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Book review: Freedom and accountability at work
Can the business world learn anything from existential philosophy? Do concepts such as freedom, good and evil, accountability and anxiety have any meaning in a corporate setting?
After reading this book by Peter Koestenbaum and Peter Block, I have no doubt whatsoever that the answer is a resounding yes. The subtitle “Applying philosophical insight to the real world” is beautifully realized throughout the book.
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Happy birthday to me
Today’s my birthday, and the flags are up all over town – not just for me though, it also happens to be the birthday of the crown prince. Anyway, I think that todays Over The Hedge strip was especially fitting. And in case you’re wondering: The crown prince and I turn 35 today.
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Interpersonal relations at work
If you think that all these modern, “soft” management theories of organizational democracy, including people in the decisions and being open comes from a few addle-headed idealists, you should read this article.
Among other subjects, it talks about W.E. Deming, who “was a hard-headed scientist who arrived at a position that focused on the importance of respect for everyone in the organization and of good communication among them all.” The point being of course, that he was was a theoretician not known for his warmth or gentleness, and he arrived at his conclusions using hard-core scientific and statistical methods. So there!
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Hosting
Having just spent three days in Slovenia exploring the art of hosting, I thought I’d write a little about what hosting means to me.
Basically, every time you invite somebody to be a part of something, you’re assuming the role of host. Whether it’s a meeting, a conference, a project, a party, a lecture or a night out with the boys: Any time you gather people, you assume the role of host. So what makes the concept of hosting so interesting?
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Back from Slovenia
Wednesday I returned from 4 days in Slovenia, attending a conference/course/seminar on “The art of hosting”. Hosting is any activity, where you invite people to participate in a project, process, meeting, conversation etc. Being a host has some common characteristics, regardless of the type of activity or the people attending, and we explored the techniques, principles and values of good hosting.
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And the winner is…
Last week I asked for suggestions for naming my company. I just filled out the papers, and the company’s official name is “Gaudium”. Thanks to Martin Mouritzen for suggesting it. Gaudium is latin for happiness (I did in fact check it in a latin dictionary, just to make sure that it wasn’t a cruel prank, and that Gaudium was really latin for something really dirty).
I chose the name Gaudium because it’s short, it works internationally and I think it has a nice sound. Thank you Martin.
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Street musicians giving away money
I saw something really cool today: A choir of 10 or 12 middle-aged swedish men were singing in one of the squares in central Copenhagen (they were really good, btw). On the ground in front of them, they’d placed a cap, and people of course put in money. And here’s the twist: One of the men then started giving the money away. He took the cap and gave money to a kid standing there with his mother and to a homeless guy sitting on the ground.
Then they went around to other people collecting more money (I gave what change I had). I saw them again further down the street, giving away some of that money to a guy collecting for Africa. So they weren’t really collecting, they were redistributing. Nifty. Actually I think it might have been a bachelor party, but a remarkably well behaved and generous one, in that case.
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Arena opens for member
Arena memberships are now available. Read more about us, see what we offer and then go right ahead and sign up.
You could also check out our activities in may and june.
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Cool name wanted
In a couple of days time, I’ll be starting my new company. The company will work with happiness at work, with new ways of working and meeting. All the things I’ve been reading about, thinking about and talking about for a year now.
But the company needs a name, and that’s where I need your help. Write a comment and suggest a name. The winner will get an honourable mention here on the site.
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Happiness at work marches on
Project Happiness at work took a giant leap forward last saturday. I’d invited some people who’ve been following the project or who liked the idea of doing an effort to promote happiness at work, and we spent four hours refining the project and coming up with a game plan for the next three months.
The highlight of the meeting for me was to see how the idea of spreading happiness at work grabs people. To know that the project is now more than just my dreams and ideas. To hear people say “We” as in “We need to find ten companies willing to give this a try. How do we do it?”. To see people assume ownership and leadership in different areas, and to see each contribute according to their interest. (Need I say that the meeting was an Open Space meeting? Of course it was).
But mostly: Thanks the people who came. It’s a great feeling for me to know, that I’m no longer alone, and that it’s no longer just my pet project. I look forward to spreading some work-happiness along with you guys, and along with anybody else who wants to help. Thanks!
Click more to see pictures.
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