Posts tagged Traveling
Innovation Masters with Mondragon University
Jan 12th
Following in Henna‘s footsteps myself and Tatu will start next week in Mondragon University’s Innovation Master program called MiNN. It’s about Open Innovation and Intrapreneurship and Team Leadership. We are rather excited, as you can see in the video below.
It’s made of 11 modules in the following 12 / 18 months. I copy the modules below so you can see where we are as it would be lovely to meet you next year.
-
January 16th to 21st [2012] – Team learning (Finland).
-
February 23rd to 25th [2012] – Learning and Co-creation with the client (Madrid).
-
March 26th to April 3rd [2012] – The art of Pitching and Design Thinking (California).
-
May 3rd to 5th [2012] – Self management and leadership (Zaragoza).
-
June 4th to 9th [2012] – Pitching, intrapreneurship proceses and learning tools (MTA + Mondragon Coop).
-
July 5th to 7th [2012] – Open Innovation and Team Evaluation (Amsterdam).
-
September 6th to 8th [2012] – Blue Ocean Strategy for Team-Intrapreneurship projects (Barcelona).
-
November 11th to 18th [2012] – Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid and global challenges (China).
-
November 18th to 24th [2012] – Sustainability as a trigger to innovation (India).
-
December 13th to 15th [2012] – Wrap-up and future (Irun / Bilbao).
-
January 17th to 19th [2013] – Check out (Finland).
-
June (to be specified) [2013] – Scored goals (Berlin).
We are super excited because the original ideas for Monkey Business where born when me and Tatu participated together in a learning process called Team Mastery about five years ago. I think this coming year the Monkey Business will be taken to a whole new level.
I will write a short pre-post before every session and another one after in a more de-briefing mode. We want to leverage our insights and ideas to our friends in our network. So let’s be in touch!
Have a great new year everyone with enough things to do and many good adventures! Br, Ville
Travel Agency for Superheroes Philosophy Vol. 1.0
Aug 14th
While working on an offer for a learning journey I felt there would be a need for few principles that we like to work with. So, here’s a first version of the philosophy we for our Travel Agency for Superheroes. It’s a work in progress, like the road to success, I hear. So please drop by comments, ideas and questions.
- The one who is ready to slow down and stop will get most out of the journey.
- Learning is a journey. If we enjoy the journey we are not in a hurry.
- The in-between is what matters. Like Liher has said in the comments of the previous thesis for traveling: “I feel that everytime I go to a new place I discover something new. But something that you cannot find in a book, in internet, not even someone can tell you. You have to experience it, and feel it.”
- What may seem un-effective is the most effective when it comes to learning.
- It’s good to have a goal but we also need an open mind for emerging things, which may end up being more meaningful than the original goal.
- What we don’t know matters more than what we know.
- Better life comes via better thoughts. Better thoughts via better questions. Better questions via humble, open minded travelling.
- Trust the process*. *Nonaka’s & Takeuchi’s knowledge creation process. We need action and dialogue in a proper balance.
- Superheroes always get where they want to get, and in the right time.
- Be ready for an adventure and expect the unexpected.
- Trust your intuition and the team you travel with.
- Listen and look around. Wonder. Smile.
Mental Model Game at Hamburg
Apr 4th
31 brave people came together for an “Innovate or Die” event on 10 March in Hamburg, Germany, hosted by a German-Finnish crew, one of them from Monkey Business. Super Monkey Iiro Kolehmainen. It looked like everyone survived, and yeah, even had some serious fun.
One crucial tool we used was Monkey Business’ the Mental Model Game. It supports the process of recognizing one’s own and other people’s ways of seeing the world, and helps appreciate the different viewpoints.
Really interesting to see how the form of a game impacts people’s conversations. Maybe Marc Prensky provides some good thoughts on this phenomenon in “why games engage us”:
Now what happened during the Mental Model Game? Put simply, the participants shared their views about open inquiries, so questions like “what’s the difference between craziness and genius?” or “are we alone in the universe?” They talked in various constellations, for example large groups, smaller groups or individually, and they captured key insights. Initially, questions were given by the hosts, later the participants generated their own. Here are some juicy bits that people in Hamburg reflected:
Everything can be questioned what I had thought I knew
Don´t think just with your own head
Think crazy
Everything is changeable
Ideas are formed in the “connecting room” – don´t create any borders for yourself
Perspectives, perspectives, perspectives
People see things even more differently than I thought
It is important to have fun in life!
