The first talk
The Ways We Carry On will introduce people from the book through their stories and photographs of the places they know. From there, I’ll explore what they learned during difficult periods and how those lessons were passed on.
A family’s response to loss, or a habit that helped people through years of uncertainty, can give an audience something specific to think about. I want people to understand the circumstances behind a lesson before considering how it might relate to their own lives.
Why I’m beginning with executives
I already work with executives. Their responsibilities often require them to manage their own reactions while making decisions that affect other people. That makes this a useful audience for conversations about prolonged pressure and the habits people develop in response to it.
One question I’m particularly interested in is how a group knows when to change a rule that once served it well. Another is what makes it possible to ask for help when other people are relying on you.
Any application needs to respect the original account. The circumstances of war or forced migration are very different from those of a workplace. I’ll be careful about where a comparison is useful and where it stops being reasonable.
Photographs and interviews
Original photography will be a substantial part of the talks. The audience should be able to see the person whose account we’re discussing and understand something about the place where they live.
I’ll use material from the interviews with permission and bring in psychological research when it helps explain what is happening. There will also be room to consider how people in the audience learned to respond to difficulty, and which of those responses still help them.
Beyond leadership audiences
The questions behind the book matter in family and community life as well. People inherit expectations about work, caring for relatives, and handling grief, often without much discussion of where those expectations came from.
As the material develops, I’d like to bring it to public audiences and smaller group conversations too.
Where things stand
The book and first talk are in development. I’m beginning with the Cesuna interviews and photography, then building the talk around the material that comes from that work.