2007 – Page 3 – The Narrative Lab

Crime and Abortion :: Correlation or Causality?

n a recent radio commentary (John Robbie, on 702 on the 20th of September 2007) it was noted that research is coming out of the United States and also the UK that suggests that the legalization of abortion could have something to do with the decrease in certain types of crime. One of the most popular treatises on this topic is by economist Steven D. Levitt and journalist Stephen J. Dubner, calledFreakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. At first [...]

By Aiden Choles|September 20th, 2007|Categories: Abortion|Tags: abortion causality, Complexity, correlation, crime, Freakonomics|0 Comments

Welcome

... to The Narrative Lab. We are an organisation that specialises in using narrative techniques to help companies make sense of complex problems. On this site you will find information about us in the form of our blog where Aiden, Raymond and Sonja write about narrative and complexity. The Narrative Lab is the emergent outcome of 3 minds coming together to explore the nature of narrative, assist companies in finding value through narrative and tocreate something new.

By Aiden Choles|September 20th, 2007|Categories: welcome|0 Comments

The new simplicity

One of the phrases Dave Snowden uses to describe Cognitive Edge and the use of complexity theory in organisations is 'the new simplicity'. During our course last week, I reflected on this with some of the participants. It's interesting how often we 'over-complicate' things. We over-analyse problems and come up with such complicated solutions, that we're often doomed to failure before we even start! Ironically, the opposite is also true - often we just don't think things through. How many times have [...]

By Aiden Choles|September 20th, 2007|Categories: Cognitive Edge|0 Comments

Narrative: Getting more than you bargained for

I sometimes wonder if business leaders know what they’re missing out on by not embracing narrative techniques within their businesses. I remember facilitating an Anecdote Circle that drove this point home for me (which also caught the business by surprise a little). It was the first time this business had engaged in a narrative process when dealing with a problem. The issue at hand was a particularly bad run of resignations that had gutted the business of talented individuals during the [...]

By Aiden Choles|September 18th, 2007|Categories: Narrative|0 Comments

Undiscussables and Fishbowls

I recently ran a workshop where I combined two techniques from Peter Senge's 5th Disciple Fieldbook, namely Undiscussable topics, and the Fishbowl. I modified them both slightly to create a really revelatory experience for the participants. The context was a leadership development workshop, but my main intention was to present a diagnostic case for improving communication, and the way of working. I asked the team of 20 senior managers to write on cards what they thought would be "undiscussable" topics - [...]

By Aiden Choles|July 9th, 2007|Categories: Uncategorized|0 Comments

Yearly Archives: 2007

Crime and Abortion :: Correlation or Causality?

Welcome

The new simplicity

Narrative: Getting more than you bargained for

Undiscussables and Fishbowls

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