Turning philanthropy into a spectator sport

 The Funding Network’s 10th anniversary event raised £40,000. Tom Levitt explains how the donations will help worthy causes.

… there is a strong community feeling and the passions of the givers are genuine. “We can achieve more by giving together than we can by giving alone“, is tangible.

Read Tom’s article in The Guardian Professional.  Former MP Tom Levitt is author of Gower’s Partners for Good

Hunter v Gatherer – why we need to design differently

Bob Garlick (Business Book Talk) chats with Gloria Moss about this fascinating subject and delves  into the root causes of the differences between men and women.

“We find out some amazing stuff, including the fact that men don’t see as many colours as women. The research in this book is topnotch and I see this book becoming a standard for anyone who needs to understand the importance of designing for specific demographics. A must-read for marketers, advertisers, HR managers, and even game developers. “

Gloria is the author of Gender, Design and Marketing

Motion on Bullying in the Arts being carried unanimously

Posted in the Arts Funding, Practice and Policy Group May 2012 by Billy McColl

“Just got back from our Annual Representative Conference in Birmingham, the city was fabulous, we were so lucky that Wings Of Desire was there on Saturday night, a stunning outdoor spectacle, with heart stopping acrobats and dancers, light shows and projections, and music to shake your ribs. A few of us had the pleasure of delicious food in the Balti Triangle.
One of the most satisfying parts of the conference was indeed the Motion on Bullying in the Arts being carried unanimously. The Motion called for the Federation of Entertainment Unions to hold a Symposium on the subject. So many people spoke to me expressing thanks that we can now address the problem and bring it out into the open. We hope that the Federation of Entertainment Unions with the willingness of the other Unions will bring about a way forward for the good of Art. This all came about through me noticing Anne-Marie Quigg’s comments on Linkedin, and consequently having her as a guest speaker at our N&E London Branch of Equity. Ask your local library to stock her fascinating book ‘Bullying in the Arts’, it is a great read, and a hot topic!”

Uncertainty? It seems innovation is more likely to generate success, rather than the tried and tested.

Matthew Leitch’s lastest survey holds some interesting findings for anyone seeking approval for a new project and program in an area of high uncertainty. Amongst his findings:

• Effect 1: Obvious higher priority activities and uncertainties tend to have been thought about more already, reducing the chance of finding further worthwhile improvements. The focus should be on changes and on activities whose importance has previously been underestimated.
• Effect 2: New ideas are more likely to lead to new improvements than ideas that have already been considered and perhaps are in use already.

Visit his website to read the full findings and the survey results.

Matthew Leitch is author of Gower Publishing’s Intelligent Internal Control and Risk Management.

Hierarchies are Not Always the Best Way – author interview with illustra.tv

In Nick Obolensky’s interview he  highlights Exhibition Road in London as an example when asked about the practice of distributed management. Imagine taking a busy road and making it a shared space for pedestrians, bicycles, cars and busses. What if that road had few markings, no traffic lights, no curbs, and instead was sprinkled with benches, trees and lamps? Too chaotic? Would it work?  Would each person, driving or walking, be conscious and take responsibility for what he or she is doing without an authority enforcing rules? So far, it looks like Exhibition Road works fine. But can a business successfully run in a similar model of distributed leadership rather than in a hierarchy?

Do watch the video to hear Nick’s thoughts on this and read the comments thread afterwards.

Nick is the author of Complex Adaptive Leadership.

 

World Open Space on Open Space

If you are a facilitator, a change manager … even a program manager, then check this out! The idea of Open Space (a form of large group facilitation) has been going for over 20 years. Michael Lindfield, one of the champions of the approach, described it as ”a simple and effective way of creating an environment where things are possible”. That may sound slightly pink and fluffy but, goodness me, doesn’t it also describe the kind of thing that most organizations need in the struggle to keep a head above the economic crisis and keep in touch with the breakneck speed of social, technological and business change? This year’s World Open Space event is in London, between 11th and 14th October. Gower’s contribution to the concept is Kerry Napuk and Eddy Palmer’s Large Group Facilitator’s Manual, which will be on show at the event.

All about the passion industries – a free workshop

On Saturday 23 June 2012 Gower author Anne-Marie Quigg (Bullying in the Arts) will be one of the contributors at A free workshop for students, teachers, researchers and cultural workers

The arts and media sectors thrive on devotion born of their workers’ passions for art and culture. This one-day workshop investigates the conditions in which cultural workers pursue their passions by bringing the theoretical, historical and practical aspects of ‘creative work’ together.

Location: Birkbeck College, University of London

The event is free, but space is limited.
Please register your place here: http://passionindustries.eventbrite.com/

Benefit Realisation Management Webinar

Gerald Bradley author of Gower’s Benefit Realisation Management recently conducted a webinar for The International Institute of Business Analysis titled – Benefit Realisation Management: A Practical Guide to Achieving Benefits Through Change. You can take a look at this webinar and other expert offerings from the IIBA at their website.

Gower author and editor appears on BBC Breakfast News

Distinguished professor at Lancaster University Management School, Professor Cary Cooper is a regular guest on  BBC Breakfast News. This morning he was there to discuss how to create motivation at work and keep sickness absence low. In April he was there to underline the importance of taking holidays. Despite the current climate,  Professor Cooper says “research shows it’s good for you, both physically and mentally.”

Cary Cooper, who specialises in Organizational Psychology and Health, has authored over 150 books pertaining to psychology and was heralded the ’5th Most Influential Thinker in HR in 2011.’

Risk management is an ongoing concern for modern organizations in terms of their finance, their people, their assets, their projects and their reputation. That’s why the research and exploration detailed in the series edited by Professor Cary (Psychological and Behavioural Aspects of Risk) is so important.

The Focused Organization: expert author talks – plus free case study chapter

Antonio Nieto Rodriguez is author of The Focused Organization published by Gower,  and an expert in strategy execution and project management. He currently works with BNP Paribas as Head of Transversal Portfolio Management. Previously he was Head of Post Merger Integration at Fortis Bank, and Global Lead Practitioner for the Project and Portfolio Management practice at PriceWaterhouseCoopers. He is a visiting professor to the MBA courses at Solvay, and Nyenrode Business Schools where he teaches strategy execution and program management; a founder member of the PMI European Corporate Council; and an active speaker and presenter on strategy execution and project portfolio management. Here is his speaker schedule for May/June:

22 May 2012 - ’The Focused Organization at Solvay Business School – Brussels.

13 June 2012 – PMI London Chapter meeting (Thomson Reuters) – London.

19 June 2012 – Gartner  PPM & IT Governance Summit – London, UK 

26 June 2012 – European PMO Symposium 2012 – Berlin

A free case study chapter can be downloaded at: www.gowerpublishing.com/focusedorganization