It's Beautiful to B'wholed!

Is it possible to implement Anglo-American management models and work practices outside the traditional spheres of influence of the UK and US?

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-11-24T01:53:00Z

Possible? Perhaps, but why would anyone or any company want to adopt outdated 16th and 17th century based mechanistic, linear, command and control management models in a 21st century, complex, chaotic, interconnected, interdependent, self-organizing world?

There were benefits realized from the mechanistic industrial mindset but the realities of our 21st century world require a new way of thinking, seeing and acting. The opportunities and challenges businesses and humanity as a whole face cannot be successfully addressed with mechanistic approaches.

There is a growing awareness of new thinking, new approaches, new management models that are more suited for our times. It is far more advantageous to study and apply new models that recognize, embrace and address the realities faced in today’s world.

Why would anyone desire to apply mangement models that are 400 years old and out-of-date?

Spherical,
Phil

This blog post was originaly part of a response to a quesiton on LinkedIn from Eastern Europe

A multi-dimensional approach to the mortgage crisis

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-11-24T01:42:00Z

One of the greatest challenges and concerns for the mortgage industry in the upcoming year is working with sub-prime borrowers who are or will shortly be in trouble with their mortgage.

There is no silver bullet that will fix this situation. Solutions will require application of Einstein’s admonition to ‘see the world anew’ to deal with this complex, multi-dimensional problem.

Key to success in dealing with at risk mortgages will be to look beyond a simple mathematical income/debt formula to aid these individuals and families, it is imperative to look at the whole person and whole family situation.

Last week I gave the keynote address to the AFCPE (Association of Financial Planners, Counselors and Education) in Tampa where I demonstrated a way to see the whole of the situation. You can download the handout notes at the link below if you would like to learn more.

Spherical,
Phil

The role of management; Intended or Emergent strategy

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-11-24T01:28:00Z

Our vocabulary and conceptualization of business determines the style and approach of an organization – intended or emergent.

The very use of the word management – from Latin for hand – largely precludes an emergent strategy or action. Originally management used their hands to show how to do something and then used their hands to make sure it was done. An approach where one uses ones hands to direct and if needed force a specified action or activity only works in an intended environment.

Solidifying the intended approach is the conceptualization of organizations as machines. Modern organizations are structured largely based on a mechanistic view summarized well by René Descartes, “The whole visible world is as if it were a machine in which there was nothing at all to consider except the figures and motions of its parts.” – Machines (at least those in Descartes time) can be ‘managed.’

Yet 20th century science has shown us that the world, we and our organizations are not mechanistic. We have learned that everything is interconnected, interdependent, chaotic, complex and self-organizing. Hence everything that happens and everything that exists, is in reality emergent.

But, since we have no shared vocabulary that incorporates this reality of interconnected interdependence for an organization, nor do we have a shared conceptualization/ visualization view to replace the machine model – most organizations are “intended” in structure and operations.

Interestingly when an organization recognizes and embraces an emergent approach it finds that there is no distinction between an ‘upkeep phase’ and ‘unexpected change.’ ‘Spherical’ organizations recognize the essentiality of change and as such it is not unexpected but a normal and expected function of daily existence (upkeep).

From the sphere or whole of these organization emerges flexibility, adaptability, responsiveness and responsibility allowing them to function smoothly in all situations.

Spherical,
Phil

To learn more about spherical organization you can check out the link below to my work and book.

Connections Part III – Terrorism, global warming … Ethanol, Iowa and Hillary Clinton

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-11-05T15:50:00Z

This weekend Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton campaigning in Iowa said

"We can be more creative about how to grow the economy in rural areas," said Clinton. "We need a whole strategy on rural economic development."

I applaud Hillary’s desire for a “whole strategy,” as readers of this blog know I am more than a little interested in whole. But Hillary (or her speech writers more accurately) should have read my blog posting about Connections (Part I) before her speech calling for a whole strategy.

The AP article reporting on her speech said she called for increasing the production and use of alternative fuels, and improving rural access to high-speed Internet services.

Clinton noted Iowa's success with creating new jobs at ethanol plants, and the high corn prices sparked by the ethanol boom.

"We can create millions of good jobs if we do this right," said Clinton. "Look at what's happening in rural Iowa. It could happen all over rural America if we do this right."

But how many people will die?

In Connections (Part I) I quoted UN official, Jean Ziegler, who it was reported that very day, called for a five year moratorium on biofuel because current biofuel approaches are driving up food costs, causing food shortages and prices jumps that are a “catastrophe” for the poor of the world.

