Last week I worked with a brilliant team on a strategy for the 2012-13 horizons. They are the best in the world at what they do – the undisputed world champions.  You know you are dealing with champions because of what is present at the point of engagement and also because of what is not present. Here are some of the characteristics I observed and experienced with this team. They are…

1. Focused on goals and on realizing the intended future state.
2. Open in communication. Ready to challenge each other’s premise and ideas.
3. High on value. Low on ego.
4. Present in the moment. Fully engaged.
5. Ready to speak their mind and to try new ways.
6. Not defensive. Not political.
7. Agile and ready to change and adapt.
8. Fast to reframe problems as opportunities.
9. Capable of active listening and intense ideation and collaboration.
10. Committed to turn setbacks to learning and growth experiences.

Developing strategy is about delineating a series of plausible future states, creating options and aligning a course of action. Our “Hot Seats Exploration” process helps us accelerate the conversation, create high engagement and rapid prototyping of ideas.  In this exercise we guide the conversation through divergence and then convergence phases as the object we explore comes into focus.  We shift from expanding the range of ideas and options (divergence) to aligning on a preferred course of action (convergence).

In the divergence phase we practice framing open-ended questions. I was asked this week: “What is the difference between HOW and WHAT questions?” Here is a simple way to think about it:

1. HOW promotes prescriptive answers. WHAT promotes explorative responses.
2. When you are in (A) and seeking to arrive to a KNOWN end-state (B) – use HOW questions: How do we get from A to B?
3. When you are in (A) and are seeking to discover a new UNKNOWN end-state (B) – use WHAT questions: What opportunities are available to us in a new end state B?
4. Language is important. Your words, your narrative invoke images. Images create feelings that impact the brain chemistry and state of mind of the people you engage. When you ask: “How can we extract value?” you invoke the image of a dentist (extract). When you reframe the question to “What value capture opportunities are available for us?” you evoke the image of a fisherman (capture). Dentists and Fishermen bring up a very different set of associations in our unconscious mind where creativity and innovation comes into the picture.

High performing teams are adaptive. They are capable of holding open-ended conversations, ready to coalesce and agree on a course of action and are committed to follow through and execute. Thank you.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Nov.24.2009 :: Consultant Journal, Organizational Development :: No Comments »

Most of the currently available training methods in businesses are accented on brain learning. This is evident in the rampant usage of four-quadrant frameworks. There are dozens of strategies based on the four quadrants, the ‘important/urgent’ being one of the most popularized. Many of these are useful but are limited because they miss the insight communicated by The Vitruvian Man drawn by Leonaro da Vinci. Namely, that the human soul is five-fold as expressed by five fingers, five senses, five extensions of the body and so on. The Vitruvian insight points to the five-fold information processing and learning of the human.

By analogy, the human is a radio-set designed to process and interpret five dimensions of intelligence which is codified by the colors: Green, Yellow, Blue, Red and White. Soul learning is five-fold.  It goes beyond brain learning (four-fold) and creates faster, deeper and more sustainable results. So many of the intractable problems witnessed in organizations today and in the world at large are a symptom of brain fixation on outdated systems.  The next frontier of learning and development design is in reintegrating the five dimensions of intelligence. Together with our network of colleagues, we have been for three decades on the forefront of developing advanced coaching modalities to help professionals meet 21st century challenges and thrive. The Ten Faces of Leadership is one aspect of this body of work, which has helped create breakthrough results in Fortune 100 companies around the world.  This body of work also includes:
* The five color intelligences
* The leader coach and the five steps of coaching
* The five colors of learning and process inclinations
* The five emotions (higher and lower)
* Overcoming the five resistances
* The five elements of resilience
And more.
© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Nov.14.2009 :: Coaching, Organizational Development, Personal Growth :: No Comments »

The Economist writes this week in Hating What You Do about the epidemic of unhappiness at work. It claims “the most obvious reason for the rise in unhappiness is the recession, which is destroying jobs at a startling rate and spreading anxiety throughout the workforce. But the recession is also highlighting longer-term problems.”

