Good design is about simplification. Especially in software design. Focus on doing one thing very well. Know what product you are and which market niche you fill. Don't step outside that niche for that particular product. If a need arises and resources exist to fill a new niche, create a new product for that particular category.
Too much bad software tries to be everything to everyone. Feature creep without a crisp vision of market categories can produce products with tons of features and diffused focus. Ultimately we pay the price in technical debt, huge test matrices and long maintenance release cycles.
This notion of simplicity can be carried into all dimensions. We should stop trying to do so much and only do the things that matter. Easier said than done.
Sunday, December 11, 2011
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Tyranny of the Minority
Is that what we have today in the national political arena? Tea Party, Occupy Movements etc.? What happened to the political center? Seems that the political center is the majority but the fringe minority has enough influence to derail any sensible, rational compromise that could move the country forward.
Political leaders are more interested in theological positions than working the problems and actually making structural changes.
Political leaders are more interested in theological positions than working the problems and actually making structural changes.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Living Vertically vs. Horizontally
I think another way to say what I wrote about in my prior post about what matters is the notion of living more vertically as we get older. Living horizontally we experience more things at a shallow level. Living vertically we experience fewer things at a deeper level. Allowing for differences in degree per personality types, I believe we tend toward more vertical living as we get older.
When we are younger we get stressed if we are not living horizontally enough. Trying more things. Feeling like we need to try more things. Needing more.
When we are older we get stressed if we are not living vertically enough. Digging into fewer things that are truly enjoyable. Enjoying the satisfaction that comes from doing a few things well. Needing less.
When we are younger we get stressed if we are not living horizontally enough. Trying more things. Feeling like we need to try more things. Needing more.
When we are older we get stressed if we are not living vertically enough. Digging into fewer things that are truly enjoyable. Enjoying the satisfaction that comes from doing a few things well. Needing less.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
What Matters
One nice thing about getting older (one of the few things :-)) is that I have much less interest in things that don't matter that much. So, I don't spend a lot of time chasing things that burn time and money. But I do spend time and money on things that matter to me. More simplification and focus is calming.
What matters to me now? In no specfic order I'd say music, making a difference through my career, family/friend relationships, great ideas, health, financial independence, sex, mental clarity, spiritual search, seeing more of the world.
Maybe that's about it. Activities that enhance those things pretty much take up my time these days. Now that I wrote the list, it seems longer than I expected, cause it doesn't seem like I do as many different things as I did in the past. But, that's probably enough as I seem to stay busy most of the time with just doing the next thing.
What matters to me now? In no specfic order I'd say music, making a difference through my career, family/friend relationships, great ideas, health, financial independence, sex, mental clarity, spiritual search, seeing more of the world.
Maybe that's about it. Activities that enhance those things pretty much take up my time these days. Now that I wrote the list, it seems longer than I expected, cause it doesn't seem like I do as many different things as I did in the past. But, that's probably enough as I seem to stay busy most of the time with just doing the next thing.
Connecting the Dots
Sometimes we may wonder why we don't do a better job of seeing around corners. Why can some of us do it better than others. Most of us can detect obvious or not so obvious trends. But how many of us can connect the dots in new ways. There are probably an infinite number of ways to connect the dots for any given arena, context or media, not to mention the meta-world. I think we limit ourselves in two ways.
First, we notice the way things really are. I believe this is a pre-requisite to connecting future dots. We have too many distractions that give us lots of noise around what's really there.
Second, we rely too much on the "experts" to tell us what the future will be. Here again, too much distraction the same kind but different effect blinds us to the obvious.
Third, some particular aspect of the current opportunity is forcing us into a particular way of thinking of the approach to take. So, we are blind to an approach that might be simpler and yield more benefit.
First, we notice the way things really are. I believe this is a pre-requisite to connecting future dots. We have too many distractions that give us lots of noise around what's really there.
Second, we rely too much on the "experts" to tell us what the future will be. Here again, too much distraction the same kind but different effect blinds us to the obvious.
Third, some particular aspect of the current opportunity is forcing us into a particular way of thinking of the approach to take. So, we are blind to an approach that might be simpler and yield more benefit.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Occupy Wall Street
I saw a sign hanging around the neck of one of the protesters. It said "A Job is a Right". Hmmm... Is that a right like the right to pursue happiness? If so, how is this enforced? Enforcing the right to pursue happiness means that the government will intervene if your rights are being compromised, meaning, your right to pursue happiness is being prevented or hindered. Or, you could go to court to sue someone for infringing on your rights in some way.
Does the protester think that everyone should be given a job as soon as they want one? So, anyone, say, 16 years or older can decide they want a job, then show up somewhere that has jobs (at the job store?) and demand a job. If the potential employer refuses, the police could be called, or the potential employee might start a lawsuit against the business.
If someone has a job and they are not performing it very well, they cannot be fired. This would be infringing on their right to have a job. Nobody would ever be fired and nobody would be refused a job if they asked for it. Because it's their right!
Who pays for this? The government? Does it just print money constantly to support the rights of all citizens to have jobs? (I am assuming this right to have a job only extends to citizens).
I wonder what kind of world we'd have if having a job was a right.
Does the protester think that everyone should be given a job as soon as they want one? So, anyone, say, 16 years or older can decide they want a job, then show up somewhere that has jobs (at the job store?) and demand a job. If the potential employer refuses, the police could be called, or the potential employee might start a lawsuit against the business.
If someone has a job and they are not performing it very well, they cannot be fired. This would be infringing on their right to have a job. Nobody would ever be fired and nobody would be refused a job if they asked for it. Because it's their right!
Who pays for this? The government? Does it just print money constantly to support the rights of all citizens to have jobs? (I am assuming this right to have a job only extends to citizens).
I wonder what kind of world we'd have if having a job was a right.
Seth Godin
If you are a mourning Steve Jobs fan (as I am) and you have never read Seth Godin, you should start. He articulates the mindset of "think different". His recurring themes are: work as a platform for art, avoiding the resistance of our lizard brain, don't be a cog and generally just setting larger, smarter goals. His blog is great. His books read like a series of blog posts, are easy reads and full of insights. I am currently reading Linchpin, which tackles the topic of how to become indispensable in your career.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Steve Jobs
When I first saw an Apple II, many years ago, I was inspired to do something different than what I was doing. I took a few computer science courses and got a job programming an Apple II+. Later I designed software and game music for an Apple IIGS. I learned everything I could about building interesting applications on many generations of Macs. I worked at Claris (a former sibling company of Apple) for two years. I have lead software teams doing Mac development. I recorded many hours of music on several generations of Macs. Just last week I used iTunes to convert some recent home recordings to mp3 to upload to my web site. I also used it to burn those recordings to CD. I own an Apple TV.
These are a few ways that the direct and indirect contributions of Sir Jobs helped spur my imagination and energy over the last 30 years or so. He will be missed.
These are a few ways that the direct and indirect contributions of Sir Jobs helped spur my imagination and energy over the last 30 years or so. He will be missed.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Saturday Night Live
I am surprised by the number of SNL fans I have run across lately. I lost interest during one of the "dry periods" ages ago where it just did not seem funny to me beyond occasional flashes of brilliance. Other than the original cast, my interest was piqued by Mike Myers, Dana Carvey, Phil Hartman etc., but many of the skits seemed forced and gratuitious.
I caught a few episodes this past weekend on Hulu since a friend came over and started talking about some of them. The clips we watched were hilarious for the most part, but not enough to make me want to start watching the show on any kind of regular basis.
I prefer the comedy style of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell. SNL has the tendency to repeat a joke over and over long past the truly funny moment.
I caught a few episodes this past weekend on Hulu since a friend came over and started talking about some of them. The clips we watched were hilarious for the most part, but not enough to make me want to start watching the show on any kind of regular basis.
I prefer the comedy style of Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Steve Carell. SNL has the tendency to repeat a joke over and over long past the truly funny moment.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Mega-shift
Suppose we are in a once every few hundred years massive societal change driven by information technology. We have been thinking this for at least the last 20 years or so. We have already seen a few waves of job transfers from manual to knowledge workers and of white collar repetitive jobs becoming automated.
Are the latest waves of financial crises exacerbated by the speed of information travel? What will that mean as the speed of information travel continues to go faster and include more dimensions? The stock market graphs of the last 10 years look remarkably different than all that came before with huge, spikey mountains and valleys. Seems that someone says something on one side of the world and a stock market on the other side of the world reacts within minutes... or seconds.
And have a somewhat permanent 10% of the US work force been cut. "Permanent" at least in the sense of until enough time passes for lots of re-training and re-education. Is the volatility of world financial markets another symptom of the kind of stress seen around major societal shifts?
If we are in fact accelerating our progression toward a time where everything that an be automated will be automated and our value is much more determined by how creative we are rather than how much quantity of work we can do, what does that mean for most of today's current work force?
Will we evolve into a more highly conscious, creative species overall? Will there be more separation between the haves and have nots, where the haves are represented by those who learn to be artists?
Fast forward 50, 100 years and how will we expect the societal landscape to change analagous to the changes we saw over 200 years ago from a monarchical, agricultural, rural society into a relatively democratic, industrial and urban society? What are the parallels and differences both in how we live physically, how we think and how we behave?
Are the latest waves of financial crises exacerbated by the speed of information travel? What will that mean as the speed of information travel continues to go faster and include more dimensions? The stock market graphs of the last 10 years look remarkably different than all that came before with huge, spikey mountains and valleys. Seems that someone says something on one side of the world and a stock market on the other side of the world reacts within minutes... or seconds.
And have a somewhat permanent 10% of the US work force been cut. "Permanent" at least in the sense of until enough time passes for lots of re-training and re-education. Is the volatility of world financial markets another symptom of the kind of stress seen around major societal shifts?
