get
But they cursed me, ran for the rocks above instead
I lay face down and prayed above the cold Missouri waters

By putting fire to his own patch and jumping into it, he created a patch where there would be no fuel. Tragically his team stayed within their own heuristics and were overtaken by the flames, and their deaths weighed on him for the rest of his life.

Weick researched the event for a concept he calls "sense-making" in strategy, which researches how organizations (or better the collective of people in it) cope with external realities through their own perception of these realities.

Yesterday I had a conversation with a colleague who worried about losing her job in the face of announced budget cuts in the central organization (but also in education in general). Hearing this song I associated our (perpetual) situation with Dodge's crew.

- This fire is not stopping. And yes, it's going to take us (educators) out.
- We cannot go back to the old situation there is a forest fire blocking it.
- We cannot put the fire out.
- We are running for the ridge, and our survival instinct is our downfall.
- Like Dodge, we'll get a chance. But, we'll have to see it...
- Our peers will curse us.. It will be the last thing they'll do. And it will weigh our souls..

Pretty glum forecast. But at least it gives an example of how we can survive (by leaving the order of uncertainty avoidance heuristics).

These are interesting times...

I hope Dodge got the rest he deserved when he joined his team..

And when I rose, like the phoenix
In that world reduced to ashes there were none but two survived
I stayed that night and one day after
Carried bodies to the river, wonder how I stayed alive
Thirteen stations of the cross to mark to their fall
I've had my say, I'll confess to nothing more
I'll join them now, because they left me long before
Thirteen crosses high above the cold Missouri waters
Thirteen crosses high above the cold Missouri shore

Some answers on "working on stuff that matters"

2010-05-12T21:54:00.002+02:00

Ton's birthday barcamp is in 2 two days and although I thought about it, I havent really found the inspiration to put something to paper on how I work on stuff that matters.

Then I found some questions on Ton's wiki on the subject, which can be a starting point.

How do you stick with or start doing the things that matter?
For me, "Starting" is easier than "sticking". "How" isn't really easy to explain. I dont really have a theme, but "working on stuff that matters" is really important for my overall happiness. I "feel" if something is important to me, and as a result I also feel I something is not important. The feeling itself is closely related to my taking action and/ or sticking to it.

How do you stay the course, through every day trivia?
When it comes to navigation there's some "soft" techniques that I practice. These have to do with staying in touch with what you feel, how it feels and what should be done (the last thing is usually not a rational thought proces, it just "gets done").
And there are some "hard" techniques, usually involving schematics and GTD lists. It's really difficult to use them but they help in "sticking to" and roadmapping.

What practices do you keep, that help you?
I take long walks, visit museums, work in inspiring places. And try to relate what touches me to my "work here on earth".
I also made some "rules" for myself
- Only do the things worth dying (or getting fired) for. Knowing that everything ends is a great sieve.
- allow for "whitespace" in your work. Times in which you dont do (epic) shit, but just sit and watch whatever comes your way.
- I plan to get functionally lost from time to time
- have a team or at least a good opposite (that cares, but definitely in a different way), without them I burn out or I'll get lost.
- paint the bigger picture. This helps me remind me that it's not about me. actually painting it for real is a great visual tool.
- shut up and listen to them (I find this difficult, but it's the most rewarding rule)
- accept your weaknesses and "deal" with them (usually by outsourcing them), focus on skills you can lever.
- do not worry about the outcomes, follow the Dharma

How do your relationships and networks factor into this?
The relationships are a conduit of serendipity (I'm not religious but for lack of a better concept I believe this is a manifestation of Dharma)
I have no system for this. (I believe a system is probably wrong)

How have your practices evolved?
I'm only just beginning to learn and understand but some stuff actually has evolved.
- the first rule actually has actually eased my worrying of failing. winning or losing becomes more irrelevant each time you stare into the abyss. the clarity gives you courage. I still make the mistake of not sticking to rule 1 and they turn into painful lessons.
- I used to be ashamed of "faffing about". But I have labeled time as a currency. I have money, but time is actually much more scarce (especially if you consider rule 1). spending it all because of peer pressure is silly.
- shutting up, listening and feeling have actually become a important skill for me. It is the origin of everything I do.

How do you operate in this completely networked world?
Damn... that is a though question. I dont know... the walls of an organisation suffocate me. So I can probably answer the question with "not good enough to my liking.." But I'm actually working on that.

So I'll chew on that some more..

What are the things you are convinced matter most?
- Progress... (simple as that)
- Emancipation
- to free from oppression (usually brought on by a drive to maintain a status quo)

the latter actually being a way of life (and a touch of my professional bloodlust, I have come to recognize)

And how have you or haven't you incorporated those into your life?
Unwittingly my current job is very much about all these aspects. Emancipating students (and increasingly colleages) as a path to progress, occasionally having to deconstruct something.
Am I succesful with it? I dont know. It feels much better, though.
Sometimes I get played. I'd like to improve on that.

some thoughts on "working on stuff that matters"

2010-05-04T20:39:00.002+02:00

on may 14th I'll be attending Ton's birthday Unconference on "working on stuff that matters".

some preliminary thoughts on the subject:
- Stuff that matters usually entails some "meaningless" stuff to go with it.
- "Stuff that matters" and "stuff that doesnt" (but comes along with it) are in flux.
- the meaning of "stuff that matters" changes over time. It is difficult to keep course.
- one needs to be egoistic to be able to work "on stuff that matters"

some questions:
- do organizations have a concept of "stuff that matters"? (there's a difference between "good" and "Good")
- how can you align "stuff that matters" and the people to go with it?

- it helps me to meet and work with people with the same concerns (we do not have to agree..). Is there somekind of nexus? (There is I see it all around me, but it is difficult to jump on the train..)
- I see the practice of working on "stuff that matters" like riding a network of trains. You have to "jump" on them when they ride past (which takes mindfullness, decisiveness, and you'll have to be able to live with doubt (of taking the right train))

hmmm that last point gives me some insights on my current dilemma's...

hass497

2010-05-04T19:38:00.001+02:00

hass497
Originally uploaded by ecphaff

my little monster...

Five rings

2010-03-15T21:58:00.003+01:00

I just realized this blog is never going to be very "to the point". Oh well...

Last weeks I've reread "the book of five rings" by Miyamoto Mushashi (or a translation anyway)

It's mainly about killing someone-else with a large piece of sharp steel. But the interesting part is that it's also about "strategy" (in a broad sense) and education.

Some take-aways that may prove valuable:

- You cannot learn "everything", your learning is never complete. Mushashi warns of the superficiality that can take possession of a school that thinks it is "complete".

- Your attitude towards your art will define your mastery of it. Mushashi actually talks about something that sounds like "lifelong learning". In which a student devotes all his attention to the art. The art (or as Musashi says: "the spirit of the thing itself), will reveal itself to the student. But the art is elusive and if you stop, it will stop revealing itself. Nothing but devotion will do.

- You must have "tools", and you must respect them.

- you should cross-train with different "tools".. What if you found out you liked another tool better? (this is one of the many fears of stagnant schools, that teach "one best tool".

- "Masters plan for contigency". It's important to see systems beyond the point that concerns your art. This helps when the shit hits the fan...

- You can only fight the way you practice. This one seems very simple, but is actually very very hard. Think about it...

- double loop learning is important to actually survive a changing enviroment.

- Technique and strategy are not the same. Techniques are important. But they are static in a way. Strategy is a mental discipline in which you learn how to apply technique in a constantly changing enviroment.

- It's important to study the "way of things". It's foolish to want to change the "way of things". The nature of things (for example your weapons or organisation) is a given. Studying the nature of things will make the solution reveal itself at the right time.

- the student of an art will have to go "deep". Nothing is easy. But more important: the art has an intuitive nature, it's difficult to understand.

- "One thing does one thing, two things does four". Not sure, but this seems to concern combinations. It most certainly moves away from specialization.

- Only use tools when they can be used effectively. Dis regard tools that have no use at the time.

- It's dangerous to know only one thing well.

- Rhythm and timing are important in strategy. Timing is about finding the right time. Rhythm is about putting timing in the right order. Think about it! This is quite essential to getting anything done! Learning anything starts with timing and rhythm...

- Information may be evident, knowledge is not obvious.

- Do not permit yourself to be intimidated. We should teach this...

- Have no preconceived ideas of the outcome.

- It's about death., which is a "nature of the thing". Both the books of water and fire are about killing. One person will lose. Go right into the heart of the matter.

- "Do not bear false attitudes". I find this one the most difficult. We tend to carry ourselves greater than we are. It will get you killed..

- In the way of the warrior there is no such thing like thought (other than the intelectual powers you need to come to understand this terminology). The spirit is no-thing-ness means that there is no such thing as relying upon anythin outside your individual mind.

much ado about nothing (and everything..)

2010-03-01T21:18:00.002+01:00

Haven't posted in a while ((lovingly) managing a 10 month old daughter has eaten away all the time that I had. And it's OK..)

Patterns at work are changing too. I'm transitioning from "frontal teaching" to more interesting innovative projects. It has been no bed of roses, but pretty fullfilling (just doing what feels right, feels very nice. Regardless of outcomes (some good, some that might need improvement))

Some projects (not all at once :-)
- PAL (Peer Assisted Learning): platform enabled Peer-learning in various forms
- web and screencasting: finding ways to syndicate knowledge (dream: teachers should be rockstars again)
- "inspiring and motivating" course designers to make better tests (informal learning-tinted task. start-up phase, but interesting)
- BOKS (Body of Knowledge and Skills). Building a framework for the curricullum.
- #startup cafe. Building a platform for entrepreneurial students.

The projects are very design oriented and complex. The best of them are done in teams (especially where your working with students).

Looking back I got rid of a lot of fear. I try to work on what matters. Only failing in something that matters not (hmmmMMM.... ;-) is a waste.

just a heads up..

the need for platforms for informal learning

2010-01-19T21:56:00.004+01:00

One of my informal tasks is dealing with the undercurrent that supports organisational change (albeit on my own projects). I believe having a foundation is essential to implementing any kind of change.

reflecting on the past months I realize I miss two things that can lever our passion for good education.

1. a platform on which we can meet each other (both online and offline), and share our passion. Although we sit next to each other we are truly fragmented. I looks like it's in our nature.

2. social objects through which we can interact. We should have something inspiring/constructive to talk about.

I'm happy to have found this out (I know what to do now), but it leaves me with a dilemma. The only currency that I have to worry about (time) has run out. I cannot do any more. I'm dropping too many balls.

I wish I had some resources...

revisiting the "Homo Zappiens"

2009-10-15T23:03:00.006+02:00

Part of last years project was finding out how to change education to fit with a "new student" (the "Homo Zappiens", named after his presumable capacity to learn across multiple channels).

To be honest, when the project stopped we had discussed a lot about this "new student", but I got lost in finding a "definite (and scientific) result".
The experts are still out on the phenomena (we had heated discussions on brains, switching behaviour, (dis/)ability to learn, and whether or not it was a cause or effect (or even an issue at all)

Whatever we found out then. I realize it has opened my eyes to a new reality. I am aware of a growing discord among students, and the organisations attempts (and sometimes disabilty) to change.

Last weeks I've tried take off my "educator" glasses and look through my old "entrepreneur" glasses. These glasses make me see that students are INSTRUMENTAL to reaching organisational goals (and therefore to organisational survival). Students can only be seen as partners (not as "defective raw material"; "poor souls without knowledge or skills" (I f#cking hate the "I do it for the students" argument (which implies the teacher knows better)) or "future workforce that must learn")

So what did I see? (based on virtual and f2f conversation, observation, and reflection)
- (for all dutch and intl. students) An increased voiced realization that education is letting them down (the use of #fail tags). Most tweets say something about a mismatch in expectations ("is this all there is?", or gross unilateral disrespect in student<>organisation relation ("turning up of nothing"; "being told off"; "being force fed crappy content")
- a voiced need to "do" and "build" (and learning from the doing).
- urgent needs in learning (side jobs are not so "junior" anymore, and ambition is high)
- increased competition for time (search for learning efficiency and effectivity)
- an increased ability to seperate "academic" and "professional" knowledge. "is this just interesting, or can I really use it"
- a feeling of meaninglessness

institutionalized meaninglessness, a meager harvest

What does it mean?
- We might have to tone our superiority down. For relations sake.
- We might have to look at applied education. Some knowlegde can be "interesting" yet hopelessly unusuable (and it shows...).
- We might have to rethink our portions to stay in (time) competition
- We might have to start thinking about "the experience" (our partner's as well as our own)
- We must CONSIDER our partner's "life", or lose them to competition (work, life, other forms of learning)
- this implies a redesign of the learning process and value configuration

Some stuff that might work:

Applied learning: make shit together as human beings

life syndication: show what everybody is doing (student, educators, life in general)

arrange relations (dont sever them) (Wii's in the studying area)

Do not regurgitate someone else's bullshit (Porter's for example ;-)

feel the fear and do it anyway. Most teachers do not stare their won limitations in the face (after all: I am only a student in education). Act like you demand from your students. (which might be something totally different from the content of your course). (disclosure: I needed some "persuasion" to share my shit at reboot (thanks to @elmine)

kill meaninglessness: what are you teaching? for f#ck sakes: WHY? (oh and be nice..)

Do not forget our mission. (but be humble)

be a platform for applied magic

The system is not, We are (the system). Act responsible or face eternal disgrace. (there's a fine line dividing teachers and Nazi's (We have all been students, right?)

"un-lecture" the lecture

2009-09-01T21:28:00.002+02:00

Having been to several "unconferences" last year. I've come to appreciate the learning potential (not to mention the motivational potential) of "networked learning" (in particular discussing subjects and building things together).

At the same time, I value "traditional lectures" less and less. True there is a place for normal lectures in education but only to a limited extend and effect.
- lectures are, pretty much, one way
- they contain only explicit knowledge
- they are expensive
- and tedious for both student and lectures (save the few brilliant lecturers)
- in today's knowledge-intensive economy, it occurs that students actually have equal or better knowledge of the subject. (and it's a pity that this knowledge remains unchanged)

today I've tried dissecting some promotion campaigns and mindmapping (with mindmanager) the patterns within. It's still difficult to get the groove going.
I tried to build on the sessions I did with HZAP08

- students need some time to switch in the mindset (Me too)
- I forgot to change the seating (this influences the vibe greatly)
- allthough not as powerfull as a handwritten mindmap, it's really easy to use mindmanager projected on a screen.
- it's important to make sure that everyone uses the same conventions.
- for a lecturer is difficult not to intervene and to "lecture" but to facilitate the process.
- I works better with students with a certain experience.

I'm not sure what I got yet. I know for certain that I'm not a "lecture" lecturer, but I think I can be a facilitator of sorts.

Takeaways kick-off CoM 24-08-09

2009-08-24T21:32:00.002+02:00

Today marked the kick-off of the new academic year of our institute CoM. The venue was the new RDM campus.

One of the founders of the RDM campus (a physically detached R&D focussed location of our university) shared his ideas and findings.

A few things that struck me:

Shifting system boundaries and cooperation
Matching business needs with education opportunities needs a systems aproach that is broader than the institute itself. RDM matches the research - design through manufacturing with both university and professional as well as vocational teaching opportunities (ranging from concepting to strength calculations to prototyping and manufacturing)

(this is a truly amazing feat in educational space/time: thinking outside the "kingdom" (and ffinf doing it for that matter))

seek knowledge intensive processes
not the stuff everybody could know the answer to. Education can truly help in the realm of expirimentation, venturing, research, and problemcrunching. We can build knowledge, confidence and we've got shit to loose (hey that's our business! :-)

the syncing paradox
business problems and education are notoriously out of sync. Curriculae are set in stone from the get go. This can mean a time-to-market of over a year for cooperation with business. RDM approaches this problem with dialogue (instead of ready made contracts) exploring the implications and adapts its planning to that of the businesses (a customer centered approach)

OIIO (Outside-In Inside out) is a schwerpunkt for Rotterdam university but also proves to be a paradox for traditional professional education ("how do we fit this into our education?" (which I think is the wrong question))

What does it mean to me?
- problems can be tackeled by looking outside the system boundaries. I hadnt though of this big a system.
- the syncing problem can and should be adressed
- there is a demand for knowledge intensive processes which can be be adressed now at a moment at which business, student, teacher and institute can benefit. It's a golden opportunity.

