1. Fear

As governments and politicians have known for millennia, there are few forces that can move nations as much as fear does. Paradoxically there are also few forces that can paralyse people as much as fear does. Rooted so deeply in our fight or flight reflexes, fear is almost more of an instinct than an emotion. On one hand fear made me procrastinate writing this blog for days; the fear of looking stupid, irrelevant or out of touch. What happens if the words just wont come? On the other hand fear also motivated me to write it. Especially after I publicly committed to doing so. On a societal and individual scale, fear is part and parcel of what makes us human.

However, I have yet to see an executive openly acknowledge fear as part of a business strategy or leadership style. Like fish swimming in water, they are often the last to notice what they are breathing. It is so innate that we rarely develop conscious tools to harness or channel fear towards a more useful and meaningful end. When they do embrace fear it is mostly in order to control. The implicit "motivational fear" which is expected to lead to better performance. "The boss will freak out if we don't complete this on time." is often met with the fear sustaining "Mr. Smith, I am afraid this just won't do."  Erich Fromm is the touchstone on the topic of how our fear of freedom has created a western mindset that is pliable and amenable to the purposes of capital. As a child I noticed that when I came across an unexpected snake in the bush, my fear would only make me run far enough to get out of its reach. Fear cannot be the foundation of sustained motivation. How much effort is wasted in organisations by employees who are just staying outside of the fear/risk boundary?

When properly channeled, the creative, story telling dimensions of fear can be a great asset to a team as Karen Walker so beautifully explains. It is a great form of trouble shooting and imagination, a kind of productive paranoia when it is applied to building options. This healthy relationship to fear can change the culture of an organisation and release new levels of innovation. As Regina Dugan demonstrated so memorably in her March 2012 Ted talk, at DARPA they were able to reframe the fear of failure to release untold innovation. Having respect for the size of a challenge does not have to result in fear.

One of my favourite workshop activities is to ask participants what their "hopes and fears" are. This small exercise has a massive impact on three levels. Firstly it allows the group to identify risks and contextual constraints that help inform the design of a solution. Secondly it informs the barometer of commitment. The more deeply engaged someone is, the more nuanced and personal the perspective on fears will be. The third level of impact is however the one that fascinates me most. By allowing a conversation about fears, we open a channel for emotional communication in the team. Most executives have never been asked to evaluate an opportunity in this way. At first they feel vulnerable but pretty soon the room finds a bond as concerns are felt, rather than thought.

In the end I believe that when fear is given its rightful place, it can help us see a more vulnerable and human side to our colleagues. This strengthens rather than weakens our trust and ability to share ideas freely. What are the daily routines we can use to channel the level of fear in a team towards healthy respect for the challenge and transform uncertainty into a more complete and creative understanding of our potential?

Go e-motion

"It's business, don't take it personally." This seems to be the predominant view of professional life, where you can ignore your feelings and focus on the "rational" facts. Decisions are subjected to the higher purpose of shareholder value and how people are affected by this is "just business."
This view is made a lot easier to sustain when people are referred to as "human resources," or even better, the mythical FTE's (full time equivalents).

Rational, predictable, and flexible in their ability to be deployed. That makes the machine of business run a true course. The captains of industry can steer the strategic course as simply as a captain steers a ship, because the ship responds perfectly to a firm hand on the tiller. But nature is messy, and people suffering from alienation are not productive, inventive or resilient to stress. Innovation and new ideas come from being unpredictable. Organisational resilience comes from individuals responding to new and unexpected threats in novel ways. Business is an organic process, not a mechanical one. It is chemistry, biology and energy all bundled into the messy murky world of emotions.

It is amazing that business practise has for so long been able to promote a non-emotional view to one of our core human activities. Most probably it felt safe being able to ignore our emotions when so many of us feel threatened and confused by our own feelings. When they are mentioned, it is usually in the context of the positive. Good leadership instills pride and motivation. Happiness has made a huge comeback as a metric for success. Emotions, like human beings however are not one dimensional. Let's take a look at that.

Two years ago I set the challenge of writing one post a day on a 42 day journey. The inspiration would come from the experiences I encountered along the way. The Tao of inspiration. This year I am embarking on a similar journey: Austria, Berlin, London, Lisbon, Seattle, Portland, Johannesburg, Cape Town. Rather than looking at random incidents however, the 42 days will be devoted to exploring the impact of emotions on our professional selves and the human interactions we call business.

To navigate this journey I'll use Robert Plutchik's "wheel of emotions" as a map. Finding the "positive motion"  we experience from integrating all our emotions in making a meaningful contribution to the flow of economic exchange. Because business is very personal. Most adults dedicate a large chunk of their existence to make business work. The reward to our own identity and sense of self needs to be in balance if we want to prosper in a post growth environment. After all, the core of the word "emotion" is "motion." That which moves us.

