Conversation Agent - Valeria Maltoni

Tenderness is the Path of Choice of the Strong

When life bounces off us, when people and situations conspire to challenge our positive operating zone, do we choose to see things through the lens of compassion? Do we use what we know to support the projects of others, their growth, and success? Are we thoughtful and appropriate with our actions? Do we look to expand options for everyone involved? Do we acknowledge our responsibility in creating reality or do we mask, avoid, withdraw, control, label, and attack? A tide that lifts all boats does not judge the boats... it just lifts them. There's a useful thought experiment for when... Read more →

Why Conversation as a Tool

“The trouble is that circumstances must dictate what you do. But too many people are looking at ‘what is’ from a position of ‘what should be’.” [Bruce Lee] This is a quote from The Warrior Within that says it’s time to start acknowledging where we are starting from rather than where we think we should be. The context was a movie, Return of the Dragon, where he was in a face-off with Chuck Norris. He noted to the Washington Star that Chuck Norris’ style was too rigid, because it was the only style he had been trained in, he did... Read more →

Why Projects Fail

A guy who lives his life without too many blemishes one day while walking down the street is hit by a bus and dies. As his soul arrives at the Pearly Gates, St. Peter himself greets him. “Welcome to Heaven. Before you settle in, we want to make sure you're committed to us. So we give you every chance to compare Heaven and Hell.” “No problem,” he says. “Let's get to it.” “Well, we'd like to let you in,” says Peter. “But I have higher authority to respond to. Here's the plan, we're going to let you have a day... Read more →

Our Time is Limited

We view time linearly, as a sequence, and we are often so wrapped into anticipating what's next and what others are doing that we overlook what is now, what is with us. [image courtesy] Read more →

Real Business Examples of Big Picture Thinking

Business has become more about sustaining momentum through appropriate structures and processes that build on each other than a collection of temporary wins. Long term viability is the objective. We want vision, mission, and values to align, and we want to take responsibility for their effects downstream. Which means we should operate by focusing less on getting the strategy noun assumptions right and more on coordinating resources to ensure sufficient capital, assets, and treasure are there to sustain a healthy enterprise. This is why keeping an eye on the big picture matters — it helps us evaluate the intended and... Read more →

Have Smarter Conversations, Get More Done

We get more done in a short conversation than in dozens of email/online exchanges. When we're face-to-face with someone, it becomes apparent quickly what their energy feels like, if they have presence, how they relate in the environment — do they respond or react? What's their level of engagement? How's their ability to listen? Is the exchange leading us to a new place? To be effective with conversation, we want to do meticulous research, network our thoughts and ideas prior to meeting with someone. Preparation is a sign of respect and professionalism... if we require it of the other party,... Read more →

To Improve Thinking Skills, Move

“Our brains were built for walking,” says John Medina in Brain Rules — at the tune of 12 miles per day. Numerous studies have demonstrated that exercise is good for the body... and for the brain. The prefrontal cortex and medial temporal cortex control thinking and memory have greater volume in people who exercise. Though a great deal of our evolutionary history remains shrouded in controversy, the one fact that every paleoanthropologist on the planet accepts can be summarized in two words: we moved. A lot. As soon as our Homo erectus ancestors evolved, about 2 million years ago, they... Read more →

How we Create Knowledge and the Nature of Reality

Albert Einstein made extensive use of analogy to understand concepts and thought experiments to imagine difficult concepts. His writing was the product of creative thinking — the thought experiments and testing the physicist conducted give a useful framework of the scientific approach to reasoning. Between 1936-1938, Einstein worked with Polish physicist Leopold Infeld at Princeton University. It was there that the two scientists co-formulated the equation describing star movements and co-wrote The Evolution of Physics. In it, they explain why certain theories came into being and their meaning to modern physics. Modern physics is a way of looking at problems,... Read more →

A Reading List on Human Achievement

Stewart Brand is the creator and editor of the Whole Earth Catalog. As the co-founder and President of the Long Foundation, he contributed several titles from his private library to a new project by the Foundation — a Manual for Civilization collection. The Interval, that has since received funding and opened its doors in San Francisco, June 2014. The Long Now foundation is an organization that was established to “provide a counterpoint to today's accelerating culture and help make long-term thinking more common.” The idea with The Interval was to create a space that would welcome people interested in learning... Read more →

Turning Commitment into Confidence

“If you're going to make a mistake, make it loud so everyone else sounds wrong.” [Giuseppe Venuti] He was a pioneer, considered the father of violin jazz. He played with guitarist Eddie Lang in the 1920s and 1930s. Venuti worked with some of the most known musicians and jazz figures of that period — including, Benny Goodman, the Dorsey Brothers, Bing Crosby, Bix Beiderbecke, Jack Teagarden, the Boswell Sisters, Adrian Rollini, and Frank Signorelli. When Lang dies in 1933, Venuti's career seemed to wane. The musician was relatively unknown through the 1950s. Then after playing in the 1960s in Desert... Read more →