Storyteller and information designer Thom Haller was in the office this morning to deliver an inspirational session on how, as individuals, our web team can prepare for, and contribute positively to, organizational change. Thom started by interviewing the team to create an informal timeline of the web group from its inception in 1995 to today and beyond. Then he introduced the ideas from a delightful little pop-up book titled Creativity - The Flowering Tornado by Seattle glass artist Ginny Ruffner. Her site has photos of the intricately-engineered book spreads. The central messages in the book are a Roadmap to Creative Action that consists of the following ideas that can be applied to any life endeavor:

• Don't get tied up in the small stuff
• Avoid self judgment
• Be aware of beauty
• Avoid the trap of fear
• Have courage with your imagination
• Put your will into action

To make the point about not sweating the small stuff, Thom had everyone write down on Post-ITs examples of small things that each felt they spent too much time worrying about. Then he collected everyone's notes, and without reviewing them, balled them up and stuffed them into a cup. The cup was stapled to the middle of the timeline as a symbolic break from an aspect of the past. Thom kept our team engaged in exercises and dialog like this for two more hours and I think all agree the session was a success. We're looking forward to part 2 in a few weeks.

- mike lee - baltimore