Succeed, Explore, Discover - Repeat

Most organizations I work with have learned to take the time to examine the particular issues and circumstances that contribute to failure or significant problems. This is often called a 'Post Mortem.’ It's a great idea and certainly companies that don't learn from their mistakes in a systematic way often make the same or similar mistakes again and again.

Then there is the often neglected but equally important practice of celebrating your successes. 

But here is the real game changer....

Don't just celebrate your successes;

Study your successes and let your discoveries lead to more big wins to come.

Standard business models have taught us to learn from our mistakes. Unfortunately we’re not so well trained in taking the time to explore the often subtle details behind our big wins.

Create a ritual around discovering the “why” and “how” behind your most important victories.

We often talk about taking the time to celebrate a success. Its important to enjoy the fruits of your labors and bask in the positive atmosphere of accomplishment. And even that is difficult for many teams and organizations to do with consistency and dedication. For most businesses there’s a long list of things that need to get done and it takes discipline and forward thinking leadership to ensure that the team takes the time to recharge, take a deep collective breath, acknowledge the success and realign themselves for the next big challenge.

But the question that is rarely asked and answered is “Why and how did we achieve the success?” “What critical elements contributed to that achievement?”

In the world of adventure we often have the opportunity to examine our successes more than our failures. Why? Because the price of failure can unfortunately leave very few team members left standing to examine what went wrong. So we pay particular attention to studying and learning from the successful expeditions that put the team on top of the mountain. We can then repeat those winning strategies on our next peak challenge.

Some important areas of inquiry after a rousing success might be:

• Did particular teams or individuals collaborate in ways that they never have before?

• Did certain teams or team members make any sacrifices that led to a larger success?

• Did one form of leadership emerge that the teams resonated with particularly well?

• What were the winning strategies in approaching difficult communication challenges?

• Which of the team or company values were followed through on to such a degree that it made a significant difference in the outcome of the project?

• What allies did you rely on for critical support? How are you going to thank them?

• What is repeatable in regards to the team dynamics, personal relationships and individual contributions?

• What behaviors do you want to make sure you reward and support?

These are all questions that should be raised openly and in a structured manner after each big win. Bring all the players together to discuss winning strategies. This is best done face to face rather than through a survey or written assessment. It is through thoughtful questioning and discussion that the real “Ah-ha” discoveries come to light. Make this a routine and as normal a practice as the standard post mortem.

This won’t happen naturally! Especially in an ultra busy work environment where the next big project is breathing down your neck. You’ll need to purposefully set time aside for this ritual. If you’re not comfortable facilitating such a structured examination of the big learnings from your triumphs, you will want to bring in someone trained in mining for such nuggets of wisdom.

Don’t miss the opportunity to learn, grow and re-apply your best internal practices!! The time is ripe just after a big success to ask such critical and revealing questions; the answers to which might just surprise you and offer a powerful template for future wins!

If nobody takes the time to ask and explore, then those important gems of knowledge may just stay buried forever.

So, remember... Succeed, Explore, Discover - Repeat.

Fight, Flight, OR...?

When the wind is calm, the skies are clear and the path is wide, most teams are able to function reasonably well together. There’s a degree of latitude that allows a team to stray a few yards off the path of perfect teamwork.

Clearly we’re no longer enjoying the sunny slopes of the summit bid. Today organizations have been pushed to the razor’s edge where each choice represents a crucial step that could be the difference between high spirited success or a nasty fall from heights painstakingly attained.

It’s all about choices

Conscious, Critical, Courageous Choices.

Fight - Flight - Or...? When circumstances turn dire, fight or flight are reactionary responses that are hard wired into us sometimes not so complicated human beings. When the storm descends upon the summit team, when the pressure is on, when resources are lean, when survival is at stake - human beings are designed to protect themselves. Fight for survival or head for the hills. Dive for cover and abandon the team or put on the battle gear and take on all comers, including those very same team members.

Or...

We can choose to take advantage of this opportunity of adversity to not only become the best we have ever been, but to actually thrive and emerge stronger than ever before.

Now is the time to challenge ourselves, those whom we lead and even those who lead us to make the choices that support the best in us all. Now is the time to engage in the direct conversations that inspire us to embrace our highest ideals even under powerful influences of fear and uncertainty.

Even a cursory glance out the wind whipped tent door, or holding a damp finger up into the gale force wind will reveal that the storm isn’t coming - it has clearly arrived - in full force. Like most storms that engulf intrepid adventurers, we don’t know how long this one is going to last or if its going to get even worse.