The tyranny of Design

Wow, what an inspiration to spend two days immersed in conversations about the state of design and "What Design Can Do!"
It is clear that Design is going through the same transformational process that Rahul Mehrotra describes as attributes of a kinetic city: elasticity, incrementalism and soft boundaries. Everywhere Design is taking on bigger and more complex challenges. Finding ways to solve some of the world's most wicked problems.

The more I looked at the talks and listened to the speakers however, the more I got a sense that the debate was demonstrating strong signs of a bounded rationality where Designers have a unique monopoly on the truth of transformation. I got the feeling that the agents of change were always cast as Designers, leading the way and finding clever solutions. We live in an ever more systemically dependent world, the individual no longer has the capacity or the ability to "solve" a problem and solutions in one part of the system invariably lead to unintended consequences somewhere else.

The act of design needs to be released from an individual truth charge to a systemic imperative. We need to usher in an era of ego-less design where the act of designing is not really intended to validate or dependent on a Designer id-entity. Why? Because the id-entity of the designers need to be fed on repeat business and new clients and the way to achieve this is by closely aligning with their visible contribution to change and transition. The object and "shiny new thing" becomes the lowest common denominator of debate about transformation. The subject and effect somehow get lost through a lack of longitudinal understanding, participation and appreciation.

Increasingly, real solutions are shaped by the invisible agents of emergent design. The evolution of ideas over time, once they have been set free and taken on a life ex-studio. Who is designing to empower, accelerate and support these agents of emergent design? The people who are designing, yet not classed or invited as "Designers?"

As I checked out of the after party I was struck by a sign posted by some unknown interaction designer. "Please take a photo of your wardrobe card (claim ticket)" What insight, what amazing progress from the piles of torn and lost claim tags. I am pretty sure this can soon become the norm. Everyone has a phone/camera and looks after it so much better than they would a claim ticket. So why not save the paper and just take a photo instead?

For me this is what design can do, reframe the obvious to bring a simpler and more delightful new. In essence an inverse "Nudge" that prompts and shifts the system rather than the other way around. No-one owns this kind of design and it becomes accessible to all. You can call it thoughtless acts of design but I see a thoughtful understanding of human interaction. So, how do we empower and promote this thoughtful engagement with our environment, deliver a culture of design that is understood without the id-entities? Who is designing for this?

Who are the designers reaching outside the disciple-inn to lead with optimism and empathy. Who are the designers that promote a belief that you can change the environment you live in and it is best done by deeply understanding the needs and emotions of those affected. Kiran Sethi is showing the way, and as always we learn most when we see the world as children do. Release design from the tyranny of Design and we'll shift into a more conscious, designing society.

Being right versus being real

The five of swords tells an interesting story about victory and defeat. The cunning warrior collecting the weapons of his vanquished enemies (or fallen friends). One cannot celebrate in this victory though, because although he may have prevailed, this victory will not build long term peace or trust.

This is the core challenge we face in negotiation and bringing to life ventures that require the vested efforts of more than one person. So much of our culture and traditional management places a premium on "being right." Being the one who knows the answer gets a promotion, gets the test scores, gets the pat on the shoulder from doting parents. But what happens when "being right" gets in the way of "being real?"

As I was reading the story of how the first Fargfabriken artist collaboration between Russia and Sweden in the early 90's ended in disaster, I couldn't help but think that especially Viktor Misiano was holding on to what he believed to be "right" and that this immobility meant that the Russian art works were not displayed, did not become "real" to the public. The cost of being right can mean being forgotten because your truth lives only in your own mind.

"Being right" is always contextual. You can only be right within a limited set of facts. As the situation evolves and new things come to light, we have to shift our positions, we have to respond to what is "real." But how can we do this if our ego and reputation are vested in the "right" answer?

With the start-up I am currently stewarding this tension has led to some interesting conflicts and debates.   As with any venture, the success of this project relies entirely on its ability to be "real" in the hearts of all of the collaborators. Getting them not only to see the direction and intent, but also to live it through their actions.

The challenge is not be be "right," to win a debate, or to relieve some internal tension (generated by the discomfort of doing something different). The challenge is to bring something into the world. To create a new "real" that will reframe and create a new version of what people believe is "right."

The wisdom of the five of swords points out a subtlety in this negotiation though. A strong push to override the opinions of others, to disregard their discomfort will certainly lead to an isolation where being "right" (in a push for tangibility) will again prevent the project from having integrity (due to the sublimated discomfort of the partners). How can we achieve both aims?

