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Aim and Stats
Now in our fourteenth year of operation, the aim of the "OD" and "BTA" sessions is to continue to foster an appreciation of InThinking
within an emerging network that is developing inside Aerojet Rocketdyne and beyond. Dates for future "OD" and "BTA" sessions along with additional "thinking" opportunities for 2013 can be found in this announcement.
OD + BTA Stats
For an update on OD and BTA statistics, this month's invitation is going out to 1900+ partners in the U.S., as well as fellow InThinking partners in Australia, Austria, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Chile, Dubai, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and the U.K. Taken together, these individuals represent over 600 organizations in this list of nations, from elementary schools and senior high schools to colleges and universities, from one-person consulting firms to GenCorp, United Technologies, GM, IBM, General Electric, NASA, Bechtel, Kuwait Energy Company, Philips Electronics, and The Boeing Company.
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Welcome First Timers
Your names have been added to this announcement list by virtue of your attendance in our series of InThinking Roadmap seminars, workshops, and overviews within Aerojet Rocketdyne, or attendance at the annual In2:InThinking Network Forum, through a personal request, from you or a friend. Welcome to our thinking networks.
Click either link below to send me the name(s) and e-mail address(es) of anyone you would like to have added to this mailing list, or let me know if you would like to be removed. Thanks!!!
ADDITIONS
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Meeting Notice Service - OD and BTA
If you'd like to receive meeting notices on your Microsoft Outlook schedule for upcoming Ongoing Discussion conference calls and Better Thinking About... webinars, reply to Bill Bellows at william.bellows@rocket.com and your name will be added to our meeting notice list. |
International Participants
Our conference call sessions are toll-free within the U.S. and Canada. Several international participants have been able to connect toll-free using Skype for a VOIP connection, which we now recommend to others calling in from outside (or inside) the U.S. and Canada.
First, you'll need to establish a Skype account at www.skype.com. Once Skype is set up and functioning correctly the only thing that is different when connecting with our "InThinking Roadmap" conference call sessions ("OD" or "The New Economics Study Sessions") is the use of a pass code and security code. For our "OD" sessions, these numbers are provided once the "participant survey" is completed. For the "The New Economics Study Sessions," these numbers are provided in an email from Tim Higgins, who hosts these calls. In either case, when prompted by Skype to enter these codes, use the keyboard not voice option and be sure to turn off the computer's microphone, otherwise the numeric keys don't function. If the microphone is left on when the codes are entered, Skype's automated operator will reply with "number not recognized," as no number has been transmitted. Also, please note that the "pound key" in the U.S. (#) translates to the "hash key" in the U.K.
New users of Skype are encouraged to perform a conference call test in advance of the scheduled "InThinking Roadmap" conference call. Contact Bill Bellows to arrange for a test call. |
Additional Reading
Beginning in 2009, a series of articles have been prepared for the Lean Management Journal (LMJ) to share InThinking insights with the Lean community. This month's feature LMJ article, Book Review - Against All Odds (released with the permission of the LMJ), was prepared to expose LMJ readers to Dr. Deming's concept of a System of Profound Knowledge.
Contact Bill Bellows with questions, comments, or observations about this article. |
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Good morning from the Los Angeles campus of Aerojet Rocketdyne, located in Canoga Park, California, on the western end of the San Fernando Valley.
Aerojet Rocketdyne's InThinking Network welcomes John Varney, from Settle, North Yorkshire, in the UK, to lead our eleventh Ongoing Discussion conference call of 2013 on November 25th and 26th and also our 167th session since we began in January 2000. As for a topic, John has selected "Jacob's Ladder", the first chapter of his forthcoming book, in his first time with us as a Thought Leader.
I was introduced to John by Alan Winlow, a founding member of the North of England Transformation Network (NET2, net2.org.uk) in 2002, at the annual UK Deming Forum. Later, Alan and I visited with John and his wife, Bernadette Schutte, at their Centre for Management Creativity (High Trenhouse), where we were joined in a "thinking about thinking about thinking" conversation by Anthony Blake. It was on this occasion that I first learned of LogoVisual Thinking, a methodology developed by John and Anthony to help people think.
