Accept, Adjust, and Advance

As many personal development success strategies inform and improve professional development as well, I wanted to share a process that I have been honing and developing with clients for many years. In our businesses and organizations, we are steeped in processes – how we do things, how we decide what to do…even how we approach what we decide to do. With all of these processes, I suggest that there is one Quintessential Process to guide organizations through the best way to impact outcomes and improve the bottom line.

More About The Quintessential Process

The Quintessential Process™ was developed by clinically studying over 500 organizations of various types and sizes.  It is informed by over twenty five years of studying the role psychology has in leadership and with groups.  It has been successfully implemented by leaders, businesses and organizations across four continents in a number of countries and cultures including The U.S. Military, non-profits, multi-national corporations and small businesses.

This video offers a closer look, in pictures, at the work Caruso Leadership performs daily with clients and organizations throughout the world. The accompanying audio captures an interview with Joe Caruso as he describes The Quintessential Process.

Consider this.

Most organizations that aren’t happy with their outcomes will focus on their processes or behaviors in order to determine what they might need to do differently in order to change their outcomes.  They may have a pow-wow of some kind to brainstorm ideas.  They may have a retreat.  They may hire a niche consultant who specializes in their industry or in the particular kinds of problems they’ve identified.  They may even decide they need to reorganize. 

In each and every one of these cases, the organization is trying to solve their problems by focusing on the back-end of a sequence of chain reactions, rather than where the problem actually originates.  Additionally, unless the consultants they hire understand the role of narrative in organization development, they will be trying to change people’s behaviors, even while those very people are holding onto the same narratives that drove the thinking, decisions and behaviors that created the problematic outcomes in the first place. 

In business, it isn’t wise to willfully or naively ignore how the collective and individual mind functions.   The mind can’t consider an idea in a vacuum.  It must attach the idea or thought to something it is familiar with in order to create meaning.   (This is called comparative thinking.)  This attachment then creates other attachments and very quickly forms a narrative—a story that makes sense of the original idea and how it relates to other known thoughts, notions or ideas.  While we are fully capable of doing things that don’t make sense to others, we must have our own reasons for why we think and behave certain ways.  (Even if the reasons are made up and don’t stand up to reasonable examination.)

The first thing I do when a company calls me to help them with a goal or a problem is to uncover the thematic narratives of the organization.  Every single time, it has proven to be critical to solving the core problem.  Twenty-five years and hundreds and hundreds of companies later, it still is—every single time. 

The Times of Our Lives

Consider Kodak.  Founded in 1889, they owned the photo development market.  They even invented the digital camera.  What happened?  While many forensic business analysts examine the corporate corpse looking for clues, I contend that this is a company that couldn’t get past its legacy thinking.   In other words, it couldn’t adapt its narrative about itself to the modern times, and because of this, nothing else they tried could turn around their demise.   Stated simply, it couldn’t optimize its invention of the digital camera, if it meant that doing so would lessen the importance of film development—a foundational and fundamental part of their sense of identity. 

It’s not like they lacked the resources to change.  As late as 1976 Kodak had 90% of film and 85% of all camera sales in the US.   It’s not like they weren’t trying to change.  The company has had four different CEO’s in the last 19 years.   On Thursday, January 19^th, the same day that Apple announced that they will change the textbook industry forever, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.   If they can’t successfully emerge, the company that helped America make memories will soon become one.  (The irony here is that Apple is a company that was able to successfully change their legacy narrative from, We will beat Microsoft, to We create technology so disruptive that it redefines entire industries.)

The fundamental reason why all the changes Kodak tried to make failed to save them comes down to one thing—a narrative that didn’t serve them.  The fundamental way they saw themselves became fatally flawed, once they invented the digital camera.  True to their narrative, they once again led the field in photographic invention with yet another breakthrough.  Only this time, the nearly monopolistic masters of processing, couldn’t process how to embrace the new while they still clung to the old—an impossibility for any individual or organization.  In the meantime, the marketplace spoke.  Marketplaces don’t wait for companies to change.