If we are in fact accelerating our progression toward a time where everything that an be automated will be automated and our value is much more determined by how creative we are rather than how much quantity of work we can do, what does that mean for most of today's current work force?
Will we evolve into a more highly conscious, creative species overall? Will there be more separation between the haves and have nots, where the haves are represented by those who learn to be artists?
Fast forward 50, 100 years and how will we expect the societal landscape to change analagous to the changes we saw over 200 years ago from a monarchical, agricultural, rural society into a relatively democratic, industrial and urban society? What are the parallels and differences both in how we live physically, how we think and how we behave?
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Deja Vu
I visited my undergrad college town a couple of weeks ago. I had only been there for one or two very brief passing-through visits in the last 32 years or so. Whenever I've been back, I am surprised at the intensity of feelings and memories that surface. This time was no different.
It's interesting that after living some place for a long time how we appear to absorb a collective consciousness for that place. Or, maybe we call it a "vibe". This vibe is multi-dimensional and perhaps beyond words. Music probably expresses it best.
This vibe certainly came rushing back. Part of it was the climate. Summer afternoons in Hattiesburg are warm and slightly humid. In the center of the summer, afternoon showers are regular, short and refreshing. That particular day was cooler and less humid, but I remembered, felt and practically saw many of the wonderful people I played, laughed, worked, learned and grew up with for the 4-5 years spent in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I miss all of you.
It's interesting that after living some place for a long time how we appear to absorb a collective consciousness for that place. Or, maybe we call it a "vibe". This vibe is multi-dimensional and perhaps beyond words. Music probably expresses it best.
This vibe certainly came rushing back. Part of it was the climate. Summer afternoons in Hattiesburg are warm and slightly humid. In the center of the summer, afternoon showers are regular, short and refreshing. That particular day was cooler and less humid, but I remembered, felt and practically saw many of the wonderful people I played, laughed, worked, learned and grew up with for the 4-5 years spent in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. I miss all of you.
Financial Risk
It's always interesting to me that many people tend to have an inverted sense of actions to take when the stock market drops. The knee jerk reaction seems to be sell low and buy high. Instead of buying on major drops, we tend to sell out of fear. Now, sometimes past scars can be a reason for being cautious, but once the drop has happened, selling does not make sense unless we think that the investments held are bad investments. Moving money from less promising to more promising investments is always a good transfer to make.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Getting to White Rock Trail
I discovered how to get to White Rock Trail from Preston Ridge Trail on my bike. Going South on Preston Ridge Trail get to Beltline. Once you get to Beltline, keep going on Meandering Way until Peyton Street. Take a right on Peyton. You will ride through a nice neighborhood crossing over Alpha Road. Peyton runs directly into Valley View Park. Go to the right of the park and you will see the trail.
I rode as far as LBJ Freeway. The trail was nice and shady with some bridges and trees. I want to explore it further South of LBJ soon.
I rode as far as LBJ Freeway. The trail was nice and shady with some bridges and trees. I want to explore it further South of LBJ soon.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
The End of Faith
"The End of Faith" by Sam Harris is a polemic against Faith defined as blind belief in ideas without good reasons. Given this definition, traditional religion falls squarely in the site of his aim, although his arguments apply to any set of beliefs that are blindly accepted without debate.
Harris proposes that as we enter the 21st century, the danger of non-rational thinking is higher than ever, especially as it manifests in religions (Islam in particular), because of the sheer amount of destruction that can be accomplished by modern weapons technology. While the fundamentalist mentality is most attacked by Harris, the moderates of religions come under fire as well because their politically correct tolerance supports a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of context that gives bad ideas a free ride in our society.
His writing style is clever, direct, incisive and aggressive as he describes the lunacy of many traditional religious ideas.
Atheists do not escape criticism because of the fundamentalist tendencies of some individuals or groups. Also, for hostilities to forward thinking ideas that leave open the possibility of mystery or other ways of knowing. Harris supports meditation and mindfulness as practices that can lead to a higher quality of life by improving the focus of the mind on the current moment rather than always living in the past or future.
Ultimately, "The End of Faith" is a call to embrace a rational, reasoned, scientific approach to ethics. It is also an encouragement to explore and discover other ways of knowing beyond the strictly rational with the requirement that any claims be subjected to the arena of discussion and debate that all scientific ideas must pass. Finally, we are pushed to drop the baggage of thousands of years of bad ideas and focus on the important questions with a sober approach that will help us steer clear of mass delusion and destruction and perhaps find a way to move forward and save the planet as well as humanity.
Harris proposes that as we enter the 21st century, the danger of non-rational thinking is higher than ever, especially as it manifests in religions (Islam in particular), because of the sheer amount of destruction that can be accomplished by modern weapons technology. While the fundamentalist mentality is most attacked by Harris, the moderates of religions come under fire as well because their politically correct tolerance supports a "don't ask, don't tell" kind of context that gives bad ideas a free ride in our society.
His writing style is clever, direct, incisive and aggressive as he describes the lunacy of many traditional religious ideas.
Atheists do not escape criticism because of the fundamentalist tendencies of some individuals or groups. Also, for hostilities to forward thinking ideas that leave open the possibility of mystery or other ways of knowing. Harris supports meditation and mindfulness as practices that can lead to a higher quality of life by improving the focus of the mind on the current moment rather than always living in the past or future.
Ultimately, "The End of Faith" is a call to embrace a rational, reasoned, scientific approach to ethics. It is also an encouragement to explore and discover other ways of knowing beyond the strictly rational with the requirement that any claims be subjected to the arena of discussion and debate that all scientific ideas must pass. Finally, we are pushed to drop the baggage of thousands of years of bad ideas and focus on the important questions with a sober approach that will help us steer clear of mass delusion and destruction and perhaps find a way to move forward and save the planet as well as humanity.
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Tim Sanders and Abundant Living
I attended the Dallas Social Media Network monthly meeting this past Thursday. The featured speaker was Tim Sanders who was on a book tour to promote his latest book, Today we are Rich.
The content of the presentation was that of positive thinking and energy applied to career, business and personal contexts. The material is well-traveled and available in numerous delivery mechanisms ranging from books, workshops, seminars and other contexts. A particularly spiritual expression of this idea realm can be found in most New Thought spiritual organizations that had relatively recent roots in 19th century Transcendentalist thinkers such as Ralph Emerson and Ernest Holmes.
All this said, Sanders possesses high caliber speaking skills with an energetic delivery style that gains momentum throughout the presentation. He packs a lot of ideas and personal experiences into a 45 minute talk.
Topics discussed included:
The content of the presentation was that of positive thinking and energy applied to career, business and personal contexts. The material is well-traveled and available in numerous delivery mechanisms ranging from books, workshops, seminars and other contexts. A particularly spiritual expression of this idea realm can be found in most New Thought spiritual organizations that had relatively recent roots in 19th century Transcendentalist thinkers such as Ralph Emerson and Ernest Holmes.
All this said, Sanders possesses high caliber speaking skills with an energetic delivery style that gains momentum throughout the presentation. He packs a lot of ideas and personal experiences into a 45 minute talk.
Topics discussed included:
- Build confidence, diminish fear
- Your passion is what you love to do, your purpose is what you do for others
- Find your passion, then find your purpose
- Find a way to incorporate your passion into your purpose
- Avoiding negative thinking
- Don't allow negative people to sap your positive energy
- Read lots of books, do not count scanning the internet as true reading
- Reading non-fiction is a great way to gain lots of powerful knowledge
- You control technology, don't allow technology to control you
- You control your mind, don't let your mind control you
- You control your life, don't let your life control you
- Move forward, not sideways, with your life and career
- Rich involves richness of life, not necessarily a financial interpretation, although getting your act together regarding confidence, personal growth and positive practices should improve all life categories
Saturday, June 4, 2011
The Last Financial Crisis
Seems that the last financial crisis characterized by the crash of the housing market had several causes. At the bottom of the food chain were the retail mortgage lenders that increased subprime lending to the point of offering no docs required, interest-only loans with ARMs. In the most extreme cases the borrower could choose to pay nothing for the length of the ARM and have the accrued interest added to the principal during the no-payment period. This kind of lending would allow a $14,000 per year subprime borrower to borrow the entire amount for the house with no down payment and no payments for the first 3 years. After 3 years the interest rate jumped significantly.
Mortgages were not kept by the loan originators. Instead they were sold to other financial entities who typically packaged groups of mortgage loans into bonds called mortgage-backed bonds. The bonds were rated based on the risk of the loans contained within the bond from AAA for no-risk non-subprime to BBB for very risky sub-prime loans. Another level of indirection was added when groups of mortgage-backed bonds were combined into instruments called CDOs (Collaterized Debt Obligation). This extra level of indirection made it difficult for ratings agencies to correctly rate the CDOs. In many cases, BBB or below loans were wrapped into CDOs that were given a AAA rating.
Next up were the big banks that greatly increased their exposure to mortgage-backed bonds throughout the early 2000s. In order to offset the riskier bets, they diversified by buying AAA-rated mortgage bonds or CDOs. But the ratings agencies inaccurate ratings on the CDOs created a situation where the banks could not accurately judge the level of risk contained in the CDOs being bought.
In all of this mayhem, a few astute individuals detected the patterns of destruction and placed short bets against the bubble. Some of these actors in the play are profiled and followed in the book The Big Short. It is an easy read for getting an overview of the sequence of events that lead to the crash of 2007-2008.
Saturday, April 9, 2011
Scientific Fundamentalism
Last night I heard Deepak Chopra refer to Richard Dawkins as a scientific fundamentalist. I don't know if I know about the particular label as applied to Dawkins, but I can relate to the concept. Chopra was referring to scientific fundamentalism as anyone who subscribes to a materialistic world view that does not allow for possible mystery.
