Leading Questions

Gaining Perspective for 2012

Over the past three years, the ground upon which we stand has been rolling like the ground underneath this Vermont house after Hurricane Irene came through.

If you are still standing, congratulations. If you don't know which direction you are standing, welcome to the club.

If you have fallen, and are trying to pick yourself up, don't quit. What you've been through is, in retrospect, can provide valuable lessons for the future. If you need a hand, just ask. It is how we stand together.

My Experience

Like many people, my last three years have been the hardest that I've ever faced. From losing all my clients within a six week period in the spring of 2009, to 2011 becoming the busiest, most productive year that I've had in the past decade, there are lessons I'm learning that each one of us can apply.

One of things I learned is that I was not as well prepared for the storm of the recession as I should have been. Like many people, I assumed that what I was doing was enough. It wasn't. As a result the process of the past three years has been has been a process of personal development that enables me to see what I need to do to make the next three years the best that I've ever had.

There are three things I did that have been infinitely beneficial. I want to share those with you in this post as a guide for how to look at the next year.  You'll need to download the eight Circle of Impact Leadership Guides. I encourage you to print them off, and use them for taking notes to your self. Keep them handy over the next year. They will help you gain and maintain perspective on what you are headed.

The Circle of Impact Leadership Guides

I'll give you a quick overview of each guide, and then speak to the three things to do that will help you and me make 2012 a year of impact for us both.

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The number one thing to know first is that we are all in transition. Change is happening to us all the time. We each need to make the mental shift from seeing change as random, disruptive chaos to a pattern of change that has a logic that we can tap into and take advantage of. Once we start thinking in terms of transition, we begin to see how a process of development can unfold to our benefit. This is where we start because with a transition mindset, we begin think more opportunistically about the future.

One of the patterns that I've identified is that there are three broad areas that every leader faces. The Three Dimensions are Ideas, Relationships and Organizational Structure. The problem for most of us is that have never been shown how to align them so that they work together. Our experience is more fragmented, which produces the experience of the ground never being stable under our feet.

The key to pulling all of this together is learning to utilize the four Connecting Ideas. They are your Purpose or Mission, Values, Vision and Impact. At this point, it is enough to say that each of these need to be clearly defined so that they can be effectively applied.

The Circle of Impact perspective provides a way to see the whole of an organization. But just seeing it doesn't mean we know how to apply it. The Five Questions guide is the tool that helps us clarify, focus and move more quickly into action. Ask them continually over time, and we begin to see a pattern that helps to make better decisions. This is just a tool. It isn't a magic wand to wave over a problem and it goes away. It is a tool that must be applied and acted upon. So, when you have answered the five questions, make sure that you do something specific in response.

Now if you look back at the first guide, you'll see the ascending S-curves. Keep this image in mind as you answer the questions. Because some of the actions you'll be taking are to stop doing some of the things that you've been doing, so you can begin to do new ones. The Five Questions helps you gain perspective for taking effective action.

I created the My 5 Questions template to make it easy for me to quickly answer the questions whenever the need arises. The purpose is to clarify, focus and move me to action. There is no limitation on where you can use these questions. Use the personally, professionally, with your team, your family, with clients, or with someone you meet over lunch. The questions work very well in conversation.

Here's a MSWord version and a PDF version for your use.  My suggestion is that create a folder to save each time you answer the questions. Often I'll write them out long hand, and transfer my answer to the template and save them for future reflection.

I also use these questions in my coaching relationships. I find leaders, while they know a lot, often lose perspective, and this helps greatly to return them to a point of clarity and focus.

 The Circle of Impact was developed primarily to address business organizational leadership situations. Over time, I began to see that my clients and workshop attendees were also talking about personal issues. As a result, I came to the conclusion that I could translate the Circle of Impact into a personal perspective of Three Life/Work goals. The are to find personal meaning, to have relationships that are fulfilling, and to have a life that makes a difference that matters. As you can see from this guide, The Connecting Ideas are an important part of how we approach our personal lives. This is especially true of the values upon which we base our life. It is therefore, simple to use the My 5 Questions template for personal development as well.

