Aviv’s Blog

The Greatest Tax Increase

The greatest tax increase is neither in McCain’s programs, nor in Obama’s plans.

The greatest tax increase is in the breakdown of communication and civil discourse, the breakdown of trust and the ability to work through differences to find optimal solutions. Breakdown of trust and leadership is going to cost individuals, families, organizations and the economy as a whole, and the consequences will be greater than any tax change we will see under either presidential candidate.

The arts of conversation, of trust building, of open collaboration and of true leadership bring the greatest gains. These are the kind of gains the government cannot penalize. Developing the Three Pillars of Trust and collaboration is the ultimate leverage – it produces dividends that cannot be taxed.

Aviv Shahar :: Oct.10.2008 :: Leadership, Money & Market Behavior, Organizational Development :: Comment Now »

Blue Belt Morning Brief

To the Toronto Blue Belt Top Talent participants of 2008 – Thank you for the opportunity to work together and be on this discovery journey with you. Here are my notes from our last mornings briefing:

1. You are the most important person in this world! The people you serve and work for, the people you support and help, the people to whom you bring a smile and who you make laugh, your loved ones – they can all only have the benefits of your time, energy, talent and wisdom because of who you are! Your good health, knowledge, experience and wisdom provides you with something to give. What you do and bring to them, the way you help, serve and give are extensions of what you are – of your being.

2. Always seek to be in your optimal zone! You are always better, more efficient and to the point when you come out of optimal energy. When you drop below your “90V” you are less effective and less productive. When you drop below “70V” you tend to be ineffective and produce negative results. Below “60V” you are susceptible to illness. (You can find more about how this works in our Emerald Keys.)

3. Practice learn-ability! Develop and practice the ability to learn from every situation and experience. Learn-ability is your top competency in times of rapid change. Debrief, harvest and apply your learning.

4. Develop communication and framing skills! Your second critical skill is the ability to frame ideas and the communication and influencing frameworks and skill-set we practiced at the Blue Belt. By practicing these regularly you get one percent better every day - the compounding result of which is getting 100% better in 70 days!

5. Separate “musts” from “wants”! Be clear about the difference between “Musts” and “Wants”. Do not confuse “I want this” for “I must have this”. Be clear about your priorities. Let top priorities guide your actions.

6. Align short and long terms! Work on your long-term aims and goals with a practical and pragmatic mindset by creating step by step progress. Bring to your short-term endeavors the energy and conviction of your long term intentionality.

7. Invest in your growth and development! Along with your career goals, set internal goals for yourself. Never work solely for an outer goal. Balance and complete the outer goal together with an internal goal. Your internal goals are not about what you will have or what you will do – they are about the person you are becoming and what you will be. Develop a “Being” goal for every “Having” and “Doing” one.
Examples for “Being” goals:
A. “I am becoming a more patient and understanding leader.”
B. “To be happy and grateful.”
C. “I am clear in mind and conscience.”
D. “I develop an energized presence.”

8. Be a tool maker! Go beyond problem solving and into tool making. Be the tool maker of progress, growth and innovation.

9. Be confident! Everything big started small. Do not be intimated by others however brilliant they may be. You are brilliant in your own way. Be sure and confident about the contribution you can make. Success is not about perfection, it is about always taking the next step forward. Take the next step confidently.

10. Find glory in the inglorious! Find the little noticed or ordinary places and attend to them with special care. Give yourself and those around you small moments of recognition when it’s least expected. Allow for quiet moments of peace inside a crowded life. Look to make something right even when no one else sees or knows what you did, simply for it to be right. Find glory in the inglorious!

Aviv Shahar :: Oct.07.2008 :: Consultant Journal, Leadership, Personal Growth :: Comment Now »

Are You Punishing Yourself Twice?

A couple goes to the theater. Ten minutes into the show they know that it is a bad movie but neither of them is prepared to admit it. Fifteen minutes later one of them says: “it’s a bad movie. Shall we leave?” The other replies: “Why should we lose three times? First we paid, second it’s a bad movie and now you want us to leave before the end?”

In many situations it is perfectly fine to stop in the middle, to not prolong a mistake, to not extend unnecessary irritation or suffering. Everyone can make a mistake; it’s more of a mistake to devotedly hold on to it. The foolishness comes in thinking you have to punish yourself by putting more time into what is either not working, not a good use of your time, or has exceeded its shelf life.

Here are few things that you can simply stop (without breaking any law):
1. A bad movie or an annoying play
2. An aimless chat
3. A noisy party that has gone on too long
4. A meeting that already met its objectives
5. A conference call that accomplished its goals
6. An endeavor that has lost its purpose

If you are to be great, to be the best you can be – you have to learn to say no to the follow on punishment, you have to make space for greatness.

Aviv Shahar :: Oct.06.2008 :: Personal Growth :: Comment Now »

There Is More Than Fiction In The Space Between

Tracy Chapman sings “There is fiction in the space between.”
I disagree and beg to differ.
There is a lot more than fiction in the space between.
Creativity and innovation appear in the space between.
Peace and quiet are found in the space between
In the space between you can listen and hear
A truth and a meaning you can reconcile.
There is communion, serenity and perspective in the space between
And dimensions of connections not experienced elsewhere.
In the space between your roles, between your responsibilities,
In the space between your different worlds,
The seen and the unseen,
The higher, the lower and that which is between;
That which was before and is no more;
That which is to be and shows up here for you and me.

If I could sing like Tracy Chapman I would sing these words instead.

Aviv Shahar :: Oct.05.2008 :: Music, Words of Wisdom :: 1 Comment »

God’s Little Peace In Mississauga

Even God needs a little peace in a bustling city.