Our best bet is to ensure that our people possess the attitudes, perspectives, communication skills and shared sense of values that will allow them to make wise choices which strengthen the team and support the integrity of the organization.

Joseph Campbell, mythologist and author of “Hero With a Thousand Faces” advises that the darkest of storms is the ultimate scenario that boldly reveals:

• Our Allies

• Our Power

• Our Faith

And only through great adversity are we truly able to discover these three critical elements of success with such clarity and put them into action with such conviction.

When the storm clears, the organizations whose teams failed to take on the challenge of conscious choice may have survived, but very possibly with critically damaged relationships and seriously eroded trust. These organizations will start to hemorrhage their best talent the moment the job market allows.

Organizations that focus equal attention on both business strategies and people strategies will emerge with teams that are stronger, more connected, collaborative and bonded than ever before. These organizations will begin to hire top talent from the organizations that were torn apart in the storm. They will hire into a culture that is acutely self aware of who they are, what they believe and what specific skills, attitudes and core values lead consistently to success. And they will be able to articulate this value system to the new members of their teams with clarity, conviction and passion.

We will all likely suffer some casualties. We will lose a few extremities to the bitter realities of the storm and may have to descend down the mountain a bit with prudent care. But we can still step fully into the face of these challenges with a collective consciousness of camaraderie, sacrifice and compassion. With correct action we can be assured that the people to our left and to our right will survive as proud members of a team that made courageous choices at the height of the darkest of storms.

It may not be an easy year ahead. But it is certainly going to be filled with amazing opportunities to live, work and create at our very best.

Take Action

Schedule 10-15 minute appointments with peers and colleagues with the specific agenda to talk about:

• What are our core people strategy values that will allow our community to grow stronger from adversity?
• What are the fear based human reactions that we need to avoid?
• How do we keep these critical conversations about core values at the forefront of our decision making processes?

• These conversations may seem contrived! But I guarantee that after 10 minutes you will find yourselves saying, “I’m glad we're having this conversation.” And you will notice a difference in the quality of your decisions.

• Make it clear to those you lead that people will be rewarded as much for how they achieve their successes as for the successes themselves.

• A path to success that leaves a wake of broken relationships and damaged trust is not acceptable and diminishes the chances for future successes.
• A path to success that emulates and exemplifies your cultures core values and creates a stronger team will be acknowledged and rewarded.

The Perpetual Motion of Team Magic

We see it and hear about it every day in the news, movies, books and even in our own lives – people and organizations and teams who are capable of magic. Not the slight of hand kind of magic, but the kind of magic that takes the seemingly impossible and makes it manifest.  The kind of magic that takes our breath away and reminds us that high aspirations, committed intent, sustained effort, strength of character and unflagging faith can turn the ordinary into the sublime.

Today we call it heroism, a word that has recently been beaten down by the mediocrity of its mis-application. So, I like to call it magic. In today’s ultra competitive and dynamic business environment, perhaps that’s what it will take to survive – a bit of perpetual magic.

When I was in High School, I played tennis. One of my frequent opponents was a guy named Roger and to be blunt, Roger didn’t play very good tennis. And whereas I would typically win our friendly matches, I most always came away from the experience frustrated with my own diminished level of play. I wouldn’t play as good as I would against other more equal or superior players to myself.

Throughout my life I’ve seen this phenomenon repeat itself as a member of teams that simply were not at the top of their game or who were aiming for mediocrity. There was an ‘energy’ lacking – a deficit of positive will and intent. And try as I might, I found that my own level of play and will and intent was correspondingly dragged down from the pinnacle of its potential.

Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics speaks about games that he felt transcended both the physical and mental and became, in his words, “magical.”  These were games in which his play would rise to a new level of excellence that would surround and engage not only him and his teammates, but even the referees, the fans and the players of the other team.


He goes on to say that “To me, the key was that both teams had to be playing at their peaks...”

Most of us have experienced this drawing down or raising up of energy in our personal lives and certainly within our professional careers. Sometimes, within a mediocre organizational environment, the gap between what you are truly capable of and what you deliver is subtle. Other times the feeling of angst and dissatisfaction is quite palpable and you find that you must extricate yourself from a debilitating environment in order to breathe the fresh air of creative possibility once again.

And of course there are those times of true Magic when you and everyone on your team are in complete synchronicity, firing on all cylinders and incapable of anything but miraculous results.

