This last month I got deeply into concepts and models applied in more than one field. I love discovering non-trivial connections between things and figuring out how a concept can be used in multiple situations. This is what happened to me this month mostly so here are a few of the things that inspired this:
- Coursera Model Thinking – a fantastic course that explores a whole universe of different models, mostly from social science but also from natural science and shows how and why are they useful.
- Some Extraordinary Maps of the World – now that you are equipped with the models from the course above, you can practice and make sense of this data here. Data on its own does not give us much until we make sense out of it, so what sense do you make out of these?
- The Power of Tale: Using Narratives for Organisational Success – a great book that brings storytelling from the Nursery to the business. Very engaging and inspiring book that shows how important are the stories we share with each-other and how we can learn from them more than we imagine. Indirectly inspired by Mary Alice Arthur and her long storytelling practice in organisations – http://getsoaring.com/ and David Hutchens who shared his story with me a while ago and inspired me and motivated me throughout the last month.
- Leadership and the New Science – another book that brings concepts from one place to another. This time it goes all the way from quantum physics to organisations and human behaviour. It is surprisingly clear and makes a lot of sense. It gives new meaning to the explanations of how people and organisations behave and poses the question whether or not everything in the world actually follows the same rules.
- What Does it Mean to Hold Space? – I value authenticity above all other human characteristics and creating atmosphere that allows people to be truly themselves is one of my favourite things in the world. I love seeing people comfortable, confident and truly open about who they are. This is so hard sometimes in a world where one can feel judged for everything they put out to the world. Holding space for me is partially the process where we open up for people and support them emotionally and physically to relax, feel safe and trust that anything they do is ok as soon as it comes from their heart.
This is quite an intensive list here! Well, it was an intensive month for me too! What were the most inspiring and important things that you learned this month?