Visioning 2026 Blog
Leadership Norfolk Transformational Learning Process Project
Each year as part of the Leadership Norfolk class the participants are asked to complete a process project. In the Janaury class the Process Project objectives were presented. This 8 page PDF formated file introduces the expected learning objectives.
The material they need has been provided in their 3-ring binder and handouts. Numerous references have been provided in this blog and handout material.
Participants, as a member of a team, are to select a future trend that will have an impact on the Norfolk area in the future, say 5-10 or even 20 years.
Using the transformational learning skills they
need to describe how they would approach getting their possible solutions
implemented, why their solutions would be different from the mechanisms
used in the past, what transformations skills are needed by the local
leaders and the citizens to realize the implementation.
The trend should be scoped in such a way as to realize solutions at the
local and regional level through the adoption of transformation learning
skills. The use of references to support their ideas will be
helpful.
The material should be organized is a manner that can presented to a group of
community leaders that would have a stake in implementation.
Transformational Learning -- Process Project
For the upcoming Leadership Norfolk classes the class participants will be breaking up into teams and preparing a process project using transformational learning skills.
In preparation for the January 2008 class we are providing some read ahead material to help with the future dialogue in class and your activities for selecting a process project and developing your outcome. The general topic for this year's class is, “How would you prepare Norfolk for the future that is emerging using transformational methods?”
As part of the class we'll be investigating weak signals, e.g., the current political campaign and how this may impact the future political process. Please take a couple minutes and read the following New York Times article by David Brooks, Jan. 4, 2008, The Two Earthquakes.
A more recent paper written by Rick Smyre, he introduces several new weak signals that should be considered as part of the class dialogue and your process project.
http://www.Visioning2026.com/docs/TL/COTF-WeakSignalsList-Jan'08.pdf
On a related note we've included several links to PDF files, the first being more lengthly and discussing Democracy in a Learning Mode, by Rick Symre.
http://www.Visioning2026.com/docs/TL/DEMOCRACY-IN-A-LEARNING-MODE.pdf
Other related reference material will be handed out in class and is included here.
“CONSIDERATION QUESTIONS”, When Designing a Process Project Framework
PROCESS PROJECTS OF TRANSFORMATION, KEY IDEAS TO CONSIDER, STEPS TO TAKE
Transformational Learning -- What's It All About
Leadership Norfolk class starts the journey on communities of the future transformation learning.
What you'll find in this message
- References to Transformational Learning
- Testimonials
- Futures Generative Dialogue
- Weak Signals from the Past -- Future Trends Today
During the last class you were briefly introduced to future trends and why they are important to our future as a community and an individual. During the next class we'll introduce the concept of transformational learning and how it is different and more powerful from our traditional methods of learning.
1. We are including links to material to help prepare you for the journey. Please take some time to read through the material.
The first tutorial covers Transformational Learning -- Key Concepts and Questions, material (PDF formated) developed by Rich Smyre, President of Communities of the Future, over the course of many years.
The second document, Transformation Learning -- Core Competencies and Evaluative Methods for Specific Outcomes, is a start at the "how to" begin the journey.
2. You might ask why is this new learning method important to me? We've included two testimonials that will help make the connection.
Riding the Winds of Change with Transformational Thinking
My Transformation Learning Journey
3. A term that will come up during the next six months of Leadership Norfolk is Futures Generative Dialogue. We are planting the seed now as it will take some time for this concept to germinate, grow and bloom in your understanding and practice.
Futures Generative Dialogue -- Background of Understanding
One of the most important Communities of the Future (COTF) skills for community transformation is the ability to create an environment for "futures generative dialogue" and to be able to facilitate it. To this end, it is important that a process/transformative leader to understand the differences between debate, dialogue, generative dialogue and "futures generative dialogue. Debate is connected to the traditional idea that there is one truth for any issue. Dialogue creates differences as a result of diverse people listening to each other. Generative dialogue sets a goal to develop innovation and new ideas. Futures generative dialogue adds the element of "dialogue within a futures context" that ensures that new ideas and innovations are transformative and not just rearranging or updating old approaches.
"Futures generative dialogue" will become increasingly important for our communities and our economy as the need for continuous innovation evolves. Until individuals and organizations in our communities become familiar with future trends and their potential impact, many ideas thought appropriate actually will be increasingly obsolete.
The following elements are important to the needs of "futures generative dialogue:"
Direct Elements:
a) Is the dialogue with an individual or group?
b) If a group, what is the size of the group?
c) Is an outcome required? If so within what timeframe?
d) Are you familiar and competent with the methods and techniques of "futures generative dialogue?"
