I'm Back Again...

It's been a crazy two months:

• My home pc died in late October. I played with it for about a month. I got it to breathe again, but never got it to work with the internet. I finally gave up last week.
  Good news - I was able to save all my files.
  Better news - I have an excuse to buy a new computer in March.
• I graduated with my Masters in Adult Education and Training. I wrote my action research paper over the last 10 weeks. I learned that I like learning a lot more than I like recapping my learning.
• Work picked up. Suddenly, in September, our classes started filling up. Budgets are back. I've been teaching at least three days a week, which is great.
• slide:ology exploded onto our scene at work. I've been leading at least one workshop a week. The Duarte approach is changing our culture.
• I've got a two-month Tour of Asia coming up. More about the trip later, but planning that hasn't been easy.
• My Training. I attended Decker Made to Stick Messaging, Leadership Challenge (where I 'slideologized' their deck), and Influencer. I would recommend all of these. I'll write more about them in the next week.
• Projects. We're working with Rick and Mary Gilbert of Power Speaking on "Speaking to the Big Dogs 2.0", and with Ed Muzio of Group Harmonics on "Make Work Great". Randy Emelo and I have also released the first four installments of our six part series on the Mentoring Conversations Model.
• Thanksgiving? Christmas? New Year? Yep, dealt with all of those - plus a nasty cold that put me down for about 72 hours during the holidays.

Apologies to any and all that I've neglected during this time.

All-in-all, it was a hectic end to a pretty great year, but I'm back again.

Our "Dress Rehearsal"

Ed Muzio (2nd from left) and the KT Gang

On Wednesday, our longtime friend Ed Muzio spent the day at KT, introducing us to a very cool simulation.

Ed is author of Four Secrets to Liking Your Work, a book I highly recommend to anyone who wants to find more joy in their work. The excellent companion website contains case studies and examples from the book.

On Wednesday, Ed took our team through an exercise called "Dress Rehearsal". It's a complex game that simulates matrixed organizations, played by 9 - 13 players. It tests time management skills, teamwork, critical thinking, resource management, role definition, negotiating skills, and a lot more. It's fast-paced and fun (in a stressful sort of way).

We did well, beating the median scores in every round.

I can't say I'm surprised. We have a well-rounded team with a great attitude. Results always come before ego with this group.

We took away a lot of learnings from the exercise. I'd share them, but I hate to give away the game.

You can find more information about "Dress Rehearsal" from Ed's company, Group Harmonics.