This would be the explicit denial that there can be anything beyond the material world. By "anything beyond" I don't mean in the supernatural sense. I mean it in the sense of a transcendent, unnameable Source of all that is. I believe this is what Chopra meant when he said science cannot explain higher level concepts such as inspiration, love, beauty, etc.
In other words, a scientific fundamentalist refuses to allow for anything that is not scientifically verifiable or falsifiable. Something along the lines of logical positivism I guess.
I mentioned in a previous post that Sam Harris was taking the discussion of atheism to a higher level by incorporating his insights from his time studying Eastern spiritual practices. To me this approach goes beyond scientific fundamentalism. Harris is allowing for the possibility of knowing a more transcendental reality through meditation practices. This perspective is an appropriate scientific stance, one that does not dogmatically assert that there is a binary choice between scientific materialism and supernaturalism.
To the contrary, there are many degrees along the spectrum. Believing that it is possible to access a higher reality through meditation or other spiritual practices is not believing in a supernatural realm. It is believing that there are higher and higher levels of consciousness available to us that we miss while we are lost in thought or focusing on the NEXT moment rather than being fully present in the current one.
Spirituality should be conceived as more of a holistic awareness and consciousness rather than belief in the supernatural. Faith should be defined as the opposite of fear and behaving as if it is impossible to fail rather than the irrational belief in things that do not make sense. Scientific Fundamentalism, with a rejection of any ideas that might have their roots in religion, dogmatically rejects the possibilities of higher forms of consciousness beyond logical thought.
This would be the explicit denial that there can be anything beyond the material world. By "anything beyond" I don't mean in the supernatural sense. I mean it in the sense of a transcendent, unnameable Source of all that is. I believe this is what Chopra meant when he said science cannot explain higher level concepts such as inspiration, love, beauty, etc.
In other words, a scientific fundamentalist refuses to allow for anything that is not scientifically verifiable or falsifiable. Something along the lines of logical positivism I guess.
I mentioned in a previous post that Sam Harris was taking the discussion of atheism to a higher level by incorporating his insights from his time studying Eastern spiritual practices. To me this approach goes beyond scientific fundamentalism. Harris is allowing for the possibility of knowing a more transcendental reality through meditation practices. This perspective is an appropriate scientific stance, one that does not dogmatically assert that there is a binary choice between scientific materialism and supernaturalism.
To the contrary, there are many degrees along the spectrum. Believing that it is possible to access a higher reality through meditation or other spiritual practices is not believing in a supernatural realm. It is believing that there are higher and higher levels of consciousness available to us that we miss while we are lost in thought or focusing on the NEXT moment rather than being fully present in the current one.
Spirituality should be conceived as more of a holistic awareness and consciousness rather than belief in the supernatural. Faith should be defined as the opposite of fear and behaving as if it is impossible to fail rather than the irrational belief in things that do not make sense. Scientific Fundamentalism, with a rejection of any ideas that might have their roots in religion, dogmatically rejects the possibilities of higher forms of consciousness beyond logical thought.
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Toward a Reasonable Faith
While browsing YouTube over the last few weeks I became aware of Sam Harris, a neuroscientist/philosopher/author. I was lead there through exploring lectures and discussions around consciousness, quantum physics, religion and philosophy among other things. Ranging across Buddhist monks, New Age Philosophers, Quantum scientists, Evolutionary scientists, Comedians, and ultimately "New Atheism" I have been able to refine and contemplate nascent ideas I had in these areas. Wow, we live in a great era to be alive - all these ideas at our fingertips consumable in a variety of media formats.
At any rate, in one interview with Richard Dawkins, he mentioned that he was very impressed with Sam Harris. I had never heard of him, so I looked him up and started consuming some of his media appearances, lectures, interviews and discussions on YouTube. I quickly became impressed and inspired as well. Of course, Mr. Harris is branded as an atheist, or "New Atheist" as are Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens.
Each of these figures brings a slightly different perspective to the discussion and criticism of religion in general and of the most damaging or bad ideas inherent in the expression of some of them. I know more about Dawkins than the other two, but for the purposes of this blog entry, I will concentrate on where I think the ideas of Sam Harris are useful and interesting.
Even though Harris grudgingly accepts being labeled an atheist, he elevates the debate and raises consciousness for both traditional religious thinking as well as traditional atheist thinking. I admire Harris because he is courageously stating his case, perhaps at the risk of being targeted for harm or worse by the more extreme factions of some religions. I also admire him for elevating the discussion out of the divisive, narrow traditional bickering that usually goes on between theists and atheists.
One reason this is true is that Harris brings his personal experiences of meditation and Eastern religion to the table. He has experienced some of the beneficial effects of mindfulness and meditation. His personal perspective remains strictly secular, but he brings this awareness of a broader consciousness to his writing and arguments.
Off an on I have been in search of a reasonable faith most of my life. Like Harris, I reject the baggage that comes with traditional religions. Why wrap so much padding around the kernel of mystery that is the essence of theology and metaphysics? Why destroy the mystery by claiming certainty for things we do not know or for things that seem preposterous by our 21st century standards? Why cling to world views that are outdated and proved false by hundreds of years of scientific progress?
The things that I believe are necessary for a reasonable faith are: 1) Acceptance of the "facts" of science, 2) Rejection of superstition and claimed certainty, 3) Evaluation of religious ideas in the cold clear light of day, and 4) a modern definition of the word "faith". Regarding #4, I have long accepted the definition of the word "faith" as being that of acting confidently toward the future and acting if it is impossible to fail. I have rejected the definition of faith as that of believing in things that appear to be questionable at best regardless of logical inconsistencies or "proof" otherwise.
Faith is taking the positive experience of the Source and manifesting that abstract power into an individual expression in the relative, physical world. Harris makes a good point in one of his lectures that we will have evolved in consciousness once the word "Atheist" has no meaning anymore. My take on that is a future possibility where everyone is unified in the experience, appreciation and expression of the underlying mystery that is the ground of being for all that the Universe was, is and ever shall be.
At any rate, in one interview with Richard Dawkins, he mentioned that he was very impressed with Sam Harris. I had never heard of him, so I looked him up and started consuming some of his media appearances, lectures, interviews and discussions on YouTube. I quickly became impressed and inspired as well. Of course, Mr. Harris is branded as an atheist, or "New Atheist" as are Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett and Christopher Hitchens.
Each of these figures brings a slightly different perspective to the discussion and criticism of religion in general and of the most damaging or bad ideas inherent in the expression of some of them. I know more about Dawkins than the other two, but for the purposes of this blog entry, I will concentrate on where I think the ideas of Sam Harris are useful and interesting.
Even though Harris grudgingly accepts being labeled an atheist, he elevates the debate and raises consciousness for both traditional religious thinking as well as traditional atheist thinking. I admire Harris because he is courageously stating his case, perhaps at the risk of being targeted for harm or worse by the more extreme factions of some religions. I also admire him for elevating the discussion out of the divisive, narrow traditional bickering that usually goes on between theists and atheists.
One reason this is true is that Harris brings his personal experiences of meditation and Eastern religion to the table. He has experienced some of the beneficial effects of mindfulness and meditation. His personal perspective remains strictly secular, but he brings this awareness of a broader consciousness to his writing and arguments.
Off an on I have been in search of a reasonable faith most of my life. Like Harris, I reject the baggage that comes with traditional religions. Why wrap so much padding around the kernel of mystery that is the essence of theology and metaphysics? Why destroy the mystery by claiming certainty for things we do not know or for things that seem preposterous by our 21st century standards? Why cling to world views that are outdated and proved false by hundreds of years of scientific progress?
The things that I believe are necessary for a reasonable faith are: 1) Acceptance of the "facts" of science, 2) Rejection of superstition and claimed certainty, 3) Evaluation of religious ideas in the cold clear light of day, and 4) a modern definition of the word "faith". Regarding #4, I have long accepted the definition of the word "faith" as being that of acting confidently toward the future and acting if it is impossible to fail. I have rejected the definition of faith as that of believing in things that appear to be questionable at best regardless of logical inconsistencies or "proof" otherwise.
Faith is taking the positive experience of the Source and manifesting that abstract power into an individual expression in the relative, physical world. Harris makes a good point in one of his lectures that we will have evolved in consciousness once the word "Atheist" has no meaning anymore. My take on that is a future possibility where everyone is unified in the experience, appreciation and expression of the underlying mystery that is the ground of being for all that the Universe was, is and ever shall be.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Mis-management Styles
I recently read "Management and Mis-Management Styles" by Ichak Adizes. This is the second book in a trilogy of books that deal with roles and styles in the workplace. This one focuses on elaboration of the dysfunctional effects of mis-management. The five mis-management styles are:
- Lone Ranger
- Bureaucrat
- Arsonist
- SuperFollower
- Deadwood
Lone Ranger is a negative expression of a Producer personality. A Producer is someone who gets things done and does not like to waste time discussing alternatives and long range plans. When this personality is in a management position and has no other complementary skills of administration, entrepreneurial or integration the Lone Ranger pattern is manifested. The Lone Ranger will not take time for necessary meetings or giving appropriate instructions to subordinates. She does not have time for strategic discussions. He just wants to get things done since there is SO much to do. This can have the effect of inconsistent and inadequate communication and delegation throughout the organization.
The Bureaucrat loves systems and processes. Since, unlike the Administrator, the Bureaucrat has no complementary skills of Producing, Entrepreneurship or Integration, the result is an emphasis on form over function. As long as everything is accounted for and there is a rule for every situation the Bureaucrat believes things are running smoothly. Never mind that the organization's creativity has died a slow death and the rules and regulations are keeping people from making creative decisions required by new information or situations.
