Thinking

"If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable." — Seneca

Steven Kotler from the Flow Research Collective describes this as uncertainty. He says, "Uncertainty creeps in everywhere, all the time. We’re uncertain about what task to do next or how to spend the rest of the day. We’re uncertain about what the next six months should look like in our business or professional life. Ultimately, all too many of us are pretty damn uncertain about the direction we want our lives to take. The issue is that this uncertainty paralyzes us and blocks us from 'Flow'. Being clear on where you want to go, and exactly how you’re going to get there, is incredibly important for flow. Without clear goals, we can’t direct our attention." 

We explored the possible unintentional but powerful effects of implementing  on culture in each quadrant chapter. To round out that discussion, reflect on your organisation, or on your preference for the culture of the organisation you work within, or as a business owner, the culture you are creating.

Allan Leighton has led some of the biggest retail organisations in the UK as chairman of the COOP, Asda, Selfridges and Royal Mail.

Have a squiz at this video where he talks about the execution of strategy. 

It’s so true! Allan talks about those within your organisations who make ‘treacle’; rather than communicating and empowering, strategy gets fed down through either someone he refers to as ‘permafrost’ i.e., nothing ever goes past or through them, or, probably my favourite, ‘business prevention squads’.  These are the middle managers who ensure that they control every piece of

Some of you will still ponder the descriptor that I use, Experiential Architect.  And yes, I do get some phone calls now and then asking for me to design amazing, interesting houses.

This particular ‘title’ came from a coaching moment with a fine Australian leadership coach, Dan Collins. We were at a Thought Leaders Conference - in Sydney some years ago, and Dan was helping me narrow down ‘what I did to help people’. 

Life is challenging enough at the best of times; add in a little global pandemic, lots of financial uncertainty - keep in mind our personalities - and we can create a perfect storm in our minds. Some of us will have excited ninjas and talking pandas coursing through our excited minds, others will conjure up deadly conspiracies, evil governments and too many cows with flatulence – always choosing the worst-case scenario. (Negative Bias Preference) 

Why are we so easily distracted?

The fascinating thing about the human brain is that it has a natural bias to be curious about seeking constant and new information. Why? The more information we have, the better we can assess and mitigate danger. But our primal brain is at the crossroads with technology availability as we’ve never experienced it before. And we are exposed to both external distraction (events) and internal distraction (worry or anxiety). We seek constant distraction, but it leads to cognitive overload (overwhelm). Go figure.