Everything is energy and the culture of an organization has its own energetic resonance that either fosters and supports the highest aspirations and qualities of its members, or it doesn’t. Organizations that strive to create a culture that draws out and supports the best within each and every one of its members set themselves up as organizations of positive growth capable of adapting and responding to change with true innovation and stunning success.

Promoting a culture of excellence is one thing. But sustaining that magic is where true success is found. This is where the idea of perpetual motion comes in. 

Perpetual motion machines have long been the ideal of engineers in a long list of industries. The concept of a perpetual motion engine that requires no outside source of energy is a dream not yet realized, and certainly not for the lack of effort.

I believe that within an organization and within teams, such self generating greatness is possible.

Why is it possible within a team and not within the finely tuned mechanics of an engine?  Simple – mechanical parts simply have no heart, will, intent or driving desire for excellence. People do. When people are not only challenged to be their best but are also supported in their efforts of greatness, they typically rise to the challenge.

But what does it take to sustain the magic?  What helps greatly is a culture of purposeful relationships whose mission is to promote all others in their efforts to be magnificent.

If the majority of people within an organization or team raise up the others with whom they work to a place of excellence, then perpetual brilliance begins to spin and grow and mature in perpetuity. This is the true experience of replacing competition with collaboration. What you achieve is a culture of co-collaborators who are all in league together to raise each other up into the rarified air of being the best they have ever been.

The organizational leaders will still need to ensure that this culture of perpetual excellence is well maintained and cared for. Just like any high performing engine, it will need to be lubed from time to time to keep all the parts operating with as little friction as possible. Providing team members with high quality tools of communication and collaboration and providing opportunities to deepen their skills in buoying the experiences and opportunities of their fellow team members is key.

Teams that are inspired from within and who radiate that inspired magic outward throughout the organization are a rare and precious thing. These are the team cultures which allow organizations to be nimble, flexible, innovative and continually in the process of becoming & sustaining – The Best They Have Ever Been.

Team Viscosity

If you work in any sort of team environment, this is written for you.

The true depth of relationships and connection within a team is an invisible quality that is only seen when it is reflected in the actions of the team under the most challenging of circumstances.

Don’t look up ‘Viscosity’ in the dictionary if you want a good description of highly effective teams.  I don’t assume you want your team to be “gooey.” And yet I can’t imagine any other term that so effectively describes that “stuff” that flows through a highly cohesive team and keeps them smoothly humming along under the greatest of stress.

What is that mysterious quality that truly connects team members, lubricates difficult situations and keeps friction from building to a point where systems begin to break down?  I call it Viscosity.  It’s not quite invisible.  And yet it’s also not a team component that’s easily held up for examination.

It is the truly ineffable.  And yet, as my colleague Jeff Salz states, it’s the only thing that really eff-ing matters.

Sound travels four times faster through water than it does through air.  Why?  Density.  Information is handed off from one particle to the next in an efficient manner. The more dense and compressed the water is between two objects, the easier it is for sound waves to be handed off from one particle to the next.  Each particle or molecule acts as a connector – a series of links that bind the whole together.

Fill the space between your team members with these small but significant bridges of connection. Space, devoid of connective material, between team members creates a wilderness where effective communication can easily dissipate

Things that are in any way connected respond to each other’s subtle changes and communications with a more nimble grace than those that are separated by vapid space.  People are the same way.  We respond more effectively to those with whom we feel a connection.

Create viscosity in your team and add cohesion by filling the space that separates team members with as many bits of connective material as possible. Although all too often considered inconsequential, these connective links include such things as:

Knowledge about each other – Favorite hobbies, make up of their family, movies and books they enjoy, what they did on their last vacation, how they spend their free time, where they grew up, what conditions they grew up in…

A deeper understanding of each other – Joys, passions, fears, challenges, values, social strengths and struggles, motivations, incentives...

Some of these things may seem more substantial and consequential than others, but every little bit of connective material that can be created between team members increases a team’s viscosity. When things heat up and the mechanics of your team dynamics begin to grind, you will find that its these small links that make it easier for people to understand each other, accept each other, listen to each other, respect each other and ultimately to be more effective, productive and collaborative together.

Ultimately viscosity is about respect, affinity, trust, caring, compassion, empathy, authenticity and playfulness – all the things that are so very important to human relationships and yet are often so difficult to talk about and instill within a team.

Much easier to explore and modify team mechanics, operational procedures and the more tangible and visible aspects of a team.  But once you get the ball rolling and open up those channels of connection, you just might find that team members are seriously hungry for that deep and meaningful cohesion they may be lacking.

