Recently a good friend of mine said to me: “Changing things is f******g hard. And that’s what you do for a living. Others could benefit from what you’ve done.”
For years I have been gathering insights from my work with organizations. Insights are noted and highlighted in my written notebooks and digitally stashed in iPhone notes, voice memos, and sometimes a picture or two. I have used the same Blueline NotePro Hardcover notebook for years. Black only of course. I have never thrown out a notebook! They are the artifacts of my work.
This collection of insights captures client successes, misses, and lessons on my own developmental path. What has worked, what hasn’t, and why. And ideas on how to improve the situation next time and what I’ll be sure to repeat. Challenges I’ve faced and how I dealt with them. And creative ways to celebrate milestones.
I’ve decided to dig up these notes and write some of them up over time. Not as long essays but as short field notes. These field notes enable me to reflect on the insights and synthesize the findings in new ways. I can apply them to future projects, and they might just spark an idea in others or help course correct an unpromising path. The organizations and people will not be revealed.
These are my metaphorical pebbles and rocks that I’ve been gathering throughout my career. The pebbles are the informative patterns, everyday stories, and ways of being while the rocks are the heavier, sacrosanct practices, and the deep-seated challenges that require intense inquiry and effort to move.
If you see a rock you recognize, or a pebble you want to examine, let’s chat.