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change management conflict management corporate culture creativity organizational storytelling thinking skills

Stories, Events, Meaning & Culture

In common language, an event is something that happens (changes), in particular something special of limited duration. An example of this is a major sporting event, concert or political rally. An event is an outcome, result, reference or single point of focus. In physics and philosophy, an event occurs at a point in time which […]

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Isivivane for change and Co-operation

Isivivane is a Zulu word that refers to a concept found in a number of other African cultures. In Zulu, Isivivane literally means ‘throw your stone upon the pile…’ and refers to rocks arranged as piles and / or hub and spoke patterns. Once upon a time, stones were used in the ancient world to […]

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change management creativity gamification innovation organizational storytelling thinking skills

Paradigms and Change

A paradigm is a self-consistent set of ideas and beliefs which acts as a filter, influencing how we perceive and make sense of the world. Examples of paradigms include – how to make bread, what a bed looks like, the characteristics of a chair that lend the idea of “chairness”, how we treat sick people […]

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african dilemma tale change management creativity edutainment narrative storytelling teaching story thinking skills

A tale of exotic ducks : supporting complex change

This story was developed for a large organisation that had, at the time, a number of IT outsource partners that needed to work together more efficiently within the same infrastructure. Everyone had a very different view of “what was going on” and there were frequent conflicts and system problems. Rationalisation and downsizing was in the […]

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south african story storytelling teaching story thinking skills

A South African Tale: Skroplap’s Story

*a “Skroplap” is Afrikaans slang for the dirtiest dishcloth of them all, the one that is used to clean the messiest mess. I first noticed “Skroplap” as he strolled easily into the MDs office in the middle of our meeting. Skroplap took the contents of the MDs “Out” tray and left as unobtrusively as he had […]

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about storytelling leadership organizational storytelling

Conversations that count

Conversations that Count: In an age where digital monologues, selfies and superficial chats are the norm, the power of conversation is waning. Disconnected in our connected world, text, email and social media exchanges are hardly interactive, let alone conversational. TV, live-streamed and public-event ‘conversations’, from political debates to discussion groups, tend to be immature, combative […]

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innovation

Why doesn’t innovation happen in corporate?

“I once had a really great idea and sent it in an email to the MD but it was ignored. That’s why I’m not going do anything innovative again” I have heard stories like this on many occasions and the association between innovation – or the lack of it – has become clear in my […]