#hzap08 standing order #3: baby, dont fear the reaper.

2009-07-07T13:35:00.002+02:00

Change is inhibited by the barriers we construct ourselves. As we try different things we receive feedback from the system we live in. Sometimes the feedback is positive, sometimes it's negative.

- people might tell us stuff is impossible
- doing the wrong stuff might get you fired or disgraced
- failing might get you fired or disgraced
- people might frown on your erratic behaviour
- people might not agree iwth your plans

but most of all: YOU might not agree with people or the system.

it's actually our fear of ridicule that's causes you to stop your "good fight" (not the negative feedback or the friction)

We need to demolish these barriers by accepting your fear, accepting that it's necessary to continue, and go forward anyway.

During the project I felt a lot of fear. The external fear of disgrace, but more important the fear in failing in something, I've come to realize, which means a lot to me.

Fighting for something that means a lot and failing is better than failing even before the first blow. The realization of this is paramount for learning and change.

#hzap08 standing order #2 be the change

2009-06-25T06:35:00.003+02:00

It's easy to spot what is wrong. It's harder to build a vision of what it has to become. It's even harder to take the first steps yourself.

I hear a lot of people complaining or expressing their frustration with the status quo. Some of them write plans for a better future. But usually these plans incorporate other people "doing things better" or "making the bad things disappear".

That's not realistic.
Don't think. Act!

Realize what your own sphere of influence is. (it's usually bigger than you think), and act.

(illustration by Ton Zijlstra)

Whatever your path. It takes blood, sweat and tears but people will join you and become inspired by your actions. Be grateful for every step forward. Once you start going forward, dont ever stop, or it will destroy you and make you "normal".

#hzap08 standing order #1 Gung Ho!

2009-06-22T19:46:00.004+02:00

I was reading John Robb's standing orders for fighting an "open insurgency", and decided to write my own standing orders for learning (and getting things done (the object of learning) in a networked world.

If ever I find myself in the same spot I found myself in last year I hope I will remember my "standing orders" :-)

standing order #1 Gung Ho!

I'm gonna have to be carefull not to kick in any open doors here. But I feel the spirit of Gung Ho! (chinese for work together) is essential for networked learning. Without "Gung Ho spirit" learning will become mechanistic.

I'll try to nuance it: There are many ways of working together. Mostly everything works fine, until the shit hits the fan. Clashing norms, orientation, dislike, outside pressure, attrition. (normally everything that's associated with the "storming" phase of group process). There are several ways to deal with it. But IMO they all boil down to two archetypes:

- Command and control: In which the teamleader resolves the situation (For example T.E. Lawrence executing the vendetta-murderer in his camp, to stop vendetta)
- Group process: the group resolves differences (or put them aside for the time being). (For example the resolve of the soldiers in Henry V's army at Agincourt, fighting against the odds, but being fully aware of not standing and working together will lead to disaster)

The first example is the most commonly used way in modern businesses. The result being the team members being dependend of the team leader for steering, and feedback (even amongst each other). I think this model is an example of the industrial age.

The second is much more difficult to attain. Examples include "esprit de corps", Auftragstaktik, Loose-Tight control, management by objectives, etc.

There are many tasks and responsebilties for the teamleader (I'll admit with 20/20 hindsight there are things that I could have done differently). But I'll start next time expecting "gung ho!" which means:

- understanding the (overall) task at hand.
- seeing your part.
- actively seeking synergy.
- putting differences aside or resolving them within the team.
- live with your own conduct.
- staying on and chipping in when the shit hits the fan (especially when the shit hits the fan).

It's everybody's responsebility (but especially that of the team leader) to maintain "gung ho"

#hzap08 my story so far.

2009-06-19T20:10:00.007+02:00

It's been a few weeks since our closing conference. There are many things to write about. I've decided to write about what I think I've learned about putting things into action on a larger scale.

I'm afraid it's going to be a bit philosophical. But I'll try to close on a tangible note.

Oh Krishna, drive my chariot between the two armies. I want to see who desire to fight with me. With whom will this battle be fought?

are the first words of Arjuna in the Bhagavat Gita. A story that had great impact on how I think about work. It has helped me greatly to fathom the essence of my work, my struggle with friend and foe, how I feel about quality, and how to stand for my own values (and not compromise like I did many times before)

When I started this project my vision was clear: "we, the intrepid, innovative, righteous and brave educators would work together to show the "normal" people how we could use new technologies and insights to improve education" (OK I'll be honest: "and... we (I) would be heralded as the heroes we were, be wined and dined and have our faces on the cover of "profielen" and maybe Time"

Like Arjuna I surveyed the battle and felt despair as it progressed. I reached the deep end when:
- I presented my vision in front of my collegues, and met stiff resistance from the people I considered allies. Like Arjuna these people were former teachers, friends (no family luckily :-)
- I was chastised by my team, for being too "loose" in my command, while the other part chastised me for nagging.
- the attrition in my team reached horrible levels. Some people had to go (a nasty thing, that nobody likes) Some people went by themselves.
- my superiors pressed for tangible results (we invested about 270k)

To be honest, at this time I was really tempted to quit, or compromise the underlying values that had me started on this track.
But I realised I also made me covet victory more. I started having negative thoughts about the people I worked with and the org. that gave me the mission. It didnt fit my perception any more.

Death means the attainment of heaven; victory means the enjoyment of the earth. Therefore rise up Arjuna, and resolve to fight! Having made yourself alike in pain and pleasure, profit and loss, victory and defeat, engage in this great battle and you will be freed from sin.

Krishna (disguised as his charioteer) tells Arjuna, how this coveting clouds the mind, and makes a person waver in the face of duty.
The notion of defeat, disgrace, or crossing swords with the people I respect, made me waver. How could I ever do the right thing?

You have the right to work but never to the fruits of work. You should never engage in action for the sake of reward, nor should you long for inaction

The second part is easy. I tried it, it's possible, it sucks. But I could only let the first one by accepting that my pain was caused by my desire to "have my face on the cover of "Profielen"". It was ugly to look at, and I put it away.

What remained was the feeling that I was still working on a noble cause. That the adversity was a noble enemy, and that it's OK to fight a respected enemy (and it was OK that they fought me, like a good enemy should). I also made me value the forces that were with me.

- Our remaining team with all our differences and fears
- the forces in the organisation that were superior to me. Even when I didnt understand them or their motives.
- the support from within the org. other services.
- the forces outside the org. that affirmed my viewpoints.

He who shirks action does not attain freedom; no one can gain perfection by abstaining from work. Indeed there is no-one who rests even for an instant; every creature is driven to action by his own nature.

every creature is drive to action by it's own nature. This is what I've come to believe in. Not by someone elses nature. (mine for instance. Or the org. Or the other teammembers).

What the outstanding person does. Others will try to do. The standards such people create will be followed by the whole world.

That means being outstanding (in whatever you believe outstanding). But much more important: allow others to be outstanding, and fullfill their destiny.

Thus, we fought the last weeks. I feel we dropped the silly bickering, and gave it one last push. It culminated in our day on the 4th of june when we showed the world what we'd been doing. Not everyone understood, but I feel we pushed the envelope. And I can hear the world slowely moving because of our actions.

Credit where credit due. In the midst of stress, and difficult questions. The team held. They came across with whatever they stood for, and whatever they had. Which was more that I bargained for.

So what do I learn from this?
- There is an innate force that brings people to action. Tapping into this is much more powerful than any management construct.
- Resistance to change (wherever this appears), is a sign of a worthy cause.
- Duality (classifing into moral good or evil) as nothing to do with the fight. both sides are fulfilling their own destiny. Everyone should fullfill theirs and not the ones of others. Despairing in or focussing on the wrongness of others is unbecoming a professional.

(I feel this last one is a real trap for educators. I've seen everyone try it (including myself), and it all ended in tears)

- I believe that knowing this, you are ready to join the good fight.

what it means is:
in order to be able to work together:
- the individuals must be aware of their driving force.
- be able to value the world (including the bad stuff) for what it is.
- be able to transcend duality and their own desires.
- it is possible to find common ground in action, but it cannot be forced by man. (maybe by nature..)

evaluation and planning talks

2009-05-13T23:41:00.002+02:00

My vision and proposition for activities next year.

NB: I am a normal educator, with normal education task. alongside these tasks there are task that apply to the organisation. I think these tasks are important if you teach because they are very educational for yourself.
Being someone who never knew what he liked. This is my way of looking for a way to lever my capabilities and have some fun at work, while making a real difference

looking back

Last year I participated in a few projects. Some went smooth, but most were rough. nevertheless they taught me some important skills and insights. And all can be filed under "applied educational innovation"

#HZAP08

This is where it all began. Last year I was asked to be the project leader of a project that strived to apply web2.0 tools and (more important) methods in our education, including the education of our own staff.
Overall strategic goals were:
- developing "real options" for different education scenarios
- learning how to learn collectively (on an organisational level), and manage our information.

I am confident that we have attained these strategic goals, and we will present them on 4th of june.

I've learned a few important lessons from this "walkabout" and I am gratefull of the chance I had.
1. It is possible to learn at the speed of developments outside. i.e. there is a faster way than the "peer-reviewed / push" education.
2. it is possible to make learning viral (there is a growing unoffical corps of commited educators in our organisation)
3. learning without ambition is truly impossible. But with ambition and the right interaction with groups you can move mountains.
4. learning is venturing. no venture = no learning
5. and for myself: I like to be a pioneer, but I suck at administrative management tasks or. to be honest, I realize that they are mutually exclusive.

#maqqy

So having learned that. I took up the challenge to "change something" in our own curricullum. the opportunity arose to make some changes in a management game. My objective was to make the game more "real" and immersive.
Having learned from #HZAP08, I realized the first thing I needed was management support, so I enlisted the help of two very prudent ladies to keep us on track, solving the management problem. This time around we set ourselves a very clear task, and I reduced the span of control from 15 to 4. which seems inefficient but I think we were much more flexible and effective.

from this I learned the following:
- change needs coordination, which needs conversation, which needs at least weak ties and trust in commitment.
- with proper dialogue "outside" you can gain powerfull support.
- I need to keep some distance from the content, as not to be consumed by it.
- experts are your "mavens" (and it helps if they are pretty ;-) (Gladwell)
-there is a lot of creative surplus in the ambitions of the educators, but you need to shield it from peer pressure, and you need to give it direction.
- I am not an expert, and that's OK.

So now what?

- #HZAP08 was about making the education process better, through new social constructs and technology.
- #maqqy was about getting real and facing the fact that books does not equal reality.

Reflecting on this: the thing that gets me going is finding "reality driven learning" and "the learning of unknowables and unthinkables (i.e. "new stuff")

I am now setting my sights on our OIIO promise, which states that we (as an organisation strive to work together with the outside world). Usually the Outside in part is covered, but it is my ambition to improve the inside-out part. To cater for more ambitious projects we need to improve the knowledge (and learning) that resides in our organisation. I would like to be able to take a shot at real and difficult business problems with my organisation (both students, and educators and maybe different stakeholders). We are a knowlegde company after all.

main focus is to develop a way to configure our resources so that we can cope with these demands. I think we can employ the methods we have learned at aforementioned projects to increase our value inside-out.

How?

By doing it and learning from it.

why?

- We need to manage and increase our knowledge (as per strategic decree)
- "real" education sells (elsevier)
- providing knowledge to companies proves our value and is good for busines.
- I like looking for new knowledge and demand, and finding a way to make a buck out of it.

I'm going to sleep on it some more. Hope I can make it more concrete tomorrow.

is education changing?

2009-05-06T22:14:00.005+02:00

It must be the position I have manuevered in. but I am being increasingly bombarded with the question if education (or the student) is changing? or even if change (whichever change is "good")

I realize now that I'm getting increasingly annoyed with this discussion, because it's precisely the thing that destroys any hope for progress.

1. focus on demands
What I am talking about is the focus on "enviromental demands" instead of "enviromental opportunities". Focussing on the demands that change causes, is making us to configure our education in a way that is generic (everyone will want to meet the minimum demands). This causes strategic drift.

2. ex post
this is the most anoying bit. everything we study or discuss "has happened" or has to happen first before we can say for sure. "is the world flat or not?". there is only one way to find out. Why are we having these theoretical discussions?

3. reliance on systems
education is configured in a "command and control" system (not only from the top, but also from the bottom). We seems we are waiting "for a sign in the heavens". This causes incredible inertia regarding to real issue: progress. initiative should rest with the individuals "making" education. educators themselves should realize that too.

4. unit of observation
discussing (formal) education seems wrong. Education is a means not and end. We do not add value by (formal) education alone. We should consider alternative means to our end (which is providing young people with the means to build a future AND provide the economy young people with fresh ideas). Maybe (just maybe..) "education" is at the end of its product-life-cycle. It's possible.

So what should we do?

I would prefer a much more entrepreneurial aproach:
- more distance from a peer-reviewed system. that system is good for describing things, and not particulairy good at wayfinding. It's merely reference. This would help with issues 2 and 3.
- more individual soul searching for educators (there are some fine examples out there). I'd like to know what is "important" for my collegaes, much more that i'd like to know what is "true". It's an honest basis to discuss progress. furthermore would it adress issues 1. and 2.

yes the world is changing. usually not in the most evident places. you can sit and watch the change, and you can try to act on it.

VAL session

2009-04-17T10:04:00.004+02:00

Yesterday I attended a get together on Virtual Action Learning. I suspected it would be a blatant pitch of a VAL "program" (with accompanying software package). But I was pleasantly surprised it was more of an open style get together (bordering on an "open space" conference style).

After a short presentation on a pilot somebody did on virtual action learning we discussed in groups. I got the idea that proponents and opponents alike went to this meeting on their own initaitive. A sign that we are working on something worthwhile.

some takeaways:
- action learning is a way to deal with highly complex and turbulent learning situations. We (Commercial Economics) are not the only ones feeling the need for this type of learning content.
- action learning could be a way to leverage a students strenghts instead of trying to mend their weaknesses (a Dutch and educational predisposition IMO)
- virtual action learning could be a way to lessen the workload for the coaches (STEMI (space: classrooms; time: asynchronous and compressed, energy: overview and spreading of strain; materials; digitalisation and acces; information: more and faster) leverage)
- there are elements in the organisation that see co-creation and access to information sources like wikipedia as a threat (on the basis that it reduces scientific literacy). Allthough I disagree wholeheartedly, I recognize the need to continue the dialogue with these elements (as they represent a large portion of the organisation)

I was also impressed by the moderation and reflection of Sia, Jet, and Anja regarding VAL and their participation in the HZAP08 project. Their summaries were very concise and coherent (it's difficult to match innovation with concrete vision). It expressed their competence in transforming their HZAP08 experience into theory, vision and drive. The quality of it was much more than I bargained for.

self organizing teams: getting a grip

2009-04-07T14:05:00.002+02:00

The last year has been the year of self organizing teams for me. I have a firm belief that the self organizing team is a (maybe the only) way to handle complexity (in the environment) and change (in an organization). (and deeply, very deeply: I want to be part of a self organizing team)

The last year I was fortunate enough to be able to experiment with this organization principle within my organization in big and smaller projects. Some projects are coming to a close and it's time to come to terms with the results.