The Arsonist is an Entrepreneur gone wild. There are so many ideas and opportunities. We have to chase all of them. We need to be working on more things... FASTER!! Can we get "someone" to start on this great new idea I had this past weekend? Never mind that we are knee deep trying to get the current release finished. Wait, maybe we can add this into the current release. It should only take "a couple of weeks" to get it done. I already thought it through over the weekend. Depending on how distorted the Arsonist's time multiplier is, it could really take 2 months or longer to actually get the work done. So, the release, which was barely on schedule is now delayed indefinitely.
The SuperFollower is a negative expression of an Integrator. Typically an Integrator is the one component (in addition to at least one more) that is necessary for a leader to possess. But a SuperFollower has no other competency beyond the desire that "everyone just get along". He has no agenda of his own, no initiatives to drive and does not want to make decisions. He is always searching for consensus and wanting "everyone" to agree before a decision can be made.
Deadwood has zero competency in Production, Administration, Entrepreneurship or Integration. He is there until the lights are turned off. With no ability to push for completion, setup organizational systems, initiate creative ideas or integrate the enterprise, he is the obvious target for layoffs. However, in some organizations, Deadwood can survive for years.
Logical Positivism
Logical positivism is a school of philosophy concerned with the logical analysis of scientific knowledge. The soundness of metaphysics and traditional philosophy are attacked and positivism asserts that many philosophical problems are meaningless. Instead, logical positivism argues that there are only two sources of knowledge: logical reasoning and empirical experience, or, analytic and synthetic. Logical reasoning is reducible to formal logic and experience is the only judge of scientific theories. Emotionalism and metaphysics are victims of “bad syntax”.
The primary tenet of logical positivism is the verificationist principle, or factual knowledge. Statements must be verifiable to have meaning. A statement that is not verifiable is meaningless, and not suitable for serious attention. To be verifiable a statement must be capable of being proved true or false, at least in principle. For example, “the pen exists” is a verifiable statement. The statement “God exists” is not. The existence of the pen can be proven by simply touching and seeing the pen. There is no condition in which the latter statement can be proven true or false, therefore it is not a meaningful question for the positivist.
Statements that have no immediate concrete provability can be accepted as meaningful. For example, the statement “a small formation of ice exists at latitude ‘x’ and longitude ‘y’ on Neptune cannot be evaluated today, but an experiment could be proposed that would allow it to be tested in the future if the proper spacecraft were built and launched for this purpose.
Positivism wants to put an end to the emotional and metaphysical, at least for scientific purposes. Emotions are subjective and not objectively provable. Non-factual statements have no place in scientific, and therefore, true knowledge. Metaphysical thinking is useless.
One way positivism attempts to destroy metaphysics is by strictly defining the syntax of meaningful statements. Strict criteria for determining the literal meaningfulness of sentences are constructed. A sentence has literal meaning if and only if the proposition it expresses is either analytic or empirically verifiable. Furthermore, the word “proposition” is reserved for what is expressed by sentences which are literally meaningful. Metaphysical arguments can be successfully debunked by detailed analysis and proved to be meaningless.
In adopting these verbal conventions, positivists relegate metaphysics into irrelevance. Science should purge itself of this crass disease which has infected philosophy for generations. Science is cumulative and inductive. Phenomenalism is assumed. The world can be divided into sets of discrete objects and scientific knowledge proceeds from bottom-up. Since metaphysics does not meet the analytic and empirical criteria it is forever banished from the light of day.
Positivists believe that theories develop from facts. Scientists perform experiments, gather sense-data, correlate, classify and categorize. Theories are deducible from premises or experiences because of empirical patterns that emerge. Therefore, positivists support the inductive method of scientific laws and theories. Facts produce theories. Theories are inferred from direct observation of objects and processes. The truth of theories can only be acknowledged by experience.
The positivist philosophy of the relations between fact and theory are in direct conflict with deduction. Where deduction starts with a hypothesis or, heaven forbid, metaphysical inspiration, induction applies a sharp razor to logical and factual statements, eliminating the metaphysics and recording the atomic experiences. These atomic facts are correlated and progress upward through raw facts, sub-laws, laws, super laws, and ultimately theories.
Weaknesses of positivism as a theory of knowledge and as a cultural phenomenon are apparent. As a theory of knowledge weaknesses are rooted in the principle of verification and the assumption of phenomenalism. Positivism as a cultural phenomenon has flaws regarding the elimination of metaphysics and the impossibility of ethical theory. While positivism has largely been discredited as a general cultural philosophy, the useful tools for scientific philosophy have survived.
A strict interpretation of the verification principle seeks absolute criteria for the verification of scientific theories. Few philosophers of science still seek these absolute criteria, noting that no theory can ever be exposed to all possible relevant tests. Real science is much more about probability rather than absolute verifiability. In this respect, the positivists are too much in the ivory tower of philosophical theory rather than closely connected with the realities of science.
Phenomenalism is the view that physical objects, properties and events are mapped to corresponding mental objects, properties and events. Ultimately, only mental objects, properties and events really exist. A physical object is a collection of sense-data. That is, for the individual, the physical world is all just a construction of the specific individual’s sense-data.
Several weaknesses of phenomenalism are apparent. A strict phenomenalistic interpretation cannot allow for things that are too small or brief to be seen. What about quantum physics phenomena? Unperceived objects and hypotheticals cannot exist, which would negate much of the evidence from science history in the modern world. Abstract natural concepts such as space, time, cause-effect, mass and energy are not addressed with this view either. Phenomenalism does not allow for construction of reality which begins in the mind, or a more deductive approach to scientific progress.
The elimination of metaphysics has negative consequences as a cultural phenomenon. The fundamental problem with eliminating metaphysics is the tendency to marginalize the role of intuition and imagination in science or other activities. Examples of important science and theories developing from an intuitive concept or inspiration exist in the fields of physics and genetics in the personalities of Einstein and McClintock. These scientists and others have developed theories that originated from an internal model of reality. Experiments are then devised to prove the model.
Real-world science proceeds in a variety of ways. Some science, probably most science, develops through the positivist/induction method of correlated facts to laws to theories. These paradigms may become standard and drive further sense-data experiments within the paradigm. However, some theories are more aesthetic and model-driven, and this drive to realize the vision of the model is what determines which experiments to perform.
Another criticism of positivism and the verifiability principle from a cultural perspective is the impossibility of a theory of ethics. Statements about ethics are neither true nor false. They are expressions of feeling. But if ethics is meaningless, what is the origin of ethical principles?
Schlick was one positivist who considered ethics as a descriptive scientific theory: good is whatever gives pleasure and no pain. The first ethics impulse is an egoistic one. However, it is possible that in a society, an altruistic action is more beneficial than a purely egoistic one. The positivist’s elimination of these kinds of ethical arguments and theories, which are useful in building the foundations of societies, marginalizes the human mind and forces culture into a mindless, sterile world.
Losing intuition, emotion, metaphysics and ethics is a very negative consequence of strict logical positivism. Positivism may have usefulness as a scientific tool, but the loss of other intellectual arenas of thought become restrictive. Science can tell us things about the world as they are, but metaphysics and ethics tell us which questions to ask. Intuition provides the unconscious insight for discoveries and is an interesting area of study as to how science really occurs, as well as providing some guidance for human behavior.
Carried to extremes, logical positivism is a death toll to expansive human behavior, especially from a cultural perspective. The philosophy implies mechanical behavior and eliminates the imaginative quality that separates man from other species. Humans plan for tomorrow, imagine a future and choose ethical behavior that is not always instinctual. Without metaphysics, man’s existence would be extremely bland. Without ethics, man would have no basis for laws that create a civilized society.
Logical positivism is a welcome tool for exorcising superfluous superstition and emotionalism from modern thought in general and science in particular. However, in doing so, the philosophy continued toward an unsustainable extreme. Positivism and the verification principle are useful in picking out the most viable among a set of alternatives. The philosophy is further useful, as Kuhn has stated, as part of a joint verification-falsification process for a probability comparison of theories.
Logical positivism is one side of a sharp silver coin that provides an unequivocal separation of scientific knowledge from speculation, but it needs to be integrated as only one important part of a broad scientific or cultural philosophy.
The primary tenet of logical positivism is the verificationist principle, or factual knowledge. Statements must be verifiable to have meaning. A statement that is not verifiable is meaningless, and not suitable for serious attention. To be verifiable a statement must be capable of being proved true or false, at least in principle. For example, “the pen exists” is a verifiable statement. The statement “God exists” is not. The existence of the pen can be proven by simply touching and seeing the pen. There is no condition in which the latter statement can be proven true or false, therefore it is not a meaningful question for the positivist.
Statements that have no immediate concrete provability can be accepted as meaningful. For example, the statement “a small formation of ice exists at latitude ‘x’ and longitude ‘y’ on Neptune cannot be evaluated today, but an experiment could be proposed that would allow it to be tested in the future if the proper spacecraft were built and launched for this purpose.
Positivism wants to put an end to the emotional and metaphysical, at least for scientific purposes. Emotions are subjective and not objectively provable. Non-factual statements have no place in scientific, and therefore, true knowledge. Metaphysical thinking is useless.
One way positivism attempts to destroy metaphysics is by strictly defining the syntax of meaningful statements. Strict criteria for determining the literal meaningfulness of sentences are constructed. A sentence has literal meaning if and only if the proposition it expresses is either analytic or empirically verifiable. Furthermore, the word “proposition” is reserved for what is expressed by sentences which are literally meaningful. Metaphysical arguments can be successfully debunked by detailed analysis and proved to be meaningless.
