CONTACTS 

SUBJECTS
SDS Marketing, Application, Leadership Communications
Reengineering Communications, Executive Mind set
Communications & Communication Metrics Teamwork, Executive Work Pra  ices
Meetings, Facilitator; Listening Feel Good Management - Social Constrai  s
Talking & Listening Inadequate Reading and Writing, Not Enough Time
Dialog, Listening Maintain Shared Meaning Email, Meetings
Prepared, Nobody Has Time on Information
Education Communication Teaches Dialog Conversation Speaking Skills f

2810 -
2810 -    ..
2811 - Summary/Objective
2812 -
281201 - Follow up ref SDS 33 0000, ref SDS 32 0000.
281202 -
281203 - This brochure reflects popular training for executive effectiveness
281204 - through stronger dialog and listening skills, under the executive
281205 - mindset to lead by conversation and avoid reading and writing cited on
281206 - 960227, ref SDS 31 2004, reviewed previously from 1990 Asilomar event,
281207 - ref SDS 1 6678, with Axiom ref SDS 8 4392,
281208 -
281209 -     [On 960321 WSJ article says "listening" improves management and
281210 -     meetings. ref SDS 35 0400]
281212 -      ..
281213 -     [On 991123 SkillPath teaches verbal skills for communication.
281214 -     ref SDS 37 1989]
281215 -
281216 -
281217 -
281219 -  ..
2813 -
2814 -
2815 - Progress                             408 438 8350
2816 -
281601 - Received the Dialogos brochure ref DRT 1 line 19, from Cindy following
281602 - up our telecon at ref SDS 33 line 74.
281603 -     ..
281604 -     The brochure offers what seem to be dictionary definitions
281605 -     for the following words:
281606 -
281607 -             Dialogue
281608 -             Culture
281609 -             Discussion
281610 -             Listen
281611 -             Participate
281613 -  ..
281614 -
281615 -     These terms focus on interpersonnel conversation skills, as
281616 -     implied by the firm name: Dialogos, in order to improve
281617 -     communications and leadership, similar to approach of Axiom on
281618 -     950411, ref SDS 8 7730.
281619 -
281620 - The brochure explains "dialogue" as:
281621 -
281622 -         ... a discipline for communication and shared thinking
281623 -         designed to harness the collective intelligence of groups of
281624 -         people.
281626 -      ..
281627 -     This reflects the ideas presented at the 1990 Asilomar conference
281628 -     on planning theater. ref SDS 1 8409 and ref SDS 1 2299
281629 -     ..
281630 -     There is no evident treatment of weaknesses in reliance on
281631 -     dialogue, set out at the Asilomar Conference, ref SDS 1 2299.
281632 -
281634 -      ..
281635 -     No "Metrics" to Avoid False Knowledge
281636 -
281637 -     There is no treatment of "metrics" and the induction factor that
281638 -     causes misunderstanding, miss-communication, error, Murphy's Law,
281639 -     set out in NWO ... paper ref OF 2 line 480, ref OF 2 line 595,
281640 -     [discussed at ref SDS 34 0990.]
281641 -
281643 -  ..
281644 - Productive Dialogue
281645 -
281646 - The brochure indicates Dialogos can provide training and support to
281647 - make meetings productive, ref DRT 1 line 37.  One dimension of this is
281648 - better verbal and listening skills.  This is a key attribute of strong
281649 - leadership.  Talking people into things, and grasping what others have
281650 - in mind.
281651 -
281652 -     [See PMI event where getting people to say "yes" is goal of
281653 -     leadership, ref SDS 36 3095, but that executives do not have
281654 -     enough time to "think." ref SDS 36 3479]
281655 -
281657 -  ..
281658 - Being Prepared is Not Cited as Part of Leadership
281659 -
281660 - There is nothing in the Dialogos document about the role of being
281661 - prepared to make meetings productive, cited in the recent AP article
281662 - as the primary cause of wasted time in meetings, ref SDS 22 5902.
281663 -
281664 - I cannot find the following words in the Dialogos brochure:
281665 -
281666 -        prepare
281667 -        plan
281668 -        research
281669 -        investigate
281670 -        analysis
281671 -        intelligence
281672 -        read
281673 -        write
281674 -        record
281675 -        report
281676 -        accurate
281677 -        confirm
281678 -        verify
281679 -        document
281680 -        follow up
281681 -        understanding
281682 -           ..
281683 -           "Understanding" actually appears once at the end of
281684 -           the brochure to explain services of a Dialogos associate on
281685 -           work and family.