The article reported that the world price of wheat doubled in one year and the price of corn quadrupled, leaving poor countries, especially in Africa, unable to pay for the imported food needed to feed their people.

What’s good for Iowa may not be good for the world. Creating jobs in Iowa is great, but can’t we do it without starving people in Africa?

For those astute who remember what came next in the Connections Part I, there was another component to the whole of the situation. There was another AP article that day about the growing water shortage. The article stated, “The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.”

It seems the water report did not factor in the massive increase in water consumption from producing ethanol. The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy reported “a 254 percent increase in volume of water used in ethanol production from 1998 through 2008. If changes aren’t made, it is likely ethanol water use will see even more of an increase in the next decade.”

The AP article included this not so insignificant fact though, “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.”

Remember my comment about a Catch 33? Here’s a new version, more high paying jobs in Iowa making ethanol, starve more people and add to the catastrophic growing water shortages.

I like Hillary (though of course I don’t know her personally), she is smart, driven and appears capable. She is absolutely correct that we need a ‘whole strategy.” It’s just that this idea of whole is a bit of a larger challenge than she, or any or of the candidates have a clue. Well perhaps they have a clue but the political process won’t allow them to talk freely, but that is the subject for another time.

Her comments help to illustrate the challenge of being whole. We have to truly see and be whole, we cannot look at a few parts, connect them together and say that is the whole of the situation, its not.

But here’s the payoff, it is only when we truly look at the whole and share the full situation that we can tap into the KEW (knowledge, experience and wisdom) of individuals and humanity as a whole. When we all know what we are truly up against, what the whole situation really is, we can work together and come up with truly “whole” solutions.

Spherical,
Phil

Reengineering engineering

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-11-04T03:51:00Z

Reengineering the corporation failed. Now they are reengineering engineering. Will it succeed?

Reengineering failed largely because it forgot about people.

In 1996, a front-page Wall Street Journal article featured and quoted Michael Hammer, one of the writers of the book on reengineering. "Dr. Hammer points out a flaw: He and the other leaders of the $4.7 billion re-engineering industry forgot about people. 'I wasn't smart enough about that,' he says. 'I was reflecting my engineering background and was insufficiently appreciative of the human dimension. I've learned that's critical.' "

More than a decade later we see engineering schools are finally starting to take this lesson to heart. An AP article today (11.03.07) discusses why liberal arts schools are embracing engineering and engineering students.

The article stated in part:

The trend is driven partly by changes in accreditation standards in recent years that recognized the need for more well-rounded engineers who can better understand the communities in which they work.

The revisions were spurred in part by discussions with companies like Boeing and Texas Instruments, which were seeing engineering job applicants with too much book knowledge and not a lot of practical experience or perspective, said M. Dayne Aldridge, dean of the engineering school at Mercer University in Macon, Ga..

"It's an opportunity to generate some kinds of engineers with a wider viewpoint," said Ted Ducas, a Wellesley professor. "It's critical to have the engineers of the future connected to society. ... The world is not getting less technological."”

Wow, what a concept, look at the whole, see how things connect and it changes everything, particularly when we include people. Someone should write a book about this, or at least a blog.

Spherical,
Phil

It’s transformational to be whole

Liberal arts schools embrace engineering
KATHY MATHESON
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071103/ap_on_re_us/engineering_and_liberal_arts

Connections Part II: Terrorism, global warming … reinforced and more complicated

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-11-01T22:20:00Z

Last week in a post I explored some news articles that illustrated the web of connections between terrorism, global warming, the hungry, the thirsty and the economy. Today the news has shown us the issue is yet more complicated.

In an AP article today (11.01.07) retired Army Gen. John Abizaid, the former commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East, stated the following.

"I'm not saying this is a war for oil, but I am saying that oil fuels an awful lot of geopolitical moves that political powers may have there," Abizaid said. "And it is absolutely essential that we in the United States of America figure out how, in the long run, to lessen our dependency on foreign energy."

The complexity of this was explored in my first post about Connections last week. But unfortunately it gets more complicated.

Gen. Abizaid continued,

"Over time, we will have to shift the burden of the military fight from our forces directly to regional forces, and we will have to play an indirect role, but we shouldn't assume for even a minute that in the next 25 to 50 years the American military might be able to come home, relax and take it easy, because the strategic situation in the region doesn't seem to show that as being possible."

Why not?

The rise of Sunni extremism, burgeoning Shiite extremism, the Arab-Israeli conflict and the world economy's dependency on Mideast oil will keep Americans in the Middle East for a long time, he said.

And what is the US doing to address these issues?

