Thinking Caps

All Aboard the Kin Ship

2010-09-22T16:13:00.000-07:00

Being a Sputnik Kid born in 1957 I didn’t grow up with television let alone computers. The best we could do in Kalgoorlie was the valve wireless that sat on our lounge room shelf and got turned on so Grandma could listen to the old radio series Blue Hills.

But maybe because I am a Sputnik Kid I’ve always enjoyed being a bit of an early adopter of new technology. I was early onto Apple Mac computers, bought one of the earliest Data Projectors (cost me $8000 AUS) and have a collection of ipods, iphones and iaps. (Maybe because ilearn,iadopt, igrow, ithink…)

Yet for all my technology I am not a fan of throwing out babies and bathwater together. I like the mix of the new and the old. Let my folks’ old valve radio rest on the shelf next to the new digital radio set. Let us all maintain an honouring of the road travelled as we embrace the super highway ahead.

This is why I like many of the aspects of the new social networking technology and will probably embrace the ones around the bend. Today I got a message on Facebook saying Johnny Dunlop wanted to connect with me. The Dunny lived across the road from me in Doubleview when I was a teen. He played half-back-flank, I played Centre Half Back and in Under 12s we celebrated a premiership together. From side by side in footy to side by side in cyber space, now that’s magic.

Kicking a footy together for a number of years develops a kinship – a sharing of common characteristics, a depth of unity, a mixture of blood spilled and lemon barley cordial drunk.

I’m a lover of kinship.

Recently I saw a documentary about the great Japanese born and Australian based chef Tetsuya and how he grew from being a dishwasher to one of the finest, most loved chefs on the planet. Each person interviewed in the Documentary acclaimed Tets as a top chef, top person and top buddy. Tetsuya is a member of the Top Ten Chef’s of the World; a group united with a kinship based on love of food, love of eating and love of cooking.

But more than this, Tetsuya and the other Top Ten members had a kinship – a shared characteristic – around a love of learning and continually helping themselves and each other get better at their art and craft. That’s a nifty kinship.

When you are part of a true kinship group you respect each other’s talents and inspire each other to keep learning and growing.

My wife Lindy has a background in film and television direction and production. When she looks back at the many years she spend in that field her best memories are of talented people working on exciting projects. She had her A-Team, a group she would compile for the most challenging and exciting shoots. An audio, visual feast of a team mixing Creative, Analytical, Practical and Emotional Smarts – talented folk who loved their work and respected each other for the differences they brought to the team.

The best teams, the best clubs, the best marriages are linked by diverse talents coming together in teamwork and united by the bond of respect – the foundation of kinship.

Which brings me to Stools or more precisely to The Stools. (We have a piano at home and every time I walk by I pass a stool!)

In 2006 the National Speaking Association of Australia (the Industry of Professional Speakers) instigated an award for the Educator of the Year. This award acknowledges the professional speaker who is, in my terms, a ‘Ruck Rover’ someone who can play a variety of positions and do them all with the highest quality. This means awardees can deliver Keynote speeches, Workshops, One to One Coaching, small group work, Leadership Programs, Youth Courses… in short they present to a variety of groups in a variety of ways and instil deep learning and a passion for learning in each and every presentation.

In 2010 the award winners presented on stage together as a team at the National Speakers Conference on the Gold Coast. The idea was to look at one element of Presentation Methodology in depth and to share the variety of insights from the five 2006 – 2010 winners (Glenn Capelli, Colin James, David Penglase, Allan Parker and Terry Hawkins). The act went down so well, that each year now the Awardees design and deliver a team presentation looking at one aspect of Presentation Methodology. So, you may be wondering, why the Stools?

As we prepared for the 2010 presentation I sent an email to the group saying:

Hi Team

Looking forward to our on-stage adventure. We are on Sunday 8.30 – 10.15am.

The Abbott & Costello of it all.... Who’s on first? The Design is rough, open and be on your toes.

Thinking of having some chairs Centre Stage.

Cap

To which David Penglase innocently responded:

All good from my perspective – could we have comfortable stools and not chairs please?

Regards, David

With a further response from me:

Team

Stools On Stage – could be the name for our act.

Followed by Colin James chipping in with:

Also: 4 bottles Evian water, 300mls, sealed, cool not cold.
My stool needs to be reupholstered before use & destroyed after I have used it. On stage I can be referred to as Colin but off stage it is either Sir or Mr. James. None of the logistics people are allowed to look at me... eye contact will not be tolerated. Thank you gifts are to be of no lesser value than $1000.00. Gold is appreciated. In any signage or visual representation my name needs to at the top, in a larger font than anything else and have a drop shadow. I will need two attendants on call for the duration of my time.
Aged between 24 and 28. Over 5'6 tall. Female. Proven track record in modeling and logistics. Please forward resume's and photos. After the event I will need a white limo to transport me to the airport. Driver must be female and will not be allowed to talk. I think that's it. Just the basics.

Colin ' sTool' James

Thus the Kin Ship was sailing! As people who had known each other’s work for years (sometimes decades) we had a healthy mutual respect but by designing a presentation together we cemented that respect with the powerful wind for a Kin Ship – humour.

The best Kin Ships run on mutual respect and a healthy dose of laughter. Kin Ships have an ability to help each member lift their game and continually stretch their talents whilst revelling in the thorough joy and privilege of working together. Kin Ships come together through a team basis of values and then help each individual stretch the depth and breadth of their unique talent. All this whilst keeping each other’s feet firmly on the ground. (Yet still reaching for the stars.)

Find, grow and sail your kinship. Be it a group within a large Company, an A Team for Key Projects, a Half Back line in a Footy team or simply a Collective of Stools.

Thinking Caps book in bookshops now or available from www.glenncapelli.com

Thinking Caps Article

2010-09-06T19:13:00.001-07:00

Journalist Jono Turle had this to say about the Thinking Caps book in The Post newspaper:

Thinking Caps is part memoir, part song. part poetry, part humor, part inspiration and full of wisdom. It is a book anyone can read and get something out of. It stimulates conversations, thought, laughter and helps develop new patterns of thinking. It is not often a book makes you laugh out loud, disturb your partner in bed and keeps you chuckling long after you have put it down. Thinking Caps is that kind of book as well as being reflective, imaginative and inspiring.

Lovely words. Thinking Caps is in Australasian book shops and available from www.glenncapelli.com

Bluey

2010-07-16T16:50:00.001-07:00

Piece Number 1 from Thinking Caps book. In stores now or available at www.glenncapelli.com

Neoteny

2010-07-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

Be as active as possible, to be as healthy as possible, to be as happy as possible for as long as possible. Bring things to your life that bring things to life - experience and learning.

Neoteny is Piece 3 in the Thinking Caps book. In Australasian stores and at www.glenncapelli.com

Top Concerts

2010-06-17T16:35:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a concert can lift you for days, months and provide a memory for a lifetime. My top concerts so far:

1. Leonard Cohen - Sandalford Winery 2009 Perth. Simply magic even though Leonard didn't do Hey That's No Way To Say Goodbye. Supported acts Paul Kelly and Augie March.

2. Carole King & James Taylor - Melbourne 2010. Had seen James at Margaret River and it was superb but when combined with the energy, style and catalogue of Carole King - simply brilliant.

3. Slade/Lindisfarne & Status Quo - Subiaco Oval. Geez early or mid 70s. My first concert. Went with my mate Bill Pusey. We stood on the seats and stomped. Can't hear a Slade number without being back in the exact moment.

4. Jimmy Webb - Octagon Theatre. The man who wrote By the Time I Get to Phoenix, Witchita Lineman, Up, Up and Away... he sat a metre from Lindy and I and played, talked and sung. A real tunesmith.

5. Three Dog Night - Miami Zoo Florida. What can I say - Jeremiah really was a bullfrog and a very good friend of mine.

Many, many others... Music is a part of how I think and write.
Thinking Caps book out now.

Age Shall Not Weary Them - Life Long Learning

2010-06-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

Theme:

How old is old and when do you stop learning? Glenn Capelli explores his Learning Heroes, people who have developed a lifelong passion for learning and continue to enjoy life right up to a ripe old age. Today we explore old dogs, new tricks and honouring lifelong talents.

If I were to mention the word Jordan what comes to mind? Perhaps you might think of a beautiful though often troubled place in the world, or the magical ex-basketball player Michael Jordan or even you may conjure a picture of a youngish British woman with very large appendages going by the name of Jordan (the woman and the appendages I believe). But for me, the name Jordan represents a different kind of sheila – Sheila Jordan.

Chances are if this name means anything to you, you are a jazz fan.

In 2008 Sheila Jordan recorded a CD titled Winter Sunshine her 21st album release in her 80th year on the planet. In her 81st year I heard her being interviewed on New York radio, she was asked how she felt after completing two sets of music at a jazz club late the night before. She said she felt brilliant and that singing kept her young and alive.

You gotta love that.

In a recent survey from the UK people were asked to ‘name the age at which you become old aged’ and the majority of people answered 70. It may be true for some, that 70 marks old age, but for others 70 is just when they are starting to hit their straps.

I love folk who set the example of life long learning; the Learning Heroes who continue to dedicate themselves to the art, science and fun of their craft. Sociologist Ashley Montagu made it to 95 and was active to the last moment. George Burns was cracking jokes in his late 90s. Gough Whitlam’s 90 year’s plus old tongue remained as sharp as his mind. Philanthropist and Matriarch Dame Elisabeth Murdoch hit a sprightly 100 in 2009.

I know that many folk believed the live fast, die young and have a nice looking corpse adage but no corpse is as good looking as one that has lived a long life full of inspired learning. Young corpses are just sad.

The founder of the Servant-Leadership movement Robert Greenleaf said that ‘your first sixty years on the planet are just to find out what you really want to do and then to spend the rest of your life doing it’. He retired from his first job in his sixties and spent the next twenty years travelling the planet teaching his concept of leadership as a form of service to others.

And consider these:

• Conrad Ferdinand Meyer had never written a poem in his life till he reached 51 and then went onto become the national poet of Switzerland
• Jean Auel had never published and was in her 40s when she got the idea for a short story that eventually became the novel Clan of the Cave Bear the start of her Earth’s Children series that has sold over 34 million copies worldwide to date
• Celebrated Western Australian writer Elizabeth Jolley first published aged 51

I once spoke at an American Conference about the concept of taking a lifetime to develop your talents and discovering new talents later in life. A chap came up to me afterwards and handed me a little badge that had ‘It is never too late to have a happy childhood’ stamped on it. He then told me how he had overcome some of his early lack of esteem and a particularly harsh childhood and later in life had taken to painting, writing and learning a new language.

I far prefer his badge to the adage ‘you can’t teach an old dog new tricks’. New and deeper learning is where the challenge and excitement of life is. It’s never too late to tackle some new challenge, never too late to explore and never too late to put some sparkle in your eyes even if the eyes don’t see quite as sharply as before.

At 81 Sheila Jordan can still jazz with the best of them. Like a lot of musicians she had her years when alcohol and substances threatened to end her career and even her life. She said that one day in her thirties whilst in a drug haze she heard a voice that said to her ‘Sheila, I have given you your voice as a gift. If you don’t honour it, I will take it away and give it to someone else’. The voice slapped her back into positive action.

I love this message. Whether we are eighteen or eighty our talents are a gift and it is our duty to discover them, believe in them, develop them and use them well.

I hope at 80 or 90 to be tackling a Masters Thesis in the Karma Sutra or at least to be learning the clarinet, perhaps even doing both at the same time.

Learning Heroes keep on keeping on.

