LEADERSHIP STRATEGY: UNDERSTAND THE VISION/PRODUCTION CONTINUUM

Non linear thinking has been a lifelong compulsion beyond my capacity (willingness to be more precise) to control.  Out of the box thinking served me well as a director of sales and marketing but became problematic when I shifted careers to become an advisor to Fortune list companies going through major change initiatives. 

by LSI publisher Art McNeil

Mid-career graduate studies in the applied behavioral sciences taught me to appreciate and more effectively work with disciplined thinkers.  Paradoxical thinking—as opposed to selling or defending personal positions from either end of the vision:production continuum, helps holistic and linear thinkers meld their gifts and achieve synergistic advantage.  Although paradoxical thinking is a slower process, it results in better decisions and  fewer implementation issues.  Team effectiveness blossoms once dialogue changes from “YES BUT” to “YES AND”

Then:

Early in my career, Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision the people perish…” provided me with a get out of jail free pass—I viewed my mission as helping people see light (vision) at the end of their tunnel.  I felt that my perspective was on solid ground and subsequently wielded the biblical endorsement like a club.  Vision powered my life at home and at work.  It was also the focus of my master’s thesis and the essence of what became a bestselling book.

Now:

Before deciding to become a naturalized citizen, I studied America’s founding fathers.  The constitution with its amendments, contain inspired thinking.  It draws on the writings of Cicero, and melds the wisdom of Hebrew and British tradition. Most Americans can articulate at least one amendment, for example the right to free speech.  I discovered however, that few know the essential lead in to amendments “congress shall not enact legislation that inhibits…”.  America’s founders wisely created limitations to slow down progressive thinkers.  The process of adding or changing an amendment encourages sober second thought. That realization hit me like a gut punch–perhaps creativity wasn’t the “be all ‘to “end all”.  

Seeking closure, I went back to my source (Proverbs 29:18).  Upon closer inspection, I discovered this scripture’s oft ignored conclusion.  Even some members of the clergy fail to mention its second half.   Proverbs 29:18 ends with a decidedly linear thought, “ and happy is he that obeys the law’.  Paradoxical thinking is endorsed in the book of wisdom and in my typical free thinking haste, I had missed it. 

When humans are humaning we imagine—we were designed to pursue dreams.  Yes, vision does inspire—but discipline (process) is required to transform dreams into reality. Even that great American philosopher Jiminy Cricket embraced paradoxical thinking.  He said,  “when your heart is in your dream (vision) , no request (to follow the law or a process)  is too extreme”. 

 This posting is sponsored by the updated rewrite of a #1 best seller, The “I” of the Hurricane: How to Generate and Focus Corporate Energy