

June 1 • Future Forming
When I work with organizations, I'm often asked to help them solve problems. One of my first challenges is to get them to think about something other than problems. I help them shift their attention to what things would be like if they were exactly how they wished they would be. Now, I don’t mean pie in the sky kinds of wishes. They need to be wishes that feel just familiar enough to imagine they might really happen – that they actually can see themselves and their people in those futures. That’s true whether you are a huge corporation or an LLC.
Once you have an attractive, even compelling, vision of the future, there still need to be ways that keep you moving toward it — that the day to day doesn’t chip away at the feasibility of the dream. How many of us let our own personal dreams fade as we meet with resistance? How many of us have observed that business goals seem to drift? How do we keep them alive, vibrant and full of life?
My guest is Cees Hoogendijk, (pronounced Case Hoogen-dike) He is Founder of Appreciative Inquiry Academy, CFO of Constructive (Un)conferences, and Thinking Partner in Strategic Organization Development. He says that his mission is humanization of organization. Now, that’s something I can get behind. I’m always reminding people that organizations are actually made up of people and wouldn’t be organizations without people. They aren’t people, but they are made up of them. Cees calls it the humanization of organization.
Cees Hoogendijk
Please join us!
June 1 -- At the time of the show (Wednesdays at noon Eastern) we'll also be streaming to my YouTube channel. OR download the app e360tv and watch live on your phone under "Fresh Takes".
Check out the Archives below.

Send me topics you would like to have discussed on a future show. Send your ideas to madelyn@madelynblair.com. Thanks!

Catch up! With the Archives



EPISODE 025
How Art Makes the Difference
Laura Baron & Chris Brown
Award wining artists discuss the challenges and strategies of pursuing a career in the arts.




EPISODE 023
Traci Fenton joins Madelyn
Explore what can bring freedom into the workplace and the amazing bottom-line benefits.
EPISODE 022
Mark Samuel joins Madelyn
What a team looks like when working well, troubleshooting common issues that crop up to disrupt the team dynamic, and more!
EPISODE 021
Bruce Waltuck joins Madelyn
Waltuck talks about complexity so that anyone can understand. Then he presents ways in which we can deal with it in this world. Very practical!
EPISODE 020
Hows and Whys of International Assignments
Paul Corney joins Madelyn
What it means to work internationally from prep to dealing with language and culture differences to getting paid. Corney gives you the ’skinny’ from his work in over 23 countries.
EPISODE 019
Mary Alice Arthur joins Madelyn
If we are to mine the gold of our own selves, we must ask the bigger question. Mary Alice talks about what this means and how we can do it for ourselves.

EPISODE 018
Laurel Sims joins Madelyn
Laurel Sim discusses the overwhelming career opportunities for women in project management and also defines what is means to be a stepping stone.
EPISODE 017
Matthew Kohut joins Madelyn
Matt talks about the two characteristics that help to convey your ideas – capability and connection. Listen to find out how he brings those to life so that you can turn your oration to conversation and much more.


EPISODE 016
How Students of Today Have Changed
Joel Ruffin and Ed Hoffman join Madelyn
Joel and Ed explore the current changes of the spaces where we learn. Contrasting this with what learning is really about, they offer insights to deal with those changes.
EPISODE 015
Lily Liu joins Madelyn
Lily is a family caregiver herself, leaving her work in communications to care for her mother. She tells the story and adds many facts, insights and strategies for empowering family caregivers to any age.
EPISODE 014
Courage in the Face of Challenge
Karen Thomas joins Madelyn & Ed Hoffman
Author of Naturally Recovering Autism, Karen talks about the four phases of addressing the underlying factors that affect autism.
EPISODE 013
Scott Young joins Madelyn & Ed Hoffman
With the topic or goal of your choice, Scott presents principles that can direct you to gain knowledge quickly and to putting that knowledge to use.
EPISODE 012
Tai Campbell joins Madelyn & Ed Hoffman
Tai is a community activist who was influenced at a young age by his father. He builds on this to teach young people how to have the skills and mindset to succeed in today’s urban environment.
EPISODE 011
David Drake joins Madelyn
David Drake, creator of Narrative Coaching, speaks about the challenges of dealing in a time when the future lacks the sense of positive hope that inspired people to overcome adversity and how we can attain that today for ourselves.
EPISODE 010
Lincoln Greenidge joins Madelyn
Lincoln Greenidge, CFO of Pasofino Gold Limited, addresses the importance of having a clear purpose for yourself or your company. He says that purpose is not to be seen as a goal. Instead it is about striving to be what achieves the impact of the purpose in the world.
EPISODE 009
Overcoming Domestic Violence through Daring to Dream
LaFarris Risby joins Madelyn
LaFarris Risby owns several companies but never ceases to take time to help those who suffer from domestic violence find strategies that lead to freedom.
EPISODE 008
Greg Hammer, MD joins Madelyn
Dr. Hammer is Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and author of the book, Gain Without Pain: The Happiness Handbook for health Care Professionals. His focus is on the intentions we bring to our day and offers solid and practical steps to achieve greater happiness.
EPISODE 007
Tim Powell joins Madelyn
Tim Powell, author of The Value of Knowledge, is a Senior Fellow at The Conference Board. He talks on how a clear company purpose is essential to thriving and predicts that CEOs will become Chief Purpose Officers.
EPISODE 006
Keeping a Business Running During the Pandemic
Karen Romano and Ray Wells joins Madelyn
Partners in business and life, Karen and Ray talk about how they kept the family business going throughout the early years of the pandemic. Harnessing Karen’s marketing skills from her day job with Ray’s years of growing up in the business with his father, their story is inspiring and filled with great strategies.
EPISODE 005
Creativity, Sister to Resilience
Michelle James joins Madelyn
Michelle James has been working in creativity for over two decades. She talks about the power of finding ways to enhance your creativity and how it relates very much to resilience through the power of curiosity.
EPISODE 004
From the Eyes of the Storyteller
Pernille Stockfleth joins Madelyn
Pernille Stockfleth joined Madelyn from Denmark to talk about her life as a professional storyteller. Not one that just speaks from the stage but one that works with people to help them integrate the lessons from the stories into their lives. Full of fun and sage advice.
EPISODE 003
Bringing a Company through COVID
Shawn Callahan joins Madelyn
Shawn Callahan is the founder of Anecdote in Melbourne, Australia. Shawn tells a great story, and this story of the first two years of the pandemic are riveting. He explains how he and the entire staff of Anecdote worked to keep things going, and going well.
EPISODE 002
Think Wellness; Build Resilience
Chris O’Rourke joins Madelyn
Chris O’Rourke heads up the COO Forums in NYC and Washington DC, and his attention is always on how to bring real health to organizations. He talks about the seven wellness principles and connects them to resilience.
EPISODE 001
David Fessell, MD joins Madelyn
Dr. Fessell is an expert in humor as well as his professions. He talks about the importance of understanding the benefits of humor in the workplace, at home, and in the world. It’s part of any prescription for health. He shares ways in which anyone can use humor.