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Featured Affiliate - Bill Brewer
By: Sarah Stockslager
You may know him as the voice on the other
end of the line when you call Designed
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| Bill Brewer in New York City, one of
his favorite vacation destinations. |
Learning about anything from workshops to
concerns regarding your organization. But, he is also quick to hop on a
jet to a workshop or speaking engagement.
When meeting Bill you are most likely to be
struck by his energy and sense of humor. Having appeared in over
100 theater productions and directed close to 50, his energy and sense
of humor were acquired partly from his extensive theatrical background.
Bill recalls one client telling him that his workshop was “a wonderful
mix of theology, religion, leadership training, and the movie The
Matrix.” He laughed and relayed the message to Peter Block informing
him that his training had been reduced to a popular movie.
He joined Designed Learning in an
area of work that he greatly enjoys - marketing and client relations. In
addition, he works with clients to help improve their organizations. A
few of the most important qualities Bill thinks a consultant should
possess are authenticity, the ability to engage and be present with
clients, and the ability to have courage. He works hard to bring those
qualities into his workshops, which typically focus on the “Six
Conversations that Matter™,” in order to create a unique experience for the
participants.
During those workshops Bill recognizes that
it takes courage to engage in the models that Peter Block suggests and
even suggested that it be called “Fearless Consulting.” Bill said, “It
takes courage to do that (Flawless Consulting), to engage with people to
try to make an organization work differently.” Peter Block’s principles
take patience and courage to apply, but as Bill can attest, when applied
they do work. The success of the program was what brought Bill to
Designed Learning in the beginning and has kept him along the way.
Bill was originally introduced to
Peter Block through the Association for Quality Participation, a company
where they worked together in the School of Managing and Leading Change,
as well as editing Peter Block’s articles that were published in “News
for Change”. In the beginning even Bill was skeptical about Peter
Block’s innovative principles.
Before actually meeting Peter, Bill
had read The Empowered Manager and attempted to apply the
principles to a group that he was managing. Upon meeting he said to
Peter, “I can’t believe this stuff really works, it makes sense but it
doesn’t work.” Peter responded, “That’s interesting tell me more.” That
was the beginning of a relationship that has developed over the past 16
years with Designed Learning.
Not only do Designed Learning and its
principles affect Bill in the workplace but he also applies them
elsewhere. He is involved in the city government as the Vice Chair of
the Oxford Planning Committee and Chair of Historic and Architectural
Preservation where he works to “change conversations among citizens and
communities so that it’s not about fighting over the present and the
past, but how to create something different in the future.” Bill
changed the atmosphere of the government workplace by removing the
podium and introducing a table to encourage conversation. It is a
perfect example of how proper application of Peter Block’s principles
can leave a positive impact in multiple areas of work. Along with
Bill’s work at Designed Learning he teaches communication, leadership
and organizational behavior courses at Miami University where he
continues to apply Peter Block’s principles in the classroom. He mentioned that Designed Learning influences his class
setting, but also that the students sometimes offer him insight based on
their textbook knowledge of organizations today.
When he’s not conducting workshops,
helping to improve city government, and teaching classes you may be able
to find him on a cruise in the Caribbean, doing yard work, playing
bridge or poker, or even teaching himself to knit although he is still
working up the courage to do it on the airplane. So, for now he’ll have
to stick to his reading of choice, popular fiction novels.
At the end
of the day, Bill has enjoyed talking on the phone with clients but
sometimes feels like no one is happy in his or her organization. He gets
great satisfaction out of helping people ask the right questions to
resolve their problems. When asked what he would like to be included in
his article as a forum to get his words out, Bill said, “Most people
have a greater capacity than they realize. They don’t realize the impact
they can have in organizations.”
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