We are the stories we tell ourselves we are.  Sometimes our stories serve us.  Sometimes they hurt us.  Sometimes they help us.  Sometimes they get in our way.  Great leaders need to understand the narrative of their organization and make sure it’s always edifying, because their markets will continue to shift and change at an increasingly rapid pace.  In this way it seems that today’s marketplace reflects the sensibilities of hundreds of millions of avid digital photographers—an analogy that was obviously lost on Kodak.   Once the marketplace focuses in on what it wants, it doesn’t like to have to wait around to see how everything develops.

Learn More About Narrative and Organization Development

Read Part I:  What’s Your Story?  How Narratives Drive Outcomes

Learn more about Caruso Leadership Organization Development

Read more about “the story we tell ourselves we are” in The Power of Losing Control, offered as a free eBook for a limited time.

© Joe Caruso and Caruso Leadership, 2012

Individually and organizationally, we are the stories we tell ourselves we are.  This, more than anything else, drives individual and organizational success.  While ideas, innovation and execution are important, they can only be as powerful and positive as the narrative that drives the thinking and behaviors of the collective consciousness of a company’s workforce.  Yes, this definitely and especially includes the executive leadership team.    

Here’s how this works. 

A Culture Unto Itself

Every individual and organization is a kind of culture unto itself.   All cultures are driven by the myths they believe.  These myths are stories or narratives that they tell themselves about themselves—whether they are consciously aware of it or not.  The power of a myth in driving thoughts and behaviors is not dependent on whether the story is true.   True or not, these myths are the foundational contexts that drive what is (or is not) considered, how it will be considered, what will be decided and what behaviors will take place. 

Changing these underlying narratives in order to create better thinking and outcomes isn’t as easy as some might think.   More often than not, organizations don’t see how some of their stories are preventing them from thinking smarter and creating better outcomes.  Whether acknowledged or invisible, our narratives serve as powerful collective constraints and governors for ideas, considerations, and even communication. 

So why is this important?  Because individually and collectively, all of our outcomes are the result of our narratives.   If the leader(s) of an organization want(s) to change outcomes, they have to begin by figuring out which narratives are getting in the way, and which narratives are actually serving them in regard to helping create intended outcomes.  Good leaders know that the right narrative is critical to fostering the kind of organizational development that will positively impact the bottom line. 

Read Part II for examples of how narrative can work for, or against and organization (Apple, and Kodak).

It All Starts With the Narrative

Our Narrative drives what we consider and how we will consider it.  Our Consideration drives what we will think about and how we will think about it.  Our Thinking will drive our decisions.  Our decisions will drive our behavior.  Our Behavior drives our outcomes.  This is an unalterable, undeniable sequence of events because it’s the way the mind works.  It is also the way the collective mind works.   In my book, The Power of Losing Control, I dedicate an entire chapter to the power of personal myth, and how it affects the way we define ourselves and our circumstances.  In that chapter I write that, “Everyone needs a cage in which to feel free.” The cage is a metaphor for our contextual understanding of ourselves.  In the collective mind of an organization, the cage of our narrative becomes the barriers and governors that guide and inform how its people think about what they think about. Understanding this is critical to unlocking healthy organization development.

Learn More About Narrative and Organization Development

Read Part II: How Apple and Kodak Let Narrative Determine Their Level of Success

Learn more about Caruso Leadership Organization Development

Read more about “the story we tell ourselves we are” in The Power of Losing Control, offered as a free eBook for a limited time.

© Joe Caruso and Caruso Leadership, 2012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Best-Selling Book Offered Free to Military & Military Families

Caruso Leadership offers best-selling Power of Losing Control eBook to Navy and other military organizations in the month of January

Detroit, MI  (January 10, 2012) — Caruso Leadership announced today it will release 10,000 free copies of the bestselling book The Power of Losing Control as an eBook, with priority access given to The United States Navy and other organizations that serve the military.

