Politics and The Art of Getting Things Done
Becky Winant

Mention politics and immediately people imagine plots being hatched and hidden agendas. That world seems filled with people you'd rather not get too close to. But, for a small community getting away is not an option. You must "deal with it". The tough side of politics might be your budget being cut to serve someone else's needs, or a shift in policy that could threaten core values within the community.

Going back to its Greek roots politics refers to social duty - part of being a "good citizen". People want to participate in shaping their community and want to do the right thing. What is the "right thing" and whose vision counts? Cultural issues affect how we accept new ideas and directions. Personal hopes and expectations can determine how we feel about change, conflict or exuberance that surrounds us. We may be good citizens, but feel less than good about our role.

So, how can you inject the positive aspects of politics into your work and collegial interactions? Becky will lead an interactive exploration of influence and diplomacy and of our own skills and preferences in group interactions. She will cover these topics:

Becky Winant consults, teaches and writes about systems - both human and technological. Technology change is meaningless without understanding how it best serves people and the organization. She provides guidance to help people discover what they really want and need and define processes which support their goals.

Currently Becky writes a column on requirements for StickyMinds and is a founder and host for the Amplifying Your Effectiveness (AYE) conference. She is developing, with colleague Nynke Fokma, a workshop on organization and human architecture which will have both experiential sessions and e-learning sessions. Becky and Nynke will be writing a column on Human Architecture to appear in 2003 on Computerworld's web site.

At slightly under 5'3", Becky is a "small" advocate. She attended a small Quaker boarding school in Westtown, PA, and two different small colleges. After some big company work experiences, she opted to open her own small company, Esprit Systems Consulting. She ran this company of twelve people for fifteen years before she and her two partners decided to move on. Now she can be found at www.beckywinant.com.