We find the analysis superficial and narrow minded. The recession is a big trigger for anxiety but not the cause for unhappiness. Unhappiness is an expression of multiple factors and currents in the lives of people. These include:

1. Loss of the sense of control
2. Unpreparedness to adjust one’s expectations
3. Inability to cope with change and adapt through transitions
4. A sense of disenfranchisement, isolation and lack of support
5. Energetic depletion
6. Chemical imbalance
7. Loneliness, alienation and missing companionship and intimacy
8. Inability to connect with and impact your environment (work, social, culture…)
9. Loss of autonomy and the sense of dignity
10. Spiritual deprivation and hunger for meaning and significance

Happy teams and happy organizations are able to integrate and foster the five Ps. In addition to Profit they benefit and help: People, Planet, Progress and Purpose.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Oct.16.2009 :: Happiness, Organizational Development :: No Comments »

Mission describes what ‘business’ you are in. It says what you do, who you do it with, and who you do it for.

A Vision is a compelling description of the future and of what you want to become in the future. It is something that excites you and causes you to become mission-ized. It is an inspirational and aspiration-al description of where you want to be.

Purpose is the reason to embark on the journey, the driving power to act on your mission. It is what your vision means to you and what it makes possible.

Purpose answers – why you do it – why you want to get there.

Mission answers – what you do to get there and with whom.

Vision answers – where you want to be, what it looks like when you get there, and how the world is different because of it.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Aug.12.2009 :: Organizational Development, Strategy :: No Comments »

CEOs and GMs ask me: can you help us increase revenue and improve the top line? Can you help cut cost and improve the bottom line?

My answer is, “yes! We can help you grow your top line! And we can improve your bottom line too!”

“How?” they ask. “It’s simple. We will help you improve your top line and your bottom line by focusing on your point of leverage­, your middle line.

In a challenging environment, leaders create breakthroughs or crash. For company leaders, the next worst thing to facing a tough business environment is creating their own lethal downward spiral. Unfortunately, that is exactly what some leaders are doing right now, destroying their business rapidly. No one wants to fly into the ground, but good pilots make terrible mistakes. How do I know? I have seen it. In this environment, leaders who are not aware of the impact of incongruent communication increase the damage by creating stress, fear and disengagement in their teams. In the desire or need to increase productivity they produce hyper-active or frozen environments, both leading to catastrophic productivity loss.

The carpenter’s rule is – “Take care of the edges and the middle will take care of itself.” The executive rule is opposite – “Take care of the core (the middle) and the bottom line will take care of itself.”

Your core is your middle line. The middle line hides your breakthrough potential to dramatically improve your top and bottom lines. In our rapid “mid-line workshop”, we ask: how are you in “the middle”? How are you in “the middle” with your people? How you are in “the middle” with your clients? How well are your people coping and managing in these challenging times? Do you bring out the best in people or are they more stressed and anxious around you? Do you help clients with their greatest source of pain? Do they know how to make the most of your products and services?

We are the experts of the mid-line. We help you focus on the great multipliers of your business – the key leverage points that generate results, grow your top line and improve your bottom line. Here are six mid-line factors that determine organizational and business results: great leaders and teams:

1. Cultivate relationships of trust
2. Develop creative solutions
3. Produce rapid alignment
4. Build leadership capabilities
5. Create effective execution
6. Generate energy and commitment

If you are absolutely serious about helping your teams raise the bar and turn challenges to opportunities – if you are committed to realize your goals call or write us to find out about a “mid-line inventory” and a rapid “mid-line workshop” for your team or entire organization. This innovative discovery workshop customized for your team will generate rapid results to help you improve your top and bottom line. We work with you to discover the best solution for your teams and business. The workshop can help you:

* Realign activities to capitalize on new opportunities.
* Free up and repurpose resources.
* Accelerate go-to-market strategy.
* Clarify decision rights, roles, responsibilities and objectives.
* Create rapid alignment and collaboration.

