Four quick questions
Grant Barkman is a seasoned traveler who has lived in Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. He owns DecisionWorks, a consulting firm dedicated to turning vision into action through effective consensus-based decision-making. TEDxManitoba is excited that he’ll speak at our February 2012 event.
What motivates you?
Innovation before design, courage in the face of adversity, truth in the face of consequence, compassion in the face of poverty, love in the face of hate.
What do you do for a living and why?
I help management teams increase their capacity to change and increase the velocity at which change can safely occur within organizations. My primary vehicle for doing this is through highly effective decision-making. The need for this type of management consulting came to me about five years ago after spending countless years in senior management roles where little more than rhetoric or corporate budget reporting ever occurred. Lip service was paid to our employees about positive and lasting change but little was ever really accomplished.
Why are you excited to speak at TedxManitoba?
Quite simply, TEDx Manitoba offers an opportunity to spread an idea I have been applying for many years in my personal and professional life to a wider audience. It offers a chance to get feedback and to look for other ideas of a similar nature that, when combined, form larger and more powerful ideas.
What is your idea worth spreading?
What if the English language included standard symbols to express complex concepts like agreements, ideas, and emotions? Every day we look around and see individuals and collective groups attempting to extend, enhance, and make the English language more effective and efficient. What if these extensions, particularly those of a visual nature, were commonly understood and accepted? Think of how much further we could go within the time it takes for the collective learning process and the creative process in science and in business. Think of how much more effective and efficient we could be in conveying our hopes, dreams, and aspirations. The idea of incorporating visualization into everyday communication, particularly those involving groups of people has been shown to be effective in achieving consensus, commitment, and innovation.
