Appreciating the Difference

In less than one hundred days I will be turning 50 years old. In the days leading up to the beginning of the one hundred day period I began reflecting on my life and thoughts of my childhood flooded into my mind. I remembered my mother and the life she lived. You see, my mother was a stay at home mother, who worked daily to make her home a warm and secure place for me. She was not a single mom; she was married to my dad. My dad, however, was not the doting type of husband. He was very authoritarian. This created a bondage of which I am sure many women can identify.

What I marvel at are the differences between our two lives. Though she never went many places, except for the functional ones, i.e., grocery stores, dad doctor's appointments and the occasional department store, my life operates quite the opposite. I am gone ninty percent of the time. While she only had a ninth grade education, she encouraged me to study hard and go to college. As she said, "Study hard so you can get a sit down job, like the white folks." As one who once worked in the homes of white folk in the late 50's and early 60's this was her dream. I went to college and graduated.

She became ill my junior year in college. Another dream of hers was to live long enough to see all of her children grown and on their own. (I was the youngest and only child from the union with my dad.) And so she did. I married shortly after college graduation, moved away and had children of my own. Three short years after I married she died.

As I reminesce, I realize that had it not been for the life she experienced I could not truly appreciate my life now. I have a wonderful husband, who supports me in every endeavor...and there have been many. He also trust me. I come and go as I please. My choice is not to abuse his trust or love. I try new things. I am enjoying my life. As I work towards my masters degree and am out late most evenings, spending a great deal of time tired, and rarely cooking. I realize I am living a life that my mother would have appreciated. It is the life she wanted for me. A life of meaning and purpose. (And yes, my job requires that I sit down.)

My Personal Learning Network

Personal Learning Networks force you to consider how you will manage your learning. Coming from one who has been accustomed to letting others dictate their learning, I can say without a doubt that this is work and required a concerted effort on my part to think through all of the processes I have been exposed to this summer.

I enjoyed my summer of learning and had a great deal of fun experimenting with some applications and an equal amount of frustrations working with others. Overall, though, my experience was a positive one. And one I would not have tried had it not been for EDUC689. I am much less apprehensive about trying new applications and have become more willing to take risk, at least with this. Risk in other areas is slowly coming also.

Take a look at my coverpage and learning network. I hope you enjoy it and become inspired to create your own, if you don't have one already. I commented on those that I will continue to use currently; the others will be used as the opportunity arises.

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2295263/PLN (this was fun to do!)

(To see inside the box, click inside and use the toggle arrows on your keyboard. You may also click to increase the magnification, before toggling. The purple represents every application I learned about this summer. The green bubbles are attached to the applications I will use regularly. The grey bubble is the questionable one.)



Don't forget to leave me a comment!

Workplace Learning

After reading Jane Hart's blog, http://www.janeknight.typepad.com/, I am very impressed with the site, and especially the workplace application presentation made. She has shown how social media can be used and what it will do. By taking each application presented and dabbling with it, the user can answer a few evaluative questions.

• How does this work?
• Does it have a professional application or a business application for me?
• Can I share its use with others in my area?

Jane states that in order to truly understand how to use social media, a person must use it and then find its selling points, if you will, so that its benefits can then gain buy in from others. Coming from the perspective of a newbie, I can understand how some would expect to receive an hour presentation and be able to walk away with clear understanding on how social media works. However, from the perspective of an adult learner, I can say appreciation of the media is in its usage. And that most of the time usage is simple.

If we use the media with ease, we can also help others to do the same. By doing this, we are actually building our workforce. This would be a perfect opportunity for an unmeeting. We could take a select group of folk to a room, introduce one of the media and then say, 'You have one hour to experiment and play with this application. We will meet back at the end of the hour to discuss your experiences and comments. Have fun and see you later!' Sure, some will be frustrated and we can work with them, but I think most will come back with favorable comments to share.

The point is to take your time, think about what you are doing and then determine how social media can be used to your advantage. If you can think of an advantage for yourself, you will be able to think of them for others.