The “mid-line workshop” can be customized for large and small groups for half-day sessions or a series of shorter sessions. We’ll work with you to adapt the optimal format for your needs. And yes, we will improve your top and bottom line!
© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Apr.28.2009 :: Leadership, Organizational Development :: No Comments »

Gary Hamel framed on HBR a list of 25 challenges for 21st century management strategies. Here is the comment I posted with suggested additional challenges:

Thank you, Gary. This is a great list! The fulcrum of the 25 points is number 11. “Dramatically reduce the pull of the past.” May I suggest reframing the challenge to say – “Be ready to engage in a newly emerging future, free of the limitations of the past.” In that sense it becomes the pivot point and the context for the other 24 challenges.

Here are five elements to add to the list of 25 management challenges for the 21st century:

26. Help integrate the multi-generational society at work and in life. Facilitate the emergence of a new multi-generational partnership vitally needed to meet organizational, national and global challenges. We need each other’s help and contribution. This will help ease the engagement of the young (22-32) and redefine the participation of the elderly (70-95).

27. Facilitate the emergence of new role models and images of success. Cultivate and encourage new heroes and heroines—champions that integrate and embody these challenges in their own practice and innovation.

28. Reframe the imperatives and the relationships of the short, mid and long terms. Create a system that incentives long term sustainable results to help free up the organization from the dictatorship of the short term (quarterly earnings). (Expand the context of your 14th point.)

29. Redefine economic value, its expression and service. Facilitate practices that integrate the professional and the personal, passion and competence, where whole-person, whole-leader, whole-community, whole-society can be exercised and expressed with the support of market economy.

30. Facilitate the evolution of an innovative learning and development function. Discover and support new developmental frameworks and processes to help individuals and teams realize greatness and act on opportunities to fashion their collective future.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Feb.10.2009 :: Leadership, Organizational Development :: No Comments »

Following my post on the movie Man On Wire, Josh asked: “How did he get such commitment and effort from his friends to assist him in this task, in fulfilling his dream? Even those who could not speak his language…”

What Josh is really asking about is the anatomy of enrollment – what is the process of engaging, enticing and enrolling others to join and support your vision, your endeavor to realize a dream? What do you do to attract and recruit people to join your cause?

Here are a series of thoughts about the process of enrollment – attracting and rallying others to join you. What we already know:
1. People don’t remember what you say, but they never forget what you made them feel.
2. People join something because of what it makes them feel about themselves, because of how it transforms their self-concept.
3. More than anything, people hope to join something greater, in which they may be able to lose themselves and to re-find themselves anew.
4. Many people wish to feel that their lives have a meaning beyond the immediate fulfillment of carnal needs. The innovator, the leader they join provides a vision and meaning which alleviates the fear of emptiness.
5. The charisma of an adventurous vision is in stepping into an unknown to break an impossible barrier. There is a spiritual dimension to this and the desire to escape temporariness, to touch eternity.
6. A bigger vision and endeavor provides for all involved a sense of being bigger themselves.
7. We tend to think in terms of number One’s and number Two’s (and Three’s and Four’s) – the founder, the inventor, the leader are the number One’s. Their assistants and helpers are the number Two’s. Well, nothing big in this world could have happened without number Two’s. We tend to focus on the One’s; this is where the story is told. But there is an over emphasis in this stance – a pedestal personality sensationalism.
8. Here is a thought experiment. Try to take the reversed view – try to shift from the person’s view to the task’s view – try to step into the view of the invention, not the inventor. The view of the achievement – the vision’s view. Imagine for a minute that the task has a “consciousness,” that the vision has its own “consciousness” – that it wants to be achieved and that it has the power to rally and enroll whomever it needs for it to be realized. For the task to succeed, for the vision to be fulfilled – it needs to enroll not just the central character – it needs support characters too. It cannot be accomplished without them.
9. History is mostly told through the eyes of number One’s – we assert that they are the authors of history. The truth is that the number Two’s (and Three’s and Four’s) of most big things held indispensible roles and made irreplaceable contributions. Great revolutions, the founding of nations, business achievements, scientific discoveries, innovation breakthroughs, artistic accomplishments and great triumphs in world explorations – would not have come to fruition without these close supporters. The Two’s feel a similar sense of mission and realization even though they are not acting in the number One role.
10. John Lennon and Paul McCartney needed George Harrison and Ringo Starr to make the Beatles. Michel Jordan needed Scottie Pippen. Lance Armstrong needed his team. Barack Obama needed the rivalry of Hillary Clinton to make him a better candidate. He now needs a series of supporting characters to realize the potential of his Presidency.
11. What is the anatomy of enrollment? We have just witnessed one of the greatest popular rallying and enrollments in modern history. Obama is the 44th president of the US because he successfully caused this rally.
12. There is an invisible energetic component to the act of enrollment. Attraction and rally is fueled by magnetism. The power of contagion that emanates from the can-do confidence of a leader.
13. The same mechanics apply to good causes and to some of the worst things that have happened in history.
14. A leader who is able to rally support and enroll others to a cause brings together many things. Conviction. Creativity. Organizational power. Long view. Determination. Where others see stars, they see a constellation. More than anything they mount a concentration of focus and confidence in their envisioned outcome. A concentration which creates an irresistible field of power. The field gets ratified and magnified by enrollees who join the cause.

