Dissonance and Innovation: The Careful Art of Disagreement

There is a lot of focus in businesses and organizations on creating and maintaining “healthy” teams. Healthy in this sense generally means the team efficiently completes its tasks and meets or exceeds its’ goals while everyone gets along. Individuals that challenge the process, question assumptions, or disagree with popular ideas are generally thought of as problems that need solving.

As a consultant working from the outside of organizations I have the pleasure of viewing things from a larger picture, a less entangled place. I’m not in the system so I can see the value of those challenging the system (which is my job as a consultant).

Typically when I work on organization development projects teasing out deep vision, building strategy from the wisdom of the masses, while developing teams and leaders, I often work to support the wisdom of descent. In my and many others experience, indeed overarching in development theory and practice, the wisdom, innovation, and refinement (ultimately: greater success) that dissonance brings is invaluable.

Considering this, it’s interesting that while running a project this fall I became very frustrated with a member on my team for ironically doing what I typically support and praise: questions and challenge. As the project continued and I continued working with this person I noticed a myriad of feelings and thoughts towards team dissonance and challenge.

Sometimes I appreciated it greatly, for his insights we helpful in refining the process and practice we were building. Other times, when his ideas didn’t seem to add value, I successfully (and sometimes unsuccessfully) redirected the disagreement with ease, gained consensus and moved forward. Other times I felt completely frustrated with the disagreement and wanted to say what I never thought I would as a manager, “because I said so and I’m in charge.”

Through the experience I thought a lot about my assumptions around dissonance, disagreement, challenge, and the skillful act of “perturbing the system,” as we say in the development world. It is true that disagreement is essential to any healthy system or relationship (note Lincoln’s Team of Rivals); however, all challenge and no agreement causes the system to fall apart and the process breaks down.

Dissonance, disagreement and challenge, in an organizational context requires great skill and awareness. If the individual is unconscious of the impact and is unskillful in their action, things fall apart fast. Considering my experience on this project, the amount of times this individual’s disagreements caused refinement compared to the times when his disagreements caused breakdown were unbalanced and frustrating for me and the rest of the team – the conversation most often ended in standstill.

A few essential things are necessary for healthy, strategic dissent: a well developed, emotionally aware leader that appreciates the fruit of challenge, a well developed team steeped in refined communication practice, and a well developed dissenter. It takes great awareness in the leader, team, and dissenter to know when the balance between dissonance and resonance tips too far towards dissonance.

As much as I appreciated the refinement that the dissenter in my team created, and the personal challenge and learning of managing this person, I ultimately choose not to bring him on forward on another phase of the project – it was simply too much challenge: dissonance to breakdown.

Each moment is different, each team is different, and each leader and manager is different. It takes great skill and awareness to know where the line rests and moves beyond dissonance towards breakdown and momentary failure. The line between essential challenge leading to innovation and breakdown is very thin.

An essential practice for every team and leader is to engage in challenging conversations and practice skillful moments of dissent. One simple question I like to ask after proposing a new practice or idea to a team I am managing is “who disagrees and what can we do better here?” Practices like these and many others opens the system allowing the disagreement to become a conscious and valued part of the conversation ensuring greater innovation and success for everyone.

Kris Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com

Telecourse: Becoming Change - January 20th

Telecourse: Becoming Change - Essential Awareness and Capacities for Our Changing World
January 20th - February 24
Complimentary Initial Call January 20th

with Kris Nelson

Ever feel like you can do better? Do you find yourself in the same action and thinking patterns? Are you on the edge of change and growth but unable to move forward? Do you feel you're being pulled towards something new but are unsure what's next? Are you ready to again step forward into a more conscious, effective, and actionable life?

The world needs your service, vision and hope, and you need the capacities and awareness to offer.

If you have recently found yourself:

• inspired to create change and support others,
• moving through job and career transition and want a new direction,
• seeing a new potential but are unsure how to create it,
• tired of helplessness and are looking for a new empowered conversation,
• interested in shifting the way you feel about our current culture and economy,
• seeking new solutions with hope and vision,

Then Becoming Change - Awareness and Capacities for our Changing World was created for you!

Becoming Change is a course designed to empower effective transition. Through a month and a half, 6 conference calls, and 2 coaching sessions you will be guided through a process of transformation. Stepping into new perspectives, strategies, and a community of support you will create the life that you desire and the world needs.

Through your participation in this course you will get:

• tools to alleviate stress, fear, confusion, and anxiety.
• practices to create a clear picture and open to a broad view.
• empowering experiences of vision and purpose.
• methods to stop knee-jerk reactions and make powerful choices.
• practical processes and support for creating and implementing strategy.
• a community of support and guided, hands-on help.

Join us for a complimentary introductory session on January 20th at 5:00 PM PT (8:00 PM ET). Start your journey of transition, vision, and purpose, and experience an interactive conversation with Kris. You will be given practical tools, a course experience, followed by a question and answer session.

To register please email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com

Course Outline:

January 20th, Week One: Complimentary Introduction

January 21st - 26th: Orientation and Intention Coaching Session with Kris

January 27th, Week Two: Becoming Change

February 3rd, Week Three: Transition

February 10th, Week Four: Vision

February 17th, Week Five: Strategy

February 24th, Week Six: Being the Change

February 25th+ Continued Support Coaching Session with Kris


Detailed Information:

Investment: $295 (credit cards accepted)

To register now contact Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com or call 310.779.8587

Kristoffer Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com

Telecourse: Integral Strategic Planning - January 13

Telecourse: Integral Strategic Planning
January 13, 2010, 5:00 PM PT - 6:15 PM PT

Integral Strategic Planning is essential for both individuals and leaders that are committed to achieving their very best and the best in their respective organizations in 2010.

Integral Strategic Planning is an integrated process of creating dynamic change and reaching defined goals for both individuals and organizations. This process considers the goals and intentions of the future and establishes a clear, measured and simple path towards achievement, with considered regard for the complexities of our world today.

In this 75-minute course, you will:

• Learn to perceive the present from the future
• Gain tools for perceiving the future from the present
• Discover how to listen to what the future wants
• Create strategic stepping stones that incorporate the complexities of our current time
• Refine your capacity to anticipate resistance and challenge, and plan to avoid these challenges

To register please email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com

Kris Nelson | Krama Consulting & Development, Inc. | kramaconsulting.com

Integral Leadership Review Article: It's Time for the Bottom Line to Get Bigger

Check out my latest article in the Integral Leadership Review:

As I’ve discussed recently in my blog Integral Business, the future of sustainable, profitable and socially responsible companies rest well beyond what is now commonly referred to as “triple bottom line” organizations. Indeed an evolutionary step, achieving a triple bottom line status is a great challenge that inspires great merit—it’s a huge accomplishment. And, we need more.

There is a lot of talk in the business world, especially the post-modern business world of value and vision, about the triple bottom line: profit, people and planet, which I think is a great start towards building businesses that are sustainable in the long-term and meaningfully impacting in the short term.

For more...

Mapping the World and the Future

The Inside and Outside (Integral Business III)

Most organizations these days focus the direction of attention and the measurement of value in one direction: outward towards creating profit for shareholders. Profit is good and creating revenue for people that invest in the company is good. However, a much more careful, considerate direction (multidirection) of attention is required for a busy to be an integral organization, and in my opinion adaptable and thus sustainable in the long term. Equal attention to the inside and outside of the organization is essential.

When I talk about the inside of an organization I am talking about:

• Culture
• Organization Norms and Practices
• Management and Leadership
• Process
• Organization Structure
• Strategic Organization Development
• Development of Individuals
• Lines of Communication
• Cultural Brand, Vision, Mission, & Values (the soul of an organization)
  

When I talk about the outside of an organization I am talking about:

• The Product(s) or Service(s)
• Customers (and everything that is necessary to reach them)
  
• Stakeholders
• Shareholders
• Revenue & Profit
• Competition

Most organizations in my experience focus solely on the outside. The rare case of introspection arises when something on the outside is being challenged by something on the inside or when something on the outside is not going well.

An integral business needs to have a multi-attentive-awareness focusing equally on the inside and the outside for the sake of both equally. The inside and outside are symbiotic - they can't really get along well without the other. Sadly, attention is oriented to the outside while the inside is left to sweep the basement. In rich and abundant markets, this is generally okay. Enough capital is pumping through the organization to keep things alive and in many circumstances successful. But when things don't go well, when markets crash, if the interior isn't healthy the pressure and weight of the outside collapses the inside.

