Starting today

So this is it. After decades of procrastinating today I am going to start to write a book. Said now. In public. So I will.
It's non-fiction and was going to be straightforward but now I'm considering a more fabled approach. Curious without corny. Intriguing without introverted. Possible without predictable.

Inspiring picture for day one of the journey. Chosen quickly and intuitively so now I will consider it.

An apple a day - business apples? Core truths. Pips squeak. One bite at a time. Here we go....

Q: How to refresh the thinking around dementia? A: Oppositeland

A senior professional in this sector posed this question to me recently - she felt they had stagnated in their approach and needed a mental jump to find more creative and progressive approaches. We discussed how increasing awareness of dementia - how it progresses, how it affects the individual concerned and those around them, ways to cope - was helpful but had also concentrated on the negative aspects of the disease.

What if we took a thought leap. What if we had to write an article about the positive contribution dementia can offer. To the individual concerned. To their friends and family. To society at large.

Some of the ideas that came out of the brainstorm were:

• those with dementia remind us of how to live in the present moment, free of history and expectations
• we realise the benefits of a non-dementia state and may appreciate them more
• the unusual interpretations can be enjoyed - maybe they show us a whole different way of seeing
• those with dementia still carry memories of times nobody else may be able to remember - giving us a chance to log and preserve those memories

When you have a pressing Problem, why not give yourself a break and look at it from the other side of the mirror for ten minutes. It will probably restore your energy and sense of humour and it may just revolutionise your thinking.

(cartoon from Val Jones, founder of http://www.getbetterhealth.com)

Hung or balanced?

Language certainly impacts our interpretation of events. In the UK over the last few days the media have revelled in the soap opera drama of a HUNG parliament. Sounds dramatic, invoking fears of death and villainy. Capital punishment for politicians? Surely not.

BALANCED on the other hand seems a much closer reflection of the research I have done recently (see thethinkingtank.co.uk), plus the usual eavesdropping on trains and supermarket queues. It's not very newsworthy, but there seems to be a hunger for reason and reasonableness. After all many of us run our lives that way, balancing a splurge in one direction with a little more discipline in another. It's human nature. We would never have got this far if we didn't know how to live within our means. If left to our own devices.

But it also seems to be human nature to be led astray - from the garden of Eden story to modern day drug and other addictions. Our striving for gratification is a source of energy for progress - and our own undoing.

Ah. If only we could have more balance in our lives. More space to think. More time for new ideas. More resilience to destabilising influences. Does a hung parliament resonate with our own hang ups or a balanced one with our hopes? If it's broke, we could always try and fix it. Maybe this is a reminder.

Tried and tested Triodos

Earlier this week I went to a meeting with Triodos bank. They had invited their Depository Receipt Holders (think of them as shareholders) to round table discussions on some of the issues currently facing them. More than one of us commented how astonishing it would be if RBS or Barclays were to offer us a free lunch and access to their management teams just for owning shares.
But on many levels Triodos does not behave like a conventional bank. Its attitude to risk, its interest in supporting sustainable and ethical projects and the humility demonstrated by the board members and senior managers at this meeting were all testimony to its character.
It brought me to thinking about connectedness. About how the privilege I have had to travel the world and meet inspiring people has helped me see the connections between investment and innovation, consumption and communities.
A shift of emphasis to a more thoughtful, less egotistical approach could benefit many areas of our lives.
One thing the UK boss, Charles Middleton said struck a chord. "I considered taking the whole thing outside". He was talking about the sunny weather we could see from the meeting room, but I felt it reflected a healthier ethos. Enough of cronyism and deals behind closed doors, lets get it all out into the open.

Citizen Power

Plenty of food for thought at last night's RSA meeting to launnch a joined up thinking initiative to "create active citizenship in Peterborough" (or anywhere else). More on that here

Some of the things which struck me as I listened to the enthusiasts were:

• I loved the talk about increasing a sense of place, and unlocking the vibe of a neighbourhood. I'll be using that in the community space project I'm involved with
• I particularly identify with their view that "The programme needs to be practical so people get it and understand it". In our recent Thinking Tank debate on Social Trust, the group only really became engaged when we talked about practicalities instead of theories.
• How easy it all sounds. Get people involved, make our own decisions, save money, increase well-being. How extraordinary that we have to remember such an obvious truth.
• The people in the room still didn't represent the populace. When will we dare to include the excluded?