The book’s continued popularity since its original publication as a hardcover and paperback drove the need to create an eBook version. Previously published in six languages and with a stint on the CEO bestseller list, Caruso Leadership updated the Power of Losing Control to include interactive exercises and free supplemental content available through the CarusoLeadership.com website.  

"To further Caruso Leadership’s mission to effectively help others reach their goals, I am pleased to extend the free eBook to 10,000 people who wish to make sense of and find success in this out-of-control world,” said Joe Caruso, author of the book and founder of Caruso Leadership. “I am deeply honored that so many members of the US Navy and their families are already downloading the book. Having worked with a number of Admirals for many years, I am grateful for the military’s commitment to our country and in awe of the sacrifices they and their families make that go largely unseen every day."

The Power of Losing Control is heralded as a book that “absolutely establishes the basis for individual and organizational transformation” and a “A great read and as important an even better re-read.” It was written as a result of thirty years of studying the greatest thinkers, philosophers, and psychoanalysts, and work with hundreds of organizations globally. Because much of Caruso Leadership’s work with individuals and organizations is private, the book offers a window into the studies, life learning, and simple, common, timeless human truths that have transformed countless lives, both personally and professionally, around the world.

“This extraordinary book speaks to the soul of the human endeavor and from the heart of an extraordinary survivor, human being and friend,” said Michael A. Giorgione, Energy Market Leader, RBF Consulting (RADM, USN, Retired), “We should all learn how to lose control and reap the benefits."

In addition to the popular Success Strategies and principles such as The Four Rules of Engagement, and The Five Steps to Wisdom, the book offers free companion content, including audio recordings, printable exercises, and videos through the Caruso Leadership website. The free book promotion will run until February 15, 2012, or until 10,000 copies have been downloaded – whichever comes first. Free copies can be found at www.carusoleadership.com/out-of-control-giveaway, and more about the book itself, including free companion content, is available at www.carusoleadership.com/power-of-losing-control.

About Caruso Leadership In 1986, Joe Caruso set out to find the formula required for any business to optimize growth and maximize business profit. After studying and working with thousands of businesses and organizations in dozens of countries around the globe, Caruso Leadership has determined the Quintessential Process^TM to apply to optimize any business or organization. Today, Caruso Leadership works with companies worldwide to analyze the elements that either create or prevent business breakthroughs by applying these processes through strategic business advisory services, executive development and leadership training, organizational development, and sales training. In addition to working with businesses, CEOs, and Admirals, Joe Caruso is a popular keynote speaker and the author of the CEO-bestseller, The Power of Losing Control. Visit CarusoLeadership.com for more information. Contact Us.

To kick off the new year, we’re making 10,000 copies of the best-selling Power of Losing Control by Joe Caruso available as a free eBook download. Why? It is part of Caruso Leadership’s pledge to do all we can to help as many people as we can find their power in this out of control world.

You can be an important part of this huge giveaway in two ways.

First, download a free eBook for yourself.

Then, forward this message to everyone you know. It won't take but a minute and it will make a BIG difference in so many lives. Together we can help thousands of people learn how to improve their lives, relationships, and outcomes. People will thank you. We know. We receive regular thank you's from readers all over the world.


How It Works
Here’s how to be a part of this Out of Control eBook Giveaway:
1) Forward this page (use the Share Links below) to the people on your list. Let them know that you have decided to be a part of a huge New Year's gift this year by helping 10,000 people…urge them to help you spread the word by doing the same. The individual referring the most free book downloads will win a free Kindle.
2) Post the following text and link on your Facebook page:

@Caruso Leadership Institute is giving away 10,000 copies of the Power of Losing Control eBook – get yours here http://www.carusoleadership.com/out-of-control-giveaway and post this update once you do. Help make it an out of control giveaway.