Where to from here:

• At what age do we become old aged?
• Do you know any learning heroes? Folks who just keep learning and enjoying life
• Are you learning anything new late in life? An instrument, a language, a new hobby, a deeper wisdom in life?
• Interview the wonderful folk from University of the Third Age

Thinking Caps book by Glenn Capelli now in Book Stores or from www.glenncapelli.com

The Naked Chefs – Master Teaching

2010-05-25T18:43:00.000-07:00

There will be some who will doubt me, and others who will boo and hiss, but I need to get something off my chest: let me write it out loud, I prefer Jamie Oliver to Nigella Lawson! Nigella may be the Domestic Cooking Goddess but Chef Jamie is my Kitchen Commando. Nigella may have breasts to die for but Jamie sears chicken breasts to live for.

There are many reasons to love Jamie:

• He is a bash and belt kind of chef who cooks in handfuls
• Every recipe of Jamie’s that I’ve cooked has come up trumps
• He helped transform 15 (and then many more) down and out young folk with his 15 Restaurant concept
• He took on unhealthy English School Dinners and won
• He took on regional Italian cooks broadening their taste buds and lost
• He is tackling unhealthy USA school lunches and it may kill him
• He is the pin up boy for Kinaesthetic Learners – people who love to learn by moving, bashing, belting, doing and getting their hands dirty

Now, I am well aware that a lot of my reasons for loving Jamie will be the same reasons why others do not like him. One person’ s puree is another person’s pure pain in the ‘A’.

In fact, the second favourite on my list of the top 10,000 Celebrity Chefs on the Planet is someone who is a virtual opposite to Jamie – Delia Smith. Where as Jamie is ‘a handful of this and a splash of that’ kind of cook, Delia is all precision and perfection. Jamie’s favourite subjects at school probably would have been Playtime, Home Time and Home Economics. Where as Delia most likely excelled at Mathematics and Chemistry. Yet, these are the very reasons why I love her too:

• Her recipes are exact
• She doesn’t talk down to you when describing how to boil an egg
• What you see is what you get

Compare that with British Celebrity Chef Gary Rhodes. Gary is magic to watch. His creations are more architectural delights than plates of food. His desserts emerge as Arc De Triumphs or Eiffel Towers and they are beautiful. Yet what I see with Gary is not what I get when I attempt his recipes. Suddenly the Arc De Triumph is the Fart De Triumph and the Eiffel Tower of Caramel is a Woeful Brown Lump. Maybe the mistake is that I do not have the light, cool hands of Celeb Chef Rhodes or maybe it is because of my hair. You see; Gary Rhodes has a haircut that resembles his desserts; all lacquer, spike and gelatine. I am sure he practices the styling on his head before transferring it to the plate; where as the hair I have left is a buzz cut, need I say more?

Before Gary Rhodes hair, prior to Gordon Ramsey’s vocabulary, pre Masterchef Television, before Jamie Oliver, or predating even my Grandmother’s cooking, the most famous cookery writer in British History was Mrs Beeton. Mrs Beetons’s Book of Household Management is often referred to as ‘Mrs Beeton’s Cookbook’ given that 900 of its 1,112 pages contained recipes.

These days Mrs Beeton’s legacy lives on and has become a Celebrity Brand. Most people who have heard of Mrs Beeton probably picture her as a Grand Motherly Type woman. However the sad truth is that Isabella Mary Beeton died in 1865 aged 26 after the birth of her fourth child. Yet, her celebrity brand lives on.

If there was a cooking style for Mrs Beeton it may have been:

• Practical
• Loving
• Scone like

If there was a cooking style for Gary Rhodes it could be:

• Visual splendour
• Elaborate
• Crockenbush like

For Delia Smith:

• Precise
• Perfect
• The ideal poached egg

For Jamie Oliver:

• Hands On
• General
• Everything all in one bowl

Now, with all that diversity, imagine yourself teaching a class of these Celebrity Chefs:

• Two Fat Ladies in the front row
• An affable Bill Granger next to them
• A foul-mouthed Gordon Ramsey in the back corner (trying to crack onto Nigella)
• Peter Gordon in the middle mixing everything together
• Peta Mathias wanting you to be far quirkier and
• Young Kylie Kwong preferring more spice

Meanwhile, class comedian Jamie can’t respond to anything in print and needs every lesson to have Hands–On learning as the major component.

Just as every chef has a unique style, unique preference for flavours and individual processes of cooking, so does every student have unique preferences for how they learn any content, especially content is a NAC Task - New and Challenging.

To teach well is to reach well. We as Teachers need to have diverse strategies that engage learners through their strengths. Then we need to have each learner use their strengths as a starting point to develop some of the areas that are holding them back.

You can reach a Jamie like student through using a Hands-On physical modality of learning and then utilise this mode to help him approach some of the things he doesn’t like – his reading and writing. (Jamie Oliver has often stated that his dyslexia makes him a virtual non-reader. If I had a young Jamie in my class I would grab exciting bits of cooking magazines and help him learn the print by mastering the recipe, then guiding him to stories about chefs and cooking. Think BIG and build small – one kaizen at a time.)

Personally I would have loved teaching a young Jamie. My first ever Principal when teaching, Glyn Watkins, told me to ‘fall in love with the tigers’ and explained that a Tiger was student who would stretch you as a teacher and get you to find other ways of engaging learning. Jamie was a Tiger.

And I love Jamie Oliver now, not just because he wants us all to share a love of good, natural, healthy tucker and not just because Jamie teaches us that we can be celebrities in our own kitchens. I love him because my wife Lindy was fortunate enough to go on stage with Jamie as part of his Happy Days Live Tours in Australia and she vouches for his natural ways. Personally I think he was a champion in not feeling threatened when sharing the stage with one of the greatest cooks on Earth – my wife Lindy.

So, there it is; Learning Styles emphasise that we have different strokes for different folks, different starting styles for different apprentices; different leanings for different tastes.

Teaching really is the work of the Master Chef.

Glenn Capelli new book Thinking Caps is available in Australian and NZ stores and on-line at www.glenncapelli.com

Recipes for Presentation Designs

2010-05-25T16:08:00.001-07:00

I love cooking with a mixture of ingredients, I love playing to get the blend right and to (at best) create layers of tastes. Sometimes too much of this or too little of that and whammo it is a whole different dish - worse. Other times you can make subtle changes to the recipe, in thought of the people you are cooking for, and whammo it is a whole different dish - better.

Designing a Presentation is much the same. It is a chumbawamba of how you mix, blend and layer the pieces - in thought of your participants - that can make the difference.

When presenting a roadshow of the 'same' presentation over and over to different groups, it is vital that you remember that no presentation is ever the 'same' presentation as the last. The participants - their response and contribution - make each meal different. Good chefs shift the blend a little as they go - by learning the participants palates they are able to make adjustments on the spot to ensure the best learning - the best nutrition, the best overall taste.

Also, by making some small shifts in each recipe (design) you can build your own excitement for the cooking and the delivery.

Designing and delivering Presentations is a never ending skill, art & science. Much like being the Master Chef.

PS. Thinking Caps book is now in bookstores. Check the 'Chumbawamba' piece in the book.

The West Article

2010-03-31T21:48:00.000-07:00

Journalist Sue Yeap wrote an article about the Thinking Caps book airing in The West Australian newspaper on April 1st. No April Fool's Day this! http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/entertainment/a/-/arts/7010799/thinking-caps-gets-em-talking/

Thinking Caps can be purchased from www.glenncapelli.com

Sir Richard Branson the Lionheart - The Interview

2010-03-29T13:03:00.000-07:00

I was once told that being the 'warm up' act for Sir Richard Branson would be like being the support act for ACDC - kind of deadly. However, recently I spoke at the Sir Richard Branson In The Raw event hosted by Shane Kempton as a fund raiser for Strike the Chord. Like a good old Abott and Costello comedy routine, speaker Pat Misiti was on first, I was on second and Sir Richard was on third.

Then Pat and I stayed on stage, with a panel of prominent business leaders, to interview Sir Richard. My questions:

Question One: The Mind

I have a concept for a series of interviews titled Learning Styles of the Rich and Famous so my first question was 'Sir Richard, can you explain how your mind works?' His immediate response was 'Well I know it keeps racing ahead of itself. I love life and I tend to deal with the frustrations of life. If something frustrates me then I like to do something about it. If I want to fly into space and can't then I start thinking well how can I make space flight available to me, and to others'.

The Way the World Works

I was delighted with Richard's insight as I had been talking about the need to have a Bug List in life and to celebrate irritations (the things that bug you). In the spirit of Innovative Company IDEO, if something bugs you, chances are it will bug others and therefore it is an opportunity to develop a new process, product, patent and to make new revenue.

Question Two: The Education

I simply asked Sir Richard what kind of a school education would he want his future Grandchildren to have? He responded that he felt the UK education system needed an overhaul. To be bold and brave and to re-think education so that it was more real, more interactive, more engaging and punchy. He then turned the tables and asked me what I thought should be done about education. My response was to elevate the art and science of teaching and learning - if educators can be passionate in the skills of designing true learning experiences... passionate skillful teachers, with engaged & passionate learners... Virgin Schools perhaps!

Question Three: Ringing The Bells

The Virgin business empire was started with Richard's love of music and early success came from backing Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells album, so I asked Richard whether he capped, cheered or did a dance every time he heard the Tubular Bells music. He said he hadn't heard it for a while until recently and 'yes, it did bring a tear to my eye'. He then explained he is an emotional sort of guy and his family always take a box of tissues for him whenever they go to the movies.

In the space of an hour the questions bounced and Sir Richard responded with humility, insight, innovation and honesty. Towards the end he said he saw himself as a Creator rather than a Businessman. 'I like creating and growing things I can be proud of' he said.

Be bold, be brave, dream, think big, act and build small - Sir Richard the Lionheart.

Appreciation

2010-03-08T14:23:00.000-08:00

As a young adult I spent some time visiting my Poppa at Graylands Mental Hospital in Perth, Western Australia. Poppa was regularly a patient there getting treatment for what we then called Manic-Depression. There were days when I could join Poppa in a game of cards, other days where we would simply sit. Poppa would be in and out of Graylands pending the effectiveness (or lack of it) of medication, Electric Therapy and how much alcohol or marijuana ('them funny cigarettes' Poppa called it) he had been taking as additional therapy.

My Mum also has battled the Black Dog. These days we know enough to call it Post Natal Depression, back then Mum said she 'had bad nerves'.

On certain days I feel the grey clouds start to gather and now know enough to have a variety of partial answers in keeping my mind and being as healthy as possible. I realize there are different strokes for different folks particularly when it comes to matters of mind but the following assist me:

Be healthily active physically - move.
Eat salads and vegetables.
Get some sun and wind on the skin.
Write an Appreciation List.

In the wonderful Woody Allen film 'Manhattan' his character makes a mental list of all the things he should be thankful for and, from my memory, includes things like some Louis Armstrong music. I always find it helpful to list the things in life to be thankful for and appreciative of. Whether the grey clouds are rolling or the sky is blue I think it helps to remind myself of Louis Armstrong's Potato Head Blues, the poetry of John Donne, the beaches of Esperance, the battles fought of my Poppa, the journey won by my Mum, the laughter of kids in natural play... and, yes, think to ourselves 'what a wonderful world'.

Even in the greyest of moments, especially in the greyest of moments, it is helpful to remind ourselves of the tiny beauties that can bring life joy.

The Lack of Service Systems (bring out the Wanker in me)

2010-03-01T14:29:00.000-08:00

Right On Queue

Some times in life I don’t scrub up too well, don’t perform at my best and don’t come across as a really nice bloke. In fact, sometimes I can appear to be a bit of a wanker.

Usually this happens in Post Offices and more specifically in queues at Post Offices. Take today for example, or last week, or perhaps in several days time.

The local Post Office has a stack of good people working for it. The staff are mostly friendly folk, usually helpful and often with smiles on their face (at least at the start of the day). There are also a couple of nice walls displaying different sized bags, boxes, envelopes and such things for purchase and there are even tubs full of things you can buy to entertain yourself whilst standing in the queue, everything from Videos to Stamp Sets to Fishing Rods.

