âIn the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until […]
When others discourage us, we need to see past their words. What do they really mean? Often friends and family do not want us to get hurt, they see a career change/entrepreneurial adventure/new study as a risk. Others may feel if we change they may lose us, we may no longer show interest in them. In some cases, if you change and progress in life, they see it as a reflection of their lack of change. If you change and they don’t where does it leave them?
When we imagine the future, we use memories, dreams, movies we have seen. These data points act like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that we construct. If this is the case, then we can manipulate the information we consume to create novel versions of the future. We can use new information to create new visions of our organisations for a rapidly-evolving world.
Rhizomatous organisation, where departments within an organisation are connected by a unifying vision, a North Star, while they expand on the strength of the whole. In part two, we look at successful organisations that have behaved just like rhizomatous plants and sprouted new entities in some cases right beside an existing one. More importantly, I share how Dunbar’s number has an influence.
Some tree species (cottonwoods, aspens, poplars, huon pines) are rhizomatous, so that each new tree is actually part of the other trees. They seem like separate entities but they are part of the whole. This provides a beautiful analogy for departments within an organisation, that are connected by a unifying vision, a North Star, while they expand on the strength of the whole.
While all change requires some level of compromise. The most important thing is to never compromise on your values. If your personal values are at odds with the values of the company you work for, you will need to leave. Staying will eventually lead to frustration, unhappiness and even illness. I leave you this week with the words of Janis Joplin ⊠âDonât compromise yourself. Youâre all youâve got.â
Johann Sebastian Bach ingeniously balanced two opposing, contradictory forces in music: diatonicism and the contradictory force: chromaticism. Bach was the pioneer in perfectly intertwining these two musical forces to achieve musical equilibrium. This intertwining of two contrasting forces is a great analogy for business today. Leaders must explore and exploit in tandem.
Studies show we pass fear and biases from generation to generation. We must be vigilant of how we sculpt the brains of those who come after us, because sculpting brains sculpts our realities.
We name a Ponzi scheme after Charles Ponzi, an infamous proponent of the scheme. A Ponzi scheme leads victims to believe that profits are coming from product sales or other means, and they remain unaware that other investors are the source of funds.
We should celebrate the gainsayer, we should celebrate the people who make changes for the greater good.