In a recent webinar that Patty McManus and I led — "Three Strategies to Succeed at Change (and what to do if it goes sideways)" — many change leaders in the audience expressed concern about sponsorship. The short headline: "Lack of sponsorship can wreck a change effort."

A recent survey of 900+ professionals across Canada conducted by ESI International yielded some interesting conclusions about collaboration in business. The majority of businesspeople surveyed report their organizations do not work collaboratively, despite the value that they realize would come from better teamwork.

Facilitative Leaders excel at collaborating with others to reach sound decisions.  But online meetings present a unique challenge: How to tell when agreement is reached? With in-person meetings, you probably instinctively look around the room and note body language. You may even feel comfortable waiting to hear objections and, when none surface, feeling safe to assume agreement. Sometimes this is sufficient when you are looking people in the eyes.

On June 23rd, I partnered with Andy Black and Ali Vega to conduct a webinar about leading better online meetings. First, I covered our recent research about online meetings. Then, Andy shared some tools and best practices, and finally, we both gave a brief overview of Interaction Associates' new workshop, Mastering Online Meetings. (This workshop has been renamed Leading Online Meetings.)

In this crazy-busy world of bosses who say, "Don’t bring me problems! Bring me solutions!" it’s tempting to address any problem by jumping toward the first obvious answer. Unfortunately, that quick answer often won’t solve your problem. I recently learned the hard way that if you don't spend enough time analyzing the problem, your solution will likely cost you time and money — and maybe, some credibility.

AP reports hat Puerto Rico's Democratic Party has chosen to hold a presidential primary instead of a caucus to encourage more islanders to participate in the June 1 contest. Puerto Rico's switch was done, in part, to avert the chaos that might ensue should the unfamiliar and time-consuming caucus process be overwhelmed with thousands of new voters, eager to contribute to choosing a candidate.

IA doesn't just teach collaboration to others . . . we live it ourselves. The Wall Street Journal Online interviewed CEO Linda Dunkel and Beth O'Neill, Director, Affiliate Management, about a collaborative process IA used to arrive at the best relocation solution. Learn how collaboration provided a powerful and strategic means to generate great new ideas and have a positive financial impact.

To read the full article at the Wall Street Journal site, please go here.

Last week, we attended Pop!Tech, an annual gathering in Camden, Maine, billed as a “one-of-a-kind conference, a community of remarkable people, and an ongoing conversation about science, technology, and the future of ideas.” For the past decade, Pop!Tech has been building and inspiring a community of committed global change-agents.

Wired Science follows up a story on which this blog commented several months ago. Accidents have dropped by nearly half on a London street where traffic signs, guard rails, and road lines were removed. The reason?

Wired Science follows up a story  on which this blog commented several months ago. Accidents have dropped by nearly half on a London street where traffic signs, guard rails, and road lines were removed. The reason?