Personal Choice | The Fourth Revolution Blog

So, What is Consulting Really About?

One of the best definitions so far of Consulting is “the art of influencing people at their request. People want some kind of change – or fear some sort of change – so they seek consulting, in one form or the other” – Gerald M. Weinberg.

This probably means that a lot of ‘consultants’ probably are not consultants are per this definition – probably better defined by temporary support or project management support. Actual consulting is really about influence and change. On the other hand, many of us are actually consulting in our private or social life without knowing it.

Influencing people at their request requires 1) permission and 2) provocation and support.

Consultants, did you get permission? And then, are you using this permission effectively to provoke and induce change?

We’re Not Creators. We Are Transformers…

That statement in a post from Manal was a good reminder of so many considerations of creativity we have already developed in this blog.

creativity illustrated by reuse of Coca Cola cans — Creativity stems from transformation

“Creativity does not mean making up something from scratch. It’s merely a transformation of the energy of an idea—that’s been there all along in the field of possibility. If you think you need to be creative, you don’t. You are a transformer of energy. Your existence—the way you are—is all the proof you need..”

I believe Manal only gets half the story there – at the same time, being a transformer also means reuse and transform the ideas of others, as so masterfully recalled by Austin Kleon.

In fact we probably need to consider both views to be complete on creativity. We need to be able to tweak and reuse what is around us; and at the same time infuse life through our energy in our creation – because without energy and dedication from our part, creation will not happen, or not be visible to the world. We need to be able to borrow and energize at the same time.

How good are you at reusing stuff in a creative manner? And how good are you at focusing your energy to create?

Hat tip to Manal and her so enjoyable posts, including the one containing this thought – The Field of Possibility.

It’s not about Work-Life Balance, it’s about Work-Life Integration

This is a quote of Tony Hsieh, Zappos CEO, as related by Hugh McLeod. Hugh continues: “Work and personal life seems to meld together in a way that can be either enhancing or debilitating – and it is up to each person to structure what works in their life and in ways that allow them to be their best in work and at home. What is interesting is that this is a new phenomenon, borne out of technology.”

Work-Life balance is a typical concept stemming from a time where work and life were happening in different environments, separated by the barrier of commuting. This geographical border has now been abolished by technology. Work has already heavily invaded our private home, and life increasingly (but with more difficulties due to old habits) invades a bit our work.

Visionaries try to develop new spaces where life and work could co-exist harmoniously (this seems to be one of the objectives of Tony Hsieh’s Las Vegas downtown project that allies urban and social experiment).

We need to stop these obsolete and pervading considerations about work-life balance and concentrate on how we can integrate these two activities. In fact, they are not antagonistic but in synergy and we need to recognize that better. Once we look at it that way, a world of possibilities opens.

What about you? What do you see when you consider that work and life are in fact integrated and will become ever more integrated?

How to Overcome the Experts’ Confidence Conundrum?

“If someone’s confidence is high, we believe they are probably right; if they are less certain, we feel they are less reliable“, research suggests, as reported by Dan Gardner in ‘Future Babble: Why Expert Predictions Fail – and Why We Believe Them Anyway‘.

“Obviously, this means we deem those who are dead certain the best forecasters, while those who make ‘probabilistic calls’ – like “it is probable this will happen but not certain” – must be less accurate, and anyone who dares to say the odds of something are 50-50 will be met with scorn“. The author goes on to add that it is not a conscious decision path.

So let’s summarize: we tend to believe those confident experts – who are probably wrong. And we tend to discredit those experts that don’t look too confident and who qualify their statements or speak about probabilities – who are probably closer to the truth or what can be said about it at the present moment. That’s quite an annoying situation, isn’t it?

I have personally drawn a personal conclusion: when too many experts agree with high confidence, I conclude that is groupthink and that it is worthwhile to take a contrarian position. At least you establish a noticeable difference with the bulk of the experts!

Be careful of experts that look too confident – they are probably wrong when it comes to predictions.

If you Want to Become Unstoppable… Don’t Stop!

I found this beautiful sentence in an excellent post by Manal Ghosain, ‘the Persistence‘.

Becoming unstoppable is often not an issue of unbearable external forces but much more frequentlyan internal issue.

It’s all about personal persistence.

As Manal highlights, it’s often all about letting go of expectations, judgment and comparisons.

Become unstoppable. Just don’t stop!

When to change your approach to a problem

“Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That’s not the place to become discouraged“. – Thomas A. Edison.

Mr Edison, How persistent do you need to be? — Don’t look at me like this! How persistent do you need to be?

I like this inspirational quote, and at the same time I am still struggling to understand how to apply it. Until when is persistence bordering on the fringe of stupidity? What is the patience we need to have when our project really seems impossible?

Edison’s persistence and his 10,000 trials to get a functional light-bulb are legendary. But it is not always possible to have the means of persistence. Sometimes persistence will lead to disaster. Or to outright insanity.

Thanks to this blog,we now know what to do not to become insane: stop doing things the same way expecting different results. So, I’d like to hack this quote to make it more applicable:

“Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That’’s the place to change how he approaches it“. – Fourth Revolution

Why are we susceptible to the “Good Old Days” fallacy?

