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Go MAD Thinking's Latest News |
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SOLUTION FOCUSED THINKING DAY AT THE ZOO
Despite the drizzling rain on what promised to be a fine St George’s day, nearly 50 Go MAD Thinking clients joined the Go MAD Team for our Solution Focused Thinking day at London Zoo on Monday 23 April.
After testing their Blue Peter skills in creating a new species of animal, attendees on the day enjoyed a key note session from Andy Gilbert comprising a look at the last 10 years of Go MAD Thinking, the vision for the future of the company, ten top tips about how to sustain Go MAD as a personal and business improvement system and an update on the £65,000 Go MAD giveaway.
This was followed by workshop sessions on:
- Thinking on your feet – remaining calm under pressure
- Negotiating and influencing for results
- The power of forging strong relationships
- Creative communication for new thinking
A visit to the Zoo, a thinking exercise to help the Zoo market its EDGE campaign to save endangered species and further workshops took everyone through a content packed afternoon. Then it was time to go home complete with a piece of Go MAD birthday cake and a certificate for a London Zoo animal adoption. All feedback has testified to it being great fun and an excellent refresher for the Go MAD Thinking Principles.
HR FORUM – 9TH - 12TH MAY 2007
Andy Gilbert and Go MAD Thinking Engineers Jules Agombar and Richard Armeson have just set sail on board the ship Aurora from Southampton for the annual 4 day HR Forum. It is an event which combines an outstanding conference programme with networking opportunities for all the major players in the HR community. Andy has been invited to present a workshop for the second successive year.
This will be the fifth year that Go MAD has attended and judging by the level of requests to meet the team they will be lucky if they even see the sea on this busy trip! We will keep you posted of news from the event in upcoming newsletters.
GO MAD CLIENTS IN THE MEDIA
Go MAD client Clare Hannah, UK Learning & Development Director for international transport company First Group was interviewed by Coaching at Work (a CIPD Publication) for a four page Coaching Profile. Here is an extract which we were delighted to read: 'Hannah has recently achieved a BTEC level 4 qualification, (Making a difference in business), based on the training she has undertaken with the Go MAD Research & Consulting Group – “the best piece of coaching development I have ever had”, she says. According to Hannah, the consultancy offers a good self-improvement model of the cognitive processes that people go through to be successful. This year she is introducing this Go MAD Thinking Framework to HR managers across the division.
'Hannah is also thinking of ways to introduce the Go MAD model of coaching to the network of Union Learner Reps. “It would be great if they (the learner representatives) were taught how to have coaching-based conversations to help those with literacy and numeracy issues get the motivation and courage to engage with colleges and other learning opportunities,” she says.
'Her enthusiasm for this approach has led to discussions with the government about the business impact of implementing a skills-for-life strategy and the PhD she is about to undertake with the Institute of Education on that subject.'
ANDY GILBERT'S £65,000 GIVEAWAY
Unless you missed the last couple of copies of MAD About Thinking then you will have been following the progress of Andy Gilbert’s £65,000 giveaway. His blog at www.gomadthinking.blogspot.com continues to attract comments from those who have been inspired by his decision to give away his winnings from ITV’s Poker Face Competition Final in chunks of £65 at a time.
Says Andy: “I continue to be amazed at how this giveaway has taken on a life of its own. I have to admit that I have found it frustrating that more people aren’t queuing up to give the money away but the ones who do are really inspiring. Last week I ran my monthly Go MAD Thinking Skills programme for a great group of people. In the space of a 10 minute possibility thinking exercise, they came up with loads of innovative ways of keeping the momentum of the giveaway going and also incorporating a ‘Pay It Forward’ element. This really excites me as who knows how many times the relatively small amount per person of £65 may be payed forward and how much good that will do”.
(‘Pay It Forward’ is a book and a movie based on an idea that small actions can change the world. In the book a class of children are challenged to think of an idea for world change and put it into action. 12 year old Trevor does something good for three people and asks them to pay it back to three more each and in so doing creates a social movement worldwide). If you would like £65 of Andy's money, post an entry on his blog (www.gomadthinking.blogspot.com) outlining how you would use it to make a difference.
A PLEA FOR A PAPERLESS OFFICE
We have a small involve others request from Julian Roylance from Corporate Accountancy Solutions. He is in a quest for a paperless office and would like to make contact with anyone in the Go MAD network who has insight or experience in this area. He particularly welcomes comments about converting incoming documents within 24 hours i.e. hardcopy in to computer documents.
Please can you direct your response to: jnroylance@caslimited.com or telephone 01625 613893.
GOMADTHINKING.TV
Our latest resource gomadthinking.tv continues to expand and develop. This comprehensive online library and development centre helps you to develop your thinking. It is accessible 24/7 and already has content comprising over 120 topics (and counting!) in video, audio and text format. It is the ultimate guide to Solution Focused Thinking for you and your organisation.
We have recently added topics on:
Generating Possibilities – an extract from a real life coaching session (video)
Go MAD in Education – De Montfort University case-study (video)
Self-Belief – Getting rid of negative thoughts (audio)
Coach Others (Day-to-Day Applications) – an activity to aid thinking (text)
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As it is our 10th Anniversary Year in 2007, Managing Director and Go MAD Thinking founder, Andy Gilbert, has been looking back at the last 10 years of Go MAD Thinking. 