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Paul Jackson Associates
34A Clarence Road
St. Albans AL1 4NG

+44 (0)7973 953586

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Switch - what Chip & Dan Heath's new book adds to the SF repertoire

Sat, 26/06/2010 - 08:50 | Paul

Switch – How to change things when change is hard

Chip & Dan Heath

This is a curious book. Its strength is its collection of wonderful stories, clearly and simply told. They are drawn from politics, organisations and individuals – something to appeal to everybody.

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The engineer who became a clown who became a facilitator

Sat, 19/06/2010 - 08:07 | Paul

Rachel West is the engineer who became a clown who became a facilitator.

At the AMED Writers’ Workshop, she showed us how a bit of skill, dressed up as performance, can be very impressive to an audience.

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Stanley Kubrick, coincidence and The Guardian

Tue, 08/06/2010 - 16:18 | Paul

There's a Stanley Kubrick exhibition at my local museum. It's been on for several weeks and continues for several more. I knew I wanted to see it, and for no particular reason I went there today. I hadn't any plan to go until I was walking past and reminded myself it was on.

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Improvising in football - World Cup approaching

Mon, 07/06/2010 - 08:22 | Paul

The World Cup approaches, very strictly structured and tightly organised on the pitch – yet certain to provoke controversy when decisions in matches are seen as unfair. When football began – with spontaneous kicking of a pig’s bladder, there were no rules. Well, maybe a few – first remove the pig, for example. Then we had the crucial game-defining concept of two teams facing each other, aiming for the goals at each end. Then probably limits on acceptable levels of violence.

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Metaphors in organisations – and Netherland

Sat, 05/06/2010 - 13:23 | Paul

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Creating successful networks

Sat, 27/03/2010 - 10:13 | Paul

I've been studying more and less successful networks to identify what works well. These seem to be some of the characteristics:

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Conversation as a fundamental unit of change

Mon, 01/02/2010 - 12:02 | Paul

Conversation is the link between such disparate professional disciplines as coaching, facilitating, training, negotiating and selling.

What differentiates each of these activities is their contexts. Each has a different structure, a discrete set of rules – in other words, each is a different ‘Game’.

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How improvisational is your New Year?

Wed, 13/01/2010 - 11:01 | Paul

A neat way of raising the profile of Applied Improvisation is to notice examples in the world around us, then name them and claim them. So if you see an individual or an organisation succeeding by tackling something improvisationally, you can point it out. Likewise, if they seem stuck in a script that no longer serves them well, you might comment on how improvisation might be a more useful response.

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Improvising Small Steps

Thu, 15/10/2009 - 00:38 | Paul

I notice that more than a thousand of us have signed up to be part of the Applied Improvisation Network – http://appliedimprov.ning.com – of which I’m currently president. I’m guessing that means we all have an interest in developing the field of applied improvisation – perhaps to generate more work for ourselves, or to learn more about how improvisation can impact the world of organisations and communities.

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Impro In Conversations

Sat, 27/12/2008 - 00:39 | Paul

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
– Charles Darwin

Interactions are at the heart of constructive conversations. In Solutions Focus we have a saying: “The action is in the interaction”. And because each interaction is unique – in context or content – it takes an element of spontaneity to give it value.

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“Our Executive Leadership Program was a tremendous success. We got an overall evaluation of 4.9 on a 5.0 scale (almost unheard-of here for a first time 'pilot'). Your training was instrumental in getting us grounded and off to a good start in terms of design. Thanks so much again!” Procter & Gamble

“I liked the chance to have a go at lots of different things in a stretching but risk-free environment - good fun!!” Tesco

“The training was action-oriented and very much geared to participation….gives both the tools and the confidence to work effectively.” Oxfam

“Enjoyable and informative: this is the way forward.” Brook Street

“The session definitely exceeded our expectations and gave us a whole new perspective to think about structured learning experiences within P&G. Well worth the time spent. Appreciate all your hard work.” Procter & Gamble

“Ideas, inspiration, processes for getting more creative ideas out of people. Loved it.” Greenpeace UK

“…they are now working and thinking much more as a unit, and it is encouraging to see the investment in the course reap such rewards.” Audit Commission

“Tour-de-force” Partner, Grant Thornton

“Very good investment of time… really does make a difference.” Senior consultant, Fujitsu

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