Bdr International Group Llc Perspectives

Welcome to this edition of the BDR International Group LLC podcast. These podcasts are the audio version of "Perspectives" that you may find at bdrinternationalgroup.com. This podcast is titled "Allies Need Their Allies, Too." I hope you find it useful. Allies are very important in nearly all of the work that we do. This may strike some as odd because many think of an ally as someone "needed when..." The reality is "needed when" is usually every day. Maybe we need to take a look at what is meant by the word "ally." Because there are many levels and types of allies, and to make sure we are sharing the same context, some working definitions are in order. What Is Meant by the Word "Ally?" Merriam-Webster defines the noun "ally" as "one that is associated with another as a helper : a person or group that provides assistance and support." This is a good starting point, but it can be limiting depending upon how we define "helper" or "provides assistance and support." For purposes of this post, a "helper" or someone

3 Questions: 4 Levels of Injustice Welcome to this edition of the BDR International Group LLC podcast. These podcasts are the audio versions of "Perspectives" that you may find at bdrinternationalgroup.com. This podcast is titled "3 Questions: 4 Levels of Injustice." I hope you find it useful. Often times, when people attempt to have discussions about injustice, assumptions are made. A game of who has suffered a particular injustice, and who has not is part of the discussion even if this is not apparent. Then, among those who have been determined to have suffered a particular injustice, a game of who has suffered worse begins. These games may be very overt, they may be part of an undercurrent, or they may exist anywhere in between. Do we know what experience any person may have without asking? Probably not. The reality is almost everyone has experienced some form of injustice at some point in their life, and the injustice experienced can be broken down into at least 4 levels. What Are the 4 Levels of Injustic

3 Questions: It Is Common Sense That There Is No Common Sense Depending upon common sense in others is certain to lead to frustration. Do not let this happen to you. Why Is There No Common Sense? We often use the phrase "common sense" when we are baffled as to why someone or some group did something counter to what everyone should just know. Have we ever stopped to ask why this person or group did not know what they were supposed to know? Are they really that stupid? Perhaps they are, but chances are good what we thought was "common" was not so common after all. Perhaps it is only common among a smaller group of people like a community. But How Does a Community Have Common Sense? A community does not have common sense. Instead, a community builds common sense by creating a cultural sense or context. This is done through peer norming which is nothing more than reinforcing desired behaviors and practices while shunning undesired behaviors and practices. Because one community may have a different set of desired

Welcome to this edition of the BDR International Group LLC podcast. These podcasts are the audio versions of "Perspectives" that you may find at bdrinternationalgroup.com. This podcast is titled "3 Questions: Stuck With Few or No Good Options." I hope you find it useful. This topic comes from a situation where we are working with a person who, although a good person, has over the years displayed a kind of bipolar professional behavioral pattern. I am not suggesting that this person is bipolar. Instead, I am suggesting that their professional behavior appears to be a dichotomy; that is to say hot or cold, and without any warning signs that we have been able to read which way the person is going to go. For many years this was a workable situation, but now the person is in a position that appears to be amplifying this behavior, and the behavior has implications for the work our group does. So the first question is: How Do We Work in This Environment? By "this environment," I mean any environment that appears to

Welcome to this edition of the BDR International Group LLC podcast. These podcasts are the audio versions of "Perspectives" that you may find at bdrinternationalgroup.com. This podcast is titled "Are We Sharing the Same Context?" I hope you find it useful. Our language fails us. Worse, our "common" language fails us. It lulls us into a false sense of complacency—that what we said is what was heard. That what was heard was what we meant. That everything will go according to plan because we all agreed when we were talking together. Context matters. Big time. When we do not share the same context, we are almost guaranteed there will be misunderstandings. Even when we share the same context, we must be explicit to avoid misunderstandings. Several experiences over the past couple of years brought this home to me. Common Sense (Is Not So Common) Perhaps the biggest universal failing of our language is the phrase "common sense." The problem is not in using the phrase. The problem is common sense does not exist.

Welcome to this edition of the BDR International Group LLC podcast. These podcasts are the audio versions of "Perspectives" that you may find at bdrinternationalgroup.com. This podcast is titled "3 Questions: Affective, Cognitive Argument." I hope you find it useful. What Is an Affective Argument? An affective argument is one that speaks to our gut, to our heart. This is the kind of argument where a person may "think" that it does not strike them right. "Strike them right" is a feeling. People typically react from their gut first, so if our arguments are not aimed towards the affective, we are simply losing out. Now, I know some people think that they are reacting from their minds, but the chances are very good their feelings got involved first and informed their minds. This all happens very quickly, so it is easy to "think" we are reacting from our minds. Remember, it strikes the gut, the heart first, and then rushes into the mind. What Is a Cognitive Argument? A cognitive argument is one that speaks to the

Welcome to this edition of the BDR International Group LLC podcast. These podcasts are the audio versions of "Perspectives" that you may find at bdrinternationalgroup.com. This podcast is titled "3 Questions: Shared Context." I hope you find it useful. 3 Questions: Shared Context What Is a Shared Context? A shared context is one where the individual or group of people you are with have the same understanding of the words that are being used. An example is "the end of business." Does this mean 4:30 PM? 8 PM? Some other time? Unless we define it and come to some agreement with the individual or the group, we are not sharing a context. How Is a Shared Context Helpful? A shared context is helpful because it can mitigate many misunderstandings. When people do not share the same context, they do not have the same expectations from the words that are used. This can lead to misunderstandings that can negatively impact the project. In addition, misunderstandings can lead to damaged relationships creating future proble