In My Family…

An old story whose origins are unknown to Google is about a relatively newlywed couple who wanted to divide chores evenly having weekly arguments about whose turn it was to mow the lawn. Other household tasks weren’t a problem. The husband had his responsibilities, the wife had hers, and each was comfortable with the assigned tasks with the exception of lawn mowing. They had agreed to take turns but had trouble tracking whose turn it was from week to week. After months of arguing about whose turn it was to mow the lawn, the wife blurted out, “In my family, . . . → Read More: In My Family…

The Winter of Our Discontent

I owe the title of this blog entry to William Shakespeare, who put those words in the mouth of King Richard III. Richard’s words were a metaphor for difficult times under the previous king rather than commentary on a polar vortex of the sort we’ve been experiencing in much of the U.S. this winter. For many in the States, this has been the coldest winter with the most ice and snow that we’ve had for several years.

Meanwhile, Melbourne, Australia, has been so hot that those playing tennis in the Australian Open have been wilting in the heat, . . . → Read More: The Winter of Our Discontent

Adventures in Mesotherapy

“Mesotherapy” may be a new word to you. It was new to me until recently. I will explain, but first a little history: Debra and I were scheduled to speak at the March 2012 ICIM conference in Lexington, Kentucky. In the process of preconference email discussions with Dr. William Faber, the doctor who had invited Debra and me to speak, I asked whether osteopaths had a way of addressing impaired hearing, which has been a concern of mine for the past few years. (You can download an ebook version of Dr. Faber’s book, The Osteopathic Medicine Advantage: How Medical Miracles . . . → Read More: Adventures in Mesotherapy

The Importance of Inoculation

In the book, Persuasion Engineering, and in workshops of the same name, Richard Bandler and John La Valle discuss the concept of “inoculation.” In medicine, the shot you receive to inoculate you against a particular disease anticipates your exposure to a pathogen and teaches your immune system how to respond appropriately so that you can avoid the disease. It’s a good metaphor to creating resistance to harmful ideas in a wide variety of change work, including sales, behavioral change, and therapeutic interventions.

If you buy a new car, say an ABC from the DEF dealership, not long after you . . . → Read More: The Importance of Inoculation