In adopting these verbal conventions, positivists relegate metaphysics into irrelevance. Science should purge itself of this crass disease which has infected philosophy for generations. Science is cumulative and inductive. Phenomenalism is assumed. The world can be divided into sets of discrete objects and scientific knowledge proceeds from bottom-up. Since metaphysics does not meet the analytic and empirical criteria it is forever banished from the light of day.
Positivists believe that theories develop from facts. Scientists perform experiments, gather sense-data, correlate, classify and categorize. Theories are deducible from premises or experiences because of empirical patterns that emerge. Therefore, positivists support the inductive method of scientific laws and theories. Facts produce theories. Theories are inferred from direct observation of objects and processes. The truth of theories can only be acknowledged by experience.
The positivist philosophy of the relations between fact and theory are in direct conflict with deduction. Where deduction starts with a hypothesis or, heaven forbid, metaphysical inspiration, induction applies a sharp razor to logical and factual statements, eliminating the metaphysics and recording the atomic experiences. These atomic facts are correlated and progress upward through raw facts, sub-laws, laws, super laws, and ultimately theories.
Weaknesses of positivism as a theory of knowledge and as a cultural phenomenon are apparent. As a theory of knowledge weaknesses are rooted in the principle of verification and the assumption of phenomenalism. Positivism as a cultural phenomenon has flaws regarding the elimination of metaphysics and the impossibility of ethical theory. While positivism has largely been discredited as a general cultural philosophy, the useful tools for scientific philosophy have survived.
A strict interpretation of the verification principle seeks absolute criteria for the verification of scientific theories. Few philosophers of science still seek these absolute criteria, noting that no theory can ever be exposed to all possible relevant tests. Real science is much more about probability rather than absolute verifiability. In this respect, the positivists are too much in the ivory tower of philosophical theory rather than closely connected with the realities of science.
Phenomenalism is the view that physical objects, properties and events are mapped to corresponding mental objects, properties and events. Ultimately, only mental objects, properties and events really exist. A physical object is a collection of sense-data. That is, for the individual, the physical world is all just a construction of the specific individual’s sense-data.
Several weaknesses of phenomenalism are apparent. A strict phenomenalistic interpretation cannot allow for things that are too small or brief to be seen. What about quantum physics phenomena? Unperceived objects and hypotheticals cannot exist, which would negate much of the evidence from science history in the modern world. Abstract natural concepts such as space, time, cause-effect, mass and energy are not addressed with this view either. Phenomenalism does not allow for construction of reality which begins in the mind, or a more deductive approach to scientific progress.
The elimination of metaphysics has negative consequences as a cultural phenomenon. The fundamental problem with eliminating metaphysics is the tendency to marginalize the role of intuition and imagination in science or other activities. Examples of important science and theories developing from an intuitive concept or inspiration exist in the fields of physics and genetics in the personalities of Einstein and McClintock. These scientists and others have developed theories that originated from an internal model of reality. Experiments are then devised to prove the model.
Real-world science proceeds in a variety of ways. Some science, probably most science, develops through the positivist/induction method of correlated facts to laws to theories. These paradigms may become standard and drive further sense-data experiments within the paradigm. However, some theories are more aesthetic and model-driven, and this drive to realize the vision of the model is what determines which experiments to perform.
Another criticism of positivism and the verifiability principle from a cultural perspective is the impossibility of a theory of ethics. Statements about ethics are neither true nor false. They are expressions of feeling. But if ethics is meaningless, what is the origin of ethical principles?
Schlick was one positivist who considered ethics as a descriptive scientific theory: good is whatever gives pleasure and no pain. The first ethics impulse is an egoistic one. However, it is possible that in a society, an altruistic action is more beneficial than a purely egoistic one. The positivist’s elimination of these kinds of ethical arguments and theories, which are useful in building the foundations of societies, marginalizes the human mind and forces culture into a mindless, sterile world.
Losing intuition, emotion, metaphysics and ethics is a very negative consequence of strict logical positivism. Positivism may have usefulness as a scientific tool, but the loss of other intellectual arenas of thought become restrictive. Science can tell us things about the world as they are, but metaphysics and ethics tell us which questions to ask. Intuition provides the unconscious insight for discoveries and is an interesting area of study as to how science really occurs, as well as providing some guidance for human behavior.
Carried to extremes, logical positivism is a death toll to expansive human behavior, especially from a cultural perspective. The philosophy implies mechanical behavior and eliminates the imaginative quality that separates man from other species. Humans plan for tomorrow, imagine a future and choose ethical behavior that is not always instinctual. Without metaphysics, man’s existence would be extremely bland. Without ethics, man would have no basis for laws that create a civilized society.
Logical positivism is a welcome tool for exorcising superfluous superstition and emotionalism from modern thought in general and science in particular. However, in doing so, the philosophy continued toward an unsustainable extreme. Positivism and the verification principle are useful in picking out the most viable among a set of alternatives. The philosophy is further useful, as Kuhn has stated, as part of a joint verification-falsification process for a probability comparison of theories.
Logical positivism is one side of a sharp silver coin that provides an unequivocal separation of scientific knowledge from speculation, but it needs to be integrated as only one important part of a broad scientific or cultural philosophy.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Recording Part 2
I bought a Roland Boss BR-800 8 track digital recorder this weekend. It was super easy to set up and start using. I used Band in the Box to provide the rhythm tracks and recorded a couple of standards, "What is this Thing called Love" and "A Child is Born".
I'd love to post the recordings to share with friends, but I've been reading up on copyright law and am now concerned about posting MP3s on my web site or blog. Apparently that is breach of copyright law, even if I am not deriving commercial value from it. Oh well, I'll have to think about it some more. I'd hope the enforcers would have better things to do than to come after me for a few free home recordings of jazz standards.
I'd love to post the recordings to share with friends, but I've been reading up on copyright law and am now concerned about posting MP3s on my web site or blog. Apparently that is breach of copyright law, even if I am not deriving commercial value from it. Oh well, I'll have to think about it some more. I'd hope the enforcers would have better things to do than to come after me for a few free home recordings of jazz standards.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
Radical Management
I just finished the book "A Leader's Guide to Radical Management". This book argues for expanding and implementing iterative and transparent management techniques across the entire organization. So, it is one of any number of methodologies and philosophies that argue for proliferating the principles of contemporary software development techniques found in Agile Scrum to a broader application.
If you are familiar with Agile/Scrum, much of the "radical" techniques will be very familiar. This is especially true about the long list of practices that are suggested at the end of each chapter. Nothing really new here.
The main premise of the book is about identifying clients and focusing on pleasing them. Clients do not have to be external customers but are also internal groups or departments that consume the output of another group or team.
There is lots of good wisdom about team leadership, transparency and client-focused operational techniques that is communicated through anecdotal stories throughout.
Overall a decent read, more interesting if you are not at all familiar with the concepts.
If you are familiar with Agile/Scrum, much of the "radical" techniques will be very familiar. This is especially true about the long list of practices that are suggested at the end of each chapter. Nothing really new here.
The main premise of the book is about identifying clients and focusing on pleasing them. Clients do not have to be external customers but are also internal groups or departments that consume the output of another group or team.
There is lots of good wisdom about team leadership, transparency and client-focused operational techniques that is communicated through anecdotal stories throughout.
Overall a decent read, more interesting if you are not at all familiar with the concepts.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Laws of Leadership
I recently read John Maxwell's "21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership". The book does a good job of laying out categories of leadership traits and supplying one or two narrative stories as examples for each one. Also, each chapter (which is a leadership law) includes introspective and actionable exercises at the end of each chapter. Some notable "laws" include:
- Law of the Lid - everyone has some degree of natural leadership talent (their lid) - the higher the lid the higher the potential
- Law of Influence - Leadership is influence - nothing more, nothing less
- Law of Connection - Connecting with your people is important
- Law of Intuition - Sense of timing is critical
- Law of the Picture - Lead by example - people do what they see
- Law of Momentum - Strike while the iron is hot
- Law of Buy-in - Working lone wolf style does not work
It's definitely worth a good read and use for reference from time to time.
The Ideal Executive
Recently I read this book by Adizes. It was so relevant to me that I devoured it in a few hours on my Kindle. I found out about the book by visiting the Adizes Institute web site while I was pursuing information about Life Cycles of Organizations. There was a wealth of material there about organizational theory and wisdom about many topics in the blog. Adizes is an internationally known leadership and management consultant and his insight, clarity and spiritual strength shine thought in all his writings.
The title of the book, The Ideal Executive, is a teaser, since the point of the book is that there is no such thing. Everyone tends to have strengths in different areas and weaknesses in others and no matter how much training and rounding, we all have styles that revolve around 1 or 2 basic types. Adizes system is PAEI (Producer, Administrator, Entrepreneur, Integrator).
The premise is that all types of personality expression within an organization can be boiled down to those 4 types. Most people are strong in at least one of those types. For example, a strong worker bee who has no interest in management or leadership roles would be coded Paei. Or even more uni-dimensional coding of P---, where dashes represent close to zero ability in the dashed areas. Just as this kind of narrow human being is more fantasy than reality, the opposite coding of PAEI where someone is strong in all 4 areas is equally mythical. Therefore, the Ideal Executive does not exist.
Leadership requires excellence in at least 2 areas and adequate competence in the others. For example, a coding for a very strong leader is paEI. This means excellent Entrepreneurial skills and Integration skills, competent in producing (execution) and administration. Someone with a dash in any of the four areas is lacking significant skills that will produce a leader/manager. A leader cannot be completely missing any of the 4 without the organization suffering in some way.