All good except for a few minor points; firstly I am never too sure where I should line up. People sometimes stand in a single queue and then (several hours later) when they get near the serving bench they branch off to whichever server beckons them. Other times people queue in two lines or three and you need to play the Pick the Fastest Moving Line Game. A couple of times there have been so many lines that distinguishing between a line and a mob becomes more than an academic point.

Now I am not against mobs. A few years ago I was in the International Post Office in Beijing and I foolishly stood in what I thought was a line when in fact the line was a throng (a sub-set of a mob). In throngs you push, shove and somehow find your way into the best shouting position to become the next person served. In a queue you wait your turn and proceed in sequence. As soon as I figured out that the Beijing PO was a throng I joined the fray and enjoyed the game.

Now, back to today. To all intents and purposes the Melbourne suburban Post Office I go to looked as if it was operating in lines. The Algorithm seemed to be set and the gradual shuffle forward was starting to happen. However, then a chap not in line (let’s call him: a. Ratbag b. Cunning or c. Just Plain Lucky) managed to get a Trainee to help him out and the Trainee went behind the counter and interrupted the server who then set about responding to the Ratbag and meeting his needs. Thus Ratbag had successfully jumped the queue, stumped the line, and raised my heckles, all in one move.

Some folk would simply stand and wait. Others would get slightly annoyed but realise in a life full of annoyance it is best to let some minor annoying things happen and then simply sigh. And some days I would be with them, I would calm my mind with deeply meditative thoughts, still my muscles with a relaxant, ease my spirit with a Green Tea and simply smile at all the other folk railing at the injustice.

But not today: today was a Camel of a day just looking for a piece of straw with which to break my back. Today was a culmination of too many recent flights on too many planes, too many airport queues and too many Ratbags who had slipped through to the Keeper in an Unsporting Game of Life’s Cricket. Today was the day to make a stand and put my stamp on things.

I would love to say that my complaint and mini lecture on Systems Thinking Approaches to Customer Service was welcomed with a ‘thank you’, a gentle round of applause and a pay cheque for delivering on the spot Professional Development but alas ‘no’. My complaint was greeted with a look of disdain, a volley of ‘explain’ and I was then told to ‘not be so rude’.

Rude?

No raised voice, no pointed finger, no personal attack… just a mini lecture from a very big Soap Box.

Still, I guess Australians in general don’t complain too much about lack of service and lack of systems. We often prefer to stand in silence or whinge after the event. However I did make my stand and state my case and I am proud to say that I am not the least bit concerned that any mail I now wish to post might end up in Timbuktu or the back of Bourke. No, I am more afraid than worried.

Still, any lack of service systems at my Post Office is usually forgiven because the folk who work at the PO are usually fine, friendly and far more patient than me. But it still bugs me that there are certain things that could be done which would help the staff from being on the receiving end of frustrated customers. William Edwards Deming, the founding Father of the Quality movement once said that ‘In 90% of cases where there is error it can be attributed to a Systems Error rather than to the error of a single person. Yet we continue to blame the person.’

So, if my PO had a system for letting people know how they should queue (or a sign saying ‘No Queues allowed – just throngs and mobs. The people who get closest and shout loudest will get served first’) then the staff might not have so many frazzled customers. If Trainees are taught procedure rather than being left to discover it for themselves almost by accident then they might not be on the receiving end of complaints. And if every Post Office had an armed Security Guard looking for and shooting Ratbags trying to jump the queue then a lot of potential grief could be overcome. Unless of course the Postal Offices bring in a System where potential wankers are also shot on sight, then I think I might potentially be in some very big trouble.

Thinking Caps book is available from www.glenncapelli.com

HOPS Workshop with Cappa

2010-02-03T12:37:00.000-08:00

What you’ll get from Glenn Capelli’s workshop. Not the same stuff… guaranteed!

The other day a long time speaker colleague of Glenn Capelli said “Glenn I’d love to attend the workshop you’re doing for National Speakers but I’ve seen you at three NSA conferences and a couple of Chapter presentations so I reckon I’ve seen all your stuff. Am I really getting anything new if I come along?”

That’s when Glenn drew a deep breath and replied, “Well, you’re not gunna get any of the stuff I do on stage. You’re gunna go behind my on stage presentation and delve into the how’s and why’s of what I do. You’ll discover why I do it, what methods I use to do it and the impact it has on the message and the audience. You’re going to learn some of my, till now, well guarded presentation secrets that get me booked and will help you to get bookings too.”

“In fact, you’re going to get what I call Higher Order Presentation Skills. That means I’ll show you how to make the complex… simple, make the simple… deep, make the deep… engaging, make the engaging… real and make it all come to life!

The HOPS show you how you can make sure what you teach is really owned and used. Whether you’re training one to one, small group or to thousands, my strategies and tactics will equip you with the skills you need to design and deliver best learning experiences. I’ll show you how to focus on creating a total learning experience that will activate all learners so that your next workshop, speech or coaching session lasts well beyond the training room.

You’ll learn how to design and deliver content uniquely and well. Discover engaging, deep and diverse teaching and learning styles and methodologies to make sure your training really sticks. I will include:

• World’s Best Practice Presentation Designs and Techniques
• Reaching and Teaching Diverse Minds
• Real Applications of Learning Styles Research
• Different Folks - Different Strokes - but always Top Results
• The Rhythm Method - how to weave, chunk and layer material
• How to bring uniqueness to every presentation
• Ways to Begin & How to End - ensuring transfer of knowledge
It’s a highly interactive presentation that will bring together method, theory and content. You will work alone, in pairs, in groups and as a whole unit to think, do, stretch, discuss, listen and laugh. You will be actively involved in practical activities and will take away applicable, relevant strategies to extend, refresh and renew your understanding of Learning Styles and Presentation Skills.”

“Hold it, hold it.” said Glenn’s colleague.” I’m convinced. I’ve just gotta be there.”

You do too! Find out details of the Workshop in your Australian state at
https://nsaa.worldsecuresystems.com or call 1800 090 024

The Habit of Being Friendly

2010-02-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

I know that you're busy, I know that there are things to do and I know that your mind is probably pre-occupied with a 1000 matters that matter but I still think it is worthwhile to find the time and inclination to smile, nod and say 'Good morning'.

Seems to me that when I wandered through Nepal, did a speaking tour of India and whenever I present in New Zealand folk are still in the habit of being friendly. Now, I know some of you may be suspicious that a smile or nod or 'Namaste' may have intentions other than friendliness but I prefer to smile back, nod first and/or enjoy the moment of connectivity that a 'G'day mate' can bring to the world.

When I backpacked the world for years on end I spent some nights in a remote Youth Hostel in the West of Ireland and on its wall was a note that said 'There are no strangers here, only future friends'. Magic.

But have no fear; a nod, smile or greeting doesn't mean you have to be indebted to a lifetime of friendship it just means that you've taken the time to notice others on the life journey. It just means you are a sign of a little good will. By adding to the pool of good will we may just help the Planet cool a little and not be an angry, hostile place - a little bit of Heart Warming can do a little bit of Climate Cooling.

What the world needs now is... more smiles, nods and 'Good morning, good morning to you'.

Big City Walking

2010-01-31T20:25:00.000-08:00

I don't have accurate memories of learning how to walk but I'm pretty sure it took me a while to master the standing up, the one foot in front of the other and the moving without teetering. For most, including me, when it comes to learning how to be pedestrian it happens slowly. And now it is happening again.

Not that I am struggling with standing up and the basics of one foot following the other but I am struggling with learning how to walk in big city crowds. Having moved from Perth to Melbourne I now face twice (or more) the size of city pedestrians. Walking involves breaking into and through walls of folk. Passing pedestrians means going wide and often into the gutter. Getting somewhere on foot means learning to appreciate that other people are walking without a purpose. Big city crowds incorporate people who like to stroll, then stop suddenly and simply enjoy standing in the middle of a footpath.

Learning to walk BIG city style is akin to learning how to drive bumper cars without the cars.

Then again, learning anything requires a bit of bash, crash and stumble & fall. Always better to see the challenge as an adventure in side show alley rather than getting hot, steamy and suffering pedestrian footpath rage.

HOPS - Higher Order Presentation Skills

2010-01-17T14:50:00.000-08:00

The HOPS - Higher Order Presentation Skills: Making Complex Simple. Making Simple Deep. Making Deep Engaging. Making Engaging Real. Making it all come to life.

A National Tour for National Speakers Association to help each presenter/educator bring uniqueness, originality, creativity and shine to presentations.

HOPS require speakers/trainers/teachers to discover the Design Artist within and to present courageously. It takes more risk, but done well, results in a deeper learning experience for all participants (including you).
Bookings @ National Speakers Association Australia 1800 090 024.

Cracks in the Jetty

2010-01-12T17:46:00.000-08:00

As a kid I was afraid to walk on the Esperance jetty because I thought I would fall through the cracks. Now, let me make it quite clear here that I was not a super thin kid so there was no actual way I could possibly slither.

I am not sure when the cracks stopped having power over me. There was no Karate Kid moment, no climactic arm pumping Rocky run, no triumphant knock out blow… just one day, in one set of holidays, where I forgot about the cracks and walked up the jetty without worry.

Decades later I was watching Jack Nicholson in the movie ‘As Good As It Gets’. His character wouldn’t step on any of the cracks in the New York pavement. I laughed, smiled and kind of understood.

If the character had come to me for advice I probably would have said to him ‘just get busy enjoying other stuff in life and somehow the cracks dissolve’. Better still, I might even attempt singing some Leonard Cohen lines from his song Anthem:

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget the perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in

I have learned to love the cracks in life: cracking up, giving things a crack, things being crackerjack. Life is more interesting with a crack or two.

Waves Across the Nullabor

2010-01-06T15:39:00.000-08:00

When you take a slow (or fast) drive across Australia you get to drive 'the longest straight stretch of road in the World' or so the sign says. 1000 kilometers east of Perth on the Nullabor Plain you hit the 90 Mile Straight (146 km). No bend, no kink,no deviation. The only trouble with no kinks in life is that they can sometimes make you become complacent.

One of the many beautiful things about the long drive across Australia is that more often than not when approaching on-coming traffic you and the on-coming driver exchange a little wave of the hand in passing. Sometimes you can go for hours without on-coming traffic, other times there can be three of four vehicles in the space of an hour. These little waves, these acknowledgements of the passing 'ships in the night' help to keep focus, help to jolt complacency. They may be only little waves from seemingly 'complete strangers' but it is a way that long haul drivers look out for each other. It's a way of saying 'Mate, keep alert. You're not alone. It's good to see you.'

Little waves are important in life whether we are driving long straight roads or walking bending streets in a thriving metropolis. Human beings need connectivity, we need to acknowledge and be acknowledged as part of a whole. Little waves in the form of a nod, a knowing smile, a gentle hand, a thumbs up... are ways of reminding us to reach out and understand. Let's not take our fellow folk for granted. Little waves can keep us trucking.

A Wide Brown Land For Me

2009-12-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

In the Thinking Caps book there is a piece about 'Calling Australia Home' and the values of mate ship, giving things your best shot and a fair go for all. Each year I fly over Australia 30 or 40 times and this wide, red dirt land disappears in 5 or 6 hours of reading, doing a crossword or two and having a meal. It has been many years since I drove across Oz (I hitched across several times in younger years when the World was a different place) and it really is a wonderful thing to do. In a slow drive across this land you notice subtle changes, hues of color, diversity of landscape and you sense the rugged and ragged beauty. You also appreciate some of the great challenges of distance that rural and remote Australian communities face. I am so glad we are not just all cities and I am so glad that we have taken this slower time (Coo-ee Time) to journey. To dip our toes into various beaches, to sense the heat of 45 degree days when the wind can cook you and then to enjoy the spray of a late sea breeze.

