The Seven Relationships of an Integral Business

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

With the complexity of our world today and the volatility of our current market, it’s now more important than ever for consultants and businesses to have a big picture perspective. The 7 relationships of an integral business provides this perspective.

In the blog post It’s Time for the Bottom Line to Get Bigger I discussed the five major bottom line values of an integral business. This is a transcend-and-include hierarchical model from profits-only, to people-planet-profits, to profits-people-planet-principles-progress. This hierarchical line of development for business once realized creates sustainability, long-term success, and greater impact. This, though, is one measure of an integral business. To have a fuller picture, we must consider the Seven Relationships of an integral business.

The penta bottom line is a path of evolutionary growth that looks something like this:


With this view of evolutionary growth, an integral perspective allows for a whole picture recognizing that reality, life, business and all human disciplines exist in several distinct perspectives. If these perspectives are reduced key elements of consideration are lost. The crux of integral theory is the four quadrants, which represent the perspective of the individual interior (subjectivity, thoughts, feelings, worldview, development), individual exterior (actions, objectivity, objects), the collective interior (intersubjectivity, culture, shared value), and the collective exterior (systems, society). Coupled with the evolutionary line of business value, from a singular bottom line to a penta bottom line, we begin to get a more clear picture of what makes a sustainable, profitable and impacting business with great meaning and value.

The last key consideration in an integral perspective is time: past and future. I like to view all of these pieces as relationships. When I analyze a business or an individual, I look at their relationship with each of these elements noting their degree of awareness and action creating a healthy or unhealthy relationship.

In a business system, these seven relationships each hold and create value and profit. Instead of a hammer seeking a nail, we need a big toolbox to build a profitable and sustainable business.


Quadrants:

Individual interior: Development, Worldview, Awareness

Individual exterior: Actions, Roles, Assessment, Customers

Collective interior: Culture

Collective exterior: Systems, Organization Structure, Market

Time:

Past: Data Analysis, Retrospectives

Future: Strategy, Projections

Development:

Value consideration: The Penta Bottom Line


Individual Interior:

This considers individual motivation, perspective, development, and worldview, all which create an individual’s actions making effective and efficient employees, skillful managers, and game-change leaders. Most coaching and development processes focus on individual interior development to improve exterior action and interaction.

Individual Exterior:

The individual exterior perspective views the actions and objective measures of individuals as they engage in their specific role in business. This also considers all of the individual roles (and the people in these roles) that make up a business, and their impact of the business as a whole. The individual exterior also considers a business’ customers.

Collective Interior:

This considers the collective culture created and sustained by each individual of the organization, and is typically steeped from the top down. Though, new and emergent organization models like Holacracy http://www.holacracy.org/ (Collective Exterior) are changing this.

Collective Exterior:

The collective exterior is the key perspective of organization structure, the work environment, and interacting systems (finance, human resources, teams, IT, etc.). This also considers the greater regional, national and world market (depending on the reach of the organization).

Past:

Resting on analysis the perspective of the past includes data analysis (sales, performance, budget, etc.), and specific industry history, and business history as a whole.

Future:

Strategy and projections light the way into the unknown, taking valuable information from the past.

Value Consideration:

A huge leap from traditional business’ singular value consideration of profit-only, the penta bottom line creates a bigger and necessary consideration of value.


A complex world requires complex perspectives. Take time to consider each of these relationships in your life and business. Which are healthy? Which are unhealthy? Have any been reduced or unconsidered? Opening up to a larger bigger and adding more tools to your tool box will build a more profitable and more sustainable business.

Dissonance and Innovation: The Careful Art of Disagreement

Monday, December 28, 2009
There is a lot of focus in businesses and organizations on creating and maintaining “healthy” teams. Healthy in this sense generally means the team efficiently completes its tasks and meets or exceeds its’ goals while everyone gets along. Individuals that challenge the process, question assumptions, or disagree with popular ideas are generally thought of as problems that need solving.

As a consultant working from the outside of organizations I have the pleasure of viewing things from a larger picture, a less entangled place. I’m not in the system so I can see the value of those challenging the system (which is my job as a consultant).

Typically when I work on organization development projects teasing out deep vision, building strategy from the wisdom of the masses, while developing teams and leaders, I often work to support the wisdom of descent. In my and many others experience, indeed overarching in development theory and practice, the wisdom, innovation, and refinement (ultimately: greater success) that dissonance brings is invaluable.

Considering this, it’s interesting that while running a project this fall I became very frustrated with a member on my team for ironically doing what I typically support and praise: questions and challenge. As the project continued and I continued working with this person I noticed a myriad of feelings and thoughts towards team dissonance and challenge.

