Day: April 27, 2008

GEL conference, gel2008, health, hospital

GEL 2008: Bridget Duffy

Christa Avampato

If there is any industry that needs a major make-over, it’s health care. And if I or anyone I know ever needs a major procedure done, I am am likely to make the decision to choose the Cleveland Clinic as a result of Bridget Duffy’s talk at GEL. She is an accomplished doctor, as well as the Clinic’s Chief Innovation Officer. She’s involved with everything from empathy projects to redesigning the hospital gown. Originally she wanted her title to be “Chief Empathy Officer” – that’s how much she believes in empathy’s value.

Empathy is a funny thing. Kids have tons of it. In our early adult years through midlife, we lose a large amount of it, and then as we move into our later years, we revert back to our empathic capacity from childhood. So we have it – we are born with it. And like the creative spirit, we bury it somewhere deep within our recesses, until some life-altering event brings it back. Our challenge is to find a way to keep our empathy from being beaten down in the wake our busy lives.

My favorite quote from Bridget’s talk: “Everyone needs GPS – a guide to take them through every system. And companies need it, too.”

GEL conference, gel2008, media, social media

GEL 2008: Clay Shirky

Christa Avampato

Clay Shirky is a professor who studies media, intently. During his GEL talk this year, he spoke about the changing role of newspapers, and all major media outlets for that matter. And his ideas are thought-provoking. Newspapers would be wise to follow his lead in order to stay alive.

Newspapers were begun as a way to disseminate information. Radio and TV have followed this same lead. Today, they are not so much information designators (bloggers can on-line news sources can do that much faster and much more conveniently). They are now taking on the role of being “places” where coordination is happening. Publishing is changing its purpose from printing to acting.

In his book, “Here Comes Everybody”, Shirky discusses how individuals are using major media channels to organize themselves, be it for social justice, to demand better services, or to get the word out about a cause, even though they themselves do not belong to the newspaper staffs. Said another way, we as a society have moved from following news to the news following us, or creating and reporting the news ourselves. Mass media’s challenge is to figure out how to best serve the people by providing new, more useful coordinating tools.

My favorite quotes from his talk, “Thinking is for doing.” ~ William James and “If you have the same problem for a long time, maybe it’s not a problem. It’s a fact.”

experience, GEL conference, gel2008, innovation

GEL2008 – making time for special moments

Christa Avampato

There are a pile of posts just waiting to be written about my experience at the GEL conference. They will be coming shortly. There are a few points that I think are worth making in a separate post.

I have never been to this type of conference – it’s not focused on a particular industry, but a particular aspect of every industry. Good (G) Experience (E) Live (L). From the first female film maker in the UAE to the Chief Innovation Officer at the Cleveland Clinic to a Brew Master, this conference was filled with speakers and participants that are all interested in making time for and creating special moments for employees, for customers, and inspiring others by reaching out and sharing the stories. This is particularly interesting to me because of my early career in theatre, which was very much focused on experience and taking people out of their element by sharing a story with them.

The first day of GEL2008 was filled with different activities to choose from – I chose the game of Werewolf and a trip to a farmstead cheese farm in NJ. And then Day 2 had a slate of speakers, most of whom I had never heard of. I walked away inspired and energized. I felt like the creativity of the world was buzzing all around me. It was empowering, and made me believe that there is no end to the extent of the work and impact that impassioned people can have.

Posts to come on the speakers…stay tuned.

game, GEL conference, gel2008, werewolf

GEL2008: Werewolf – the best party game ever

Christa Avampato

My first activity for the GEL conference was learning and playing the game Werewolf. I m now obsessed and planning my first “Werewolf” party. It’s a game of trickery, deceit, and cunning. It’s also tough to imagine walking away from it. I learned it from Charlie Todd, a comedian and creator of ImprovEverywhere, and his team of highly skilled players.

What you’ll need:
a deck of cards with two aces, a king, a queen, a jack, and as many numbered cards as needed to have a card for everyone playing
at least 8 people

Roles:
The moderator (no card)
Two Aces – werewolves
King – doctor
Queen – fortune teller
Jack – hunter
Number cards – townspeople

Object of the game:
For the werewolves: to kill all the townspeople
For the townspeople: to kill the werewolves

There are two cycles to the game:
Night: everyone is asleep. at the moderator’s command, each werewolf wakes up separately and silently points to choose someone to kill. (They must choose the same person in order for that person to die and be out of the game.) The fortune teller wakes up and may silently point to ask the moderator if any one person is a werewolf. The doctor wakes up and chooses someone to save – if that person has been chosen by both werewolves, the person survives.

Day: everyone’s eyes are open and discussion along with accusations of werewolves may be made and voted on. The moderator will let the group know if anyone has died in the night. (If someone dies in the night, they do not reveal their card so the group does not know their role. The group discusses who may be a werewolf. Accusations are made. An accusation must be seconded and then is voted on by the group after the accused takes 10 seconds to defend their position and why they shouldn’t be killed. Majority wins. If the person is voted to be killed, they reveal their role by showing their card. If the person holds the jack card, they are allowed to take another person out with them.

So while it may sound rather gruesome, the game is an absolute blast. Even with a group of strangers, it took one round and everyone was hooked.