Again I learned quite a bit about myself
There is no limit for human creativity
The dialogue in the group reached a good level, and when one of the participants brought up the question: “What is the core of a human being”, it arose so much interest that it became the basis for the birthgiving phase of the workshop (conversion). This was guided by the question „if the inner core of the human being is so important, how will I incorporate it into my business?“
Participants’ creativity did not even stop at biblical quotations when Jesus, surrounded by his apostles, did a headstand, and remained in that position for the rest of the Last Supper. A really good way of shaking one’s mental models, isn’t it?
Thank you Monkey Business for playing the Mental Model Game with us in Germany, let’s continue this good cooperation in the future.
Writer is a friend of Monkey Business and enthusiastic of Team Academy
Theresia Warwitz
Travel Agency for Superheroes Offering?
Feb 15th
Ideas come up randomly. Yesterday, it was during dinner when it became clear to me, what is the offering of our Travel Agency for Superheroes. See the picture below.
It has three basic products:
- Highly personalized journeys for individuals, couples or small teams that are ready to embrace the flow and serendipity. Price: 1500€ a day + expenses + VAT
- Learning Journeys for bigger teams and groups. Like my friend Charles said yesterday over Skype: for people who are convinced that they need to see and think differently. Better organized and planned, ups, I mean guessed
Price 3000€ a day + expenses + VAT - Different camps e.g. Surfcamps & Divecamps Aimed at people who like to wear jeans at school or work. If it’s warm, these people use flipflops or sneakers. Price: 50-500€ per person + expenses for a week. Scholarships should be available soon.
- Update 15.2.2011 6:42pm! Also there is something called Zestcamps, organized by our friend Anu from Zestmark. I think that is really close to Superheroes Travel Agency actions, thus I want to bring it up. Zestmark’s focus is to help young people find their thing.
The idea is to go beyond travelling. Emphasize the inner journey. Learn together. Have good meals and dialogue. Meet new people. Have fun, play and laugh.
It would be great to know what you think after reading this, so please, drop a comment!
Ps. Thanks all of you with whom I have had chance to travel together. I have learnt a lot with you.
Forest Solo is coming, Do you wanna join us?
Mar 11th
Johanna met in Tulimyrsky a really nice lady, Hilkka from Tupaswilla. In Tulimyrsky was speaking Heikki Peltola and he asked us 8 questinons. Those were
1. What I love to do?
2. What I´m good at?
3. What ignites me?
4. What pisses me off?
5. What do I value in life?
6. What do I want to avoide?
7. What I want to learn?
8. What will I become when I grown up?
Then we got a chance to find a new person and share our answers with each other. Hilkka waved to me and so we shared our answers. Their answers were quite similar. I told to Hilkka about Tralvel Agency for Superheroes and we noticed that we share the passion for similar things. We both are creating experinences and in the centre of everything is learning.
Couple days ago Henna and Johanna went to meet Hilkka in Laukaa, Tupaswilla. When we arrived in there Henna said that ”ou, we came in the winter wonder land !” It was becouse there was so much of snow! We met also Jussi who owns the place with his father. The place was awesome, nearby the place was small lake and we walked with Jussi up to the hill. There was beautiful fiew, fire place and a hootchie. Its´ a great place to quiet down. In Tupaswilla you can walkabout with snowshoes and you can do many things over there.
We have been asked when would be next Forest Solo. Tupaswilla would be great place for that. Do you wanna find your personal mastery with us at Forest Solo in Tupaswilla?
Yellow, Johanna
“Laugh, play and fart!”
Oct 20th
One of the best things in life are friends who support you by little things. Like Heikkis father Antti who has original Monkey Business sticker on back of his phone. And it´s worn out badly, so he ordered me a new one when we last time met. Antti is a carpenter, he teaches it also in vocational school, appreciates real hand work & traditions. And we have had many adventures together. Maybe someday we´ll do miracles together. And I am proud Godfather of Anttis first son. This is my first letter to four month old Heikki. “…And don´t believe everything what that old dude tells you.” Thanks Antti for supporting me! Maybe there is something for you in the letter also.
With Love: Tatu, Godfather
Ps. Last week I wanted to write a letter to Dee Hock. But I couldn´t found his home address. Can you help me?
Feedback about the Monkey Business Brand
Jun 24th
Just going through my inbox as I am doing the Notebook for the last Team Mastery session and I found this email from Henna dated at April 26th 2009. Enjoy! Ville
Ps. Special and big shout out goes to Liher aka Green Monkey (pictured above) as he made a quick comment about the non-working photo gallery of the last post. Thanks a lot! Kiitos!
Moijoi!
In Team Mastery in the Basque Country we had the them of Brand Management and we used Monkey Business as an example. I want to share the results because this is magical. Enjoy and take care!
TEST QUESTION: What comes into your mind first when you think about
Monkey Business?