Wirearchy

Presenting a challenge to hierarchies of past business structures, wirearchy sets a new precedence for how businesses should run. With the hunger for information and the ready accessibility of it online, there is no longer a necessity to wait for responses to request for information. Anyone can use Goggle, Bing or any other resource to discover what may have taken, by committee, several hours to determine, discover or define. And this is just on the business side. When the customer can do the same, it makes the old hierarchy of information disbursement seem archaic. And embarassing. There is nothing like your customer being more informed about your business than you, especially when the source of their information is outside of your business structure.


I believe that one component that plays a part in this change is the freedom with which information is readily shared. In the past, the hierarchy (of any organization) had a way of retaining information so that only certain individuals had access. Those who had access dared not to share the information with anyone else. And felt privileged for knowing. Now, there is no sense which requires the perceived guarding of information. Information is designed to assist others in the acquiring of knowledge for necessary processes. The sharing of information now is designed to have all affected parties involved in the conversation regarding it. This means the end-user has as much power and influence as the creator. Hopefully, this will also mean a greater respect for those who are the end-users as they are often the ones who discover the nuances and idiosycrecies of the product or ideas.

I Love It!

Ok, so it's late (11:58pm) and I need to go to bed, because well... I have to work tomorrow. So, I'm catching up on my Jay Cross's reading for class. (No, it being summer and my being a grad student has not created a smooth collaboration just yet.) Anyway, I just have to say, I love the idea about Unmeetings.

Generally speaking I don't like meetings. My experience has been that most are unproductive, somewhat pretentious and pointless. For all that was said I could have read it in a memo or at least have given it the attention that I give most memos. (You know, you peruse it for information that is vital to you, then you toss it aside. Or you just toss it aside, because there wasn't anything vital nor interesting to you.) You say it shouldn't be about what's important to me. But isn't that the way we evaluate everything? If it is not vital to my interest, concerns or causes I have no place for and will therefore forget it, even if I heard or saw it.

Unmeetings sound like gatherings for those who really want to be there. Wherever there is. Those who have something to share or want to be shared with. These are gatherings for those who mean to do business, but not in the conventional sense. Take away the fluff and the stressor and get down to the real business of sharing, collaborating and exploring possibly something new, maybe something old, but definitely something with pertainance. (Is that a word?)

I am looking forward to my first unmeeting, G'nite all :)

Tell me again why I should stay?

One of the most dreadful comments you can make to a person is, 'You should know this.' Followed by the question, 'How long have you been here?' That's like telling your son or daughter they should know something, because of the age they are. It presupposes that in some way, the information was taught. Subsequently, it makes the listener (son, daughter or employee) feel like in some way 'they' missed the vital information. They missed the opportunity to snag the nugget of information that would have saved them from what is now a defeated moment. It also puts them on the defense.

Length of employment does not always equate into wealth of knowledge. Nor does it equate into being effective. While the opposite assumption is made, what is missed is the application of the knowledge. That which is unapplied is lost. My client has often experienced this.

In the general sense knowledge is present, but it is dormant. What is remembered is the idea of how something was suppose to work. The problem is that the information has not been applied in years and new processes have totally taken the place of what was known from before. The statement, 'I forgot' has replaced it. It was not forgotten on purpose; it was lost as part of a natural transition to a new process.

On those occasions where there is no loss, it has been because my client has been able to build upon the knowledge that was present. The full process was not lost; only a portion of it became obsolete. It was replaced with a more powerful function. In this the employee has seen the link between the two portions, the old and the new and possibly found an additional application. This is were the happy thoughts stopped. If the new application is not presented in way that generates buy in those listening (usually managment), or in some case if the planets are not aligned, no further application is allowed. That is until some time later, like maybe years.

I have witnessed people leave because they could know grow with my client, the way they had hoped. I have also watched people agonize over the decision of whether to go or to remain. They remained, but did so begrudgingly. Their staying was for reasons differing from the growth potential. Staying required patience for change and hope for more growth opportunities to make the staying worthwhile.

The sad part is departures were not discouraged; even though the person was a valuable asset, their worth was not consider reason enough to persuade them to stay.

The processes of my client are very cut and dry; black and white; very concrete. It is the methods of running these processes which allow for growth. It is with the introduction of wikis, writeboard, google docs etc. that will help my client to explode with possibilities on communicating with each other and with their customers.

Perhaps there is a wiki in their near future.....

