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October 2024
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ALLIES8/26/2024 I was talking to a coordinator of a research institute a few weeks ago and we talked about how community supporters can help in bridging the academe with community issues through their involvement and advice in their institute. Good idea, right? Well, this idea is not new and had been proposed for several years but the supervisor refused to budge on the topic for various reasons: Money, adding up to work, etc. When bureaucracy says no, almost all the time, it's just protecting the status quo and eliminating any threats to its state of being. Community involvement means work but it will open up the institute to far greater input, new ideas, new partners, which will then lead to greater impact. Results are not what bureaucracies are for, in general. When questioned, they tend to have a zero vision about outcomes, impacts, or resonance with real-world issues. If our academic institutions are solely run on past successes and are afraid of building allies, then we should all be worried about our future generation!
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AGENDA-FREE3/14/2024 If you really want to build connections, you don't need an agenda. I have been going to meetings with my stakeholder, agenda-free. To most people this is counter-intuitive. But in recent years, I noticed an increase in more connectedness just because I'm not selling any widget, app, product, service, 50/50 tickets, a cause, or an agenda. I'm sharing my lessons learned, my insights gained from working with other organizations, some perspectives that could help them on the spot, and lots of valuable operational details they can help co-create with me. I'm being present, focused, and light. They don't want to be sold, they want to be heard. They want to be part of what your trying to be build- your raison d'etre. Don't come knocking down doors with some prescription. It's not going to work. They will clamp down and leave the discussion before it's ended. You wouldn't know the extent of the issues until you listen and ask some questions. Build connections that can outlast your own little agenda, that could multiply in many directions, business or personal or both. Come as a stranger and leave as a vital partner. You will never lose that way.
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AN ABUNDANT HEART2/23/2024 Let's talk about the abundance of love and grace. I asked my husband if he has plans for me for Valentine's day. Maybe a trip to our favorite restaurant post-VD or chocolates with flowers. He said, "Honey, chocolates and flowers or grocery." I hastily replied, "Grocery, of course." Our grocery items will always have some sweets with it in some form or another. We always look at our love tank as something full or empty. A wise person told me that, in reality, you're not really that empty and you're not that full. You can't be too full because it means that you have no room for more love that shows through compassion, patience, perseverance, understanding, and respect. You can't be too empty because somewhere along the way, you have decided to not care at all but yourself. Maybe your love skills are underdeveloped/underused or neglected. We are always in the in-between situation where there lots of room for personal improvement, growth, and challenge. I don't like to be improving for nothing just to prove you have credentials, awards, and achievements. I remembered one of the trainees in my class regretted attending the course because she thought she was missing out on new training programs and needed to update her skills and knowledge. Training for the sake of padding up your resume is totally a waste of energy. Because she also has a disability, the effort in taking the course became a liability as well. Abundance is a good purpose to adhere to and this not just goes to finances, business, and entrepreneurship where dollars are screaming at you. Abundance of love in organizations particularly in grace shows up in policies, programs, micro-practices, and culture that silently tells you that they care and they will simply do the right thing when presented the opportunity. What does the people in your organization say when you're not around? How does an abundance of love show up in your organization? |