Art of the Possible

I'm feeling strangely nervous to write this post. I think it's even more personal than normal, or something. I've grown accustomed to presenting to British audiences. I've adapted my presentation style and the words I use. 

Last week, I "presented" via the phone to an all American audience for the first time in 6 months. As always, I asked for lots of feedback from the group and from individuals after the call. The feedback was exactly opposite to what I normally hear, this time it was "speak with more enthusiasm". Fascinating to me because in the past I've heard "keep your believability high by not over-selling it". I wonder if I've over-corrected? Or if audiences are that different? I'm so thankful for the feedback because it helps me be aware, and improve.

I left the office very late after presenting to the American audience, since it was an afternoon presentation for them. There was a road closure on the way home, so I had to quickly adapt. I instantly had that strange feeling of "wow, I kinda have no idea where to go now". I circled a roundabout or two, thought really hard, and eventually made my way home safely. 

There's a popular show here called the Great British bake off. It's a reality show where about 10 people have to face individual cooking challenges. It's full of innuendo, but in a very very subtle way.  I think it's intended to be a comedy, but it's so subtle that I'm actually not sure what the intent is. 

A phrase I've heard a lot lately is  "Art of the possible". Related, they don't say "create and share a vision" here, they say "envisage the future". Art of the possible is somewhat used in the states I guess, but I don't recall hearing as much as I do here. It basically means to create a vision statement, or better, discuss the possibilities of the future.

I had another great dinner with David Gurteen. It's quite surreal to me because I still look to him as a European, if not global, KM leader and here I am having all kinds of group and individual activities with him. We're already planning our next event. Awesome.

Have I mentioned before that they don't say "at 10pm" here, they say "from 10pm". (Or whatever time) Just another little difference. 

I stumbled upon a Gordon Ramsey cooking show here. I just watched one episode but I found it fascinating that he was so so kind and thoughtful on this show, his whole approach was the exact opposite of how it is on American shows. 

The X factor with Simon Cowell is in full swing here. It's very good, lots of talent and I'm a little surprised how emotional the shows are, I would have expected it to be more subtle?

I stayed up very very late last night to watch the Virginia Tech Hokies play Ohio State in college football. The game STARTed at 1am local time and didn't end until about 5am. I felt like I was in undergrad again. It was worth it though because the Hokies pulled a great upset and I felt lucky to be able to watch it live across the pond. Costs £9 per game by the way, again, completely worth it.