Create opportunities to fill the space between team members with the richness of what makes us all so human.  And even if it gets a little “gooey,” I’d wager that’s far better than a team culture that melts down and fractures due to a lack of meaningful viscosity.

This Garden of Humanity

Note to self, and to anyone who finds themselves reading these words.

This is a blog.

And as a blog, I share a wide variety of ideas, perspectives and feelings that come to me in very random moments.  Right now I write from 37,000 ft between San Diego and Houston from what I think may be the smallest airline seat ever conceived. I have to give Continental Airlines a big kudos for creativity in figuring out how to shave every possible millimeter of space out of this seat while still being able to call it a seat (although some might argue the definition).

But back to the blog.

What is contained in these blogs are not polished, tightly edited or fully fleshed out thoughts. More often than not, they represent a free flow of consciousness that's bubbling about in my head and needs some form of release.

I share what I write with the simple intention that my words may lend some insight, inspiration, perspective or food for thought to propel and further your own journey of exploration and discovery; so that your own truths may reveal themselves to you.

My words are not intended to be definitive or brilliant or even a declared truth. I may read my own words a week from now and either completely disagree or find that they were far inadequate in expressing what I’m trying to share. They are meant to ponder and to invoke thoughts and feelings. Contradictions and paradoxes may abound.  They certainly do in the world around me, why not in my own head?

So, don’t believe a word I say unless it works for you or resonates with you or is in any way applicable to making your own life easier, more joyful, more abundant, more clear or more groovy in any way. These are just my beliefs held in the brief moment that I share them and our beliefs are nothing but strong opinions, at best.

With that said, it occurs to me that…..

A flower when pulled from the soil quickly dies. Placed in water, it also dies, just more slowly and gracefully.

But denied its source of nutrients and water it soon withers.

Even grown in soil depleted of nutrients, minerals and other riches, it lives a stunted life and does not grow at its full potential. It must stay in contact with the rich and vital energy sources which keep it alive and flourishing.

All life must stay in close connection with the energy sources that feed and nourish it physically, emotionally and spiritually.

For us humans that includes the life force inherent in our connection with fellow humans. We may not have physical roots, but our souls are intertwined with those of other conscious beings.

If our only sustenance is what we chew and swallow, and we are denied our connection with our communities, we wither and do not grow to our full potential.

Our bodies are fed with food and water. Our hearts are fed by other hearts. Our spirits are fed by opening our connection to the universal life force that exists within everything. The same life force that grows the flower also energizes us human beings.

This flower may continue to grow in poor conditions but it does not bear full and ripe and luscious fruit. It does not bloom as bright, as large or as fragrant.

Neither do we when we constrict our opportunities for deep and heartfelt connection with others.

Your community is the soil into which you sink your roots looking for sustenance, nourishment, guidance and inspiration. The free flow of ideas and emotions are the nutrients that feed the community into which you are rooted.

Your practices of meditation, Qigong, breath work, prayer, play, exercise, laughter, etc... are like the water that carry the richness of what is held within the community throughout your being.

As with any soil, communities can get depleted. They can lose their inspiration, their faith, their common hope, their collective dreams. These must be continuously fed and replenished. 

This year's Garden

Each of us can be a responsible gardner and replenish the soil from which we draw our own energy and sustenance. We can contribute our fruits back into the community by sharing our passions, our gifts, our work, our love, our authentic selves.

Above us there is the wide open sky and the abundant sun that is available to all regardless of the community in which you grow. Over there is another garden and it thrives in a different type of soil made up of different nutrients and ideas and philosophies and faiths.

But we all share the same abundance and inspiration of sky and sun and moon and stars. No one garden owns the sun and the sky. No one community owns faith.

Perhaps I carry the analogy too far. But the truth remains that when we remove ourselves from our connection to the life force that sustains us, we wither, we grow weak, we do not yield abundance and we do not flourish.

The community is your soil.

A free and courageous flow of ideas and passions are some of the nutrients that keep the community rich.

Your conscious breath, your faith and your practices of self care are the water that carries the wisdom of the community throughout your entire being to every cell.

Your wide spread arms and your clear and open heart are your connection to the shared sun and sky that energizes and inspires us all.

Be a good gardener today so that we may all share the abundance inherent in this garden paradise in which we live.

