The Illinois Model

I must have been about six (6) years old. My dad stuffed me into the clothes washing machine.

No, no. Not in the way you're probably imagining. 

It was broken, and my dad was fixing it. Except his hands wouldn't fit where he needed them. So into the belly of the beast I went.

During the process, my dad explained to me how the washing machine worked: motors; water hoses; valves; dirty water discharge. He took something rather complicated for a kindergartner and translated it into language and concepts that I understood. 

In retrospect, that moment was my introduction to systems thinking. 

Growing up, I never saw a repairman in our home. My dad fixed everything - from power tools, to busted lamps, to kitchen appliances, to bathroom plumbing fixtures, to cars. My dad was a cop, but he certainly had (& still has!) some killer skills in his workshop. Alongside my brothers, I grew my confidence around woodworker's and machinist's tools.

When I was fifteen (15) years old, my …

Imagine you're giving a presentation to a large group. During it, you referenced a few blog posts that dig a bit deeper into a particular topic. Or maybe you showed a video. Or quoted from a book. Or offered the entire slide deck to members of the audience. Or willing to give out a digital handout.

And now audience members want that link. Or that file. Or a copy of that research.

How do you handle the logistics of distributing these things?

I remember back a decade ago when audience members would line up after my presentations (flash drives in hand!) so I could plug them in, one (1) at a time, and copy digital files of my slides or other promised resource materials. Inevitably, at least one (1) of the flash drives would run out of memory before all the files were copied over. If you've attended conferences between, oh let's say 2005-2015, you know the drill!

Or maybe you posted your email address on the screen so attendees could reach out over the next week requesting the f…

Thom Dworak and I have been partnered up for a few years with our Growing Adaptive Thinking workshops for police command, supervisors, and trainers. One of our biggest struggles has been in balancing abstract theory with practical implementation. 

Take a quick look at one (1) of the topic lists we compiled during such a 3-day workshop:



I've long believed that the future of human development (ie: "training") is in concept- or principle-based learning strategies. This means that classrooms discuss a limited set of overarching or universal theories that apply to the broadest set of circumstances as possible, rather than a long list of narrowly applied "if-then" types of rules. 

With that, I also believe that our students and learners have been conditioned through formal schooling, sports team practices, and workplace training to ignore much of the abstract and underlying theory for the efficiency of simply learning the standardized procedures or methods.

Simon Sinek…

Thom Dworak and I have the following Growing Adaptive Thinking workshop scheduled:
Oct 09-11, 2018, North suburban Chicago; registration link. Registration is open to any and all law enforcement agency employees - both sworn officers and civilian staff. 


What's the philosophy of the program? Here's some background: 

Law enforcement culture tends to utilize a linear, technical mindset for training, intelligence, policy, operations, and supervision.  At the same time, police officers, supervisors, and command staff continue to struggle with complications from poor decision-making and leadership.  This antiquated framework is a carry over from an industrial education model primarily designed for efficiency via cost savings and the maximization of time...for training factory workers!  The unpredictable modern law enforcement environment is far from that of an assembly line.
Why should we consider adopting a new cultural philosophy in our training, intelligence, policy, operations, and…