It is clear from observation of the world around us and a study of history of human development that things are different today than they were yesterday. That much is obvious. It is also obvious that the rate of change is different. The amount of change between any two equidistant points in time is not the same; it is more. There thus seems to be, at present, an increasing rate of change. Most writers are agreeing on this.

The point now is to consider whether the observable trend is part of a cyclical pattern or an exponential one. It seem from our point of view, and from all the evidence that we have, that never before in human history has the rate of change been this high. Three possibilities here: evidence; boundary conditions; and snapshot.

After reading an article by Graeme Codrington of TomorrowToday, I got to thinking about articulating my own conference-design approach. His article is a good pre-read for this one.

"We need to be more decentralized in our decision-making," she urges in an impassioned plea to her team of managers.

"Indeed," they heartily agree. "The power of many minds is a source of great strength!"

A burst of electronic music interrupts, as a text message buzzes in her hand. She reads for a moment, looks up, and without missing a beat proclaims, "The Executive Team and I think that we should be more centralized in our decision-making."

"Hear, hear," comes the echo. "An expert opinion is a good opinion!"

If managing change is as exciting as a "hole in the head", then maybe a "whole head" is the way to excite change in management.

Urban Canyon has introduced a unique facilitation technique.

"An Invitation to See" is a creativity and innovation stimulation session that encourages participants to experience their own potential in a new way. This is achieved by exercising the right hemisphere of the brain (visual, holistic) thereby enabling the group to experience a bigger picture view of their organization.

The Belfast Telegraph reports that some retailers are experiencing unusually high sales volumes in premium quality chocolate.  Compared with the equivalent period in 2008, sales are up to 80% higher.  This at a time when global economies are slowing and non-essential purchases are generally being avoided.  Is chocolate bucking the trend?

I heard an interesting story about Malaria prevention in East Africa. 

An aid organization working on the eradication of this preventable and treatable disease initiated a program of using mosquito nets to prevent the insect bites from occurring, thus preventing the disease, but came across an unusual twist.

I received great news this last week.  I hear from the organizers of the last Ben and Roz Zander tour, Symphonia, that these two authors of The Art of Possibility will be back in South Africa in early December. 

Don't miss this opportunity to participate in something significant.

The attached invitation contains all the details.

Dave Snowden writes a (very) regular blog, and today's caught my attention.  Next week there will be an interesting conversation taking place between some HR directors from various industries in Johannesburg.  The topic will be how to balance the demands of employees who require a flexible working environment with the demands of employers that workers are present and visible and high performing.  Can’t high performance and flexibility be harmonized?