Fast forward to the spring of 2013, when our paths crossed again. I invited John to join us as a Thought Leader, with his forthcoming book, Making a Whole New World, a proper focus of attention. John has provided the first chapter, titled "Change of level - On Jacob's ladder" as his Thought Piece, 39 pages in all.
John begins his Thought Piece with these reflections,
Are we, in the early 21st century, struggling to be fulfilled because we are encumbered by outdated concepts? For the most part, our inherited ideas about organisations were formed in the industrial revolution. The model on which organisations were designed was the very machines which made that revolution possible: the clockwork mechanism and, later, the steam engine, the weaving frame, and all the gadgets that followed. Our organisations are concerned with power transmission and seen as gear chains and lever mechanisms or latterly as programs and interfaces - vast devices that enable a small elite to wield great power. Strangely we see our reflection in our artefacts and the metaphors embedded in our language make it hard to escape our past.
He follows with this perspective on Thinking,
Our feelings tend to polarisation: like and dislike; fight and flight. However, a more mature attitude enables us to pause and consider - to find a space between the extremes in which new possibilities can arise. Even animals have a capacity to be in the space between opposites: the young buck that stays on watch while the herd grazes, temporarily suspends fight or flight, modifying his behaviour for the greater good.
Fight or flight is perhaps the most primitive of our responses to sensory stimuli. There is no space or time for thought in extreme life-threatening situations where fast reaction may be our only hope. However, most experience is not of that kind and it is possible for our incoming sensory signals to be processed through our cognitive faculties before we decide when, whether or how to direct our energies into action. This brings us to a third world of perception, which is the domain of our thinking, where we develop mental constructs, store patterns of information and assign significance to external stimuli according to our personally accumulated knowledge of the world.
Sometimes, then, we engage our minds and actually think before we act. At its simplest, this is a matter of choosing, but it might also involve a process of analysis and then of planning. More accurately, it involves awareness, focus, observation, assimilation, analysis, hypothesis, synthesis and planning. As the list of sub-processes extends, you can see why we might often be tempted to shy away from it all and rush into action without much forethought. Indeed there are times when pausing to think is ineffective or even dangerous. Such may be true in an emergency where highly-trained reaction may be necessary for survival.
Link here to download John's Thought Piece.
Link here to register to attend.
Looking ahead, our December "Better Thinking About..." webinar will feature yours truly on December 12th on the topic of "Better Thinking About InThinking."
Link here to register to attend in advance of the announcement.
And, further ahead, mark your calendars to join us on December 16th and 17th, when John Carlisle, from Sheffield, UK will join us for the December Ongoing Discussion to lead a conversation on "From Negotiation to a System of Profitable Collaboration."
Link here to register to attend in advance of the announcement.
Biography
John Varney's early career in architecture culminated in his own small practice in Surrey. As an alpinist, his personal leadership developed through the introduction of many novices to the mountains. Influenced by the philosopher, J.G. Bennett, and inspired by the creativity of the Bauhaus, he decided to pursue his vision of developing human potential through experiential learning. He set up High Trenhouse as a learning project in 1976 and in 1989 established The Centre for Management Creativity, which has grown into a multi-facetted company with a reputation for getting results.
John is coach, consultant and facilitator to senior managers and management teams of many organisations, from multi-national corporations to community groups. A popular guest speaker on change and learning, he is regarded as a leader in the field of creativity and innovation.
John's work consists primarily in developing attitudes and beliefs, changing relationships and behaviours in order to define and achieve organisational goals. It embraces inter-company collaboration, strategy innovation, teamwork, authentic leadership, thinking methodology and creativity through team and personal coaching. He is pioneering the application of visual thinking methods to enhance education and organisational effectiveness.
Contact John by e-mail at john@centreformanagementcreativity.com with any questions or comments you would like to share with him in preparation for this OD conference call.
Associate Fellow and Lead
InThinking Network
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Canoga Park, California
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November 25th-26th OD Details
Please join us for one or all of this month's series of OD conference calls. As always, you are invited to participate for as long, or as short, as you can in one or more of these sessions, Options 1-4. Note that the conversations vary from session to session, due to a variety of causes, such as who participates and what questions are asked. This diversity is captured every month, as the calls are recorded and shared with all who register to attend.