Finally, we are each here for a variety of lessons and roles. We did not all come here to do the same thing, act in the same capacity or share in the same destiny. There are different functions and roles wherein all can play a part inside greater whole.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Jan.31.2009 :: Entrepreneur, Organizational Development :: 1 Comment »

Kaleidoscoping is a pattern recognition exercise. You seek to decipher the meta-process at play. You endeavor to discover the archetypal nature of what’s moving through the systems you are observing.

Here is a kaleidoscoping exercise (written originally during October 2008). The process zooms into one field and looks to identify a pattern and recognize its potential in other fields.

What is the significance of the great deleveraging of Wall Street?

The last two decades brought a rapid growth of financial derivatives.  Derivatives are side bets. You buy a bet on what a stock will do – will it go up or will it go down. A second degree bet is a bet about the bet. It is no different from gambling, only instead of Las Vegas it was centered on Wall Street. The pyramid of bets evolved into a 60 Trillion dollar mountain of bets. The pile of bets that people ‘bought’ was mostly purchased as a debt. This means that buyers paid a dollar to take a 20 or 50 or 100 dollar loan with which to bet on a bet that someone else made.  The game was given a free unregulated ride. It propagated a shadow banking system. There was no open transparent exchange. The bets were made between two parties, over the counter. It was shadow banking because the transactions were not made in the light of an open exchange – they were made in the shadow.

The great deleveraging is a process of unwinding the bets. The collapse of Leman Brothers triggered an irreversible process. It was a disaster waiting to happen as the mountain became overwhelming.  What started on September 15, 2008 was the clearing of this great shadow. A dramatic free fall dives in the stock market followed. The pattern suggested in this description is the shadow work needed to heal the system - the shadow in this case being derivative bets.

Metaphoric Kaleidoscope thinking then asks: What is the shadow work we need to do at a personal and organizational level?

Shadow work is the process of removing all that is not fundamental and core to the system. Clearing what has no intrinsic value. It is a process of coming back to basics. If this represents a bigger pattern at play, then people and organizations ready to adapt faster to this process will be in a stronger position.

You dare to ask “why?”; “Why is this needed?”; “What value does it add?” You help the system clear what is not essential. You do the “shadow work” to undo “weak bets”. You focus on basics. You support what is core. You communicate proactively. You lead.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Dec.08.2008 :: Money & Market Behavior, Organizational Development :: No Comments »

What is your greatest asset? Who holds the key to your organization’s future?

It was a late Friday when the phone rang. I recognized the voice immediately. We had worked with Pete earlier in the year. Pete enjoyed our collaboration, it delivered exceptional results and helped his team coalesce and accelerate growth. He was a diligent and successful executive, known for getting things done and for his commitment to his people. He sounded concerned and urgent.

Pete: “Some of our best managers are exhausted, worn out. I am afraid we are going to lose a few great people.”

Me: “What’s going on? Why do you feel that you are going to lose good people?”

Pete: “I don’t know. I am not even sure who might be leaving. It’s been tough. They have all been working very hard. I just get the sense of burn out. Frankly, I cannot afford to lose my top managers.”