Years ago Macca and I wrote a song called Cooee Child based on a poem I wrote as Marc Diffen and I sat on the granite rocks outside of Mt Magnet. 'Go gently within the morning, go slowly within your day, go with your eyes wide open, Cooee Child the word is spoken... let's walk about this wondrous untouched land...' As we walk about this wide and wondrous land I am reminded to breathe deeply in nature, particularly when so much of our lives is in cities and on planes.

Thinking Caps on www.glenncapelli.com

Multiple Personalities

2009-12-02T14:00:00.001-08:00

It's funny but I bumped into someone recently who said 'Glenn Capelli, weren't you the footballer?' In my early years my 'identity' was that of the kid down the oval kicking a footy, the young bloke leading a side onto a field, Capa the Captain. Two knee operations later and I have to conclude my days of kicking a footy, so I get my knees to take up marathon running. For years I ran a minimum of 10KMs a day and usually far more. My best Marathon time was 3 Hours 15 Minutes and I was aiming to break the magic 3 hour mark when (as might be guessed) the knee collapsed again.

From 'identity' of Footballer, to Runner and then to Hobo. For a lot of the 1980s my possessions were all rolled into a backpack as I chucked laps of the World - kibbutz in Israel, four summers of Camp in North Carolina, months in Kenya, trains in Europe: sleeping rough and sometimes not sleeping at all.

It's funny how many identities we are tagged with throughout life - footballer, runner, hobo, husband, business person, teacher, guy on radio, speaker... but I hope whatever identities we are tagged with, no matter how the world sees us, that we maintain the identity of being a Learner at our core. To experience diversity and continue to learn from it, to experience others beneath their 'identities' and to continue to learn from them.

Sir Richard Branson Event

2009-11-24T14:13:00.000-08:00

2010 holds a lot of good things already in place for my presenting - the NESA International Conference in Melbourne in March, the Capricorn Conferences in Fremantle, Spectrum Education in Christchurch (Jan), Life Education in Auckland (Jan), Independent Schools Conference at the Crown in Melbourne to name a few.

In March there is also the opportunity for me to meet and share the stage with Sir Richard Branson through the work of Shane Kempton. Not only do I present but also I will ask Richard some questions as part of a panel. If you had the chance to ask Sir Richard Branson something, what would you ask?

Tickets for tables are available. Double click the picture for details.

Chumbawamba Well

2009-11-24T14:01:00.000-08:00

The musical co-operative Chumbawamba are mainly known for their world hit Tubthumping (I get knocked down and I get up again) though to me they exemplify what it means to be creative. Their songs and example teach us that creation is a process of good ingredients, good blending and working in layers. Whether we are creating through designing presentations, cooking a feast, writing pieces for radio, creating a novel or weaving practical art through textiles - we need to get the right ingredients (quality produce), get the right mix for the context and have layers of discovery in the taste and learning. Chubawamba well.

For more on Chumbawamba get the Thinking Caps book (Piece 14) www.glenncapelli.com

Many Lands of Smart - Brave Souls

2009-11-23T15:22:00.001-08:00

Brave Souls with Bernadette Young is where we flip normal talk back radio and people call in but do not know what they will be asked to talk about. In November 2009 I devised a Brave Souls around how we teach the Multiple Intelligences Model of Professor Howard Gardner - The Many Lands of Smart.

The People You Meet On Stage

2009-11-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

The Conference Speaking World is an interesting one and you get to meet and be team-mates with a host of fascinating folk, some who become your mates. I once was flown to Miami to speak and the evening entertainment was three of the former Doobie Brothers performing now with a 7 piece band; a magic combo.

Other joyful collaborations include Conference cards with Professor Howard Gardner, Harvard's wonderful David Perkins, Moira Kelly (founder of Children First), Edward de Bono (in Canada and Malaysia), astronauts, Everest climbers, Gold Medalists, scientists, Prime Ministers, Senators, street choirs and a vast array of CEOs. Not to mention the magic of other Professional Speakers.

One joy for me is when I get to interview folk on stage and turn interviews (and panels) into activities of thoughtfulness (for the audience) and involvement. Two years ago at the National Employment Services International Congress I was able to interview David Bussau regarding his life (from being an abandoned child) and his work in micro-lending championing the lives folk in need of livelihood. David's story as told by Philippa Tyndale in Don't Look Back is a touching and meaningful read. In 2008 David was named Senior Australian of the Year.

In March 2010 I will get to theme weave (and conduct other interviews) at the next International NESA in Melbourne. Magic.

Spreading Little Arrows of Magic

2009-11-13T18:26:00.000-08:00

Leapy Lee's original name was Graham Pulleyblank and we can understand why he went with Leapy. In 1968 my radio kept playing Leapy's song (penned by the prodigious Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood) 'Little Arrows'. The tune, like an arrow, can get stuck in your head.

Recently I watched the excellent SBS series Who Do You Think You Are and saw the Australian episode on (also excellent) singer/musician/activist John Butler. John used the example of archery to consider what the journey back into his family tree had done for him. He noted he was quite future oriented with his arrow pointing to where it should go but that the arrow flies better and further when you pull the string of the bow back behind you. Going back helps you go forward better. A beautiful way of seeing the world.

In many ways my radio pieces and the 40 pieces that make up the first Thinking Caps book are little arrows that pull back in order to go forward. Some are reminders of a world we used to know and some of these reminders may help us go forward in a better way. Little arrows of magic that help us to leap(y).

You can order Thinking Caps on www.glenncapelli.com

Book Launch - The Caps

2009-11-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

Our Thinking Caps book is to have a small, amusing, entertaining and possibly even slightly moving launch on Sunday 15th November. Hopefully it will capture all the factors evident in the 40 pieces - ups, downs, laughter, tears and thoughtfulness. Mate, culprit and former Channel 7 on screen personality Keith Geary will MC, my radio buddy (and also culprit) Bernadette Young will engage me in an interview and hopefully my musical mate (co-song writer and culprit) Keith McDonald will sing a tune. PS. Culprits are folk who have inspired bits of the pieces. If you can't make the launch, then Thinking Caps is available at www.glenncapelli.com

Diversity and Presenting

2009-11-01T17:28:00.000-08:00

Jae Rhee from Curtin University interviewed me as part of his Master's Unit on Leadership in a Dynamic Global Environment (Lecturer Troy Hendrickson). The interview was based on 'Diverse Leadership' and covers ideas relating to presenting to diverse groups, diversity in leadership and how my years of backpack travels influenced me as an educator. The article is re-printed with permission. Thank you Jae.

Interview with a Diversified Educator
Profile and Background of Glenn Capelli as an Educator
Glenn Capelli, the interviewee, is the founder of True Learning Centre and a professional educator in thinking and learning skills. He is also known as a writer, songwriter, radio and television presenter, and a public speaking professional. He is a Winston Churchill Fellowship Awardee and also member of MENSA - the High IQ Society.

He travels around the world, working with diversity across and within various cultures and groups. The extent of the diversity that he works with ranges; from five years old students to their teachers, principals and parents; from remote communities in the Australian outback to top private schools in the Perth metropolitan area; and from a group of CEO’s to workers in factories across the globe. Immersed in such diversity, Glenn has learned to appreciate and honour different ways of thinking, living and working.

Born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, with an Italian immigrant family background, Glenn Capelli experienced the hardship that his grandparents went through in his early childhood. He reflects that this experience was possibly the cause of his interest in the issues of diversity and social justice.

Key Aspects of an Diversified Educator: Interest and Empathy
With his curiosity seeking to understand cultures other than his own, Glenn appeared to me as a dynamic learner and a thinker who endeavoured to find common cultural threads across various cultures rather than differences. Glenn went on backpacking over seven years in various places across the globe. During this period, he was a fish farmer in Israel, a comedian in LA, a travel writer in Kenya and a summer-camp counsellor in North Carolina. Upon his return to Australia in 1987, he established the True Learning Centre where he focuses on the creativity and quality of learning and thinking skills.

Glenn states that such diverse, rich and hands-on experience was essential for him as an educator, professional speaker and a business owner. He explained that the experience helped him grow as a person who came across extraordinary companionship along the journey and a range of different languages expressing diverse worldviews.

Glenn mentions that curiosity leads to the discovery of the multiple layers of other people and understanding leads to honouring other’s worldviews. Throughout the interview, interest and empathy came across as the key aspects of this educator who is immersed in a dynamic and complex world.

The Role of an Educator in a Diverse and Complex World
Glenn Capelli has, over time, accumulated an extensive knowledge and understanding of people and their skills. He believes that a complex world requires diversified group intelligence rather than individuals with high IQ’s, as IQ is merely a part of the whole concept of intelligence. According to Glenn, group intelligence consists of four different sets of intelligence:
• creative mind
• analytical mind
• practical mind, and
• emotional mind

He considers such a multi-dimensional concept of intelligence, diverse knowledge, capabilities and sometimes ‘odd’ skills are like crayons of different colours. Glenn states that, for an educator of thinking and learning skills, it is important to become aware of what is working for each individual because it is his role to tap into the individual’s authentic colours of crayons and encourage them to utilise those crayons in whatever setting they are situated.

Further, Glenn views that judging and categorising people prevent us from seeing the unique and true colours of individuals. Hence, having a genuine interest and empathy is critical, because it provides us with the opportunity to learn about others individually so that we have the opportunity to honour and accept their skills, personalities and potentials.

Diversity, Flexpertise, Systems Thinking and Leadership
Thijssen (2003) explains that flexpertise is the ability to maintain and apply expert skills and knowledge to diverse areas beyond the area of specialisation, while adapting and changing to dynamic environment. Our discussion about developing flexpertise was insightful as it is in line with the development of one’s capacity to adopt systems thinking approach. As discussed in Part 1 of this paper, the systems thinking approach sees the whole picture where complex and dynamic interactions of parts occur. Thus, the implication of developing flexpertise knowledge and skills lies in the development of one’s ability to understand and work with diversity.

From Glenn’s viewpoint, the appreciation of diversity and flexpertise is critical in order to understand the role of leadership because leadership essentially requires the ability to think and behave in a holistic manner (Skarzauskiene 2008). However, although systems thinking is imperative for leadership, Glenn notes that getting people to embrace such a holistic thinking approach is the greatest challenge in his work as an educator. Glenn’s comment, “Nothing gets affected by anything in collections, but everything gets affected by everything else in systems.” illustrates the need for educating people in systems thinking in a dynamic and complex world powered by diversity.

Glenn Capelli’s belief is that building up a rich pool of leadership needs to be encouraged so that more complete and enduring form of leadership can be attained and remembered among members of an organisation. The critical nature of this type of pool of leadership is that leadership needs to occur in each layer of organisations and within individual members, operating in a continuum manner and adapting to various situations and people.

Professional Principles for Excellence and Measuring Excellence
Glenn carries a very strong conviction in achieving excellence in his profession and measuring the quality of his work. He believes that excellence may be accomplished by practicing long, hard and well by attempting diverse methodologies involving some of those yet-to-be-discovered skills. Also, he considers that if his teaching concept has been taken for someone’s children or relatives, then it means his education was of value to someone. Glenn’s statement, “If I work as an educator and if the education is good, it’ll spread. But if you work as a marketer, you don’t know if it’s your advertisement or education” illustrates his belief in word-of-mouth campaign as an educator rather than a commercially driven salesperson.

Faith, Stretching and Embracing: a Way of Honouring and Exploring
Glenn Capelli suggests that we all need to believe in ourselves for what we aim to achieve and try some stretching and embracing by attempting to discover the under-utilised colours of crayons both in ourselves and others. This set of advice appeared to me as a way of honouring who we are and exploring who we want to be.