Being a man of practice, I find it really hard to make sense of the stuff that has happened (and the stuff that has not).
Yesterday somebody advised me to reread my old university readers to get some bearings.

I havent found my readers yet. But I found some college notes on self-organising teams, that struck a chord. Here are some reflections according to those notes (on several teams, mind):

possible ways to make self-organising teams work (research-pending (Bogenrieder, 2003))
* create procedural authority: procedures create authority.
It starts with the most difficult one for me. I'm no lover of procedures but I've seen that all teams need them in order to validate things within the team and within the organisation at large. "willpower" (/or Dharma for me) is not enough, and will not work for everyone. So what I've learned is: a team needs to agree on procedures within and outside of the team to embed itself into the organisation.
* creating mutual knowledge: knowing what the other person knows, and does not know (and being comfortable with it). This is also a though one to crack, because in an educational organisation "knowing" (and "not-knowing") is a bit of a taboo. But in order to lever specialisms and transfer knowledge you need to "feel" each other. The matter of "knowlegde" needs to be adressed ASAP and needs to be a ongoing issue. Furthermore simply "posting" your knowledge is not enough, one needs to be in constant and deep conversation about this.
* managing expectations: this was one of the capstans of one of the teams I worked with. I believe we did a lot of managing of expectations. But the expectations stem from the other criteria.
* organizing redundancy: so that the network can support each other even when bonds are stretched or broken. For example sharing information with at least one other of the network or organising "back-up" for every eventuality (within. i.e. not "top-down"). This is the true hallmark of a networked organisation, and a step away from traditional command and control. looking back redundancy can easily be organised ("who's with me..?"), but the agent has to step away from the Tayloristic function specification ("why should I?" "that is your task..")
* having functional and formal "rules of conduct": again, not my favorite. but neccesary. The main focus should be countering "shirking" and "bringing focus"

Looking back, that's a good harvest (judging from where I started). I am going somewhere. But also, looking back, a shame I didnt see this earlier.

Housman - Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

2009-03-31T21:15:00.002+02:00

A lot of blogs I read have quotes. I have a penchant for poetry. So here's one for today.

Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries

These, in the day when heaven was falling,
The hour when earth's foundations fled,
Followed their mercenary calling,
And took their wages, and are dead.

Their shoulders held the sky suspended;
They stood, and earth's foundations stay;
What God abandoned, these defended,
And saved the sum of things for pay.

A.E. Housman

Finding the cutting edge in marketing education

2009-03-27T12:53:00.002+01:00

I've been away for a while with a broken leg. But on returning to my work our institute was rife with "buzz" on "broken into rooms.." and "sabotaged computer mice".
One enterprising "Junior Enterprise" (a course in which students start their own business) had "acquired" access to the staff rooms and introduced us to a very innovative way of branding.

Upon starting up in the morning the staff realised the mice weren't working anymore. After some faultfinding they discovered little stickers that blocked the sensors of the mice saying "you dont need a computer mouse..." followed by their brandname and URL.

Appearantly this happened some time before I returned, but people were still talking about it. A testament of the "buzz" that was created.

There was awe, for the audacity of it. There was outrage, for the audacity of it.

I can only say nice job kiddo's! You managed to effectivly create a "real buzz", by combining guerrila marketing, "buzz" and word of mouth marketing.
Much much more effective than the "press releases" and DM I find in my tray each day.

That is really difficult. I take my hat of to you. And I'd hire you on the spot (if I was in a hiring position :-). Dont forget to mention this in your CV.

what it means
Marketing (or business, as I like to see it) is forever changing. Yes there are underlying concepts that stay the same. But the top soil is shifting and will never be the same. And as a university of applied science we are working in this top soil. Whereas the scholars of theoretical science mind the basis.
That means we are in the uncomfortable zone of "action", and expirimentation.

I think we should educate students for tomorrows problems, or at least today's (like: how do I profile my company in a sea of promotion?)

This action wasnt just a way of "new marketing" (even though word-of-mouth is old, I'd call it new. because of it's fresh approach) it was a display of being able to find a quick and effective way to do a "marketing job" properly. That's competence.

This interface (problem - adaption) should be a focal point (kudo's for the coach too by the way..).

New and fresh ideas are being thought-up every day. We should sample every one of them.

Dispatches: #NIBS2009

2009-03-10T20:42:00.003+01:00

I just got this message from a colleage who is coaching some of our students who are participating in a international managementgame:

(it's in Dutch)

Monday

Vanmorgen vroeg op. Om 07.15 zijn we al op de Tennessee Tech University. Kaneshka, Niek, Quirijn en Lesley moeten hun cell phones inleveren. Alleen 2 studieboeken en woordenboeken mogen mee naar de preparation room. Precies om 8 uur wordt de envelop met de case opengemaakt, de deur gaat dicht, een bewaker ervoor!. We kunnen ze alleen nog maar succes wensen.
Als tegen elven alle teams zijn gestart, krijgen we de case te zien. Deze gaat over Apple. De grote man, Stephen Jobs, is ziek en voorlopig uitgeschakeld. En dat in een tijd dat de verkoop van Macs, iPods, iPhones en notebooks onder druk staat. Het aandeel is in de afgelopen jaren vertwintigvoudigd, maar wat zal er komend jaar gebeuren? Wat moet Apple doen?
Om 12 uur moeten de jongens naar de presentation room. De drie judges zitten al klaar. Ze krijgen exact 20 minuten, geen seconde langer. Niek, Quirijn, Lesley en Kaneshka zijn zenuwachtig, ze zijn zoiets totaal niet gewend. Ze analyseren het probleem, ontvouwen hun strategie en komen met aanbevelingen en acties. Inhoudelijk gaat het redelijk, maar de presentatie valt hen zwaar. De vragenronde van 10 minuten komen ze echter goed door.
Daarna komt de tegenstander. Niet de Ieren, zoals we gisteren dachten (die komen morgen), maar de Memorial University uit Canada, een van de topfavorieten. Al gauw blijkt waarom. De twee jongens en twee meisjes zijn beregoed in presenteren, werken met prachtige templates en hebben een heel duidelijke lijn in hun betoog. Als echte profs geven ze een ware consultancy show. We vrezen even voor een 11 – 0 nederlaag. Maar tijdens de feedbackronde die meteen daarna volgt, blijkt dat de jury bepaalde inhoudelijke punten van “onze” jongens toch heeft weten te waarderen. De uitslag is 7 – 4. Een nederlaag, maar gelukkig binnen de perken.
We analyseren de nederlaag en kijken nog eens goed wat we morgen moeten verbeteren. Morgen moeten we tegen de Ieren en tegen de Amerikanen, weer twee landen waar het oplossen van case studies en het geven van presentaties een kernonderdeel van het curriculum vormt. Ze doen daar dit soort dingen elke week.
Na de debriefing lopen we nog even over de campus. Het is vandaag 25 graden en de zon schijnt uitbundig. Het veld van het football team van de universiteit ligt er mooi bij. Net als gisteren valt weer op, hoe enorm groot het is. De universiteit is qua studenten drie maal kleiner dan de HES, maar het gebouw aan de KZ past makkelijk 50 keer in de gebouwen hier.
Shuttle busjes, met plaatselijke studenten als chauffeurs, brengen ons naar een restaurant voor de zoveelste steak in twee dagen. Ondanks de heftige concurrentie overdag is de stemming nu opperbest: Amerikanen bij Denen, Nederlanders bij Finnen enz. Erg gezellig, maar ondanks de grote verleiding van nog een biertje gaan de meesten rond negen uur toch terug naar het hotel. Toch nog even werken aan de templates, aan de presentation skills en dan naar bed. Het is nu half twaalf, morgen om 07.35 moet de Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences weer aan de bak.

Hans van Oudheusden
Gerard van der Star

P.S. Dit bericht komt wat later, want internet ligt eruit

In short: It's a realistic and difficult case; the odds are against us; Our students are fighting like lions; We ended the day with a slight disadvantage; Instead of partying, tonight we are tweaking some of our presentations to compete better.

That's what I admire in a good education (or any product or service for that matter). The willingness to "combat test" it by real action. Putting your money where your mouth is.

Not only is proving your worth good for business, but like the Ferrari F1 team, it enables you to learn new stuff as a end-user and as a producer.

So:

"GO team Rotterdam!!"

Whatever the outcome. You guys kick ass!

building a construct for KM

2009-03-06T09:57:00.003+01:00

I never thought I would be working on this this soon. And I never thought it would be difficult. But yesterday I realized the pieces were falling place, and that it was defined a long time ago.

say what?

We are looking for a way to exctract tacit knowledge and make it re-usable. Why? I believe in organisations being like "organisms that adapt" more that "systems that fit". Especially in these times (I remember myself silently praying for a exogenous crisis (what have I done?! ;-))
In order to adapt you will have to have a feedback system that drives the change within the organism, and a system that configures the organism builing on available resources. This is what I call "learning". And I believe that there are two factors that make a organism succesfull:
- being able to process quickly (see the OODA loop rantings earlier)
- (and that means) and being able to get correct signals and information.

In short: it has to do with being quick on your feet. And being able to find and retain what is relevant.

beginnings

Just a quick reflection. When I started studying Small Business with the intent to continue the family business. I was confronted with a gigantical knowledge gap between me and my father (who had 50 yrs of expierience at that time), I found my education to be dissapointingly lacking in tacit knowledge (with all due respect, I was a good education to all normal standards. But "learning" with my dad had a different feel to it.)

What happens when dad is gone? (a family obsession with redundancy :-) I couldnt learn fast enough to get all the knowledge, and finding ways to "save the skills" became an obsession.

Looking back now. the inability to learn properly within an organisation has always bothered me.

construction my own construct

In the project that I work in we've come to a stage of harvesting. We have ventured out, mapped the unknown. The ships have returned to port. And now we are comparing our notes.
Something has happened that I did not forsee. We are expieriencing a "babylonian speech" problem. It's difficult to draw a big map from our ventures.
In retrospect I think we (the instigators) made a few fundamental mistakes in the beginning.
- scope: there are 5 different theme's that we explored. the themes were completely unmapped, so there is a lot to say but not much to grab unto. An empty sea with some islands of (pure) gold.
- basis: this is the stuff to grab unto. what do we relate to? the assumptions were to relate to literature, but that has proven difficult because of the practical nature of our explorations. What are the star we navigate by?
- conventions: it's difficult to compare notes, because everbody has different conventions.

Nevertheless we've tried to build a construct. I imagine it as a (black box) "knowledge machine". In go the facts (in any form) and out comes a map of our endeavours.

The group plays a pivotal role in making the knowledge practical enough to distribute. Through social filtering we will be able to cut away superflous information and to fill in the blanks.

The task I see before me is for all us "captains" compare notes and draw the map. Right now we we use the relatively slow process of "physical" note comparing. But I think we are innovating on that part.

I am happy with the notion of the "knowledge machine". It gives me some direction, and like my dad it gives me a fulcrum to work on. Every thought step I make brings me closer to finding a cure for the "itch" that I feel in my work.

Thanks @tonzylstra for the discussion and insight in a time that the brain stands still. ;-)

on education, leverage and exogenous shock

2009-03-03T10:23:00.004+01:00

Through the del.icio.us feed of my project, I came across this article (thanks Sia!)

It explores possible leverage items in education in relation to our changing reality. It also explores our present configuration of our resources. And allthough it's about education in the U.S. I see why this would apply to our situation. I especially like the way the problem is tackled by using strategic reasoning instead of a technology based view, psychological or didactical view.

there are three main items in this article:
- situation: what is the situation to the best of our knowledge. The situation, that is, for which we are building an education (i.e. state of the world).
- vision: what is the situation that we would like to see and that is attainable with our resources (available or nearly available)
- leverage of resources, knowlegde and skills: how are we gonna make the best of what we have and what should we get?

In general I agree wholeheartedly with the article on how the world is evolving and how the allocation of resources is shifting globally. I think there is a shift towards more creative and service jobs, and that we're still oriented to "production" and "administrative" markets (i'd say that would be the "working" part that the author is talking about.

Take note: I'm not saying everybody should be entrepreneurs or pr-people, nor am I saying that we all should focus on general creative education.
I am, however saying that the main idea is that we should reconsider the leverage we give our students (and that means reconsidering our leverage).

what it means

I think we should consider an overall skillset (away from the traditional course divisions). In our case overall business skills with a focus on commercial activity. These should include:
- problem solving and innovation skills
- applied communication
- general business theory
- calculation
- basic management skills (budgetting, planning, resource allocation)

with this we should focus and train for the following leverage
- cross cultural commercial activities (large sphere) / finding new business
- or: social / community marketing (small sphere) / levering networks
- being able to rapidly organize value added (entrepreneurial skills)

wow! find, organize, lever. That should be it!

money > mouth: hosting a webinar

2009-02-27T11:19:00.005+01:00

Breaking a leg while riding a rally has crippled me for a few weeks, because of that I couldnt be physically present giving lectures.

Since I was going mad at home (and because some colleagues challenged me to put my money where my mouth is), I searched for alternative way's to give my lecture.

I came across dimdim through toothless tiger, and decided to give it a try.

the results were pretty good.
- I had a high attendance (through the novelty factor I guess, but nevertheless)
- students started to use the chat function instantly and intuitively
- the multiple channels (video, audio, sheets, and chat) give a lot of room.
* You can "park" questions for later.
* you can skip and match content (say remarks with concepts on sheets.
* you can deviate unto the internet though shared viewing.

the results (in Dutch) are still pretty shoddy, but hey it's a first.
first session
chat transcript

second session
chat second session

it's a pity the video only captures the sheets (I had included webpages, and seeing the chat "live" gives a better impression of the interaction possibilities.

One major takeaway is: "WOW, there is room for interaction..." (a lot of interaction!)
Needless to say, I still need to tweak a few things. there's got to be a way to get more discussion going and to get more external connections (though links maybe?).

lets see what happens...

entrepreneurial- / governance- note

the cost of education is making me think lately. And I really do believe we need to be more efficient (and of course effective). Or like the American car industry in the 70's we will be pushed out of competition.

hosting the webinar made me think about "lean-ness" and "agility", and I believe we have to search for new forms of content to remain lean.

In the webinar example we can adress several "muda"
- over production: the webinar can be reused and build upon. "no-shows" can view it later.
- motion: you can perform it wherever you have internet connection
- inventory: cut's back on a precious commodity in our university: space

morning dump: making knowledge mashable

2009-02-27T11:00:00.002+01:00

this morning I came across this video on youtube:

And it struck a cord. Is that a physics lecturer advising a moviecompany. How cool is that!

In the final part of the video the lecturer shares his views on how to make physics more authentic (for me authenticity in education has to to with applicability in real life). Superheroes are not real life, are they?

That's true but he shows the students how to connect knowledge to stuff that you relate to. Making that piece of knowledge more powerfull, and inspiring new ideas at the same time.

Which brings me to the following insight. Knowledge "sec", isnt near as powerfull as applied knowledge, which isnt near as powerfull as inspired knowledge.

What are ways to inspire people to do more with knowledge?
- Lead by example. The lecturer in question sets an example by going across the boundaries of the "normal" by writing a book of superheroes (something that inspires him I guess)
- be vocal about it. the lecturer in question expresses his ideas in every way possible.

this is what mashability is about, isnt it?
- show people the ingriedients
- let them taste (preferrably good or weird stuff)
- inspire them to cook!

some more photos of the faithfull weekend :-)

2009-02-12T13:18:00.003+01:00

many thanks to gummikoe.nl

loading Nanno's roadbook

jumpstarting a dead battery.

arriving at CP1

Me in the "trail" special

Nanno blasting trough the woods on the trail special

Nanno braving the ditch

briefing for next day's stage

sticks and stones

2009-02-05T08:16:00.002+01:00

last weekend something happened, that a lot of people predicted would happen. I fell of my motorbike, and broke my lower leg in the process.