Sometimes I appreciated it greatly, for his insights we helpful in refining the process and practice we were building. Other times, when his ideas didn’t seem to add value, I successfully (and sometimes unsuccessfully) redirected the disagreement with ease, gained consensus and moved forward. Other times I felt completely frustrated with the disagreement and wanted to say what I never thought I would as a manager, “because I said so and I’m in charge.”

Through the experience I thought a lot about my assumptions around dissonance, disagreement, challenge, and the skillful act of “perturbing the system,” as we say in the development world. It is true that disagreement is essential to any healthy system or relationship (note Lincoln’s Team of Rivals); however, all challenge and no agreement causes the system to fall apart and the process breaks down.

Dissonance, disagreement and challenge, in an organizational context requires great skill and awareness. If the individual is unconscious of the impact and is unskillful in their action, things fall apart fast. Considering my experience on this project, the amount of times this individual’s disagreements caused refinement compared to the times when his disagreements caused breakdown were unbalanced and frustrating for me and the rest of the team – the conversation most often ended in standstill.

A few essential things are necessary for healthy, strategic dissent: a well developed, emotionally aware leader that appreciates the fruit of challenge, a well developed team steeped in refined communication practice, and a well developed dissenter. It takes great awareness in the leader, team, and dissenter to know when the balance between dissonance and resonance tips too far towards dissonance.

As much as I appreciated the refinement that the dissenter in my team created, and the personal challenge and learning of managing this person, I ultimately choose not to bring him on forward on another phase of the project – it was simply too much challenge: dissonance to breakdown.

Each moment is different, each team is different, and each leader and manager is different. It takes great skill and awareness to know where the line rests and moves beyond dissonance towards breakdown and momentary failure. The line between essential challenge leading to innovation and breakdown is very thin.

An essential practice for every team and leader is to engage in challenging conversations and practice skillful moments of dissent. One simple question I like to ask after proposing a new practice or idea to a team I am managing is “who disagrees and what can we do better here?” Practices like these and many others opens the system allowing the disagreement to become a conscious and valued part of the conversation ensuring greater innovation and success for everyone.

Telecourse: Becoming Change - January 20th

Monday, December 28, 2009

Ever feel like you can do better? Do you find yourself in the same action and thinking patterns? Are you on the edge of change and growth but unable to move forward? Do you feel you're being pulled towards something new but are unsure what's next? Are you ready to again step forward into a more conscious, effective, and actionable life?

The world needs your service, vision and hope, and you need the capacities and awareness to offer.

If you have recently found yourself:

• inspired to create change and support others,
• moving through job and career transition and want a new direction,
• seeing a new potential but are unsure how to create it,
• tired of helplessness and are looking for a new empowered conversation,
• interested in shifting the way you feel about our current culture and economy,
• seeking new solutions with hope and vision,

Then Becoming Change - Awareness and Capacities for our Changing World was created for you!

Becoming Change is a course designed to empower effective transition. Through a month and a half, 6 conference calls, and 2 coaching sessions you will be guided through a process of transformation. Stepping into new perspectives, strategies, and a community of support you will create the life that you desire and the world needs.

Through your participation in this course you will get:

• tools to alleviate stress, fear, confusion, and anxiety.
• practices to create a clear picture and open to a broad view.
• empowering experiences of vision and purpose.
• methods to stop knee-jerk reactions and make powerful choices.
• practical processes and support for creating and implementing strategy.
• a community of support and guided, hands-on help.

Join us for a complimentary introductory session on January 20th at 5:00 PM PT (8:00 PM ET). Start your journey of transition, vision, and purpose, and experience an interactive conversation with Kris. You will be given practical tools, a course experience, followed by a question and answer session.

To register please email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com

Course Outline:

January 20th, Week One: Complimentary Introduction

January 21st - 26th: Orientation and Intention Coaching Session with Kris

January 27th, Week Two: Becoming Change

February 3rd, Week Three: Transition

February 10th, Week Four: Vision

February 17th, Week Five: Strategy

February 24th, Week Six: Being the Change

February 25th+ Continued Support Coaching Session with Kris


Detailed Information:

Investment: $295 (credit cards accepted)

To register now contact Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com or call 310.779.8587

Telecourse: Integral Strategic Planning - January 13

Monday, December 28, 2009

Integral Strategic Planning is essential for both individuals and leaders that are committed to achieving their very best and the best in their respective organizations in 2010.