The transition to an equal view is not hard. It starts with a few simple questions: do we pay as much attention to the interior of our company as the exterior? Do we have the same rigorous measurements, considerations, and watchers aimed towards the inside as much as the outside? Is there a strategic plan of interior development? Is value and success measured equally by the amount of market share and profit as the flow of communication, quality of leadership and the feel of the culture?

Creating balanced attention is an essential step for creating an integral business, and it starts where it ends: by turning inside.

There Is No Time Like Now

"This is a moment in history when the average person has more power than any other time." - Katherine Fulton

We are all rooted in striking and potent processes of social and personal change. Change is happening and change is needed. Freedom is being conscious and empowered in your own process and our shared experience of change. How free are you?

In this video Katherine Fulton looks at five philanthropic innovations and explores the assumptions these innovations challenged. We all walk around with assumptions about ourselves, others, and the world. These assumptions are generally unconscious and tend to go unchallenged. These assumptions guide our lives and inhibit empowered change and growth.




While looking at this video, consider the assumptions you have about yourself keeping you from doing what life is asking from you. What holds you back? Why? Are you sure it's absolutely true? What would you do if it wasn't?

Now Is The Time To Start A New Business

Some of our biggest companies today began as a start-up during a recession. There truly is no better time to birth a vision and create a new business.

We offer these services to support your vision and idea:

• Vision and mission refinement
• Business and strategic planning
• Branding, marketing and social media planning
• Coaching for new business leaders
  

A recession is one of the best markets to start a new business. A recent study conducted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found that more than half, or 51%, of the companies on the Fortune 500 list this year began during a recession or bear market or both. Proctor & Gamble, IBM and GE are just a few of these companies.

With lower start-up costs, a lack of interest in investing in traditional markets, the liquidation of equipment and talent, and a radio active pop corn burst of ideas, visions and intentions explode during a recession. Gaps in services and products become apparent, and the intuitive, willful, and visionary step into these gaps sometimes changing the market and world forever.

There truly is no better time to birth a vision and create a new business.

Krama Consulting is in the business of business and in the business of change. We instigate greater success in businesses and organizations through creating intelligent strategy and communication, while developing business' greatest asset: people. A few of our services are essential for every business start-up:

• Vision & Mission: Your vision is your inspiration, guiding light, and one of your biggest tools in inspiring your employees and customers. Your mission is the way you go about realizing your vision. Sadly most have a vague idea about what they're going for, but few have sat down with the guiding help of another to really become clear and refine their offering to the world. This is essential for every decision you make and directs each turn on your path. We at Krama Consulting offer a very refined and tested process for creating and defining your vision. One recent client said, "Everything in my business is now based on the vision work we did. This is the most important thing I have done for my business ever."

• Business & Strategic Planning:Vision and mission work always leads to business and strategic planning - it becomes the practical vehicle for which you strive towards your vision through your mission. If you already have done serious work around developing your idea and vision, business and strategic planning are the next essential steps.

• Branding, Marketing Plan & Social Media: Your brand is the face of your presence and vision in the world. And your marketing plan is figuratively your brands social calendar - it is the medium through which you share your vision, product and value. Social media is an extension of your marketing plan and customer service, and is a low cost practice for reaching your customers. Establishing a brand that reflects your vision and values and a marketing plan the reaches the people that care is one of the most important things you can do for your business.

• Coaching for New Business Leaders: Running a business is hard. Leading a team is hard. It is essential to have someone that you trust in your corner to listen and advise. We offer both short term and long term coaching paths helping you deal with the business, leadership and relational elements of your business.

Rates for these services depend on the size of your business and the scope and range of the project. Please feel free to call 310.779.8587 or email kris@kramaconsulting.com for a complimentary evaluation and quote.

* * *

Krama Consulting is in the business of business and in the business of change. We instigate greater success in businesses and organizations through creating intelligent strategy and communication, while developing business' greatest asset: people.

Our work in the world is to support your work in the world - whether professional or visionary. We want to change the world through making your work, passion projects, and world change initiatives successful, while believing that world change should be a highly profitable endeavor.

Krama Consulting & Development

You Will

In 1993 AT&T released a massive ad campaign called “You will.” How many of them came true? EZ-Pass, books online, video conferencing, and voice recognition technology. How many of them didn’t? Faxing from the beach (touch technology did though), or public phones with Skype built in - who uses a public phone now? I don't even know how they work anymore.

The great thing about this ad campaign is that I take most of these technologies for granted now. They're a part of my every day life. However, not to long ago, they were simply dreams in people's minds and hearts - dreams that were birthed through vision, strategy, and process.

Krama Consulting and Development is about a lot of things (I'm ambitious). But it's mainly about one thing - assisting people in realizing their dreams through vision, strategy and process.

As you watch this video with these commercials, think about your dreams and how they might come.

Best wishes and happy dreaming:

Leading From the Heart II: The Nature of Being

As leaders, coaches, and change agents each of us have so much to give and offer. It seems from the desire to give, the fear of not knowing, and the push for a result we can so easily loose ourselves in the process. I’ve certainly found myself so lost in trying to solve someone’s problem or decide what technique to employ I have completely lost touch becoming removed from myself and the person in front of me.

The large majority of our leadership development and coach training programs focus on technique, tool gathering and process. It's about the processes, metaphors, theory, tools, skills, and such all leading to clear results and understanding, with little attention given, except for perhaps a morning meditation, to yourself and your presence. I like tools, skills, theory, and technique. They are helpful and essential, and we couldn’t do our jobs without them. I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not engaged them. However, what gets lost in this is the most important thing: who the leader coach is will impact people, space and time more than anything else.

Did you see Kung Fu Panda? It’s brilliant, simple and funny, and Jack Black is always jovial. In the film, the secret of Kung Fu is contained in a hidden scroll and much of the film’s journey involves finding the scroll. Upon discovering the scroll we learn that it’s blank except for a simple reflective surface. Perplexed the Panda wanders away to only later discover that the secret to Kung Fu is the reflection, himself – it’s in him and it’s who he is.

Transformation happens because of who you are - it's about you. Change occurs as a result of your presence, listening, attention, and seeing. Insight and development happens because you show up in each moment. Tools and techniques are expressions and extensions of your rich and present interior. Metaphors are good, detached questioning is good, and other techniques, both hands off and on, are good too. But they’re really only as good as your attention and only as big as your heart.

In developing your leadership and impact, work as much on yourself as you do on your technique. Cultivate your being presence, what ever your unique expression of that is. Bring yourself to your coaching sessions trusting that this is enough. Bring your watchful presence to your leadership experiences trusting this is enough. Don’t show up to use shiny tools, though important, and achieve results, which will happen; show up to be fully you and trust that this is enough always. Spend less time in the moment trying to figure out what technique or method is going to get the results, and trust that you, just you, will create the impact that is necessary.

Trusting that you're enough is where leadership and change begins and ends. All of the amazing tools and techniques we have created to instigate change and growth are expressions of the transformative you.

Telecourse: Becoming Change – Essential Awareness and Capacities for our Changing World

Telecourse: Becoming Change – Essential Awareness and Capacities for our Changing World

August 5th – September 2nd

with Kris Nelson

Ever feel like you can do better? Do you find yourself in the same action and thinking patterns? Are you on the edge of change and growth but unable to move forward? Do you feel you're being pulled towards something new but are unsure what's next? Are you ready to again step forward into a more conscious, effective, and actionable life?

The world needs your service, vision and hope, and you need the capacities and awareness to offer.

If you have recently found yourself:

* inspired to create change and support others,
* moving through job and career transition and want a new direction,
* seeing a new potential but are unsure how to create it,
* tired of helplessness and are looking for a new empowered conversation,
* interested in shifting the way you feel about our current culture and economy,
* seeking new solutions with hope and vision,


Then Becoming Change - Awareness and Capacities for our Changing World was created for you!

Becoming Change is a course designed to empower effective transition. Through a month, 4 conference calls, and 2 coaching sessions you will be guided through a process of transformation. Stepping into new perspectives, strategies, and a community of support you will create the life that you desire and the world needs.

