This week I'll be writing about some of the interesting thoughts and ideas I was exposed to over a rather incredible weekend in downtown Seattle. I packed my laptop and a mountain of consulting work to attend to, but never even opened my backpack. However I did certainly run across some ideas that relate to leadership and organizations. Probably more importantly, I had a wonderful three day weekend were I didn't so much as check my email! I booked a hotel downtown (scarcely an hour from my house) and spend the weekend filling my senses (and brain) with all sorts of interesting things:
Friday, we went to hear an amazing conversation about the "science of compassion" between the Dalai Lama and a group of world-renowned brain scientists. I took pages of notes, and I'll be sharing some of what they said with you.
Saturday, we spent several hours at the Seattle Art Museum looking at artifacts from ancient Rome (on loan from the Louvre), and listening to the stories that came from such an advanced and yet brutal culture. In a world before the internet, glorious sculptures served as billboards and branding to consolidate the power of Rome's rich and famous.
Sunday, we wandered through the Green Festival, and observed how in just a short span of years these kinds of events have moved from being "a couple stands of granola-munching hippies" to an economic force of their own. When banks and newspapers show up at "Green" trade shows, are they part of a new movement or simply there to cash in on a fad?
After weeks of drizzle, hail, and thunder, the Seattle sun shone brilliantly on the blue water, the sound of children laughing rang through the downtown sculpture park and along Pike Place Market, and tourists squinted at maps and stood in line for iced coffee.
Who could have guessed that "vacationing" in one's home town could be so much fun? More to come.
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