For each of these positive types, there are opposite dysfunctional expressions. For each type these are:
The title of the book, The Ideal Executive, is a teaser, since the point of the book is that there is no such thing. Everyone tends to have strengths in different areas and weaknesses in others and no matter how much training and rounding, we all have styles that revolve around 1 or 2 basic types. Adizes system is PAEI (Producer, Administrator, Entrepreneur, Integrator).
The premise is that all types of personality expression within an organization can be boiled down to those 4 types. Most people are strong in at least one of those types. For example, a strong worker bee who has no interest in management or leadership roles would be coded Paei. Or even more uni-dimensional coding of P---, where dashes represent close to zero ability in the dashed areas. Just as this kind of narrow human being is more fantasy than reality, the opposite coding of PAEI where someone is strong in all 4 areas is equally mythical. Therefore, the Ideal Executive does not exist.
Leadership requires excellence in at least 2 areas and adequate competence in the others. For example, a coding for a very strong leader is paEI. This means excellent Entrepreneurial skills and Integration skills, competent in producing (execution) and administration. Someone with a dash in any of the four areas is lacking significant skills that will produce a leader/manager. A leader cannot be completely missing any of the 4 without the organization suffering in some way.
For each of these positive types, there are opposite dysfunctional expressions. For each type these are:
- Producer - Lone Wolf (does not communicate or get buy-in from superiors, peers and direct reports - acts unilaterally)
- Administrator - Bureaucrat (too mega-focused on how things are done rather than what gets done)
- Entrepreneur - Arsonist (Starts too many projects - keeps team spread too thin and de-focused)
- Integrator - Super Follower (Cannot make decisions without consulting and getting consensus to a fault)
I found this personality framework very easy to remember and identify within the organization. A careful reading and study of the material in this book significantly helps you understand sources of conflict and ways to communicate with personality combinations that may create conflict with each other.
Recording Frustrations
A few weeks ago I bought Cakewalk Sonar Home Studio 7. I was excited that I'd be able to record MIDI arrangements of jazz standards and originals that I like to play. With Band in a Box, I can enter the changes and style of a particular song, export it as a MIDI file, which makes the rhythm tracks that I can play over with my own melody and solos. This would result in jazz trio recordings that I could save and post as MIDI files or convert into MP3 or other audio formats.
Well, I have not been able to get to square one. There seems to be some kind of latency problem with my audio or MIDI drivers. I cannot get the simplest recording of just a few single notes to record and be in sync with the audio or metronome. Apparently this is a typical problem when using a PC or laptop to record. I have tried many different latency settings and updated drivers to no avail.
I think I am going to abandon this effort and look into getting a standalone recorder for live audio. I do not have the patience to mess with drivers, latency and other things just to get a simple recording going on my laptop.
Well, I have not been able to get to square one. There seems to be some kind of latency problem with my audio or MIDI drivers. I cannot get the simplest recording of just a few single notes to record and be in sync with the audio or metronome. Apparently this is a typical problem when using a PC or laptop to record. I have tried many different latency settings and updated drivers to no avail.
I think I am going to abandon this effort and look into getting a standalone recorder for live audio. I do not have the patience to mess with drivers, latency and other things just to get a simple recording going on my laptop.
Transcendentalism and Mediocre Jazz
As I said in my last post I went to First Unitarian Church of Dallas this morning for two reasons. First, I discovered that the music for the service was being provided by the resident jazz ensemble for the church. I wanted to hear how they fit into a service and understand the level of musicians that participate. Second, the Adult Forum was continuing their lecture and discussion of Transcendentalism, which sounded interesting. I was stimulated by the second, disappointed in the first.
The Adult Forum uses lectures from the Great Courses lecture series that are available on DVD. These lectures are produced and delivered by noteworthy college professors in the topic. They are an excellent way to learn about a particular study area. Especially when they are viewed in a classroom setting followed by further facilitated discussion. The video lecture gets everyone on the same page to help prepare for the follow-on discussion. The only downside at First Unitarian is that there is very little time left after the video portion to have much of a discussion. But the material is usually very stimulating.
The jazz at the service was very disappointing. The keyboard sounded like a bad lounge keyboard sound. The arrangements were very low key. The solos were very short, subdued and could have been written out since they seemed to have very little spontaneity. The drums were very low energy and repetitive. The only bright spot was that the vocalists sounded good.
Maybe this is what was desired since Unitarian services tend to be very dry and subdued. That's the opposite of jazz.
The Adult Forum uses lectures from the Great Courses lecture series that are available on DVD. These lectures are produced and delivered by noteworthy college professors in the topic. They are an excellent way to learn about a particular study area. Especially when they are viewed in a classroom setting followed by further facilitated discussion. The video lecture gets everyone on the same page to help prepare for the follow-on discussion. The only downside at First Unitarian is that there is very little time left after the video portion to have much of a discussion. But the material is usually very stimulating.
The jazz at the service was very disappointing. The keyboard sounded like a bad lounge keyboard sound. The arrangements were very low key. The solos were very short, subdued and could have been written out since they seemed to have very little spontaneity. The drums were very low energy and repetitive. The only bright spot was that the vocalists sounded good.
Maybe this is what was desired since Unitarian services tend to be very dry and subdued. That's the opposite of jazz.
From Unity to Unitarian (again)
Over the last year or more I have been going to classes at Unity of Dallas that are part of the Unity Spiritual Development Program. Completion of the SDP and a following Leadership Development Program are pre-requisites to obtaining a Licensed Unity Teacher Certification. Obtaining the LUT is required to be able to teach classes within Unity spiritual communities. I did not necessarily set out to become a LUT but I was very interested in the Metaphysical studies offered there and figured as long as I was going to spend the time I might as well get credit for it. The Metaphysics classes have been excellent and last year I also completed studies in Metaphysical Bible Interpretation and Abundance.
The next class on the list was The Story of Unity which traces the history of the Unity movement from the original founders throughout the early 20th century and beyond. The material is very straightforward and not nearly as stimulating as the Metaphysics classes have been. I attended one class last week and have been considering whether to follow through with it. This morning I believe the decision was made and the answer is No. In fact, I may abandon the quest for completing the SDP as well. Here's why.
Unity of Dallas offers lots of classes and discussions. The curriculum for the SDP and LDP and LUT are interesting, life affirming and connected with self-actualization ideas from other traditions and secular expressions of healthy minded living. Some of the topics, though, are all in the same vein as each other. The breadth is sometimes lacking. For example, there will not be specific curricular study on Transcendentalism (which is a strong contributor to New Thought as a whole), Buddhism, Hinduism or other philosophic strands and traditions. You might find these as supplemental classes or discussions on the menu as well as topics that might be considered "New Age" whatever that means. But pursuit of the LUT through the SDP and LDP will be more narrow than that.
I have attended several interesting and insightful discussions at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas over the last couple of years as well. This morning I decided to go to the Adult Forum lecture and discussion on Transcendentalism. The topics covered in various adult discussion groups there are very broad and include topics on world religions, philosophy, history, current affairs and comparative mythology. I believe I am gravitating toward that approach for a while. Perhaps I will return to the Unity discussions at a later date.
The next class on the list was The Story of Unity which traces the history of the Unity movement from the original founders throughout the early 20th century and beyond. The material is very straightforward and not nearly as stimulating as the Metaphysics classes have been. I attended one class last week and have been considering whether to follow through with it. This morning I believe the decision was made and the answer is No. In fact, I may abandon the quest for completing the SDP as well. Here's why.
Unity of Dallas offers lots of classes and discussions. The curriculum for the SDP and LDP and LUT are interesting, life affirming and connected with self-actualization ideas from other traditions and secular expressions of healthy minded living. Some of the topics, though, are all in the same vein as each other. The breadth is sometimes lacking. For example, there will not be specific curricular study on Transcendentalism (which is a strong contributor to New Thought as a whole), Buddhism, Hinduism or other philosophic strands and traditions. You might find these as supplemental classes or discussions on the menu as well as topics that might be considered "New Age" whatever that means. But pursuit of the LUT through the SDP and LDP will be more narrow than that.
I have attended several interesting and insightful discussions at the First Unitarian Church of Dallas over the last couple of years as well. This morning I decided to go to the Adult Forum lecture and discussion on Transcendentalism. The topics covered in various adult discussion groups there are very broad and include topics on world religions, philosophy, history, current affairs and comparative mythology. I believe I am gravitating toward that approach for a while. Perhaps I will return to the Unity discussions at a later date.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
12 Powers
Overview
The Twelve Powers are an organization of spiritual strengths that can be enhanced by a connection with the Source. All humans inherently have these powers but use of them in the realm of sense consciousness may distort their power for selfish gain. Using them from a higher level of consciousness enhances personal well-being and can raise the collective consciousness of groups in which we may participate.
The Twelve Powers as discussed here are a Unity New Thought formulation presented by Charles Fillmore. However, they have similarities to collections of 12 in other traditions such as the 12 Chakras and the Kabala 12 Steps. For Unity, the 12 Powers are linked directly with the Christian tradition through metaphysical interpretation of the 12 disciples in the New Testament. Each disciple represents one of the 12 Powers in a metaphorical sense.
The 12 Powers can also be viewed as leadership traits. Books such as John C. Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and other leadership books and studies frequently describe some number of traits of leadership. Most of these can be mapped into one of the 12 Powers. Since I have recently read a few leadership books, I will relate each Power to leadership traits, roles and psychological profiles. This will help connect the dots from the more abstract 12 Powers presentation to other more concrete formulations.
Other systems that I will reference as each Power is described include a system of organizational theory (Adizes 4 primary roles of an organization as defined in “the Ideal Executive” (PAEI)) and a psychological system (Riso/Hudson’s “Personality Types” that are based on the 9 types of the Enneagram, a tool for self-discovery).
