Topics: International Speakers Bureau, Inc. |
Fee Range: $15,001 to $20,000 (fee note) |
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 Biography: Jennifer James was born in London and grew up in Spokane, WA where she was active in rodeo riding, barrel riding and hunt jumping. She delivered the Spokesman Review on horseback throughout her farming community. She graduated from West Valley High School in 1960 and in that year won both the Science Fair and the Betty Crocker Homemaker of the Year Award. Jennifer received her doctorate from the University of Washington in 1972. Her dissertation was a study of the language (and the thought processes revealed by that language) of street prostitutes in Seattle. Her research specialties were "culture and illness" and "adaptive strategies". She wanted to understand how belief systems make people sick and how and why some people are so much more successful at change than others. She was a professor at the University of Washington Medical School from 1972 until 1982. The gradual movement from the study of street people (research grants to study prostitutes, drug addicts, female offenders and prisoners, juveniles, runaways, etc) to working with corporate executives was not as odd as it sounds. Hustlers are hustlers! The ability to think on the edge of your culture can create a deviant or a visionary. She left the University as a full time faculty member in 1982 because of her interest in the real world. She started one of the first talk radio programs in the Pacific Northwest and was "Billboard Personality of the Year" in 1980. She is the author of seven books, which include Windows, Success Is The Quality Of Your Journey, and Thinking in the Future Tense. She has also written more than 50 academic articles and she wrote a newspaper column for the Seattle Times for 18 years. Jennifer has filmed two PBS specials titled Thinking In The Future Tense and A Workout For The Mind. She is currently writing a book, Cultural Intelligence, for Harvard Business Press. Jennifer lives in a technological cottage on Puget Sound. She raises koi in the water gardens that surround her home. |
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Programs: The New Story - Cultural Intelligence: One of the most difficult aspects of change, particularly when it is accompanied by complex technology and multiplying data sources, is the ability to give up an old construct about the way things ought to be and develop a new one based on the current realities. Accepting a new version of reality, essentially telling a new story, requires cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence is the ability to observe, learn and understand our own culture as well as the culture of others. It is an essential skill in a diverse nation and a global market. The Human Face Of Technological Change: We are all becoming "cyborgs," part technician and part human consciousness. The knowledge worker, the portfolio professional, has different skills and a different character from those of any previous worker class. Our current leadership assignment is nothing less than the re-making of our traditional workers and our organizations into more civilized and productive cyber forms. The key is the ability to think in new ways. We need to understand what our life and our business is now about and what our organization's place in the global market is likely to be. Thinking In The Future Tense: We are all expanding our capabilities and becoming portfolio professionals working on diverse empowered teams. Perspective, intuitive skills, strategic thinking, awareness of cultural myths and diversity intelligence are essential. You will need these and many other skills to recognize and create the resources to succeed. Understanding And Managing Cultural Diversity: We are facing intense cultural shifts and a rapidly changing workforce and client base. In a customer-driven, global marketplace, a diverse workforce will be the determining factor in a company's future success. The best place to look for advice on managing diversity is inside of yourself. This topic provides an anthropological perspective on change and the framework for evaluating, motivating and educating yourself so you can benefit from the creativity and intelligence of our multi-cultural society. How To Change, How To Take Risks: We are changing faster than any other generation of Americans. The changes are both deep and broad. Technology drives the speed of this change, economics creates the breadth and cultural shifts provide the depth. Each of us will be asked to think in new ways, to work in new ways and to feel in new ways. Yet we resist, the body and mind automatically resist significant changes. This session will outline the sources and direction of technological, economic and cultural change. |
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