The other three guides provide a picture of how a social network can fit into a traditional hierarchical organization; the different ways people relate to change, and finally, a practical guide to developing the practice of gratitude in organizations.

The Three Things that Mattered the Past Three Years

It is simple. Just three things to do.

1. Care for people. Regardless of who they are. Whomever you meet each day, care for them. Treat them with respect, dignity, and compassion. I don't mean take over their lives. I mean provide them a relationship that enables them to become a better person.

2. Think for yourself. Decide for yourself who you are going to be. Act with integrity towards your own values and goals, so you can help others do the same.

3. Live opportunistically in the moment. As a planner, I can confidently say that a long-range plan is more often a closed door than open path. The best plan is knowing who you are, what values matter, and the impact that you want to achieve. The process is discovered daily in the moment to moment interaction that we have with people. This is where real freedom is found.

My Hope for 2012

I have very low expectations that this years election season will bring the best out in people. But I hope you will make a greater effort to care for people than win political debates. I hope that you will not let the media or the candidates tell you what you should think or what your values should be. Stand on your own so you can find others that will stand with you. Care for your local community, and focus on local issues so you can be more closely connected to your neighbors. Finally, believe that we can be better than we have been, and become an example to others of one is making a transition from what you once were to what seek to be in the future.

All the best for a 2012. Come back regularly in the new year as I have lots of plans. One of them is to create as series of ebooks that provides a more structured system for utilizing the the Circle of Impact Leadership Guides.

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The End and The Beginning Redux

In March of 2011, I wrote a post called The End and The Beginning.  Here's an excerpt.

What I see is:

    The Beginning of the End of the Progressive ideal.

     The  End of the Beginning of the Capitalist model.

     The Emergence of freedom and democracy on a global scale.

The first two, Progressivism and Capitalism, along with modern Science, are the principal products of the age of Enlightenment.

The Progressive ideal believed, and still does by many of its advocates, that through government control of science and industry a free, equitable and peaceful world could be achieved. Conceived during the 19th century as a belief that society could be perfected, and as a counter-balance to the industrialization taking place in Europe and the United States, it was an utopian belief in a well-order, controlled, uniform world.

The Capitalist model was born in a belief that each individual should be free to pursue their own economic welfare, and not be forced by government rules or economic servitude to do that which they choose not to do. It was the ideology that provided the basis of the industrialization out which has come prosperity for more people in history and the rise of the modern middle class.

Both the Progressive ideal and the Capitalist model have brought great benefits and liabilities to society. They form the two sides of virtually every divisive issue confronting the world today. They are quite similar, yet in very different ways. Both are organized around the control of power and wealth. Both have been institutionalized in the large, hierarchical organizations in Washington and on Wall Street, and in similar institutions throughout the world.

Over the past decade, the Progressive ideal and the Capitalist model have begun to show their age. The assumptions that underlie these ideologies are being challenged by forces of change that are beyond their control. Because the control of global forces of change is problematic and less realistic.

I wrote this before the Occupy Wall Street movement began.

I have thought for a long time that there was an evolutionary cycle of institutional decline taking place. Some of this change was the result of out-dated organizational and leadership philosophies, and some of it the emergence of technologies that provide for a more boundary-less environment for communication and collaboration.

This change is an organic process that will ultimately transform or replace most organizations. While I still believe this to be true, I also see that there is a revolutionary cycle of institutional destruction taking place as well.

Read these two different views of the Occupy Wall Street movement. First, Naomi Wolfe's The Guardian article, The Shocking Truth about the Crackdown on Occupy. Then read Matthew Continetti's The Weekly Standard editorial, Anarachy in the USA.

If both are right, then what we are seeing is the rise of political violence on a broader scale in America than we have seen since the late 1960's / early 1970's.  I see parallels from my youth in this generation of young people who rush to join the protests, without really knowing what they hope to change. Their frustration is shared broadly.