The energy of a sword is aimed at cleaving, separating and dividing. When a negotiation suddenly starts to feel like a divisive moment, we must honour this feeling. You can't push others into accepting your truth. Turn your efforts towards discovering the deeper, emotional purpose that unites. Being "real" should not be a lonely battlefield. It is not a clash of sharpened words and arguments. We don't want to admire the beauty of our swords after the battle. We want to enjoy the feast, together.

The threefold awareness in transformation

What does a year of living out of suitcases, a year without furniture or a home address teach you? How do you see the world when you have no tripod or fixed point of view. This is not the post I set out to write, but somehow it is the one that emerged as words started flowing. In a way it is only fitting as this year was not a journey that was planned, strategic or intentional.

I am you

The year has been filled with friendship. Old friends whom I hadn't seen for 26 years, new friends with whom a deep spiritual connection must have existed before we even met. The year has included (in chronological order) Costa Rica, London, Cologne, Frankfurt am Main, Stockholm, Berlin, Tegernsee, Munich, Derby, Bali, Singapore, New Zealand, Nuremberg, Mallorca, Berliiiiiiin, New York, Denver, Medford, Portland OR, Middletown CA, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Mt Hood, Open tent somewhere in Utah desert, Helsinki, Cape Town, Kalk bay, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Magaliesburg, Pilanesburg, Lodz, Buxton, Leeds. (Duplications and miles and miles of mountain walks not noted).

In connecting to so many people in so many places the most persistent thought is the sense of genuine connection we all share through our humanity. The journey I am undertaking is the journey everyone undertakes on a day to day basis. The distorted lens of flights and passport controls has only served to bring this basic human quest in focus. No matter where or who you are, we are all on a journey to add meaning and substance to the life we have been given.

Once in a meeting with Stefano Marzano I thanked him for taking the time out of his schedule. His answer: "we all have the same number of hours in the day." A profound insight about the choices we make in filling each hour with substance. In this instance it made me acutely aware of my responsibility towards him; to fill the hour with 60 minutes worth of value. In this regard every one of use faces every day with the challenge of filling it with our unique biography, a contribution that transcends the escape velocity of the hours lent to it by creating a substantial shift in the people around us. The value of the journey is not measured by the places you have seen, it is measured by the lives you have touched.

So, you are me. The travel catalogue of daily adventures mapping kindness, generosity and the conversations people will have, when you are not there.

I am not you
Having roots, a home and the network of support that grows organically from seeing the same sights every morning, provides a sense of stability. Time and again I have seen peace in the eyes of those who have lived in the same place, dwelled along the same paths, all their lives. Is it an innate sense of calm that leads one to feel content with your home environment, eschewing adventure, like Bilbo Baggins? Or does having a home create the calm that fills these environments with a content happiness? I don't know which way the causality runs but a foundation gives you more than the obvious stability, it gives you a calm energy.

This calm energy is well suited for constructive arts. The patience of building a house, watching a community develop. The patience of waiting for the seasons to carry a crop to bare.

Over the past year my energies have been channeled into facilitation, connection and contradiction. By not being embedded in a fulcrum of production, the "touch and go" contributions I have been able to make feel like the platinum plate of a catalytic convertor; consumed in and by its use, leaving nothing behind but an altered quality of experience. The delivery of the experience, the real value has to be realized by someone who takes anchor and works with the now, the space and the physical possibilities of the "sit-you-ation."

You are not you

A long time ago I had a vision of an individual life's trajectory. I imagined a thin glowing white silken line stretched between someone's parents, and their counterpoint. Looking at this thin line I saw how people were running back and forth on this thin white line, to either manifest what their parents represented (in the words of the Cowboy Junkies: "become their mothers and fathers without a sound") or to try hell for leather to be the opposite. How strange I thought that no one dared to step outside the silken thread of two dimensional connection. How many alternate versions of you could there be if neither one of these two poles was an actual definition of your destiny.

By being on the shiny certainty of confirmation/contradiction we are mostly blinded by the binary nature of our "yes/no" choices. But there lies a universe beyond what we see in front of use. The choice you face today is not: "shall I go to work or stay at home." The choice is rather, how many different places are there out there where my true potential could illuminate a more meaningful contribution.

We underestimate who we are and the true power of our thoughts and actions because for the most part, the measure of success and meaning is flawed. If there is one thing the past year has taught me, it is that staying in Plato's cave turns you into a caveman. Once you let go of what you hold to be manifest truth, a new version of you emerges that has not been defined by the "accepted" interplay of light and darkness. The image of you reflected in your job, your family or your immediate set of friends are not the whole truth of who you are. When you let go of the silken strand of identity, you immediately embrace something much bigger.

