Gurteen Knowledge Letter
Issue 261 – March 2022
You will find information about all my future events concerning Conversational Leadership on the Future Events page of my Conversational Leadership website. You can also register to be kept informed of events by email.
This year John Hovell, Donita Volkwijn, Saule Menane, and I are running our Conversational Leadership workshop as a short course with the Project Management Center for Excellence at the University of Maryland as one of their Executive Project Management programs.
Contents
- I would still plant my Apple tree
- We need to see argument in a different light
Build a steel man and argue against that. - We have two purposes in life
A personal one and a societal one - Henry Kissinger and Artificial Intelligence
We are moving into a new period of human consciousness - Tweet of the month February 2022
February 2022 - Conversation is action
Stop doing things — sit down and have a conversation - Reception areas are such a waste of space
Turn them into cafés - Please support my work
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I would still plant my Apple tree
Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.
Credit: Unknown (Frequently falsely attributed to Martin Luther)
I like this idea. I would still plant my apple tree as well. People interpret this quote differently but to me, it means we should enjoy the moment and do what is good regardless of the likely outcome. I love planting things in my garden.
This quotation is frequently falsely attributed to Martin Luther or Martin Luther King Jr. though it is not known who said it originally.
We need to see argument in a different light
Build a steel man and argue against that.
We need to see argument in a different light.
An argument should not be seen as a hostile exchange or a fight but as a fun, enjoyable exchange of opinions. There should not be tears but laughter — no need for anger.
When we argue with someone over a belief, an idea, a course of action, or a decision. We should not see it as a fight. We should see it as an opportunity to work together, strengthen our relationship, and learn.
An argument should be less about persuading the other person to our point of view and more about refining or even changing our own point of view.
Rather than putting up a straw argument of their position and burning it down — build a steel argument and argue against that.
We have two purposes in life
A personal one and a societal one
We all care about our own well-being and the well-being of our family. It's our prime purpose to look after ourselves and our loved ones.
Most of us live our whole lives thinking mainly about ourselves, our careers, and our families. We may give to charity, do a little in our local community, and help close friends, but it rarely extends beyond that.
But we should have two purposes in life: personal and societal purposes.
1. To care for ourselves and our family.
2. To take responsibility and contribute purposefully to society in whatever way we can.
Doctors, nurses, social workers, and even politicians naturally combine the two, but most of us don't. We only focus on the first purpose.
So a question we should all ask ourselves:
What is my societal purpose — what am I contributing or what do I intend to contribute to society?
The contribution need not be large — what is ever within our capabilities and means.
Henry Kissinger and Artificial Intelligence
We are moving into a new period of human consciousness
I wasn't aware Henry Kissinger (United States Secretary of State and National Security Advisor under the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford) was still alive. At 98 years old, he seems to be still going strong.
This Time article Henry Kissinger's Last Crusade: Stopping Dangerous AI is interesting. However, I am an AGI (artificial general intelligence) skeptic. I believe that the fears around AGI taking over the world are unfounded, as this article explains Where AI and organisms differ and what it means for AGI. But I do believe we are entering a new period of human consciousness.
We are moving into a new period of human consciousness which we don’t yet fully understand.
When we say a new period of human consciousness, we mean that the perception of the world will be different, at least as different as between the age of enlightenment and the medieval period, when the Western world moved from a religious perception of the world to a perception of the world on the basis of reason, slowly. This will be faster.
Tweet of the month February 2022
February 2022
Here is my top tweet for February 2022.
What are beliefs? Beliefs are ideas that we hold to be true. However, we have no evidence for many of our most critical beliefs. So why do we hold on to them so tenaciously?
#KM #KMers #KnowledgeManagement #ConversationalLeadership #belief
Conversation is action
Stop doing things — sit down and have a conversation
I am often asked how to turn conversation into action, but conversation is action.
Conversation does not directly change the physical world.
Conversation, however, changes the wiring of our brains.
It changes what we think about, and it shapes how we think.
Conversation creates the conditions in which actions and changes we would like to see in the world become possible.
We can waste a colossal amount of time doing the wrong stuff when a brief conversation can put us on the right path.
Looking at it in this light, conversation may well be one of the most potent forms of action we can take.
So stop running around doing things and sit down and have a conversation.
Reception areas are such a waste of space
Turn them into cafés
The larger the organization — the more extensive and grander the reception area. Huge impressive, impersonal halls of glass, stainless steel, and marble. What a waste of space!
I wish I could recall the name of the law firm I heard about in Germany who transformed their reception area by moving both their library and café there.
The café was used to hold both internal meetings and meetings with clients, and clients were even welcome to come in to have coffee and use the library.
I'd love to see more organizations transform their reception areas like this. Imagine the buzz, envision the networking opportunities and serendipitous encounters.
There may be a few security issues, but I am sure they could be overcome with a suitable design.
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Gurteen Knowledge Letter
The Gurteen Knowledge Letter is a free monthly e-mail-based newsletter. Its purpose is to stimulate thought about Conversational Leadership and Knowledge Management. You can find back issues here.
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David GURTEEN
Gurteen Knowledge
Fleet, United Kingdom