Published monthly by Sharon Eakes, Hope Unlimited, LLC
****************************************************************** FOCUS: Metaphors
Disciploine: Personal Mastery

A picture is worth a thousand words.

THOUGHTS
Metaphors are delicious! They are word pictures that engage the whole brain. They are grasped all at once instead of one piece at a time. They capture both facts and feelings. Metaphors and other word pictures have enormous power to help us understand things.

EXAMPLES
1. A client of mine was part of a team asked to make budget decisions without all of the information. He couldn't seem to find the right words to express his frustration. "Can you think of a metaphor?" I asked. He thought a minute and then smiled. "I'm with a group riding through a dark tunnel on bicycles. Only one person has a light on his bike, and it's not me." Bingo!

2. On trying to change someone: "If you rearrange someone's furniture uninvited, they'll put it all back when you leave." Insoo Kim Berg

3. A friend was helping me decide whether or not to make a big deal about something. "Is this the hill you want to die on?" she asked.

TIP
When you're stuck or having trouble getting your point across, paint a word picture or use a metaphor to describe the situation. A metaphor will often shed light on the dilemma and give you clues about how to proceed.

INVITATION
Please e-mail me your favorite metaphors. I'll collect them and share them with anyone who asks. This month we're not having a telegathering, because I'm at the Systems Thinking in Action Conference and then visiting family. I feel like a kid in a candy store. Reach me: 1-888-769-3494 or e-mail sharon@hopellc.com

Each month FRESH VIEWS focuses on a single topic, relates it to one of the five disciplines of a learning community, and offers a coaching tip and a follow-up telegathering. Please forward it to friends and colleagues. My purpose in writing FRESH VIEWS is to nurture, prod and encourage readers to think and talk about these topics with their families, friends and colleagues. Mine is only one view. Multiple conversations may deliver us to insights only hinted at here. Such a process sustains the vitality of learning relationships, learning families, learning organizations and learning communities.