Through your participation in this course you will get:

* tools to alleviate stress, fear, confusion, and anxiety.
* practices to create a clear picture and open to a broad view.
* empowering experiences of vision and purpose.
* methods to stop knee-jerk reactions and make powerful choices.
* practical processes and support for creating and implementing strategy.
* a community of support and guided, hands-on help.


Join us for a complimentary introductory session on August 5th at 5:00 PM PDT (8:00 PM EDT). Start your journey of transition, vision, and purpose, and experience an interactive conversation with Kris. You will be given practical tools, a course experience, followed by a question and answer session.

To register please email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com

Course Outline:

August 5th, Week One: Complimentary Introduction

August 5th - 11th: Orientation and Intention Coaching Session with Kris

August 12th, Week Two: Becoming Change

August 19th, Week Three: Transition

August 26th, Week Four: Vision

September 2nd, Week Five: Strategy

September 3rd+ Continued Support Coaching Session with Kris

Detailed Information:

Investment: $295

To Register Now:

Contact Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com or 310.779.8587

Beyond The Triple Bottom Line (Integral Business II)

There is a lot of talk in the business world, especially the post-modern new business world of value and vision, about the Triple Bottom Line: profit, people, and planet. I like this approach. I think it's a great start towards building businesses that are sustainable in the long-term and impacting, meaningful in the short term. However, an integral business needs to go beyond this.

I know some of us are just getting our feet wet to the idea and practice of the Triple Bottom Line. For some of us, it's not even yet on the radar. An integral business of profit and impact needs a Penta Bottom Line. I was going to add just one more to the mix (quadruple bottom line), but we, as a business community, need to take a huge leap. Now.

The Penta Bottom Line: Profit, People, Planet, Principles, and Progress.

Most when talking about the Triple Bottom Line put profit last, as in: planet, people, profit. I think this is wonderfully visionary, and yet it fails to acknowledge that a business exists, in my perspective, to primarily create capital. Certainly, not at the harm of the other points on the bottom line, but it's primary reason for being a business, is again, making money. Otherwise, it would be a non-profit or something different.

I assume most of you understand profit, people, and planet, so I will explain principles and progress.

Principles: Rules are out. Principles are in. Principles act as guides and measures in vision, strategy, process, operations, and out-reach. Principles are interactive, directive voices in the process of decision making. Rules are rigid, limit creativity, and exist to create measured and tested results. Principles, on the other hand, acknowledge that our world is complex, changing, and unstable. No longer will rigid rules work to guide organizations that need dynamic and responsive action in a rapidly changing market and business landscape - we need interactive principles. What are the known and unknown principles that guide the decisions in your organization? Do you like them? Are they effectively guiding the outcomes you desire? Do you need a guiding principles tune-up?

Progress: I forced myself to stick with P's, but by progress I really mean development. Integral businesses consider the development of their people, culture, organizations, and the systems they interact with as important as profit. A direct investment in the development of each employee in your organization is a direct investment in your organization. Development programs are generally geared towards management (which is great and certainly needed) and those that are really screwing up, but what would your organization look like if it valued the development of each person, group, and the world around you? How can you create systems where each person is given the chance to build capacities and self?

By operating with a Penta Bottom Line, your organization opens up the sphere and valuation of success to areas that directly relate to your organization's success in the short-term and long-term.

As always, more on this soon.

Integral Business I: Short-Term and Long-Term

For the purpose of this blog and post, business is defined as any operation creating capital increase. The hub of a business is making money. This, of course, doesn’t mean that businesses can’t do other things, as they both do and need to – look for a future post: Penta Bottom Line. This simply means that the creation of new capital is the generalizing principle for all things defined as business.

The core intention of this blog is to illustrate what an integral business is, how it operates, and how it is created. My assumption is an integrally framed business will ultimately be more profitable and sustainable (meaning: existing for a longer period of time) than a business that is not.

Businesses typically focus on capital and profit. This makes sense given that business’ organizing and general principle is generation of new capital; however, in our contemporary world with stockholders and stakeholders operating at multiple levels, this has come to mean consistent quarterly increases with solid strategy reaching generally about three quarters out.
An integral business considers many different things as essential to both its existence and profitability. Short-term profit growth is important, as is long term. There are many examples of individuals and organizations that have made decisions that boosted short-term increases, but were ultimately detrimental in the long-term (both to profit and sometimes the viability of the organization).

I recommend that organizations visionize and strategize ten years forward. I understand that ten years is a very long time. Things change rapidly in this world: the market, technology, governments and law, generational preferences in the workforce, social values, and the environment. However, with the assistance of forecasting, intuition, and highly developed leaders and strategists, a ten-year vision and strategy is not simply possibly, but functional and necessary.

Visions and strategies are not fixed, concrete things. They are meant to be dynamic, adjustable, and molded with the feedback of the market and further insight. Though they adjust over time, vision and strategy becomes the guide for every decision made in the present moment. Each decision for profit in the present is measured against a ten-year vision and strategy, and the evaluation considers both short-term and long-term impact (imagine if Enron did this).

An integral business works dynamically in the present while always keeping its sight ten years forward. The relationship and tension between the present and the future (while considering the past) more greatly enables a business for present and future profitability.

Vision and Strategy

Back to the basics.

Whenever I meet with someone for the first time, I ask two questions: 1) what's your vision, and 2) what's your strategy?

Most of the time, I sit there for about an hour while I listen to a long ramble that doesn't quite make sense. I then ask again: so, what's your vision and what's your strategy?

It quickly becomes clear that they don't really know, can't really articulate it, are lost in vision, or have a sense of strategy that doesn't move too deep because they're lacking vision.

For organizations (and individuals) to be successful there has to be clear vision and strategy, and everyone (I do mean everyone) at the organization should be able to articulate it, think on it, change on it, practice it in a dynamic and personal way.

Your vision and strategy needs to be precise, simple, and clear, as this is where all else will move forward.

What's your vision? What's your strategy?

Creative Solution Selling

Last fall I lost a lot of contracts due to massive budget cuts. It was and still is a hard time to be an independent consultant. I was discussing this dilemma with my friend Saam Gabbay and he said, "Dude, you have to create projects and the capital to fund them. You have to not only make yourself invaluable, but you also have to illustrate a problem, create a solution, and sometimes find the capital to pay yourself."

Saam is an exceptional producer, brander, marketer, and media professional. He showed me 10 companies that he really liked for product, brand, and value reasons, and also where he saw gaps in their branding, marketing and social media. He would then pick up the phone and call. After various holds and transfers, he would eventually find the person he needed to talk with, explain that he was a fan and customer, and present a proposal. He landed several projects in a market that, for most people, was entirely frozen. I had spent the last few months engaged in traditional marketing, lamenting with other consultants and freelancers, and working on a novel (it's still in the works).

Things had to change. My first venture in creative solution selling was with a local non-profit I really appreciate and beleive in. They had some really detrimental challenges in leadership, organization structure, vision and mission, and branding - all of which was causing the organization massive pain. Not only were they confronted by these challenges, but with the crash of the market they had also lost a lot of funding.

Much like Saam, I wrote a proposal, connected, and shared my enthusiasm and appreciation for their work. I went throgh my proposal and they agreed: they were indeed challenged; however, they had absolutely nothing they could pay me. I needed to be more creative. I proposed that I fundraise for them and asked that they give me 75% of whatever I raised for project fees. They agreed. We went forward. It all worked out very well.

In this market, we not only have to offer a service or product of value, but we have to find where these fit, illustate their necessity, and sometimes create the capital.

In our post-modern iteration of the sells approach, we're taught to listen, create a relationship, and really find out what the customer needs. It's this process of discover that sells you and what you offer. I generally like this. This is the approach that I tend to use. However, without losing the significance of relationship, discovery, conversation, and ultimately care, we have to take a much more active approach. We have to engage creative solution selling.

With creative solution selling, you're both creating (or illustrating) a need and a solution.

Harvard Business Review's March issue had a great article called Provoke Your Customers. This article, much like this discussion of creative solution selling, urges businesses to become active in their sells process. Create both the problem and solution.