References
Skarzauskiene, A. 2008. Theoretical Insights to leadership based on systems thinking principles. Organizacijø Vadyba: Sisteminiai Tyrimai (48): 105. ProQuest Databases. http://proquest.umi.com.dbgw.lis.curtin.edu.au (accessed September 13, 2009).
Thijssen, J. G. L. 2003. Evaporated talent? Problems with talent development during the career. International Journal of Resources Development and Management 3 (2): 154 - 170. Inderscience Publishers. www.inderscience.metapress.com (accessed September 15, 2009).

Glenn's book Thinking Caps is available at www.glenncapelli.com

Super Teachers

2009-10-29T17:31:00.000-07:00

Today is World Teachers Day, a good day to ponder who was a super teacher in your life and a good day to send them (or their memory) a 'thank you' and 'good on you'. Piece 28 of the Thinking Caps book is tribute to the folk who have planted good seeds and inspired their students to be life long lovers of learning. It is a special 'thank you' to Mr Duncan McNab my Grade 7 teacher at Doubleview Primary School: 'he never wore a cape or flew over tall buildings but he helped develop young minds and he taught us to soar.' Send a good on you to your Super Teachers.

Thinking Caps is available at www.glenncapelli.com

Mates

2009-10-22T22:13:00.000-07:00

Maxie Walker is a good mate with a wide mind, a big laugh and delightful writing ability with any of the many fine pens he owns. Known for his good tales; whether they be on television advertisements, the wide world of sports or references to kissing crocodiles, Max personifies what it is to be Australian. Play footy, play cricket, love your folks, be good with your mates, stand up for 'a fair go' and laugh long & well. It was a delight to get a message from Max that summed up his thoughts on the Thinking Caps book: 'Like winding down the car window.... insight back, possibility forward'. Thinking Caps is available from www.glenncapelli.com Thank you Mr Walker.

Thinking Caps Book: A Reader Writes

2009-10-21T15:06:00.000-07:00

Received an email from reader Tracey regarding the new Thinking Caps book:

Hi Glenn Fabulous Willy (a reference from Pet Names Piece 22) just a quickie to say thank you so much for the book, I am absolutely loving it. It’s clever, funny and thought provoking and very entertaining. I am racing through it to finish it by tomorrow when we go away, but I will definitely be reading it again when we get home so I can savour every chapter. I took it with me to the hairdressers yesterday and had 3 people asked me what I was reading. Thank you very much for a fantastic read. Cheers,Tracey (Loving, Loyal, Playful & Cuddly………you guessed it, favourite pet was a dog!!!!)

The final sentence being a reference to Piece 16 The Personality Test.

Thinking Caps is available from www.glenncapelli.com

Many thanks Tracey. We are so glad that you - and others - are enjoying, laughing, sharing pieces with others and returning to re-read and re-think.

We Have a School in Bangla Desh

2009-10-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

Karen Blixen penned 'I have a farm in Africa' as opening lines for 'Out of Africa'. It is time for our Blixen moment: 'We have a school in Bangla Desh'. Our school is Bangla Pata on Bhola Island, one of the most impoverished areas of Bangla Desh and 300 girls and boys attend daily. In late 2006 Lindy and I approached the CO-ID group (Fred Hyde http://www.fredhyde.org) after seeing their tale on Australian Story. Our school was built by our funds and is maintained each year, including the salaries of four teachers, by our funds. It is a wonderful thing to know that every book, DVD or CD we sell funds our school and helps our 300 kids.

Thinking Caps Book

2009-10-07T18:31:00.000-07:00

One way of looking at the Thinking Caps book (available at www.glenncapelli.com) is which parts and pieces do you read out loud to your partner, mates or kids? So far folk are reading Love Puffs to their partners and mates along with grabs from Sea Squirts (the nature of relationship & marriage). One reader wrote in to tell us she had read The Most Influential Book piece to her teens but then had to explain the old Noddy/Big Ears joke to them again and again. My favorite for reading out loud is Calling Australia Home (the kind of values we can pass on) and Paronomasia - the art of good and bad punning. Enjoy!

Mao's Last Dancer

2009-09-29T19:12:00.000-07:00

How are Professor Howard Gardner, Edward de Bono, Professor Marian Diamond, Harvey Mackay, (some of) the Doobie Brothers, King Constantine II, Ian Lesley, Christine Anu, Dr Stephen Lundin (author of Fish) and author Bryce Courtney all linked? Through the connectivity of Conference Cards. I have had the joy of speaking at Conferences where these good folk have spoken or performed.

Recently I glanced through my old journals and found notes taken at the Schwarzkopf Conference in Borneo 2005. I had the joy of topping and tailing the card with Li Cunxin (Mao's Last Dancer) and Gregory David Roberts (Shantarma) being the wonderful filling. My notes of the start of Li's presentation are pictured.

Music Zen

2009-09-24T01:37:00.000-07:00

'Taint what you do it's the way that you do it... that's what gets results'. Written by jazz artists Sy Oliver and Trummy Young, released by Ella Fitzgerald (and others) in 1939 and re-released by Fun Boy Three and Bananarama in 1982 this is the anthem of Music Zen: the rhythm of design and presentation. This workshop looks at the use of song, music, rhythm and melody in designing and delivering workshops, keynotes and conferences. There are layers to be explored including suggestology, music for mood, meaning, evocation and provocation of learning. It will mean more of a thing when it's (your presentations) got the swing.

Slidezen

2009-09-24T01:31:00.000-07:00

Good teachers can create environments of learning without Power Point, Keynote, laptops, flip charts or chalk boards but if they are using slides then the slides should add art, science and magic to the learning experience. Slide Zen is a workshop about the philosophy of suggestion and how each slide design (the look, the sound, the feel, the transition) should add layers of learning to each lesson, workshop, conference or keynote speech. This small group workshop will shift (and sift) the way you design and present.

Frozen Shoulder Syndrome - Living in Pain

2009-09-13T18:32:00.001-07:00

After many months of intense pain my wife Lindy was told she had Frozen Shoulder Syndrome (FSS). Over the next two years of partial treatments, semi relief at times, one step forward and two steps back at others, we learned more and more about this 'most common unheard of thing'. Listen with empathy to the piece, the Professor talking about Pain Management and living with those living with pain. Listen also to caller Clinton talking of his FSS. If you know of anyone with FSS or living with chronic pain, please have them listen to this piece. It may not provide a full answer but it may provide empathy, partial possibilities and the fact that they are not alone.

HOPS - Higher Order Presentation Skills

2009-08-12T00:25:00.000-07:00

The HOPS - Higher Order Presentation Skills. A presentation for Australian Institute of Training & Development. Double click image for details and go to the www.aitd.com.au site to register. It will be an exciting night.

Dr Evelyn Gateva Visual Notes

2009-08-09T16:06:00.000-07:00

Seattle 1991. After the SALT Conference I joined 100 or so others for three days with Prof. Georgi Lozanov and Dr Evelyn Gateva to experience their methods of teaching and learning. Towards the end Dr Gateva ran a half day lesson on the teaching of some Italian vocab words and grammar. A vibrant introduction using songs to introduce some words & meanings, Active Concerts, playful exploration through discussion, games, readings, debate (Elaboration phase) and a Passive Concert to finish. My notes tried to track the rich layers of methodology. Sadly Dr Gateva passed on some years ago. It was an honor to be in the class.

Presentation Skills: Boomerangs

2009-08-02T16:50:00.001-07:00

A Boomerang is any approach you use to return the participants' attention back to the front of the room. So a Boomerang is used after you set up a discussion, activity, chat... and then need the group to stop, pause or return their attention to you. Often teachers and presenters use the volume of their voice to Boomerang but this can deplete energy. Boomerangs are what skilled teachers and presenters do without even knowing they might be doing it and there are a whole range of Boomerangs to play with. Enjoy the audio piece explaining the variety of Boomerangs.

Bed Making

2009-07-26T20:31:00.001-07:00

When a bloke makes a bed, certain things should happen, starting with wild applause. Thinking caps piece aired on ABC with Bernadette Young July 2009. Great talkback from callers regarding their bed making skills - ranging from nurses, prisoners at Freo Jail and people from the armed forces. More Thinking Caps on itunes

Iron(ing) Man

2009-07-18T17:02:00.001-07:00

A 2009 radio piece about the Super Hero Ironing Man - far better than Iron Man. Other Thinking Caps pieces are available on itunes.

A Hank Thank

2009-07-14T18:23:00.001-07:00

Many thanks to Hank B Marvin, lead guitarist with The Shadows, for being on Brave Souls radio with Bernadette Young and me (July 10 2009). After the show I asked him whether a new tune came to him in his fingers whilst strumming or in his mind - a mental humming. He replied both and that he had written one song whilst on a plane after seeing the book cover of Rachel Carson's Silent Spring at an airport bookshop. The song was Silvery Rain later recorded by Olivia Newton-John and others:

Butterflies danced on invisible strings
Showing wings they borrowed from a rainbow
And a blackbird on high sang a praise to the sky
While a light aeroplane sprayed the fields
With a silvery rain...

Could have interviewed Hank for hours and chatted for days. Lovely bloke.

Our Attitude Affects Our Interconnections

2009-07-04T17:43:00.001-07:00

Macro-Mind Motivator from Youth Mastermind - the youth and family program we ran for 7 years. This and others available on Magic Brain CD on itunes.

A Listing Brainstorm - Respond

2009-07-02T18:06:00.000-07:00

What do you believe are some of the most important skills for youngsters to learn toward our complex future? Respond.

Recent Reading

2009-07-01T18:37:00.000-07:00

I once asked Edward de Bono whether he still finds time for reading. He replied that he did and that he read broadly and randomly. By randomly he explained that he would ask others what they were reading and then read whatever it was they answered. 'We get stuck in our own kind of patterns' he said. Diverse recommendations can break the patterns. I agree and read eclectically, mixing Fiction and Non-Fiction, poetry and prose, adult books and kids books. Recent recommends include:

Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Mind and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown M.D. A book that adds layers of good reasoning to the philosophy of Neoteny (see Neoteny piece and pieces/song on itunes)

Peter Temple novels including his Jack Irish series. I never read much crime fiction so it was a sideways step to embrace all of Peter Temple's works. Love the Melbourne settings, the nostalgia of how Jack Irish follows the Fitzroy Football club and the fact that when reading the Jack Irish series I picture my mate Keith Geary as Jack Irish - a man who loves horses, woodwork and bucking the establishment. For mainly Non-Fiction readers, reading fiction can expand the imagination.

Any poetry of The Mersey Poets; Roger McGough, Brian Pattern and Adrian Henri. Had a chat with speaker mate Roy Miller (shalom) and we talked about some of these works. It re-kindled my desire to read the wonderful lines of each of these poets. I still have the copy of The Mersey Poets book that travelled in my backpack for many of my hobo years. In fact, for the many years of backpacking (on and off for 7 years in the 1980s) the books that stayed with me all the way were The Complete Writings and Drawings of Bob Dylan and a book of poetry by William Butler Yeats.

Finally I believe kids' books are not just kids' books. The dementors in Harry Potter books could be a metaphor for the Toxic Environments Dr Stephen Lundin writes of in Fish or for the Psychic Vampire folk my mate Amanda Gore talks of in her presentations.

Read broadly and randomly and deeply.

Thinking!

2009-06-29T23:33:00.000-07:00

The 14th International Thinking Conference held in June 2009 in KL Malaysia was a Laksa. Great ingredients, diverse blend of tastes and layers of long lasting flavor. An honor to present at it and learn from it. Memorable paraphrased lines include:

Try crossing the street in Kuala Lumpur and see what kinds of smarts you use. Howard Gardner
It's never too late to nurture the good worker with the ENA triple helix of Excellence, Engagement and Ethics HG
Good thinking includes identifying assumptions and looking for invalid ones - A Constraints Theory Approach
No-one anywhere really knows what the hell is going on, we're all just making it up as we go along. My mate Colin James
Dr John Edwards reminding us of Daniel Kim's Systems Thinking work - move up from Events & Patterns of Behavior towards Systems, Mental Models and Vision.
Develop Flexpertise. Experts have specialised understanding within a field. Flexpertise is to understand the applications in a wide scope beyond the field. The wonderful David Perkins
Re-think thinking, re-word words. Dr Shameen Rafik-Galea
Trigger + Thought = Emotion + Action = Consequence. Dr Tom Mulholland
Seek novelty in the mundane. Andrew Lees.