Integral Strategic Planning is an integrated process of creating dynamic change and reaching defined goals for both individuals and organizations. This process considers the goals and intentions of the future and establishes a clear, measured and simple path towards achievement, with considered regard for the complexities of our world today.

In this 75-minute course, you will:

• Learn to perceive the present from the future
• Gain tools for perceiving the future from the present
• Discover how to listen to what the future wants
• Create strategic stepping stones that incorporate the complexities of our current time
• Refine your capacity to anticipate resistance and challenge, and plan to avoid these challenges

To register please email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com

Integral Leadership Review Article: It's Time for the Bottom Line to Get Bigger

Monday, November 30, 2009
Check out my latest article in the Integral Leadership Review:

As I’ve discussed recently in my blog Integral Business, the future of sustainable, profitable and socially responsible companies rest well beyond what is now commonly referred to as “triple bottom line” organizations. Indeed an evolutionary step, achieving a triple bottom line status is a great challenge that inspires great merit—it’s a huge accomplishment. And, we need more.

There is a lot of talk in the business world, especially the post-modern business world of value and vision, about the triple bottom line: profit, people and planet, which I think is a great start towards building businesses that are sustainable in the long-term and meaningfully impacting in the short term.

For more...

Mapping the World and the Future

Friday, October 02, 2009

The Inside and Outside (Integral Business III)

Friday, October 02, 2009
Most organizations these days focus the direction of attention and the measurement of value in one direction: outward towards creating profit for shareholders. Profit is good and creating revenue for people that invest in the company is good. However, a much more careful, considerate direction (multidirection) of attention is required for a busy to be an integral organization, and in my opinion adaptable and thus sustainable in the long term. Equal attention to the inside and outside of the organization is essential.

When I talk about the inside of an organization I am talking about:

• Culture
• Organization Norms and Practices
• Management and Leadership
• Process
• Organization Structure
• Strategic Organization Development
• Development of Individuals
• Lines of Communication
• Cultural Brand, Vision, Mission, & Values (the soul of an organization)
  

When I talk about the outside of an organization I am talking about:

• The Product(s) or Service(s)
• Customers (and everything that is necessary to reach them)
  
• Stakeholders
• Shareholders
• Revenue & Profit
• Competition

Most organizations in my experience focus solely on the outside. The rare case of introspection arises when something on the outside is being challenged by something on the inside or when something on the outside is not going well.

An integral business needs to have a multi-attentive-awareness focusing equally on the inside and the outside for the sake of both equally. The inside and outside are symbiotic - they can't really get along well without the other. Sadly, attention is oriented to the outside while the inside is left to sweep the basement. In rich and abundant markets, this is generally okay. Enough capital is pumping through the organization to keep things alive and in many circumstances successful. But when things don't go well, when markets crash, if the interior isn't healthy the pressure and weight of the outside collapses the inside.

The transition to an equal view is not hard. It starts with a few simple questions: do we pay as much attention to the interior of our company as the exterior? Do we have the same rigorous measurements, considerations, and watchers aimed towards the inside as much as the outside? Is there a strategic plan of interior development? Is value and success measured equally by the amount of market share and profit as the flow of communication, quality of leadership and the feel of the culture?

Creating balanced attention is an essential step for creating an integral business, and it starts where it ends: by turning inside.

There Is No Time Like Now

Wednesday, July 29, 2009
"This is a moment in history when the average person has more power than any other time." - Katherine Fulton

We are all rooted in striking and potent processes of social and personal change. Change is happening and change is needed. Freedom is being conscious and empowered in your own process and our shared experience of change. How free are you?

In this video Katherine Fulton looks at five philanthropic innovations and explores the assumptions these innovations challenged. We all walk around with assumptions about ourselves, others, and the world. These assumptions are generally unconscious and tend to go unchallenged. These assumptions guide our lives and inhibit empowered change and growth.




While looking at this video, consider the assumptions you have about yourself keeping you from doing what life is asking from you. What holds you back? Why? Are you sure it's absolutely true? What would you do if it wasn't?

Now Is The Time To Start A New Business

Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Some of our biggest companies today began as a start-up during a recession. There truly is no better time to birth a vision and create a new business.

A recession is one of the best markets to start a new business. A recent study conducted by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation found that more than half, or 51%, of the companies on the Fortune 500 list this year began during a recession or bear market or both. Proctor & Gamble, IBM and GE are just a few of these companies.

With lower start-up costs, a lack of interest in investing in traditional markets, the liquidation of equipment and talent, and a radio active pop corn burst of ideas, visions and intentions explode during a recession. Gaps in services and products become apparent, and the intuitive, willful, and visionary step into these gaps sometimes changing the market and world forever.

