Beginning the conversation

Okay, inspired by two days of often intense discussion during the Board Retreat, I decided to go ahead and start this blog. It really is quite simple and not nearly as mysterious as it would seem. My intention is to use this to post news, thoughts, updates, queries, whatever strikes me as important at any point in the day. I hope that it will inspire responses and reactions and that we can advance the overall discussion in an informal way.

Since I got it started, I get to set a couple of ground rules. One is respect. The intention of this is to allow for open and honest discussion and disagreement if necessary, but always in a respectful way. Two is helpful. We need to keep in mind that the intention of this informal discussion is to advance the organization and its mission. Three is relevance. I define this very broadly. I hope to use this vehicle to keep interested participants informed and engaged. There is often much going on that we do not communicate and this vehicle may be a simple way to do it. So do not be afraid to ask questions. I realised in listening to Buzz and Eric that there is much jargon that they obviously understand but I don't. It makes me wonder if perhaps we get into too much jargon ourselves.

So another principle is asking questions. If there is something that needs clarifying, amplifying or simplifying, don't be afraid or reluctant to ask a question (remember Rule #1 - we all will respect that you have enough interest to ask, not ridicule you for not already knowing).

As this is an introductory post, I will stop this one here and follow on with a substantive post. Thanks for being part of the conversation. I'll see you in cyberspace! - Louis