3) If you know of any news service (radio, television, newspaper, blog or otherwise), please pass on this message to help us get to 10,000 free eBooks as quickly as possible, or download the Press Release.

How to Get YOUR Free Copy
Visit the Out of Control Giveaway page on our website. Complete the simple form and use the Code provided on the page to access your free download, for either Kindle, or other eReaders like Nook, iBooks, Sony Reader and others.

What's The Catch?
No catch. We simply want to spread the word about the Power of Losing Control and further Caruso Leadership's Mission. There are no hooks or gotchas and we will not share contact information. We will proudly let you know when we’ve given away the 10,000th book so you can feel great about making a difference in this exciting giveaway. The Kindle prize-winner will be announced on our website on February 16th. The book has already made a difference in countless lives – but don’t take our word for it.

Read "What They're Saying">>>

 
*While the book is available in six languages, only the English language eBook version is available for this giveaway. Those who download the free book will not be solicited.  There are no hooks, catches or requests.  Email addresses will be kept confidential and will not be shared or sold. The special free offer code will be changed and the offer will expire once the 10,000th person has downloaded the book or by February 15th, 2012, whichever comes first.

Just look at the folks rushing around to get their holiday shopping done in time (this may require looking in the mirror too). In this situation, we see what could be an enjoyable process (considering another person so much that you want to find or make something that appeals to their sensibilities) become a stressful and unpleasant process.

Goals are a necessary aspect of living a successful life. In fact, we live in a goal-oriented society, where “taking our eye off the ball” is viewed as poor form. Goals help us to positively direct our physical and psychic energy.  Our biological make-up is actually designed to build up and discharge energy. Psychiatrist William Reich argues that all biological organisms function this way, and that this “discharge” of energy can either be directed or random. Goals create direction for the natural discharge of energy, and thereby create meaningful structure in our lives.

Success is Not Measured in Achievement Alone

In our everyday lives, goals are as essential as success is desired. However, success is more than a measure  of what one has achieved. Success is the combination of the achievement and what I like to call the enjoyment factor. This is a special blend of getting what you want, appreciating what you have, and enjoying the process along the way.

When we get absorbed in our struggle to achieve, we forget that part of our challenge is to enjoy the process of achieving.  This process is called, “being.” Thoreau once wrote, “Sometimes as I idly sit on Walden Pond I cease to live and begin to be.”  We don’t need to idly sit in order to realize that we are being while we are doing.    

The hustle and bustle of holidays combined with the “relationship Olympics” that can ensue can make it a challenging time for some.  If you find yourself challenged this holiday season, be a little selfish and give yourself a present. Take a minute to stop what you’re hurrying through and remind yourself of our Success Strategy #29. 

“Learn to cherish the chase as much as you treasure the trophy.” 

It’s the key to having yourself a merry little Christmas.

© Joe Caruso and Caruso Leadership, 2011. Reprints available with permission.

Now available in six languages!

Arabic Scientific Publishers (or THAQAFA) signed for the rights to publish the book in Arabic to sell in Saudi Arabia, the Gulf states, Lebanon, Syria, Jordon, Egypt and North African countries. The Arabic edition has been spotted on Amazon! Check out the colorful cover, and Joe's picture next to the Arabic amjad (alphabet).

New eBook version available on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com

While on Amazon, be sure to check out the new eBook edition, with a new Executive Introduction and links to free content on our website. If it moves you, write a review of the book, share the link with a friend, or gift the book to a friend.

The book has also been published as a Nook book on BarnesandNoble.com. We'd love our Nook readers to share their review of the book as well.

And for your own access to free companion content for the book, be sure to visit our Power of Losing Control page>>>

Here’s the deal—we all lie to ourselves about ourselves. We tell ourselves stories that aren’t true and we rationalize and justify things that happen so they validate how we think.In some ways it is part of the human experience. Sometimes we are in denial of certain realities. Sometimes we just have blind spots that we can’t see no matter how hard we try. 