There truly is no better time to birth a vision and create a new business.

Krama Consulting is in the business of business and in the business of change. We instigate greater success in businesses and organizations through creating intelligent strategy and communication, while developing business' greatest asset: people. A few of our services are essential for every business start-up:

• Vision & Mission: Your vision is your inspiration, guiding light, and one of your biggest tools in inspiring your employees and customers. Your mission is the way you go about realizing your vision. Sadly most have a vague idea about what they're going for, but few have sat down with the guiding help of another to really become clear and refine their offering to the world. This is essential for every decision you make and directs each turn on your path. We at Krama Consulting offer a very refined and tested process for creating and defining your vision. One recent client said, "Everything in my business is now based on the vision work we did. This is the most important thing I have done for my business ever."

• Business & Strategic Planning:Vision and mission work always leads to business and strategic planning - it becomes the practical vehicle for which you strive towards your vision through your mission. If you already have done serious work around developing your idea and vision, business and strategic planning are the next essential steps.

• Branding, Marketing Plan & Social Media: Your brand is the face of your presence and vision in the world. And your marketing plan is figuratively your brands social calendar - it is the medium through which you share your vision, product and value. Social media is an extension of your marketing plan and customer service, and is a low cost practice for reaching your customers. Establishing a brand that reflects your vision and values and a marketing plan the reaches the people that care is one of the most important things you can do for your business.

• Coaching for New Business Leaders: Running a business is hard. Leading a team is hard. It is essential to have someone that you trust in your corner to listen and advise. We offer both short term and long term coaching paths helping you deal with the business, leadership and relational elements of your business.

Rates for these services depend on the size of your business and the scope and range of the project. Please feel free to call 310.779.8587 or email kris@kramaconsulting.com for a complimentary evaluation and quote.


Krama Consulting is in the business of business and in the business of change. We instigate greater success in businesses and organizations through creating intelligent strategy and communication, while developing business' greatest asset: people.

Our work in the world is to support your work in the world - whether professional or visionary. We want to change the world through making your work, passion projects, and world change initiatives successful, while believing that world change should be a highly profitable endeavor.

You Will

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
In 1993 AT&T released a massive ad campaign called “You will.” How many of them came true? EZ-Pass, books online, video conferencing, and voice recognition technology. How many of them didn’t? Faxing from the beach (touch technology did though), or public phones with Skype built in - who uses a public phone now? I don't even know how they work anymore.

The great thing about this ad campaign is that I take most of these technologies for granted now. They're a part of my every day life. However, not to long ago, they were simply dreams in people's minds and hearts - dreams that were birthed through vision, strategy, and process.

Krama Consulting and Development is about a lot of things (I'm ambitious). But it's mainly about one thing - assisting people in realizing their dreams through vision, strategy and process.

As you watch this video with these commercials, think about your dreams and how they might come.

Best wishes and happy dreaming:

Leading From the Heart II: The Nature of Being

Friday, July 10, 2009
As leaders, coaches, and change agents each of us have so much to give and offer. It seems from the desire to give, the fear of not knowing, and the push for a result we can so easily loose ourselves in the process. I’ve certainly found myself so lost in trying to solve someone’s problem or decide what technique to employ I have completely lost touch becoming removed from myself and the person in front of me.

The large majority of our leadership development and coach training programs focus on technique, tool gathering and process. It's about the processes, metaphors, theory, tools, skills, and such all leading to clear results and understanding, with little attention given, except for perhaps a morning meditation, to yourself and your presence. I like tools, skills, theory, and technique. They are helpful and essential, and we couldn’t do our jobs without them. I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not engaged them. However, what gets lost in this is the most important thing: who the leader coach is will impact people, space and time more than anything else.

Did you see Kung Fu Panda? It’s brilliant, simple and funny, and Jack Black is always jovial. In the film, the secret of Kung Fu is contained in a hidden scroll and much of the film’s journey involves finding the scroll. Upon discovering the scroll we learn that it’s blank except for a simple reflective surface. Perplexed the Panda wanders away to only later discover that the secret to Kung Fu is the reflection, himself – it’s in him and it’s who he is.

Transformation happens because of who you are - it's about you. Change occurs as a result of your presence, listening, attention, and seeing. Insight and development happens because you show up in each moment. Tools and techniques are expressions and extensions of your rich and present interior. Metaphors are good, detached questioning is good, and other techniques, both hands off and on, are good too. But they’re really only as good as your attention and only as big as your heart.