Sharing...like we were taught in kindergarten

Organization-Centric vs Network Centric
difficult coordination vs easy coordination
closed and proprietary knowledge vs open and transparent

My client really exhibits a combination of traits from both sides. I must admit, while trying to maintain an open and neutral stance, it is more difficult to weigh out the network centric characteristics. However, the truth is that there are inklings of it showing through. My client is a well established entity, who like many other institutions, have only changed in ways which affected their customers, rather than their employees or learners. Any change was primarily meant to benefit their customers, because after all, if it were not for the customers the institution itself would not exist.

Over time what has occurred is that as new people are hired, they customarily bring with them, not their negative habits, but their positive ones. They brought with them ideas and processes which worked at their last place of employment. Quite naturally, when they mentioned these ideas and processes, they were met with blank stares or the 'deer in the headlights' look. Followed by the, 'No, we've never heard of that before...'. Followed by the list of reasons why 'we never do it that way'.

My client was top heavy with decision makers and bottom heavy with employees who were waiting to be spoonfed rationales, processes and other reasons for why a job was being done a particular way. Unfortunately, this also caused there to be fear of blame for errors, mixed with a large dose of, 'I did what I was told'. There will always a certain portion of this in any organization I believe. What is equally unfortunate though, is that even if the employee knew what they were being told was incorrect, they would still do as they were told. There was reluctance to share what was known by them with management, because of how they felt management viewed them. Management on the other hand was not particularly willing to hear and/or implement was the employee shared, because the suggestion or observation was viewed as the employee trying to get out of working. Interesting how things translate, huh?

With the hiring of both new management and support staff, has been new inklings of knowledge, willingness to try new concepts and procedures and exploration of ideas. The staff is starting to share more amongst each other. Management is becoming a listening ear instead of a shut-off brain.

And I say again...I see network centric organization on the horizon, ever so faintly : )

Centric on what?

My client is very much organization centric. I believe some within my client's domain strive to be network centric, but are stalled. Older institutions tend to have more difficulty changing their mode of working. Clay Shirky mentions this tendency in his book, 'Here Comes Everybody'. My client is a long standing entity like religious organizations, greek organizations, fraternal orders etc. Many operate under the, 'if it ain't broke don't fix it' mode of thinking. What generally occurs is that 'broke' is defined by the heirarchy, not the regular members. Such is the case with my client.


I have observed times when staff members have suggested changes in a process. These staff are the users of the process. However, their suggestions have been immediately shot down and explained away with 'we've never done it that way' or 'I don't think it will be approved'. However, the same idea is later given thought when a member of the heirarchy suggest it and then it's implemented. While the thought is in limbo the staff member who initially suggested it feels defeated and unheard.

Coordination in the organization is difficult because of the levels of authority that must be involved. Sometimes it seems that each level of the heirarchy tries to think for the level above it, acting like a filter for those to whom they report. No one necessarily wants to be the one who brings an idea that may be deemed 'crazy' or 'unreal'. Often my client has heard comments from the external customers regarding their lack of technological prowess, because my client is considered by some to be on the cusp of technological changes. However, while other departments may exemplify new technical changes, my client is often stymied by those in control over it. Those who already dabble in techical advantages like wikis have less of a problem conceiving of the idea of processes progressing in new technical ways. They are often ready to rid themselves of the technological relics of the past which were great when they were first conceived.


Those who are right brained oriented have less of a problem within my client's organization. They thrive less on creativity and more on being concrete in thought. Hence, they also tend to love what they are doing or at least obtain a great deal of satsifaction from it.

Sharing of information here is like the military way of thinking: On a need to know basis. Often the sharing of information can be seen as even cliquish in nature. The problem with this is that the ones who need to know the information, the ones who would benefit most from access to it, are often the last to hear it and normally hear of it from somewhere else first. Information is often given in portions, instead of fully. Because information is missing it's absence leads to mistakes in how it's processed and forwarded. The funny thing is that in some cases, the missing information is not such that would cause a staff member to adversely affect the system used by having it. (The staff member only has access on an inquiry only basis.) Knowing it would simply complete the picture of the full process. Instead of information being free flowing, staff members must return to the heirarchy and repeated ly ask more questions. This gives the impression of having to play 20 questions, over the course of several visits. A simple remedy would be to have all parties involved meet in one place, at one time, to discuss, decipher and explain the process. Ahh, but that would be too open and transparent, now wouldn't it?


