27 March 2021

Spectrum of Trust: Life Long Journey…

How long has it been, since you saw that person you really like spending time with? You know, that person who makes you feel excited or makes your heart feel warm… when you finally meet-up again.

Your livelihood and your business is all about growing relationships over the course of your lifetime. What will you do this week or this month to enhance and grow one of your vital relationships? Personally or professionally.

How do you balance those who are new and just starting and the relationships you may have had for years or decades? It requires more discipline than you may realize.

What if you spend 90% of your available time on relationships that have existed for more than ten years? This leaves only 10% of your time working on meeting new people that could make all of the difference in your life.

Yet if you spend 90% of your days connecting with new people who may be new prospects, collaborators or friends, you will not be able to elevate your existing relationships to the next level of Trust.

The “Spectrum of Trust”

> Zero Trust >>> Trust Exists >>> Implicit Trust >

So beware of the fact that you may be spending too much time on one place on the spectrum each day, as this will have direct impacts on your life.

Building and maintaining healthy relationships is hard work. It is not just the time it takes to craft a thoughtful birthday card to a sister-in-law, or a welcome E-Mail letter to a new employee or business prospect.

Perhaps it is just an iPhone or FaceTime call, to have a 20 minute catch-up dialogue to hear each others voice or see each others face.

The far right end of the spectrum is where you do not even think about Trust anymore with your relationship. Maybe it’s someone you have known all of your life, or 30+ years. Trust is now implicit.

With the number of minutes being finite, every day of every hour, how do you allocate time to moving your relationships from Left to Right? How much time do you spend each week in an environment where there is only “Zero Trust”?

You see, humans and perhaps your favorite Dog or Cat exist as a result of the quality of relationships and your particular “Spectrum of Trust”.

Can you think of a time or a special incident that has occurred where this was true?

The ability to text out a quick sentence or two, to someone you care about in a “Direct Message” (DM) is sometimes all it takes. To let them know that you were thinking about them.

Thinking back on your life so far, do you think that you could improve on building better more trusted relationships?

How would you change your strategy on the “Spectrum of Trust”?

Wishing you the best on your life journey!

20 March 2021

Mission Leader: Independent Resilience...

What are you and your organization working on today, to become more independent? 

Definition of independent

(1) : not dependent: such as

   a (1) : not subject to control by others

(2) : not affiliated with a larger controlling unit

   b (1) : not requiring or relying on something else : not contingent

The Continuous Continuity of your endeavors may well be determined by how much you rely on others for your own survival.

When you or your organization becomes “Interdependent” on resources, or vital capabilities that ensure your survival, then you are increasing your exposure to becoming even more vulnerable.

“Continuous Continuity” requires a mind set that is Proactive, is full of awareness and is consistently asking “What if”?

As a leader in your small group, in your business unit or in your local County, what are you doing today to become even more resilient?

You see, it is your symbiosis and the “Interdependencies” with others, that may become your ultimate and true vulnerability to Operational Risk.

“Independent Thought Leadership” requires discipline and once you commit yourself, it means that you will now be on your way to a more resilient state of being, growing within your particular ecosystem of choice.

Where are you operating today? What is your role in the “Continuous Continuity” of your Life, your Family, your Business, your Faith and your Country?

Your future depends upon your ability to become more Resilient. How will you accomplish a strategy to assist others around you, so they also will become more independent?

What will you learn today to make you stronger, smarter or more clear in your mind about how to assist others?

How might you apply this new found skill or knowledge to your life, that will ensure your own longevity and your consistent personal satisfaction?

As an independent “Mission Leader” you too will become one additional resilient component in an environment of future risks. Here is what lies ahead of you:

The 16th edition of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report analyses the risks from societal fractures—manifested through persistent and emerging risks to human health, rising unemployment, widening digital divides, youth disillusionment, and geopolitical fragmentation. Businesses risk a disorderly shakeout which can exclude large cohorts of workers and companies from the markets of the future.

A “Mission Leader” then takes this knowledge onward to teach others. They apply what they have learned and accomplished, to share it with people they care about...

13 March 2021

Intellectual Capital Risk: The Shamrock Organization…

What is the economic value of the Intellectual Capital(IC) in your organization? Where can you find your most valuable IC assets? Are they in the vault? Are they in the database?

Or are they sitting at the MacBook Pro at home or in the office next door? How do you know what assets are the most precious to the continuous continuity of your business?

These questions and more are at the heart of every "Shamrock" organization.