HBR offers a table of comparison:

In current relational based selling:

• Competes for vendor preference within an exisiting budget
• Aligns with prevailing point of view
• Addresses acknowledged pain points
• Targets tactical problems
• Begins with technical proof and then builds a business case
• Starts as a line-of-business dialogue
• Asks questions to identify needs
• Responds to issues described by the client

In creative solution based selling:

• Compels project investment outside an existing budget
• Challenges the prevailing point of view
• Addresses unacknowledged angst
• Targets strategic problems
• Begins with the business case and then provides technical proof
• Starts as an executive-level dialogue
• Uses an insightful hypothesis to provoke a response
• Is proactive and leading, forcing issues out

It's time to be creative. Think forward. Find problems before they're problems and create solutions before they're needed - this will set you miles ahead.

The Elephant, the Butterfly, the Hummingbird, and the Orchid

The Elephant, the Butterfly, the Hummingbird, and the Orchid:
Important Lessons for These Economic Times

I am constantly interested in what makes organizations, businesses, and individuals successful. A recent HBR article drew parallels from the Foreman v. Ali fight, and their symbols, the elephant and butterfly/bee, as creative impetus for business principles and solutions for our current market. I like a good metaphor. Metaphors are universal, offering insights that mold into our personal situations through shared symbolism and meaning. I like this. I am borrowing two of theirs and adding a few of my own.

The HBR article provides both exquisite symbolism and practical analytical tools, and is highly recommended. Give it a read when you have a chance.

One of the most constant assumptions in the change management consulting world is organizations that are highly adaptable will be success in our ever increasing world of rapid change and ambiguity. I tend to agree with this assumption and consult toward this end; however, as HBR points out, there are organizations (and prize fighters) that simply have the size and strength to resist challenges from the most agile competitors and most challenging environments.

Healthy adult elephants have no natural predators. They're big, tough and smart. Elephants, especially females, interact in groups, partnerships, and social circles that provide further protection. Brains and groups are helpful, but their lack of competition is ultimately a result of their size.

There are organizations in our marketplace that are the same, and because of their size, strength, positioning and cash reserves they will weather this down cycle with relative ease. It's important to note, the appearance of strength and size is not strength and size. A sick elephant is an easy target. A large organization, like Enron and Citi Bank, in a state of distress is quickly challenged by shifting markets and harmful attacks.

Consider for a moment your size, strength, production position and essential partnerships: do you have the strength, size and stable relationships with both partners and customers to weather this current storm? How are your cash reserves? Is your organization functional, resilient, and grounded in shared vision? Are the values of your company solidified in each employee? Are the larger systems that support you, lenders, supply chains, and vendors, also stable?

Strength and size is important, but it's not the only thing that will enable survival and success - think Roman Empire and Russia v. Afghanistan. The capacity to change and transform is essential. Caterpillars are great at what they do, and when there is the natural impulse to change they are able to completely transform their capacities and function interacting in a completely different environment and world - from crawling to flying.

Is your organization in touch with the intuition for necessary change? Can your business adapt to meet the demands of the current environment? Are there people in your organization that have the intuition to see needed change, development and evolution? Are there people that can facilitate necessary adaptation and growth?

IBM was able to adapt when their PC business began to fail. Instead of doing the same thing poorly, IBM created a new and powerful business of IT consulting, network installation and customer service. They completely adapted, changed their business model and process, and remained viable and successful.

Progressive and evolutionary change may not be the right thing for your business. Most often, simple, horizontal shifts will keep your organization competitive. The hummingbird has a lot to teach us here. Watching them move is enchanting and mesmerizing. Hover, shift, hover, shift. It's important now, more than ever, to move and reflect in ever rapidly increasing cycles. Pause, lateral shift, pause, lateral shift. Through this process, hummingbirds escape detection from predators and find necessary sustenance. The same will be true with your organization.

Is your organization able to make quick lateral shifts in strategy and process? Are there active reflection and action cycles built into your work process on all levels of your business? Is there clear time for assessment and course correction? Is it easy to let go of things that aren't working any longer and adjust to what does?

Again, we're not looking for big transformative shifts, just the right, strategic adjustments that keep your organization operating well from its current position.

A client over the period of a year gave me about 20 orchids. She would get a new orchid at her office each week, and so she would pass the prior week's off to me. I brought them home. I cared from them. I bought books about orchid care. I bought orchid food. I changed their light. I misted. I looked at them smiling while offering encouraging words. And nothing. They never bloomed again. After a year of this, I put them outside and left them to their own accord. I assumed that they would last just a few weeks in the challenging Los Angeles desert environment.

I was right about some. Some died quickly. However, the majority to my amazement lived! And even more surprising, about half of the plants that lived bloomed. No attention, water, care, food or encouraging words were offered - they simply lived and thrived.

Sometimes, against all odds, things survive and thrive. Does your organization have fierce will, a solid and embodied vision, and a functional strategy to channel these? Is your organization, powered by your people, systems, culture and social structure, going survive against all odds? Do you have the passion?

In this time of challenge and trial, some will fail, some will survive and some will thrive. Leverage your strengths, adapt, position and engage, just like elements in our natural world. It's worked for them for 14+ billion years. It just might work for us.

Social Media Simplified: no. 1.1

IAB just released a metrics document on social media. Important information for validating, economically, the value of social media.

http://www.iab.net/socialmetrics

Of course, there is know true way to value most advertising. Billboards, a well established advertising avenue, has no clear valuation.

Side note: most valuation processes were authored by Brothers Grimm.

Social Media Simplified: no. 1

I've had many conversations lately with many different people about social media, and I am surprised how often I hear, even from seasoned marketing professionals, how they don't get it.

What's there not to get?

Social Media is the utilization of web 2.0 products and services (Twitter, Facebook, Delicious) to engage in conversation, interaction, and expression. It's media created by social groups, thus social media.

A major point of confusion is that it's all about the tools. It's not about the tools. It's about communication. Social media, whether it's for a brand, organization, product or personal, is about communication.

The golden rule of social media: talk like you want to be talked to and listen like you want to be listened to.

I was at a Digital LA panel last week. Many major networks and studios where represented on the panel and they were discussing how they use twitter. Their approach to twitter was very traditional, wreaking of control, manipulation, brand "integrity", legal approval, and very clean-to-the point-of-patronization interactions with "consumers." This is not social media. This is traditional marketing and PR.

There is nothing wrong with traditional marketing and PR. I like it. I find it useful. And there is nothing wrong with using web 2.o tools in traditional marketing. This is actually, possibly, pretty smart. However, it's still not social media. Traditional media is a one way street - from the brand to the consumer; talking at someone.

Social media requires engagement. Social media requires relationship. Social media requires conversation - it's a two way street. This is where it gets really simple: all the ideas, perspectives, and "rules" that go into engaging in a meaningful conversation apply here.

Here's a few:

1) Listen as much, if not more, than you talk
2) When you talk, add value to the experience
3) In adding value, allow the conversation to continue
4) Conversations can't be controlled, but they can be influenced
5) No one wants to listen to you if you're selling something all the time, same applies here
6) Don't be an asshole

That's it. It's that simple. Participate in a meaningful, considerate, conscious, authentic and relevant conversation. On greater consideration, it's starting to make sense why corporations just don't get it - I can't remember the last time I experienced a corporation engaged in an authentic conversation...

In my next social media post, I'll look at social media from the individual, product and brand perspective.

General Solutions v. Custom Solutions

Most general consulting solutions tend to look like this when you really need something that looks like this:

Dialogue with Brian Herr on Transformative Evolutionary Leadership

Great conversation with Brian Herr on Transformative Evolutionary Leadership.

Please enjoy:

Transformative Evolutionary Leadership

Leadership and Blogging: Deep Intentional Impact & Value

I recently listened to a great talk between John Gruber and Merlin Mann, which is linked at the bottom of this post, about blogging, social media, and (my interpretation) being a great human being. I loved the talk. They’re both insightful and damn funny, and they’re speaking from (generally) an elevated perspective.

A keystone in my consulting practice is individual and social development theory and practice. I am constantly listening for the stages (or memes) that produce the content people are presenting in the world (words, actions, and artifacts such as art, written material including blogs and tweets, and systems, to name just a few). People don’t produce content. Perspectives in people produce content. People aren’t their perspectives or the content they produce – people are people. (This too is just another perspective, but more on that in another post).

Almost all contemporary individual and social development theorists across the board observe and agree on a few general stages of development. As an individual or society develops, their capacity to observe and understand complexity grows (from very simplistic interpretations to very complex and considerate interpretations), and their circles of identity and impact grow larger (from self to family to nation to world to universe).