Indirect Elements:
a) The need for a large knowledge base and passion for learning.
b) The need to adjust to a changing situation?
c) Has the context of the "fgd" changed?
d) How to take advantage of outcomes of "fgd."
4. During the last class you were briefly introduced to future trends. We continue to ask ourselves is this a trend or a fad. Typically there are several factors involved in establishing a trend, they may commonally be called weak signals The following list of weak signals and the related connections may be considered as mechanism for detecting those future trends. What weak signals can you identify that may become a trend in the future?
Weak Signals From the Past
1) CB radios and Bag Phones evolved to Cell Phones: supported by cellular standards, batteries, microprocessor.
2) Interactive games such as Pong evolved to multi-player virtual reality games: supported by new gaming industry, microprocessor, video card technology, Internet.
3) Hybrid crops evolved to genetically modified crops: supported DNA research, minimal tillage practices, reduced equipment reqts, improved moisture control.
4) Medical information accessability and billing: supported by HIPA standards, cryptography, Internet, electronic claims submission, use of PDA for patient information.
5) Use of plastics in everyday activities: supported by chemical structural engineering using CAD and plastic injected molding tools, tougher mileage standards for vehicles.
6) Growth in alternative fuels: supported by rising fuel prices, unstable supplies and world demands, MTBE contamination
7) Advertising and marketing using non-traditional methods: Internet, web sites, blogs, satellite radio,
8) E-commerce and small business growth: supported by Internet, web site standards, people with less time, youth endorses on-line purchasing, eBay, Paypal.
9) Credit card usage: communications and security standards
10) Open heart surgery, replacement of organs, tissue regrowth: supported by anti rejection drugs, improve surgery tools and techiques
11) Digital media replacing printed books (world book reference material changes): digital technology standards, Internet distribution, wikipedia publishing
2nd Enlightenment Conference
Six of us from Norfolk attended the 2nd Enlightenment conference March 4-6 in Columbia, South Carolina. It was an amazing experience! About 110 participants from 4 continents and 22 states had serious dialogue about the future of the world in 16 different topic areas ranging from economic development, sprituality, homelessness to philosophical inquiry for children, energy, mind imagining and virtual worlds see 2nd Life. There are many articles on this virtual world that are very interesting.
You can learn more about the conference by visiting www.2enlightenment.com
I am looking forward to many comments from the attendees of the conference and thier impressions of the experience.
Testimonial--Connections, Access Points, Putting it Together
Rick Smyre, I really thank you for your encouragement.
Your are my mentor where my father may have been if he was still alive. I need to tell you a little story on why I say this. My Dad took risks in introducing new sales techniques and technologies in the agricultural industry. He taught his salesmen how to use a four-function calculator in 1972 to create a feed ration for livestock customers without having to go back to the headquarters for the answers. This was instant creditability. He introduced a university simulation tool to advance the least cost feed ration based on available ingredients and their corresponding costs.
The thing that was missing before was the integration of how these ingredients influenced the rate of gain and their associated ingredient costs to the overall cost of production. It so happened that I was writing a part of the computer code as part of my senior project for my undergraduate degree. So at the time I didn't really understand the big picture (1978).
He quickly saw the value of this tool in helping customers make decisions toward the beginning of harvest and before purchasing livestock. For example, do I cut more corn silage or harvest the corn in kernels based on the markets? Given my variable input costs what do I need to receive for my livestock to make a profit. In other words he was able to give his customer a tool that they could go to the banker to show them they could make money given the current and project market conditions. Here was one of the first introductions of information technology and the value of information in the livestock market place.
The whole company adopted the tool across 8 states in the Midwest. This helped the company, customer, and university. Talk about collaboration!!! I Bcc... you on a email to one of our suppliers that is an innovator in many ways. The company president was one of the first to introduce water-based sealants to the wood flooring industry, several years ago he introduced water based field marking paint for synthetic sports fields (that's how we happened to get connected), and is now teaming with another firm to introduce antimicrobial products and processes for the sports industry.
A local Edward Jones investment advisor we've been working with the last two years is a great asset manager and is a leading proponent of the ethanol industry. He gave me an access point that I need to follow-up on, I may have mentioned it in the telecon on Thursday, John Pappajohn from Des Moines, IA. He is the Warren Buffet of Iowa. He has created 5 entrepreneur centers throughout Iowa. I've included a link from one of his centers. There is a video of him under Archives, a presentation in 2002. http://www.bcs.uni.edu/jpec/index.html
My brother is actively involved Junior Achievement in his local school system in Omaha, NE. Have you been involved at all with this organization? I see that we have to start working with the youth while their still in grade school, especially by high school, to understand business practices and learn more about global economy. In my mind this leads into entrepreneur centers which are backed by venture capital funds like what has been done by Pappajohn. There will be no quick fix, rather a transformation over 10-20 years. The local community college could be a primary player or Wayne State College which is only 35 miles away. How do we get our local business community to understand this need for personal knowledge investment along with the financial incentives?