A few times over the past few months, I have heard business people in differing contexts say something like, "I'm not making any investments in equipment, no acquisitions of companies, and no hiring until after next year's election."  The reason, instability, a lack of clarity about the rules. In effect, they don't know how their investments will be taxed. As a result, they are forced to sit and wait, contributing to a further erosion of jobs and economic sustainability for families and communities.

This fits with the trends picture presented by Charles Hugh Smith in his post The Future of Jobs. Look closely at the 5Ds at the end of this list.

Most cultural and economic trend changes begin on the margin and then spread slowly to the core, triggering waves of wider recognition along the way. Thus some of these long-wave trends may not yet be visible to the mainstream, and may remain on the margins for many years. Others are so mature that they may be primed for reversal.

The key here is to be aware of each of these, think on which are most likely to impact your current profession and how, and estimate when that impact is likely to be expressed so that you can position yourself wisely in advance:

1. Automation enabled by the Web…
2. The cost structure of the US economy—the system-wide cost of housing, food, energy, transport, education, health care, finance, debt, government, and defense/national security--is high and rising, even as productivity is lagging. …
3. The stress of operating a small business in a stagnant, over-indebted, high-cost basis economy is high, and owners find relief only by opting out and closing their doors. …
4. The Central State has been co-opted or captured by concentrations of private wealth and power to limit competition and divert the nation’s surplus to Elites within the key industries of finance, health care, education, government, and national security. ….
5. Financialization of the economy has incentivized unproductive speculation and malinvestment at the expense of productive investment. …
6. The U.S. economy has bifurcated into a two-tiered regulatory structure. Politically powerful industries such as finance, education, health care, oil/natural gas, and defense benefit from either loophole-riddled regulation or regulation that effectively erects walls that limit smaller competitors from challenging the dominant players. …
7. Selective globalization and political protection has created a two-tiered labor market in the US. …
8. Financialization and the two-tiered labor market have led to a two-tiered wealth structure in which the top 10%'s share of the nation’s wealth has outstripped not just the stagnant income and wealth of the lower 90%, but of productivity, the ultimate driver of national wealth.
   
9. … Looking farther out, there are emerging trends I call “the five Ds:” definancialization, delegitimization, deglobalization, decentralization and deceleration. …
10. Definancialization. Resistance to the political dominance of banks and Wall Street is rising, and the financial industry that thrived for the past three decades may contract to a much smaller footprint in the economy.
11. Delegitimization. The politically protected industries of government, education, health care, and national security are increasingly viewed as needlessly costly, top-heavy, inefficient, or failing. Supporting them with ever-increasing debt is widely viewed as irresponsible. Cultural faith in large-scale institutions as “solutions” is eroding, as is the confidence that a four-year college education is a key to financial security. 
12. Deglobalization. Though it appears that globalization reigns supreme, we can anticipate protectionism will increasingly be viewed as a just and practical bulwark against high unemployment and withering domestic industries. We can also anticipate global supply chains being disrupted by political turmoil or dislocations in the global energy supply chain; domestic suppliers will be increasingly valued as more trustworthy and secure than distant suppliers.
13. Decentralization. As faith in Federal and State policy erodes, local community institutions and enterprise will increasingly be viewed as more effective, responsive, adaptable, and less dysfunctional and parasitic than Federal and State institutions.
14. Deceleration. As debt and financialization cease being drivers of the economy and begin contracting, the entire economy will decelerate as over-indebtedness, systemic friction, institutional resistance to contraction (“the ratchet effect”), and political disunity are “sticky” and contentious.

So, a picture emerges that promises the economic and political environment to be more unstable and volatile over the coming year. I believe this requires us to make a change in our perspective about the way we view the evolutionary changes that are working in tandem and at time against the revolutionary changes of the past few months.

Understanding the Transition

Many of the people I am with on a daily basis feel a strong ambiguity towards institutions, like government, business and religion. Many of these institutions are failing, declining, or evaporating before our eyes. I don't need to go into the reasons why. It really doesn't matter that much because to a great degree, it is a function of the transition from one era to the next. I don't believe we can stop those changes. Our course of action is to be different. Here are some of the ways we can adapt to this changing social landscape.