Here’s a quick summation of stage growth expressed through blogging content:

1. I blog because my ideas are right. My beliefs are true. Your beliefs are wrong if they’re different mine. I am blogging to share the truth with those of you that don’t get it. I am also really interested in the people that agree with my ideas, as they get it. Here’s an example: http://www.keeptruth.com/
2. I am blogging to network, sell and create opportunities. Blogging is a tool that enables my success. Here’s an example: http://www.redfiregroupllc.com/wordpress/?p=486
3. Blogging is an opportunity to express my unique perspective. Blogging enables connection; blogging is really about connection. I can listen to others sharing their unique perspectives. We can all enjoy and appreciate each other. Here’s an example: http://rajanaka.blogspot.com/
4. Blogging is many things to many people, and has a many different experiences within it. I blog to share with those that find meaning and value in my writing. I blog to create connections of possibility and invitation – an invitation of mutual success. I blog to create connection and learn from others. I blog to create a valuable integration of perspectives that radically serves the past, present and future. Here’s an example: http://starshamansview.blogspot.com/
5. I blog because it makes me happy. I blog to connect to our larger shared experience, and service this experience. Here’s an example: http://davekennedy.blogspot.com/
   

Disclaimer 1: The higher numbers do not equal better or more relevant. The numbers organize a continuum of perspectives increasing in complexity and consideration. Higher isn’t better, it’s just different and generally more inclusive, which is very effective for certain things. (Leadership today requires complex, considerate and inclusive perspectives).

Disclaimer 2: I’m not making a definitive statement about the blogs I am using as examples – I spent about ten minutes finding the first two and the last three are blogs I subscribe to. Each of these blogs has value and I am certain all of these authors are making great contributions to our human experience. All of these perspectives have great relevance and I appreciate them all equally for different reasons.

In their talk, John and Merlin are mostly speaking from perspective no. 3, and this is a refreshing perspective (a personal favorite). In a world and market where everyone is jumping on the social media bandwagon as a means to create the next influx of massive capital, John and Merlin are speaking about important attributes that skilled, effective, and powerful leaders possess.

Successful blogging, as John and Merlin discuss, incorporates a few important principles. First, be authentic. Be yourself. Let yourself, as you are, be fully expressed through your blog. This is great for blogging and great for leadership. Leadership is about being your self, deeply. This allows others to be themselves and shine, and it gives you complete access to all of your unique gifts, ideas and emotions, all of which are your greatest assets. Next, find what you obsess over and write about that, and because you’re excited your excitement will inspiration others. Again, true in blogging and true in leadership. Great leaders are committed to and excited about a vision or cause inspiring others to join them in their journey. Know what you’re excited about out; share it with others constantly.

From authenticity and inspiration, know who you’re writing for and write for them. Write for them as an act of care and love (“love” being my interpretation of what John and Merlin where discussing). When you write and lead from a place of service as an act of care, you can’t help but touch people and magnetize them towards you. Everyone then gets to share in a potent experience and exchange.

Lastly, attention is valuable. Attention is perhaps one the most valuable things in this universe. Successful leaders and bloggers know how capture and sustain attention. Dynamic leaders and bloggers creating transformative change know how to sustain and service attention. Attention is perhaps one the greatest resources we have. Honor the attention that is given to you and the attention given to you will grow.

John and Merlin offer a great and entertaining talk. Get comfortable, grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine; it’s an hour long:

John and Merlin on Blogging

Studies on Cheating Lends Light to Stock Market Crash, Enron, etc.

Please watch this TED Talk video. Dan Ariely's studies sheds light on market melt down.

Dan Ariely Talk

What are you and your organization doing to follow the next economic flow?

China calls for a new currency to replace dollar in a shift in perspective on U.S.'s roll in world economy: read here.

There is a sea change occurring - a tidal shift: economy is flowing to the east. What are you doing to follow this current? How is your organization preparing for this shift?

Short Dialog: Social Networking, Work, Generational Relationships to Web Tools, Etc.

Here's a short dialog between consultant Robert "Jake" Jacobs and me about the importance of social networking in business and life. Discussed tools, individual inclinations, and impact.

Kris and Jake Social Networking Talk

Upcoming Telecourse: Becoming Change - Transition, Vision, and Strategy for these Economic Times

Upcoming Telecourse: Becoming Change - Transition, Vision, and Strategy for these Economic Times

The world needs your service, vision and hope. If you have recently found yourself:

• inspired to create change and support others,
  
• laid off from work and want a new direction,
• seeing a new potential but are unsure how to create it,
• tired of doom and gloom and are looking for a new conversation,
• interested in shifting the way you feel about the current culture and economy,
  
• seeking new solutions, looking for a new conversation,
  
• or are looking for hope and vision,
  

Then Becoming Change - Transition, Vision, and Strategy for these Economic Times was created for you.

Becoming Change is a course designed to empower effective transition. Over the course of a month, 4 conference calls, and 2 coaching sessions you will be guided through a process of transformation. Stepping into new perspectives, strategies, and a community of support you will create the life and career that you desire and the world needs.

Through your participation in this course you will get:

• tools to alleviate stress, fear, confusion, and anxiety
• practices to create a clear picture and a broad view
• empowering experiences of vision and purpose creation
• methods to cease knee-jerk reactions and make powerful choices
  
• practical tools and assistance for creating and implementing strategy

Join us for a complimentary introductory session on April 7th at 5:30 PM PST (8:30 PM EST). Start your journey of transition, vision, and purpose, and experience an interactive conversation with Doug and Kris. You will be given practical tools, a course experience, followed by a question and answer session.

To register: Email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com or Email Doug at doug@coachdoug.com

Click to See Kris and Doug on YouTube

Course Outline:

April 7th, Week One: Complimentary Introduction

April 8th - 13th: Orientation and Intention Coaching Session with Doug or Kris

April 14th, Week Two: Becoming Change

April 21st, Week Three: Transition

April 28th, Week Four: Vision

May 5th, Week Five: Strategy

May 6th+ Continued Support Coaching Session with Doug or Kris

Detailed Information:

Investment: $295

To Register Now:

• Contact Doug: doug@coachdoug.com | www.coachdoug.com
  

• Contact Kris: kris@kramaconsulting.com | www.kramaconsulting.com
  

Becoming Change Course and Video Series

Doug Miller and I are offering a telecourse "Becoming Change" beginning April 1st for individuals in transition: new job, career, life purpose, vision, and world work, all pushing towards greater self and world change. In this series of videos, Doug and I discuss change, our current state of society and culture, and the various things individuals are facing as each of us is confronted with our world.

New Management Job Description: Managing Stress, Anxiety and Fear

In a survey conducted several years ago by the Anxiety Disorders of America Association (ADAA) in partnership with National Stress Out Week, 56% of people said that anxiety and stress affects their performance, 51% said it affected their interpersonal work relationships, 50% said it affects their quality of work, and 43% said it affects their relationship with their superiors.

From The Business Mirror:

"For some, the economy is having an extreme impact. In a November-December study by the National Domestic Violence Hotline, 54 percent of participating hotline callers said their household's financial situation had changed in the past year. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, meanwhile, has had an increase in calls, from 412,000 in 2007 to 568,000 in 2008."

Right now, almost everyone is, at least a little, stressed out. Especially at organizations that have gone through one, two or three rounds of layoffs. Right now, in this economy and during this recession, managers, leaders, and organizations need to step into new leadership capacities. Managers need to engage and interact with people in a way that assists in finding ease and support. We need new management for a new world. Earlier this week, I wrote a blog called Leading from the Heart, the first in an undetermined series on a new and emergent way of leadership and management. We all need to lead from the heart.

Again, from The Business Mirror:

"The irony, advisers and economists say, is that an anxious investor, consumer or worker actually compounds the economy's distress. The fear is driving people to make rash decisions with investments, thus contributing to the volatility of the stock markets. It is keeping consumers from spending money, not a good thing nationally, considering that consumer spending makes up 70 percent of the economy. And it is making many workers less productive at work."

Building leadership capacities is now essential for an organization's success. Managers need to manage and lead from the heart. Leaders need a new sensitivity and awareness. If an organization's leaders cannot manage fear, anxiety and stress, that organization will be greatly crippled and ultimately fail.