"I would characterize what we're doing now as 80 percent military, 20 percent diplomatic, economic, political, educational, informational, intelligence, etc.," Abizaid said. "You've got to take that equation and change it. Make it 80 percent those other things."

I missed how they are going to address the rising religious extremism that he feels are contributing to the US forces being there another 25 to 50 years. I am afraid the general has failed to look at the whole of the situation and see the connection and impact of belief and more importantly how to deal with fundamentalist and extremist. The US ignored the religious issues going into Iraq and continues to totally misunderstand the issue years and thousands of lives later.

Education and diplomacy will not work. A fundamentalist believes that they have the fundamental 'truth' as they see it and define it. So rarely does a fundamentalist of any stripe see the need to change or want to change or be educated or negotiate - they already have the 'truth.' Indeed for a religious fundamentalist to change is apostasy leading to eternal damnation (or a variation of such as they define it) so change is not even an option.

The most powerful army in the world is not doing too well at forcing the fundamentalist to change. The harder one attempts to force change on fundamentalist the more devoted they, individually and as a society become - committed to not changing, at any costs.

Religious fundamentalist especially see suffering as validation of the rightness and righteousness of their cause. Hence it is almost impossible for externally imposed forces to become a compelling reason for them to want to change, instead it confirms their rightness.

And a critical point seems to be missed. For a fundamentalist who has suffered for their beliefs or has had family members die for their beliefs - to leave their views, to change their beliefs would be to invalidate the value of the suffering and deaths that have happened. The pain of accepting the possibility of being wrong propels many to become even more hardened in their views - they can't be wrong - they could not have suffered for nothing - their family and friends did not die in vain. God, Allah or whoever they serve will reward them.

Is the situation hopeless? No, but there is no easy fast resolution. If a compelling reason manifests itself which is not perceived as act of persecution arises (floods, famine, drought, or even extreme financial hardships etc.) there can come a point where a fundamentalist can be open to dialog. But when this opportunity arises it must be handled with the upmost awareness, sensitivity and care.

In these rare instances common ground must be found and built upon, this can happen only when we truly see the whole of the situation. When we can establish areas of our shared humanity we can start the process of building connections, one connection can lead to another and then another and at times remarkable results are achieved.

Though extremely rare, there is another manner in which an external compelling reason can become a catalyst for the desire to change to emerge from fundamentalist. This is when they can observe, without force, that another approach to life provides real benefits (as they view them) that are dramatically superior to their current belief systems and activities.

I am not too sure that another 25 to 50 years of occupation by a foreign and to them, heathen army will show this.

In Connections (Part 1) last week I connected the dots showing how terrorism, global warming, the hungry, the thirsty and the economy are all connected. Gen. Abizaid experiences lead to his comments which reinforced the vital need to decrease our dependence on oil. He connected some of the local dots recognizing that what was needed is a multi-nodal approach; "diplomatic, economic, political, educational, informational, intelligence, etc."

But I am afraid that there is more yet to the whole of the situation. Until we truly and accurately understand the whole of the beliefs and the factors driving the extremist, the actions taken to solve the problems may indeed make them worse.

Spherical,
Phil

It is transformational to see whole

Connections Part 1 - Terrorism, global warming, the hungry, the thirsty and the economy

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-10-27T02:48:00Z

Everything is connected. This is a reality that humanity was largely able to ignore through the Industrial Age but one that staring us in the face now.

Notice the quandary illustrated in some of this week’s news.

Humanity’s growing dependence on oil has many affects; two notable undesirable ones are its contribution to the geo-political instability in the Middle East along with the related terrorism and secondly the contribution to global warming that comes from burning of fossil fuels.

Decreasing our dependence on oil would in theory decrease the geo-political tensions in the Middle East potentially aiding to reduce terrorism either by increased regional stability or at the least by a decrease in oil revenues that are sometimes used to fund terrorism.

Sounds like a win/win/win, geo-political tensions ease, terrorism is reduced while combating global warming.

Well maybe…

Tremendous amounts of money and research have been expended in recent years to find alternatives to our dependence on oil. One of the up and coming alternatives to oil is biofuel, which in many cases is converting food crops into fuel, biofuel.

Its renewable, a big advantage over oil, touted as being more environmentally friendly, designed to both decrease dependence on oil and decrease green house emissions which contribute to global warming.

Sounds good but an Associated Press article reported today (10.26.07) that a UN official, Jean Ziegler, called for a five year moratorium on biofuel because current biofuel approaches are driving up food costs, causing food shortages and prices jumps that are a “catastrophe” for the poor of the world.