One thing that is interesting to note is the way that the 12 Powers delineate between the higher consciousness expression of a Power and the lower sense consciousness expression. Sense consciousness expression can result in holding things back and creating problems in the manifest world, whereas higher consciousness expressions create positive results and advance environments forward. The same is true of the organizational and psychological systems I will reference.
The Enneagram describes levels of development within a personality type that range from super functional (Level 1) to completely dysfunctional (Level 9). The further one progresses up the levels of development toward Level 1 the less selfish, more self-actualizing a personality becomes. The further down the levels toward Level 9 the more selfish, more self-destructive the personality types become. The Adizes Organizational Roles Theory supports the same notion as shown below:
The Twelve Powers are an organization of spiritual strengths that can be enhanced by a connection with the Source. All humans inherently have these powers but use of them in the realm of sense consciousness may distort their power for selfish gain. Using them from a higher level of consciousness enhances personal well-being and can raise the collective consciousness of groups in which we may participate.
The Twelve Powers as discussed here are a Unity New Thought formulation presented by Charles Fillmore. However, they have similarities to collections of 12 in other traditions such as the 12 Chakras and the Kabala 12 Steps. For Unity, the 12 Powers are linked directly with the Christian tradition through metaphysical interpretation of the 12 disciples in the New Testament. Each disciple represents one of the 12 Powers in a metaphorical sense.
The 12 Powers can also be viewed as leadership traits. Books such as John C. Maxwell’s 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and other leadership books and studies frequently describe some number of traits of leadership. Most of these can be mapped into one of the 12 Powers. Since I have recently read a few leadership books, I will relate each Power to leadership traits, roles and psychological profiles. This will help connect the dots from the more abstract 12 Powers presentation to other more concrete formulations.
Other systems that I will reference as each Power is described include a system of organizational theory (Adizes 4 primary roles of an organization as defined in “the Ideal Executive” (PAEI)) and a psychological system (Riso/Hudson’s “Personality Types” that are based on the 9 types of the Enneagram, a tool for self-discovery).
One thing that is interesting to note is the way that the 12 Powers delineate between the higher consciousness expression of a Power and the lower sense consciousness expression. Sense consciousness expression can result in holding things back and creating problems in the manifest world, whereas higher consciousness expressions create positive results and advance environments forward. The same is true of the organizational and psychological systems I will reference.
The Enneagram describes levels of development within a personality type that range from super functional (Level 1) to completely dysfunctional (Level 9). The further one progresses up the levels of development toward Level 1 the less selfish, more self-actualizing a personality becomes. The further down the levels toward Level 9 the more selfish, more self-destructive the personality types become. The Adizes Organizational Roles Theory supports the same notion as shown below:
- Producer (positive, functional) vs. Lone Wolf (negative, dysfunctional)
- Administrator (positive, functional) vs. Bureaucrat (negative, dysfunctional)
- Entrepreneur (positive, functional) vs. Arsonist (negative, dysfunctional)
- Integrator (positive, functional) vs. Super Follower (negative, dysfunctional)
12 Powers
Love
Love functions to harmonize, unify and attract. In personal relationships, this creates an environment of peace and good feeling in relationships. In leadership this power manifests in a leader’s ability to truly care about the people being led so that they take the time to understand individual stories, hopes and dreams.
In Adizes leadership roles, this Power is best reflected in the Type I (Integrator). In the Enneagram this power is best reflected in Type 2 (The Helper) for empathy and Type 9 (The Peacemaker) for coordination and conflict resolution. Maxwell’s Leadership Laws touch on this through the Law of Connection where leaders that can touch emotions have more success than leaders who cannot.
Imagination
Imagination provides the ability to image, conceptualize and envision. Leadership requires imagination to create a vision of the future for an organization or team. In the Adizes system this Power is best represented by the Type E (Entrepreneur). In the Enneagram, this Power might best be represented by Type 5 (The Investigator) or Type 4 (The Individualist).
Power
Power provides the ability to master, dominate and control. In the Adizes system this Power is represented again by the Type E (Entrepreneur) or possibly the Type P (Producer). In the Enneagram, this Power is represented by Type 3 (The Motivator) and Type 8 (The Leader). Maxwell’s Law of Influence relates to this Power by insisting that the true measure of leadership is influence.
Judgment
Judgment is the ability to evaluate, discern, be wise and appraise. It includes wisdom and knowledge. This Power is reflected by the Adizes Type I (Integrator), who brings disparate organizational groups together and facilitates constructive conflict resolution. The Enneagram type that best represents this Power is Type 1 (The Reformer). At lower levels of functionality, Judgment can devolve into being Judgmental.
Understanding
Understanding is the ability to know and perceive. This is our intellectual faculty. In the Adizes world, this Power is best shown by Type E (Entrepreneur) and Type P (Producer). In the Enneagram, the closest personality type is Type 5 (The Investigator).
Zeal
Zeal is the ability to start, motivate, be passionate and be enthusiastic. In the Adizes world, this is typically the Type E (Entrepreneur) who is very passionate and excited about new ideas and possibilities and communicates enthusiasm to the people in the environment. The Enneagram personality is Type 7 (The Enthusiast) who is passionate about trying new things and experiences.
Elimination
Elimination is the ability to release, remove and denounce stale and non-useful behavior patterns in our lives. This Power relates to leadership in the sense that a leader must continually move forward and allow criticisms and failures to fade into the past and become part of experience that improves future endeavors. This is the power to move on and not be paralyzed by mistakes or misfortune.
Faith
Faith is the ability to believe and intuit. It is the ability to move forward and act as if it is impossible to fail. In John Maxwell’s 21 Leadership Laws, this Power relates to the Law of Victory, the Law of Intuition and the Law of Timing. Leaders find a way for the team to win and never give up.
Life
Life is the ability to energize, vitalize and enliven. It is expressed in Maxwell’s leadership laws as the Law of Empowerment, the Law of Magnetism and the Law of Connection. Leaders instill a sense of energy and urgency into the group.
Order
Order is the ability to organize sequence and adjust. In organizational theory this is represented first and foremost by a Type A (Administrator) and secondarily by Type I (Integrator). In terms of leadership laws this is represented by Maxwell’s Law of Priorities.
Will
Will is the ability to choose and decide. This Power keeps us from getting mired in analysis paralysis. After enough analysis, finally it is time to act and the Power of Will provides that for us. In organizational theory, the Type P (Producer) is the most closely connected with the Will to act. In Enneagram personality types, the Type 8 (The Leader) and Type 3 (The Motivator) are the most willful of the group.
Strength
Strength is the power to endure, stay the course, be persistent, persevere and be stable. It relates to Maxwell’s Law of Solid Ground for a leader to build trust as the foundation of leadership. A leader needs a rock solid foundation so that followers will respect and trust his positions.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Creation
Overview
The realm of Divine Ideas is created by the Source. As individuals we become aware of Divine ideas. We increase this awareness through meditation or other activities that promote the Silence. As the Divine Ideas come into our consciousness, they are colored by race consciousness input from the subconscious mind. Ultimately they express through our individuality and within a specific medium of expression such as art, science, music, business or any number of other forms of expression and action.
The receptive clarity of Divine Ideas exists along a spectrum from very clear to unclear. The closer we are to the Source, the more consistent the individual expression of the Idea is to the Ideal. Lasting works of art or world-changing scientific theories are produced from an extremely accurate perception and reception of the Divine Idea from Mind. The less true the reception and transmission of the Divine Idea, the less true the manifestation of the Divine Idea within a medium will be. A good analogy is that of a copy machine making less clear copies from subsequent copies as compared to making high quality and clear copies from the original.
I have experienced many examples of the Creation process during my lifetime. For the purposes of this paper I will pick 3: music, software design and management.
Music
Music has always been a serious hobby of mine. I studied formally through the age of about 26 and took a couple of degrees, one in classical piano and one in jazz piano. After I left graduate school I never pursued it as a career, but have always maintained some connection throughout my life, performing in church or in local clubs every now and then.
A watershed era for me was when I learned the basic theory and chord structures for jazz piano after having played classical piano most of my college career. I was fascinated by the idea that I could know the basic chord progression and melody of a jazz standard and get together with other musicians and create arrangements on the spot. Once I worked on this area for a year or so, I moved away from reading music and began to play more and more by ear.
Learning to play jazz piano was a very transformative experience for me. Before that time, playing piano had been about accurately playing the notes on the page and adding a very small amount of interpretation to what was written. Once I discovered improvisation, this expanded a thousand-fold and my experience of spontaneous creativity was born.
On many occasions, when playing with a group, the experience might be somewhat mechanical, just trying to lay down what needs to be laid down at the right time. Sometimes I am thinking very intellectually, consciously aware of the chords and melodies that should be outlined to sound “correct” for a particular style or song.
But every now and then, when it is least expected, possibly during a solo, inspiration will strike and it seems as if I am not actually playing the music myself. The music seems to create itself and I am being led along for the ride, completely in the flow and the moment. At these times there is no conscious intellectual thought. The experience is more holistic and pervasive throughout my body, soul and mind. As Miles Davis once said, “you have to let the music get up in your body” (paraphrased). I can only imagine that if my skill level was higher that I’d have these holistic experiences more often.
Software Design
For most of my career I have been involved in the design of software systems in one role or another. In the early days when I was a junior programmer there was so much to learn that I did not think of it as a truly creative activity, especially compared to music. It was just a job that made money so that I could play music when I wanted.
I remember that I worked closed with a guy who seemed to be a very creative problem solver. He’d encounter extremely challenging problems and would seem to come up with algorithms very quickly. When I worked with him, I always felt that I could not really crack the solution and that I had to depend on him to formulate the algorithm which I could then code into being.
