One of the most fascinating stories I’ve ever come across is the book “The 13½ Lives of Captain Bluebear”. The book introduces you to characters like the Minipirates, the Babbling Billows, Professor Abdullah Nightingale, the Troglotroll, and Fredda the Alpine Imp, but also to places like Hobgoblin Island, Tornado City, the Demerara Desert and the Valley of Discarded Ideas. According to reviewer Georges T Dodd, it is “like Robin Williams and Monty Python joining to narrate a Harold Shea adventure”. I don’t know about that, but I do know it’s a really good read! Extra credit goes to John Brownjohn, who must have had a both hard and joyful time translating from German.
When I told a friend of mine living in Germany about my “discovery”, he kindly informed me that Käpt’n Blaubär is to Germany what Donald Duck is to Sweden on Christmas Eve. Well, German culture is apparently not my bag. Maybe this is my ticket to improving my German though…
7.25.2007
7.24.2007
Memento Vivere
Ellen Key’s Strand is a house with a very special purpose behind it design. As author and public debater Key devoted her life to the improvement of the life of children and women. When in her late fifties Key wanted to retire in 1910, she had Strand built to first serve as a home for her where she could entertain guests such as Werner von Heidenstam and Prince Eugene. But she also had in mind letting the house be the summer home for working women in need of rest, after her death. The design of the house is bright, warm and clean, with light furniture easy to arrange to support conversation and reflection.
As a house built by a woman and not designed for a traditional family, Strand could have been included in Katarina Bonnevier’s PhD thesis ”Behind Straight Curtains – Towards a Queer Feminist Theory of Architecture”. In this amazing new thesis, three women and their houses are presented: Selma Lagerlöf’s Mårbacka, Natalie Barney’s literary salon at 20 rue Jacob and Eileen Gray’s E.1027.
The thesis is an exploration into the theatricality of architecture, where a house is viewed as a scene where we can take on different roles. Bonnevier is fascinated by what she calls the enactments of architecture. One way the thesis explores this thought is in its format, written as a series of lectures where both fictional students and historical persons are provided with voices. They are not notes from lectures, but written as dramatic scripts in order to become living representations of their contents.
One of the important thoughts explored in this thesis is to what extent architecture is the result of our view of the world, but also how architecture can change our perspective and afford certain activities. One curious similarity between Key and Gray is that they both used text to decorate the walls and make the guests reflect on life. Key with Latin such as “Memento vivere” and “Accende et arde” while Gray’s included messages in French such as "entrez lentement".
I think it is very important to look at seemingly neutral phenomenon with new glasses and also to use other than traditional protocols for theses and presentations. I wish I had more of that kind of courage and imagination when I wrote my thesis ten years ago.
Bonnevier’s thesis has changed my perspective on architecture in a similar way that Sophia Ivarsson and Lina Edmark’s work on gender aspects of international rescue missions provided me with a whole new view. In their report they reveal how the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is viewed by the Swedish rescue service, and how it has been implemented. It also provides very concrete advice on how to improve the implementation. For example, in an area where women traditionally search the woods for sticks to make cooking fires it does make a tremendous difference if the rescue team only look for landmines on the paths. Still, new perspectives are difficult to introduce why it is important to support collaboration such as the Operation 1325 initiative.
As a house built by a woman and not designed for a traditional family, Strand could have been included in Katarina Bonnevier’s PhD thesis ”Behind Straight Curtains – Towards a Queer Feminist Theory of Architecture”. In this amazing new thesis, three women and their houses are presented: Selma Lagerlöf’s Mårbacka, Natalie Barney’s literary salon at 20 rue Jacob and Eileen Gray’s E.1027.
The thesis is an exploration into the theatricality of architecture, where a house is viewed as a scene where we can take on different roles. Bonnevier is fascinated by what she calls the enactments of architecture. One way the thesis explores this thought is in its format, written as a series of lectures where both fictional students and historical persons are provided with voices. They are not notes from lectures, but written as dramatic scripts in order to become living representations of their contents.