I was riding on an ice cold sand track that had frozen over. the sun had just come up and was beckoning me at the end fo the track. As we approached a junction I checked my roadbook to see if it matched the situation. At that moment both wheels went into different "tracks" and the bike went out of control. I smashed my leg against the ground, and it snapped. Then I highsided the bike and was ejected. At first I thought I would lie on the ground for a while and the continue the race, but I was kidding myself.

Luckily my friends were riding with me and they could call assistance. I crashed not far from a farm, and the people that lived out there came out to help too. Their son put me in their car and rode me to the paved road where the ambulance arrived.

While flying through the air a process of reflection started (weird how these moments always defy space-time).

thoughts ranged from:
"time to pay to the god of speed" (see "the world fastest indian") (I was going about 10k/h but a highside will add some energy :-)
"damn, I'm going to have to disappoint my friend (who's first rally it was)"
"shit, I wont be able to move house next week"
"what about my work? Things we're just starting to move"
"I think my bones are moving"

I learned a few things since then.
* I happened while doing something that made me happy. That somehow lessens the remorse and the pain. The image of the sun on the end of the track somehow overrules the flight I made.
* If you ride together, you will not fall alone. Having someone there lessens the despair significantly.
* I really like rally riding.

It doesnt stop there. Since I'm stuck in cast for a while, there's a lot of new things to learn:
- "how I am going to contribute, now?"
- time seemed to stop but the world is moving on. (except I cannot move at the moment)
"how should I deal with that?"

some shots from the weekend:

interval start: we started in 1 minute intervals. very special atmosphere with all the engines idling and people performing last checks.

"anything goes" tech: this is one of the charms of rally riding. you will face several dillema's on the road (actionradius, handling, navigation, comfort, weight, flexibility etc. etc.) and everyone has its own solutions. ranging from very tidy to downright bizarre. It's a fast learning enviroment in which both man an machine are tested.

Navigating and driving: navigation is done by "old shool" methods roadbook, distance measured, and compass. the GPS is used for emergencies and for traveling big distances using waypoints (more like you do on the sea than you would use a TomTom). This means you will have to divide your attention between riding and navigating (which as you can see can be dangerous), but adds extra dimensions to the sport (If you make mistakes you lose time or get penalties)

the rally also tests your preparation and your problem solving abilities. as you routinely encounter problems that you cannot imagine or envision (like fallen trees, holes in the ground, mechanical problems, physical problems like cold), sometimes it's "mind over matter" sometimes you need to take some time to solve your problem.

fly like a butterfly sting like a bee

2009-01-25T10:55:00.002+01:00

Now where did this meme come from?

* a student made a social network for Muhammad Ali. It kind of sucked. But Muhammed stuck.
* colleage explained the need for agility. (to make knowlegde fast)
* another colleage explained the need for mobility. (to stay in shape as educators)
* another colleage and I were talking boxing / martial arts metaphores as a didactical concept.

here's what I wanted to say: sit on your ass behind a desk to long and you'll start to get flabby. keep that up, and you'll start to believe your not that flabby.

suppressing the human nature for better, faster, more or even keeping in shape. will rot an organisation from the inside.

"look what happens, when you're asked to do a lecture on the other side of the world. The pressure will make you excel"

so is it time to pick up the skipping rope?

I know of some companies that have done away with traditional "training" and have resorted to making sure the people train themselves like shaolin monks. sparring; competing; learning new moves, trying them out.

fly like a butterfly
step one: get out into the world. take some hits, figure out how to deal with the world.
- We should, at the very least, subject ourselves to the same tests we subject our students to. Are they relevant?

sting like a bee
having experienced the world. maybe, we will(what's left of us :-) be able to define what needs to be done.

On "heroes"
Alexander had his "companion" cavalry. Defined after his heroes of the trojan wars. the "companions" strove to be like Achilles, and Hercules. They were the pinnacle of agility. Being able to turn the tide and overcome the odds. Their actions inspired the other troops.

I think there are some heroes out there. problem is we dont identifie with them, because they are too far away, or (more often) because of our own myopia and flabbyness.

the heroes of the trojan wars had Homer, the 500 Spartans had Herodotus, the engineer in the surf at OMAHA had Robert Capa, the man with the groceries in Beijng had CNN.

We are our own censors.

reflecting on problemsolving and venturing

2009-01-14T21:07:00.003+01:00

During a meeting today I instantly felt a nice familiar feeling but I could not place it. The meeting went very fast (at least it felt very fast), and there was not a lot of discussion. I didnt do a lot of talking and that was nice too.

some takeaways:
- we laid our cards on the table, they did in turn. we all turned out to be we.
the opening move of the meeting made this happen. it was expertly done. and I am a bit awed by it.
- nobody asked "why". come to think of it it's rather irrelevant.
- we acknowledged each others strengths and how we could mutually benefit from them, without pushing to hard.
- we made a deal that could be kept. nobody was bled dry.
- we meet again next week.

looking back that was really educational. I restored my hope. and showed me what I can learn and what I can try. This is in no book.

May I call this a Rotterdam approach?

Saigon, SHIT...

2009-01-10T05:38:00.003+01:00

Insomnia. Lying in bed I was thinking about this scene:

"when I was here, I wanted to be there. when I was there, all I could think about was getting into the jungle"

If you ever watched "apocalypse now", it's long and painful to look at. Full of nastyness and meaninglessness. And yet I find it one of the most beautiful movies ever made. It reflects the human condition so well.

It's quite Buddhistic: It tells us of our inner demons, and how to face them. Finding a "fight" to fight, and at the same time hang on to who you are. And it warns us how you can get lost (and if that happens your "toast").

it's also beautifully made (almost at the expense of the people who made it)

onder de noemer: het kan erger

2009-01-10T04:33:00.002+01:00

Gisteren een beetje een zware dag gehad, en dan is het even moeilijk om "zin" te kweken.
totdat ik dit berichtje zag.

13:55: Worstenincident Volkswagen. In de categorie bizarre verhalen kregen we net het bericht door dat Volkswagen een inspectie van Argentijnse voedsel- en warenautoriteit heeft gehad. In de servicetrucks van Volkswagen bevindt zich namelijk een grote hoeveelheid Frankfurter worsten en aangezien de import van vlees in Argentinie verboden is had Volkswagen aanvankelijk een probleem. Inmiddels is het vlees goedgekeurd en kan het team er weer volop van genieten, tenminste tot aan grensovergang naar Chile want tot die tijd heeft Volkswagen de tijd gekregen om de resterende voorraad te consumeren. Dat wordt vandaag dus nog even dooreten voor het Volkswagen team.

- Bron: www.Rallymaniacs.nl

Soms heb je zo'n bizar voorval even nodig om weer verder te kunnen. Waarschijnlijk konden "ze Zjermans" er niet om lachen, maar ik vond het wel kek.

Aan het einde van de dag nog even met Niels gesproken over communities als (deel van een) ondernemingvorm. Was leuk om daar eens met een jonge hond over te praten. Ik voel me soms een beetje "lost" tussen 2 werelden. Die van plannetjes, overleg, bellen, en soebatten, moeilijke taal, voorzichtigheid en delegeren. En de wereld van (misschien misplaatst) enthousiastme en hoop. En dan slaat de twijfel wel eens toe.

Tegelijkertijd besef ik me dat dit een "normaal" proces is in een organisatie en ik bewust kies om juist daar wat aan te doen, en dat dat verantwoordelijkheid met zich meebrengt. Als ik mijn werk niet doe, dan krijgen die jonge honden geen kans.

(overigens: je hoeft niet jong in leeftijd te zijn om een jonge hond te zijn)

even in de positieve zin: "hoe ga je daar nu mee om?" Een tijdje terug heb ik het advies gekregen om medestanders te zoeken en proberen samen er de schouders onder te zetten. En vooral te erkennen dat ik een hoop zelf ("nog" of "soms helemaal") niet kan klaarspelen. Op een of andere manier voel ik ook dat dat mijn taak misschien is.

Het "organiseren" gedeelte is listig in dit geheel.
- a. omdat ik soms (vaak) niet zie "wat" en "hoe" e.e.a. georganiseerd moet worden. Vooral in zo'n grote organisatie met zijn vele mechanismen. "means" en "ends" zijn lastig te vinden en te matchen.
- b. de belangen bij de medestanders erg moeilijk te zien zijn of gebaseerd zijn op zaken zoals "waardering" (zonder dollen: vergeet dat maar. dat is de grootste dooddoenener in een organisatie. je hebt daar geen controle over, en het is overrated). Ik merk dat je daar gewoon niets mee kunt.
- c. omdat je je moet bewegen in de wereld van overleg en plannen. terwijl je daar nu juist vanaf wil. Die dualiteit heeft menig guerrila gekillt kan ik me zo voorstellen.
- d. je laat wel eens een steek vallen. of soms had je iets "beter kunnen regelen". Ik vind dat heel pijnlijk. En tegelijkertijd moet je het gewoon doen, die pijn hoort er gewoon bij. "it is weakness leaving the body" zullen we maar zeggen.

(het helpt wel. zo even je gedachten op papier te zetten.)

reflecting on work-life: efficacy

2009-01-04T15:26:00.006+01:00

after reading Sia's post on vacation (in Dutch), I wrote a large comment. I almost hit send, but the decided it was in fact a reflection on work-life balance, so I decided to post it here.

Sia is beacon for me when it comes to work-life balance. Probably because (through unfortunate and different circumstances) we seem to have the same time we (should) spend on "offical" work.

I grew up in an entrepreneurial family and it blurred the lines between work and life. Looking back work was life. Not especially for money or food. But it was a way of self realisation.

I cannot say I ever worked for money (although I was being paid). I guess I worked because not working was "bad".

We sold the business in 2000 and I must say I did not have a backup plan. I tried a "career" but that didnt work. I missed the self efficacy.

After a stint studying business administration, I started in education (something I always dreamed about, but not so soon..)
At the institute where I work I found the self-efficacy I looked for. there was a high degree of freedom in the way I organised my work, and a lot of opportunity to "do my thing".

About a year ago I was feeling more and more standardized and "cog-like", and started to think about searching for something else. I blamed a lot of these things on "the system".

a few accusations I made:
- eating up my free-time (I was working more and more outside my working hours)
- not being innovative enough (first the management, then my collegaes)
- being too bounded

What the hell happened? I dont have to put up with any of that.
Had the organisation changed? which is a standard answer in educationland.

But that somehow collided with my own standards. I like to think that you have some control over your happiness.

My viewpoints changed with several events and opportunities taken.
- getting asked to be project-leader for the HZAP08 project.
cornerstone of this project is the self-efficacy I believe in. This forced me to live my dream. Which turned out to be hard
- interacting with members of said project.
drawing on experience of my colleages (both positive and negative), has helped me find a "sweet-spot" between wishing to change the world and making do. This took the edge off the "hardness". there were likeminded people, and they had the same problems and fears.
- conversations with a coach
there was some "programming" that needed to be debugged (the mental map). The coach held up a mirror and forced me to contemplate action and thought. The coaching forced me to align the two.

looking back at the accusations (and my own framework) this is what actually happened.
- I allowed myself to stray from my own dreams.
- I was not guarding the boundary between work and personal life.
- The same opportunity for innovation existed as before, but I lost the scent.
- The bounds were self imposed. Nobody ever asked me to conform to the norm (that's what I like about this place), but I need to keep myself on course.
- I was hatching up, my reality was the truth
- the worst of all. I was blaming stuff outside my influence (nice and safe)

I a practical sense I learned that these are the hallmarks of a true professional. For both the educator and the student.

- finding and cultivating your own values
- making sure you're doing the right thing
- neither aiming too high, nor too low (your values guide you)
- not forgetting that you are human, and that there are humans beyond your work
- staying yourself while not becoming a North-Korean (i.e. hatching up)

I also found renewed awe for the people truly seeking to become a professional (i.e. students). Now I have a better understanding of the difficulties.
And my goals.

note to self...

2008-12-14T20:03:00.001+01:00

KTM DAKAR TEST from Gary Price on Vimeo.

EEEEDEeeeots!!

2008-12-12T00:01:00.005+01:00

lees net hetvolgende bericht op Willem Karssenberg z'n blog:

Vanaf 12 december 2008 zal Hyves en YouTube binnen het Drenthe College niet meer beschikbaar zijn voor Medewerkers en Studenten. Hiertoe is besloten i.v.m. het verstorende karakter tijdens de lessen en werkzaamheden.

Ik probeer niet te "klagen tegen de bobo's" (ooit was ik ook een bobo, en nu voelt het af en toe ook alsof ik een bobo ben voor anderen) op weblogs, omdat ik dat altijd een beetje zurig en onconstructief vind.

Maar goed nu toch maar, omdat:
a. een twitteraar om hulp vraagt. fooking vooruitgang wordt in de kiem gesmoord.
b. het inderdaad in de categorie "darwin awards" valt.

Mijn eigen take op de zaak. Ik voel me niet zo'n edublogger. Er wordt weinig "edu" geblogd op deze site. Ik komt uit de beroepspraktijk (niet dat ik daar nu zo'n held was, maar daar ligt toch mijn passie..)
Ik vind het vooral belangrijk dat de jongelui een vak kunnen leren wat ze leuk vinden, en dat er authentiek onderwijs wordt gegeven en dat ze meer invloed krijgen op hun eigen leren. Daarvoor moet je in contact staan met de buitenwereld. Zien wat er speelt. Moderne media zijn daarbij onmisbaar. Ze uitsluiten is "Kim-il-Sungesque" en zegt iets over de strategische wendbaarheid van het bestuur.

Verder geloof ik in de marktwerking. Als studenten "iets anders gaan doen" wordt het tijd om eens goed naar je eigen zaakjes te kijken. Als ik eerlijk ben vecht ik die strijd ook altijd. Maar om de bedreiging weg te halen is niet erg "sportsmanlike". protectionistische maatregelen werken volgens mij ook niet lang.

In de bedrijfswereld kan ik geen voorbeelden noemen van bedrijven die op die manier de veranderingen in de omgeving heeft doorstaan (nou ok 1 dan, Microsoft. En misschien Haliburton. maar daar kan je van afvragen of dat goede voorbeelden zijn).

Ik vraag me af hoe kan je zoiets volhouden? De meest inspirerende en interessante colleges staan op youtube, prikkelende ideeen, en snelle uitleg.

Als ik uitleg wil over een Naish equilibrium vraag ik het aan een Ninja!

Dat is een "fucking"! uitdaging aan het onderwijs. En dat sluit je dat af?
typisch (zurig) Nederlands gedrag..

Mut der Verzweiflung

2008-12-11T23:24:00.003+01:00

today I watched this movie on news.bbc.co.uk

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7760690.stm

(you'll have to click on the link, there was no embed function)

The CCTV footage shows two policemen returning fire with just one WW2 era bolt-action Enfield rifle. One of them is even trying to draw fire from the terrorist with a chair.

I dont have any words for it.

Sometimes I get scared to do mundane tasks like making a phone call, or facing the fire, or talking to a crowd.
And here are two men heavily outgunned (and out-maneuvered, i'm afraid), standing their ground against well coordinated and well armed zealots.

I can only imagine the horror they are facing...
I hope they made it out alive (there are about 10 rounds in the magazine, and many of their colleages were outflanked and killed)

And I will try to remember their determination when I have to make a nasty call, of face a hopeless situation...