And to Tony Buzan, Edward de Bono, Lane Clarke, Karen Boyes, Kevin Warwick, Reg Polson, the Malaysia 1 Team, Dave Koutsoukis, Dr Yvonne Sum, Dr Neil Carrington and the 990 others who presented or participated - magic.

World Thinking Conference - Pen Grippers

2009-06-29T00:10:00.000-07:00

Had the joy of presenting a Plenary and Workshop session at the World Thinking Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (June 22-26th). With Keynotes by Prof. Howard Gardner, David Perkins, Tony Buzan, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad and Edward de Bono it was a learning & thinking joy.

Often at Conferences some really great learning moments occur in the conversations and the smaller sessions you choose to attend. At the wonderful Malaysia 1 session 20 folk from a variety of nations enjoyed a wonderful process of group tasks and discussions. I happened to find myself in a small group with 17 year old Malaysian student Nur Hafizah whose Mum was one of the key facilitators. When I saw how Nur gripped her pen I asked her if she had ever got in trouble for holding it that way. 'From my Mum all the time' she said. I then told her how I had got into trouble at school for holding my pen the same way as her and how I had been told I would never be able to write neatly. Later in life i was told my hand writing was so neat I could get a job as a typewriter!

After the Conference I received a lovely email and photo from Nur saying 'Thank you' because her Mum now no longer reprimanded her for her pen grip. A coincidental Conference outcome of good learning. Magic.

Cap Maps- Anableps

2009-06-20T00:17:00.000-07:00

It is natural for me to take notes anableptically! I explain the anablep in The Thinking Learning Classroom - a central American carp fish with four irises and lenses - two for looking above the surface of the water and two for looking beneath. For learners & teachers, above the surface can represent the notes we take on the content covered, beneath the surface can be notes we make on methodology and ideas the presentation sparks for us that may not be related to the content being covered. I often get ideas for songs to write whilst listening into and Cap Mapping (taking Visual Notes) a presentation.

Sometimes the methodology stimulates me to think of ways I might teach concepts, likewise sometimes the lack of methodology can stimulate thoughts on how to present the speaker's content in a variety of different ways. Such note taking & making helps keep me actively engaged in presentations and actively engaged in learning.

In our Born To Learn USA cable television series made for Mind Extension University we had a little song that went 'You gotta actively engage your mind, bring yourself to learning all the time'. Visual Notes and anablepping (now, there's a word for you) help keeps the mind alive and learning.

CapMaps DVD and Thinking Learning Classroom book are both available on www.glenncapelli.com in The Shop.

The Poet in Me

2009-05-27T19:02:00.000-07:00

I found an old poem today
And looked back
On the lad I used to be
He inspired me
All ideals and absolutes
All passion and poetry
All Che revolutionary
Out changing the world

I found an old poem today
And looked back
On the lad I used to be
And couldn't help but feel
That some of it -
The plea & posturing
To change the world -
Was partly an effort to try and attract some girls.

What We Can Learn From Adam Hills

2009-05-24T20:30:00.001-07:00

Theme:

Do you have a favourite comic? What makes them good? Can comedians do more than make us laugh?

The Inflatable Adam Hills

Each week on ABC radio Bernadette Young and I have a little thing we do called Brave Souls where people ring in to have a conversation. The only thing is they do not know what the topic of the conversation will be, thus they need to be Brave Souls, folk prepared to think on their brave feet.

As part of Brave Souls we also have Brave Thumbs where the not quiet as brave folk get to text through a comment on a topic we give them.

Recently we incorporated another body part into Brave Souls – the Brave Bum. This is where a studio guest gets to sit their brave bum in the hot seat and be prepared to think and join in on the general playfulness of this talkback radio FLIP.

Our first Brave Bum was host of the wonderful ABC television program Spicks & Specks, comedian Adam Hills. Apart from the fact that I love Adam’s work and looked forward to meeting him, there was an added bonus in that he arranged two complimentary tickets to his live show called Inflatable. I had already seen some of Adam’s other shows and welcomed the chance to see him again.

As a professional speaker myself, there is a lot to be learned from Adam Hills.

The Sub-Start

On taking stage Adam does ‘stuff’ before he starts the guts of his show. Often the stuff is a response to something or someone he sees in the crowd. He tells us (in a nice frame) that he has a show prepared and eventually that we will get to it but there are some things he just has to do first. In his final Australian tour show at Perth’s Octagon Theatre show he did several things:

1. He spotted two girls wearing t-shirts saying ‘Was it a Shark?’ a reference to one of Adam’s gags from another show
2. He then drew attention to 11 girls sitting together who have made singlets saying ‘We Love Adam Hills’. He brings them on stage for a photo
3. He introduces us to Maria a woman who has seen 12 of his shows in a variety of states this year and who has seen Adam 70 times in the past two years. He calls Maria his ‘resident stalker’ and she seems to love him even more for it
4. He introduces us to his AUSLAN sign interpreter and the joys of signing
5. He spots a young lad and asks him his age and name. The lad is an eleven-year old named George. It turns out that one of the t-shirt girls is named Georgina and another lass he has chatted to is Gina – short for Georgina. Plus there is a guy in the front row that is also a George. Adam delights in the Georgeness of the crowd and night and now has a spontaneous running gag.

The Involvement

Adam’s sub-start has set up the premise that this is a night where members of the crowd, and sign language itself, are as much the stars of the show as Adam. Involving a crowd can be risky but the risk gives the show a chance to bounce spontaneously.

When Adam was in the studio for Brave Souls we chatted that our radio FLIPPED talkback had at its core a belief that everyone has a story and that people will come through – basically we had faith in folk. Adam’s comedy has the same foundation belief.

The Premise

Adam’s show’s title is based on an old and popular joke about the Inflatable Boy who let’s his school down and himself down… Adam is able to make the joke work because of the story he tells building to the gag (meeting a perky 19 year old), the second punch line (the 19 year old lass tells him it is a ‘Dad Joke’) and where he then takes it all.

Author Dale Carnegie outlined his ideas in public speaking fifty years before Adam Hills was born. Carnegie believed that great speakers tell stories that have a point that link to the theme that they are on about: Story-Point-Link.

Adam’s Inflatable show does Old Gag-Point-Link. He makes the gag his own by then relating it to a pretend duologue with his future son. The point being that our purpose on the planet is to inflate others so they swell up and feel good as opposed to deflating others. This then links to an on-going Adam Hills theme: his comedy has compassion.

Finally, A Foot To Stand On

The ‘Was it a Shark?’ t-shirts the young women wore refers to the fact that Adam has a prosthetic foot and when people outside of Australia hear this they ask ‘Was it a shark?’ It wasn’t.

Adam was born without a right foot. Perhaps this is why he made such a great commentator for the Para-Olympics and why he is such a great commentator on the human spirit.

Perhaps being sans a right foot has taught Adam a deeper level of empathy. Or maybe he was just raised to have a sense of humour balanced with a sense of respect. Whatever, it helps his shows touch people deeper than a series of continuous belly laughs – they uplift and inflate. They help us become better people (and have fun at the same time).

Everyone can benefit from an Adam Hills stage show. Professional and public speakers can get another layer of benefit from watching they way Adam weaves his prepared show and his spontaneous ‘thinking on his foot show’ together as a living organism.

Adam finished (teaching us about climax) with his Advance Australia Fair anthem to the tune of Jimmy Barnes Working Class Man. As he did so, the t-shirt girls, the singlet lasses, Maria, Gina and 11 year-old George joined him on stage holding big purple inflatable balloons.

It was simple, memorable and beautiful: the music, respect and humour were in deed alive with the sound of Adam Hills.

Where to from here:

• Which comedians have you seen live on stage?
• Do you have a favourite comic or two? What makes them good?
• What have you noticed about how comedians craft their shows? Do they have a plan and stick to it or do they bounce spontaneously? Do they blend the prepared with the spontaneous?

Mistakes - I Wrecked 'Em

2009-05-20T00:27:00.001-07:00

Thinking Cap piece that cheekily aired on ABC radio in May 2009. The concepts of mistakes and rectums weave throughout, plus I get to tell a very old joke. Many thanks to my pal Genia Landa for 'Pervi Blin Comom' also available as a song on Magic Brain CD itunes.

Poem Of Brothers in Arms - Garry & Glenn

2009-05-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

My brother and I
Threw rocks at each other
Tossing, then diving
Ducking for cover

He once hit me
In the back of the head: It bled
A good shot
Ten stitches sealed the lot

I once hit him right
Between the eyes
He was 28
I was 25
Just a mighty concussion
(It's not as if he died)

My brother and I
Through throwing rocks at each other
Eventually found time to finally discover
A HUG is as good as a boulder
If you both live long enough
To get older.

Cap Maps - FISH

2009-05-01T16:51:00.001-07:00

Had the pleasure of presenting Now, More than Ever, The people Revolution for the Australian Institute of Management with best selling business author Dr Stephen Lundin (Fish, Fish Tales, Cats...) plus Social Researcher and Demographer Mark McCrindle. I took notes!

There are hundreds of things you can do in Visual Note Taking (Cap Mapping) - use of colors, different types of hand writing, playing with size, symbols, techniques... The idea is to capture what is being said and what it sparks in your mind. Things to look for in this page include:

1. The Word Toxicity - Use of Concrete Word: making the word look like what it means
2. The Drawing of Stephen - It doesn't have to be accurate (sorry Stephen!) just enough of the features to help recall his look
3. Borders - Simple circles, rectangles and such can help the information Stand-Out
4. Design- You can read it in chunks or follow it right to left, up to down... could have used a Mind-Map or many other design possibilities

The beauty of Cap Maps is that there is a freedom of choice just as Stephen writes about in his work. Stay tuned for more example pages and 'tips'. Meanwhile, check out our CapMaps DVD at the shop www.glenncapelli.com

A Lengthy Issue

2009-04-26T16:34:00.001-07:00

Twitter is an instant, Facebook a bonding moment and relationships take time. As the girth span of we human beings seem to grow, the attention span seems to shrink. Aired on 720 ABC in March 2009. More Thinking Caps are available on itunes.

Scridoodling

2009-04-14T18:24:00.000-07:00

A scridoodle is a mix of scribble and doodle. The mind starts and the pen takes off and forms some image or collection of lines on a page. Sometimes it forms into a coherent whole (Pool Boy 2 semi self-portrait), other times it resembles a mess in ink or a rough collection of thought images. Some up coming scridoodles will demonstrate this theme. The thing with a scidoodle is that when I start to draw or muse I have no outcome in mind. I start and it continues. Then something emerges. Sometimes, it is in the looking back that meaning is made and innovation becomes apparent.

Songs and Days

2009-04-12T19:31:00.001-07:00

Wednesday's Child aired on ABC radio Australia in 2007 - a lament for Wednesdays and Thursdays when it comes to music. More Thinking Caps can be found on the Thinking Caps CD on itunes.