However, one day we were trying to design a data structure together and he was stumped. Somehow, an idea came into my mind that seemed obvious to me. When I told him he was ecstatic and told me that was very good. We went on to refine a design based on my insight. From this point on I had the confidence and continued to hone my ability to open my mind to solutions to problems rather than try to brute force a solution or feel like I had no ideas.
I began to relish the idea of thinking through a complex software system and come up with abstract concepts, data structures, communication pathways and user experience scenarios that had a good look and feel and satisfied customer needs. Sometimes the mental state needed was one resembling meditation. I needed silence and the ability to put my mind into a neutral state while thinking about the system passively, allowing ideas to flow without judgment so that I could try out different designs mentally and on paper.
Management
Once I became older and experienced in the software industry, I had both the desire and the opportunity to begin to manage and lead teams of gradually increasing size. I began to lose interest in the technical and creative challenges of software design and became fascinated with the challenges of leadership and management of technical products and development.
This leadership and management realm is where I currently spend most of my time. The experiences and techniques I learned earlier in my life have carried forward to help me progress in leadership roles. However, there are many more facets and dimensions that come into play.
In particular I have noticed a progression in myself from a mechanical style to a much more relaxed style that depends much more on my intuition than technical skill that I relied on in the early days of my management career. I get ideas of inspiration that are related to timing, personalities, team cohesion, management methodologies and other aspects of my daily work that seem to have a connection to the whole and the ideal, filtered to the culture or situation at hand.
I have found meditative practices to be especially useful in improving my process of creation in the various skills and qualities required for leadership and management.
The realm of Divine Ideas is created by the Source. As individuals we become aware of Divine ideas. We increase this awareness through meditation or other activities that promote the Silence. As the Divine Ideas come into our consciousness, they are colored by race consciousness input from the subconscious mind. Ultimately they express through our individuality and within a specific medium of expression such as art, science, music, business or any number of other forms of expression and action.
The receptive clarity of Divine Ideas exists along a spectrum from very clear to unclear. The closer we are to the Source, the more consistent the individual expression of the Idea is to the Ideal. Lasting works of art or world-changing scientific theories are produced from an extremely accurate perception and reception of the Divine Idea from Mind. The less true the reception and transmission of the Divine Idea, the less true the manifestation of the Divine Idea within a medium will be. A good analogy is that of a copy machine making less clear copies from subsequent copies as compared to making high quality and clear copies from the original.
I have experienced many examples of the Creation process during my lifetime. For the purposes of this paper I will pick 3: music, software design and management.
Music
Music has always been a serious hobby of mine. I studied formally through the age of about 26 and took a couple of degrees, one in classical piano and one in jazz piano. After I left graduate school I never pursued it as a career, but have always maintained some connection throughout my life, performing in church or in local clubs every now and then.
A watershed era for me was when I learned the basic theory and chord structures for jazz piano after having played classical piano most of my college career. I was fascinated by the idea that I could know the basic chord progression and melody of a jazz standard and get together with other musicians and create arrangements on the spot. Once I worked on this area for a year or so, I moved away from reading music and began to play more and more by ear.
Learning to play jazz piano was a very transformative experience for me. Before that time, playing piano had been about accurately playing the notes on the page and adding a very small amount of interpretation to what was written. Once I discovered improvisation, this expanded a thousand-fold and my experience of spontaneous creativity was born.
On many occasions, when playing with a group, the experience might be somewhat mechanical, just trying to lay down what needs to be laid down at the right time. Sometimes I am thinking very intellectually, consciously aware of the chords and melodies that should be outlined to sound “correct” for a particular style or song.
But every now and then, when it is least expected, possibly during a solo, inspiration will strike and it seems as if I am not actually playing the music myself. The music seems to create itself and I am being led along for the ride, completely in the flow and the moment. At these times there is no conscious intellectual thought. The experience is more holistic and pervasive throughout my body, soul and mind. As Miles Davis once said, “you have to let the music get up in your body” (paraphrased). I can only imagine that if my skill level was higher that I’d have these holistic experiences more often.
Software Design
For most of my career I have been involved in the design of software systems in one role or another. In the early days when I was a junior programmer there was so much to learn that I did not think of it as a truly creative activity, especially compared to music. It was just a job that made money so that I could play music when I wanted.
I remember that I worked closed with a guy who seemed to be a very creative problem solver. He’d encounter extremely challenging problems and would seem to come up with algorithms very quickly. When I worked with him, I always felt that I could not really crack the solution and that I had to depend on him to formulate the algorithm which I could then code into being.
However, one day we were trying to design a data structure together and he was stumped. Somehow, an idea came into my mind that seemed obvious to me. When I told him he was ecstatic and told me that was very good. We went on to refine a design based on my insight. From this point on I had the confidence and continued to hone my ability to open my mind to solutions to problems rather than try to brute force a solution or feel like I had no ideas.
I began to relish the idea of thinking through a complex software system and come up with abstract concepts, data structures, communication pathways and user experience scenarios that had a good look and feel and satisfied customer needs. Sometimes the mental state needed was one resembling meditation. I needed silence and the ability to put my mind into a neutral state while thinking about the system passively, allowing ideas to flow without judgment so that I could try out different designs mentally and on paper.
Management
Once I became older and experienced in the software industry, I had both the desire and the opportunity to begin to manage and lead teams of gradually increasing size. I began to lose interest in the technical and creative challenges of software design and became fascinated with the challenges of leadership and management of technical products and development.
This leadership and management realm is where I currently spend most of my time. The experiences and techniques I learned earlier in my life have carried forward to help me progress in leadership roles. However, there are many more facets and dimensions that come into play.
In particular I have noticed a progression in myself from a mechanical style to a much more relaxed style that depends much more on my intuition than technical skill that I relied on in the early days of my management career. I get ideas of inspiration that are related to timing, personalities, team cohesion, management methodologies and other aspects of my daily work that seem to have a connection to the whole and the ideal, filtered to the culture or situation at hand.
I have found meditative practices to be especially useful in improving my process of creation in the various skills and qualities required for leadership and management.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Holding a Space
How do we hold a space to allow reality to emerge?
The first part of holding a space is sensing that a particular type of communication needs to occur. This might include any number of types of communication such as creative (visioning, brainstorming), administrative (status), integrative (goal setting), productivity (operational), governance (process) or even emotional venting (sometimes we just need to let people get frustrations out in the open). Sensing which type of communication is needed drives the kind of communication space and time that is needed. How many people? Which people? How long? What is the agenda?
Depending on the type of communication, the content of the discussion will tend toward either more structured (administrative, integrative, operational) or less structured (visioning, brainstorming, venting). Generally the less structured the conversation, the larger the sociological space that is needed to allow ideas to emerge. More structured conversations can typically be more controlled, but there should always be an underlying principle of space and timing so that unexpected refinements have the opportunity to present themselves.
Part of the concept of holding a space is to allow creation to happen vs. forcing a particular pattern into existence - a co-creative process instead of an ego-based approach. We may perceive a new situation as a repeat of past experiences. We may want to force this new situation into the same pattern as some specific or synthesized prior experience. What we do not realize is that each new situation is unique. It has emerged in a new time, space and with different subjects and objects. Forcing an old pattern on a new situation may be a well-intentioned desire to make things come out "right", but too much control may kill the possibility of a new or better manifestation.
We may struggle allowing moments of silence when we are in leadership positions. Many times we are doing much of the talking when our groups or teams are assembled. We give status, updates and articulate goals. If we ask a question and see blank stares or too many moments of silence, we may jump to fill in the void with further clarifications or persuasive words. In doing so we may intercept the emergence of ideas that were in the process of baking into existence. This may derail a crucial comment from a colleague.
Some personality types are more suited to holding a space for idea emergence than others. Obviously, listeners are more comfortable with space and synthesis than talkers who may monopolize the conversation and may wish to enforce particular implementations and outcomes on the environment.
The first part of holding a space is sensing that a particular type of communication needs to occur. This might include any number of types of communication such as creative (visioning, brainstorming), administrative (status), integrative (goal setting), productivity (operational), governance (process) or even emotional venting (sometimes we just need to let people get frustrations out in the open). Sensing which type of communication is needed drives the kind of communication space and time that is needed. How many people? Which people? How long? What is the agenda?
Depending on the type of communication, the content of the discussion will tend toward either more structured (administrative, integrative, operational) or less structured (visioning, brainstorming, venting). Generally the less structured the conversation, the larger the sociological space that is needed to allow ideas to emerge. More structured conversations can typically be more controlled, but there should always be an underlying principle of space and timing so that unexpected refinements have the opportunity to present themselves.
Part of the concept of holding a space is to allow creation to happen vs. forcing a particular pattern into existence - a co-creative process instead of an ego-based approach. We may perceive a new situation as a repeat of past experiences. We may want to force this new situation into the same pattern as some specific or synthesized prior experience. What we do not realize is that each new situation is unique. It has emerged in a new time, space and with different subjects and objects. Forcing an old pattern on a new situation may be a well-intentioned desire to make things come out "right", but too much control may kill the possibility of a new or better manifestation.
We may struggle allowing moments of silence when we are in leadership positions. Many times we are doing much of the talking when our groups or teams are assembled. We give status, updates and articulate goals. If we ask a question and see blank stares or too many moments of silence, we may jump to fill in the void with further clarifications or persuasive words. In doing so we may intercept the emergence of ideas that were in the process of baking into existence. This may derail a crucial comment from a colleague.
Some personality types are more suited to holding a space for idea emergence than others. Obviously, listeners are more comfortable with space and synthesis than talkers who may monopolize the conversation and may wish to enforce particular implementations and outcomes on the environment.
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