It is this triple convergence—of new players, on a new playing field, developing new processes and habits for horizontal collaboration—that I believe is the most important force shaping global economics and politics in the early twenty-first century. Giving so many people access to all these tools of collaboration, along with the ability through search engines and the Web to access billions of pages of raw information, ensures that the next generation of innovations will come from all over the Planet Flat. The scale of the global community that is soon going to be able to participate in all sorts of discovery and innovation is something the world has simply never seen before. [pp. 181-182, emphasis added]
January Inspired Leap™ "Ah-Ha!" Newsletter
January 15, 2006
Topics Covered This Month
• Quotes of the Month
• Upcoming Speaking Engagements
• Start with a Prepared Mind
• Take Notice: The World Is Now Flat
• Get Ready for Change
• Slow Down: Get a Life!
• Some Executives Still Don’t Get It
• Take Charge and Go for a Balanced Life
• Inspired Leap Reminders
• Final Thoughts on Our Changing World and Getting a Life
Dear Dianna,
Over the holidays, I caught up on some reading, including the cover story of Fortune's November 28, 2005 issue, which exhorts us to "Get a life!" At the same time, I have been reading Thomas L. Friedman’s important book on connectivity and the "flattening" of the world (in terms of work and communication), The World Is Flat.
If you have read any of Friedman's book (I’m only halfway through now), you’ll know that it’s a challenge to focus on "getting a life" when you read how people in countries such as India, China, and Russia are doing work for corporations that many of us probably assumed would always be done locally.
In this month’s issue, I’ll talk about the need to "get a life" to stay ahead of worldwide competition and to maintain sanity, health, and relationships. Read on to be inspired to bring balance to your life and increase productivity at the same time.
Quotes of the Month
Get a Life! The 24/7 grind hurts-but corporations are helping executives escape it.—Fortune Magazine, November 28, 2005, cover.
Fortune favors the prepared mind.—Louis Pasteur, as quoted in The World Is Flat, by Thomas Friedman, p. 113
Upcoming Speaking Engagements
- Intuition in the Workplace: January 17, 2006, 6:00 pm, American Society of Women Accountants – Austin Chapter
- The Future from a Right Brain Perspective: February 21, 2006, 6:00 pm, World Future Society – Central Texas Chapter (www.centexwfs.org)
- An Intuitive Intensive at Lake Austin Spa Resort: March 16, 2006, 9:00 am – 3:00pm, with spa treatment immediately following. (Visit Inspired Leap to sign up now)
- Creative Thinking and Creativity for Business People: March 24, 2006, American Creativity Association International Conference, Austin, TX (Visit www.amcreativityassoc.org to sign up now.)
Start with a Prepared Mind
As the scientist Louis Pasteur told us in the quote above, fortune or success in life really does favor the prepared mind and body. Since January is the month in which most of us focus on establishing goals and intentions for the new year and beyond, it’s a good time to plan for and begin the right preparation.
By the end of this newsletter, I hope to impress upon you the importance of setting two goals: 1) to read The World Is Flat by Thomas Friedman; and 2) to move toward work-life balance to have your brain and body ready to perform at peak levels while at work.
When you read The World Is Flat, you’ll understand why it’s so important to be mentally and physically prepared for the dramatic changes coming our way. Even though I’m still working my way through the book, I can safely say that it’s a must-read for every businessperson.
Friedman provides compelling information about the rapid changes occurring in the U.S. and around the globe and the source of those changes. He starts with the fall of the Berlin Wall and goes on to describe the ramifications of the technology boom and the dot.com bust.
Take Notice: The World Is Now Flat!
The United States has been a leader in the areas of creativity and innovation for much of its existence, and has traditionally stayed many steps ahead of its international competition. But Friedman shows the dramatic effect that technology, political change, and other transformations are having on the ability of our peers around the world to compete for work, and how their work ethic and competitive pricing are helping them to narrow the gap. In addition, the Chinese, Indians, and Russians—in particular—are hungry for what the "good life" can bring them, and are willing to work long hours to get their share. In the case of the Chinese, there is also a clear objective of surpassing the U.S. as the largest economy in the world.
Friedman points out that the new world created by what he describes as "the triple convergence" requires new skills from us and is helping our worldwide peers to come after our creative advantage.
As Carly Fiorina, former CEO of HP (Hewlett-Packard) told Friedman, "How you collaborate horizontally and manage horizontally [across companies and spanning the globe] requires a totally different set of skills" from the more traditional top-down approach. [p. 179]
"We have gone from a vertical chain of command for value creation to a much more horizontal chain of command for value creation," explained Fiorina. Innovations in companies like HP, she said, now come more and more often from horizontal collaboration among different departments and teams spread all across the globe. For instance, HP, Cisco, and Nokia recently collaborated on the development of a camera/cell phone that beams its digitized pictures to an HP printer, which quickly prints them out. Each company had developed a very sophisticated technological specialty, but it could add value only when its specialty was horizontally combined with the specialties of the other two companies. [p. 179]
Why is all of this important? Because the changes coming will affect every job and career sooner or later, so it's best to be aware and get yourself ready to respond.
