I receive weekly stories via email from Rich Foss with Evergreen Leaders. They are always good but I found this one particularly meaningful. If you wish to be added to Rich's list, you can reach him at: richfoss@plowcreek.org

Brutal reality

After the shuttle Colombia was launched last January several engineers in the lower levels of NASA suspected that the shuttle had been badly damaged by a piece of foam during lift off.

But they couldn’t be sure because bits of foam had broken off during other launches without severely damaging the other shuttles.

They didn’t think they could get a damage assessment through NASA’s leadership channels so they went backdoor to ask the Department of Defense to use their satellite or ground cameras to look for damage on the shuttle’s left wing.

Defense agreed with the request but before they could complete the task one of NASA’s leaders discovered the engineers request and cancelled it without fully understanding the fears that led the engineers to make the backdoor request.

No one knew the foam, when it hit the left wing at 500 mph, had knocked a hole in the membrane. During the re-entry the hole grew, destroying the shuttle, and killing all seven astronauts.

During the subsequent investigation an investigator asked the leader who had cancelled the engineers’ request to the Department of Defense, “As a manager, how do you seek out dissenting opinions?”

According to him she answered, “Well, when I hear about them…”

“But Linda, what techniques do you use to get them?”

According to an Atlantic Monthly article by William Langewiesche*the manager had no answer.

It’s human nature not to want to hear bad news. ...(Rich's story continues)

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The Practice of Peace Gathering
Whidbey Island, Washington

Here's an article from New Times about the Practice of Peace event that my wife and I participated in last month along with Haitian colleagues Fremy Cesar and Ulrick Denis.

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The conference started in earnest on a recent Monday morning at the Whidbey Institute in Clinton. Many participants took the ferry over from Mukilteo while others went many journey legs beyond that. There were representatives from Burundi, Haiti, Israel, Palestinian territories, Kashmir and Colombia.

They were gathered to discuss "the practice of peace," a term that embraces learning peacemaking lessons and applying them to any country, region, town or neighborhood. The conference proceedings can be reviewed at practiceofpeace.com

"What’s amazing is how similar the stories can be," says Mary Ella Keblusek, one of the conference organizers and a member of the Spirited Work group at Whidbey Institute (check out spiritedwork.org). "People feel more understood when they share their successes and frustrations with peace movements."

The 100-plus participants used "open space technology" to effectively design their own three-day conference. It is a self-organizing practice that invites people into a circle and encourages them to take responsibility for covering topics that matter most to them.

By mid-morning Monday, the conference "agenda" was posted on the meeting room walls on handwritten sheets. People volunteered to host sessions. For instance, on Tuesday at 3 p.m. people chose between such group participation as "Weaving a Light-Net for Heavy Grief to Run Through" or "Dancing, Singing and Breathing for Peace" or "Stories for Peace: Reclaiming the Media to Tell Them."

The singing group stood in a circle, harmonizing without any help of music or song sheets.

"Listen inside yourself," said the leader. "You will know what sound to make."

Within seconds, the 13 singers produced a wonderful piece of spontaneous music, complete with a lead voice (people effortlessly exchanged lead and backup roles), chants and a choo-choo sort of whisper.

The walls of the meeting room had provocative placards: "The Law of Two Feet: Motion and Responsibility"; "Whatever happens is the only that
could happen"; "Be prepared to be surprised"; Whoever comes is the right person"; "When it’s over, it’s over."

In the Whidbey’s Institute newly restored farmhouse, 15 people were discussing the media. One woman explained she was losing faith in peace protests.

"First, they are not covered," said the woman. "Second, the protests don’t change people’s minds. Third, it doesn’t change politicians minds; millions of people protested before [U.S. armed forces entered Iraq] and it didn’t matter."

Another woman who lives on Whidbey Island responded. She and a few friends just recently renewed their peace protest at a local park-and-ride facility. They hold "honk for peace" signs.

"There were about 40 of us doing it before Iraq last year," said the woman. "Only three of us were left last fall. We all went on trips and it stopped. I decided to start again because I want to look people in the
eyes and show them I care about peace in this world. I still want to be seen and counted."

As it turns out, the woman says she "thinks at least Whidbey Island is against our involvement in Iraq" if car horn honking is any indicator.

The woman finished her thoughts: "You never know what effect you might have on people."

Those are good words to keep in mind this month as we anticipate the holidays. We can make a difference...


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