This update has been two weeks or more in the making. I’ve spent a couple of weekends “intending” to write and never getting there. Last Sunday I got as far as jotting down reminders in a journal entry. Of course, another week has passed and more has happened.
A destination reached
I first thought of “Bringing humanity to the workplace” in January 2012 after it surfaced in my mind from some quiet listening. I’d been reading Callings, and was in a place (often visited) of trying to determine the meaning in my life. Early last year I made some public statements at work that this was important to me, and I intended to focus on it. What quickly became clear was, though I know the concept/sentiment is right for me, I couldn’t actually explain what it meant. I had the vision but not the understanding.
That all changed recently as a series of conversations triggered connections, which triggered more conversations and more connections. It’s happened so fast and so deeply that I can’t even be sure I’m remembering correctly.
I recognise there is a difference between practical and conceptual learning. I believe strongly that today’s technology has passed many people by because the conceptual learning necessary to adapt has been missed. I see people suffer because they don’t know what I know and are hampered by Allies and enemies of learning invisible to them.
My first connection was realising I could write about technology through the lens of Allies and enemies of learning; over time listing out the large set with examples and strategies to overcome them. Since all the ways we learn are tied into our Way of Being, I will be able to add considered depth to each.
flowchart TD A[Way of Being] --> B[Allies and Enemies of Learning] B --> C[Increased Digital Competency]
When I first made this connection, arguably years after I should have, I was close to tears with relief. After all this time I had a way forward. Then a couple of weeks later, I was thinking about training for a client and remembered the 13 Recurrent Domains of Human Concern. Yep, “Literacy” was one of the concerns so I could draw upon that. Except my memory was wrong. It’s not literacy but Education, which is broader. A little research took me from the initial paper I read when doing my Graduate Diploma of Ontological Coaching course back to the source material of Fernando Flores and Flores (2013), Conversations For Action and Collected Essays.1 My memory of the domains was that competence in each was necessary to be an adult in today’s world. Locking onto this one phrase, meant I’d created a checklist of competencies to develop and that’s why my thoughts returned to that regarding digital literacy. Check it off, and you’re good to go. I’m grateful to now be looking at the domains through fresh eyes.
Now, broadly speaking, I can define Humanity in the workplace2 as a combination of Legitimate other, Core concerns and Way of Being.
flowchart TD A[Way of Being] --> B[Allies and Enemies of Learning] B --> C[Increased Digital Competency] D[Legitimate Other] --> A E[Domains of Concern] -->A
The title of this section is A destination reached. It’s the first, not the last of my journey.
Reading
I’m currently reading:
- Flores (2013), Conversations For Action and Collected Essays
- Proust (1913), Swann’s Way: more than half way
- Pratchett (1996), Feet of Clay (audiobook):3 continuing my way through the Discworld series
- Bakker (2004), The Warrior Prophet: continuing strongly from the first book in The Prince of Nothing series with a group of complex characters and antoganists.
Recently finished
- Sanderson (2016), Mistborn: Secret History: listened to the audiobook as I’m doing with the whole of The Mistborn Saga. I recommend this close to finishing book 3.
- Le Cunff (2025), Tiny Experiments: the most important idea from this book is the benefit in conducting small learning experimental projects. It’s very close to Second-order learning in that success or failure isn’t the goal, but what’s learned about the goal and yourself along the way.
- Tchaikovsky (2019), Children of Ruin: too long a journey for the destination reached.
- Clarke (2004), Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (audiobook): second reading and I enjoyed it enough but I’m unlikely to revisit this title again.
Gaming
With a bit of Elite: Dangerous, most of my time has been put into Cities Skylines II and Ghost of Yotei. I’m enjoying both and each has a different way to relax me. Cities is creative and Yotei is violent!
Writing
Two articles I’m very happy with as they reflect the new connections I’ve made above.
Hobby
It’s winter and cool enough for me to work on my Danish ships cross-stitch. I’d like to be doing some every night, but have found on the days I work I can’t be bothered to in the evening.
Music
- Natalie Imbruglia
- Andreas Vollenweider
- Comfortably Numb Re-Imagined by Roger Waters and Mona Miari - simply amazing
Miscellanous
Too much time is being spent Migrating from Quartz 4 to Quartz 5.
We’ve ordered a new reclining sofa and chair for the house, and replacing some old blinds.
Footnotes
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My course pre-dates this collection. Nevertheless, it’s source material. ↩
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I need to revisit this but on a first reading, what I wrote in early 2025 was pretty close. Trust yourself more David! ↩
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I’m unsure yet about linking to books without a page, or if I should be linking to author (year) for fiction over non-fiction. Creating the link means I have it should I ever create the page, but I end up with missing links. Without the link, I may have missing references. ↩