 A Three-Leaf concept originally coined by the author Charles Handy in his classic 1990 book, The Age of Unreason:

The Core
One leaf of the shamrock represents the core. These are the founders and thought leaders of the organization along with the most qualified professionals or technicians. The core is a flat hierarchy compensated purely on the results of the entire entity.

The Contractual Fringe
The second leaf is known as the contractual fringe. This is both individuals and organizations who may have their own shamrocks. These are paid for results, not for time. In fees, not wages. This leaf provides the core with intellectual assets that are essential to the organization yet are independent or even former members of the core.

The Flexible Labor Force
The third leaf of the shamrock is known as the flexible labor force. This is the flexible labor force that the core utilizes in a just-in-time talent or labor basis. Their specialized skills are tied to the intellectual assets these individuals possess to be efficient and effective for a set time period. They are treated by the core as a valuable component but realize that they will never have the commitment or the ambition of the core. They get fair pay for their contract labor.

What is Intellectual Capital?

Now with our 2021 U.S. economy changing and adapting for decades from a production-oriented economy towards a significant software driven knowledge-oriented economy, your intangible assets are becoming more and more digital. To make better products, to deliver better services or to perform better, as a company in general we need to accelerate the origination and analysis of new found knowledge and know-how.

In that perspective, we could say that our new real knowledge originates from our minds into some form of data, that has now become the key predecessor of any physical labor and financial capital.

To make your company relevant and even more valuable, you will not only need the digital data, computers, and production facilities, ...... you will also need the innovation drivers that makes your company evolve beyond your own imagination.

These “Core” innovation drivers are your “People” with their know-how and experience, your designers of internal processes to guide the business flow and also the proactive interaction with your Alliances/Partners and your key customers.

Without these “Innovation Drivers”, your company wouldn't function at all and therefore, they are of tremendous "Capital" importance. This is your real "Intellectual Capital".

The volume and speed of new “Intellectual Capital” production in your organization will determine how you will perform in an accelerating global arena of competition.

It is the difference between our success and our failure.

"No matter how good the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or idea may be, without a consistent flow of new found Intellectual Capital, and the development of new tested prototypes, no outstanding and ground breaking results can be expected."
Now the question remains, how will you measure your organizational Intellectual Capital (IC)?

Without a way to measure it, how are you going to know what IC assets need to be managed and protected for the longevity and continuity of the business?

Where are they located? Which are most valuable? Who is the person or who are the people who own it?

People risk is one of the four major categories of Operational Risk Management.  How are you managing, measuring and protecting “Intellectual Capital” in your organization?

07 March 2021

Perseverance: The Journey Ahead of Us…

 

What raised you out of your “Rapid Eye Movement” (REM) sleep, on this particular day? You know, our time asleep when we experience our most vidid and emotional dreams.

Was it the anticipation of getting out the door into a place that is not only quiet, it is just a beautiful place to be. It is silent. It just takes your breath away, when you just admire the moment.

As human beings, not only do we need this time in our lives, it also inspires you to think and to imagine. Where will you journey today in your endeavors to achieve your dreams?

Why do you believe that the latest NASA mission to Mars, has named their Rover “Perseverance”?

“The rover’s mobility system is not the only thing getting a test drive during this period of initial checkouts. On Feb. 26 2021 – Perseverance’s eighth Martian day, or sol, since landing – mission controllers completed a software update, replacing the computer program that helped land Perseverance with one they will rely on to investigate the planet.” —NASA.gov/press-release

What will you do today, to achieve something of real value even despite difficulties, failure or opposition? Will you persevere today to follow your plan and continue your journey, towards that out of reach destination ahead of you?

Yet the real question is, are you capable of going beyond your dreams during REM?

Some people will stop because it is too hard. Others will give up because it takes too long. Many will never realize what our human happiness is really all about.

Yes, it is silent out here today and the air is very cold. The sun is bright against an azure sky. The only noise is the sound of the new fallen snow, beneath our skis. It is almost heaven.

When you are ready to discover real “Perseverance” in your life, consider a P3 Strategy:

> People

> Place(s)

> Program

The longest and most perilous journeys will require People you can really trust and someone you admire for their knowledge and skills that you do not possess yourself.

The Place you decide to operate together may be a workspace, a city, or even another foreign environment, so much different from your own.

The Program you have now embarked on is going to encounter setbacks. It is likely to feel so difficult at times. It will require your own “Perseverance”.

When will you know you have achieved your destination? You will feel it and even see it, the next time you fall into a very deep sleep…

Onward!