Option - Date/Time (Pacific Time);
1 - Monday, November 25th, 12:00-1:00pm
2 - Monday, November 25th, 1:00-2:00pm
3 - Tuesday, November 26th - 12:00-1:00pm
4 - Tuesday, November 26th - 1:00-2:00pm
The agenda for each option will be:
Opening 15 minutes: Call in and Introductions
Next 40 minutes: Ongoing Discussion
Last 5 minutes: Farewells and Close
Please reply to this note by noon, Pacific Time on Sunday, November 24th to confirm your plans to participate in one (or more) of these options. If you do plan to attend, please complete the OD PARTICIPATION SURVEY by using the link below...
PARTICIPANT SURVEY
Telecon lines (including a pass code and a security code) have been arranged for those who cannot join us in a conference room at our Canoga Park facility and are provided upon completion of the participant survey.
As always, please forward this announcement to anyone we missed who would also like to participate.
Regards...
Bill |
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Future Ongoing Discussion Conference Calls
Mark your calendars - future Ongoing Discussion conference calls will be held on the following dates (subject to slight changes), from 12-1pm and 1-2pm Pacific Time.
Month, Dates, Thought Leader(s), Topics (link on each session to register):
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Future Better Thinking About... Webinars
Mark your calendars - future Better Thinking About... webinars will be held on the following dates, from 11:30-1pm Pacific Time. Details for how to participate in this webinar series are provided upon registering using the participant survey for each event.
Date, Presenter, and Topic (link on each session to register):
March 13, Paul Hollingworth, Systems Thinking - Part 1 |
InThinking Together Seminar
Description: This seminar explores the philosophies of a variety of management theorist, including but not limited to Russell Ackoff, W. Edwards Deming, Edward de Bono, Tom Johnson, and Genichi Taguchi, among many others; as they apply to the management of organizational resources, including ideas, innovation, knowledge, money, equipment, and space. Among the topics of discussion will be the concepts of "better thinking about thinking" (InThinking) and Purposeful Resource Management as well as Purposeful Resource Leadership. The seminar will introduce you to these ideas through a series of questions that are specially selected to create awareness of a new approach to working together, learning together, and thinking together.
Registration Fee: there is NO fee to attend
Prerequisites: there are NO prerequisites
Format: two 4.5-hour sessions over two days, offered as an in-person event
Presented by: Bill Bellows
Schedule for InThinking Together classes in Canoga Park, CA for Aerojet Rocketdyne
Class #CP-2013-11 - CANCELED
Part 1 - 21-Nov - 8:00-12:30pm
Part 2 - 22-Nov - 8:00-12:30pm
Class #CP-2013-12
Part 1 - 16-Dec - 7:00-11:30am
Part 2 - 17-Dec - 7:00-11:30am
Class #CP-2014-01
Part 1 - 30-Jan - 7:00-11:30am
Part 2 - 31-Jan - 7:00-11:30am
Class #CP-2014-02
Part 1 - 27-Feb - 7:00-11:30am
Part 2 - 28-Feb - 7:00-11:30am
Register to attend InThinking Together
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The New Economics Study Session
Description: A group of participants assembles, some in-person and some via teleconference, for this 14-hour series. Participants discuss W. Edwards Deming's last book, The New Economics, in which he introduced his concept of a "System of Profound Knowledge." The group reads specified chapters before each session and discusses the meaning and application of the ideas, as well as personal reactions to the ideas. Supplemental reading material become part of the conversations, as do reactions to video tapes of Dr. Deming.
Registration Fee - there is NO fee to attend. In addition, this is a toll-free call from the United States and Canada. International participants are welcome to join in as well, provided they do so at their own expense for the conference call. Aerojet Rocketdyne attendees will be given copies of The New Economics. Non-Aerojet Rocketdyne attendees can purchase copies on Amazon at this link, with used copies selling for $15 and Kindle copies available for $15.95.
Prerequisite - there are NO prerequisites
Format - seven 2-hour sessions over three and a half weeks, presented as a teleconference event
Presented by: Tim Higgins
Schedule for The New Economics Study Session
Class #CP-2013-03
Starting on 04-Nov, seven sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, from 3:00-5:00pm
Register to attend the TNE Study Session |
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