In developing your leadership and impact, work as much on yourself as you do on your technique. Cultivate your being presence, what ever your unique expression of that is. Bring yourself to your coaching sessions trusting that this is enough. Bring your watchful presence to your leadership experiences trusting this is enough. Don’t show up to use shiny tools, though important, and achieve results, which will happen; show up to be fully you and trust that this is enough always. Spend less time in the moment trying to figure out what technique or method is going to get the results, and trust that you, just you, will create the impact that is necessary.

Trusting that you're enough is where leadership and change begins and ends. All of the amazing tools and techniques we have created to instigate change and growth are expressions of the transformative you.

Telecourse: Becoming Change – Essential Awareness and Capacities for our Changing World

Monday, July 06, 2009

Ever feel like you can do better? Do you find yourself in the same action and thinking patterns? Are you on the edge of change and growth but unable to move forward? Do you feel you're being pulled towards something new but are unsure what's next? Are you ready to again step forward into a more conscious, effective, and actionable life?


If you have recently found yourself:

* inspired to create change and support others,
* moving through job and career transition and want a new direction,
* seeing a new potential but are unsure how to create it,
* tired of helplessness and are looking for a new empowered conversation,
* interested in shifting the way you feel about our current culture and economy,
* seeking new solutions with hope and vision,


Then Becoming Change - Awareness and Capacities for our Changing World was created for you!

Becoming Change is a course designed to empower effective transition. Through a month, 4 conference calls, and 2 coaching sessions you will be guided through a process of transformation. Stepping into new perspectives, strategies, and a community of support you will create the life that you desire and the world needs.

Through your participation in this course you will get:

* tools to alleviate stress, fear, confusion, and anxiety.
* practices to create a clear picture and open to a broad view.
* empowering experiences of vision and purpose.
* methods to stop knee-jerk reactions and make powerful choices.
* practical processes and support for creating and implementing strategy.
* a community of support and guided, hands-on help.


Join us for a complimentary introductory session on August 5th at 5:00 PM PDT (8:00 PM EDT). Start your journey of transition, vision, and purpose, and experience an interactive conversation with Kris. You will be given practical tools, a course experience, followed by a question and answer session.

To register please email Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com



August 5th, Week One: Complimentary Introduction

August 5th - 11th: Orientation and Intention Coaching Session with Kris

August 12th, Week Two: Becoming Change

August 19th, Week Three: Transition

August 26th, Week Four: Vision

September 2nd, Week Five: Strategy

September 3rd+ Continued Support Coaching Session with Kris



Investment: $295

To Register Now:

Contact Kris at kris@kramaconsulting.com or 310.779.8587

Beyond The Triple Bottom Line (Integral Business II)

Friday, July 03, 2009
There is a lot of talk in the business world, especially the post-modern new business world of value and vision, about the Triple Bottom Line: profit, people, and planet. I like this approach. I think it's a great start towards building businesses that are sustainable in the long-term and impacting, meaningful in the short term. However, an integral business needs to go beyond this.

I know some of us are just getting our feet wet to the idea and practice of the Triple Bottom Line. For some of us, it's not even yet on the radar. An integral business of profit and impact needs a Penta Bottom Line. I was going to add just one more to the mix (quadruple bottom line), but we, as a business community, need to take a huge leap. Now.

The Penta Bottom Line: Profit, People, Planet, Principles, and Progress.

Most when talking about the Triple Bottom Line put profit last, as in: planet, people, profit. I think this is wonderfully visionary, and yet it fails to acknowledge that a business exists, in my perspective, to primarily create capital. Certainly, not at the harm of the other points on the bottom line, but it's primary reason for being a business, is again, making money. Otherwise, it would be a non-profit or something different.

I assume most of you understand profit, people, and planet, so I will explain principles and progress.

Principles: Rules are out. Principles are in. Principles act as guides and measures in vision, strategy, process, operations, and out-reach. Principles are interactive, directive voices in the process of decision making. Rules are rigid, limit creativity, and exist to create measured and tested results. Principles, on the other hand, acknowledge that our world is complex, changing, and unstable. No longer will rigid rules work to guide organizations that need dynamic and responsive action in a rapidly changing market and business landscape - we need interactive principles. What are the known and unknown principles that guide the decisions in your organization? Do you like them? Are they effectively guiding the outcomes you desire? Do you need a guiding principles tune-up?

Progress: I forced myself to stick with P's, but by progress I really mean development. Integral businesses consider the development of their people, culture, organizations, and the systems they interact with as important as profit. A direct investment in the development of each employee in your organization is a direct investment in your organization. Development programs are generally geared towards management (which is great and certainly needed) and those that are really screwing up, but what would your organization look like if it valued the development of each person, group, and the world around you? How can you create systems where each person is given the chance to build capacities and self?

