Marching on...

White rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit.

I don't normally sleep very well when I'm away in strange beds, but for some reason, I've been sleeping exceptionally soundly. Having said that it is so bitterly cold, grey, damp and miserable, snuggling in makes sleeping easy. No luxury of a hot water bottle in the second floor room, but the central heating takes the worse of the cold off.

Today started with an reflection lesson on yesterday's course content, what did you find most interesting, what was most useful and what will we take back to the work place and why. We then spent the morning on Risk Management. Although this is my area of business, I always learn something new and I was able to contribute something to the course and help colleagues who don't normally deal with risk consciously (they deal with risk as part of their thinking every day, but not in s structured or writing it down.)

This afternoon we did some research on the major events over the last ten years that has affected and changed our society or our attitudes and then contextualised this to our business today to know how we got to where we have.

We had a briefing on our 'hydra' exercise which will take place over the next two days working in a tight team of four, making decisions and justifying them on fast moving dynamic situations which will last for a whole two days. I think lots of coffee, which I haven't been drinking too much of will be taken in copious quantities or the next 48 hours.

I will hopefully visit the cinema tomorrow to see the film True Grit, but I'll see how tired I am. Tonight is a lazy night in my room and I will be researching Archangels and Ascended Masters and Angels with a view to helping out in a healing group using my Reiki qualifications. This is an exciting new departure in my spiritual life and Angels come into it because my colleague healers will be asking assistance from certain Angels who can facilitate and strengthen healing.

I hope you are having a good week so far?

Chat soon

ta-ra.

Film Fun

Tonight I write this blog from my room in south east Coventry as I go through the last week of three of my leadership course. A comfortable room with power shower, TV and Internet connection, the view is less satisfactory as it overlooks a caravan storage park. Small cheese, I never look out of the window. It's not home from home, but it's good for four nights.


Tonight however, for a break I went to the pictures at the Showcase in Coventry to see Paul starring Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and an Alien called 'Paul'. This is a fun road movie with two nerdy Englishmen who are on an alien trail across south of the USA. A car crash one night unites them with the said alien who happened to be driving a car (badly) whilst escaping from 60 years of incarceration by the American authorities. No spoilers here, but once over the shock of meeting Paul they embark on a chase across the countryside coming across ridiculous and hilarious situations.

There is excellent support from Seth Rogen as the voice of Paul, Kirsten Wiig, Jason Bateman and a cameo from Sigourney Weaver. The film should be enjoyed for what it is, fun, daft comedy, good script, juvenile humour and LOTS of swearing. The film will never win an Oscar but it's good value light entertainment with excellent CGI. Recommended.

Back to the course. The day started with meeting some new people and being reunited with some familiar faces. This is a week which brings together everything that we've learned in the previous two weekly modules. This week will finish with a 'hydra' exercise. This is a live exercise which last two days where a team of four will act as a senior management team dealing with a critical incident (a serious reputation damaging incident) hoping to bring it to a successful conclusion using all the skills and abilities at our disposal. Theory into action.

We worked on 'command and control' issues today and how to construct strategic plans. We did an exercise on negotiation and tomorrow we'll look at risk and a bit of historical context.

Well, it's late and I've got an hours work before turning in.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.

Light in the Darkness

My son tells me that his colleagues from his workplace in York (North Yorkshire, UK) saw the Northern Lights last night (Wednesday), as predicted by scientists. I've had a look out tonight and despite a warm night (well no frost anyway) and a clear sky, I can't see much at all through the light pollution, just the odd twinkling star.

I recall about 1993-ish seeing the sky turn purple one night here in Yorkshire and thought it was a fire somewhere only to read in the papers the next day it was the Northern Lights. Some pictures of the Northern Lights can be found here at the BBC.

Like many I guess, I am watching with horror the scenes from New Zealand south island following their second earthquake in five months, this one more devastating than the last. My thoughts are with the families of the deceased and the community there who will take many years to get over this disaster. My line manager was in Christchurch airport waiting for his flight home when the earthquake struck and he says they never felt or heard anything and only found out about it when they landed in Australia four hours later.