Citeer zin 5 blz 56

2008-12-10T23:57:00.002+01:00

Uit Bhagavad Gita (mijn laptop lag erop),

"I am death, which overcomes all, and the source of all beings still to be born; I am the feminine qualities: fame, perfect speech, memory, intelligence, loyalty, and forgiveness"

Yikes! :-s

De regels zijn simpel:
* Neem het dichtstbijzijnde boek, nu meteen
* Ga naar pagina 56
* Vind de vijfde zin
* Citeer die zin op je blog
* Kopieer deze instructies onderaan de post
* Zoek niet naar een goed boek, mooi boek, maar pak het dichtstbijzijnde.

gezien op Sia's weblog, naar een idee van Wilfred Rubens.

creating your own learning opportunities

2008-12-08T19:54:00.002+01:00

A few weeks ago I did a review on a profesionalizing project that I'm currently the project leader of. The project is a Pilot (or better said, a prototype of sorts), and I've been asked to list the CSF's and competences for deploying a "self-steered learning community".

Ton came up with a nice concept that stuck for some reason. And having observed it in action I think it may be a CSF.

exerpt:
"here's what happened: she managed to create her own learning enviroment. She saw the leeway that was given; she knew what she needed to get ahead, and she acted on it..."

there are some factors in this story:
- seeing the leeway. With new project students (say year one of the higher education), most get a massive culture shock regarding the degrees of freedom one has.
We respond by giving some "framing" in which a student is free to play (which is mostly not free at all because we tend to think for the student.
Furthermore most traditional framing is not very realistic. Projects are about opportunity, and dealing with opportunity.

Sometimes it's difficult to see opportunity when you are struggling, so there's a dilemma.
So coaching is about finding the point where you can see the next steps, and feeling confident enough to act. (this rhymes nicely with my "scanning capabilities for organisations" thoughts).
The process feels like bumping into the same wall repeatedly, while becoming increasingly aware of a small opening to the right. At first you see it, then you deny it, maybe even renounce it. Until you either pull back (and go about your business as usual) or stick your head through the opening (and probably see another wall :-)

*"teaching" the scanning abilities are the first step. (I think we missed that one completely in the prototype. However some people picked it up themselves)

- deciding the course of action. For me (and for her I think) this is a leap of faith. with unlimited freedom there is no way to rationalize the course of action. You could get stuck with the vague decision "I need help" or "I need to look... here or there". the greater the step, the more difficult the learning process will be (and the greater the risk of dissapointment (for example deciding you need the organisation to change). The most succesful students and participants, seem to have a way of seeing the small steps instead of the big ones. I think this has something to do with a very flexible value system. (I dont know why, but most of them are very easygoing, and inquisitive in a non-judging way). Furthermore these people know how to "lever" the network.

*is "deciding" (collectively, maybe) a CSF? (I think so...)
*"faith" seems to have a role. Lose "faith" lose the war (or win nothing at least). faith in what?
*levering the network is one of the objectives. I think the need and the act are closely related. what if there is no percieved need? can you say that there is a lack of a wall, or maybe a thick skull? (no judgements here, I've been rightfully accused of thickness in this matter. and truely it has prevented me from progress). Ergo: we need to enhance "pain", "problem" and/or "opportunity for solution" (I think the last one is an important nuance).
*also about levering the network. It reminds me of REBOOT10. The ability for a system to organise itself, and the the ability to connect ideas (to and fro)

- the act of acting. I've already written something about this. And the same thing applies: deep respect for those who walk the 100 miles.

[nice, I can finally get in some links to the archive. connections are being made!]

caught my eye

2008-11-29T23:17:00.004+01:00

Found this statement in a Dustin's blog:

"The meaning of your communication can only be reflected by the response you get from another person (no matter what your intentions are)."

WOW! that is a powerful one.

It seems to be the very problem that rears it ugly head now and then. Too much intentions, not enough reflection on meaning.

good one. I was trying to get some more meaning into everything. But now I realize meaning for others can be different as your own intentions. And it's not your intentions that count (the road to hell was paved with them :-).
Meaning (especially the meaning for others) however makes the world go round.

Gandhi knew this, I realize now.

step one: aknowledge this and embrace it.
step two: make meaning
step three: carry on

(sorry Dustin, dont really buy into the rest of the NLP stuff, but this one I like)

IF...

2008-11-25T17:58:00.002+01:00

two great examples (for me anyway..): Dennis Hopper (a blood and guts man who conquered himself), and Ruyard Kipling (both a dreamer and a realist).

In these poems I find a powerful manual. A cause to anchors my dealings in life.

the history of rock'n'roll

2008-11-17T23:00:00.000+01:00

"But the history of rock’n’roll is the history of being open to influences, and that’s why things happen." - Tony Wilson

Man I love this guy. Rest his soul..

fired up!

2008-11-14T08:08:00.004+01:00

Just to steal someone's "warcry" :-)

Wednesday I attended a seminar on the new "generation" of students. It wasn't about technology or multitasking or new professional paradigma's (or maybe it was). For me it was in fact an eyeopener on how generations work in organisations. And, maybe even more important: what the obligations of the older generations are.

"N'oubliez jamiais
I heard my father say
Every generation has its way
a need to disobey"

That's how I feel what is needed. Not only my generation, but the generation after us (my young colleagues)
This and last week I saw some things that made me reevaluate my position in a positive way.

1. I saw a colleague (at my project) really go out of her way to attend other collegues on an opportunity. there was response, and action. On multiple levels.
2. I saw another colleague (at my project) going out of her way to immerse herself in new technology, further than I ever imagined (way beyond the comfort zone). For me this signifies an openeness to change, and the grit to follow trough.
3. two young collegues (at my institute) went out of their way to present their businessplan on a Studium Generale (taking very high risk of ridicule in front of the rest of their peers). The plan was approved and embraced (hurray! for intrepid leadership).
4. My older colleagues suggested graffitying our walls. the suggestion was not rejected by the management.

WTF is happening??? Where is all this energy coming from?

All this "sticking your neck out" from colleagues inspired me greatly!
Not only did I see the embracing of change, but confident intrepid action by inspired people. Which in turn inspires me, and pumps the energy of the organisation.

So what have I learned:

- Serendipity: opportunity happens when you need it (all the time maybe, I'm not that spiritual).
- in order to see serendipity you need to do two things:
* listen to your heart carefully. is it exited or not?
* think with your heart not your mind (which is the ape of the waywards senses remember). The heart is much more positive, which makes it easier to see serendipity for what it is. (the term "positive paraphrasing" struck me this week, that is what your heart does. It's "action on")
- You yourself are the source of serendipity for others (and the other way around). Conversation and communication fuels opportunity. silence or talking to yourself (but not listening) kills it dead. Not only for yourself, but for others (and therefore the organisation)

So looking at STAR (Situation Task Action Result) this is what I need to do:
- Create the right circumstances for serendipity. (which is harder than it looks)
- Make serendipity visible (that is what a coach does).
- Create energy for everyone that needs it. That means taking (more?) risk myself, leading from the front.
- as a member, not the leader: create serendipty for others.

leaving the comfort zone

2008-11-11T23:29:00.004+01:00

I just had a nice conversation on serindipity. Serindipity is a pleasant aspect of learning.

Serindipity brought me this video tonight. And it focusses on two less pleasant but nevertheless very rewarding aspects of learning when you have the time to look back.

some highlights for me:
- "they saw things in my sign language, that I did not mean. but should have". trying to "teach" (or explain, or sell) a thought should lead to the teacher learning. If your not than you are not a good teacher..
- the concept of leaving the place, where you are safe now. I think this is essential for growth. If you stay comfortable, well.. you stay...
- the concept for walking 100rd's of miles to learn something essential. Toil is the essence of authenticity and ownership (somebody told me today, but it's true).

There are many pains in the world of teaching today. Low pay, reorganisations, undercapacity, being misunderstood to name a few.
But today I learned that the pain of learning (growth), is something we have to bear (yes we can!). It's the very art we are the masters of. We are the masters of steadfast and inevitable growth.

My very own 100rds of miles is my quest to inspire my collegues. To embrace the growth in front of us. Not the growth that brought us here.
Why? I dont know? I hope it's not because I'm selfish, or because I think my colleagues are uninspired to begin with. But as a whole we need it to get out of the fucking rut we're stuck in in higher education (pardon my French).

Am I comfortable with this? No, not really. Should I be comfortable? Probably not. It comes with the pay.

Nothing that I envisioned has materialized exactly like I envisioned it. But something is materializing. It could be good. It grew in good soil, and from good seeds. I start to realize that this is the stuff you have to work with.

the very difficult thing is: I will have to switch off (or temper) my ego.
- I chose this path, no one for me. I cannot expect any compliments (everyone craves them).
- My destiny is not linked to the will of my students. Nor can my will steer their destiny. They are not mini-me's. Neither are my colleagues.
- I am not the norm, nor am I god or the prophet (bummer)
- I cannot win a "logic" contest. They have greyer hair, and higher pay grades, higher job titles, more experience. Maybe they're right, but that's not the point. My ego drives me into this trap. I maintains the status quo.
- Even if I was smarter: too much pain on the workfloor has closed this door.

So here I am at the border of comfort. My forays into the dangerzone sometimes seem to go unnoticed (and I admit, it hurts). It's fucking foggy, cold, I cant see where I'm going and I want to go home badly. I could hurt myself or someone or something could do that for me.

I know I wont be happy, if I turn around and head home.
(metaphoracaly speaking off course, I have a lovely girlfriend ;-)

Guiding me are the other the misfits, the dirty dozen, the masochists, the loonies, the misunderstood (but keeping at it anyway), the desperado's. (You'll know when you are one) Your pain and frustration inspires me, for it is the essence of authenticiy.

What the hell is this all about? Am I turning into a Buddhist?

twitteren op #owd2008

2008-11-11T17:23:00.003+01:00

#OWD2008 Dit stukje gaat over onderwijsdagen 2008. Ik ben er zelf niet maar volg alles via twitter @siavogel en @trendmatcher.
Sia doet mee aan een project over web2.0 (zowel de technologie, als de didactische mogelijkheden) in het onderwijs. Het project heet HomoZappiens.

Als projectleider zoek ik altijd naar mooie voorbeelden. en omdat we nu eenmaal op het scherpst van de snede bezig zijn, is dat soms moeilijk.

"Hoe moet je dat nu zien web 2.0 in het onderwijs. Geef daar eens een voorbeeld van...?"

Hieronder het voorbeeld wat ik in de (afgesloten) werkplaats geef. Opdat het ook buiten de werkplaats kan worden gezien.

---

Hier een mooi voorbeeld van HZap fenomenen (In dit geval het "geconnect-zijn" zeg maar)

http://twitter.com/vogeltjes

de twit's met #owd2008 gaan over de "onderwijsdagen"

Als je het niet ervaren hebt is het een beetje moeilijk te volgen (maar ja, da's dan jou probleem.)

Ik zie een paar leuke dingen in de twit's

- metainformatie hoe vind men het?
- Sia verteld haar wens: "ik zou graag HZ gedeeld willen zien met deze mensen"
- ervaringen. Ik weet nu dat Sia iets kan vertellen over wiki's in het onderwijs, omdat ze zojuist een paar voorbeelden heeft gezien.
- notities. wat flarden tekst die misschien later een geheel worden.
- conversatie met bv mij of Karsenberg.

Als dit "leren" zou zijn kun je prima zien "wat, waar en hoe" Sia bezig is. Niet per se ter controle (Sia doet het vooral voor zichzelf (wat ik eigenlijk nog het gaafste vindt)), maar het leerproces wordt steeds zichtbaarder en effectiever.

Waarom?
- er wordt gediscussierd.
- ethos, logos en pathos worden zichtbaar (ook voor Sia zelf)
- er worden nieuwe verbindingen gelegd
- men corrigieerd elkaar en vult elkaar aan (er moest een andere tag gebruikt worden)
- door e.e.a. expliciet te maken, geeft Sia de gelegenheid om "aan te haken" op haar leren.

Ik denk dat je de mechanieken zelf moet ervaren, om er iets mee te kunnen.

Super Sia! dat je laat zien hoe jij HZapperwijs aan het leren bent.

Flow and education

2008-10-27T14:36:00.004+01:00

I just watched this movie on TED by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (can you pronounce his name?) on "flow".

I like the last bit where he describes flow using 2 measures (being: 1. your skill, 2. the complexity of your task)
"Flow" manifests itself in the top right quadrand (or is it a octadrand?), where (high) skill matches (high) complexity.

What I find interesting is what he has to say about "arousal" (slightly overchallenged). According to Csikszentmihalyi this is the place where you learn.

Trabis and the joy of old technology

2008-10-25T21:45:00.003+02:00

Last weekend my GF and I spent a long weekend in Berlin. It's a beautifull city, it kinda has the same vibe as Rome IMO.

Mieke persuaded me to go on a "Trabi Safari with her". On the safari you drive thorugh former east Berlin in a Trabant.

The machine only has a 28 BHP two stroke engine (I guess being a two stroke is a plus in this case). There's only the most necesarry controls (just the stuff that makes it go, trun and stop)

I feels kinda weird when you get in. But after a while you think: "hey, this works... this works as good as my volkswagen driving through the city.".

The handling isnt great but it works. You just need to pay attention when you need to brake (keep some distance...). And above all its cosy.

You slow down, relax a bit more.

Why do I have all this stuff in my car? Come to think of it most of it gives you a sense of security. But at what cost?

here's a funny film about the QC at the Trabant factory:

about beaches and inertia

2008-10-23T10:04:00.003+02:00

"There are two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are dead and those who are going to die. Now let’s get the hell out of here". - Col. George Taylor, Omaha beach

Both in life and in work, we have to deal with inertia. Projects (as with attacks) depend on rythm and momentum.

When the going gets though. It becomes very tempting to huddle down and stay put. I am experiencing this anxienty now. Both in the project I'm working on and in going forward with with interests in life (i.e. renovating a home, getting ready to be a dad).

Having had some time to reflect last week, I've learned something about momentum. Sometimes I got to listen to the inner Taylor.
Stay here and you're as good as dead. And, you cannot save everyone. And being liked or not is irrelevant. Taking the beaches is.

what about failing?

"Gentlemen, we are being killed on the beaches. Let us go inland and be killed." Gen. Cota OMAHA, DOG WHITE

professional activism (SDK's)

2008-10-03T22:00:00.002+02:00

going back to a post I wrote some time ago and talking to a colleage about (profesional) activism. One thing struck me.

He said: "we tend to picture our work to be more complex than it really is"

I agree. I tend to do this myself, and I guess it's a form of protection. Other people will say: "I couldnt do that, that's too hard"

That worked fine in the monolithic corps. of the 80's and 90's. But we got fast and very lean competition. We can't sit on our asses, pretending our trade is "hard" (it's a Fallacy of barriers to entry (Porter for once I agree :-))

So his solution was: make everything as simple as possible. I'm trying it right now. and there seems to stem a new logic from it.
In fact I'm seeing more around me:
- OLPC software
- maeda's law's

and then I saw the use for activism.
I tend to make problems big, so I dont do em.

what if can make problems (or the seeming obstacles) seem small or simple?

Learning by doing (and then some learning)

2008-10-03T15:56:00.002+02:00

this week has been a week learning. Tough, nasty "learning your German words in the sunny afternoon"- type learning.

And the frustrating part is: I only know that dont know my German words yet.

Planning.

It looks like I'm becoming a dad. So I'm juggling work, building a house, and taking care of the family. Planning never was a favorite with me, but now I really have to.

oh I hate this planning with a vengeance. It takes me back to those day's in high school. Where learning and doing was dictated. everything seemed bureaucratic and unfair.

University brought me times of freedom. no more planning, ever (or so I thought).