Peterborough I salute your intentions and wish you all the very best. For the rest of us, there are lessons here we can make use of wherever we live.

Is this what you were looking for?

In Dave Eggers book, You Shall Know Our Velocity, a startling, thought-provoking read that has had me laughing out loud on the train for the last couple of weeks the main character has just got himself to the top of a mountain near Marrakech.
"So often lately I have believed that if we put ourselves somewhere that we will be answered and there will be a reason... Because otherwise why have we come?"

He doesn't find the answer. Or even the question. Just space and silence. Sometimes I look up at that big blue sky and think... um... what exactly??

HowNow can find you answers - at least to your business issues, we're no surer than you about the meaning of life - and it works even better if you already have a question in mind. Some of the questions we've worked with recently include:

? Why are some of our best staff dissatisfied?
? What stops people using our service / product?
? What would it take to engage citizens in developing local education options together?
? What might encourage women in their 40s to change who they vote for?
? What's the common ground between these two very different cultures that we can build on to create a shared future?

There's a big blue skyful of possibilities up there... we can help get to the heart of the matter so it's clearer what to do next.

Lucky to be alive

The sky is still above my head and the ground beneath my feet.
Not all are so lucky.

So what will I do with this day I have been gifted? In my safe environment and healthy body. With my functioning brain and access to knowledge. With my heart and mind open for business?

What shall I do with such a gift?

Synapse management

The word "synapse" comes from "synaptein", which Sir Charles Scott Sherrington and colleagues coined from the Greek "syn-" ("together") and "haptein" ("to clasp"). Ref Wikipedia


Turning to ourselves (and each other) we have potential synapses with millions of other brains, hearts and life experiences. The more connections, the more electrical and chemical and knowledge based energy exchange is possible. Why be satisfied with just one brain when we can associate with many?


Try this. 


The next time you overhear a random remark on the bus, in the bakery queue, at the coffee machine, consider that you just heard the answer to everything. Yes, you may have to suspend your disbelief, but just give it a go. If what you just heard was the answer to everything, the thrilling insight you have just received, what does it mean? What do you need to do differently now? What is the big opportunity that you would have missed if you had not just heard those words?


I'd be fascinated to hear how it goes...

Head in the sand?

Bad news can be damn inconvenient.

So it's hardly surprising that we try to filter it out - consciously or sub-consciously. Asking the simple questions - how can I make you feel better? work harder? vote for me? go to school? get out of bed? - is easy to not face up to because the answers will probably require something from us too.

So it is an option to not bother.

Thing is, we all know what happens then. Molehills become mountains, cracks become chasms... it only makes sense when we discover that in behavioural economics we humans are prone to  "heavy discounting of costs and benefits in the long versus short-term" (ref David Halpern, The Hidden Wealth of Nations).

You can of course keep your head in the sand (mind your eyes). Or you raise your head up high, walk out of your office and go and find out what's going on out there.

A matter of balance

How balanced I feel seems to be a perfect indicator of how I'm doing. Light and dark, left and right, internal and external.

In our recent leadership study with Aspire I was interested to see the emergence of behaviours that have been historically seen as "female" ways to do things, and a challenge of more yang, results driven, action focussed ways (message me for a copy of the report)

This has been described as a feminisation of the business world, but I wonder if it isn't more of a balancing? In a system that has been driven by "male" ways since the early days of the industrial revolution, there is a need for both. No waxing without waning. No inspiring without expiring.

And in my life I need balance. Between physical and mental. Between fun and challenge. Laughter and tears. Work and life.

How's your balance today?

How is your universe today?

If you lived here (right, from a Sculpture Park in Japan) would you be happier? Calmer?
Where would you be? Swinging on a ball, climbing the walls, running for the door...

We are where we are. We worry when we worry; about what seems to be almost incidental, we start by being in a worried state than find something to hook it onto - the end of the world as we know it or the bus being late, it starts with the worrying not with the worry.

And the same seems to be true of joy. It catches us unawares; a crisp packet in the sun, a smile from a stranger, a loving memory. And we can feel disappointingly joy-free in The Big Moments, the ones that would be the high points in the film of our lives.

So if our worry or our joy seems to be independent of the worrying or joyful things we experience then isn't that wonderful? We are free to just be, to enjoy the joy whenever it happens upon us and to let the worry be, then go, when anxiety threatens to fill our heads.

Now I'm going for a big swing on one of those balls...