Pete continued and we explored together what was going on. We focused on the struggle of the leadership team in the challenging business environment.

Me: “How can I help?”

Pete: “If you can help us create a strategy that will retain our key people; encourage a sense of renewal and fresh commitment and find a way to help us re-energize full engagement of our team it would be huge. It will help us achieve our numbers. Not only will we save a lot of money on searching and replacing key managers, it will keep our talent here rather than with our competitors. It takes 12 to 18 months to replace an exceptional performer. That is if you are lucky.”

Pete asked that we design an effective talent retention and development program. He wanted to make sure his top people, the managers with exceptional talent get the best there is – a powerful development program with high energy and a fun experience. “We need to develop our vision, build the strength of our culture, cultivate impactful leadership and help our people in their personal growth.”

“And you want the ribs and the thirteen layer chocolate cake too?” We had a good laugh and agreed on next steps. A few weeks later we met with a top talent group to begin to learn and practice the Emerald Keys.

The ROI was phenomenal. Pete had successfully rallied his teams to exceed their objectives. Managers coached each other and improved retention throughout the organization. In tough times many executives freeze. Pete realized that uncertain environment presented opportunities. He made a critical decision to invest in his people and got his return. A new momentum was created. His teams moved to execute the strategy with energy and focus. Accelerated growth followed.

In times of challenge, your greatest and most essential assets are your top talent. These high potentials help you bounce back from setbacks and produce breakthrough ideas and innovations. They deliver results, make the impossible possible, and create your organization’s future. As a leader there is no greater return on investment than developing your top talent and nurturing new leaders. The ROI comes in huge multiples. Happy and energized managers produce fully engaged teams, attract great clients and accelerate your business growth.

What is the leader’s blind spot?
It is taking your high performers and top talents for granted. Assuming they will always be there – assuming they will always deliver for you and that you do not need to invest back in them. It is the biggest mistake executives make and eventually regret.

Our Top Talent and High Potential programs are customized to your unique organization. Call or email us to find out about a customized Talent Development program for your teams!

The Emerald Keys are a set of principles and core beliefs tested and proven by exceptionally successful people. Through the study and practice of these keys you find your sweet spot, realize your greater capacities and attract to yourself the inner harmonies of success in life and at work.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Nov.23.2008 :: Organizational Development, Talent :: No Comments »

Beware Of Despair – A Coaching Brief

The true meaning of despair is separation from purpose—the sense that you are unable to realize your mission – that there is no way for you to engage in your life affirming purpose.  Two roads cross the juncture of despair. One leads into fatigue, depression and apathy; the other leads to awakening and renewal. The first diminishes the life force; the second rekindles the essence of life.

Cellular energy, biologists tell us, is carried and released by ATP (Adenosine – triphosphate). “ATP is a multi-functional nucleotide that is a carrier of “molecular currency” of intracellular energy transfer. In this role, ATP transports chemical energy within cells for metabolism. It is produced as an energy source during the processes of photosynthesis and cellular respiration.” In short, ATP is the energy potential of the cell. It brings to the cell the energy to engage in its function and do all that it needs to do.

What about you? What gives you energy to engage in your functions and do all that you need to do? What is your whole-person (beyond cellular) ATP?

In our coaching work with high performers they find that their whole-person ATP – the energy potential they can realize and release is a function of Alignment-To-Purpose.  Your whole-person ATP is in your Alignment- and Adherence-To-Purpose.  Despair and depression are the signs of ultimate loss of Alignment To Purpose (ATP). Awakening and renewal are found in reconnection and realignment to purpose.

To acquire cellular ATP, Adenosine – triphosphate, you need a balanced nutrition.

Finding and ongoing-ly calibrating your Alignment-To-Purpose is central to the personal development journey and to the process of coaching. You develop self awareness and insight to what energizes you, to your intuition and to what nourishes your purpose. You get sensitized to the Being and Doing of purpose and discover the relationships of the higher, the lower and the middle. You examine the personal and professional aspects of your life to create and arrange your optimal Living On Purpose.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: Nov.16.2008 :: Coaching, Organizational Development, Personal Growth :: No Comments »