Slide Zen

2009-04-09T21:12:00.001-07:00

It is interesting that Powerpoint and general use of slides in presenting and educating is copping a bit of stick at the moment and the answer for a lot of presenters/educators is to not use the approach. I prefer the Ella Fitzgerald philosophy from the 1939 penned tune when she sings 't'aint what you do, it's the way that you do it'. Use slides (I prefer Keynote rather than Powerpoint) in such a way that they add value to your presentation and help to reach and teach folk in deeper layers. Therefore, slides as a teaching and reaching tool take thought and time in how you design, how you introduce them and what they can bring to certain learners that other elements of your design and delivery can not.
Perhaps it is easier to not use slides or to use slides that detract from the message and layers of meaning but easier may not be the best choice. I love the creative approach in designing slides (visuals, imbedded audio, original art work, thought of font, choice of transition...) that add layers of depth, meaning and entertainment. Slides are so much more than Bullet Points or videos stolen from youtube.
After I presented at the National Master Class for Professional Speakers in Sydney (March 2009), Paul Wallbank wrote Interestingly, at the National Speakers Convention over the weekend, I noticed most professional speakers have given up the use of PowerPoint or Keynote altogether. Most are going back to using butcher's paper and relying on simply their knowledge and passion for their topics. That's not to say PowerPoint is completely dead. One speaker who used the medium very well was Glenn Capelli, but his use of Apple Keynote was a far cry from the "heading-bullet point- bullet point-bullet point-corporate logo-next heading" type presentation we've all suffered through. Which showed the right tools used well can have stunning results. From http://www.smartcompany.com.au
Many thanks Paul for your words and more so your thinking beyond the words. Last year I ran a Slide Zen worshop and thoroughly enjoyed the way the attendees have taken to creative use of slide design to enhance learning. We will run more Slide Zen workshops this year in WA, Victoria and NSW. Maybe other states too.

The Return of the Passion Bum

2009-04-09T18:55:00.001-07:00

A Thinking Caps radio piece featuring my love of a good Caesar Salad and the passion of a tattoo on a bum. It aired (the piece, not the bum) in April 2009. A piece for understanding benchmarks, service and getting that get up and give it your best shot feeling. Passion - pass it on. PS. The Caesar Salad restaurant I first mention is The World Southbank Melbourne, a regular eatery for my wife Lindy, our mate Colin James and I.

Visual Journal

2009-04-07T18:12:00.000-07:00

Visual note taking is an eclectic combination of words, stick figures, shapes and designs to take notes and make notes. Taking notes is when you transcribe what a presenter or author is saying/writing. Making Notes is when you note down something for you that the speaker or writer has sparked in you. Often my Note Making is when something I have heard or read has sparked the idea for a song - either a song that the presenter can use in their presentation or a song that I might write myself. Sometimes my Note Making is related to methodology of presenting - how has the presenter portrayed their information? What methods have they used (or not used) in getting their messages across? Then, importantly, what does this mean for me as a learner and an educator? My Visual Journals started when I was around 12 years of age and continue to continue. They are my favourite resources and a document of a learning life in action (potholes and all). Check out our CapMaps DVD at The Shop www.glenncapelli.com

Smarty Pants

2009-03-12T15:42:00.001-07:00

David Perkins of Harvard fame wrote a book called Outsmarting IQ. I find Intelligence such an interesting and fluid concept - what my work is about is that Intelligence is a mix of Creative, Analytical, Practical and Emotional Smarts - a chumbawamba of a brew of a soup. Smarty Pants aired on ABC radio in 2008 and explores genes and the germs of beyond IQ. More Thinking Caps are on itunes CD.

Think Big. Start Small. Act Now.

2009-03-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

In Thomas Friedman's thoughtful and most recent release Hot, Flat and Crowded he quotes Governor Suebu of Papua as having a motto of Think Big, Start Small and Act Now. His reference is regarding the protection of tropical forests but I think it is a pretty nifty motto as a foundation philosophy for most things. Perhaps we could all play around with and extend the philosophy too. How about - Think Big. Start Small. Act Now. Head in the right direction. Or Think Big. Start Small. Act Now. Head in the right direction. But no need to skite about it. As Kev Carmondy and Paul Kelly remind us, from little things, big things grow. From big ideas, little actions start that become pathways to the future; a future where we may look back and say 'Thank God , we did something about it then'. As the collaborative eco team called the Vehicle Design Summit group say 'We are the people we have been waiting for'. Another nifty motto!

Budapest Conference

2009-02-26T15:32:00.000-08:00

Visual note taking can make for wonderful summaries of information. I spoke at a Conference in Budapest and created a variety of wall summaries for the participants. Check www.glenncapelli.com shop for our DVD CAPMAPS on how to create a variety of visual notes.

Jottings

2009-02-25T14:54:00.000-08:00

A journal is a beautiful thing. Ink, heart and thoughts become one. Sometimes a scribble can say something better.

CAPMAPS - Visual NoteTaking

2009-02-23T14:43:00.000-08:00

I was at a National Speaker's Meeting listening to London based Frank Furness CSP talk about aspects of this Speaking Life and some of his approach to spreading his word. The attached picture is page one of my notes and apologies to Frank for my art work of his moustache! I have kept journals since I was 12 and what has emerged in my journaling is a visual note taking approach we call Cap Maps (Creative, Analytical and Practical). Such a visual note taking system is based on a variety of Visual Approaches (Tony Buzan's wonderful Mind-Mapping is one of hundreds of visual techniques) and some of the principles of how memory works (Stand-Out Effect, Association, Chunking...) Check www.glenncapelli.com Shop for our DVD set on How to CAPMAP.

Leonard Cohen - Thinking Caps

2009-02-12T00:59:00.001-08:00

As a lad I read them all - the poems, the lyrics, the novels. Leonard Cohen saved me on a night or two. My mates couldn't understand - EMO hadn't been invented then. I wrote this piece for ABC 720 radio in Western Australia and it aired early in 2008. Last weekend Lindy and I watched Augie March (superb), Paul Kelly (beautiful) and the great man and band of Leonard Cohen. It was inspired and I wear my tour t-shirt proudly. May we all find beauty in the cracks that let the light in. More Thinking Caps can be found on itunes - Thinking Caps CD.

There Are Artists Within

2009-02-08T22:31:00.000-08:00

Sometimes we do not know what talent (what crayons) rest within until there is a spark.

A friend of mine started sculpting after she gave birth to her first child. Said that something was born within as she gave birth. Another friend (Botts - Andrew Belotti) discovered he could paint when he was doing Physical Therapy as part of his recovery with Guilliane-Barre Syndrome (GBS). Ironically, I received this letter from another old mate, Kiwi Mark Godwin, and his private artist within became public after his wife contracted GBS. He wrote:

Bron got sick with GBS in August 2007 which saw her in hospital from August 2007 until January 2008. I spent the first few weeks not knowing what to do with myself (as you know I dont drink..........much).

I was cleaning out my daughters wardrobe and found a blank canvas and some paints which at the time begged me to paint on it. I started my first masterpiece which just happenned to be the very first painting on my blog.

My daughter came home that night and said where did you buy that and I said that I had painted it. I am afraid my daughter didnt believe me and I arrived home the following night to find another blank canvas and a wee note saying prove it and the rest is history.

I have never had lessons and didnt know I could paint but I know that each of us can rise above our grief and problems to create things of beauty or things that we can stand back and say with self pride....................I did that!

When we fall we can use the ground beneath to help us, and those around us, to rise up. May all kinds of artists within - find a way out, an expression. Enjoy. Mark's blog is www.pictureitponderitpaintit.blogspot.com

Fitness Machine - igallop!

2009-01-08T22:32:00.001-08:00

When presenting in India I came across a newspaper article about a fitness machine called the igallop that guaranteed all users fitness, good looks and even a brighter personality. It set me thinking about all the fitness machines that live unused in sheds everywhere. This Thinking Caps piece aired on ABC 720 mid 2008. Other Thinking Cap pieces are available on itunes.

Teaching AUS - Alternative Upper School Wanneroo SHS

2009-01-06T20:46:00.000-08:00

25 years ago I was asked by Glynn Watkins, Betty Cockman and Gary Fisher to design a High School Experience for students at Wanneroo Senior High School who did not necessarily want to go onto University. I interviewed for an off-sider in this adventure and found an old football mate Rod (Nuttsy) Nunn. Together we designed a two tiered timetable with each student having an individual timetable that took precedent over the group timetable. The group timetable was part Summer Camp, part Kibbutz, part Work Experience, part Electives and part Communications 1 and 2. Communications 1 was me teaching English skills - talking, reading and writing with confidence. Communications 2 was Nuttsy and had maths and science as its base.We didn't know it then but the whole thing was really based on Kaizen; finding out what each student needed/wanted (sometimes not the same thing) and building their skills bit by bit working from a 'strengths and interests first' basis. 54 young folk made up the Wanneroo Alternative Upper School and recently former student (and current musician) Gary Jay Palfrey sent through a photo. Ahh the memories - an exciting, vibrant year and one where hair on the head still played a part in my life. The snap is the young me (to your left) with the young Nuttsy.

Thinking Caps - Blokes Manifesto

2008-12-05T15:26:00.001-08:00

The Blokes Manifesto was inspired by my mate Warren Butterworth (Butters) trying to change his nickname. Other inspirations were prompted by my wife Lindy. There have been Manifestos for many things - now it is time for blokes of the world to unite. The manifesto aired on ABC radio late November of 2008 and stacks of listeners sent through their suggestions for what other things needed to go into the Blokes manifesto and what things should be in a Blokettes (Womens) Manifesto. What additions would you make? For other Thinking Caps check out Thinking Caps CD Glenn Capelli on itunes - particularly Sea Squirts and The Sport of Urination link to this topic

Scratching Places

2008-12-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

To scratch is to seek ideas - to create an environment (internally and externally) that creates the freedom for ideas to flow. For some, ideas flow from meditation and an internal journey. For others it is about stretching your eyes, ears, arms to different sights, sounds and textures. For finance man and friend Harry Bronn, ideas flow when he takes himself to the challenge of the Simpson Desert in the heart of Australia. This is what harry says:

Thinking about what scratching means for me. From the blog it appears it "is an ideas hunt".

Reflecting on what my Simpson Desert 4WD trips mean, that will fall into the "my sense of identity" bucket.

I need to feel that freedom that comes with traveling that immense and limitlessness expanse. The clear sense of danger, which retreats if you do your preparation 110% and use that many layers of experience driving and traversing the challenging 1,000 plus dunes. The absolute feeling of remoteness and sense of self, the massive canopy of stars at night. The thought of being so much on your own and still not be alone. To know that you can do this large challenge without triggering a Tipping Point. That you are so alive and capable to do so much with your life.

The old Peter Sarstedt song asks 'Where do you go to my lovely, when you're alone in your bed, tell me the thoughts that surround you, I want to look inside your head...'. Where do you go to for ideas to flow?

Thinking Caps - If We Allow It, We Teach It

2008-11-06T21:42:00.001-08:00

One of my radio pieces on ABC 720. Dedicated to Glynn Watkins my former Principal when I started teaching at Wanneroo Senior High School. Glynn passed away in October 2008, two months after I recorded this piece and one week before it aired. This and other pieces feature in Thinking Caps book to be released in Jan 09 and other pieces are available on itunes Thinking Caps CD.

Passion Bums

2008-11-05T22:39:00.000-08:00

In their book The Art of Possibility Psychologist Rosamund Stone Zander and musician/conductor Benjamin Zander, Bejamin talks of musicians who play with great passion and refers to them as 'one buttock players'. He says that when musicians are truly inspired they play with such heart and emotion that they are in a state of physical flow. He noticed that in such flow their bodies would sway from side to side and impassioned piano players would sway from one buttock to the other. Given this he urges all musicians to become 'one-buttock players'.

Having the passion in your bum is one thing that defines true inspiration, having the passion printed on your bum is another. Consider this.

Recently at the Pharmaceutical Conference of Australia Dr Lisa Nissen, Senior Lecturer at University of Queensland was named 2008 PSA Pharmacist of the Year (along with co-recipient Angelo Pricolo). Lisa had also received Young Pharmacist of the year in 2002. As she received her award she oozed joy for her work and told everyone that after winning the Young award in 2002 she went straight out and had a Pharmacist’s Pestle and Mortar tattooed to her left buttock. Pure magic!

