Russell Bishop, author, speaker, consultant and world-traveler sat with host Mark Sylvester to talk about his insights gathered over a lifetime of working with people and their potential. Russell’s latest work, Workarounds that Work, is a fascinating read, especially for those trying to get things done in complicated and convoluted environments.
One of the early pioneers in the field of large group personal development, he created Insight Seminars in 1978, followed by Insight Consulting Group. In the mid-1980’s he co-founded Productivity Development Group along with David Allen. To date, well over one million people in 43 countries have participated in seminars designed by Russell.
There was a lot of ground covered in this conversation, including:
A brief history of his work in the human potential movement, starting with Insight Seminars in the 60’s
A recent conversation he had with Frances Hesselbein, famous for her work with the Girl Scouts.
How the GSA changed from an Ozzie and Harriet brand to one that focuses on inner city diversity, and why that made a difference
“How do you pay attention?”
Loved this quote: Never curse the rung of the ladder that got you where you are.”
He explains the difference between Symbols and Experience with examples of how to make them work for you
We looked at the concept of Awakening – which is behind the title of this post, Becoming more of who you already are.
How to Ask Questions
Be genuinely curious
Have a desire to learn and explore
Care about the other person and their answer
An anecdote about Esalen
“A question is simply a demand with a hook on the end of it.”
Loved this distinction on how to reframe a question
“Mark, what do you think?”
“Mark, tell me what you think.”
The Art of Inquiry – I want to see this as a book
Favorite buzzword: Neurocardiology
“Most things in the universe are simple.”
“There are 3 2’s in the English language. To. Too. Two.
The story about Icebergs v. Snowflakes
And finally this one,”Human being v Human doing
We’ve invited Russell back, as it’s clear this is a conversation that needs a part 2, 3, 4 and 5.
Russell is hosting a conference called Conscious Conversations in September – information here.