281686 -
281688 -      ..
281689 -     Conversation Is Fast and Easy
281690 -
281691 -     How can a meeting be "productive" without preparing, research,
281692 -     investigating, reading, writing, understanding, verify, follow up?
281693 -
281695 -          ..
281696 -         Reading and Writing Omitted from Executive Skills
281697 -
281698 -         It appears that the primary knowledge tool of western
281699 -         civilization, reading and writing, is not an element of
281700 -         executive training, reflected by the executive mindset see for
281701 -         example ref SDS 31 2004, and from firms who do executive
281702 -         training, like Axiom, per ref SDS 8 4392.
281703 -
281705 -          ..
281706 -         Learning is Key Executive Skill
281707 -
281708 -         This firm, Dialogos, seeks to accomplish the objective of
281709 -         enabling executives to accomplish "continual learning" as
281710 -         described in the article at ref SDS 7 3381, per review of
281711 -         Drucker, e.g., ref SDS 4 5820, and on "analysis," ref SDS 5
281712 -         7911, by developing "good listening" and possibly "group
281713 -         think" methods, rather than using the Covey idea of sharpening
281714 -         the saw by keeping a daily journal, ref SDS 3 1121, similar to
281715 -         Welch Management Method, ref SDS 2 4930.
281716 -
281718 -      ..
281719 -     Feel Good Management
281720 -     Listening Alone Does Not Yield Understanding, Learning, Leading
281721 -
281722 -     What is being produced at meetings where dialogue and listening
281723 -     are the objectives?
281724 -
281725 -         The aim appears to be to make people feel comfortable about
281726 -         working together, i.e., participating, as reflected by the
281727 -         placement of the definitions of "dialogue" and "listening" at
281728 -         the top of the brochure.
281729 -
281730 -         "Feel Good Management" was originally considered at ref SDS 2
281731 -         1331, at ref SDS 11 8853.
281732 -
281733 -         "Listening" was reviewed under Covey at ref SDS 3 5903, and
281734 -         later at ref SDS 6 4485.
281735 -     ..
281736 -     How does this help the customer?
281738 -      ..
281739 -     Can this be related to "reengineering"?
281740 -
281741 -
281743 -  ..
281744 - Process of Deep Inquiry?
281745 -
281746 - Dialogos contends dialogue is a process of deep inquiry, ref DRT 1
281747 - line 38, but there is nothing presented on how this occurs.  "Deep"
281748 - suggests going beyond how we feel at the moment, to evaluate what is
281749 - said today, with prior representations, other ("original") sources,
281750 - like a contract, a magazine article, a letter, a phone call.  The
281751 - brochure does not indicate how such depth is accomplished by the
281752 - Dialogos process.
281754 -  ..
281755 - Dialogos' approach seems similar to ideas Bob Gillis' presented at
281756 - Asilomar in 1990 on Management Communications discussing "shared
281757 - visual memory" from planning theater methods, ref SDS 1 8409 and at
281758 - ref SDS 1 2299, which he recently characterized as "collaborative
281759 - brain power" per ref SDS 9 6883.
281760 - ..
281761 - There is nothing apparent in the brochure on how shared meaning
281762 - is maintained and integrated into the work flow, i.e., how is the
281763 - stuff followed up?
281764 -
281766 -  ..
281767 - The Dialogos brochure offers similar sounding solutions to those
281768 - offered by Communication Metrics.
281769 -
281770 -     The brochure indicates the importance of making "connections" but
281771 -     does not set out what needs to be connected, how to do it, nor who
281772 -     performs the work, ref DRT 1 line 44.
281773 -
281774 -         There are vague references to "experience" as a key part of
281775 -         human interaction which is "fragmented" and that "connecting"
281776 -         our experience can be helpful?  There is no explanation of
281777 -         what this means, where the connections are created, or how to
281778 -         use them, extend them.  Does it reflect Stephen Covey's idea
281779 -         to "sharpen the saw?"
281780 -         ..
281781 -         Examples are given of organizations that are
281782 -         "fragmented" into marketing and engineering, and by geography,
281783 -         and that connecting the fragments means paying attention to
281784 -         the nature of the whole not only to the parts, ref DRT 1 line
281785 -         55.
281786 -
281787 -            Presumably Dialogos aim is be paid to explain what this
281788 -            means and how it helps people.  At this remove it is an
281789 -            open question.
281790 -
281791 -
281792 -
281793 -
281794 -
2818 -