Presence at Work

Posted by Steve Marshall Follow me on Twitter

Tim Malnick

Tim Malnick was a founder member of our community in the days of the early conversations at Hawkwood when meus was stumbling into life.  Since then, Tim has regularly offered his thoughtful, guiding influence to the team and we are now delighted to collaborate with him on his workshop series, Presence at Work.

Beginning in September, Presence at Work is designed as a series of one-day taster workshops which are gateways into deeper explorations.  The workshops can be booked singly, in combinations, or as a whole series.  

Since companies like Google and sports stars like Jonny Wilkinson have become known for using meditation in their work, the potential of the practice has been brought back into the public arena.  Building on the foundation of awareness and mindfulness within the context of work, Tim will explore issues such as the paradox of ambition, the roots of stress and burnout, leadership and presence, and the nature of ethical decision making.

Each workshop includes teaching input using both ancient and contemporary frameworks, personal reflection, experiential exercises and  group dialogue to deepen your thinking.  For more details and a booking form, please see our events page on this blog or visit our website.

Diary Dates:

Workshop 1: 13 September - London

Workshop 2: 14 October - London

Workshop 3: 21 November - London

Workshop 4: 20 January - London

Workshop 5: 21 February - London

Tim Malnick is a founding associate of meus. He is a faculty member at Ashridge Business School, co-director of their MSc in Sustainability and Responsibility and a member of the Ashridge Centre for Action Research. He is also a visiting professor at Rotterdam Erasmus Business School.

A Pause for Breath

Posted by Steve Marshall  Follow me on Twitter

When I think back to my first days as a fledgling consultant, keenly independent yet hopelessly naive as I stepped out into the world of freelance practice, I realise how lucky I was to bump into people who freely gave their time and energy to help me on my way.  Over the years, things have changed for me but I still value those connections and, as we build meus, try to find time to help along anyone who might be in the same position as I was when I was starting out.

One of my good friends from the early days, and still a highly valued colleague, is Amanda Ridings of Originate.  Here we are messin' around at the Andy Goldsworthy exhibition at Yorkshire Sculpture Park a couple of years ago. Amanda is, as usual, demonstrating crystal clear clarity as I mess around in the murk of Goldsworthy's dung-smeared window. (Erm, yeah, he really did that..!)

Amanda has been a key influence on my practice since the early days; we worked together on dialogue within the NHS and experimented with dialogue, tai-chi and visual methods with a specially selected group of OD practitioners in the magical setting of the New Lanark world heritage site.

I was fully underway with my doctoral studies when we made this picture and Amanda was starting to write about dialogue and mindfulness, both of which are cornerstones to her unique and impressive consulting practice.  

Anyway, Amanda's book, Pause for Breath is now out and here it is! You can read an excerpt on the ALIA website.  I was lucky enough to get a sneak preview and found that Amanda had written a real gem for anyone bringing dialogue and mindfulness to their work. 

This is what I offered for the back cover blurb: 

"I have a small number of books that rarely find their way onto my library shelves.  These are the ones to which I refer constantly and have become touchstones of my practice.  They are full of good stories, practical examples, interesting questions and well-tested wisdom. Over the years, they have become dog-eared, flagged, annotated and stuffed full of notes. They travel with me and I never loan them.  Amanda's 'Pause for Breath' will become one of those books."

Pause for Breath will be available from 4th July - you can order it here and I will have it on our 'Resources' sidebar in the next couple of days.