The AP article quoted Ziegler as saying "the effect of transforming hundreds and hundreds of thousands of tons of maize, of wheat, of beans, of palm oil, into agricultural fuel is absolutely catastrophic for the hungry people." The article went on to report that the world price of wheat doubled in one year and the price of corn quadrupled, leaving poor countries, especially in Africa, unable to pay for the imported food needed to feed their people.

Wow, a bit of a catch 22, deal with global warming, starve the people.

But it doesn’t stop there. In an October 2006 article on Water Use on Ethanol Plants (biofuels) by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy it stated “one of the most important emerging concerns is the consumptive use of water … most ethanol plants are being sited in the Corn Belt. Many of these regions are also experiencing significant water supply concerns, particularly in the western portion of the region … shortage of water could be the Achilles heel of corn-based and perhaps cellulose-based ethanol.”

The report determined that there was “a 254 percent increase in volume of water used in ethanol production from 1998 through 2008. If changes aren’t made, it is likely ethanol water use will see even more of an increase in the next decade.”

Well unfortunately today there was another AP article this one about the growing water shortage. The article stated, “The government projects that at least 36 states will face water shortages within five years because of a combination of rising temperatures, drought, population growth, urban sprawl, waste and excess.”

"We've hit a remarkable moment," said Barry Nelson, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The last century was the century of water engineering. The next century is going to have to be the century of water efficiency."

The article continued, “The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a United Nations network of scientists, said this year that by 2050 up to 2 billion people worldwide could be facing major water shortages.”

Is this a Catch 33? Deal with global warming, starve the people and give them no water.

To make biofuels to decrease dependence on oil, improve geo-political relations, potentially reduce terrorism and deal with global warming creates a “catastrophe” in feeding the poor. At the same time this approach increases water usage by 254% when, "The need to reduce water waste and inefficiency is greater now than ever before. Water efficiency is the wave of the future." says Benjamin Grumbles, assistant administrator for water at the Environmental Protection Agency. Two billion lives depend on it.

And for a finishing touch, one of the key components to attempting to deal with these complex, interconnected, interdependent issues is money. Private organizations and governments need funds to find viable approaches and solutions. Yet this week the International Monetary Fund (IMF) painted a grim picture for the global economy.

The outgoing president of the IMF likened the recent events in the world economy to an earthquake, "Like most earthquakes, it has been something distant for most people, something they read about in the newspapers. But there is still a risk of aftershocks, and the full effects of the disruption we have already had will only be felt over time."

What earthquake?

Subprime house loan problems in the U.S. are having a global impact.

Our collective attention should be directed towards dealing with geo-political issues, decreasing our dependence on oil, dealing with global warming, providing affordable food for the poor and assuring adequate supplies of water for humanity. Yet we find the global economy which can provide funds for these activities tenuous and distracted because some unscrupulous companies in the United States sold loans to people who were not qualified, just so they could make a profit.

The challenges we face in the 21st century are not our old fashion cause and effect issues. These are examples of the realities in our interconnected interdependent world. Old mechanistic linear approaches of dealing with one problem at a time will not work. It is only by seeing the interconnected whole of what is happening, how all the elements come together impacting one another and shaping the whole situation that we will be able to devise new approaches that can really work.

Can we, can humanity rise to the challenge?

Going to the moon was considered impossible by many people and yet within less than a decade from deciding to do it men were walking on the moon.

Twenty-five years ago the concept of a handheld personal communication device was literally the stuff of Star Trek. Today we carry cell phones, but going beyond Star Trek we have wireless ear pieces to talk on, we can listen to our entire library of music, even add to it at will, the same device is also our personal camera and it has a built in GPS to tell us where we are (ten years ago how many of us even knew what GPS was?).

This article was distributed on the Web, a concept that one man, Tim Berners Lee came up with, designed and built the first generation, fundamentally altering our world in less than 15 years on a scale and with an impact beyond our ability to quantify or comprehend.

Clearly humanity can rise to the challenge. History is full of examples of extraordinary feats and accomplishments humanity has made when faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. But first we must see the whole of the situation; we must recognize and respond understanding that everything is connected.

Spherical,
Phil

The future of print media for newspapers.

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-10-16T01:27:00Z

I love newspapers and for three decades read 3 or 4 a day. Magazines? At my peak I received and read 70 magazines month. Today I receive no print newspapers and subscribe to no print magazines. And the ultimate irony in this is that my wife is an award winning journalist who has written more than 2,500 articles for print media.