I want to go futher. I want to get futher.
- With my girlfriend and soon to be family
- with the stuff that I care about:
* progress at my work. My projects. Making sure the organisation goes forward (my great passion)
* With life as a "professional educator" (doing something that feels menial, but is important)
* with life itself, finding some spot where I can contribute and find some peace of mind
- on the side but less important: I'd like to do some fun stuff, now and then.

I'm starting to realize. You cannot get anywhere without some a-b planning. Yes, I can drift around. But the price is drifting around alone.

So I commit myself to some learning:
- planning my week, including time for GF, running and building.
- coping with some span of control issues that trouble me.
- making dead-sure that I learn, and that I keep going forward (actively and by myself)

the last one is also a means to and end (the preceding ones).

By doing, I learn
by learning, I can clearly see what needs to be done.

Cause when I think about it, that's what kind of dad I want to be.

SDK's as a way forward

2008-09-03T22:47:00.002+02:00

I'm giving myself 15 min's to blog about this. Tommorow is a long day.

I just dined with Hans Dekker (Franse Slag by the way is a perfect place for a perfect conversation).

the topic was "how to make people do something among the lines you want them to follow, AND still a. go forward (new things) b. let them control their own future.

I came upon the notion of a SDK (software developer kit). Dont know what it is exactly, but it makes people make apps for say Apple. What's up with that.

Innovation (as in ACTUALLY MAKING "stuff", is a hot topic at my job). Can I make a:
1. (Marketing) development kit
2. (Lecture) development kit
3. (business) development kit
4. (strategy) development kit

A box of lego to toy around with. Some building blocks, some blueprints (with all the room to stray from the path), some examples, and LOT's of reverse engineering.

YEAH! that sounds cool.

15 min's is up. tata.

Dispatches

2008-08-27T13:41:00.005+02:00

In this blog you’ll find a lot of confused ramblings (and often a lot of critique). I haven’t updated a lot because I’ve been busy, but yesterday and the day before I witnessed something that deserves being written down.

Recently the notions of action learning and “Lernen durch Lehren” have been brought to my attention by both my colleagues (thanks Gerard) and the project that I’m leading (thanks Rimmert ,Ton and Freddy).
All very powerful (and involved) ways of learning methinks, but how to implement them in a commercial management setting.

Yesterday my eyes were opened.

The day before I visited FAITH08 (the Introduction camp of CE, the institute that I work at). They atmosphere was good and I decided to stay for the night.

It works...
In short: the stuff that we teach gets used in real life. Not because we teach it, but because it’s being used.

Here are some examples that extend beyond textbooks and cases:

Organization
Last year the IC (who are all students) encountered a lot off coordination problems. This year they developed a new organizational structure that would deal with “span off control” issues.

Culture
There was an atmosphere of cameraderie, where people provided their part.
The IC employs a set off heuristics. Giving various parts of the organization both responsibilities and room to act on their own initiative. Thus freeing up management resources.

Dealing with risk
A lot of money is being invested in the camp. Revenues are uncertain. I witnessed late night number crunching sessions in which both students and staff controlled the flow of money and resources and conceived ways to optimize revenues.
Believe me. That’s a mark of true dedication. Above all forms of knowledge and plans.

Burning the midnight oil
Operations continue 24/7. The “boss” (the intrepid Marcella Osinga) sleeps with her radio. Senior CEP student provide security in 8 hour shifts (normal military shifts are 4hours). Number crunching, preparing for the next day ect.

Dealing with “people”
Security (in the form of CEP students) deal with angry Liverpoleans (believe me, a f@#king scary guy), in a very professional way. Defusing the situation, by making conversation.
People get tired. IC and coordinators motivate people to do mundane (and unromantic) tasks. That’s more difficult than writing a SWOT or an essay.

Adaptability
Stuff breaks, or refuses to work in the first place. Numerous back up plans were made and used.
Sometimes something happens and you dont have a plan. This is where both structure and flexibility rears it head. In my eyes the organization achieves a beautiful balance.
People in leadership places (Marcella Osinga, the IC, the student coordinators, Marloes de Vries and Kim Kafoe) respond to difficulties in a timely and professional way.

Slow night, take it easy
All in all it was a quiet and pleasant night for me. Drinking a (1 ;-) beer with the students. Shooting the shit. Helping where I could without being exhausted (last year I was hauling generators).

I conclude my story with some ideas:
1. students are capable of doing something “real”, which entails considerable risk.
2. By doing so they learn “the good stuff”
3. Trust and reputation are important
4. Skills and practice is endless. And they only become “real” when they are employed in reality.
5. Learning “in the field” creates exponentially more value. (for example what would you prefer “an 8 for the module XYZ” or “experience in setting up an enterprise”)

I would like to show my deepest respect to the students of IC, the student-coordinators, the student-mentors, the organizing staff (Kim Kafoe, and Marloes de Vries), and the volunteer staff that spend the night with their brothers (and sisters) in arms

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle maintenance

2008-08-10T21:34:00.004+02:00

"And what is good, Phaedrus, And what is not good -- Need we ask anyone to tell us these things?" - Socrates

Some days ago I finished reading "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance" by Robert Pirsig. For me it was a "stuff that makes me tick"- quest. And although I did not find any stuff that makes me tick, I has given me some really nice insights. Ofcourse I'm no philosopher or literary, so these are only some insights that I could use in my own life and work.

The notion that “quality” cannot be defined, but can be experienced.
IMO the whole book revolves about quality being the stuff that gives direction. The way all efforts point, and from which your efforts spring. I find it really hard to "think" about quality in this sense. and it leads to me getting trapped in false assumptions. Yet, I can ,(as most people can) make choices between options, without to much need for rationalizing. These decisions are based on the metaphysical quality Pirsig talks about.
In in other words you can use "quality" without really "understanding" it. Which for me is important because I (we) spend/waste a lot of time rechecking decisions, or learning how to make good decisions.

Some time ago somebody told me "even though you may not be able to pinpoint the essence, it sounds like you know what's right. Maybe that’s enough for now...". We also talked about the difference between "understanding" and "paying attention" (mindfulness). It's beginning to dawn on me that they may not be the same. I also find that this is what I value in students. The twinkle that let’s you know they’re on to something (instead of being able to fill in a thorough SWOT).

The romantic - classic schism, and the lack of quality
Pirsig talks about a division in that was made between subject(rhetoric) and object(dialectics). This division stems from the classical Greek philosophers. I cannot really understand why this division was made (I guess that's to much for me to comprehend), but according to Pirsig this is the root of modern day anxieties. Pirsig talks about the romantic types, that would like to "groove" on things. And the classical type that tends to rationalize things. At first I looks like Pirsig tends to favor the classical types. But, at some point he reasons that quality entails both.
Pirsig warns against "styling" as a substitute for "quality" that has been dissected to far.

Sometimes I really feel this schism. On one side not wanting to dig deeper, and on the other side digging too deep and destroying "essence" in the process. In marketing education we sometimes focus solely on theory, while not "connecting" with the beauty of our profession, or our product (classical). On the other side we fall for "styling", looking at formalized quality indicators. (trying to make something classical romantic)
On a personal level, I felt this lack of quality during last "Sinterklaas" (a form of Christmas here in the Netherlands). There I was laden with expensive end high quality "presents" and food and drink. I used to be thrilled each "Sinterklaas", but now I have everything. It felt "empty" (, and scary)

The church of reason
Pirsig tells of the cut we made between subject and object. as a result most our education tends be revolve around truth seeking. We tend to dissect problems but do not solve them. Or we try to solve them in a scientific way.
The antagonist in the book revolts against this way of reasoning, stating that the way we think about "truth", may not necessarily mean "good". thus we are in danger of following the wrong path. The reasoning goes backwards, and does not take into account creativity and progress.

In the theory we teach we tend to focus on finding the truth, for example by doing a SWOT to find weak spots in a company. This may be useful (no doubt about it actually), but it does not necessarily make the students "good" marketing managers.

the concept of "mu" and "being stuck"
Pirsig then tells about problems that cannot be solved in a classical way. The metaphor he uses is the head snapping off a bolt, during the disassembly of the motorcycle. There are no procedures for this instance in the manual. The bolt does not function anymore in the way it is supposed to. The motorcycle is reduced to the value of one snapped bolt. The fact "is" ("mu", I think).

I can only conclude I felt “stuck” a lot of the time. Not because of the enviroment, but because of the heuristics I was working with.

beginner-mind an "mu"
"to assemble a bicycle one first needs to attain peace of mind".
How can one solve problems, that cannot be solved by reasoning (or following the rules)? Pirsig reasons that in the instance of the snapped head, one must let go of the learned heuristics, and go deeper into the problem ("Be" the bolt. if I may). This way one may find a myriad of solutions.
He also introduces the "mu" state. In a classical sense, we tend to make "either-or" (1 or 0 for example) divisions, which sometimes gets us stuck.
In eastern philosophy there is a third state which is neither (empty or "unask the question").

Let’s take the marketing education example a little further. In the setup of our “practical” education we often think the business heuristics automatically lead to a solution. i.e step 1. make a SWOT/DESTEP/5 forces analysis/product life cycle etc. step 2. Start you business.
A good analysis does not mean a successful business (it just means a good analysis). And may even conflict with good business practice.
IMO business practice is learned the old fashioned way. By doing business, by looking at it and by thinking about it (by “being” business if you catch my drift). Nothing more but no less.
The “mu” state for our operations may mean that they cannot be standardized (or at least that quality may be lost).

The gumption trap
Gumption is described as initiative of flow. Sometimes we get stuck (say while maintainning your bike, or working), and we lose our "gumption" Pirsig explains many gumption traps (all very familiar), and I wont go deeper in them. But overall I think he tries to explain the importance of being mindfull of “process”.

Like I said many of the gumption traps were very familiar to me (especially in the motorcycle maintance metaphore). I tend to just “soldier on” (resulting in frustration of damage) when I should take a break. I also realized I do not always properly prepare work (resulting in confusion), or maintain good process.
Some really good information there. How often does one say “why is this happening to me?”, when in fact it may be a clue.

quality, truth, aretê and dharma might be the same (ish)
Finally, just before Pirsigs former self (Phaedrus), loses his mind he discovers the connections between quality and "good" in different philosophies. strengthening his case.
And this one is important for me in a metaphysical way.

I find this the hardest thing to fathom. But lacking a doctrine or religion, I realize now that I find these things important. With the danger of sounding a bit incoherent I’ll try to explain a little.

While reading “jupiters travels” I came across some verses of the Bhagavad-Gita which seem to familiar. I think they are about Dharma (or virtue in Greek classical philosophy).
I’ll leave it at that.

Heat, cold, pain pleasure –
These spring from sensual contact Arjuna.
They begin and they end.
They exist for the time being,
You must learn to put up with them.
The man whom these cannot distract.
The man who is steady in pain and pleasure,
Is the man who achieves serenity.
The untrue never is,
The True never isn’t
The knowers of the Truth know this.
And the Self that pervades all things is imperishable.
Nothing corrupts this imperishable self.

Lucky are the soldiers who strive in a just war;
For them it is an easy entrance to heaven.

Equate pain and pleasure, profit and loss
Victory and defeat.
And fight.
There is no blame this way.

There is no waste of half done work in this,
No inconsistent results.
An iota of this removes a world of fear.
In this tgere is only single-minded consistency;
While the efforts of confused people
Are many branching and full of contradiction.
Your duty is to work, not to reap the fruits of work…

Wanting things breeds attachment,
From attachment springs covetousness,
And covetousness breeds anger.
Anger leads to confusion
And confusion kills te power of memory.
With the destruction of memory, choice is rendered impossible
And when moral choice fails man is doomed.

The mind is the ape of the wayward senses;
They destroy discrimination as a storm scatters boats on a lake.

Reboot10 take-aways part 1

2008-07-01T23:59:00.003+02:00

It's been several days since I left Denmark (impressive country), and REBOOT10. It was my first REBOOT and I had high hopes for it.
Now I'm home and I've been chewing on so many stuff, that I'm pretty exhausted (in a way I've never imagined possible). I dont even know where to begin.

Let's start at my own REBOOT page: I went to REBOOT to "get some direction".
off course there would be no "go left" or "right", so I just took everything in and chewed on it sometime. Maybe the same way as people may have chewed on the sayings from the oracle.

so here I am left with some impressions, no doubt that they will be usefull sometime. In no particular order:

"Complexity"
Flemming Funch's talk really boggeled my mind. With an interest in strategy, complexity really fascinates me. I always thought it was something you had to deal with (i.e. reduce). Flemming illustrated the difference between "complicated" (the thing I was talking about), and "complex" (the thing I was thinking about). Sounds confusing? I'm sorry it is (dont really know what I'm talking about either). But that didnt seem to matter, and I'm glad about that.
Anyway, it did make a big impression on me. Flemming spoke about how nature moves to a state of criticallity (a configuration in which stuff almost happens, before really happening), and that this complexity was something that you could act upon (the "Freedom" component in his talk).
This is what I was looking for, as it connects with my own questions on how to act on the enviroment. according to Flemming one should try to watch for "criticallity"
He also pointed out some stuff to look out for. I'll have to get into that later.

take aways:
- "the Edge" is stable but shifting, it is also where I want to be.
- besides the edges are chaos and equilibrium. that does not work for me (and the rest of REBOOT I guess).
- systems "wind up", before they "go"
- not all freedom is worth having (this shook me to the bone, I'm experiencing this right now)
- freedom is most usefull near criticallity (I gots lots of freedom, so this one is important for me)
- is there a way to make stuff organise itself? or should I just wait for stuff that's wound up (that cannot be true can it?)

"cool curve"
I like entrepreneurs. They put their money where their mouth is. In a way they are what I strive for. Toby Moores had a great talk about how he looked at ideas in the context of a market.

Bottom line: there is a curve (on an axis of comfort and creativity), where the market is comfortable with your product (but there is no "coolness"). Just beyond that curve is the "cool curve", where people have to get slighty out of their comfort zone, but find it "cool". Beyond that are whacky ideas that have short lives. Each PMC has its own "cool curve".
As a business teacher I really like Toby's approach. It's usually easy to generate ideas, but to shape them is a different story alltogether. Toby used "de Bono" techniques to shape the product into the curve.
It was pretty much a solid idea/concept IMO, with some powerfull metaphores. I had some really nice conversations with Toby.

take aways:
- REBOOT is about the "gaps" (as opposed to "best practices")
- "the gaps are the new silk roads" -Toby Moores (again: that's the stuff I'm looking for)
- In the "gaps" you find added value
- the gaps are beyond the "comfort zone"
- Toby had some good ideas on how to manager the creative and production process:
- let people work on what they're good at. beyond these borders is the realm of management. i.e. make sure that people are able to work at what they're good at.

I'm Going!!!!

2008-06-20T21:11:00.002+02:00

goodie goodie goodie

OODA with a vengeance

2008-06-18T00:13:00.003+02:00

It's been a bit quiet since last post. For one I've been a bit busy at my work (and writing even more about it didnt seem right), and for another I didnt know where to start.

but here it goes anyway: OODA loop and what the bleep we need to do with it..
so what next? In my last post I discussed the OODA loop as a model to look at descision making.

My very first quest was to put some more "strategy" in a management game called "maqqy". In this game students will make marketing decisions as the directors of a microwave oven producing company. Until now most of the "learning" revolved around management accounting. "Winning" the game (having the highest revenue 40% and the highest market share 60%) was only "extra" (10% of the total score).

The game itself is a highly turbulent arena (lots of unpredictability, lots of variables). I've played it three times and never have I seen the same results. It's a pity that we do not use it to hone out students strategic skills.

Most students like the game, because of the competive element. But there is no real idea of cause and effect.

