Global Sensemaking
Andy Streich
United States
Profile Information:
- About me:
- My full name is Andy Streich (sounds like "strike" in American English).
In the 1990's I was co-creator and senior manager of something called Java Card technology at Sun Microsytems: Java running on a very tiny, low-power chip in a smartcard or other security/financial device. The marketing line now is "1.2 billion [yes, 'billion' with a 'b'] Java Card units have been deployed in sectors as diverse as telecommunications, corporate ID and financial services."
Experience relevant to GlobalSensemaking, in no particular order:
Participated in three international standards bodies and briefly chaired one. Sensemaking tools would have been a godsend, of course if and only if there'd have been a way to get buy-in for their use.
Trained extensively in the Satir system, an outgrowth of the work of family therapist pioneer Virginia Satir applied to personal and organizational growth. Mentors were Jerry Weinberg and Jean McLendon both of whom were students of Satir. Somewhat similar to Theory U and many other popular methodologies. (I should note there is a somewhat cultish aspect to both these people and the their offered training experiences to the extent that some people treat them as nearly infalible gurus. I didn't see it that way at the time but now think there's something to that point of view.)
Was a technical leader and engineering manager in two Fortune 50 companies and several small start-ups, one of which produced what became Java Card technology. So I know something about start-up failure as well as success and about politics, reorganizations, and quality campaigns in large companies.
Pursued meditation practice in the Theravada Buddhist way (meaning very simple, just following the breath or attending in a non-judgmental way to what's happening in the body, thoughts, or feelings) and have gone on several extended silent retreats. Mentor was Gil Fronsdal, a student of Jack Kornfield among others.
Created the blog Trinifar in February 2007 as a way of learning more about population growth, carrying capacity, climate change, ecological economics, peak oil, and related issues.
Participated in, lived through, and survived the dotcom boom and bust in Silicon Valley. Quite an experience for a guy that grew up in a modest, middle class family in rural Pennsylvania.
Dropped out of the PhD program at the U of Michigan with an MS in computer science. Specialized in natural language understanding. Left because I was 30 years old at the time (got started late relative to age cohorts) and was just tired of being poor.
Have published a few short stories under a pen name and now find them so embarrassing that I'll never reveal what that name is.
Have been in a committed relationship for 30 years. No children.
Various kinds of sensemaking:
* Can play the piano and all the brass instruments poorly. Creating music as part of a group is a seminal sensemaking experience.
* Taught skiing for several years.
* Enjoy baking bread.
* Very interested in how groups of people come together and spawn teams that get productive work done.
Am currently seeking a role in a nonprofit dedicated to addressing some meaningful part of the global conundrum of too many people living too high off the hog along with an economic system that works against the best interests of most of the people on this planet.
Politically best described as a radical egalitarian or libertarian socialist.
My email address can be found on this page http://trinifar.wordpress.com/contact/ and feel free to use it. - Web site:
- http://trinifar.wordpress.com/
Ben Tremblay
Nov 12, 2008
Ben Tremblay
Dear old homepage ... it's been a catch-all for years now. Everytime it starts to look slightly craftsman-like I overburden it with something or other.
Nov 13, 2008
Lynne Johnson
I too am looking for my part in improving life on the planet, and recently began a job search that generally takes me to the non-profit sector where much of my work has already been to-date, a lot of it with marginalized people and/or with power imbalances, including that odd idea some folks have that humans are separate from and have power over "nature". Like you I once left a PhD program -- when I was spirited away by a faculty member to design a national training program in community development skills.
Unlike many of the other members I've clicked on so far, I'm not a geek/tech specialist, but a where-the-rubber-hits-the-road (and those not in power got hit and those in the driver's seat ran) generalist (please forgive the gas-guzzling metaphor). I'm a practitioner who has worked where it is all seriously is not making sense, and people and the planet are obviously getting hurt.
So much of what we need to attend to concerning our common conundrum is not obvious, though. I guess you could say I've thrown my hat in, or hope to throw my vocational hat in where we can start making sense of these local and global impacts that are less obvious but no less crucial. Oh my. That was a mouthful.
Until we chat again, good luck as you seek and hope that you find.
Jun 9, 2009