As one might deduce I love reading. In my library I have a special reading chair to sit in and read newspapers, magazines and books. To close the door and close out the world, to sit and hold in my hands news of the world or magazines that challenge, engaged and expand my thinking is a source of great joy. But my reading chair is not used much anymore.

Recently I bought a wonderful new adjustable comfortable executive chair that I sit in at my desk where I spend hours each day on the web, much of it reading, researching and exploring.

There is no single reason for this change, though it would not have happened if it were not for the Web. The change in my news gathering and reading habits is a combination of many factors; some of the key ones are below.

Timeliness – there is nothing in a print newspaper that is ‘breaking’ news, or even new, it is old. All national and international news in the printed papers I have already seen, sometimes on the newspaper’s own web site. Timeliness also means I don’t have to wait to learn the news until my paper delivery person happens to get around to delivering my paper.

Relevance – I find and read only what I am interested in without thumbing through pages of irrelevant articles.

Time – I read much more of what I want and which engages me, in less time online

Scope – When I find a fascinating thought in an article on the web I can instantly link to or search for more information on the subject, without moving from my new desk chair.

Surprise – Linking to related information provides fascinating new insights and surprising views and information that I would not find or read about in print media.

Veracity – There are times an article is a great story, almost too good to be true. Is the reporter or editor slanting the piece one way or the other? Online I instantly check out the author of the piece, read some of their other work to see their approach, style any potential slants, biases or hype factor, the same with the publication and the subject and/or subject matter.

Recall – while reading is fun, exciting and of great personal enjoyment to me, no one pays me to read. My work is taking what I find and putting it together with other information, putting it in context, showing previously unseen connections and explaining its import. Anything I read online can instantly be saved, with my highlights and annotations, to my database with a click of my wireless, ergonomic mouse (no more clip files or scanning or…).

Classifieds? - Craigslist?

Environment – to disseminate information on the web comes at no additional environmental impact. In an age of increasing awareness of global warming this is in stark contrast to the net impact of harvesting trees, processing them to paper, printing with ink, and all the related transportation and delivery energy impacts. And then there is the recycling, not especially convenient up here in the Rocky Mountains.

Costs – It costs money to print and distribute hardcopy that online doesn’t. At the beginning of the year when the Post asked me for $52 to renew my subscription (a really great value), it was with great sadness that I passed – allowing my subscription to lapse.

There are times when I will still buy a magazine and sit in my overstuffed chair in my library and read it. I do this to change state. The few I buy are about in-depth topics or issues that I want to ponder, to experience, even though they are available online. Occasionally I still buy a Sunday edition of a big daily in our area to enjoy the arts/entertainment section, the book section or editorial/opinion page. I do like in-depth narratives of local people and activities that have great photography and layout.

As I read what I have just written I find it disturbing and exciting. There is the personal quandary – it affects the future of my wife’s career – but the changes are creating opportunities that were unimaginable just a few years ago. It is a shift that is not being driven by any particular organization, corporation, political party or country. The shift is being driven by you and me, average people, who realize greater benefits in this new way of information gathering and dissemination over the old.

To envision the future of print media we must look beyond the obvious to see how the recent advancements impact more than reporting, news, distribution and advertising. These come together to reshape what we consider information, media, knowledge, and more importantly our individual lives, communities and our world.

Spherical,
Phil

The role of the Web in understanding life in the 21st century

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-10-08T13:04:00Z

Part of a web dialog

The impact of the Internet and the Web go far beyond a business tool, a communications tool or a research resource. They have helped humanity to start to understand the scientific discoveries of the 20th century – even though most of us don’t realize it.

It is only when we comprehend and apply new insights that humanity can grow and reach its potential. It was the application of scientific discoveries of the Renaissance that set the stage for the Industrial Age and led to the remarkable achievements of the 20th century.

The web helps us understand how everything can be interconnected, as a quantum understanding of the world has shown. Hence we can better appreciate our role in life and how our decisions and actions impact others and the world - modifying our actions as appropriate.

We experience the Web’s and life’s apparent chaos and how in its complexity it self-organizes. A person asks a question on the Web, people respond, a blogger runs with it, groups form, things change.

We experience and see the difference between power and influence. The web is not controlled by anyone, has no real power (it does not control armies) but has extraordinary influence that can and has changed the world.

By its very existence and nature it demonstrate both the need for an and the application of being flexible, adaptable, and response – vital qualities for success in the 21st century.

“It is a technological expression of the human need for relationship. It represents, figuratively and literally, all of us arrayed in a dynamic, interconnected, self-organizing network that pulses with intellectual, emotional and financial energy. The Web reveals, in awkward technological terms, our own nature and the nature of our world..”