By operating with a Penta Bottom Line, your organization opens up the sphere and valuation of success to areas that directly relate to your organization's success in the short-term and long-term.

As always, more on this soon.

Integral Business I: Short-Term and Long-Term

Thursday, July 02, 2009
For the purpose of this blog and post, business is defined as any operation creating capital increase. The hub of a business is making money. This, of course, doesn’t mean that businesses can’t do other things, as they both do and need to – look for a future post: Penta Bottom Line. This simply means that the creation of new capital is the generalizing principle for all things defined as business.

The core intention of this blog is to illustrate what an integral business is, how it operates, and how it is created. My assumption is an integrally framed business will ultimately be more profitable and sustainable (meaning: existing for a longer period of time) than a business that is not.

Businesses typically focus on capital and profit. This makes sense given that business’ organizing and general principle is generation of new capital; however, in our contemporary world with stockholders and stakeholders operating at multiple levels, this has come to mean consistent quarterly increases with solid strategy reaching generally about three quarters out.
An integral business considers many different things as essential to both its existence and profitability. Short-term profit growth is important, as is long term. There are many examples of individuals and organizations that have made decisions that boosted short-term increases, but were ultimately detrimental in the long-term (both to profit and sometimes the viability of the organization).

I recommend that organizations visionize and strategize ten years forward. I understand that ten years is a very long time. Things change rapidly in this world: the market, technology, governments and law, generational preferences in the workforce, social values, and the environment. However, with the assistance of forecasting, intuition, and highly developed leaders and strategists, a ten-year vision and strategy is not simply possibly, but functional and necessary.

Visions and strategies are not fixed, concrete things. They are meant to be dynamic, adjustable, and molded with the feedback of the market and further insight. Though they adjust over time, vision and strategy becomes the guide for every decision made in the present moment. Each decision for profit in the present is measured against a ten-year vision and strategy, and the evaluation considers both short-term and long-term impact (imagine if Enron did this).

An integral business works dynamically in the present while always keeping its sight ten years forward. The relationship and tension between the present and the future (while considering the past) more greatly enables a business for present and future profitability.

Vision and Strategy

Thursday, June 18, 2009
Back to the basics.

Whenever I meet with someone for the first time, I ask two questions: 1) what's your vision, and 2) what's your strategy?

Most of the time, I sit there for about an hour while I listen to a long ramble that doesn't quite make sense. I then ask again: so, what's your vision and what's your strategy?

It quickly becomes clear that they don't really know, can't really articulate it, are lost in vision, or have a sense of strategy that doesn't move too deep because they're lacking vision.

For organizations (and individuals) to be successful there has to be clear vision and strategy, and everyone (I do mean everyone) at the organization should be able to articulate it, think on it, change on it, practice it in a dynamic and personal way.

Your vision and strategy needs to be precise, simple, and clear, as this is where all else will move forward.

What's your vision? What's your strategy?

Creative Solution Selling

Friday, May 22, 2009
Last fall I lost a lot of contracts due to massive budget cuts. It was and still is a hard time to be an independent consultant. I was discussing this dilemma with my friend Saam Gabbay and he said, "Dude, you have to create projects and the capital to fund them. You have to not only make yourself invaluable, but you also have to illustrate a problem, create a solution, and sometimes find the capital to pay yourself."

Saam is an exceptional producer, brander, marketer, and media professional. He showed me 10 companies that he really liked for product, brand, and value reasons, and also where he saw gaps in their branding, marketing and social media. He would then pick up the phone and call. After various holds and transfers, he would eventually find the person he needed to talk with, explain that he was a fan and customer, and present a proposal. He landed several projects in a market that, for most people, was entirely frozen. I had spent the last few months engaged in traditional marketing, lamenting with other consultants and freelancers, and working on a novel (it's still in the works).

Things had to change. My first venture in creative solution selling was with a local non-profit I really appreciate and beleive in. They had some really detrimental challenges in leadership, organization structure, vision and mission, and branding - all of which was causing the organization massive pain. Not only were they confronted by these challenges, but with the crash of the market they had also lost a lot of funding.

Much like Saam, I wrote a proposal, connected, and shared my enthusiasm and appreciation for their work. I went throgh my proposal and they agreed: they were indeed challenged; however, they had absolutely nothing they could pay me. I needed to be more creative. I proposed that I fundraise for them and asked that they give me 75% of whatever I raised for project fees. They agreed. We went forward. It all worked out very well.