The Reciprocity of Right Action ~ Building Courageous Communities

"Be prolific and gracious in the sharing
of your passions and in your own self care.
Those who your positive actions inspire today,
might well be your own inspiration tomorrow."

Chess Edwards

The communities in which we live and work are the communities that we help build, create and evolve through our own actions and deeds. If we choose actions and behaviors which are inspiring, healthy and courageous then those qualities will be reflected in the world around us. Choose wisely and you will find yourself surrounded by healthy, courageous inspired people who will be there when you need them most. It is a self sustaining and self promulgating course of positive action inspiring positive action. 

Whether that be our work community or that of our friends and family, it is important that we contribute to them mightily, abundantly and consciously for this is where we live, love, dream, evolve and create.

While it is of course true that our actions are far more influential than our words. It is also true that we will often do for others what we might not do for ourselves. Often we rise to the challenge, go the extra mile or make heroic efforts for the sake of others - our children, our family and friends, those who depend on us at work.

To truly be of service to our communities, it is important that we consider with care not only how we act, how we communicate and even what we think, but to what degree we take care of ourselves and make healthy lifestyle choices.

In our various roles as a leaders, parents, siblings, sons, daughters, friends, co-workers, etc… we make a tremendous difference when we make healthy life affirming choices that are reflected in our daily practices, commitments and regimens. Those close to us are paying attention and when they witness us making heroic and challenging choices, they do reflect upon their own choices. Just as we do when we witness someone close to us taking on life’s challenges with audacity, courage and commitment.

And it doesn’t matter our job title, perceived role, status or position of influence within the community. You may see yourself primarily in a role as student or teacher or leader. But the difference between teacher, leader or student is not a matter of status, it is a matter of timing. From one moment to the next, you can shift from one to the other. Or you can be all three. The important thing is to be prolific and gracious in the sharing of your passions and gifts no matter what your status. Those who your heroic choices inspire today, might well be your own inspiration tomorrow.

Here's an example of how the communal effects of my own life choices recently circled back around and saved my butt just when I needed them most. About a month ago I started to wander from my optimal health regimen. I began exercising less, my meal proportions started steadily increasing, my alcohol intake inched its way upward. Bottom line, I found myself far afield from the healthy lifestyle that I have long enjoyed and that I coach and advocate for others.

A few days ago my best friend, business partner and fellow adventurer, Jeff Salz returned from a week of insanely focused healthy living at the Optimal Health Institute near San Diego, California. When he returned from this haven of health and well being, he called to fill me in on his experience and we shared our very different states of current self-care. After 10 minutes of speaking with him and hearing about his major strides in optimizing and regaining control over his own health and dietary choices, I was mightily inspired to get back to my own best practices of vibrant living.

Now I’m back to a very gratifying exercise program, happily eating with my eyes wide open to the health benefits of proper diet and I’ve gladly walked away from all alcohol for a month to reset my base.

Here’s the kicker. Not more than six months ago, Jeff and I were living exact opposite roles. His health was spiraling out of control and I had never felt better and more in balance in my life.

Jeff confessed that it was my inspirational lifestyle that played a large part in him reaching out to get control of his own health. He had watched my health become a focus of my everyday routines and commitments and he watched my work and personal relationships bloom as they never had before due to my clarity of mind, body and spirit.

And thank goodness he was paying attention, because when I lost my way (as we all do!) I needed him to be there for me. And he was, simply through his actions of courageous self care. Its a wonderful loop of support.

Living at our highest potential is a constant process of remembering - then forgetting - then remembering again... The idea is to shorten the space between these two states, lengthen the time of the remembering and gracefully and compassionately shift back from the forgetting to the remembering when we lose our way. 

Today Jeff and I are both flying high and making healthy choices. I know that we both inspire each other and those within the community that we help to create. I don’t know what tomorrow may bring; what struggles, challenges or roadblocks I may come up against. But I know that the choices I make in each moment along the way create a powerful loop of reciprocal support. And I know that I am inspired every day, several times a day, by those within my community whose actions and deeds are those of self care, vibrant health, service to others and a courageous commitment to creating a better world.

Do I risk being seen as too optimistic of being out of touch with how the world "really" works. Ha! Perhaps. But it has become abundantly clear to me that the world in which I wish to live and love and create and explore is truly up to me to create!

What about you?  What action can you take today that is going to shape the world you will inhabit tomorrow? Who is watching you and just what do they see? It only takes one step to put it all into motion. Make your very next action one of passion, inspiration and courageous self care and then watch it all go 'round and 'round.