Amazing. He had been to see the Cathedral only 17 hours prior to the collapse of this great building and had lunch at a cafe opposite that is now under rubble.

A work colleague today pointed out a 'Christian' web site in America who blamed the disaster on homosexuals citing it was God's revenge upon them and society for allowing homosexuality. If it wasn't so fundamentally serious, it would be laughable. How any right minded modern Christian worshiping a loving and forgiving God could think such twisted thoughts I have no idea. I pity them.

My last week module of my three week leadership course looms ever near and next week, I shall be ensconced near Coventry in the Midlands for four days where my colleagues and I put into practice everything we have learned about leadership and business. I am both excited and nervous. Work is so busy at the moment that I can't really afford to take the time off, but hopefully the longer term benefits for me and the organisation will bear fruit. I have already learned so much.

Looking forward to the weekend!

Chat soon

ta-ra
Picture by Varjisakka courtesy Wikipedia

Hoping for a sunny July

White rabbit, white rabbit, white rabbit - hello July.

Four fifths of my course done now in sunny Warwickshire and looking forward to trekking back to God's own county tomorrow afternoon, equally as sunny I hope, Yorkshire - home. As the day's learning has finished and got back to my room, I've just seen Serena Williams storm to victory at Wimbledon; my goodness she's a powerful machine!

By the way, aren't our youngsters (GBR) doing so well at Wimbledon, champions in the making.

Well the newest learning experiences in leadership have been:

Leadership exercises (team work, group dynamics and problem solving);
Intrapreneurial Leadership (one step on from entrepreneurial);
Ethics and leadership;
Values based decision making;
Negotiate and Influence;

Tomorrow we'll finish on 'principles for change' and 'planning for success'.

Boy, do I need my weekend off.

I went for another (shorter) walk last night around the lakes nearby and sat and relaxed on a bench and drew a landscape of a lake and practised portraits. There were a few more people around because it was so nice I guess and what was lovely was that everyone said hello and stopped to pass the time of day with a stranger - me. We were all enjoying the benefits of mother nature as well as landscaped and beautifully maintained countryside.

Ironically, I was told that the lakes were man made quarries originally, must have been many years ago, but they are now a thriving home of a vast array of birds, insects, trees and plants and one guy told me the lakes were full of fish. Well done to whoever was responsible; a lesson to be learned by others about protecting and enhancing our environment.

I've had the pleasure of watching a filmed radio show on my iPod Touch this week on an evening which I would thoroughly recommend as a real laugh and a real fun time. This is one hour and 45 minutes of hilarity in front of a live audience at a theatre: "I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue" hosted by the late Humphrey Lyttelton, whose comic timing was exceptional. He was aided and abetted by Barry Cryer and Graeme Garden as well as Tim Brooke-Taylor and Jeremy Hardy.

Chat soon

Ta-ra

On Course...

I'm just watching Japan and Paraguay about to go into penalties in the World Cup - real tension at last.

My head is a little fried at the moment after two full days on my 'Leadership Course' in the Midlands. I'm off for tea and a stroll in the local area on a circular walk for which the organisers kindly prepared a map. 5 Km should chill me out with some decent iPod music.

So far we've looked at:

Cultural audit on organisations;
Vision;
Emotional Intelligence;
Adult Learning Cycle;
Action Learning Sets;
Myers Briggs Type Indicator (I'm ISTJ apparently);
Belbin Team Roles;
Leadership styles.

Lots more to come.

There are great people (19 of them) from around the UK on the course and it's very interesting hearing their experiences and I'm learning about me too. Food is good (always important) and accomodation is great.

Last night it poured down, really hard, it woke me up but when I got out this morning, it was bone dry. I understand from colleagues that their families 'up north' reported thunderstorms last night.

As I sign this off, Paraguay have shot themselves into the quarter finals for the first time in their history. Goodbye Japan.

Chat soon

Ta-ra