Strategies for Surviving and Thriving in Challenging Times
Strategic Action #2 for Surviving and Thriving:
Enter a New Consciousness (Part 2)
By now, just about everybody with a scintilla of knowledge about happenings in the world today has heard sanity defined as, “doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”
Why are we hearing that bon mot so often these days? Because with the scale and relentlessness of change washing away the status quo in every sector of human life, whole libraries full of solutions are obsolete. Despite that, however, legions of people in every sector are still flailing away at problems trying to make old ways work despite the insanity of their attempts.
To escape from the insanity of fruitless, repetitive tries at solving a problem depends on entering a different consciousness that reveals both the utter uselessness of continuing in the current fashion and a new consciousness in which new insights can flow, unfettered by a barren and indefensible status quo.
How do you unlock the door to a new consciousness?
First, think systems thinking:
Systems thinking is a social approach using systems theories to create desired outcomes, or change. It views certain problems as a part of the overall system so focusing on these outcomes will only further develop the undesired element or problem. Systems thinking is a framework that is based on the belief that the component parts of a system will act differently when the systems relationships are removed and it is viewed in isolation. The only way to fully understand why a problem or element occurs and persists is to understand the part in relation to the whole.
In contrast with traditional scientific methods of thinking, which is categorical, systems thinking is a holistic method of thinking. It is concenred with examining the linkages and interactions between the elements that comprise the entirety of the system.
(For more see the full article this was adapted from in Wikopedia.)
Second, recognize that systems thinking is a perspective for going beyond events, to looking for patterns of behavior, to seeking underlying systemic interrelationships which are responsible for the patterns of behavior and the events. It embodies a world-view which implies that the foundation for understanding lies in interpreting interrelationships within systems, which are responsible for the manner in which systems operate. (For more see the full article from which the foregoing was adapted.)
Third, learn techniques for moving from a fruitless consciousness into one that can reward you with new insight. Career and personal coach Tom Leary describes in one of his blog postings one way of getting into a new consciousness. It can be especially useful in tacking a problem with group action. It’s better than brain storming exercises. It’s a brain harvesting exercise – a way of plucking from your brain answers that already exist, but lie concealed under the cover of an outmoded consciousness.
Arguably, the world’s greatest living expert on transitioning into new and more productive states of consciousness is Edward de Bono. It is likely that nearly all of the world’s largest legacy companies have drawn on de Bono’s “Six Thinking Hats” processes.
“Six Thinking Hats is a technique that helps you look at decisions from a number of different perspectives. It forces you to move outside your habitual ways of thinking. It it helps you understand the full complexity of a decision, and to spot issues and opportunities to which you might otherwise be blind.
(For more see the Mind Tools website from which the foregoing was adapted.)
In closing on the topic of how to shiftfrom one consciousness to another, I want to share two thoughts:
First, since the first life on earth, long-term survival has depended on the ability of a species to adapt to change. Most haven’t, thus most are extinct. The very embrace of the status quo that brings stability is the very thing that killed them. Individuals and companies are no different. In these times of epochal change, those who will be doing best 10 years from now will be those who have learned how to adapt to a new scheme of challenges.
Second, reread the first line of the previous post. creative capitalism, new capitalism
Comments