In her recent book The Art of Gathering, Priya Parker impels us to prepare well for our gatherings. She reminds us to probe with questions such as: Who is this event for? What do they most want to get from it? Whether preparing for an executive leadership retreat, a 90th birthday party, or a virtual […]
At GLP we use the word “design” to describe what we do when we create learning events. I’ve always loved that term (Thank you, Jane). It has to do not only with how a learning process “looks” on the outside – but how it FEELS on the inside. I think of it like this… The […]
by Jane Vella with Valerie Uccellani On the Brink of Everything: Grace, Gravity & Getting Old by Parker Palmer, 2019 From Jane: I found this a delightful, informative, funny, inspiring and honest book. Parker is a contemporary of mine (I’m his older sister!) so I discovered that his themes, his laughter, his stories and mine […]
Life begins with love, is maintained with love, and ends with love. – Tsoknyi Rinpoche Friends, this tribute aims to convey the spirit, courage, humor and brilliance of a remarkable man, Michael Culliton. Michael is a Senior Partner of GLP, a seasoned teacher, a thoughtful consultant, a wise mentor, and a lifelong learner. If […]
The University of Vermont College of Medicine set a goal to fully embrace “active learning” by the year 2019 – and they are succeeding! When the College received a generous alumni gift, they wanted to make sure to invest it in the most impactful ways. Their research showed that, in order to become the best […]
I could have titled this blog post “The Travelling Consultant’s Nightmare” but I’ve opted for “Turning Lemons into Lemonade.” This is a story of turning a bad story into a good one! When you were a child, did you ever hear the riddle: What’s the most important thing to have at a party? Common answers […]
Sometimes writing flows like a river findings its natural path. We are clear about who we’re communicating with and the effect we hope it will have on the reader. This feels good to us as communicators, and feels right to the reader. Unfortunately, the river doesn’t always flow so easily. We draft and delete, write […]
Strategic communication can encompass so much. In this brief tip sheet we focus specifically on e-newsletters. However, they can be helpful for any strategic communication. 1. Start with a creative brief A creative brief clarifies what you’re going to develop and why. Even if you think everyone’s already clear about what you’re […]
What I love about designing is how it makes us connect with our universal humanity. Those that don’t design may not understand what I mean so I’ll say a bit more. This week I’ve been asked to co-design a program to help build stability among low income families of Colorado. Yesterday I got a call […]
Global Learning Partners (GLP): What’s your favorite axiom, and why? Valerie Uccellani (Val): Pray for Doubt. Funny. I didn’t used to like this one. In fact, when we taught axioms in the introductory course, I sometimes deleted it from the binder; I didn’t want the language to make some people feel excluded. Not everyone […]