1. Develop Parallel Structures that provide a buffer against the disintegration of legacy institutions. Creating parallel and redundant structures provides a greater margin of security against the shifts that are taking place. The thinking process behind this is to define the four Connecting Ideas of Mission, Values, Vision and Impact for your organization, and then answer, How do we create the structures that can fulfill the potential that resides in this ideas?

2. Develop Networks of Trust that provide a community of collaborators who stand with one another as economic conditions worsen. If society moves towards a more anarchic, violent place, then having a network of trust is essential for security and safety.

3. Develop a Long View / Big Picture that projects out how new ways of working can become sustainable.  Right now, using traditional plannng methods, it is very difficult to create a long range plan for development. Yet, without some clarity about the Big Picture, we are at the mercy of the current fashionable idea. Build a Long View / Big Picture around the Values that are most important to you and to those who are in your network of relationships. Strong values lived out in our relationships are an essential strength for being more adaptible in the face of revolutionary change.

4. Develop an Independent, Adaptable Mind that is able to discern the Big Picture in the moment of decision. Don't let someone else tell you what to think. Think for yourself. Do your own research. Read broadly. Think critically, with a view to understanding context, trends and what the Big Picture is. Engage in conversation, ask questions, change your mind, and build a network of people who are just as independently like minded.

5. Develop the Character of Resiliency that refuses to quit or fail, but continues to adapt and learn. This resiliency comes from an inner strength of courage and confidence that we can go through any difficult situation and remain true to ourselves. To be resilient requires us to see ourselves as more than the victim of current circumstances, but able to adapt and change to create the structures and relationships needed to advance forward.

6. Develop Traditions that Celebrate Values that unite people together as communities of shared mission and responsibility.  Of the four Connecting Ideas, Values is the only one that does not change. Our values are the glue that holds us together in times of crisis and stress. It is the core strength of every lasting institution. Those people and institutiosn that are able to change are the ones whose values are greater than its organizational structure.

7. Develop the Leadership of Personal Initiative in every social and organizational setting you touch. The attitudes and behaviors of entitlement and dependence, which have been nurtured by the institutions that are declining will not sustain society in the future. The freedom of the individual is the freedom to lead through their own personal initiative. The key is understanding that this initiative is the leadership of the future, as person who are free to act, join with others to create the parallel structures that are needed to replace the structures in decline.

The End and The Beginning Redux

I'm still convinced that we are witnessing the decline of Progressivism as a viable system for society. I'm also convinced that Capitalism as it has developed in the late 20th / early 21st century is not sustainable. I am more convinced than ever that individual freedom and the liberty of democracy are the trends that will carry us through the violence of the next generation. I say so because the era that is passing away before us will not go quietly. But go away, it will. That too I am firmly convinced.

How to make your ideas connect

If you spend any time reading blogs or Twitter feeds, you'll see that influence is connected to ideas. The influence of those ideas is born in being an effective communicator. However, what I find is that many, many people actually don't know how to use words. They can string a sentence together. We think we know what they mean because they are using words everyone else is using. However, if you step back and actually try to understand what they are saying, it is just nonsense language.

If you want your ideas to make a difference that matters, then they must connect on several levels. Here's how to make your ideas connect for influence and impact.

1. Context: Does the idea you are using have a real world context? When you use the word great, are you speaking about something that functions in an objective, measurable context? When you speak of excellence, is there a standard that is useful reference point for understanding what it means? The meaning of words are understandable because we place them in a context that is familiar to us.

2. Connection: Does your idea create a stronger connection to people? In other words, are you words intelligible to the people with whom you are trying to communicate. To tell a five year old that your family is implementing a collaborative process of decentralized domestic maintenance is to disconnect the child from the point that they are responsible for picking up their clothes and toys from their rooms. It is important to know your audience, and to understand how to make connections with them. The connections we make are not just intellectual, but also emotion. I'd say that most of our connections are first emotional, and then intellectual. If they are then we need to be emotionally aware of the effect that our words have.