In the series Leading from the Heart, I will touch on and explore many different perspectives on what will be required for leaders to manage successfully and effectively in our new world and time.

In the meantime, here are a few pointers:

1) Find confidence and be confident. Inauthentic expressions will backfire. However, if you can access a true perspective of ease, innovation, and abundance your presence will have powerful impact on all of those around you. Your attitude speaks much louder than your words.

2) Listen. Listen. Listen. Use your time to listen to your employees concerns. Listen with genuine concern. Talking to your employees about their problems is not listening to their problems. Truly listen. Truly listen to them from a place of clarity and compassion. Yes, compassion. This is not the 80s anymore and management needs to change.

3) Be honest and positive. False hope is false. Blind optimism is annoying. However, find a healthy, balanced, positive perspective and share it generously.

4) Reframe. Challenge the assumptions of doom and the perspectives of failure. Give your people a new and empowered place to perceive from. Show them hope. Show them innovation. Make the impossible possible. Take failure and turn it into results.

5) Be real. Share your concerns and your fears in a real, honest, and authentic way, and also offer your wisdom for how you manage and deal with it. Be willing to relate to your people; collapse the divide and let down the wall. Create access to you. This isn't an open door policy, it's an open heart and mind policy. Revisit no. 3.

Change has to happen, and it needs to happen fast. The world and our economy is not going to afford us an even and measured learning curve. The time for new management came yesterday. Get busy.

Leading from the Heart: An Introduction

I imagine that most of you like the sound of leading from the heart and agree with the idea. In a post-modern culture, dominated by Oprah-endorsed spirituality and post-feminist appreciation of emotional intelligence (even Donald Trump cries now), we react favorable, nod our heads, and completely agree. Ideas of emotion, heart, depth, and interiority are now a part of our popular culture.

A top level executive at a national corporation recently told me that in hiring other executives, emotional development is looked at and is now considered to be equally important as an MBA. Yes, you read that correctly, emotional intelligence is equally important as an MBA. Unfortunately, no one is giving out degrees in emotional aptitude.

You might be interested to know, when I asked said executive if I could quote him, he looked at me and said, “Are you f&cking kidding me?” Apparently, I could not quote him on that.

When it comes to the real world, the contemporary real world, ideas like emotional intelligence and leading from the heart sound nice. However, more and more, I am seeing that it’s most often limited to the space of another good, contemporary idea along with ideas like "being green." (When was the last time you rode your bike to work?)

Ideas about emotions are not emotions. Liking emotional intelligence is not emotional intelligence.

Last week in a coaching session with someone currently involved in huge upper level management conflict I asked, “how do you think they feel?” And the answer was, “how is that going to help me?” I generally expect responses like this, but every once in awhile they do catch me off guard. Is the best the adult world has to offer iterations of playground memories?

We need to do better.

“Have you ever listened to someone from the inside?” Jeremy (“Powder”) asks Lindsey in the film Powder. This is where leading from the heart begins.

I write with awareness that this is a huge subject with infinite implications – implications of great impact. (I just went back to the title and added: An Introduction). This is the first of a series of undetermined parts.

Leading from the heart begins with listening to yourself and others from the inside. Listening to yourself creates a much greater matrix of information and intelligence – you can access more wisdom, intuition, and knowledge. Listening to others from the inside means considering how they feel and what their experience is; considering what their perspective is; considering what their motivations are. And that’s just the beginning. This leads to feeling them from the inside. Being present to the way the space feels, how they appear in their skin, their receptivity and experience. Being this open to someone allows you to listen fully. In listening deeply you can communicate more effectively.

You might wonder how this helps you. In resourcing anecdotal evidence of project failure, deal breakdowns, and organization struggle, miscommunication and conflict soar above all other problems. If you want to be successful, if you want to change the world you need a smart heart, and you need to lead from it.

Stay posted for more blogs on Leading from the Heart – there are a lot more to come.

A Few Things Your Company/Organization Needs to Consider

I think and feel that companies need to do a few things right now in order to adjust to the market (not listed hierarchically):

1) Manage fear and anxiety. Most people today are walking around with a lot of internal discomfort and confusion. This does not make people effective, productive or creative, and all of these things are important right now. Invest in the interior of your employees - you're really making an investment in the exterior of your organization, the product, service and output. At the same time, develop capacities and perspectives that add value, leadership and responsibility.

2) Let go of excess, trim the fat. I am all for management reduction - some middle management needs to go. Performance based reviews and termination at all levels of organizations. Reduce executive salaries.

3) Build a culture of honesty, accountability and transparency. Support your employees and they will support you - both at work and in conversation. Your employees do as much to establish your brand as your advertising.

4) LEAN out your system and organization. Remove all that does not add value. I like Holacracy, LEAN 2.0, as it considers many layers and positions of value.

5) Build your social network and social media - it's damn cheap and damn effective.

Are You Ready for Change

Are You Ready for Change?

by Stacy Hirsch, Associate

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about change. As Kris mentioned in the last newsletter, we are in the business of change. We partner with individuals and organizations to facilitate movement toward a goal or a broader vision. Our clients are often in the midst of change or ready to transform some aspect of their lives or business.

But what does change mean? How do organizations change? How do individuals change? How do we respond when change is inevitable and how do we stay present while change is occurring?

The New Year is a great time to talk about this topic because most people have something in their life they would like to transform or address with new awareness or action. But where do we begin? What does the moment before the moment we take action look and feel like?

My husband and I recently initiated one of the biggest changes two people can experience in life. We brought a child into this world. The impetus to consider a change of this magnitude was fairly clear and not too uncommon. I was of an age where I saw my fertility more as a window rather than an open landscape. Additionally, we had been married for two years so our thoughts naturally flowed toward the topic of children and whether we 'would' or 'would not.'

The decision to have a child was the result of many conversations that took place over time and began even before we were married. The requirement was that we each show up and communicate what was most important to us in life. Our responsibility to ourselves and each other was to listen to a deeper knowing and to allow it to surface and enter the conversation. The moment before the moment we decided to have a child was full of reflection, deep listening, honesty and authenticity. These principles ultimately guided us on our journey and led us into parenthood.

In working with individuals and organizations, the moment before the moment is often a point of friction. Individuals might feel a distance between themselves and a goal and come to us looking for assistance in achieving a vision they have for their lives. The same is true for organizations but with more people involved, more interpretations and perspectives, more relationships to foster, and a need to get people talking and sharing about how best to align with a mission or steer the organization in a given direction.

This friction is sometimes a result of timing or circumstance, as in our case with deciding to have a child. It might also be a moment where you realize you are no longer on the path you set out on and you would like to get back to your original vision. Sometimes it is the acknowledgement that with time and experience the original direction no longer suits you and you need assistance in determining what steps to take next as you navigate new territory.

Six months into our new role as parents, it seems that the decision to have a child was probably the easiest part of the change. Our days are now filled with a thousand small decisions that feel enormous in scale and impact. Each moment is an opportunity to reflect on who we are as parents, as partners and as human beings. The principles that guided my husband and me when we made the decision to have a child now guide us as we experience the many joys and challenges of conscious parenting.

The world is complex and constantly changing. At times this can be both exhilarating and overwhelming. Having a partner to assist in the change process can help facilitate growth, increase the likelihood of achieving a desired outcome and generate possibilities yet to be imagined. This is the business of Krama Consulting and Development.

Flow In Strategic Intuition: An Exploration of Polarities

Flow In Strategic Intuition: An Exploration of Polarities
By Evan Vandarwarka, Associate

Introduction

Einstein once said you can't solve a problem at the same level of consciousness from which the problem originated. Today's business and societal challenges require a new way of being, allowing us access to new information and resolution to achieve breakthrough and change. In a previous article, we discussed the concept of strategic intuition, the creative spark found between the analysis and action of a strategy. It is strategic intuition that brings all previous analysis and experience into a clear plan of action. When immersed in strategic intuition, we often experience a state of deep concentration and focus, our mind and body in balance, our awareness heightened. We feel a state of optimal experience, or what is known as flow; a new way of being that may be one answer to today's challenges.