Kaisu: a phenomenon, strongly personalized with the people in it, different, fun
Liher: funky people having fun. Group of friends. You never know what comes out when you work, but it will surely be crazy and good. You are shakers of everything!
Henkka: Banana, yellow, fun, what are you doing? Are you doing anything? I doubt! Your brand divides people, either you love it or you hate it. It’s different.
Pauline: Dare to be different, no serious. Your product is some coaching…?? Customers have to be certain kind of people to understand you.
Sain: Clever people – sensation feeling! What exactly you do? Ville is the central person, Ville, no me. Ville with Yellow shirt. Innovative, funny, different, crazy, attractive.
Tapio: Good brand. Noticeable. Honest. Young. Future! They do serious things but they don’t give and advertise the feeling of being serious.
So this is how our friends see us. What do you think?
Spark Coaching at Rymättylä
Jun 1st
Rymättylä 25. – 26.5.2009
It was Monday morgning at 6.30 am. Red Toyota literally slinged itself from Jyväskylä to near by Turku´s archipelago, a town called Rymättylä. We were about to coach over there. In the car sat two bananas (Hugo and Johanna) and with them there were Satu Haka from Cromita and Vellu Junkkari from Brand Brothers Ay. Four of us were going to do something known as Spark-coaching. In Rymättylä there were 14 chef students and their teachers waiting for us.
With students we talked about entrepreunership and their future goals. Also we asked how does a good workplace and good leader look like. We talked about learning, attitude for life and the “carpe diem” philosophy. Students told us that during those two days they learned that it´s not so bad to be an entrepreneur and that they had had really good conversations among themselves. They had got insights also about teamwork and entrepreneurship.
While we were coaching the students, the radikal teachers planned about renewing the whole degree programme. That in September they make the school few teams and with those teams students make theirs studies. In the teams there would be students of first, second and third years. In fact, the biggest achievement was start to conversations between teachers and students. It was a good start for co-operation between them. This new plan looked good and in Tuesday we ignited the red Toyota towards Jyväskylä and left Rymättylä with good feelings.
Written by Johanna the Monkey.
Team Mastery in Strasbourg Photos
Feb 9th
First of all, sorry for the silence with the blog. Many of the Monkeys are travelling and I am working on figuring out the way in the jungle. Good news are that I’ve updated the system behind our blog which means I can add new plugins and staff. And what this means that I am experimenting with photos. Here’s the first post with a new kind of gallery. Check out the photos from the second last session Team Mastery 2 held in Strasbourg. I already wrote about the anniversary of TA Alsace.
I cannot read the gallery's xml file: /var/www/fs1/15/bananafi/public_html/wp-content/photos/TM_Starbourg_scaled/gallery.xmlPlease check that the gallery's files have been created on the admin pages!
10 Thesis of Traveling by Monkey Ville
Jan 9th
Monkeys travel around the world. It’s the final “grande finale” part of our journey at Team Academy. The journey is the goal. Hanne took her trip early in 2007. Leena’s turn was late 2007. Ville went early 2008. Now in January 20th Henna, Hugo, Johanna, Tatu and Ville will travel with their teams Groovit and Cameo for about 8 weeks. Because of that Ville opened his notebook and read through the 10 thesis he wrote after 7 weeks of traveling while relaxing in a hammock in a small island of Koh Phayam East of Thailand.
So here they are, 10 thesis of traveling (if reference known mentioned in brackets):
- You have to go afar in order to see close.
- It’s good to hear stories from outside your circles (abroad) in order to get distance to your own story that may sometimes be depressing. (P.Senge in Presence)
- When you are traveling it is good think what traveling really is and why you are traveling.
- Where are you from? Where are you now? Where are you going?
- Traveling is good practice for giving up/away as you have to let go many things.
- Less is more.
- The less you pack the more you will get. (John P. Milton via Presence)
- The less you plan the more you get. (Madventures)
- Trust the process and that the story will carry you (Tatu Tuohimetsä). Being scared is hardly ever useful. Although don’t wrap the money belt around your head and jump around in dark side of the city.
- Think about the right an good questions. When talking with others try to get beyond the “traveler” cliches.
- Listen and look around. Wonder. Be surprised. Smile.
- Slow down. When traveling you have to have plenty of time. Take it slower (Asa). Your soul must be able to follow you (Madventures).
That’s the sign for the place where I stayed in Thailand.
Written by Monkey Ville.
Edit: May 24 2010: Three more for the road!
11. If we enjoy the journey we are not in hurry.
12. If I get one idea to take home with me and I put it in action, I consider the trip to be a succesful.
13. Trust the process. The journey will change you. (Johannes Partanen & Paulo Coelho)
Recent Comments