A quote from my book “Being Spherical – Reshaping Our Lives and Our World for the 21st Century” page 85

Spherical,
Phil

The link is to my book

http://www.b-wholed.com/beingspherical.htm

The Integrity of Whole

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-10-05T17:25:00Z

Integrity is wholeness, complete with nothing wanting. If a person or organization does not have and act with integrity they are not whole, not complete. What is amazing is that so many organizations and individuals don’t understand what this means.

The impact of this can be seen in a simple example of a car. There is little value in having parts of a car, even many parts of a car; the true value of a car is in the whole car when all the parts are fully integrated and it is whole.

The collection of car parts can do nothing until connected, but when connected they become something far greater than just the sum of the parts, they become something new, a form of automated locomotion. The car now is transportation which can be used to help us get to work, it can be used to generate income, transport a sick person to a hospital etc.

But beyond the functional aspects a whole car it also can provide a means of recreation, become a source of pride, enjoyment, even status.

Likewise a company or person without integrity is simply a collection of parts with no idea of the wonders they will experience if they integrate, become whole and manifest integrity.

Spherical,
Phil

The blog post was written in reponse to a question posted on LinkedIn

The most significant threat to modern civilization?

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-10-05T02:55:00Z

Our worldview (or for some their mindset) is the most significant threat to our future.

If we continue to think and see the world in a mechanistic, linear, cause and effect view then regardless of the scientific/technological advances, regardless of the growing awareness of environment/social issues humanity will be unable to respond properly.

Our greatest challenge was stated by Einstein decades ago, we must see the world anew.

During the 20th century science told us everything is interconnected and influences everything. Technologists have created technology that allows us to connect. But business, social and political leaders still attempt to use hierarchal partmentalized command and control management approaches.

The reality we experience in the 21st century is a world that is complex, chaotic, self-organizing, intimately interconnected and interdependent. The future depends on humanity coming to a new vision of business, life and the world, seeing how everything is interconnected and interrelated – then developing new concepts and approaches that embrace this reality.

Much work is being done in these areas but it is not given much attention, especially by business leaders. If this trend of denial or at the least ignoring the new reality in which we work and reside continues it will be the most disruptive factor in the future.

These issues are key themes in my book Being Spherical - Reshaping Our Lives and Our World for the 21st Century and is the primary focus of my work in my company, B-wholed!

Spherical,
Phil

The first link below takes you to a page on my website that provides some details about my book.

The second link takes you to a page on my company site that shows my whole evaluation system that visualizes the interconnected whole of people and organizations.

Links:

This blog post was an answer to a question posted on LinkedIn.

What value would you put on an integrated model of all the various views of your organisation?

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-09-27T15:08:00Z

How an organization is seen shapes perspectives, decisions and actions. A shared universal view of the integrated whole of an organization provides a clarity in understanding how all departments and actions impact each other and the whole of the organization.

Having a shared view of the organization as an integrated whole dramatically improves every aspect of the company; communication, strategy, employee satisfaction, quality of products/services, new product development, client relations, profitability, investor relations etc.

The major impediment for executives and staff to seeing their organization as a fully integrated whole is their training. For the past 300+ years all organizational and management theories have been based on a mechanistic world view which makes it virtually impossible to conceptualize how parts or an organization not directly connected to each other can impact each other.

Business has no concept of a whole organization, no vocabulary to discuss how whole functions or the benefits of being whole and no shared universal visualization that accurately shows, in a simple easily understood manner, what a fully integrated whole organization looks like.

These realities were major factors that drove me to write my book, Being Spherical – Reshaping Our Live and Our World for the 21st Century. The book provides a way to conceptualize our lives and organizations as an integrated whole as well as an adaptive vocabulary so we can talk to one another about our lives and organizations as whole.

Going beyond a simple concept of whole I have developed a patent pending customizable computer evaluation and modeling program that shows the whole of an organization, all departments and aspects from employees to customers to investors.

The links below are to my book and some examples of how I have modeled the whole of large and small companies and even a large metropolitan city in the United States.

When we see the whole of an organization it transforms every aspect and activity. My work is Revealing the Secrets of Whole.

Spherical,
Phil

Links:

This blog post was originally written as an answer to a question on LinkedIn.

What matters most, Actions, Words, Facial Expressions, Thoughts

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-09-15T07:00:00Z

This blog entry was in response to a question on LinkedIn.

A person can only be true to themselves and be accurately known when all four of these are fully integrated and they are acting as a whole person.

