Omakase

From time to time I offer what I call an omakase.

In essence, I go somewhere new and set myself up in a bach, shack, or whatever the local equivalent. I’m there to write, but once a week I open the house. I set readings (listenings, viewings, experiments) in advance according to wherever my thoughts are at the moment — that’s the omakase, “chef’s choice” part. On the appointed day, participants come out to my place. I serve tea and we talk about the shared text and whatever it leads to.

It’s an opportunity to practice exploratory thinking in a relaxed setting in the company of others who share your interest.

I limit the group to a dozen participants, give or take. The seminar might run two sessions or ten, depending on how long I’m around. The fee will vary with the locale.

I’ll provide a syllabus in advance, but we’re free to change it as we go. We don’t record these sessions, and I ask that participants exercise discretion in discussing them elsewhere so that we may all feel at ease stumbling around in the dark.

Variations on the format — compressed into a weekend etc — are possible.

If you’d like to sponsor one in your area, drop me a line.

My professional go-to guy for understanding human relationships and cultural dynamics. Josh’s interdisciplinary approach and hands-on experience, combined with his extraordinary theoretical and methodological insight, makes him an invaluable dialogue partner. His personal engagement in deprived communities underscores his commitment to bringing positive change to real-world challenges.

Lars Kirdan, SAS

A mentor … Josh’s knowledge, curiosity, and way of connecting things are difficult to pinpoint to one genre of consultation. You may end up on an unexpected path, meet a new collaborator, or bring to life something that’s been missing a key ingredient.

Courtney Holm, A.BCH

Josh combines a depth of knowledge with a gift for observation in a way that can only be called wisdom.

Mikko Järvenpää, Järvenpää Foundation