Flow most easily occurs when we become aware of certain polarities that are constantly occurring in our lives and are able to hold both at the same time. This balance allows for the expression of our most insightful and significant ideas and often results in the experience of seemingly opposed realities converging together to produce harmony where levels of chaos and uncertainty were previously present. As with everyone else, I have experienced varying degrees of flow in my life. When I am able to witness polarities and how they are informing me, a greater sense of clarity and trust in the process moves through me. It is a sample of these polarities we will explore in this article, those that seem to harbor significance in flow and in part provide for the experience of strategic intuition, purpose and clarity.

Action and Reflection

In human activity (whether we are aware of it or not) there are repetitive cycles of action and reflection constantly occurring. We act, then reflect on our action; reflection that then informs subsequent actions, and the cycle continues. As we grow and develop, these action/reflection cycles become more complex, incorporating more of our surroundings as we take in more of our world and understand it more deeply. In the process, as we develop more complex cycles, the action/reflection process is quicker, more closely knit. When we are children, we often don't realize the consequences of our actions until much later when we are disciplined by our parents, then reflect on what we have done as a result. As adults, we are able to act, then reflect with greater ease and rapidity from our previous experience. It is this process of quicker action and reflection that helps us resolve problems with more fluidity and grace. Bill Torbert's book, Action Inquiry, discusses ways in which these action/reflection cycles occur through various levels of human development; stages of awareness in action and reflection as we mature. In business, we find successful leaders continually take time to reflect on their actions and re-orient themselves to a more congruent plan. When highly mature, this cycle is happening all the time, at the same time, contributing to a state of flow.

Suggestion: take time at the end of each day to reflect or journal on major actions you have taken. How did they manifest, what was the impact on others, what did you learn? Bringing awareness to these cycles breeds greater clarity and purpose for future activity.

Complexity and Unity

As mentioned in our cycles of action and reflection, the process of growth and development brings with it the ability to conceive of deeper and broader systems; we have access to abstract concepts and are able to view the world from a more complex viewpoint. Linear ways of viewing situations or problems give way to a systemic understanding, seeing the problem from many different perspectives. Sometimes this complexity can be overwhelming. There's a point where we can get lost in the various ways of looking at a problem, leading to stalemate where nothing ends up getting resolved. However, when one develops the creative power of flow, this complexity comes together to form a unitive structure, one in which complexity begins manifesting as a more complete, whole understanding of complex structures. In nature, we see unity in complexity, from the fractal formation of a leaf to the organization of human molecular systems. We can begin viewing our life and its challenges as we do with nature; seeing unity and clarity in a problem through deeper understanding of its complexity.

Flow happens when we experience this unity within the complexity. Taking another example from the business world, managers who are able to view unity in complexity see the overall vision and purpose of a project or department within the many processes and systems in place that support that vision. It may seem logical, yet still a challenge to actually hold both at the same time with demonstrative efficacy. In flow, this attunement to both becomes greatly enhanced; systems within systems emerge in one’s perspective and a fuller picture comes into being.

Suggestion: take an object in your immediate environment and examine it for a few minutes. Notice whether you are paying attention to the details of that object or the object as a whole. Try to alternate between seeing the details and the whole until you are holding both at the same time. This practice is beneficial in developing the capacity to bring each into awareness.

Agency and Communion

As humans develop, we alternate between cycles that are dominated by differentiation and accommodation; sometimes we go through periods of agency in the world through our individual expression. In others, we take in our collective environment, which then informs us as individuals. In reality, this polarity of agency and communion, individual and collective is constantly occurring. A pebble dropped in a pond makes ripples that reverberate through, informing the actions of its immediate surroundings. In flow, we are both aware of our individual "pebble" AND the ramifications of our actions in the collective. When we are conscious of this, our action/reflection cycles are quick and we act in accordance with what is most needed for ourselves and our environment. We become an agent of change within the larger environment we are informing. In business and life, this becomes a critical leadership quality. If we are to form something new or resolve a certain issue, holding agency and communion, ourselves and the collective is necessary to create an environment that meets the needs of both. We are in flow when both are happening simultaneously.

Suggestion: the next time you are speaking with someone, notice how you alternate between asserting your own interest in the conversation and taking in the other, through both your thoughts about the conversation and the actual words you are saying. Reflect on how much of your day is spent in either side of the polarity and witness how they may be forming each other.

Conclusion

In practice, holding these polarities at the same time can be challenging. We often find ourselves in one of two positions; acting or reflecting, immersed in details or examining the big picture, asserting ourselves or taking in our environment. Witnessing and becoming aware of both ends of these polarities in yourself provides the experience of holding when and how they either produce positive results and balance in your life or lead to a state of contraction in which you feel immobilized. This witnessing then offers new ways of understanding; we bring clarity to challenges we face and act in accordance with purpose; we flow with greater ease and acceptance. At Krama Consulting, we help to elicit these qualities in projects and leaders, pointing out polarities that are being managed and to what extent they are generating or halting flow, allowing transformative change to occur.

Media Updates

Kris was recently quoted in a leadership blog; check it out.

Stay connected to our growing conversation online:

Blog: Krama Consulting
Twitter: TofferNelson
LinkedIn: Profile

Solutions for The Current Economy

Times are very tough, and yet I am hopeful. I'm optimistic and even, dare I say, excited by the opportunities for change. Things may get a little worse before they begin to get a little better. However, they will get better. The most exciting thing about this opportunity is that we (each and every one of us) can, needs to, and will affect this change. There is already so much transition, reconsideration, visioning, creation, commitment, and energy.

Simply, we want to do better, and we know we can do better. I want to support you in this, and am offering four distinct services for both individuals and organizations to assist in this economy and transition.

"Kris is a natural teacher and coach, and an exceptional leader. He is extremely intelligent and grounded, and visionary and compassionate. I recommend him with out hesitation to those wanting to work at the leading edge of development and performance."
- Dana Carman, Principal Pacific Integral

Summary of Services

· Transition Coaching for Individuals

Perfect for someone that has recently lost a job or is currently re-visioning their lives.

· Executive Coaching for Struggling Organizations

Essential for an executive that is faced with layoff and restructuring decisions in the next month.

· 360° Organization/Business Assessment & Change Initiative

Ideal for organizations and businesses that are restructuring and cutting back.

· Process Driven Strategy Investigation for Organizations

Designed for businesses and organizations that need to rapidly adjust immediate strategy to current market and social conditions.

"Working with Kris Nelson brought clarity and precision. Kris's easy, natural and non-judgmental insight supported and encouraged me to go deep inside myself, to observe my actions, to notice where they were coming from without attachment and critical analysis. Kris is a pillar of strength; his wisdom coached me through situations that I would have previously thought were insurmountable."
- Lauri Ashworth, Owner and Founder The Hub

Detail of Services

· Transition Coaching for Individuals

This is a specific six week or three month course for individuals in transition. This personal course will include deep vision work, development of strategic intuition and forecasting, communication coaching, leadership empathy, value solidification, and effective life strategy. We will explore the things that are keeping you from being proactive and successful: fear, doubt, blame, and hopelessness, and ensure that they no longer keep you from your greatest success and purpose.

We will meet for an hour each week in person or on the phone. You will engage specific work and practices custom designed for you. And you will have full access to me, either by phone or email, in between sessions for support and guidance.

As the things that are keeping you from moving forward dissipate, and the capacities and skills you need to be a successful actor of the future are developed, you will step into greater success and freedom.

For pricing and further information, please email me at: kris@kramaconsulting.com

· Executive Coaching for Struggling Organizations

Executives are dealing with a lot - I am hearing about overload, impossible decisions, guilt, fear, frustration, and challenge like many have never faced before.

This support and coaching focuses on separating emotional and mental experience, the facts of circumstance, and forward moving strategy in a process I call M3. Each area is dealt with using further processes of discernment and discovery, so that every decision is made with absolute clarity and information.

This is a retainer package, which allows for 24 hour a day access to me.

For pricing and further information, please email me at: kris@kramaconsulting.com

· 360° Organization/Business Assessment & Change Initiative

A needed solution for businesses and organizations of all sizes. Please call or write for a free consultation to learn if this is right for you.

This process opens up the organization from the inside out and the outside in. The organization is reviewed in a systematic and comprehensive method, uncovering the invaluable, unclear, unrefined and underdeveloped areas allowing for a more fluid, more successful and higher achieving organization.

