Adapted from the book, Tribal Alchemy: Turning What You Have Into What You Need. (2016). Dave Fleming. A Tribal Alchemy Resource. At the beginning of the Apollo 13 “build-a-filter” scene, the Tiger Team enters the room to receive instructions. (NOTE: You can read about the true story of the filter, here). An engineer [...]
When people work with you, is it too easy or too difficult to oppose you? Indicators it's too easy to oppose you At the first sign of opposition, you Yield your position Change your position State that you're probably not qualified to speak on the issue anyway Look to align with the predominant view [...]
Adapted from the book, Tribal Alchemy: Turning What You Have Into What You Need. (2016). Dave Fleming. A Tribal Alchemy Resource. We’ve got to figure out a way to put a square peg in a round hole. Deep into the Apollo 13 crisis, this iconic mandate was given to a group of NASA [...]
Frustrated Frank: I really wish you would’ve let me know before you made that decision. Hard Charging Hanna: Sorry. I thought we were moving forward based on my conversation with Joe. Frustrated Frank: Well, Joe didn’t have all the information when you talked with him. This affects my team in big time. In [...]
Remember the game, Telephone? A circle of people--one by one--whisper a word or phrase to each other until the last person utters the phrase out loud so the group can see if/how it has changed. It's amusing to see what happens to the phrase by the time it's announced. It's one thing to keep [...]
Adapted from the book, Tribal Alchemy: Turning What You Have Into What You Need. Dave Fleming. 2016. A Tribal Alchemy Resource. --- Words are like potatoes; they are full of rich nutrients (meaning) until we strip them down, deep-fry them, and add salt. Take the word, discover. The first definition Merriam-Webster’s provides for the [...]
Want a high performing team? Then don't make teamwork your primary goal. If "creating a great team" replaces the ingenious accomplishment of your mission, you'll likely miss on both fronts. Collective ingenuity-- in service of the mission-- is the goal. Develop teamwork to support that goal. Position any teamwork exercises as an enhancement of [...]
We know how important it is to live in the present moment. If we live in the past, we lose connection to our energy. If we live in the future, we lose connection to our resources. However, engaging in the present doesn't mean the past and future are unimportant elements of an ingenious life. In [...]
A number of years ago a friend asked me to speak to her college art class about artful living. The college was located in downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I arrived early—which seems to be a dysfunction of mine— and decided to walk around the streets of the city. At one point, I noticed a cluster of [...]
For decades, the focus of strategic planners has been the creation of measurable activities in the pursuit of a goal. Sounds great. The only trouble is that the "desired outcomes" (of a group) often remain unclear or misaligned. And when desired outcomes are unclear or misaligned, measurable action is unlikely to get people what they [...]