I have to believe that network centric is trying to make its way over the horizon. I have had a faint siting of it...or was a bird?

Informal Learning at the Grocery Store

Father's Day was last Sunday and I wanted to purchase all of (okay, a few of) my husband's favorite foods to make a meal. I went to a store I will call the Asian Market. This place is fascinating! It is like going to a multi-continental market, where you see people and foods of all nationalities and origin. (if you like the Food Network or Cooking Channel you'd like it there.) The foods there have their names written in english and the native tongue of where it is from etc. I have often thought it would be a great place to take a few children for a field trip, because of the many textures, different foods. I, however, went there because it was the one place nearby that I could buy fresh fish.


My husband absolutely adores catfish and says he can never get enough of mine. So, I figured here was my chance to make enough just for him to devour. I walked over to the fish department to see what varieties of fish were available. I was looking for catfish and finally I see it. And it's on sale to boot! Whole catfish, fresh, $2.99/lb. Wonderful!!! I can stay within my budget.

I began by examining the fish. Years ago I was told by my dad that fish with cloudy eyes were not fresh, so I was looking for clear eyed fish. The first few were given a thumbs down. Then I casually glance over to the lady next to me. She was looking at fresh tilapia for the same price. She was also using her fingers and looking at the inside of the gills. She had bagged about 6 of them when a clerk came and added more to the bin. She then dumped her 6 back in the bin and started looking at the newly added ones. I return to my catfish, wondering why she was looking at the gills. She turned and asked me a question about the catffish coloring, which I could not answer. I took this as my opportunity to ask why she was looking at the gills. She explained, in as much english as she could muster, while pointing to a set of dark red gills, 'fresh'. Then finding another set of slightly ashen red gills and shook her head in the universal 'no' gesture, stated, 'not fresh'. Suddenly, I got it, but then she asked, 'you look at ?' while pointing at the catfish's face. I got to reciprocate the teaching moment and explained about the fish's eyes.

We then exchanged smiles and helped each other pick out fish. She shared some additional information regarding another store. With limited English (and universal hand gestures) she relayed the name and location of the store. She explained that the store was always crowded, that prices were good, that the produce and fresh fish were great.

Finally, I asked, 'Where are you from?' She sheepishly says, 'Eygpt.' I thought, 'How cool is this? I'm in an Asian store, looking at catfish and tilapia, sharing information with a lady from Eygpt using english and universal hand gestures.' Sharing information to get a particular task done. This was what informal learning was all about. The experience was not only focused on the method of teaching, but on the experience as well. I appreciated my time with her that morning.

By the way, our lesson ended with two young women, who appeared of Asian descent, asking each other and the us, 'What are you look at?' while they pointed at the fish. Another informal learning opportunity to share had arisen.

It's a Group Thing

Workscaping sounds like fun! It's an opportunity to gather together with others, sharing your knowledge and gathering knowledge, without feeling intimidated or estranged. The setting is informal and its occurence is spontaneous, free flowing and productive. It's a chance to work without it being perceived as loafing or wasting time. Most of all it is understood as a learning tool.

Workscaping allows staff to follow their interests as it pertains to the area(s) in which they work. The article, Working Smarter Through Workscaping', by Jay Cross, advocates that employees stay engaged when they are able to take leadership with their interest. Cross's comments about responsibility and authority struck a chord with me. I have often seen where staff members have no authority and all of the responsibility. So, they bare the responsibility if they are wrong, despite the fact that they are given poor information and are doing what they have been told to do, but they have no authority to change a process mid-stream if they recognize that it needs to be done. I have found that people are more willing to take responsibility, if they have a hand in the decision making. Workscaping would allow this.


"Professional[s]...don't just master subject matter; they become members of their profession."


"Professionals learn from one another."


"Perhaps the most important, self-motivated workers apply what they've learned immediately."