The University of Nebraska Extension Education Department is developing a EntrepreneurShip Investigation (ESI) training syllabus to be used by 4-H clubs and schools systems. This program is designed to be used in parallel with other 4-H projects to help individuals develop entrepreneur skills so they can find ways to stay in their local communities throught businesses development.
A local business owner (JK) is on the edge, I think, of getting the AHAH. He has the personal recruitment process down yet the community is lacking the business recruitment piece (creating the knowledge based and the future microbiology industries of the future), or let me say we have not been as successful, in changing our economic development model.
A local SCORE chapter was started in the last two years with mostly traditional business executive experience. They understand cash flow, business plan, marketing, but not necessarily in the information technology age and how we can better understand these markets using tools that are available on the Internet. Just read a very interesting article on 20 Smart Companies to Start Now, Business 2.0 Magazine editors, asked venture capitalists for great startup ideas (CNNmoney.com). Here's where I may be able to engage JK to expand what Norfolk Area Recruiters (NAR) is doing. His group primarily consists of younger professionals, 35-45 year olds.
For example if a particular sport field related product comes up on my "radar screen" through a trade magazine, eNewletter, email, etc. I typically will check to see whether there are many searches being performed on the Internet. (This is one of our trade secrets that folks can learn easily enough by keeping updated on Internet tools and tricks.) I use the following web site, Key Word Selector, that tells me how many times a key word or phrase was used in the last month on Overture (not sure if this includes Yahoo which purchased Overture over a year ago). How popular is this keyword concerning active searches? Yahoo represents about 20% of the on-line searches. http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
Let's use "antimicrobial" in the on-line tool which comes back with numerous combinations. The tool reported that antimicrobial has 1145 searches done in April. This tells me right away that people are interested in this keyword or keyword phrase. Therefore this is a possible market opportunity. I then use the same keyword in the Google search engine to see how many times the keyword has been indexed by the Google, in this case 13.5 million. Here again a very popular keyword however this may mean there is also a lot of competition in the market place depending on the particular industry and product application. I continue to make a table of related keywords and key word phrases using a simple Excel spreadsheet to better understand the "picture" of the market place and our opportunity to market the product on our web site.
One thing we'll check is whether a product is being sold on a web site, do they have pricing. Here again I want to understand the competition. If no one can directly purchase the product using an on-line shopping chart solution then I immediately know we have a niche market to pursue. I will search on eBay to see if any products are being offered through this on-line supermarket. Is the product in a big box stores? We will search out possible manufactures that will drop ship the item directly to the customer without us having to carry inventory. We may find that we can produce the product right here in Norfolk.
For example, our Sandbags are produced by a local tarp and awning company. The owner is a member of our Kiwanis Club and was able to help with the prototyping and establishing a cost of manufacturing. Now they produce these sandbags, normally during their non-rush periods. I can normally do this market research in less than 5 days, sometimes in a couple hours to determine whether to proceed. This is something that couldn't have been done very effectively 7 years ago. This is another of my testimonials on why I believe transformational learning concepts are so critical to our future.
OBTW...I recently attended a Boy Scout adult training class that will prepare individuals to effective adult leaders. They have incorporated a technique called "reflection" (developed in Minnesota) that helps people understand communications techniques and asking open-ended questions so individuals consider an appropriate response versus a yes or no answer. He used a enclosed rope, first asking the group to grab the rope then closing their eyes. He then asked the group to create a triangle. After the group agreed they were done he asked them a couple questions, e.g., who was the leader, was it important who this was. He then repeated the process asking the group to create a square, then asking a question how was the communications different from the previous exercise, was there more teamwork involved and if so how?
I thought you might enjoy this last story. Thanks again for your time. Regards, Mark Hall
Drawing Connections Between Various Factors
I copied Rick Smyre on this already, but... I am nearly finished listening to a very good audio book (8 CDs) from the Norfolk Public Library entitled, "Collapse - How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed" by Jared Diamond, c2004. It is very pertinent to our community work. The book accents the importance of drawing connections between various factors, causes, and effects in society, many of which seem unconnected and go unnoticed by those in failed societies. A good read.
Larry