In this market, we not only have to offer a service or product of value, but we have to find where these fit, illustate their necessity, and sometimes create the capital.

In our post-modern iteration of the sells approach, we're taught to listen, create a relationship, and really find out what the customer needs. It's this process of discover that sells you and what you offer. I generally like this. This is the approach that I tend to use. However, without losing the significance of relationship, discovery, conversation, and ultimately care, we have to take a much more active approach. We have to engage creative solution selling.

With creative solution selling, you're both creating (or illustrating) a need and a solution.

Harvard Business Review's March issue had a great article called Provoke Your Customers. This article, much like this discussion of creative solution selling, urges businesses to become active in their sells process. Create both the problem and solution.

HBR offers a table of comparison:

In current relational based selling:

• Competes for vendor preference within an exisiting budget
• Aligns with prevailing point of view
• Addresses acknowledged pain points
• Targets tactical problems
• Begins with technical proof and then builds a business case
• Starts as a line-of-business dialogue
• Asks questions to identify needs
• Responds to issues described by the client

In creative solution based selling:

• Compels project investment outside an existing budget
• Challenges the prevailing point of view
• Addresses unacknowledged angst
• Targets strategic problems
• Begins with the business case and then provides technical proof
• Starts as an executive-level dialogue
• Uses an insightful hypothesis to provoke a response
• Is proactive and leading, forcing issues out

It's time to be creative. Think forward. Find problems before they're problems and create solutions before they're needed - this will set you miles ahead.

The Elephant, the Butterfly, the Hummingbird, and the Orchid

Thursday, May 07, 2009

Social Media Simplified: no. 1.1

Wednesday, May 06, 2009
IAB just released a metrics document on social media. Important information for validating, economically, the value of social media.

http://www.iab.net/socialmetrics

Of course, there is know true way to value most advertising. Billboards, a well established advertising avenue, has no clear valuation.

Side note: most valuation processes were authored by Brothers Grimm.

Social Media Simplified: no. 1

Tuesday, May 05, 2009
I've had many conversations lately with many different people about social media, and I am surprised how often I hear, even from seasoned marketing professionals, how they don't get it.

Social Media is the utilization of web 2.0 products and services (Twitter, Facebook, Delicious) to engage in conversation, interaction, and expression. It's media created by social groups, thus social media.

A major point of confusion is that it's all about the tools. It's not about the tools. It's about communication. Social media, whether it's for a brand, organization, product or personal, is about communication.

The golden rule of social media: talk like you want to be talked to and listen like you want to be listened to.

I was at a Digital LA panel last week. Many major networks and studios where represented on the panel and they were discussing how they use twitter. Their approach to twitter was very traditional, wreaking of control, manipulation, brand "integrity", legal approval, and very clean-to-the point-of-patronization interactions with "consumers." This is not social media. This is traditional marketing and PR.

There is nothing wrong with traditional marketing and PR. I like it. I find it useful. And there is nothing wrong with using web 2.o tools in traditional marketing. This is actually, possibly, pretty smart. However, it's still not social media. Traditional media is a one way street - from the brand to the consumer; talking at someone.

Social media requires engagement. Social media requires relationship. Social media requires conversation - it's a two way street. This is where it gets really simple: all the ideas, perspectives, and "rules" that go into engaging in a meaningful conversation apply here.

Here's a few:

1) Listen as much, if not more, than you talk
2) When you talk, add value to the experience
3) In adding value, allow the conversation to continue
4) Conversations can't be controlled, but they can be influenced
5) No one wants to listen to you if you're selling something all the time, same applies here
6) Don't be an asshole

That's it. It's that simple. Participate in a meaningful, considerate, conscious, authentic and relevant conversation. On greater consideration, it's starting to make sense why corporations just don't get it - I can't remember the last time I experienced a corporation engaged in an authentic conversation...

In my next social media post, I'll look at social media from the individual, product and brand perspective.

General Solutions v. Custom Solutions

Monday, May 04, 2009

Dialogue with Brian Herr on Transformative Evolutionary Leadership

Wednesday, April 08, 2009

Leadership and Blogging: Deep Intentional Impact & Value

Sunday, April 05, 2009
I recently listened to a great talk between John Gruber and Merlin Mann, which is linked at the bottom of this post, about blogging, social media, and (my interpretation) being a great human being. I loved the talk. They’re both insightful and damn funny, and they’re speaking from (generally) an elevated perspective.

A keystone in my consulting practice is individual and social development theory and practice. I am constantly listening for the stages (or memes) that produce the content people are presenting in the world (words, actions, and artifacts such as art, written material including blogs and tweets, and systems, to name just a few). People don’t produce content. Perspectives in people produce content. People aren’t their perspectives or the content they produce – people are people. (This too is just another perspective, but more on that in another post).