Learning from a group who have traveled in the footsteps I must follow, has far more impact than learning from those who can only theorize. Hearing first hand the experiences of others, then taking morsels of information from their story and applying it is what learning is all about. I have found that as I mature, my memory is not as good as it was when I was younger. So, I must take more notes. Sometimes the notes contain not just what was said but also what I saw or experienced. These play important parts for me by keeping an order of recollection, when it is time to practice what was learned. (And some days, at least in my case, I have to do this quickly or I will forget where I placed the notes; despite the fact that I always put them is a safe place :) This helps what I learned to become a part of me and keeps me motivated. This way I find out if I learned or if I need to try again. Most importantly, it keeps me moving, because whatever the subject matter, I want to reach the end result--becoming the subject.

I enjoyed the article and have developed a real affinity for informal learning opportunities. They offer a more relaxed atmosphere where knowledge is not hoarded, but shared freely; there is less concern about being or doing wrong, because the emphasis is on the learning process; there is less opportunity for processes to become stade, because someone is always considered a better way to do it. I cannot say unanimously that every business could total operate in the ways suggested, but it would be interesting to at least see some of them try it. In an age of technology, choosing to maintain antiquated methods and process is totally unacceptable.

Wiki Who?

When I read 'Working Wikily', I began to feel a few different emotions. One was that of being challenged. The authors, Kasper and Scearce, offered many advantages to using social media for the social good and prosperity. Groups come together more quickly and effienciently. No need for an organzation. Just call for a 'Smash Mob' or a collective for a cause (remember the candlight vigil for the soldiers in Iraq?) The challenge for me is, though I want to do good and be a part of the greater good, do I really want to use this media to achieve it?


Being unfamiliar with social media requires a change in thought and behavior in order to use it. It is very easy to stay just as I am. You see, I am accustomed to my ways and think that they are right. Changing requires effort; a desire to achieve more than I have already and a willingness to make whatever strides necessary to reach the goal. Sometimes its simply easier to change the goals. I experienced frustration of the simpliest level while trying to add a RSS feed to a page. Frustration and 3 days (or rather nights) of wondering, 'Did I do it right? Why doesn't it like right?' And they say change is good. Anyway, as I continued reading I was convince that I needed an open mind. Changing my mind would help me to change my behavior. This could be a transforming moment for me, if I let it.


Another emotion was humor, when they spoke about using tools well and matching them to the need, and especially about 'friending'. Using the tools well, means knowing how to actually use it, which is more than simply being acqainted with it, but rather you have become one with it. It is by this that you better know its application. (Becoming one is no easy feat! ) 'Friending' and Facebook, need I say more. This friend option reminds me of middle schoolers who think everyone who is nice to them or invites them to something is a friend. Really? I had to learn how to use the notifications and privacy settings quickly. By invitation only. You see, my daughter explained it to me this way: She uses Facebook for its event planning and notification only, so regardless who wants to be her friend (especially people who are friends of her parents, imagine that!) unless they are related to the business at hand she declines the friendship invitation.


The last emotion was intrigue. This article prompted a conversation between my son and me. Regarding Twitter, he felt that there was no one that he wanted to remain in such close contact with so regularly. Oddly enough, by this time I had completely finished the article and could now promote the benefits of following only those whose interests were the same as mind. There was a professional benefit involved. But what I realized is that he had the same mindset that I had weeks prior and we had not even spoken on the subject before then. He being a young person, of the generation who grew up with the internet, surely he would embrace this technology wholeheartedly. Not so.


The connections or network potential involved here was much greater than I could imagine. So, while I previously looked at networks like Twitter and Facebook as new toys for young, uninvolved mind I could now rationalize, logically, that if I am going to participate in business at a higher level, my 'toys' will need to change also. I mean, who plays with Atari now?

Who am I and What am I doing here?

I am a middle aged woman seeking to define herself. I am one who has just begun to ask herself the important questions, such as, ' Am I happy? I mean really happy?'. I am the one who is just beginning to find answers to questions such as this.

The hard part about finding answers is that you don't always like what you find. Once you discover the answer you are compelled to do something with the newly found information. Otherwise, if you don't you will find yourself asking the same question yet again and confronting the same answer also.

So, what am I doing here? I'm makin' some moves based on the answers found and enjoying the ride I must say. This ride has the mixture of exhilaration and fear, somthing like riding a roller coaster. You know your stomach is going to do back flips at the dips and you hate the feeling of possibly wetting yourself, but there's just something special about being able to say, 'Yeah, I did it. I'll do it again. Wanna go with me?'.