We are staying again in Mississauga, Toronto, teaching the Blue Belt Top Talent program. Toronto has been a work destination for years. I love coming here. I love Canada. There is much the Canadians can teach us south of the border. When you tell Canadians they are a very nice nation they tend to not see it as a complement. But nice doesn’t mean they aren’t assertive, strong, powerful, unstoppable or even aggressive. Just watch them play hockey. It is the temperament of the nation, “Peace, Order and (continual search for) Good Government.” The spirit of live and let live. Ease of collaboration. Readiness to make the other look good and even better. Healthy laughter. Wit. Dedication to family. Appreciation of beauty and simplicity. You cannot help but notice these values. It feels a little saner, and with a balance that we sometimes struggle to find south of the border.

Mississauga, where many multi-national corporations have their offices, looks like many other extensions of major cities but there is also something else. There are small special places; little corners of care, where someone went out of their way to create a little peace for the city dwellers and its visitors.

A couple of weeks ago, back home in Seattle, we hiked to Spray Falls where you can see a majestic view of Mount Rainier. It’s nature’s supreme presence, away from civilization. A week later in Mississauga, we walked a short trail in Mullet Creek Park, a place almost too small and insignificant to have a name. This place brings forward an insight. Sometimes, we can feel more of God’s presence in the little known, inglorious places than there is in the grandest of places. God loves what’s not loved. Its presence shows up where it’s least expected. There is a special beauty in finding grace where you do not expect it. Here, in the city, God is hard at work, cleaning it up, replenishing and helping people to get up and go on. God needs a little peace too. Someone‘s dedication and care made this a little place of peace.

One more thought. It can be like this for you too. Do you only care about the big, visible things, or do you put a special care in the small, unseen corners? Do you attend to your work and development only in visible matters, or do you attend to your growth and endeavors when no one sees and knows?

Try to tend to the small things. Put a special care into the not so glorious. Grace the small efforts and steps with your full presence. Find beauty hidden in the mundane. Offer something else a little space of peace in your life. It is then that you will be magnified with something greater. God’s little peace.

Aviv Shahar :: Oct.04.2008 :: Spirituality :: Comment Now »

The Key: The Lethal Jackpot

This KEY can save your life. It saved mine. As a young fighter pilot I read with keen interest the investigation reports of accidents. I figured it was going to help me stay alive. Pilots who were better than I, with more experience and whom I admired crashed. I was scared. It made me ask: “What is the anatomy of accidents? Can I learn something from what happened to them that will help me stay alive?”

I have rarely spoken about this in my 25 years of teaching and never wrote about it until now, as the Wall Street meltdown unfolds before our eyes. Click here to learn about The Lethal Jackpot and to find out what you can do to intercept and avert it.

Aviv Shahar :: Sep.29.2008 :: Money & Market Behavior, The Key :: 1 Comment »

Innovation - The Third Engine

“Economists and business leaders across the political spectrum are slowly coming to an agreement: Innovation is the best—and maybe the only—way the U.S. can get out of its economic hole.” tells us Business Week In “Can America Invent Its Way Back?” . It then asserts that “innovation has fallen short of its promise in recent years”. We believe we know why. In our work with management teams on cultivating innovation culture we found that:

1. Innovation is a set of disciplines and practices that must be embraced from top to bottom across the organization.
2. Innovation requires a specific mindset and commitment of resources.
3. Innovation is the “Third Propulsion” of a great organization. It must be supported by the “First Propulsion” of the company which works to increase Efficiency, where the discipline is on “Don’t change what works well” and “let’s not reinvent the wheel.” It then must be supported by the “Second Propulsion” which drives Optimized Effectiveness, where the discipline is on “let’s discover the 10 percent improved effectiveness we can unleash and create”.

When these conditions are not present, innovation disappoints. When First and Second Propulsions are not harnessed in support of the Third Propulsion -– Innovation cannot be unleashed at full and falls short of its promise. First and Second Propulsions practices are critical to help us “Re-imagine who we are and what we do” and “develop new opportunities and ways of creating value.” Engaging all Three Propulsions and their enablement is the Template For Greatness and how America can invent its way back.

Aviv Shahar :: Sep.27.2008 :: Innovation :: Comment Now »

The Subtle Work Of A Transformational Coach

What is the subtle, at times invisible work of a transformational coach and consultant?

1. To learn from the client (the team) about their talent and potential. Especially to learn about the potential that the client is unaware of or is unable to access.

2. To hold for the client their best strengths.

3. To bring fresh perspective, a new question and a new way of looking at the problem.

4. To believe in the client’s capacity to grow, transform and evolve.

5. To help create ‘zero gravity’ inquiry and open ended exploration.

6. To promote an innovative process.

7. To intuit the next steps. Open the next door.

8. To bring a total urgency for the client to take the next step and, at the same time, contain it with absolute patience and detachment from outcome. (Only the very impatient can understand the power of patience).

9. To frame the question, the challenge, in the pursuit of which the client can discover their next brilliance.

10. To be fully present and engaged in your own growth while helping the client grow.

11. To remove blockages.

12. To follow the energy as it leads to the next breakthrough.

13. To help ‘channel’ the collective intelligence available in the room.

14. To stay intact, impartial, and unattached.

15. To delight in the clients success.

Aviv Shahar :: Sep.22.2008 :: Coaching, Consultant Journal :: Comment Now »

Never Run Empty

Never run to the bottom of the tank. It is the most dangerous thing that you can do. When you use yourself to the very last drop of energy and willingness, you start using up a precious energy that was not meant to be used. The last drop of energy is a crucial safety reservoir to be retained for self maintenance, to fuel your recovery and daily replenishment. Running to the bottom and then running on empty is dangerous. You make yourself brittle and susceptible to illness.

Make it a point to notice the red light on your energy dashboard. Work on building your resilience and recoverability reservoirs. Never run Empty.