During a time when mistakes cannot be allowed to go unnoticed and persist, it is essential to know what is great, what needs work, and what no longer adds value. The sustainability of your organization may depend on this. The assessment is always followed with a path to change and the support to implement.

For pricing and further information, please email me at: kris@kramaconsulting.com

· Process Driven Strategy Investigation for Organizations

I hear about too many organizations making short-term, reactive decisions that do not align with overall vision, mission and values. In this process the vision, mission and values become clarified and act as the guiding light for all needed adjustments in strategy, tactics, and process.

For pricing and further information, please email me at: kris@kramaconsulting.com


More than ever, during this time, support is needed for your success and the success of your organization. Allow Krama Consulting & Development a hand in growing you and your organization into the future.

Best wishes and great success!

Sincerely Yours,


Kristoffer Nelson
Kristoffer Nelson has been transforming individuals and systems for over 10 years.

Strategic Intuition

Strategic Intuition
Practicing Dynamic Innovation

An apple fell. It didn’t actually fall on his head, as modern myth would have us believe. It fell in front of him and hit the ground. In that moment, however, a man was hit in the head. He saw a potential and possibility that had not yet been available to modern humanity: gravity. This is strategic intuition. Spaciousness of mind, personal experience, historical examples and accomplishments, and an opportunity-not-yet-realized coalesces to create something novel, transformative and revolutionary.

Google is the result of strategic intuition*. Mac is the result of strategic intuition. Picasso’s unique artistic expression was the result of strategic intuition. Napoleon’s military success was the result of strategic intuition. The Buddha’s enlightenment, U.S. women’s suffrage, and civil rights was the result of strategic intuition. The Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution were the result of strategic intuition**.

Strategic intuition is the fulcrum of innovation and success. Strategic analysis and planning are great. Expert and ordinary intuition are great. Strategic intuition changes the world, and leads to great success and accomplishment. The great thing: you can cultivate strategic intuition.

Elements of Creation

Presence of Mind

Think for a moment: when do you get your best ideas? I ask people this all the time. You know what? No one has ever answered, “during a brainstorming session” or “in a strategy meeting.” Most answer with random activities: driving, showering, watching television, or arguing with a lover. Most responses fall into two categories: either thinking about nothing or thinking about nothing of consequence – something completely different.

Newton was not thinking about gravity when the apple fell. Newton did not drop an apple, create a hypothesis, and then drop 1,000 more apples to test it. An apple fell in front of him, and in his presence of mind he had a flash of insight. Presence of mind is one of the central elements that William Duggan reveals as an essential element of strategic intuition in his book by the same title (Strategic Intuition, William Duggan, Columbia Business School Publishing).

Through the work of Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer and others, presence and spaciousness of mind is now becoming an essential capacity to cultivate in the business, leadership and management field. Today’s world is chaotic. Our financial and housing markets have recently turned for the worse – the worst in many years. Decisions are being made quicker than ever, and these decisions have huge impact and implications. The mind can be a busy place with lots of competing voices and choices. Presence of mind allows for a calm clarity that cuts through the chaotic confusion affording an environment where novelty and decisiveness can open.

Without presence of mind, we are trapped in the same decisions and patterns we have always followed. Strategic intuition creates new vistas and pathways. Something is realized that has never been realized before, and in order for this to happen there has to be the space for insight and creativity.

Strategic intuition almost always reveals something we were never looking for – Newton was not looking for gravity. It takes great presence and space of mind to recognize something of value that was not sought after.

Personal and Historical Experience

Newton said, “If I have seen further, it is by standing on shoulders of giants.” Newton did not make up the mathematic and physic components he used to explain gravity. He didn’t even come up with the idea of gravity – gravity had been in human consciousness for over 2,000 years at that time. Newton’s novelty arose in bringing components of past insight together in a new way, creating a new potential and future – he explained gravity it a way that could be both mathematically and physically proven.

Google, Apple, and Microsoft all did the same thing: they brought together elements of the past to create a new potential, strategy and successful future. Strategic intuition relies heavily on past insight, success and knowledge. For strategic intuition to arise in your experience you have to have great historical knowledge in your field of application – you have to know what has worked and why it has worked.

I will not have strategic intuition about baseball. I know nothing about baseball beyond the basic rules and strategy. Strategic intuition relies on historical data. Strategic intuition brings together disparate pieces of experience, information and history creating novelty. Newton stood on the shoulders of Pythagoras, Aristotle, Bacon, Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler, and many others. Without the insights of his predecessors and his understanding of their work, the Universal Law of Gravitation would have never fallen into Newton’s lap, so to speak.

It was not the first time an apple fell. It was not the first time someone saw an apple fall. However, Newton had the personal experience, historical data, and presence of mind to arrive at a new understanding of why apples fall – an understanding that affects all of modern life (modern engineering would not have happened without Newton).

Time

One of Newton’s biographies shares that after he saw the apple fall he went into deep contemplation. Strategic intuition may arrive in a flash, but it will often take time to understand and relate the insights realized. Newton worked on his theories based around the Universal Law of Gravitation for the rest of his life. Einstein worked on the theories and applications of E = MC2 (another product of strategic intuition) for the rest of his life. It took Google almost ten years to make it what it is today. It took Microsoft many years to bring all its their components, insights, and discoveries together into the brand that Microsoft is now.

Resolve & Determination

Strategic intuition is not just a good idea, but is also a plan of action. Anyone can come up with a good idea. I have great ideas everyday, but very little interest in seeing them forward. That is not strategic intuition. Strategic intuition carries with it a plan of action, and the resolve and determination to see it through.

Given that strategic intuition creates a novel understanding, the insight and plan for action will not always be agreed with. There will most likely be opposition. At the time of Google’s inception, the dotcom boom had turned towards bust and the web portal was considered to be the only viable way of creating new capital on the net. Against initial opposition, the Google guys pushed forward and in a very short amount of time created the most successful internet business of all time.

In the circumstance of authentic strategic intuition, there is also great resolve – the resolve it takes to carry the insight and strategy of implementation to the end.

Big & Small

In thinking about strategic intuition and its implications in my life, I have decided upon the Big & Small Factor. The examples of strategic intuition Duggan offers are grand global situations of great human impact. These are wonderful and inspiring, but not fully relatable to me. In reviewing my life, I began to realize that strategic intuition has been at play often in my experience in very small-scale situations.

Through presence of mind, personal experience, and an understanding of historical situations and applications a flash of insight arose in me creating a new future; a future I have the resolve to realize. Most of these circumstances were so small I didn’t even notice they happened; that is, until I began to review my experience from the perspective of strategic intuition. Strategic intuition is not limited to global scale, human scale situations, but also shares itself in creating potent moment-to-moment situations. In cultivating strategic intuition, do not limit yourself to only humanity changing “ahas,” but also allow room for small insights and shifts that will have huge impact down the line. It was a lot of big and small moments that created the founding of our country, but it was really a lot more small than big.

Conclusion

Cultivation

Strategic intuition is not something that can be forced. Again, when do you have your best ideas? Generally, not when you force it. However, strategic intuition can be cultivated.

Two of the most important components of strategic intuition are presence of mind and historical understanding. Meditation is one of the most efficient ways of cultivating presence of mind. There are plenty of resources now in mainstream culture to learn meditation. Even if you live in a small town, chances are there will be at least one meditation teacher in your area. If you google “meditation practices,” 467,000 pages come up, along with advertisements for meditation cushions (good job Google guys! – now it’s your turn). If you google “meditation,” 54,700,000 pages come up. Like I said, there are plenty of resources. Like they say in Zen: sit down, shut up, and just do it.

You have to study. You have to spend time understanding your field and work. You can read, ask questions, research online, listen to cds and digital files, and watch films. Whatever you decide to do, whatever tools you choose for study, you simply have to do it. You have to be present to the texture of your industry. With an understanding of the texture, new fabric will unfold.

That’s a Wrap

Strategic intuition is a transformative moment. It allows for great things. By drawing together presence and space of mind, personal and historical experience, time, and determination: novel situations, paths, and perspectives will emerge from you. Like all intuition, strategic intuition can be cultivated, and through strategic intuition you will have a profound and novel impact on the world.



* These examples come directly from Duggan’s Strategic Intuition, which is highly recommended.

** I came up with this one on my own – the founding and formation of the United States is a great case study for continuous strategic intuition, not limited to an individual, but group