Comments for Models of Unity

Comment on Social Media and Coexistence by Rabia Habib

Rabia Habib — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:30:49 +0000

Yes , social media plays a great role and it does bring forth many point of views, though like minded people do tend to flock together but things have begun to change.

Comment on The Objectives of Knowledge Management by Madelyn

Madelyn — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:21:36 +0000

The comment, “building trust for cooperative action” is stellar. I have worked in, researched, and studied KM from many perspectives. My personal interest is in creating KM at the person level. HIstorically, KM focused on the technology level to capture and make knowledge accessible to others. However, access is only one of the pillars of KM. It is also essential to encourage learning both from the organizational perspective and from the individual perspective. This learning aspect of KM is what I call the other side of the coin. You can’t have KM without a component of learning. And when you research what makes learning most effective, you come down to individual people desiring to learn. And when you research what makes this happen is an environment in which learning, sharing, and even making mistakes (and learning from them) are encouraged. This is all about cooperative action. My book Riding the Current and my blog (of the same name) explores how best to create this environment. I have called it Radical Learning, but it could also be called cooperative action. It demands that managers encourage learning by cooperating with staff to create learning moments, and it demands that staff encourage each other to learn by appreciating what each person brings to the table. It becomes the basis of cooperation. I could go on, but I will stop here. Visit my blog for more: http://www.ridingthecurrent.com if you wish.

Comment on Stories of Transformation by Zarrin Caldwell

Zarrin Caldwell — Wed, 18 May 2011 00:35:55 +0000

Thanks for your support Kathie!

Comment on Stories of Transformation by kathiemm

kathiemm — Wed, 18 May 2011 00:25:26 +0000

Hi, Zarrin.
i love your site and your blog.
On my site, engagingpeace.com, I keep soliciting stories of moral engagement, stories of individuals who have engaged themselves in the struggle for peace and justice. I would love some day to pull their stories together in a book. It is a challenge to get them. Let’s share ideas about how to get people to tell their stories. i think story-telling is a great way to get people together, if only over the internet.
Kathie Malley-Morrison

Comment on Positive Focus or Lessons Learned? by Zarrin Caldwell

Zarrin Caldwell — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 01:16:49 +0000

Thanks to all for your comments and encouragement!

Comment on Positive Focus or Lessons Learned? by Larry Miller

Larry Miller — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 02:12:30 +0000

The very title of your website, “Models of Unity” is, by definition, a statement of the positive. We are bombarded every day with a media obsessed with every flaw, every failure, every suspicion and fear. We need a focus on what is working. It is the positive examples and lessons from which we can learn. Competitive business people are always looking for “best practices”, what is working for customers, what is working within the culture or management practices of organizations. Unfortunately, in the public sector we rarely see this. When did you see a news story on a Congressman who was doing his job well? Or, two Congressmen or women who are working a cross party lines to solve a problem? There are lots of these examples, but they are generally ignored. See http://www.lmmiller.com/blog/ for further thoughts.

Comment on Positive Focus or Lessons Learned? by Katie

Katie — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 16:18:32 +0000

Good questions. I think people who typically promote an appreciative inquiry type model would argue that by focusing on the good, what isn’t working naturally comes out – the difference is the negative stuff doesn’t become an energy vacuum.

In my opinion it is important to balance an appreciative inquiry with a deficit view and it really depends on the situation. For a topic very broad and when the solutions are largely undefined – such as the concept of models of unity – I think an appreciative approach is appropriate. On the other hand, when there is a very specific problem in an organization or community, a balance of appreciative and deficit is appropriate. Because the deficit view (i.e. uncovering whats not working) will quickly identify behaviors or actions that need to and can be changed. If you use only an appreciative approach in those types of situations then it may take a much longer time to uncover the “quick wins” you can do to improve a situation.

There are my two cents!

Comment on Positive Focus or Lessons Learned? by Diane L. Dixon

Diane L. Dixon — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 15:11:10 +0000

Zarrin,
I believe that “Models of Unity” is an excellent endeavor that is very much needed in our global society. Thank you for your leadership. Regarding the use of appreciative inquiry as a framework for discovering sustainable models, I think this is a valuable process for learning as a collective what is possible to achieve. Appreciative inquiry does not seek to cover up what is not working, but rather, to focus on what is working and the process for getting there. Inquiry about the process for achieving positive outcomes and change uncovers the challenges. This is what makes appreciative inquiry different from the traditional problem-focused approach. Appreciative inquiry shifts the focus and frame of mind to the positive possibilities. A positive mindset and focus will more likely result in translating lessons learned from other experiences into practical realities in other contexts. With a positive mindset problems and challenges are more likely to be perceived as opportunities.

Hope this is helpful.

Kind regards,
Diane

Comment on Positive Focus or Lessons Learned? by Noah Bartolucci

Noah Bartolucci — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 21:24:53 +0000

Zarrin,

Well wishes and a big “thumbs up” on this site and accompanying blog. With regard to your post, I can’t help but think that conflict is not something to be feared or avoided provided that it pertains to ideas and not people, and the excahnges are respectful. After all… “From the clash of ideas comes the shining spark of truth.”

Comment on Positive Focus or Lessons Learned? by shabbir

shabbir — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:44:54 +0000

This is an excellent endeavor. I think,such efforts must be galvanized for the greater benefit of affectedpeople. it would be heartening if the global media highlight such endeavors.