After I wrote the last posting. I didnt really know what I had to do with OODA. It's not really a tool. Then I realized it was a model to understand these decision making conditions, and a roadmap for better decisions.

source wikimedia commons
let's try a loop (out of the blue, without the current instructions):

Observe: students read the manual, there are some cryptic (and ambivalent) hints about the market conditions and trend.
Orient: students (hopefully) remember their training try to analyse the data (fails because there is no historic data). No feedback to Observe.
Decide: students form a hypothesis and decide on a course of action (cyclic (with the trend), countercyclic (against trend), or stay undecided. no feedback
Act: students act according to decision, feedback in form of operations data, and market research.

Observe: new data gives some information (but no clear trend) on pricing, demand etc. there still is no real historic data
Orient: student is "learning" the mechanisms but there is not enough information to go on. (learning feedback loop on previous information)
Decide: no real "fingerspitzen" information > same decisions as last time
...

A few things come to mind..
- this is a strategic learning system. the companies that learn "fast" win
- there is no real basis for planning (ambivalent and little information).
- training (in formal planning) is nearly irrelevant.
- there is no tacit marketinformation to build on in the first place.

At first I was under the impression that we should teach different strategic models. But now I realize that we should let the "learning" system run it's course.
The "learning" system will "teach" the company and thus the students.

Our task lies in filling in the OODA loop: providing explicit guidance and control, and providing the "tools and beliefs" system.

more on that next time...

decisions, decisions (Part 1)

2008-05-18T15:13:00.003+02:00

Throughout our curricullum we use various tools to make sense of the business enviroment (Porter, Balanced scorecard, SWOT etc.)

Still, I find it very hard to instill the importance of these tools. This is partly because these tools (quite intently and rightly so) detach the information and analysis thereof from the other parts of the process.

I have been brought up with the Deming loop (plan, do, check, act), and find comfort in it's mantra (try saying it repeatedly in a buddhist style, and every thing will be all right ;-))

During the development of the new part-time curricullum I got involved in a discussion on the folly of the planning and design school of thought in certain situations (the "shit happens" kind). However when challenged I could not produce a satisfying alternative. Very frustrating (and a bit akward).

Through the blog of Don Vandergriff I found this article on adaptability. In it was a reference to a Master Thesis on selecting for adaptabilty (Forsdahl, 2008). A very interesting read.

It talks about the OODA (Boyd, 1987) loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act), which sounds very like the Deming loop. Boyd (1996) adds the notion that the individual states influence the other stages continuosly (instead of being a discreet process). And that a "fast" system outperforms a thorough system in turbulence/complexity (i.e. Fast scanning/decision vs. full analysis).

Two jet fighters are presented. One is superior of the other in terms of speed, acceleration, turn rate, altitude, climb rate etc. Surprisingly, during “dog-fights”, where they fight it off one on one, this fighter tends to lose over a presumable lower performance fighter. What happens here? In this specific case there were two reasons for this. First of all, the low performance fighter had a “bubble” canopy. This enabled the pilot to easily observe the space around him and thereby assess the situation much better. Secondly the low performance fighter had a hydraulic power steering system. This enabled the pilot to change abruptly from one state to another. In other words, he was able to go from a left turn to a right turn quicker than the other fighter.

The word for this is making fast transients. The combination of these two effectively led that the “poor” fighter outperformed the better-equipped fighter. The pilot in the “poor” fighter was able to orient himself more quickly, decide and act faster on the changing circumstances. His actions were abrupt enough that the other fighter could not follow. It did not matter how sharp it could turn, or how high it could climb, when the other fighter was going in another direction. So as the fight proceeded, the superior fighter kept lagging behind – always having to respond and never having the initiative. The pilot soon found himself in a state of confusion and frustration due to not being able to mentally and physically cope with the changes around him. Defeat was inevitable.
- Forsdahl,2008

The frustration that Forsdahl talks about, is the same I see with my students. No intiative, always lagging ("this SWOT is crap" (even when we know they dont have good information))

to be continued...

Kalashnikovs & Laptops

2008-03-06T09:52:00.005+01:00

last Tuesday, I went to the ICT and education tradefair in Utrecht.

There I got a first good look at the OLPC. And that night I couldnt sleep. As a former industrialist (we used to make packaging), the beauty of the little machine hit a raw nerve. It reminded me of Mikhail Kalasnikov who envisioned an assualt rifle that was made "for" the user (after he god mad about the "rubbish" his comrades were using)

the vision of “It's an education project, not a laptop project.” (and sticking with it) is pure genius.

I saw a machine that was built from scratch, using only truely usefull technology (as opposed to builing upon existing technology), I could not find one fault.
What is this beauty?
- the machine is build for a very powerfull purpose (it's a real (recognisable) tool build for progress, like Mikhail's rifle was to keep it's user alive (it was later adopted as a sign for revolutution)
- it's very independent from other technology
- it's hackable (meaning it's invites you to improve it). But if you like it the way it is, that's fine (no need to install a lot of stuff just get it working)
- it depends on the "social" network (together you learn more), and then builds the technologie around it.
- there's is some good stuff in there (I saw a oscilloscope)

these are all very powerfull things:
- vision
- independence
- progress
- humanity
- "Meche", technologie that brings us forward or helps us understand

I can really see this machine giving a real boost to education in remote area's

great, right? so why am I having sleepless nights?

The OLPC stand was one in a sea of "administrative" stands (security, exams registration, content control), and a lot of technologies (neat ones, nonetheless)
Where is the education? where was the hope?

meanwhile I could not envision our kids (or educators) playing with the OLPC.
1. because we are shackeled to our existing technologies and memes
2. because we are looking for the wrong stuff (can anyone tell me what we are looking for in education? right now it has a lot to do with being efficient but not be be conductive to knowledge)

I really think me need to rethink our way of education (much more so if we are building these tools for the 3rd world). Maybe we should let go of the technology we have (for a minute) and think about the essence, evaluate our tools and then proceed.

Maybe I'm a bit negative. what do you think?

quantative needs - qualitative answers

2008-02-11T11:45:00.002+01:00

I was reading Ton's blog on connectivism and education.
In which he describes some notions on the inituitive nature of the repsonse of youth to the increase of connections and information. It's something I have been struggeling with as a teacher onf the management of information. I've seen a transition from a "cybernetic's" style use of IT (something I have been educated in) to a more fluid "social" style use of IT (amongst other channels)

how should we respond in terms of education?
Ton gives three qualitative answers as a starting point:
- an increased "proactive" personal role in information gathering, valuation and sharing
- a different set of information skills
- a different set of tools

He uses the underlying theorie of George Siemens. Stating that knowlegde is "connected"

Like I said I was struggling with the question which particular informations skills we should teach (or maybe refine) our students.
- what informations skills should marketing managers have (besides normal analytic skills as a marketeer)?
- what tools can be used in the profession of a marketing manager?
- what kind of attitude should we instill in our students?

Ton has an interesting presentation on his use of information technology during his working day.

| View | Upload your own

I found Ton's post to be inspiring in finding some anwers:
the first 2 questions can be (and are in Ton's article) answered quite specifically, as illistrated in his presentation. We can design skills and tools according to our education design theory.

But what about attitude? according to most theories (like Wim Veen's "homozappiens"). Our students are the instigators of these changes. and I can see stuff happening on a social pane, but where is the professional attitude towards these changes.
I feel we can make a difference in preparing our students for these changes, but in order to do that he have to change our systems and ourselves.

attitude: a "proactive" role
To start with one of the toughest questions. Around me I see that the people that are most connected and passionate about their business have a clear advantage (in getting jobs, projects and overall competitive advantage) over less proactive people. But how do you instill this in the very being of the institute?
I have a few ideas about that:
- Ton descibes a routine that he goes thorugh when he wakes and goes to work, we should have these routines, AND we should test these routines.
- For proactiveness, education should revolve even more around content delivered by student (I recognize the need for required content)
- We should encourage our students to find and grab opportunities to gain competive advantage, wherever they arise.
- We should develop expert knowledge and experience in these phenomena.
- We should attract succesfull people in these area's

BDM 2day "mini-rally" - day 1

2008-02-06T08:18:00.000+01:00

My first real rally raid took place last weekend! What a blast! I' still feeling knackered (and this was only two days)

The rally was part of my rallycourse (a kind of an end-exam), and consisted of 2 stages in 2 days in which we would cover 300k's of sand roads and trails.

Day 1 (2 CP's, 1 special)
I arrived late so I had to hurry (my starting nr was 8, so I had to start as one of the first riders). After the briefing i had to prepare my roadbook (You get some loose sheets which you will have to tape together yourself (you have to be carefull not to tear it, or get it wet (those who know me that's pretty difficult for me under pressure :-) ))

I got it working just in time as the rider in front of me took off. I got my starting card, and the countdown begun. The official counted down to zero and I was off!!!
I accelerated hard but in the commotion I forgot to look past the first pictures on the roadbook, so I was slightly desoriented, but I got my bearings pretty fast.

At first it took some time to get in the rythm of navigating and riding (You can drive faster that you can navigate, so you have to remember the next pictures on the roadbook)

The roads were extremely muddy and wet, which was a bit difficult to ride through with my heavy machine. After a while I figured the best way was to go fast and keep the front wheel light.

I didnt miss any of the checkpoints, so the navigation eduaction payed off.
Late midday I reached the special (the part where they time you), And I realized it was the plot of woodland that we practiced our trial skills on.
The guy in front of me got stuck in one of the obstacles (a hole in the ground) and ground the mud into a pulp. When I approached the hole it looked OK to traverse, I couldnt be more wrong. somebody told me to go left, but I have a problem with right and left. Luckily there were enough people to drag me out :)

I got through it on the second try

That night we had a hearty dinner, and a sargeant of the Infantry gave us a quick course on how to navigate quickly using clues from the terrain, sun, and stars. Very interesting (not to mention entertaining ("pep!"))

Lisboa-Dakar Aborted

2008-01-04T17:56:00.000+01:00

Bastards! I just checked the dakar site for the latest news, and I found out that it was aborted due to terrorist threats.

official communique

That sucks. I was looking forward following to the epic race, one of the last true adventurous events.

and what to think of all the participants that spend their life savings to participate. All the preparation... gone. Without moving a meter, without the change to try (and probably fail gloriously, the essence of the race)
It really hits me in the gut.

very depressing to watch:

"zonder een meter gereden te hebben"

scrounging for clues

2007-11-15T15:36:00.000+01:00

Last monday we had another presentation from Yuri van Geest on blogging and the Metaverse and its commercial uses.

I tried to absorb all the information in a mindmap (including my ideas, actually there is more on social software and blogging than on the metaverse, but you catch my drift (I hope))

The following questions were the focus of the day:
- what can we use for educational purposes?
- what can we use for our own marketing purposes?
I added:
- what should we prepare for as an educational institute (as in scenarios)?
- how do we develop these capabilities (as in dynamic capabilities)?

I would like to develop some clear scenarios, options, dynamic capabilities and methods for developmet of these options and capabilties.

these are my thoughts so far..

On quality

2007-11-06T11:38:00.000+01:00

I was watching Kill Bill some nights ago, and I was moved by this scene (In which the sword maker Hattori Hanzo hands his work over to "the Bride")

"if on your journey, you encounter God. God will be cut"

We used to work with Japanese customers in our family business and I was always intrigued by their attitude in work, and their view of quality. It is something that needs to be "attained" and on your path anomalies will occur that need to be "studied", and pondered upon.

I find these ideas very empowering

Alles zal rechtkom

2007-10-31T18:10:00.000+01:00

Achmet thinks anyway...

mind-boggling

2007-10-31T17:49:00.000+01:00

Yesterday I was dissecting the last innovation project with a friend who is writing a thesis about the development of dynamic capabiltites (difficult to explain, but it has to do with an organisation learning new tricks)

my preliminairy conclusions were that the team lacked entrepreneurial spirits, but he uncovered some new dynamics (new for me anyway)
he concluded that:
1. we failed to apply our new ideas (a recurring annoyance in my blog posts: the lack of expirimentation)
2. but on top of that we failed to make a step back from "application" (i.e. testing) to development (sharing and dissecting our results)
3. we failed (partly) at point 2 because we did not have the vocabulary to communicate about our findings, we did not have any structure about what results we were looking for, and now way to codify them.

exhibit A: wine induced sketch

hmmm I didnt look at the structure like that. interesting. Piter you might actually have found and applied a "learning cycle" for organisations.

Simplicity=beauty

2007-10-14T19:47:00.000+02:00

While I was waiting for the self-steering project to start again (beginning to worry now, better give 'em a call), I was talking to some of my collegues about the difficulties of staying innovative as an organisation.

(the following analysis is my own view. furthermore I would like to add that I am very pleased with the way we are trying to stay innovative)

We concluded that it wasnt a lack of initiatives (note: there's a difference with "initiative"). There are a lot of programmes that are designed to keep the curriculum fresh and the people up to date. But somehow we have some difficulties grasping the change around us. He mentioned the word "verwondering" (i.e. being stunned by the possibilities).
Furthermore in education we are all working with a system that is starting to give us some problems.
i.e.
1. Somebody invents something (a method, or a model) and writes about it
2. it takes a lot of time to verify and intergrate these thoughts into a larger theory
3. Somebody writes a book about it
4. it takes some more time to become popular
5. dutch publishers translate the book
6. we use it and build our education around it

Given the speed of current developments in our market, I think this doesnt work any longer.
Furthermore, in education as a whole we tend to rigidize these theories as we become competent wih them. Over time we tend to focus on the theorie than its application.

is there a "use before" date on programs?

I become increasingly frustrated with "cover sheets on TPS reports" when all I want to do is discuss some of the student's findings.

Today I was contemplating the discussion I had and I realized I missed simplicity (or the drive to simplify the design)

self steering teams: towards design

2007-09-27T11:55:00.000+02:00

(javascript is not working, HTML will follow)

I was reading this article from Tara Hunt about purpose in communities (lot's of "spreading the love". a term which I find it hard to associate with, but very interesting nonetheless).

I feel it deals with one of the problems that we are struggling with in our own community of practices, namely that of purpose and content. And in a philosophical way it deals with the "vagueness" of the subject on community building.

She starts out whit describing with what she doesnt mean, which I find very clarifying.
"it's not all about the good stuff, or dealing with the bad stuff instantly"

Maybe we should adopt a similar stance? We are a community that deals with developing new ways to teach using web 2.0 technology. It turns out to be hard. Wasn't that to be expected? going from a trend towards applications requires more that mere resources and planning. I requires vision and tenacity.
It's not going to be a cakewalk? but somewhere inside I feel there is a purpose, as a professional I think we need to pursue. If we realize this it CAN be fun.

She then turns purpose in to practice: How should we communicate this purpose?
She has some action oriented ways (I like action):
1. democratize, turn something inaccesible into something accesible: We're on the right route now. As a team we may develop our own vision and realize our own projects. We have attracted knowledge in the form of experts and users, and it has been made avaible to us. Then again, we havent really shared anyting among ourselves. So maybe it's not only creating a democratic structure but enforcing one as well?
2. open source: like I said we have some problems with sharing the fruits. We are simply not used to this.
3. build bridges: Same here. the bridges were there, but we didnt build them ourselves. maybe this inhibited us from maintaining them. Plus there was no real pressing reason to cross those bridges.
4. spread the love / connect deeper: that's a good one too. My "old school" networks and participation had some examples of this. Why should I help someone out? sometimes it's just because I have some connection with the guy/girl (I won't nessecarily like them (or love them for that matter :-))
5. value something bigger: This one is very important for me, But I realize now that not everybody is that clear or ideological. so maybe we should find a way to a. help people find the purpose or b. work without or a lesser purpose.

then (and this is VERY applicable to our problem) she discerns two modi of relation / interaction:
1. user/consumer (I-It): in which we are programmed to only consume, efficiently and effective
2. participant / agent (I-thou): which is well... more

Because the second relation is the basis of communities, we should design for that kind of interaction

I then find out that e.day was in the Netherlands, and that I missed it. Damn! I used to like going to these places (in an other space and time). what happened?