Feeling the cold

I wrote down a line from a song the other day
"'coz right now to feel pain and sorrow is a relief. I miss my heart". (Merry)
At the time I was thinking about my own reactions to life and its challenges. How easy it is to freeze over the uncomfortable bits.

Today it strikes me that I have also seen this happen in organisations. When the emotions get frozen out (except maybe anger which always seems to be allowed). Then there's a real crisis and in a way, it's almost enjoyable. At least something is happening.. it DOES feel like a relief.

I hope that I get better as a human being in not having to resort to pain to feel something. And I hope that I can help some of the organisations and communities I work with stay in touch with what is happening at the heart of their organisation - hearts and minds, minds and hearts, power and love, love and power, left, right, left, right, left...

String Theory

No, not the physics sort, the community sort.

A friend of mine has a fascinating software that plots the connections between individuals in a community (or workplace). On the resulting map the fire-breaks are clear. There are usually some small isolated groups, some free floating individuals connected to nobody, and some thought leaders with many connections. They then work with the group to increase connectedness - and therefore effectiveness.

How are your bits of string? Easy to say on facebook or linkedin but what about in real life? In your neighbourhood?
Which groups have become disconnected and what can any of us do to tie in some new bits?
Where are the frayed bits that used to work but have become worn?
Where are the tangled bits that need a bit of a sort out?

There, I got all the way to the end without saying "how long is a piece of string?". Oh drat.

The Shadow Side

Do you see the shadow first or the sunlight first?

I try to remember that I can't have one without the other. When an unexpected blow comes in - as just happened to me today - my first response is shock, outrage, indignation, disappointment.

Maybe there is another side. A positive in the negative.

So I breathe. I absorb the surprising information. I notice the ripples. I remember there may be an upside that I don't yet know about. I know I'll cope.

Every silver lining has a cloud.

Standing alone

They say it's lonely at the top. But you can be a leader at the bottom too - and that can also be lonely.

Aloneness, stepping out of the crowd, leaping into the unknown is disorientating. When I have had the impulse to act liker this it is often immedisately followed by a sense of void. That I have stepped off a cliff into nothingness. That my mind and my body have become a void.

Then the void is filled in with self doubt and general wobbliness.

Usually afterwards I realise these are some of my finest moments. And some of the most dangerous. No safety in numbers if you're a lone voice.

But then hey, someone's got to do it.  

Casserole or sushi?

What's your natural preference? A wonderful melding of tastes and sensations in one heartfelt casserole? Or a stimulating variety of tasty morsels beautifully presented?

If you enjoy both approaches then might you stir them up together?
Didn't think so.

Time and time again I catch myself sliding towards the "middle ground" option. Sushi casserole. So easy to do. Tone it down a bit, soften the blow. In one job I even got asked to make a press release "more bland". For a split second I considered the request.

I hope to become less susceptible to this. More bold. Bigger breaths. More centred so more prepared to stand up for / to something.

I love sushi. I enjoy a good stew. Just not together.

Movement

From my desk I look at the crown of a splendid tree. The leaves (still there after all that snow!) flicker in the breeze. The branches bounce. The sway of the trunk is barely perceptible.
In our lives we can have a lot of fuss at the edges. Our many many leaves are rustled and flutter from all that surrounds us. And our branches may bounce with joy or with fear.
But our trunk can still hold it's ground. We sway, we are influenced, but we are not displaced.
On a good day!
And the organisations we belong to can experience the same vibrations.
How important then to take the time to plant the tree in a good spot. To consider its aspects and its purpose. Are we there to guide or to nurture? To give shelter or strength? To be fine or to be beautiful? To grow fast or span centuries.
When the wind is blowing you hither and thither, see if it helps to think of your trunk and its place in the world.

End that week, start this week

Creativity is important to me this week. I have many thoughts to process from last week's Authentic Leadership in Action program, I have a presentation on Leadership Quotient to produce, the HowNow brand to develop and a tax return to complete. I am joining the Creative Every Day challenge as part of my process. So my challenge to myself is to write a blog entry each day, always starting with a picture - before I know what the message is!

This picture from last week has got me thinking about what How Now offers. For some clients it is the detail in the foreground that is the most important. What to do next? Which products/ideas to develop first? For others it is the horizon, their strategic direction. And a third interesting possibility is the white space in between. The air they breathe as an organisation, the leadership and courage that gets them from the foreground towards the horizon. Sensing, listening, considering - and then striking out, equipped to make it across the gap.