Danny Meyer's "Always Be Collecting the Dots"

Working my way through Danny Meyer's Setting the Table. Yes, you may recall that this was part of the Love Affair with Books in March. The posting there inspired me to add it to my reading list. The following quote reminds me of my "Bingo theory". Dots are information. The more information you collect, the more frequently you can make meaningful connections that can make other people feel good and give you an edge in business. Using whatever information I've collected to gather guests together in a spirit of shared experiences is what I call connecting the dots. If I don;t turn over the rocks, I won't see the dots. If I don't collect the dots, I can't connect the dots. If I don't know that someone works, say, for a magazine whose managing editor I happen to know, I've lost a chance to make a meaningful connection that could enhance our relationship with the guest and the quest's relationship with us. The information is there. You just have to choose to look. Are you a collector? Are you a connector?

Reebok Campaign #3

Another in a series of the ad campaign launched by Reebok that has transformed South Station, Boston. This is one I agree with. "Conversation is fuel." Conversation is fuel for continuing a long run with a partner, for building relationships, for making friends, for coordinating change. Conversation is fuel for learning.

Easter Welcome

Pineapple001 Originally uploaded by shersteve. The story has it that the pineapple was a "welcome" symbol for the clipper ship captains when they returned home from a voyage to their New England home port; Boston, Salem, Newport, etc. The captain would stick a pineapple on the front stair post and thereby neighbors and friends would know the captain was home. It is cool today in New England, about 35 F so it won't be too inviting to sit outside and have a conversation. If you do visit, make yourself comfortable amongst the archives.

StopCyberBully Update

It is heartening to read that Kathy Sierra and Chris Locke have posted a joint statement about the major incident that prompted my endorsement of Andy Carvin's stopcyberbullying posting last week. You can read their joint statement here. Sounds like there may be more civil conversations about this as the story continues to play out. Technorati Tags: stopcyberbullying, respect, conversation, Powered by ScribeFire.

sharing experiences

"Sharing experiences --- whether about our childhood or about likes and dislikes, happy and unhappy times --- is another way of integrating play, love and work. For when we share experiences, we represent our experiences (play), share it with our family (love), and develop communication skills (work). ... When we share experiences with our children, we come to appreciate then as individuals and give them the freedom to be the best they can be. We give them wings to sail with the wind. With roots and wings, children as best prepared to weather the climate of schooling ..." From The Power of Play by David Elkind The holiday dinner table with the extended family; whether the Sherlock side or the Proulx side is a wonderful discussion setting for three generations. Dolores and I have our siblings and their families along with our parents. There generally is an "adults" table and a "kids" table. There is some mix of the generations at each table and it is all good. The discussion and sharing that occurs at these times is much like what is referenced by David. Especially now that our daughters are off to college, we don't get the chance to have the dinner discussion like we used to regularly. These holiday times become all the more special. How do you share? Do you have a regular meal together?

Hey, who are those guys?

Since this is part of my content network, and the point of blogging is to create a conversation, why not show what it looks like to talk to yourself on a cold Franklin morning? Your feedback is very much appreciated. If this doesn't work for you, we'll try again.

On the eleventh day of Christmas

my teacher sent to me Eleven commenters conversing, Ten trackbacks a-tracking, Nine podcasters a-casting, Eight Skypers skyping, Seven geese a-honking, Six tags a-tagging, Five jubilant learners, Four annual forums, Three blogging tools, Two thoughts inspiring, And a joyful network for learning. Comments = blogger manna from heaven. Comments = conversation! Conversation, an exchange of views... generally allows for learning to occur. A day without learning is a wasted day. Wouldn't it be cool if there were eleven comments to this posting? Can you help by leaving your comment? Thank you!