One of the important thoughts explored in this thesis is to what extent architecture is the result of our view of the world, but also how architecture can change our perspective and afford certain activities. One curious similarity between Key and Gray is that they both used text to decorate the walls and make the guests reflect on life. Key with Latin such as “Memento vivere” and “Accende et arde” while Gray’s included messages in French such as "entrez lentement".
I think it is very important to look at seemingly neutral phenomenon with new glasses and also to use other than traditional protocols for theses and presentations. I wish I had more of that kind of courage and imagination when I wrote my thesis ten years ago.
Bonnevier’s thesis has changed my perspective on architecture in a similar way that Sophia Ivarsson and Lina Edmark’s work on gender aspects of international rescue missions provided me with a whole new view. In their report they reveal how the UN Security Council Resolution 1325 is viewed by the Swedish rescue service, and how it has been implemented. It also provides very concrete advice on how to improve the implementation. For example, in an area where women traditionally search the woods for sticks to make cooking fires it does make a tremendous difference if the rescue team only look for landmines on the paths. Still, new perspectives are difficult to introduce why it is important to support collaboration such as the Operation 1325 initiative.
7.23.2007
Researching War
When Carl von Clausewitz in the beginning of the 19th century coined the expression “the fog of war” he probably did not realise to what extent it would be used.
Although the cannons used at this point of time would most certainly produce a lot of smoke, Clausewitz had a more metaphorical meaning in mind, referring to the chaos and confusion people immersed in battle can experience. This expression is still in much use and it is debated to what extent new information technology contributes to diminish or increase the fogginess. Clausewitz also contributed another much used military metaphor: the theatre of war.
Much organisational and management theory has its origin in the military context. Words like strategy, tactics, deployment and so on are now also used in business settings. However, the underlying military metaphor may have unwanted implications. In the article “The Heart of Appreciative Inquiry” authors John Sutherland and Jacqueline Stavros argue that it is time to replace the war metaphor when doing strategic development. They propose a shift from using tools like SWOT to SOAR instead. As it happens, the next issue (August 2007) of the AI Practitioner will focus on an appreciative approach to strategy where several applications of SOAR can be found. For those interested in other metaphors used in business settings, I recommend “Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management” by Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel, as well as James Lawley’s “Metaphors of Organisations”.
In the future, it would be really interesting to do field research focusing on developing the collaboration between military peacekeeping forces, NGOs and local government organisations. Especially by applying Appreciative Inquiry as both a research and organisational development approach, and by investigating what role modern information technology could play.
"War is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty." Clausewitz, On War
Although the cannons used at this point of time would most certainly produce a lot of smoke, Clausewitz had a more metaphorical meaning in mind, referring to the chaos and confusion people immersed in battle can experience. This expression is still in much use and it is debated to what extent new information technology contributes to diminish or increase the fogginess. Clausewitz also contributed another much used military metaphor: the theatre of war."This term denotes properly such a portion of the space over which war prevails as has its boundaries protected, and thus possesses a kind of independence. This protection may consist in fortresses, or important natural obstacles presented by the country, or even in its being separated by a considerable distance from the rest of the space embraced in the war.” Clausewitz, On WarWhen viewed as a theatre, the notion of roles in war becomes even more evident. In one of the projects I’m engaged in right now I work with the Swedish National Defence College investigating how the use of academic researchers could be increased in international peacekeeping operations. One fundamental question is what role or roles a researcher could and should take on in such an environment, and be accepted both by his/her combat and faculty co-workers. How can researchers help to clear the fog?
Much organisational and management theory has its origin in the military context. Words like strategy, tactics, deployment and so on are now also used in business settings. However, the underlying military metaphor may have unwanted implications. In the article “The Heart of Appreciative Inquiry” authors John Sutherland and Jacqueline Stavros argue that it is time to replace the war metaphor when doing strategic development. They propose a shift from using tools like SWOT to SOAR instead. As it happens, the next issue (August 2007) of the AI Practitioner will focus on an appreciative approach to strategy where several applications of SOAR can be found. For those interested in other metaphors used in business settings, I recommend “Strategy Safari: A Guided Tour through the Wilds of Strategic Management” by Mintzberg, Ahlstrand, and Lampel, as well as James Lawley’s “Metaphors of Organisations”.
