“It’s the year of Chris.” I didn’t understand what Allison was telling me. Having known her for a few years, I’m accustomed to her riddles. At Dallas Agile Leadership Network, I asked why she chose me to co-present with her at Dallas Tech Fest. That one sentence in January would change the course of my year. No comment on if […]
Read more "What A Year Of Conference Speaking Taught Me"The advent of this holiday season has brought a fair amount of discomfort for my family. My kids see family photo time as a reminder that their mom is celebrating the holiday somewhere else. My parents see their child and grandkids trying to make the best of who is and isn’t there around the table […]
Read more "How Can We Help In Times Of Discomfort?"“When you drop any new idea in the pond of the world, you get a ripple effect. You have to be aware that you will be creating a cascade of change.” — Joel A. Barker I love kick off week. New starts always gives me a jolt. Everyone’s filled with hope, or at least a desire […]
Read more "Fostering Change Is A Team Sport"As I write this paragraph, I’m in the midst of a lot of change in my life. Nothing that makes me extremely cursed, but it’s a lot. I essentially had the reset button pressed on most of my life, and that has ramifications that can a long time to shake out. When events like this occur, […]
Read more "Having ‘Time To Think’ Is Scarier Than Reality"This has been an interesting year for my personal health. I made some significant changes in my diet and started running more than I had since college. Wasn’t scolded into it by my doctor, just wanted to change things up. My health was okay, just not great. With me entering the last year of […]
Read more "My First Change Experiment: What Did We Learn?"“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” — Mike Tyson Love that quote from the greatest boxer of my childhood. Tyson punched the first 19 plans he faced in the mouth, 12 in the first round. Those opponents were left wondering what happened to all the months of training and preparation. In […]
Read more "My First Change Experiment: Bumps In The Road"As my boss pulled me into a conference room, I could tell we were about to have one of those serious talks again. Over the past year, as I was starting to take on new responsibilities as our agile champion, he would pull me into chats to discuss some of the challenges teams were having. […]
Read more "Here’s A Little Story About My First Change Experiment"There I was, minding my own business during a conference session. I was there to support a close friend of mine who was presenting a fascinating topic. In that role, I put on my smiling and supportive face and prepared to participate in the workshop. In the next moment, a wave of emotion punched me […]
Read more "What If Your Failure Doesn’t Have A Happy Ending?"His frustration filled the room so quickly that our large common area in the office suddenly felt tiny. Story after story about the situation his team is currently in came rapid fire. The words held an uneasy balance between anger and exasperation. These were the words of someone who knew exactly what was going on, […]
Read more "Can I Introduce Change In Tense Settings?"Imagine you’re at a crosswalk in your city. There are people all around you, hustling and bustling through their day. The signal indicated that it’s time to cross, but in the middle of your traverse two people bump into each other and start ballroom dancing. It happens not once, but several times. All sorts of […]
Read more "Disrupt The Mundane With A Little Play"