#104: Over-Correcting.

Over-correcting. 

Learning that there is a better way to do, be, or think is a treasure, but not the precious kind. Holding this treasure too tightly tends to create harmful extremes.

Obsessive. Compulsive. Critical. Smothering. Short-sighted. Fearful.

Progress best serves when it’s allowed to help and goes no further.

#103: Growth as Life Practice.

Growth as life practice. 

Perspective matters. Growth for growth’s sake gives way to over- then underwhelm. Anti-climax after burnout and the ubiquitous wondering of the point of it all.

A growth mindset that respects the rhythms of life and is rooted in reverence for excellence and contribution rather than grasping is a whole different story. 

Becoming familiar with the ways in which our contributions can become more and more excellent over time is a life practice. The ultimate growth hack.

#102: Displays.

Displays.

We can turn some of the drab or challenging gatherings (meetings) that are unavoidable in our work into opportunities for insightful–even piquant–observation.

If we must be there, we may as well have some fun and develop our skills of observation to unpack the complexity of the characters on display before us–as if to experience the interactions as members of an audience in front and center mezzanine seats.

A full view acknowledges the expressions we can see and envisions what might live below the surface. That is, personalities on exhibition–our own included. Fodder for imagination. Material to map out a whole scene.

We don’t presume to be right–it’s just fun to play.

#101: Interdependence.

At first glance, the concept seems to have limited applications–family life and global trade/geopolitics being, perhaps, the most obvious examples. But widening the frame offers a more enriching and profitable view when considering work life within professional services practices.

Natural hierarchies often obscure the opportunity to see beyond job descriptions. The tendency is to rely on permission structures and operating procedures in order to stay safe. Pervasive fear, apathy, stagnation, and muted work are the results.

In contrast, leaning in to the areas in which team members are encouraged and empowered to make decisions creates a form of kinetic interdependence throughout the organization. Knowing that others are depending on your best work because you own it and understand its importance raises the bar all around.

Getting to this point takes deliberate effort on the part of leaders to create an environment that reveals individual ways of thinking and designs safeguards that absorb and, thus, welcome failure.

The dividends of this investment present as a beautiful cascade: more interesting work at every level of the company → an engaged team that feels valued and trusted (often the most important factor for people) → far less turnover → work products that compound in quality and cohesion over time → clients that notice the difference and become more sticky even at high price points.

#100: Pop-Ups and Pilots.

Pop-ups and pilots. The concept can exist in other forms. MVPs, betas, and trials. The point is that we stay active in a testing mindset and use it to make stuff, do stuff, and engage prior to perfection. Play. 

This thinking should also apply to our day-to-day at work if we’re going to build the muscle for bigger things. Daily reflection on ways we are stuck can be helpful. Olly Richards asks himself each day:

“Where am I overthinking? What do I need to let go of?”

Join this discipline with curiosity to spur forward momentum.

#99: Untangling Yarn.

Untangling yarn. Have you ever tried to untangle a wad of yarn made up of several unraveled skeins?

The process is instructive.

Let’s choose one thread/color to represent our proverbial house (or business) and the act of freeing it represents our goal of creating order therein.

The first step in the process is to recognize that there are intertwined forces creating disorder (e.g., clutter, chaos, confusion) in our midst. And we should begin an exploration of those threads by choosing one and following (observing) it until there is resistance. Then gently create space—part the threads away from each other as if parting branches to peek through a bush.

Space at the resistance.

Space is key. It means to bring keen awareness to our struggles—observe them consciously in the moment for a time instead of continuing in our usual state of reactive oblivion. We create space between ourselves and the situation as if we are watching a movie of our own lives.

We start to see the situation more clearly and then gain a better sense of which way to go next.

Which thread needs observation now? Which bond (relationship or belief or habit or emotion) needs to be released?

What is surprising is that the last color to be untangled is often the most tightly intertwined. The most resistant and insidious. The strongest force holding us back.

My guess is that this force is related to fear or belief.

When there are only two left to tango, there are no other threads to distract, to blame. Things are clear. There are only two ways to go—become more bound or step closer and closer toward our vision.

All of this comes down to taking responsibility for the direction of our lives. It is a process with work and difficult choices but the end result is satisfying.

#98: U-Turns.

U-turns. A knee jerk reaction says no and then there is a pause.

The pause gives time for consideration and an opportunity for wisdom to settle in.

An honest mulling of the question “why not?” turns around the answer to yes after compelling visions begin to surface of buoyant possibilities. Now, “no” feels confining—boring even.

This isn’t always the path so we lean on wisdom, which is quite the shepherd if given the chance.

#97: Ways of Communication.

Ways of communication. As an extended study on widening the frame, plants offer an illuminating case.

Spoken, written, musical, non-verbal.

Non-verbal communication is not foreign to humans. We rely on it heavily, in fact. Its powers make the case for keeping things IRL when it matters.

But even our frame for the concept of non-verbal communication is limited. Gestures, facial expressions, postures, and the hard-to-explain (intuition?).

If we expand the frame beyond counting on two hands the forms with which we are familiar, we might ask, “What combinations of energy and matter bind with intelligence to bring about communication?”

Plants live in community and, as such, have ingenious ways of communicating. Zoë Schlanger, author of the book The Light Eaters, explains one example.
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“The primary way plants communicate with each other is through a language, so to speak, of chemical gasses. ... And there's little pores on plants that are microscopic. And under the microscope, they look like little fish lips. ... And they open to release these gasses. And those gasses contain information. So when a plant is being eaten or knocked over by an animal or hit by wind too hard, it will release an alarm call that other plants in the area can pick up on. And this alarm call can travel pretty long distances, and the plants that receive it will prime their immune systems and their defense systems to be ready for this invasion, for this group of chewing animals before they even arrive. So it's a way of saving themselves, and it makes evolutionary sense. If you're a plant, you don't want to be standing out in a field alone, so to speak. It's not good for reproductive fitness. It's not good for attracting pollinators. It's often in the interest of plants to warn their neighbors of attacks like this.”

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Communication is facilitation and its means are as diverse as its needs.

#96: Questions and Frames.

Questions and frames. We often don’t consider that we’ve framed the question with implicit limitations.

The frame itself seems fixed until another question, the right question, widens the aperture.

Seeking probing, reflective, uncomfortable, wild, stretching, challenging, and energizing questions can widen or completely change the frame.

And with the right question and a new frame, the possibilities explode.