In the future, it would be really interesting to do field research focusing on developing the collaboration between military peacekeeping forces, NGOs and local government organisations. Especially by applying Appreciative Inquiry as both a research and organisational development approach, and by investigating what role modern information technology could play.
7.17.2007
To Cultivate One’s Garden
I’ve been an irregular visitor to the Läckö Castle Garden for almost twenty years now. My first visit still comes to my mind in vivid colours. The fresh garden was absolutely new. The sky was as blue as the surrounding inland waters, in stark contrast to the sturdy white castle walls. For the first time, I experienced the beauty of the vegetable garden, making it apparent to me that also the practical can and should be presented in an appealing way. Today’s visit was blessed with the same wonderful weather, with crispy air and shimmering sun. Only the company differed.
A garden is a very useful metaphor, especially apt to illustrate growth and development. I remember when working for Linq how our customer Société Générale liked the name of our corporate portal, The Garden, so much that they adopted it for their own intranet prototype (although renaming it Le Jardin of course). Similar to gardens, you can adopt different strategies for your intranet. Well-structured as a French renaissance garden, or wild as an English park, tranquil as a Japanese Zen garden or surprising as an Italian one. My favourite is the English cottage garden with its abundance of flowers in all shapes, colours and sizes. Easy to overview and manage, and producing a warm welcome. Some day I would like to craft an intranet just like that.
Another garden well worth a visit is Peter Korn’s. This garden is being developed in the woods, based on the principle that plants should be placed where they can more or less manage on their own without adding water or fertilizers. In addition to looking at the rare plants, you can actually buy some as well.
Both these gardens can be considered as the result from combining personal initiative with entrepreneurial encouragement from the Region Västra Götaland. A good reason for everyone to contemplate going home and cultivate their gardens. Especially this year when we celebrate the birth of Carl von Linné 300 years ago!
6.17.2007
Agile Thinking
Last week I spent some rainy days in Manchester presenting a research paper called “Use of Appreciative Inquiry in Successful Software Process Improvement: An Action Research study” and at the IFIP 8.6 “Transfer and Diffusion of IT” conference. It was the first scientific conference had attended since I finished my PhD, more than ten years ago, and it was both comforting and sad that the format was more or less the same. Two of my three co-authors were also at the conference, and they did a splendid job presenting the case and the results, although the time frame was painfully short. I was rather satisfied with my introduction, since I used storytelling in several ways.
After the presentation, we got a few questions but also a very interesting suggestion. One of the popular concepts right now, in both IT practice and research, is agile software development. One of the researchers suggested that we should look into this area since it appears to share some common ground with Appreciative Inquiry. It could also be beneficial to use such a link when introducing Appreciative Inquiry to IT engineers, since our research demonstrates that the strength-based approach does not come particularly natural to them.
After a quick look, it sure seems to be something really worth while here. Although I must admit that I have previously assumed that agile computing was more of an excuse for not wanting to do planning or documentation, I know realise that I have actually applied some of the agile aspects in my previous life as an IT consultant and that there seem to be more of a structure than I thought. As to similarities with Appreciative Inquiry, there are several such as the “whole system in the room” principle, the emphasis on developing a shared vision that does not take departure in constraints, evolutionary iterations, face-to-face communication, working in pairs, emphasis on both quick and long-term action, self-organising teams, focus on motivation and adaptation and so on. We really have to look deeper into this!
By chance I saw that agile methods have much in common with the “Rapid Application Development" techniques introduced by James Martin. How strange that I am currently reading his book “The Meaning of the 21st Century: A Vital Blueprint for Ensuring our Future”! In 2005 he established The James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford and its stated goal is to "formulate new concepts, policies and technologies that will make the future a better place to be".
It’s a small world!
After the presentation, we got a few questions but also a very interesting suggestion. One of the popular concepts right now, in both IT practice and research, is agile software development. One of the researchers suggested that we should look into this area since it appears to share some common ground with Appreciative Inquiry. It could also be beneficial to use such a link when introducing Appreciative Inquiry to IT engineers, since our research demonstrates that the strength-based approach does not come particularly natural to them.