Almost all contemporary individual and social development theorists across the board observe and agree on a few general stages of development. As an individual or society develops, their capacity to observe and understand complexity grows (from very simplistic interpretations to very complex and considerate interpretations), and their circles of identity and impact grow larger (from self to family to nation to world to universe).

Here’s a quick summation of stage growth expressed through blogging content:

1. I blog because my ideas are right. My beliefs are true. Your beliefs are wrong if they’re different mine. I am blogging to share the truth with those of you that don’t get it. I am also really interested in the people that agree with my ideas, as they get it. Here’s an example: http://www.keeptruth.com/
2. I am blogging to network, sell and create opportunities. Blogging is a tool that enables my success. Here’s an example: http://www.redfiregroupllc.com/wordpress/?p=486
3. Blogging is an opportunity to express my unique perspective. Blogging enables connection; blogging is really about connection. I can listen to others sharing their unique perspectives. We can all enjoy and appreciate each other. Here’s an example: http://rajanaka.blogspot.com/
4. Blogging is many things to many people, and has a many different experiences within it. I blog to share with those that find meaning and value in my writing. I blog to create connections of possibility and invitation – an invitation of mutual success. I blog to create connection and learn from others. I blog to create a valuable integration of perspectives that radically serves the past, present and future. Here’s an example: http://starshamansview.blogspot.com/
5. I blog because it makes me happy. I blog to connect to our larger shared experience, and service this experience. Here’s an example: http://davekennedy.blogspot.com/
   

Disclaimer 1: The higher numbers do not equal better or more relevant. The numbers organize a continuum of perspectives increasing in complexity and consideration. Higher isn’t better, it’s just different and generally more inclusive, which is very effective for certain things. (Leadership today requires complex, considerate and inclusive perspectives).

Disclaimer 2: I’m not making a definitive statement about the blogs I am using as examples – I spent about ten minutes finding the first two and the last three are blogs I subscribe to. Each of these blogs has value and I am certain all of these authors are making great contributions to our human experience. All of these perspectives have great relevance and I appreciate them all equally for different reasons.

In their talk, John and Merlin are mostly speaking from perspective no. 3, and this is a refreshing perspective (a personal favorite). In a world and market where everyone is jumping on the social media bandwagon as a means to create the next influx of massive capital, John and Merlin are speaking about important attributes that skilled, effective, and powerful leaders possess.

Successful blogging, as John and Merlin discuss, incorporates a few important principles. First, be authentic. Be yourself. Let yourself, as you are, be fully expressed through your blog. This is great for blogging and great for leadership. Leadership is about being your self, deeply. This allows others to be themselves and shine, and it gives you complete access to all of your unique gifts, ideas and emotions, all of which are your greatest assets. Next, find what you obsess over and write about that, and because you’re excited your excitement will inspiration others. Again, true in blogging and true in leadership. Great leaders are committed to and excited about a vision or cause inspiring others to join them in their journey. Know what you’re excited about out; share it with others constantly.

From authenticity and inspiration, know who you’re writing for and write for them. Write for them as an act of care and love (“love” being my interpretation of what John and Merlin where discussing). When you write and lead from a place of service as an act of care, you can’t help but touch people and magnetize them towards you. Everyone then gets to share in a potent experience and exchange.

Lastly, attention is valuable. Attention is perhaps one the most valuable things in this universe. Successful leaders and bloggers know how capture and sustain attention. Dynamic leaders and bloggers creating transformative change know how to sustain and service attention. Attention is perhaps one the greatest resources we have. Honor the attention that is given to you and the attention given to you will grow.

John and Merlin offer a great and entertaining talk. Get comfortable, grab a cup of tea or a glass of wine; it’s an hour long:

Studies on Cheating Lends Light to Stock Market Crash, Enron, etc.

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Please watch this TED Talk video. Dan Ariely's studies sheds light on market melt down.

What are you and your organization doing to follow the next economic flow?

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
China calls for a new currency to replace dollar in a shift in perspective on U.S.'s roll in world economy: read here.

There is a sea change occurring - a tidal shift: economy is flowing to the east. What are you doing to follow this current? How is your organization preparing for this shift?

Short Dialog: Social Networking, Work, Generational Relationships to Web Tools, Etc.

Sunday, March 22, 2009
Here's a short dialog between consultant Robert "Jake" Jacobs and me about the importance of social networking in business and life. Discussed tools, individual inclinations, and impact.