Friday, August 14, 2009
Nipun Mehta
3:00PM

Present: Barbara Fields, Nipun Mehta, Tom Zender

If you were to start injecting important points or design items to put into this meeting…

N: an emphasis on some of those non-denominational spiritual things; moments of silence

Room for small group brainstorming things; how can we accelerate serendipity, without trying to structure something, but do our best to get out of the way so it’s going at the speed it needs to.

T: part 1: check our egos at the door: part 2: the group already knows but needs to be reminded about allowing serendipity, the field, to unfold…be in a state of not knowing. Not having preconceived ideas when we come in.

B: a place where we can actually be fresh. I keep finding myself in the same meeting. All the real fresh conversations I can rely on having our the new 20-30 somethings, new language, new concepts. But we also don’t want to waste resources without accomplishing something meaningful. Enough structure without constraint.

N: introductions are usually filled with some kind of agenda. We could pair people up and have each person introduce each other.

B: love that idea. Using the mapping software to present hard facts.

N: People would have to do a little research ahead of time….check out websites etc. and express it in a way that resonates with my values. It’s going to have my footprint on it, but it’s not about me; it’s abut ocean. It’s a good way to learn about someone elses’s work on an intimate level and set the tone for the day being about others.

B: and they could have the opportunity to add something that is very important to their work.

T: similar idea for coming into it without an agenda, or ideas about how it should be?

N: when you don’t know you’re open to infinite possibilities. How is it being framed/perceived by most people. What are they after?

B: we’re going to put the feedback back out to you. We’re not picking up on the ega/agenda thing much. Everyone is thinking we’re all part of one, working on same vision, specializing on our own corner of manifesting that. They want to know what we have learned from your experience that can help them get to the place in their work quicker.

It’s about breaking through paradigms. It turns out everyone has put themselves in precarious positions to be of service to that.

T: I grew up in the corporate world of vertical hierarchy that has been shifting. When I was putting together one of my websites, I heard Nipun and decided to give it away and let it do what it does. The people developing my websites are young…I was going to tell them what to do…but it became clear that they know it, not me. They have done incredible things for me.

B: that’s usually the case in fields like technology, but not in areas where we think we are the specialists.

T: a lot of my career was marketing. But these young people each had a piece of marketing that transcended my knowing, and I had to give it up. Listening is one of the keys.

N: when you’re younger, you can get into the naïve arrogance about this is the new way, etc. anything random is a new paradigm….but it’s important to be respectful of what you’ve seen so far.

What would it take for us to get into that I don’t know state. Exposure to radical ideas and schools of thought, at the level of innovative ideas in your field of work that you have heard and seen and been impressed by that you would like to share with the whole group. One radical idea that you couldn’t have come up with.

There’s a place for your own ideas too. But bringing the offering of one radical idea….ritualize it a little so there’s some sacred space around that.

B: There will still be a place to roll in the excitement/passion of what they’re doing.

What makes you come alive is a big part of it; brings the energy level up, and everyone feels it.