"The impossible has a kind of integrity to it which the merely improbable lacks."
Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

One of my favorite MG Taylor axioms is "You can't get THERE from HERE but you can get here from there." Backcasting has become popular over the years but when we first used it with our clients in 1980.  It seemed very strange - and powerful - to them.  Work walls to work big on? Collaboration across all boundaries, both vertical and horizontal? Unleashing Group Genius? These were things our clients had never thought about, let alone experienced. There was no proof in our beginning, no benchmarking. We simply had to put our concept to work.

RUN-WALK-RUN is a process we used on ourselves when we founded MG Taylor Corporation and put into place methods and tools that were not  available in the market place.  R-W-R is the process of leaping out into the future and envisioning a world that could be - well beyond what you know to be possible from the vantage point of here or today. Between  THERE and  HERE there are many possibilities. What is known that could help us realize our vision? One example of this was our need for large write on walls as we were sure that working big was a critical tool in enabling deep collaboration.  No walls could be found. Possible vendors stared at us like we were crazy.  So we made the walls ourselves by finding a manufacturer of refrigerators and getting access to the surface materials on refrigerators. One weekend with a rented truck, colleagues, and Matt's artistic imagination and engineering skills,  we created our first Working Big environment of at least 20 four wide by 6 high panels. 

We invited friends into the space and asked what to do with the space.  Draw, create, share ideas, work together were the responses. Our walls were covered with ideas and plans.  Because we had created a tiny part of our vision and been willing to share it, others were able to engage with us. In a single afternoon of working together, one office supply store owner wanted to put his furniture in the space as a showcase.  Others had ideas for how to make the environment work better. We were off and running, learning as we went.

WALK signifies what isn't to be found and needs to be made up from scratch -- something that can fill in while waiting for someone to invent it.

Consciousness: that annoying time between naps. ~Author Unknown

 Last weekend I got to enjoy watching young Owen (18 months) sleep the afternoon away. After a very short messing about, he got so still and stayed that way for more than two hours. He was so still, so calm. His body was so relaxed and present in some strange way.  I thought it was beautiful. When Owen woke up, kind of slow, but happy, he seemed to take delight in seeing his stuff surrounding him.  Smiles, and ews and ahs ... his delightful comments about the things he cares about.  It is like he drew his world around him again.

Over the last few days the same thing has been happening to me.  I am beginning to get a new thought about this kind of sleep. This past year has been a curious one as I have moved in and out of pneumonia, surgery, and now chemo therapy, I remember some of my awakenings.  It is as if the minute before there was no me, no world ... just body. Each of these times are so different from most when I wake up full of thought, axiety, excitement, restlessness, tired, etc. etc.  I wake up to my brain, not my body!

I think there must be times when the body just takes over and puts everything conscious on hold. I like these times! I am no expert here so I give way to my imagination. I remember watching a Nova film about children growing. They don't grow gradually, but in spurts. It can be true that your son is 1.5 inches taller one day from the next! I bet the body puts the mind to rest when it is doing this stretching and drawing forth, modeling the seeds sprouting forth, working their way up from the rich soil of possibility.

I have been told that sleep heals and I have tried to be patient with the time it takes.  Mostly I have succeeded, especially when I have the "body at rest" type.  It is so wonderful.  Such a miracle to wake up and wrap my complete world around me again.  I know now that I am in chemo, that the treatment itself might be killing off some of my healthy cells that make me tired and anemic. So, I am watchful.  And appreciative that there is real comfort and peace in the midst of fighting this cancer. 

Following up on a previous post, further evidence of the cultural shift within the World Economic Forum:

• I see that they have selected "The Power of Collaborative Innovation" for the theme of their 08 Annual Meeting in Davos - a theme well outside the imagination - collaborative, collective, or otherwise - of the Forum only a couple of years ago.
• The WorkSpace has continued to get prominent placement and widespread engagement this year, with return deployments to the Middle East and Africa, as well as inaugural trips to China (including sessions entirely in Mandarin) and India (coming in December).

"That very night in Max's room a forest grew and grew and grew until his ceiling hung with vines and the walls became the world all around." Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are.

Children's books are subtle.  I believe that each of us is born with an inherent creativity  and longing to make a contribution to our world.  But often, those around us—parents, teachers, businesses, society—with good meaning, conspire to rid us of this creativity. Adults seem all to eager to turn children into productive, serious, on-track-grown ups. But, authors of childrens' books have a trick up their sleeve. They embed ideas into wonderful stories ... stories that as children,  we ask for over and over again.  Marice Sendek is such an author.  Sendak is the kind of author that won't let children forget what they inherently know. 

Children's books are subtle.  I believe that each of us is born with an inherent creativity  and longing to make a contribution to our world.  But often, those around us ... parents, teachers, businesses, social norms ... with good meaning, conspire to rid us of this creativity... these ideas that we long for and turn us into productive, serious, on track grown ups.  Authors of childrens' books have a trick up their sleeve. They embed ideas into wonderful stories ... stories that as children,  we ask for over and over again.  Marice Sendek is such an author. Sendak is the kind of author that won't let children forget what they inherently know. 

"Anyone can talk to a tree but not everyone can carry on a conversation because they will not stay still for long enough. Sometimes it takes a whole day for a tree to tell you its name." Tokien

Joanna Macy speaks of the great turning... our turning away from a world no longer working to something more fit, more thriving for all those who are part of Universe, and in particular, Gaia, our Earth planet. In my day to day life, it is difficult to see the changes happening ... the great turning in the becoming. Rather, I keep wondering when it will begin. And then I think of Turn Around Sam one of the many characters in Tom Robbins' Skinny Legs and All. In the book, Turn Around Sam is a living statute that turns around so slowly that no one can see him move, yet move he does turning in a complete circle several times a day... everyday in a New York park.