Get Ready for Change
To stay one step ahead, we must be able to come up with brilliant ideas and novel solutions, work effectively in teams, and respond quickly to change. All of this requires a mind that works at peak level, which in turn requires an ability to access all of your inner wisdom and knowledge, to see things from a different, or fresh, perspective, and to communicate your ideas clearly and quickly.
As I read The World Is Flat, I kept thinking of my favorite quote from Joseph Jaworski's excellent book, Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership. I’ve shared this quote often, but I want to repeat it, as it is germane to the discussion here. It comes from an incredible discussion Jaworski had with David Bohm, a leader in the field of quantum physics. Bohm offered these words to Jaworski as he was embarking on his venture to start a new leadership organization:
You’re on the verge of a creative movement. Just go with it. You cannot be fixed in how you’re going about it any more than you would be fixed if you were setting about to paint a great work of art. Be alert, be self-aware, so that when opportunity presents itself, you can actually rise to it.[p. 83]
To succeed in this global, competitive, fast–paced world, we need to be able to recognize and "rise" to opportunities and challenges that come our way, because they will not remain opportunities for long. Someone is waiting in the wings to take our place if we’re not willing to stretch ourselves to meet the challenge. How do we do this? I believe the solution is counterintuitive: we need to slow everything down!
We cannot be "alert" or "self–aware" if we are exhausted and stressed out. We cannot respond rapidly and make the optimal decision if we are downing coffee or candy bars to keep ourselves awake to answer one last email.
Slow Down: Get a Life!
In their November 28, 2005, Fortune article, Get A Life! [pp. 109-124], authors Jody Miller and Matt Miller point to a trend of male executives finally speaking up and acknowledging that 80-hour weeks can no longer be the norm. In a Fortune poll, 64% of male executives want more time over more money, and 71% would choose more time over career advancement.
When asked to rate how strongly they agree or disagree with this statement: "I would like job options that let me realize my professional aspirations while having more time for family, community, religious activities, friends, and hobbies," 48% of those polled said they strongly agree and 36% said they somewhat agree. [p. 110]
Clearly the frustration over long work hours (whether because of long hours in the office or being available 24/7) is beginning to create men willing to speak up about what women have been saying for years. In fact, the article’s authors focused on men because the idea of women being concerned about balance is so accepted and acknowledged that it’s not news. They also pointed out that until senior male executives acknowledge the problem for themselves or their peers, true change isn’t likely to happen.
Perhaps it is the data that shows the negative effects of stress on the mind and body (see my December newsletter), or physical and mental exhaustion, or spouses and friends abandoning workaholics. Whatever the reason, senior corporate executives are now getting the message that there’s a need for attention to the subject of work-life balance.
Understanding the need for a sharper mind and higher energy when on the job to maximize creative and innovative work puts even more pressure on all of us to achieve the right balance. The costs of poor decisions and mediocre ideas are higher than ever in our global work world. It’s time to make a serious effort to take back your life. Your career could ultimately depend on it.
Some Executives Still Don't Get It
Despite acknowledging the issue, 44% of the same male executives polled said that "an effort for more of a work-life balance by your employees" would have "some negative impact." And 49% of these executives described themselves as "workaholics," with 70% saying "they already have enough time to do non-work things that are important to them." [p. 116]
One of the things that struck me while reading the Millers’ article is how many successful men there are who assume that because they choose to work 60, 80, or more hours a week, those around them should as well.
The biggest challenge in humanizing work may be not how to get the work done but how to persuade corporate leaders to view the desire for a complete life as legitimate. It hasn’t been a CEO priority, to put it mildly. [p. 120]
We are all different and have different needs and wants. The objective is to get the maximum creativity, brilliance, communication, and productivity out of each and every employee. For some, that might be the pressure of being on and available 24/7, but for most, a fresh, rested brain and body will deliver more effective decision making and teamwork.
In this fast-paced world, it is critical to be able to access your intuition and nonconscious brain in order to take the right next step, make the optimal decision, or create the ideal solution. It’s extremely difficult to do this effectively when you are trying to multitask or are too exhausted to quiet your mind.
Take Charge and Go for a Balanced Life
So what can you do to shape a positive discussion with your boss, peers, employees, and yourself (!) about the need for work-life balance? First, I highly recommend reviewing the Fortune article and sharing it with key people, especially because it is such a well-respected publication. A discussion around the insights shared in the article would be a great way to start a dialogue on the topic. It keeps the discussion from being an emotional one, or a conversation that sounds like whining.
Next, I recommend looking for cases where a balanced life is clearly working for a company or peer. In their article, the Millers discuss the overall growth in and quality of productivity in Europe, despite a well-known penchant for extensive vacations.