HomoZappiens "after action" meeting

2007-09-25T11:07:00.000+02:00

Yesterday we had an "after action" meeting where we met to discuss how we fared with our projects. It turned out that only two of us (me included) actually put our plan into effect.

Naturally, I was annoyed beyond belief with the progress of my peers (especially when we aim keep high standards with our students, I think we should reflect these high standards ourselves).
The discussion veered into our plans for the MK2 initiative, and we discussed how we should plan the next project without falling into the same traps.

My first reactions were that we should recruit people that were motivated by an inner drive to try out new things.
But someone (rightfully) remarked that that would be too easy (and we would miss the point of spreading the innovation through the organisation bottom up, since we would only be a group of gung-ho nerds. hmmmm I see the image.

We concluded that there also was a divergence in our notions of scope and complexity in the projects and our own role in the group. For instance: I want to try to implement (very different) new ways of learning in my program and learn from the expiriment, while others want to improve the programm with the minimu of hassle.

there were also some framework obstacles:
- The notion of web 2.0 tech and how it relates to learning.
- Being able to envision an adaptation of this tech for our own programm.

after the meeting we came up with some new ideas:
- Splitting the group into a loosely joined group of "fanatics" and on the other hand a tighter controlled group of people who merely want to improve their programm.
- Providing content to combat the aforementioned "missing" conceptual framework
- a question: is this project about innovation in a learning sense (i.e. flexibility: keeping the organisation "fresh"), or about formulating strategic options (scenario driven: i.e. making plans to implement web 2.0 tech, when the time is right). Or both? there is a difference in levels here.
- Piter came up with the idea of transferring knowledge through mentoring
- Ton came up with the idea of putting innovation and knowledge sharing, higher on the list of priorities (as it is being reviewed in our assesment cycle), and emphasizing it in our programm.

Self-steering teams (insights stuff that I learned)

2007-08-29T18:19:00.000+02:00

I am participating in a project (which also an experiment) in which we are asked to develop and deploy new media in our education product.
One of the foundations of the project is the idea of the self-steering team. This team is formed out of the (very) different parts of the organisation.

I am utterly hooked on the idea that I can participate in such a team. When I was a kid, my dad always entertained me with tales of Rangers climbing the cliffs of Pointe du Hoc, the 101st landing in st-mere Eglise. I wanted to do that to. Do difficult stuff, that's important, with great self suffiency and self efficacy.

Working for a few months it turns out that, that is pretty difficult. Then again st-mere Eglise was pretty difficult too.
After thinking it over on vacation and after talking with some friends, here are some learnings (maybe someday I can give some teachings)

1. Task / process dependancies.
People team-up because they need more resources or need resources they dont have.
Some of that stuff is process oriented (e.g. leadership, planning, keeping the peace etc.), some of it is task oriented. The balance is a precarious one, and it takes time to figure it out.
I figure at the time we dont have both the process and task dependancies aren't clear. We sit together but there are no real clear dependancies.

1. sub 2. purpose
The subject of our efforts is the use of web 2.0 in education, and in our case as a professional skill that we train our students in. Because this is al pretty complex and new (to us anyway) it is very difficult to have a clear picture about what we are striving for. Not to mention the resistance to change.
I try to compare it to an entrepreneur that somehow knows which machine he has to invest in, without really knowing if the product is going to sell.
We should develop vision. Something to strive for also gives us a measure of our succes.

2. Social cohesion
After the forming and storming. A cohesion should emerge, a set of unwritten rules.
It doesnt have to be a tea party, but at the time I have no real relation to the people I work with. I think we need this, and I think it can be done.
To be honest I dont know how. At various points attemps were made to escalate the entende. But I think it has to do with the absence of point 1. We should fix that first, then we have something to strive for (or to fight about :-)

3. boundaries
The mandate and the boundaries are actually pretty good. We have a very clear set of rules, on how we should work as an organisation. Filling it in is our job, but that's what self-steering teams are about.

4. Execution
I feel an Idea | Action gap. We have come up with some good ideas, complete with plans. but there are certain barriers that hamper us greatly. There are a few catagories:
1. cost of development barriers. I can live with this. Its only natural, that we strike upon problems
2. process barriers. There is a "red queen" type trap, that keeps us (I am particulary prone to do this) rethinking our positions. We could try to attract/build more "monitor" comptences/resources. and at least be more mindfull of these traps.
3. task barriers. For most of us the cycle from production to development (pure innovation as opposed to for example writing a new reader), is very difficult. This competence | innovation tension is a known management problem, and I think this is the same albei it on a smaller scale. A temporal division is probably the best, because we are trying to find practical solutions. Anyhow I should begin by being mindfull of it.
4. the puzzle of it (sorry, I dont have a clear defintion). I feel we are overlooking a lot of stuff. On one hand the "red queen", that makes the solutions very elusive. But on the other hand the knowledge that as an institute we probably have the solution somewhere, but the organisation is too big, the heap of knowledge to great It's so diabolical, I can barely stand it. I feel I'm reinventing wheels. It's a serious task, but we should really asses our knwoledge management systems.

On a positive note with point 4. I now understand the inititiave and it's origins (together with the ROM Mandate it makes it even cooler)

Piemont addendum

2007-08-23T15:36:00.000+02:00

Some more media:

Photo's

video

Piemont or bust: part 2

2007-08-23T14:37:00.000+02:00

Right where was I.

After my near death, pinching my bottom sitiuation. I came down the mountain all right. For my second objective that day I choose the coll de Mulletiere on the other side of Bardonecchia.
This was a much less popular pass because it was partly destroyed by a mudslide, but I decided to give it a try.

The going was tough, because the road was covered with large rocks and crossed by small eddies. Halfway up I rested on the Red ski piste of the Bardonecchia resort. Strange I've never seen a ski piste in the summer.

After a while I reached the part where the mudslide was, and I realised that it was the end of the road (especially after my encounter with doom earlier that day.

I noticed some cows in the distance and I enjoyed their moohing and the jingling of the bells.

I set of of for the connecting route to bardonecchia. It turned out to be a ski piste again. pretty funny driving down a ski piste ( I dont know why)

the second part was a little more scary...

The day after that I set off for home. I took a detour to see the battlefield of Verdun, which destroyed my happy mood. Nevertheless it was good to see what had happened with my own eyes. It was very impressive to see the destruction still imprinted in the landscape.

16000 Hectares of land was destroyed this way and 9 villages dissapeared in the carnage (they only found splinters of the church bell!!). An hours drive from this point I was still seeing the pockmarks of the shellcraters.

My history teacher told me of the Ossuarium in Verdun, so I was compelled to visit it. There were sarcofages with names of villages and hills in the area. I turned out they could identify the bodies, so they put them in the same casket with the name of the finding place.

Intermezzo: Piemont or BUST! part 1

2007-08-20T10:37:00.000+02:00

With the end of the summerholiday approaching I felt I had to go away for at least a few days. Have some time off in a different enviroment, eat different food, do some interesting stuff.

Since I bought a new All-road bike last year, I wanted to do some off-raoding in Europe (Africa being a bit too scary at the moment, maybe next year).

Having read the Denzel "Grosse Alpenstrasseführer" the decision fell on Piemont (in the Northwestern tip of Italy)

I arrived in Italy via the col de Mont Cenis, and I was stuck by the beauty of the landscape and the state of the wide roads (not to mention the very reasonable speed limits). It was pure joy.

The next day I set off early for the Assietta Ridge Road, but found that the linking Colle de Finestrelle was closed for Motorcycles (pity).

So I set off for the colle de Sommelier.

The roads quality diminished by the second (but on the KTM that's good :-) The riding was a lot more difficult than I expected. The last parts of the roads had very big stones on them, combined with the tight curves and the potential drops, it scared the hell out of me.

Reaching the top of the colle de Sommelier, I was treated with a grand vista. I planned to picknick on the colle, but I realised I forgot everything including the matches to my celebratory sigar, BLAST!
So sitting on the rocks, I ate my last TicTacs. I planned to think about a lot of stuff while on the top, but my thoughts were lost in the deserted mountains. WHich was nice also.

I then took of to the next mountain road: to the fortress of Mount Jaffreau. It soon became appearant that the road to Jaffreau (via Mont Pramand), was a lot tougher that the Sommelier (there was a warning sign, stating that the use of the road was for your own risk (and the italians dont piss about)). The road was rutted, and with steep inclines. In my greed for mountain routes I didnt take into account the added fuel consumption and I had to head back.

Note the caves on the last photo are the same as the ones two photo's above (to give you a sense of distance)

The next day I set of for Mont Jaffreau again (with full tanks this time). I tried to be more mindfull of the journey, but my renew confidence had me bombing down the roads (man that motorcycle is a blast). Half way between Mont Pramand and Mont Jaffreau there is an old tunnel, which is 800m long curves (which mean it's pitch black). I got spooked by a few mountaineers who only had a little LED blinker on them.

Dont look down!

The tunnel was flooded on the last couple of metres.

I wanted to take some photo's from the fort in the distance. But I fell over, and lay trapped on the motorcycle for some 20 minutes before I could lift the backside of the bike. I gives you a added realisisation that I might take awhile before someone will find you if something goes wrong. Better pay attention.

The fort looked like it came from the "Temple of Doom" set. A perfect destination for me.

Jattai!!!!

I was all alone in the fort at 2700m, It had appearantly been dynamited, and the wind was whisteling throught it, very creepy indeed. Not a place for a nice lunch (I didnt forget today), so I headed back.

On the way down I took the wrong road (I was being stubborn, and took a route that was labbelled "washed out". At first it was OK just a single track, but the I came to the stretch that was washed away and there was anly a very small ridgety ledge, with a gaping abyss on the side. I tried to turned around but I was trapped. I realised, in my stubborness I had allready made the desiscion. I could jump high or low, but I had to go across the ledge.
Filled with dread, and sweating bullets I took the plunge. Lucky I made it across, but I feel I expended one of my nine lives. I've got no photo's of it because I was scared shitless (and afterwards I was counting my blessings)

Unimagineable?

2007-08-02T09:29:00.000+02:00

It's the summervacation period, and I've got some time to think about the past year, and what I would do different next year.

Last year was the first year for me trying to implement a few web2.0 things at my work. Mostly communities:

- 1 community for my coachingstudents
- a few for specific projects
- my HRO Homozappiens community

As you may have noticed, I am having some difficulties getting the interaction going (with the exception of my student community and my homozappiens community)

"the king said it was daft to build a castle in the swamp. But I build one all the same, just to show them. That sunk into the swamp, so I build a second one. That sunk into the swamp as well. The third one, burned down, toppled over AND sank into the swamp. but the fouth one stayed up"
- the tale of the swamp castle, Monty Python

So I was thinking about building a community about web 2.0 just for my collegues, with some tips about using youtube in lectures, using communities etc.
I also noticed that there are a lot of misunderstandings about the use of web 2.0 stuff.

- So what are we teaching? What are we designing for?

I find its very difficult to say.
I was watching this TED lecture yesterday.

I found it very motivating.
Alex Steffen struggles with the same problem (albeit on a larger scale) and found a way to deal with the uncertainties.
I would like to use this as a conversation in my new community.

At work we have been talking (numerous times), about our vision of the future. not suprisingly it's very difficult to say and everybody has different views.

Unthinkable vs. unimagineable
Unthinkable: there has been a lot of talk about the Netherlands having to become a knowledge economy (simply because we cannot compete with the lower wages countries). And there are a lot of sombre looking scenarios (including the Netherlands being flooded)

What can we do about it?
Unimagineable: that is pretty difficult to say. There are a lot of different scenarios. You cant built a curriculum on this vagueness.

So what am I going to do?
I'll try to find tools, models and ideas, that if widely adopted, would change the game.

"the tools that change the world ought to be beautiful"

So now what?

2007-07-26T22:22:00.000+02:00

So now I've told you about the first ideas and sparks.

So OK, looking at the benefits, I think this web2.0 stuff is likely to be very usefull in the education from now on. But how are we going to use it?

I'm working at the economic faculty, at the cluster that specialises in marketing and sales.
I feel that it difficult to make out how I can use these developments because for us there are a lot of levels that seem to be impacted:

marketing: the practice of marketing is likely change.
education: the practice of education (making marketeers, so to say) is likely to change.
And there is a meta-level that seems to encompass both aforementioned levels: the way we interact is changing.

Well, change is normal, isn't it?
It is, but its going faster than I expected (or maybe I'm getting old). I came to this realisation when I started with the web 2.0 project, when I saw a wolrd of new interactions that didnt fit into my "e-business" models (the ones that I graduated with).

It's different.

At first I dismissed what I saw (social networks, blogging, youtube, etc) as something trivial. But I realise now that I am looking at a paradigm change.

so this leaves me with a few dillema's:
- what does this web 2.0 look like? (there are no models, and I see only glimpses of its use)
- what business uses are there?
- how can I integrate it in my education?
- how to educate myself?
- how do I start the conversation with my coworkers?

The conversation: First inklings

2007-07-25T12:32:00.000+02:00

What's up with this web 2.0? why does he go on about it?

1. It has to do with my work. Teaching (and therefore learning) is my business.
2. It has to do with my experiences.

I was asked by a collegue, if I was interested to participate in a self-regulating project group that would explore the uses of new media in education. The workgroup is being counselled by Wim Veen (TUDelft) and Ton Zijlstra (Proven Partners)

I was sceptical at first (the first internet bubble left a deep scar in my spirit). But while I was attending a lecture of Wim Veen, I made the following notes, which I intergrated with some notes I made at a lecture of R.U. Sirious (yes, sometimes I like to have a anarchistic streak)

I was struck by the profileration of these new technologies and uses (my little nephew introduced me to them that weekend). And I was intrigued by the words: "conversation" and " create, rip, mix and burn" .

I have been a student for many years, and to be honest I only "expierenced" a benefit from my studies, when a good friend of mine challenged me to try and start a business with him. In the little hours (usually under the influence of some good wine), everything started to fall in place. I could intergrate my knowledge of businessmodels with the years of expierence of my friend. Continually conversing we would find some solutions to the problems that arose. I went to trade fairs and competitors and I never felt so much self efficacy in my life.

Sadly we never got the plan of the ground, but it was an expierence like no other.

My notes reminded me of those nights. That's what I'd like to give to my students, and according to the theories it seems possible.

First sentences

2007-07-25T11:41:00.000+02:00

Hi there,

After reading so many blogs in the past months and trying to write in some work related communities I've decided to start my very own blog.

It's in English (sometimes in Engrish. I hope you'll forgive me)

I'll be writing about the things that keep me busy, in my personal and professional life (you'll find that these things aren't separated in mine).
Right now I'm working on several things (it's my vacation so I shouldnt, but sometimes I can't help it):
At work (I'm am a teacher at the Hogeschool Rotterdam) we are trying to make some sense of the opportunities that web 2.0 seems to produce. At the operational level I'm trying to understand:
- how can we use new (web 2.0) technologies in our education?
- how can we use new technologies in business (I teach at a business school)?
- how can I benefit from these new technologies?

Personally I see at lot of benefits, but (as with a lot of new ideas) it pretty difficult so see where I'm going. And it's even harder to try and involve your collegeaus (because it's hard to convey the benefits).

In my personal life (when I feel like it I'll be writing about that too):
- I like to ride my motorcycles. I'm learning to ride a rallye bike this autumn (very excited!)
- I've just bought a house.
- I'm doing a master in strategic management (hoping to finish it soon)

So that's me, and this blog. Feel free to comment, I'm here for the conversation.

Ernst