After a quick look, it sure seems to be something really worth while here. Although I must admit that I have previously assumed that agile computing was more of an excuse for not wanting to do planning or documentation, I know realise that I have actually applied some of the agile aspects in my previous life as an IT consultant and that there seem to be more of a structure than I thought. As to similarities with Appreciative Inquiry, there are several such as the “whole system in the room” principle, the emphasis on developing a shared vision that does not take departure in constraints, evolutionary iterations, face-to-face communication, working in pairs, emphasis on both quick and long-term action, self-organising teams, focus on motivation and adaptation and so on. We really have to look deeper into this!
By chance I saw that agile methods have much in common with the “Rapid Application Development" techniques introduced by James Martin. How strange that I am currently reading his book “The Meaning of the 21st Century: A Vital Blueprint for Ensuring our Future”! In 2005 he established The James Martin 21st Century School at the University of Oxford and its stated goal is to "formulate new concepts, policies and technologies that will make the future a better place to be".
It’s a small world!
6.06.2007
Blogging Metaphors
Yesterday, I met Elvis. He was very much alive and kicking. His black hair glistened as he stretched his lean and lanky body in the ruby red sofa. His voice was clear and so was the message: pet me more! Elvis is an American European Shorthair. A cat. He’s kept Ingrid Rudefors company for more than 16 years!
Ingrid and I talked about blogging. We discussed the best way of explaining to someone inexperienced with the concept. Ingrid came up with the idea of describing it as a combination of a diary and the book “My friends”. This book was a must when we were kids and contained, when properly filled in, information about yourself and your friends such as your favourite film star, what kind of clothes you preferred and what you wanted to be when you grew up. I wonder if it’s still around?
We also compared blogging to chronicles in papers and magazines. In contrast to the diary metaphor, it does not require you to be all that personal but instead it puts more demand on your writing to be funny or clever or both. When you keep a diary, you are really more using writing as form of therapy and do not expect anyone to read your text. A chronicle or a column, however, is written with a specific target group in mind.
The chronicle and diary metaphors share an underlying metaphor, namely that of one-way communication through text. A totally different way of describing blogging would be to characterise it as a kind of dialogue where you allow or even encourage your readers to interact with you in a rather informal and spontaneous way. So far I haven’t allowed comments on my blog, why I have yet to explore the dialogue metaphor in practice.
The topic of blogging metaphors has, of course, already been discussed on the web. For example in a blog by Liz Strauss. Billboard, cocktail party, smorgasbord, conga… I must look into this properly!
Ingrid and I talked about blogging. We discussed the best way of explaining to someone inexperienced with the concept. Ingrid came up with the idea of describing it as a combination of a diary and the book “My friends”. This book was a must when we were kids and contained, when properly filled in, information about yourself and your friends such as your favourite film star, what kind of clothes you preferred and what you wanted to be when you grew up. I wonder if it’s still around?
We also compared blogging to chronicles in papers and magazines. In contrast to the diary metaphor, it does not require you to be all that personal but instead it puts more demand on your writing to be funny or clever or both. When you keep a diary, you are really more using writing as form of therapy and do not expect anyone to read your text. A chronicle or a column, however, is written with a specific target group in mind.
The chronicle and diary metaphors share an underlying metaphor, namely that of one-way communication through text. A totally different way of describing blogging would be to characterise it as a kind of dialogue where you allow or even encourage your readers to interact with you in a rather informal and spontaneous way. So far I haven’t allowed comments on my blog, why I have yet to explore the dialogue metaphor in practice.
The topic of blogging metaphors has, of course, already been discussed on the web. For example in a blog by Liz Strauss. Billboard, cocktail party, smorgasbord, conga… I must look into this properly!