So, on behalf of Lisa I ask you, what is it that you are so passionate about that you would tattoo your bum with it? For me, it could be Neoteny (my life philosophy – check Thinking Caps CD on itunes for the description piece and song) but it may also be Kaizen – the passion for tiny, on-going improvements; ‘How better?’ thinking or Widezen – the passion for ‘How else?’ thinking. Perhaps I need three buttocks?

Bumble Bee

2008-11-01T22:55:00.001-07:00

A self-esteem song that honors diversity. Used by many schools and we teach it with some AUSLAN (sign language). I have also used it in some Keynote speeches and Innovation-Leadership work. Enjoy. Available on Songs for a Thinking Learning Classroom by Keith McDonald and myself www.glenncapelli.com and itunes.

Thinking (Lens) Cap

2008-10-31T04:08:00.001-07:00

A Lesson in Design - Walk from your front door and back in 30 minutes and take digital photos as you go. Turn some of the photographs into slides and as you see a theme emerge, write your text. Compile a lesson based around esteem and creativity. glenn@glenncapelli.com

A Speaking Life

2008-10-31T03:41:00.001-07:00

One of the beautiful things in presenting is to travel to different places to speak, educate and learn. My topics are always about Thinking Smarter, Learning Better, developing Innovative & Creative Cultures and Inspiring Leadership. glenn@glenncapelli.com

Catching and Then Hatching - Dr. Fiona Wood

2008-10-29T17:42:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of keynote speaking at the National Pharmaceutical Conference in Perth last weekend. The other keynote speaker was the wonderful Dr. Fiona Wood, Australian of the Year in 2005. In her presentation Fiona talked of how she and a colleague were working together and trying to apply sheets of skin tissue for a burns victim. In the struggle of this difficult work Fiona said to her colleague 'If only we could spray this stuff on'. Boom, eureka and magic. Later that day they both raced down to Jackson's Art Store and to the local supermarket and bought every spray nozzle can they could. Their prototype for the skin cell spray (ReCell® and Integra®) was an Italian Deodorant spray nozzle.

The message here is that often we say stuff:

* If only
* I wish

but don't notice that something worth catching has slipped out from our brain and mouth. Other times we might catch it (jot it down for instance) but then get too busy to do some hatching. Dr Woods noticed her sentence was worth both catching and hatching. Her on-going work and spray now do wonders and continue to make progress.

The other beauty of Dr Wood's presentation and work is the sheer entheos (enthusiasm and passion) she has for her work. It oozes. Perhaps even sprays.

Cap

Choose Joy Song & Art

2008-10-21T16:17:00.001-07:00

A Self-Esteem song written by Glenn Capelli & Keith McDonald. Available on Songs for a Thinking Learning Classroom from www.glenncapelli.com and on itunes

2008-10-17T15:48:00.000-07:00

Theme:

Some folk think of creativity as being some lightening bolt from the blue that strikes you with an idea, be it to draw a picture on this cave wall, make the wheel round or construct an ipod. However most creative folk have got a discipline to their process, a discipline used not only for getting their ideas but also for what they do once they have the idea.

Beyond Scratching - The Factions of Creative Actions

If scratching is an ideas hunt - digging through everything in order to find something, then what do you do after the scratch?

For me, there needs to be some catching of the scratching. Ideas man and educator Art Costa says that one of the unique things about the human mind is that we Store Information Outside of Our Bodies. In The Thinking Learning Classroom book (Glenn Capelli & Sean Brealey) we talk about one of the organisms of learning as being the SIOOB and ask how do you Store Information Outside Of your Body?

Do you –

• Write or draw on cave walls
• Paint on a canvas
• Type on a computer
• Scribble on a pad
• Fingertip on a Blackberry

And what do you do with the information and ideas once you have SIOOB-ed?

As I scratch (or after I’ve scratched) I catch and my favourite way of catching is my journal. Ever since I was a kid I have kept journals in which I draw and write ideas, thoughts, musings, confusions and other mental ablutions. Sometimes the thoughts spill into black ink on a page, other times they spill into a variety of colours from crayon tips. Some times the ink or colours spill as words, other times as drawings, sometimes as mind-maps but more often as a kind of visual explosion on the page.

In my catching I often draw a little symbol that alerts me to a potential idea imbedded in my inking. It might be that what I have jotted is an inking of an inkling for a potential song, a radio piece or simply something that deserves extra thought & research. Other times I might just write myself a note saying:

• Find and read this book
• Dig more in this area
• Link this idea to such and such a topic

These little notes to self become an extra prompt when I go back and look through my journals. And this is vital. The journal is not just a place in which I catch what I scratch through it is also a place that I revisit often in order to transform some of the jottings into plotting. I plot by asking myself ‘How can I use this?’

So the process is –

• Scratching
• Catching and then
• Hatching

The hatching is the transformation of the musing into something I might be using.

Being fine with rhyme, if I wanted to continue the Scratching, Catching and Hatching I might toss in the ideas of Patching and Latching.

To patch means to use an idea to solve a problem that already exists. To latch means to join the new idea with an existing idea and see what the combination brews.

However, patching and latching are not the only reasons I scratch, catch and hatch. The main reason for my journaling is to create possibilities that don’t already exist.

Racking my brain I seek a rhyme for the Scratching, Catching, Hatching, Patching and Latching and cryptically come up with Watching.

Watching is a process of watching (as in looking) and the sound of the word action. To take waction is to observe with an active intent:

• What can this become
• What can I do with this
• What doesn’t exist now that could exist if I put this idea into action
• What will happen if we did this, what consequence will emerge from this creation

Watching is to:

• Do a variety of potential rock throws into the future
• Build a prototype by kluging some rough bits of plastic, string and such together’
• Do a trial
• Test for potential errors
• Bring a physical representation to the abstraction

Each of us is a creative being to some degree and each of us will have different ways to Scratch, Catch and Hatch let alone different ways of Patching, Latching and Watching our Hatchings. We might even have a different sequence of how we go about our creative process or maybe at times it is not so much of a sequence as a continuous development of parallel processes. All things happening at all times and occasionally entwining like triple or quadruple helixes.

Phew – something to think about or something to scratch through perhaps. Enjoy your hatching.

Where to from here:

• Do any of you keep a creative journal? If so, how long have you been doing this for and what goes into it?
• Who can explain to us (in writing or by phone) how you best scratch (look for ideas), catch (hold ideas) and hatch (use the ideas to create something in reality)
• A kluge is a clumsy or inelegant – yet surprisingly effective - solution to a problem often using bits and pieces. Do you kluge? Do you do your thinking by tinkering?

Glenn Capelli
www.glenncapelli.com
Professional Speaker

Scratching - Creativity

2008-10-09T23:56:00.000-07:00

Theme:

Where does a creative idea begin? What do you do when faced with a blank page, canvas or a lump of clay? After reading Twyla Tharp’s impressive book The Creative Habit Glenn Capelli discovers that to put on your creative Thinking Cap you might need a good old scratch to get your creative mind to come up to scratch.

Scratching

There was once a man who got into a London cab and in casual conversation asked the driver ‘How’ve you been?’ The driver responded that he was ‘Working hard, in fact it felt like he was working eight days a week’. The passenger had never heard this phrase before and etched it in his mind. When he arrived at his friend’s place – the destination of his lift – he shared the phrase. ‘Right’ said his mate and then the two pals sat down together and started writing ‘Ooh I need your lovin’… eight days a week.

That is one story of how the Beatles got to write and record Eight Days a Week in October of 1964. Another story says that the phrase Eight Days A Week was a Ringoism – a phrase used by Ringo Star to complain about the Beatles workload.

Whether it was a shooting Star quote or a caught phrase in a cab, Paul McCartney had an ear for melody as well as an ear for a phrase. He picked up on a line from ordinary conversation and then he and John Lennon turned it into magic.

Another song writing bloke was in need of a good idea because the operettas he and his writing partner were creating had started to lose favour. To clear his mind and kick-start it in a different way, he went to a London exhibition of Japanese Culture. The man was W.S. Gilbert and the exhibition inspired an idea that became The Mikado. An idea that then inspired his writing partner Arthur Sullivan to compose arguably his greatest musical score.

The American choreographer Twyla Tharp in her book The Creative Habit describes the process of finding an idea as scratching. She believes most creative folk are not simply hit by a thunderbolt of an idea (or an apple falling from a tree) but that most creative folk are scratchers – the thing you do when you can’t wait for the thunderbolt to come and hit you. Scratching is digging through everything in order to find something.

Imagine a woman splashing hot black wax onto panes of glass then looking for possibilities in the way the wax forms patterns. That’s how leading Australian contemporary artist Lindy Lee scratches. In the ABC series Artscape – Artists at Work she describes the patterns as a splat and that the splat is unique. It gives birth to a design on glass or silk or panels.

Imagine a man screwing up a piece of paper and tossing the paper on a table then examining and re-examining the paper before hitting upon an idea of what shape the roof of a Museum could be. The man is architect Frank Gehry and the paper becomes the pattern for the roof of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao though it could have also been inspirational in the design of the Dancing House in Prague or the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown LA.

Lindy Lee scratched with wax, Frank Gehry with paper, Twyla Tharp scratches with anything, anywhere to get a starting point to something, somewhere that eventually becomes one of her 130 plus original dance choreographies.

Some creative folk change their scenery in order to scratch. A trip to Firenze, Kathmandu or Timbuktu might be just the thing to fire the creative fingernails. After a failed album in 1983 (Hearts & Bones), and a failed second marriage to actress Carrie Fisher, singer songwriter Paul Simon cured his supposed Writer’s Block with a journey to the musical sounds of South Africa. In 1986 he released the ground breaking Graceland album inspired by what he heard as he scratched his way around South Africa.

Some folk travel the world and scratch the sounds, sights and tastes of diverse cultures others stay in their bedroom and scratch their bum in memory of things past. French writer and philosopher Marcel Proust, spend most of his time living in his bedroom at his parents’ house rarely straying from his cork-lined room. (Cork lined? Can anyone explain?) Yet, he still scratched his way to bucket loads of ideas that ended up in huge books that influenced many thousands of great minds.

So, whether you stay in and scratch your own posterior or go out and scratch the world, when you need a creative idea, scratch.

Scratch until you find the inkling for the ink, the baby steps for the dance, the hint of the angel within the marble, the cabby’s sentence that unravels the song. Creativity requires a tangible idea to get it going. So, where do YOU scratch?

Do you:

• Collect interesting newspaper clippings
• Listen to music that is not usually on your playlist
• Read competitively (Twyla Tharp says she reads competitively in memory of Mark Twain’s line that ‘the man who does not read has no advantage over the man who can not’)
• Read broadly and randomly
• Visit galleries and art websites
• Listen to the everyday talk of everyday folk in everyday lives full of everyday miracles

Get into the creative habit of scratching; get into the creative habit of a singing nun – how do you solve a problem like Maria? – Scratch.

Then turn the ideas into other ideas; brew them, chumbawamba them, mix them into an everyday creativity – a surprise for your kids, a gift for your partner, a new concept for your work… perpetual scratcher Helen Keller, blind, deaf and speechless wrote ‘Make your life itself a creative work of art’.

Start scratching!

Glenn Capelli

Where to from here?

• Where do you go to get an idea – do you take a trip, go for a walk, have a shower? Consider your own mechanisms of scratching
• Can any writers, artists, sculptors, songwriters… pinpoint where their idea for a particular work started? Was it a thunderbolt or a scratching process or a bit of both?
• I recently ran a series of workshops for scientists and researchers at the Western Australian institute of Medical Research – one of the things we explored is that often science breakthroughs (and Nobel Prizes) have not occurred from a Eureka moment but more from looking at something and thinking ‘that’s odd’. Consider