What's Changed?

In this Bloutcher
Where Art, Life and Leadership Collide

• What's Changed?

What's Changed?

For those of us living in Boston complexity came wrapped in baseball hats and knapsacks the other week.

In real time, questions came flying out of the tragedy and mayhem.  Everything happened too fast.  Who were/are these people?  How did they come to do these things?  Is that really the same friendly kid who hobnobbed with all the other everyday teenagers at Rindge and Latin High School?  Is there a foreign connection?  How did they fall between the cracks?  Weren't there tell tale signs?  Did the FBI ask the right questions, dig for the right information when they checked out Tamerlan Tsarvaev? What are the conditions that contributed to this event? We are beginning to get preliminary information but do they add up to answers?  To the full story?

In the Boston Globe on April 24th there is a letter to the editor in which the writer writes:  Students from Rindge and Latin High School (from which the brothers graduated) "are unable to accept the simplistic notion that Tsarvaev (the younger) as the symbol of evil.  They have struggled with the complexities of who this person was;  'He wasn't one of them; he was one of us'; 'He's only 19; he must be so scared'; 'what does this mean for Rindge?' As we all struggle to come to terms with losses of life and innocence in the carnage of the past week, Rindge kids remind us that even this alleged perpetrator's journey is part of the tragedy."

No simple answers.

We live in a VUCA world.  Volatile.  Uncertain.  Complex.  Ambiguous.
 
The VUCA acronym came out of the US Army War College in the late 1990's to describe the new conditions that world military leaders had to face--the rise of terrorism, global political instability, asymmetrical warfare.  This acronym perfectly applies to the world at large and one which we all live in, not just the military.  Unpredictability and disruptive change is happening in virtually every aspect of our lives.  The Boston Marathon tragedy is a microcosm of the broader world.  We have become the world and the world is us.  You may live in some small town in Kansas but you are touched by forces in far flung areas of the globe.  VUCA has come knocking on our doorstep.

I heard a heart wrenching question asked by a six year old child:  "Are we going to be okay?" How do you answer truthfully?  Well, it's complicated.

So what do we do about it?

First, we must give our emotions their due.  Anger, rage, fear.  But we must not act on our emotions.

Second, we should not adopt dinosaur mind:

Cartoon by Larry Gonick, February 8, 2012

We need to ask:  How are things different and how must we become more adaptive and creative in responding to our new VUCA world?

Third, we must claim agency over our lives.  Volatile does not mean unprincipled.  Uncertain does not mean ignorance.  Complex does not mean helpless.  Ambiguous does not mean paralysis. We are by nature learners.  We may be changed but we have the opportunity to become wiser and to actively live our wisdom.

Fourth, let us give gratitude where we have things to be grateful for and to offer love every day to those we love.

8 Creativity Cultivators

In This Bloutcher
Where Art, Life and Leadership Collide

• 8 Creativity Cultivators--things to do EVERYDAY to foster creativity and well being in work and life
• The Leader's Studio

8 Creativity Cultivators
1.  Read something unrelated to your field/industry--a magazine article, a poem, a children's book, a new app (like the Tibetan Bowls) and ask:  How does this apply to a current problem I am trying to solve in my field?

2.  Look at advertisements for products and services not in your field and ask:  What is the concept behind this product?  How might that concept apply to a problem I am working on?  What are the attributes of this product or service and how might they apply to a product or service I am trying to develop/enhance?  Here's one that caught my attention in the New York Times Magazine section to try out.  www.boccia.com. Click on Design Your Own Watch.  Play around.

3.  Find an inspirational quote and ask:  Where do I have opportunities to live this quote in my life and work?  Example:  "I think to be creative you have to resist taking the easy path."  David Libeskind, architect.  Look at the quote every day for a week before going on to your next one.

4.  Choose a random metaphor and apply it to a current problem or challenge you are facing.  Example:  Let's say you are trying to come up with a new product.  Metaphor:  Broccoli.  Ask yourself in what ways do I want my product to be like broccoli.  Trust me.  It's going to stimulate some worthwhile ideas.

5.  Listen to someone who has a different point of view.  Then try on that person's perspective by asking what assumptions do I hold that this point of view challenges.

6.  Take a time out by yourself--10-15 minutes--shut the door, turn off the phone, even better, get out of the office all together--and put yourself in a quiet state of mind by focusing on your breathing.  Empty your head of thoughts and to-do lists.  Breathe in and out.  In and out.  Then identify something specific for which you are grateful--your health, a relationship, an experience, Spring!  Give gratitude for that which you have identified.

7.  Find something to laugh about and share it with someone.

8.  Eat a piece of dark chocolate.  That's right--every day!  Seriously.  The research is in.  It's good for you.  It supports creativity.  Ask Miles Monroe--remember him?  He's the anti-hero in Woody Allen's Sleeper movie.  [Chocolate contains phenylethylamine (PEA), the same chemical you brain creates when you feel like you are falling in love.]

Truth be told, I rarely get to do ALL of these EVERY DAY.  But there is one I NEVER fail to do.  Want to guess which one?

The Leader's Studio

The Leader's Studio is a multifaceted learning platform designed to develop 21st century leaders while enabling them to accelerate innovative solutions to real time challenges.

In the past few years firms such as IBM and Deloitte have surveyed CEOs, Chief HR Officers and business leaders around the world in an effort to understand their leadership needs in a highly fluid environment.  What emerges from these studies is a brave new world characterized by rapid change, disruption and uncertainty on all levels of society.  The studies recognize that a dramatically new suite of leadership skills is needed than even 10 years ago.  These skills include creativity, nimbleness, resilience, comfort with uncertainty, agility.  The Leader's Studio is designed to develop and amplify these very skills.

The Leader's Studio game changing approach leads to two critical outcomes:

• Leaders with 21st century skills
• Innovative solutions to current business and organizational challenges

If you have interest in learning more about The Leader's Studio please send me an email by clicking here.

If you work with clients who you think might benefit from The Leader's Studio and would like to explore how we might collaborate please email me by clicking here.