6.03.2007
Photographic Memory
When I was ten years old, my kind parents gave me a camera. Small and simple, but it was mine and I treasured it! For a very long time I used it and its followers in a rather traditional way. I now have quite a number of photo albums filled with mundane holiday pictures. When I got older and started to travel abroad to exotic places like Greece, Egypt, and Australia I also developed my albums into scrapbooks, filled not only with photos but with small tickets, bright leaflets, smart postcards etcetera in order to enhance the communication of the mood of the place and the journey.
When I bought my first mobile phone with a built-in digital camera, I was not that much interested in this feature. However, I soon developed technique of taking somewhat more “arty” kinds of photos and combining them into presentations in PowerPoint. Although the quality of the photos was rather poor, I felt rather comfortable with my “style”. Proud even. It was also so very easy to take pictures, since I always bring my mobile phone where ever I go.
Even though I bought a digital camera for my parents a couple of years ago, which I and my Mother used when we went to South Africa in 2003, I still didn’t exactly endorse the new technology. I suppose I was afraid of loosing my identity as an “artist”. However, one cold day in December 2006 I decided to make the leap and bought a digital camera for myself. This was prompted by Leif Josefsson’s demonstration of Picasa, Google’s excellent program for editing and distributing photos.
Having almost no knowledge of cameras at all, I didn’t have a clue regarding what camera to choose. I had decided on a price range, why I chose the one who had received a price from a photo journal: a Samsung NV10. Although I still haven’t figured out all the features yet (and yes, I actually read the manual!), I do like it tremendously. I still take some traditional holiday pictures, but with the help of Picasa I feel that I’m beginning to develop a new style.
The camera has also become an invaluable companion in my work as a consultant. At workshops I use it to capture text and pictures made on flipcharts, but also people in action and characteristics of the room and the place. This provides a rich basis for documentation, and the pictures are really easy to integrate into both reports and presentations (once you have discovered how to compress them). I have also taken to using my private pictures as illustrations for report front pages, as a means of making them more attractive.
This mix between private and professional is a general feature of the way I conduct my life. The use of Picasa to distribute pictures to all kinds of people I know supports this aspect. I find it rewarding to know that quite a number of people can enjoy my photos using this particular kind of Internet technology, in contrast to the old scrapbooks that almost never got any attention. I also feel rather good about leaving the laggard category, and perhaps I will become an early adopter...
When I bought my first mobile phone with a built-in digital camera, I was not that much interested in this feature. However, I soon developed technique of taking somewhat more “arty” kinds of photos and combining them into presentations in PowerPoint. Although the quality of the photos was rather poor, I felt rather comfortable with my “style”. Proud even. It was also so very easy to take pictures, since I always bring my mobile phone where ever I go.
Even though I bought a digital camera for my parents a couple of years ago, which I and my Mother used when we went to South Africa in 2003, I still didn’t exactly endorse the new technology. I suppose I was afraid of loosing my identity as an “artist”. However, one cold day in December 2006 I decided to make the leap and bought a digital camera for myself. This was prompted by Leif Josefsson’s demonstration of Picasa, Google’s excellent program for editing and distributing photos.
Having almost no knowledge of cameras at all, I didn’t have a clue regarding what camera to choose. I had decided on a price range, why I chose the one who had received a price from a photo journal: a Samsung NV10. Although I still haven’t figured out all the features yet (and yes, I actually read the manual!), I do like it tremendously. I still take some traditional holiday pictures, but with the help of Picasa I feel that I’m beginning to develop a new style.
The camera has also become an invaluable companion in my work as a consultant. At workshops I use it to capture text and pictures made on flipcharts, but also people in action and characteristics of the room and the place. This provides a rich basis for documentation, and the pictures are really easy to integrate into both reports and presentations (once you have discovered how to compress them). I have also taken to using my private pictures as illustrations for report front pages, as a means of making them more attractive.
This mix between private and professional is a general feature of the way I conduct my life. The use of Picasa to distribute pictures to all kinds of people I know supports this aspect. I find it rewarding to know that quite a number of people can enjoy my photos using this particular kind of Internet technology, in contrast to the old scrapbooks that almost never got any attention. I also feel rather good about leaving the laggard category, and perhaps I will become an early adopter...
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