To attempt to evaluate or judge a person solely on any one of these alone will not tell us who a person really is or how they will act.

To fragment ourselves and focus on developing any one of these to attempt to be what the ‘world wants’ will lead to ultimately lead to disaster.

We must be true to ourselves, we must have integrity in one’s self - we must be whole.

When whole we become something far greater than the sum of our parts.

Spherical,
Phil

Integrity is multi-dimensional

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-09-14T07:00:00Z

To manifest integrity we must first recognize that integrity is a multi-dimensional quality. Personal integrity - being true to our self, our purpose, our role in life - cannot be realized in isolation,

We are not an island existing apart from the rest of humanity but we are intimately connected to others, everything we think, say and do impacts others. Hence we cannot truly have personal integrity without contributing to the integrity of others.

Our personal integrity contributes to the integrity of our families. The integrity of our families contributes to the integrity of our communities. The integrity of our communities contributes to the integrity of humanity.

It is only when we recognize and embrace the interconnected interdependent whole of life, fulfilling our role in the whole, contributing to the integrity of humanity that we can fully experience personal integrity.

Spherical,
Phil

What are the benefits of being able to shift paradigms for an Executive?

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-09-02T07:00:00Z

This entry was in response to a question on LinkedIn on Change Management
This was selected as Best Answer

The most dangerous thing a company can have is an executive that cannot change their paradigms.

We have gotten so used to change that it is easy to forget that 12 years ago the business world was just being introduced to the World Wide Web. The personal computer was introduced to business just over 20 years ago.

Today we take for granted the radical changes these brought with them; spreadsheets (the first killer ap) personal accounting and tax programs, PowerPoint presentations, multi-media, e-learning, webex, email, wifi, e-bay, mapquest, i-tunes, google, amazon, youtube, myspace, linkedin … and the list of disruptive advances in a very short period of time is extensive.

These are just a few examples that show the core qualities of successful executives is to be aware of what is happening, creative in their thinking and approaches, flexible adaptable, responsive and responsible.

Changing one’s mind or paradigm is not easy. The challenge executive’s (and all of us) face is first understanding where their paradigm (mindset) came from, why it is out of date (usually even harmful) and most importantly what to replace their current mindset with.

This was a primary driving force in the writing of my book Being Spherical – Reshaping Our Lives and Our World for the 21st Century (see the link below). On the back cover it states that the book “explains why, in this dawning era of interconnection and interdependency, we require a dramatic transformation in the way we see, think and act.”

Spherical,
Phil

Organizational Integrity

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-08-08T21:29:00Z

Integrity is a result of an organization’s wholeness. Integrity comes from within; it is not something learned at a seminar or imposed on an organization with a new set of rules.

An organization is whole when the needs, attitudes, expectations and responsibilities of all parties; customers, suppliers, partners, employees, investors, the community, and the environment are integrated through a set of clearly defined and shared values.

An integrity based approach requires clear values and an internal structure that allows the organization to put values first – not in place of profits but along with profits. To manifest integrity the staff must have the training, support, awareness, flexibility, adaptability, responsiveness and responsibility to act with integrity.

Cost of not including integrity? It is true that there are companies that do not manifest much integrity, but this comes at great physical, mental, emotional and spiritual costs to the staff, management, customers, investors, their families, and their communities.

Does integrity increase results? Integrity leads to sustainability. Not just the sustainability of the organization, but the sustainability, happiness and well being of its staff, sustainability of quality products and services, sustainability of innovation, sustainability of satisfied clients, and ultimately the sustainability of the planet.

The value of integrity to an organization cannot be overemphasized; the challenge is that integrity comes from wholeness and for the most part companies and their managers have little concept of what it means to be whole, what constitutes whole, what whole looks like, how it acts or the benefits of being whole.

Spherical,
Phil

Links:

http://www.phillawson.com/beingspherical.htm

5, 10 or 20 years into the future and then look back to today, what do you think or hope will have been the most disruptive or influential factors and why?

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-08-02T20:18:00Z

Our worldview (or for some their mindset) is the most influential factor in the future.

If we continue to think and see the world in a mechanistic, linear, cause and effect view then regardless of the scientific/technological advances, regardless of the growing awareness of environment/social issues humanity will be unable to respond properly.

Our greatest challenge was stated by Einstein decades ago, we must see the world anew.

During the 20th century science told us everything is interconnected and influences everything. Technologists have created technology that allows us to connect. But business, social and political leaders still attempt to use hierarchal partmentalized command and control management approaches.