But the rough parity of Europe’s productivity with America’s own, despite the absence of a macho work culture, should give Americans pause. The moral: Americans don't have to work like the Indians and Chinese any more than they have to work like 19th-century factory hands, when hours were far longer than today. "There’s probably not a productivity penalty to shortening hours in the U.S., and there may even be a benefit," says Martin Baily, who chaired President Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisors." [p. 123, emphasis added]
As I’ve discussed before, real life examples, or stories, are a powerful way to communicate new ideas and to transform old ways of thinking. Look for people you know who get promoted, grow their business, and succeed, and have time for family, fun, and friends. They are out there! Use their examples to give you the courage to slowly begin to revamp your schedule to allow more time for rest and play.
Why is this so critical now? Well, the Millers alluded to it in their quote about productivity: "Americans don’t have to work like the Indians and Chinese." What if that’s true? What if the key to success is to actually slow things down, stretch and rest your mind and body, and enter each day refreshed and on fire to out-innovate your competition?
Personally, my money is on the brilliant insights of that world-renowned physicist, David Bohm. I intend to work toward balance, so I’ll be alert, self-aware, and ready to strike when opportunities or challenges come my way. How about you?
Inspired Leap Reminders
Inspired Leap Reminders are areas of focus and part of the Inspired Leap Approach to maximizing productivity, creativity, and morale. In each newsletter, we take a look at how the topic of the month might be viewed in the context of these important areas of focus. Or, in some cases, we use the section as a gentle reminder to pay attention to these concepts in our daily lives.Responsibility: It is easy to feel overwhelmed and a victim at the mercy of huge corporations and the whims of their CEOs and stockholders after reading Fortune's article, "Get a Life," or Friedman's book, The World Is Flat. However, allowing those feelings to stop you from moving forward is simply caving into the inner voice that's afraid of change or of taking control. Remember, you have complete control over how you respond to the challenges and changes that come your way. Stay focused on your goals and make the most of your brain’s powerful ability to manifest change.
Creativity: Next month I'll talk about another powerful book—A Whole New Mind, by Daniel Pink—that reinforces what Friedman says and states that America's greatest strength is our creativity or innovation. To get out of the 24/7 rat race and stay ahead of the competition requires a mind that is in top, creative form. What goals have you made this year to expand your creative talents? It has never been more important for people to stretch their minds in new ways. Sign up for an art class, explore pottery, write short stories, or read biographies of creative people you admire and pick one of their habits to emulate.
Detachment: In order to achieve some semblance of work-life balance, it’s critical to be able to detach from the outcome of your endeavors. Do the best you can in preparation and in the moment, and then allow the outcome to unfold. In our do, do, do culture, we forget that "balance" means both giving and receiving. Once you've given a project your all, then rest and restore your energy knowing you’ll receive the right outcome. Forcing anything or worrying about something you can’t control is a waste of your precious energy.
Forgiveness: Sometimes thinking about how many hours we work or how exhausted we are can bring up regrets for activities or opportunities we’ve missed. Whether it’s a child’s piano recital or a friend’s 40th birthday bash, give yourself permission to acknowledge your regret, and then forgive yourself. Remember that you did the best you could in the moment. After forgiving yourself, consider using these memories and feelings to empower you to take the steps to cut back your hours at work.
Kindness and Compassion: January is the month of resolutions, but new goals have a funny way of getting derailed early on. The key is to be kind to yourself when you forget and revert to old habits, and then to start again. Creating new habits takes time, patience, and renewed effort. If you stop again, consider breaking the goal down into smaller segments, so you can easily achieve a few wins to build momentum toward success.
Resistance to Change: Those who succeed in life are those who acknowledge their natural resistance to change and the fears they automatically throw up as roadblocks, and then move forward anyway. Getting sucked into working 24/7 or burying your head in the sand and ignoring the knowledge Thomas Friedman provides are simply ways of avoiding making powerful changes for your own success. Examine why you might be avoiding incredible success in all areas of your life and use that awareness to say, "thanks for sharing" to that fearful inner self, and then move forward.
Final Thoughts on Our Changing World and Getting a Life
May 2006 bring you an awareness of the exciting changes and challenges coming our way and may you see the possibilities those changes can bring, instead of the worries.Find the courage to strive for a balanced life, so that you can begin every work day ready to tap into your full creative potential and your mind’s brilliance. A prosperous, vibrant, mentally stimulating world awaits you. Are you ready?
With encouragement to leap ahead,
Dianna Amorde
President,
Inspired Leap Consulting Inc.Comments or questions about this newsletter? Email me at damorde@inspiredleap.com.
I look forward to hearing from you.
. . .
If your company needs help with inspiring employees to reach new heights in productivity, creativity, morale, and integrity, please contact us at inspiredleap.com or 512-236-0090. If you need some more inspiration or more regular nudging to practice these steps, check out our website to see what’s new to inspire you (a visit to The Quiet Room may be just what you need!).