Everybody at one time or the other will mention the “Good Ol’ Days”. It seems that our past is such a great place to have been… compared to the present or the future

This psychological effect is due to hindsight. “It is the future that frighten us, not the past. Even if it has not been easy, it always seems sweet because certain.” explains Dan Gardner in ‘Future Babble: Why Expert Predictions Fail – and Why We Believe Them Anyway‘. He continues, “The profound perceptual distortion created by hindsight bias can make almost anyone nostalgic for the good old days“.

Even people who had to live through rough times in their youths, for example during the Great Recession of the 1930’s and the following World War, will tend to remember the past with affection.

“This illusion is pervasive and yet it is seldom recognized. In books, articles, blogs and broadcasts, we call our time the ‘age of uncertainty‘, believing that there is something uniquely uncertain about this moment. But the phrase ‘age of uncertainty‘ which has appeared in the New York Times 5,720 times, made its debut in 1924!”

Uncertainty is scary. We tend to fall in the trap of the security of hindsight. Let us not do that, and let’s lean decidedly into the Fourth Revolution.

Why Don’t You Start What You Want to Do NOW?

The quote on this picture I encountered in internet by chance struck me.

Indeed it is a great risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the consideration you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.

It assumes a bet on life, on the future. Some people indeed work like mad looking for an enjoyable retirement without ever taking advantage of it.

Is it really the most dangerous risk of all? In terms of personal balance it is certainly a great risk. Still sometimes it is great to have the possibility to take advantage of available opportunities to fund or prepare a future venture. I don’t think it is a problem if it corresponds to a clearly defined period that does not exceed a pair of years, and relates to a clear plan.

If you are like me, it is still good to remember sometimes that it is important to take advantage of the present moment and not bet everything on the future in particular further than a few months away.

What Luck is Really About

“Victory awaits him, who has everything in order – Luck we call it. Defeat is definitely due for him, who has neglected to take the necessary precautions –Bad Luck we call it” – Roald Amundsen.

"Lucky" Amundsen at the South Pole - December 1911 — “Lucky” Amundsen at the South Pole – December 1911

Amundsen is known to be the leader of the first successful expedition to the South Pole, beating Scott who was comparatively very ill-prepared and died on the return journey (after the heart-breaking discovery of Amundsen’s Norwegian flag at the South Pole!).

This probably summarizes a philosophy of luck that many of us should adopt as a general approach to life!

Why You Should Not Care So Much About Your Competition

There is an idea that comes back again and again in all leadership and management books: don’t care so much about your competitors. Instead, concentrate your focus, energy and creativity in creating an awesome product. Be pro-active instead of being re-active.

How often do you think about your competition?

This comes as a realization that organizations and individuals often spend too much time spying out what the competition is doing. Whether they would create some product that could push them out of the market. Fear is created. Actions become reactions instead of initiatives.

Many of the most successful ventures never cared about competition or imitation. They went their own way.

Some other successful ventures start life by imitating the competition (often because they were created by some former employees) and then, only, progressively, create their own way.

The thing is: you can never be the same as your competition. There are always areas where you’ll be weaker, and areas where you’ll be stronger. Don’t try to level up your competitor by working on your weak areas. Work on your strengths instead. And by doing so, create something truly unique. And the best is, this works for organizations as well as for individuals!

How to do your best work

Looking back at when I have done by best work – that is, the work that changed people or organizations, I realize that it is always linked to situations where I exposed myself. And the more I exposed myself, the more effective the result was.

When I was younger I thought you could change the world by the mere power of ideas and intellectual research. That is not the case – or at least it is a very slow way of changing things. Change happens much more effectively through direct intervention – and exposure.

Speaking microphone — C’mon, what are you waiting for? Speak and say what you have to say!

Exposure is tough. It involves overcoming the inevitable feeling of vulnerability. But be it giving a speech on stage, standing up facilitating, giving tough one-to-one feedback, change happens best when the occasion is at the brink of a crisis. When I feel that I am crossing the yellow line just so slightly by not staying in that nice cozy world of unsaid issued. Saying up and loud something people don’t want to hear, showing inadequacies, and at the same time showing the way to change is the most effective way to create change the world needs.

It’s tough to expose oneself. It involves risk. It is emotionally draining. That’s the only way to be an agent of change. Expose yourself!

Best Single Word Career Advice: Squiggle!

I had an inspiring read of the latest book by Mitch Joel, a leading digital marketing guru, titled ‘Ctrl Alt Delete: reboot your business, reboot your life. Your future depends on it‘. It is an excellent book on the Fourth Revolution (which he calls the ‘business purgatory’), with one half about business reboot and the other half about personal reboot. (Unfortunately the book does not seem to be available in Kindle format, only paperback or hardcover, which might make it harder to get).

careerAdvice Anyway, I found there an excellent career advice, and a new concept, the squiggle:

Very few people set out in life to be the people that they have become. Even fewer know that they are going to be in a specific industry from a very young age. The most successful and interesting entrepreneurs and business people don’t have a very linear career path. In fact it is actually very squiggly. Always bear that in mind. Embrace the squiggle.

Let’s push a bit the concept. You won’t ultimately be successful in what you are doing now – both because what you’ll be doing tomorrow might not have been invented yet, and because it is by having a squiggly career that you will finally bring together the knowledge that will redefine your field.

Be squiggly to be successful. Ready to squiggle?

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