Vote for innovation

One of the smartest people I know is Jeff De Cagna. He and I used to have regular lunches together in Washington, D.C., when I lived there – I miss those wide-ranging philosophical discussions. One of my fondest memories was our co-facilitating a session about learning for a nonprofit organization. We literally papered the floor and walls of the meeting room with large posters of provocative quotes about learning — walking into the room was like entering a giant-sized papier-mache cave.

Then we hid.

We weren’t there when folks arrived. Instead, we left word that they should begin without us by finding a quote that stood out for them and exploring its meaning with those they found around them. What would they do? Is learning so expert-focused that they would be silent, or angry, or leave–even when surrounded by such powerful learning prompts? After the initial uncertainty, they engaged with their surroundings and with each other. When we arrived, we engaged with them in a far-reaching and rich dialogue about what learning is, how we often give up the responsibility for our own learning to others, and how learning requires dissymmetry, being thrown off balance. To do that session in that way, both Jeff and I had to be willing to be disliked as a facilitator–at least in the beginning. It was wonderful to find such a willing partner in that kind of learning engagement. Let’s do that again, Jeff!

Since I moved from D.C., we haven’t had those lunches and I’ve missed them. So when Jeff wrote that he had written a proposal for a Manifesto on "Embracing the Six Core Values of Innovation" on ChangeThis.com, I went to see what he was up to – and to vote for his proposal to be accepted. I invite you to do the same–proposals are only accepted for publication if they receive a certain number of votes. Jeff”s goal is 200 votes–can you help him reach that goal by voting today?

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