Tag Archives | executive coaching

Dr. Luanne Frank opens the Conference for Global Transformation 2010

By on May 22, 2010 in Perspectives

Dr. Luanne Frank opened the Conference on Global Transformation 2010, occurring this weekend in San Francisco.  Because she is a professor of philosophy, those who want quick and easy information might find her dry.  She commented, in fact, “Information is largely bereft of being.”

I found her fascinating.  Imagine having a job thinking about how people think, and why they think that way, by studying the sources of those thoughts.

This two minute video clip is Dr. Frank’s extemporaneous answer to a question from the audience, “What is Truth?  Heidegger’s sense of Aletheia is an attempt to understand the meaning of truth in a completely new, or rediscovered manner.

Dr. Frank ‘s presentation of post-structuralism included the thoughts of Heidegger (the 20th century philosopher), whose thinking is rooted in pre-Plato times.  As best as I can tell, being a fringe student of philosophy, Heidegger is the main man of post-structural thought.  As opposed to analytical thinkers, Heidegger was the expert/writer/author about the world AS we know it; AS means it’s “a burdened world.”  Post-structuralism attempts to point people toward a clearing, an opening.  That we (people) are the givers of meaning to this world requires words if we are to have meaning. Post-structuralism asserts that we have made our world, we can change it.

Dr. Frank made several additional points that stood out for me, within her intense, dense academic message.  She said, “Information is largely bereft of being, and being comes before knowing…. Daza is “Being THERE, there is no being without ‘there”; being is related to the world of there. …. Two-sided-ness is necessary, for example to bring in the light requires darkness….. We are always there, in the way!…. Hermeneutics (one of those pot-structural comments) means interpretation, or understanding…

What I make of that presentation (and my Landmark Education eperience) — that is to say, my interpretation of her incredibly deep and mind-bending presentation — is that information, data, reality is not real, it is infused with our interpretation which is limited by where we are at any given moment.  Being-in-the-world is Heidegger’s replacement for terms such as subject, object, consciousness, and world. Being is temporal meaning it is related to time.

I am particularly mindful of paradoxes, and although she didn’t SAY “paradox,” her comments clearly point to the requirement of the paradox (a seemingly opposite which is in fact two ends of a continuum).  For example, she said, “We can only know a given truth when we also know it’s opposite.”

Touching this deep subject of how we think, why we think, what we think FROM was surrounded by the request that we look, in the conference, at where are we coming FROM, and what are we speaking FROM, and where are we listening FROM… right now!  As we have embarked on this weekend inquiry for ourselves, it is clear that my “evil twin” is sometimes speaking, my “higher self” is sometimes speaking, my “ego” is sometimes speaking…. and being aware if who is speaking gives me access to myself at a more forgiving, understanding, compassionate level.  I can then extend that forgiveness, understanding, and compassion to others with whom I am speaking.

So far, it has been a phenomenal conference… more later.



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“We will sell no wine before its time” and other timing issues

By on May 11, 2010 in Business, Perspectives, Social Media, strategy, Trust, Uncategorized, Values

Orson Wells says in his very special voice,”We will sell no wine before its time.” You can see this wine commercial for Paul Masson on YouTube. This blog is not about wine, though. It is about timing.

I understand why to sell no wine before its time — the wine isn’t ready to be consumed!  It would not taste right, it would reflect badly on the wine maker, it would “leave a bad taste in our mouth” (pardon the pun) from the experience.

What about the timing for discovering the world revolves around the sun, and not the other way around?  It took over 1000 years from the first person’s assertion of the earth revolving around the sun, not the other way around, before Copernicus gained credibility for this novel view of reality!   Indeed, Nicholas Copernicus was destined to put forward the theory of the earth’s motion at a time when the idea could be heard. During an earlier era Aristarchus declared the same, too early in mankind’s receptivity to gain credibility.   Although true, truth found no champions.

A modern forward-thinking mind, Dean Kamen, invented (among other things) the electric scooter Segway. His intention was that they replace cars for local transportation but they proved too expensive. I see them downtown upon occasion, driven by the neighborhood “safety cops.” Kamen, according to Fortune Magazine (May 3, 2010), has learned that change takes time and a group effort. Indeed Wilbur and Orville flew, yet it took another 50 years before flying was mainstream.

Although adoption curves have their own timing, they are shortening by and large.  For example, the speed of change is lickety-split on the web. My wonderful social media intern, Audrey Vernhet, informed me recently that Facebook could cost money in the next few months. I am NOT ready to climb on that adoption curve!

Speaking of adoption curves, I wonder when business leaders will take up the accountability for being trustworthy and hold each other to account for the position power they hold?  See www.trust-in-leaders.com for an opportunity to comment by completing the research request.  I welcome your thoughts.


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Okanagan University College Student Executive Team Excels at Simulation

By on April 26, 2010 in Business, business planning, Perspectives, strategic planning, strategy

This is the fifth year I have had the pleasure of judging the International Collegiate Business Strategy Competition in San Diego at the Bahia Resort.  Students come from all over the world to compete in this simulation of a real business, and it is an excellent learning experience for them, win or lose.

While this video is a long, amateurish video (I did it) of 20 minutes or so, the contents are worth watching for the joy of seeing professionalism at a young age.  The team included Ryan Rotariu, CEO; Asia Snook, VP Marketing, Kim McIntyre, VP Operations and Michelle Plamondon, VP Finance. Their challenge — to make executive team decisions while running a public, international company over a seven year period.  This is a stellar executive presentation to their “board of directors,” of whom I was one, in the Intercollegiate Business Strategy Competition (ICBSC), at the end of year six of the simulation.

I understand second hand that they participated in this simulation for a measley 1 college credit, and returned to college from the San Diego competition to take finals (they are undergraduate seniors).

Anyone who has presented results will be sufficiently impressed with their thoroughness of analysis, and indeed they did win against three competitors in their “world” of four competitors.  Enjoy!




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