Keith Sawyer is one of the leading scholars on creativity, collaboration and learning. He is author of several books including the best sellers ‘Explaining Creativity’ and ‘Group Genius’. Working in the creative field I was surprised to find out that many creativity people (including myself) use misconceptions about how novel ideas originate and creativity works. [...]
You’re in a meeting. The stuff that’s being presented is boring, as is the presenter. You know the discussion will be long and tedious. So you start daydreaming. “Meetings are by definition a concession to deficient organization” is what Peter Drucker wrote in the The Effective Executive. You either meet or you work. You [...]
When an organisation asks me to lead a change, the way meetings are run is rarely a topic of discussion. Points of attention are typically the organisational chart, job descriptions of the new positions (especially at higher level) and typology of the new culture. Meetings are usually overlooked. As if they didn’t matter. But [...]
Why would you hire an external consultant? Granted, if the consultant has a set of expertise your organisation does not have, then the question is quickly answered. We need you as a consultant because you know stuff we need but don’t know. Legal stuff is a nice example. Formulating your own advice But for [...]
True science postulates laws that are devoid of any morality. The principles on mechanics that Newton described are true. No matter what you find of them. The same applies for other fields such as mathematics, thermodynamics, electronics, etc. Still the effect of these scientific principles might hold a moral value. In this regard I came [...]
This entry is a follow-up on on why I apply Kotter to my own situation and what I did right. Step 1: Acting with urgency Gee was I busy in the beginning! I wanted to realise my change as quick as possible. But I had no plan and plenty of time. So I just started [...]
This entry is a follow-up of this article in which I apply Kotter to my own change. An entry on what I did wrong can be found here. Step 1: Acting with urgency Unlike the majority of change processes, this was an easy one. I had no occupation, no office, no business cards and no [...]
How well did I lead my change to Bangkok? It’s now roughly 2 years ago that I landed for the first time in Bangkok. I only heard of Thailand as a holiday destination for backpackers and sex-tourists and my expectations of Bangkok were neutral at best (Djakarta and New Dehli, where I had been a [...]
About you
You're leading a team. And you hold meetings; regular ones, occasional ones.
Meetings consume valuable time so you want to get the most out of them. You want them to energize the participants, develop your team and help you achieve your change or innovation.
About Ruben
I'm Ruben van der Laan and I'm here to make your team flow.
I coach, (re)design and lead your meetings unleashing creativity, building teams and organising expediency.
