Join the INOC Symposium 10th&11th of Nov 2017, Munich

This is a warm invitation to this years INOC conference (International Network for Organization Development and Coaching, partnering with ODNE) which will take place 10-11th of November in Munich. Elisa Alberto and me are going to facilitate one stream at this conference („Building bridges“) which will focus on the intercultural perspective within OD.

INOC is a non-profit network which was originally initiated by Bernd Schmid/ ISB Wiesloch, following the idea of bringing together OD professionals as well as people interested in and inspired by the field of OD and Coaching to learn from each other, share insights and develop international approaches and methods for organizational development and coaching.

As an international network for OD and Coaching we annually identifiy topics that – in our opinion – are important regarding this field. In 2017 we want to invite you to join the dialogue and work with us on the following three topics:

Return of the autocrats? – How do we deal productively with autocrats in society, business and ourselves?
Intercultural differences – Building bridges
Cultural Diversity in OD – Learning from each other
Co-creation: participating before and during the meeting
Co-creation is one of INOCs’ core values and shall be even more reflected in the INOC Meeting 2017 than already during the two conferences before. Therefore we set our mind to participation and want to take you to an exPEERiential journey.

This journey starts already before the meeting itself – Joining our Slack Team „INOC Meeting 2017“ you can share your ideas, express your wishes or give input on the topics mentioned above.

Join the dialogue – Register now!
You can register for the INOC Meeting 2017 using the INOC registration form on our website or sending us an Email to office@system-worx.com.

Key figures of the INOC Meeting 2017

Date & Time: Friday, Nov 10 (10 a.m.) to Saturday, Nov 11 (3 p.m.)

Location: Kolpinghaus München-Zentral in Munich, Germany

Fee: The fee for the 2 day conference is € 450,- (plus VAT)

You can find more detailed information on the INOC website:
http://www.inoc-network.org/portfolio/inoc-meeting-2017/

We are looking forward to seeing you there.

Making Virtual Real

Working effectively across distance and culture
New book by Elisa Alberto & Cperspectives training offer

What is the first thing you do when you start your working day? Most likely it is turning on your computer, logging in to your company´s virtual platform or checking your e-mails on your smartphone. Probably while reading this text you may be also receiving e-mails from your colleagues in China, or perhaps waiting to join a web-meeting with your US partners.

This new “working approach” of being constantly and easily reachable through different media has not only become a requirement for executives right across the world, but it is also now a key priority for businesses of all shapes and sizes to be able to minimise cost structures in order to maximise return on capital. Virtual teams are one way of reducing travelling costs, while hiring top talent, irrespective of location in the world. And yet, despite these changes, so many managers continue to search for recommendations on how to make virtual working real. And that is where the new book by Elisa Alberto, partner at Cperspectives, comes into play.

It consists of a unique compilation of different perspectives on virtual collaboration and virtual leadership, based on 8 years of research and more than 10 years’ of experience directly working with clients. This experience involves working with teams focussing on international change management, strategy and team development – all projects with a strong focus on virtual collaboration.
The aim of this book is to provide you with a practical guide into the virtual world, from the perspective of a team member, as well as the team leader. In it, the authors share their practical experience in working with virtual teams, offering a wide range of useful tools and approaches for establishing, leading and facilitating successful geographically-dispersed teams.

As a leader this book offers great tools in the initial stages of building a virtual team as well as for later on, when managing the team or assessing team performance.
As a virtual team member, you will get ideas and insights about how cultural differences can affect how people communicate and understand each other in virtual meetings, as well as practical tips on virtual facilitation.
As a consultant or virtual trainer, you will have a comprehensive guide that covers the most important aspects of virtual leadership, virtual collaboration and facilitation.

Curious to learn more? Check out our training offer in 2017: cp_working-effectively-across-cultures-distance

Perfect Imperfect

Perfect stems from the Latin word perfectum, which means “completed” from the verb preficere: to finish, to execute, to accomplish.
Interesting. Things are perfect when they are finished.

If you walk through the Facebook Campus in Silicon Valley, you will find a poster all over saying: “Done is better than perfect”. But actually it should say “DONE IS PERFECT “.

