This month, Dick will travel to Washington D.C. and the DuVersity Board Retreat held in Wilmington, Delaware to discuss “Organizational Rejuvenation.” Organization Rejuvenation is a three-fold process that enables an organization to renew itself, make better and more effective decisions, and to build a more sustainable organization.

Dick Knowles was the instructor for a 7-week course (July/August) in the MBA Program at Medaille College on Organizational Behavior. Dick incorporated many of the things that he and Claire learned in Michael Grinder’s Group Dynamics course last June.

Dick Knowles and Gwen Andrews have had their joint paper, “A Practical, East-West Exploration of Leadership and Learning,” accepted for the February 15-18, 2011, First International Conference, Exploring Leadership and Learning Theories in Asia, sponsored by Asia-Europe Institute, University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The paper has been noted to be a significant contribution.

Richard and Claire Knowles completed a 5-day course with Michael Grinder on Group Dynamics, which will specifically enhance our skills in working with groups, particularly with non-verbal behaviors. Michael Grinder is an expert in this field and we were privileged to train with him. (As Stephen Covey notes… It is important to take time to “sharpen the saw.”) We have gleaned much from this course!

Richard Knowles will be teaching a course in Organizational Behavior and Transformation in the MBA Program at Medaille College (Amherst Campus) from mid-July until late August. Richard’s years of Leadership experience in the work-world and in his international consulting, bring deep insights to this class.

Richard and Claire Knowles have teamed up with Patty Brown and Mike Matteson, with Integrated Business Ventures, for a Learning Event in Ithaca, New York, in late July. The session is geared for entrepreneurs who are thinking about the future of their business, wondering what its real value is, thinking about developing an exit plan, or searching for the best strategies to enhance or build the value of their business, or to maintain their business during this economic downturn, or to actually sell their business.

Dick and Claire Knowles recently held Safety Leadership Workshops for over 300 people in several manufacturing and construction locations in Australia and New Zealand. The levels of enthusiasm and interest were high with people shifting their focus towards looking at people as they worked and in eliminating unsafe acts. Their injury rates began to go down immediately.

Both Dick and Claire Knowles participated in a Massey University Sustainability Conference, in Auckland, New Zealand, at year-end 2009. Dick’s paper, “Leadership, a Key to Our Sustainable Future,” was well received by the attendees who quickly grasped the importance of the leadership approach presented in his paper. The broad participation of their organizations was seen as extremely important in building a credible sustainability effort. Those companies who involve their people are much less likely to be seen as just “green washing” (all talk and little real progress) in their sustainability efforts.