The grim repairer

Last week I took an old and well travelled bag in for repair. I purchased the bag in 2004 for about $250. Since then it has literally been around the world 4 times and in this journey has become a standard part of my on boarding routines. The perfect shape and size for laptop, in flight reading and a pair of overnights. But then in February this year, the zipper broke and it was not safe to carry its little load. In Denver I found a luggage repair store and they now have it in their care for $40 and a shot at reuniting us.

But is this now a lost or even redundant art? Is the art of growth inside the experience being supplanted by the skill of search and discovery? Milan's iPod had a similar issue. The volume buttons got stuck and the repair would cost more than $200. The friendly Apple people would gladly take the old one as a trade in contribution towards the purchase of a new one, as long as it resulted in shifting something from their shelves. Apple is not alone in their pursuit of new sales as apposed to share of experiences. New sales and production determine market share and trajectory in the eyes of analysts. This reality all but removes the incentive to build things that can be repaired. Planned obsolescence is now a de facto requirement for company valuation.

Is my nagging discomfort with this state of things simply a fading remnant of misplaced morality? Recently I read a quote form a couple who had been married for 80 years. When asked how they had made it so long, the husband said: "We grew up in a time where when something was broken, you fixed it."

When I look at the reality for my kids though, there is almost nothing that either prompts them to, or reminds them of the waning art of repair. Awareness is shaped and rewarded by the constant streams on screens. Where friendship clicks only serve to fill your news feed and everyone needs followers only to believe in themselves. No one has time to retrace their steps, revisit decisions and reconnect with lost ones. And through this lack of exercise, the repair muscles become atrophied in favor of search and discovery skills.

The hidden cost of this though, is that there are certain dimensions of our personality that we can only discover through the process of rebuilding relationships. We never see or even know this growth exists if we only have speed dated, limited shelf live, match.coms with single soccer moms/Johns. The seratonin kicks of "new and exciting" can now sustain itself through the all you can eat smorgasbord of new connections available on the web. In this world it is frankly illogical to take on the heartache and opportunity cost of repair, when selective search can instantly bring a new beginning. And it is easier to mould a two month persona where every conversation is being held for the first time. You are in control of your limited exposure id-entity. Neither repair nor recovery, which are only learnt though moving beyond failure, are needed or developed. Failure now prompts a new search outside, instead of resourcefulness inside.

But how can people learn this if their context shouts against sticking to something? Are they trapped in a catch 22 where a failure to develop repair and recovery skills leads to an inability to know or develop these skills?

I took my kids to the tiny luggage store, dusty and hidden away in a corner of the industrial outskirts of Denver. We also spent the day visiting pawn shops, to reflect on the cast away lives and hopes that had no more value than a few dollars, and the trade in value towards a shiny new thing. I am sure there will soon be an app for that.

Beyond Bali

I was told that the Balinese dialect does not have a word for art. As I slowly became more and more immersed in the rituals and cadence of daily village life I could begin to see why not.

The Hindu framework through which so many people access the world around them provides meaning and space for everything around you. Every room in the house has role to play, every tree has a purpose in its construction. The innate quality of something transposes into its purpose. Extended to people and their identity, one discovers a real place and purpose through contribution. A selflessness imbues everything you touch and tasks are conducted in a clear devotion. "I give myself completely into this task."

Making breakfast, sweeping the yard, entertaining guests; every task becomes outpouring/selflessness. By being thus emptied, you transcend self to live an artful life. The word becomes redundant when it abounds and pervades the typography of your biography.

Balinese musicians, artists and dancers live very plain lives. The belief is that the beauty of the performance is only channeled through them, not of them. Their art only lives in so much as they are able to let go of themselves. This self therefore has no celebrity outside of the act of consecration in art. In fact, the greater the individual ego, the smaller the chance of being artful.

The result is that one finds happiness, even in small tasks. The degree to which you can pour your whole self into the task provides a huge sense of value and connection. The presence process of happiness.

What a contrast to the Western view of management and work. One is hardly ever encouraged to engage yourself in a task that can be all consuming. Instead we are made acutely aware of the transactional value of labour. One is not encouraged to be true to yourself, but rather to find your true value and hold on to it. What if the true value and beauty of a life could only be achieved by letting go of the self?

The fear of being exploited or manipulated brings on the protection mechanisms, creating opportunities for cynical dismissiveness. "Oh, I didn't think they were going to buy that in any case..." Holding back, holding out, feeding anxiety.

How would the way we engage with daily tasks change if we viewed every one of them as an act of outpouring? Do you live in the document/the strategy/the design you created? Is your 'art' so self evident that it doesn't need a word?