3. Clarity: Here are two suggestions that I continue to have to practice. If you want to communicate clearly, try writing without any modifying words. No adverbs nor adjectives. When we use them, we are qualifying the idea, splitting it into more than idea, which adds ambiguity, and a loss of clearness. As a writer who tends to be too complicated, I know that the challenge is to be simple and clear, not comprehensive and complex. So, if your sentence structure is like William Faukner in The Sound and The Fury, sentences going on page after page, then try this. Take the sentence, and wherever a common is, put a period. In that phrase, put a verb. What you'll find is that your clarity of thought will increase, and the flow of your writing will improve. 

Making connections with people is a communication process. Work at speaking and writing in a context that people can understand. Connect with them on both an emotional and an intellectual level. Be clear by making your language and sentence structure as simple as possible. Do this and you'll find that you'll understand what your thinking better than you use to.

Creating healthy partnerships

Leveraging our businesses by collaborating with other businesses is one way not to get trapped by the pressure to commoditize our products and services. It is easier said than done. Yet, it needs to be done so we don't get priced out of the market.

A couple years ago, I received a question about how to organize a business partnership that address this question. Here's some of what I wrote then.

First their question: Another company and ours are joining forces to provide services to a third company. Our two companies provide different services and do not ordinarily compete for the same projects. What advice could you offer about how we organized this partnership?

It is essential that the partners are clear about the scope and substance of the project. Included in this perspective is clarity about what is your companies’ responsibilities for the project.

Clarity of understanding is a communication task, and communication is where most partnerships begin to fail. Your individual assumptions and perceptions of what constitutes the project and your roles and responsibilities are the where you need to begin.

One way to explore this is to ask: “Do I understand what is expected of us to complete this project?” If you have any doubts, then you then you need to talk some more.

Your project plan should identify the specifics about what is the timeframe, sequence of steps, expectations for performance and compensation. Do this and the more likely the project will be completed on-time and within budget.

The key is to an effective negotiation is for both of you to work toward what is mutually beneficial. If you or the other firm plays a game of cutthroat, you’ll both be sorry. When a partnership agreement is equitable for both sides, then many of the issues of conflict that plague partnerships can be alleviate.

Does having a mutually beneficial, equitable business relationship mean that everything is equal?

No. Equally is really an idealistic term that is rarely achieved in life or work.

Instead, approach your agreement from what is fair. This fairness needs to begin with what is fair to the client by answering the questions about the structure and responsibilities of project. Only then, can you identify more precisely what is fair compensation for the partners involved.

In addition, pay attention to these areas of potential conflict.

First, avoid being the nice guy and accepting responsibility for work that is the other company’s. Your division of responsibility should be clear, mutually acceptable, and fairly compensated.

Second, avoid basing your perception of progress on the assumption of that your partner will work as diligently as you. Unless you have worked together before, assume that you need more information on their company’s progress than you typically would get. This is an issue of communication and accountability.

In your negotiation to become partners, you need to discuss how you will be mutually accountable to one another.

In many partnerships and businesses, the word “accountability” incites passionately negative reactions. At issue is your ability to trust one another. If you can, then you can establish a mutually beneficial process for holding one another accountable for each other’s progress. It is important that you establish agreement before you begin. It will save you both headaches in the long run.

Third, avoid ambiguity; be clear about what must be done and who is responsible. Avoid making commitments where the conditions are ambiguous. Treat every “if-then” agreement – “If we are ahead on time and money, then …” – as a commitment that you will have to fulfill. Adding possible situations creates confusion, and adds to the project the temptation for the project to grow beyond its budget and time frame.

Fourth, make one person the project manager who is responsible for the project. If if there is a clear division of work, it is important to center accountability in one person whose job is to coordinate the contributions of the partners. 

In negotiating any type of partnership agreement, make sure that you are absolutely clear about roles, responsibilities, compensation, and performance expectations. Get it in writing as well. Do this and you’ll find your partnership experience a successful one.