The reality we experience in the 21st century is a world that is complex, chaotic, self-organizing, intimately interconnected and interdependent. The future depends on humanity coming to a new vision of business, life and the world, seeing how everything is interconnected and interrelated – then developing new concepts and approaches that embrace this reality.

Much work is being done in these areas but it is not given much attention, especially by business leaders. If this trend of denial or at the least ignoring the new reality in which we work and reside continues it will be the most disruptive factor in the future.

Spherical,
Phil

This blog entry was written as an answer to a question on LinkedIn.

Visionaries: How much does implementation count?

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-07-29T22:11:00Z

There was and remains significant confusion about what is a visionary when compared to a leader, innovator, motivator, idea generator etc. This confusion seems to continue as the dialog now is about people who may be catalyst, seers, or analyst and label them as visionaries.

A visionary is one who has an original idea-a vision-and has the integrity to stay with that idea, either going it alone or attracting others to them and their work to see it take hold – though they may not live long enough to see full implementation or acceptance of their vision (this was the case with Rachel Carson and her book Silent Spring as she died of cancer not long after its publication but she had already attracted others to carry on her vision).

While many label both Gates and Jobs visionary because of their work the personal computer, the personal computer was not their idea, not their vision. Though both clearly embraced, enhanced and shaped the final version.

Gates bought DOS (renaming it MS-DOS) and built his company on his sales and business savvy. Read his biographies and he talks about a computer on every desk, of course with Microsoft software, but it was more a business plan than a real vision for what it could do for humanity.

The ideas for an easy to use computer with a GUI and a mouse, the key components of the Macintosh came from PARC, they were not Jobs ideas though he commercialized them (some would make a case for Jobs as a visionary with I-Tunes, I-Pod and I-Phone, others would argue this is simply innovation, though clearly brilliant innovation).

But take a look at Muhammad Yunis and microcredit. Read the account of the moment the idea came to him and effort he expended to make it a reality and the countless millions of people it has empowered. He fundamentally altered the world’s understanding of poor people, their desire to work and better themselves and their credit worthiness.

Read Tim Berners-Lee’s account of the simple idea he had to share information in and with other people’s computers that led to his building the World Wide Web. He stayed with his idea, his vision even after he recognize that if he tried to patent his idea, had he charged people to use his invention of the WWW it would have died instantly (others have made billions from the web but not Berners-Lee).

Both of these men had unique visions and the integrity to stay true to their visions, visions that truly changed the world, doing so at great personal costs.

Yunis and Berners-Lee are visionaries, they each had an original idea—a vision—and the integrity to stay with it bringing it to the world.

How would you define a visionary?

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-07-28T20:09:00Z

Visionaries not only see the world differently but they have the integrity to stay true to their vision, paying the price (in many cases it is severe) to take their vision of the world and stay true to it.

A visionary is a work of art, an extremely rare and unique work of art. There seems to be much confusion and blurring of leader, strategist, innovator, futurist, thinker, idea generator, clairvoyant, motivator, communicator, analyst, even manager with visionary.

A visionary may have some or in very rare instances many of the characteristics in foregoing list. But a visionary is something far greater than the simple enhancement or integration of these characteristics.

Mohammed Yunis of Grameen Bank with microloans (2006 Nobel Peace Prize) and Bill Drayton of the Ashoka Foundation with social entrepreneurship, Tim Berners- Lee with the world wide web, Buckminster Fuller, Martin Luther King, Bobby Kennedy, Mother Theresa, Gandhi. There are others but the list is not infinite.

Each and every one of these people is a truly unique and rare work of art – visionaries.

Spherical,
Phil

This blog entry was written as an answer to a question on LinkedIn.

Connections make whole

Phil@PhilLawson.com (Spherical Phil) — 2007-07-20T20:48:00Z

In seminars I use a child’s toy, a Hoberman Sphere that you can buy online, to demonstrate how it is through the interconnection of the parts of our lives (and organizations) that we realize wholeness. The toy is a collapsing and expanding plastic wire-frame made up of a many nodes connected together to make a sphere (or whole), as a node moves it changes the shape of the entire sphere.

The nodes of our life are the tangible/intangible, internal/external, objective/subject elements that constitute our whole – us. From our whole (our sphere) emerges our attitudes, beliefs, traits, and characteristics that refine our shape of who we are. These emergents are a direct result of the connectedness (interaction) of the nodes (internal and external) that constitute our life. We lose our job, an external node, at it can change our life, at least temporarily, we get a disease, an internal node, it changes our life.

Change happens as a result of connections - internal, external, tangible or intangible connections.

Spherical,
Phil