Perfectum doesn’t say: it is perfect when it is finished and immaculate, or finished and in the best possible condition, without mistakes, or other meanings I found:

1. Lacking nothing essential to the whole; complete of its nature or kind.
2. Being without defect or blemish: a perfect specimen.
3. Thoroughly skilled or talented in a certain field or area; proficient.
…
Imperfect in that sense just says: not complete yet.

Painters might paint a picture and it could be “perfect” after 10 minutes or 3 years. Who could tell whether it is perfect, finished, lacking nothing essential, complete, if not the painter? And what if it was a choice, our choice, whether some thing, a task, a product is finished and when not? Who will ever know?

The search for perfection kills innovation.

If it comes to business ideas, new product and innovation, our concept we have about perfection in terms of “nothing to add, no mistakes, ideal..” can hinder us from creating new products and services. To the point, that we never put something out in the world, as we don’t consider it perfect or complete yet.

Preliminarity and rapid prototyping: Good enough is the new perfect

What can help to get things going and to consider whether they are perfect, lets introduce these two question from design thinking and rapid prototyping. An idea/product is perfect/complete, when it is

1- is it good enough to start

2- is it safe enough to try

These question can be a very useful criteria in terms of considering something “perfect” in terms of complete, finished. And to take into consideration, that everything is preliminary, be it the new iPhone or a new medical invention: until the next best iteration is finished.

Our Life will never be perfect, as long as it lasts..

Life is an ongoing, messy, wild, unpredictable, sometimes great and oftentimes not so great process, where all kind of stuff is happening we did not plan for.

And all but perfect, as long and because we are alive! The only state we will ever be perfect as a human will be the moment we are dead: Our life will be perfect when it is completed, finished, accomplished and belongs to the past.

We can DO perfect, but not BE perfect.

While we are alive we can complete tasks, products, pieces of art. Just we, ourselves, will be imperfect as long as we live, because this is what life is about.

We are all imperfect beings producing all kinds of perfect results.

Imperfect Perfect!

This post is written by my friend and colleague Julia Culen (more from Julia: https://pazifika.com) and it was inspired by Christiane Bertolini and the DNA Team. More about Perfect Imperfect at the DNA Smart Afternoon, October 5th 2016 in Vienna:

http://www.dasneuearbeitendna.com/smart-afternoon-wien/

What does systemic mean?

What does systemic mean?

System = Greek “together + stand”

The systemic way of thinking considers interdependencies among the elements of social systems, be it a family, an organisation or a different social system.
Every individual lives embedded in his or her own individual systems that are complex and dynamic.

Working systemically means to refrain from a one-dimensional way of thinking in cause and effect. The systemic approach is rooted in a range of scientific fields such as physics, biology, sociology, psychology and family therapy.

We would like to present several key “systemic” perspectives which are also relevant for how we think and act professionally:

The „mobile perspective“…

… means seeing things in their context. This is associated with the idea that all elements of a system are networked, and that they mutually explain, stabilise and change in their specific character through interactions. The events within a system are linked, and these relations must be observed to explain behaviour and to get an idea of meaningful interventions.

The constructing reality perspective…

…means the focus on (subjective) perceptions, not on supposed (objective) truths. The idea behind this is that realities are created by people’s perceptions of reality. This is based on the assumption that everyone observes the world through his very own individual “glasses”, shaped by his or her own origin, history and socialisation.

The resource and solution orientation…

…refers to the concentration on finding solutions and utilising potential rather than finding deficits and resolving problems. What approaches and ideas could be helpful in coping with a problem? Or provide a good contribution to further development?

The aim of systemic consulting is to initiate long-term learning and development processes, and to accompany them. This enables organisations to become more viable, successful and efficient.
The aim of systemic coaching is to show new perspectives and behaviours, thus developing meaningful and coherent solutions to address the concerns and aims of the individual coachee.

You can find information that goes into more depth than this brief outline can in the following works, including:
Königswieser, R./ Hillebrand, M.: Ein­führ­ung in die syste­mische Orga­nisa­tions­bera­tung. Carl-Auer-Verlag, Heidelberg, 8. Auflage 2015.
Radatz, S.: Be­­ratung ohne Rat­schlag. Systemisches Coaching für Führungs­kräfte und Berater­Innen, Verlag systemisches Management, Wien, 6. Auflage 2009.