The essence of our work here at Caruso Leadership, and where we have the biggest impact, is to help leaders with denial and blind spots—whether it’s on their part, the part of their leadership team, their organization, or even their target market. 

EVERYTHING begins with how we define things. All behavior is a result of unconscious or conscious thinking and feeling. You can’t substantially change your behavior unless you start with your definitions.

And now back to Congress—many of us are frustrated—“why can’t they just do their job?” They can’t do their job because they have a myopic and nearsighted definition of their job. When people need to think of the long haul and an end game, nearsightedness is not a virtue. Leaders need to make decisions that consider their organization (or country) in the context of what else is happening in the market (or world) and make the tough decisions that the moment requires while considering an optimal future vision.  Unfortunately, right now our political leaders seem incapable of doing either. We all know what happens when business leaders do this.  They either get fired or their company goes out of business. 

The good news is that our problems are still solvable. But not without a leadership team (read the President and the Congress) that can learn how they are lying to themselves about themselves. 

More Leadership Blogs:
Common Lies About Leadership>>>
Leaders, Wisdom of the Masses, and the US Economy>>>

© 2011 Joe Caruso and Caruso Leadership. Reprints available with permission – just let us know where you want to use it.
 

Today, I plan on making the same gesture stateside. A policy of my business is to donate my time and services to those who serve education and our military.  We do our best to do so, as often as we can.

There are three things that keep a sovereign nation powerful and sustainable: Military, Education and Money. The sad fact on this Veteran’s Day is that we are failing in two of the three, and due to a foolish political negotiation that created the silly notion of a super-committee who were doomed to fail from their inception, we are about to decimate the third. 

Here’s a bit of history in context. On August 16, 1940, The Royal Air Force reported to Winston Churchill that they had successfully beaten back a superior and highly aggressive Luftwaffe. As he got into his car after leaving the No. 11 Group RAF Operations Room Battle of Britain Bunker at RAF Uxbridge, Churchill told Major General Hastings Ismay ‘Don’t speak to me, I have never been so moved’.^[1] After several minutes of silence he said ‘Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.’ The sentence would form the basis of his speech to the House of Commons four days later.  (A much forgotten fact is that before the war, 80% of the British people were against fighting Hitler and wanted to negotiate with him.) 

I share this because, as I reflect on Churchill’s words on this American Veteran’s Day, the human conflict around saving the Euro and the conflict around the super committee and saving our economy are coming to a head. 

American politicians would do well to consider the answer to this question: How many past empires (or superpowers) are represented in the Euro zone? 

On this Veteran’s Day blog I feel compelled to paraphrase Churchill’s famous words. 

America’s current economic woes are because never has so much been owed by so many because of so few. It’s a good day for those few who have taken an oath to fight for the best interests of this sovereign nation—our political leaders—to stop thinking about being popular and start making the difficult decisions that are necessary and appropriate to the size of our economic conflict. I can’t help but wonder if some of these people forget that our history is being written today and—more importantly—that our future depends on it.

Happy Veteran’s Day and a heartfelt thank you to all our veterans and their families.

© 2011 Joe Caruso and Caruso Leadership. Reprints available with permission.

Athletes, politicians, musicians and celebrities who are at the top of their game regularly turn to advisors and coaches to help them with their work. Heck, I have been advising CEO’s, Admirals and organizational leaders and business owners for most of my career, yet never thought of how a surgeon could benefit from having a coach. I’m reminded of a conversation I recently had with one of my newer CEO’s over breakfast.

This young CEO had hired me to advise on business strategy, organizational structure and board-related issues. We had been working together for about three months.  As we waited for the change from our bill, she turned to me and said, “You know, I’ve been a CEO for 15 years and it never occurred to me to hire an advisor. This process has been more helpful than I could have imagined. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me before.”

One of the most important decisions we make in our lives is who we decide we should confide in and listen to for advice. I encourage you to take a few minutes and consider who you would list among your most trusted advisors.  Consider if you formally selected them based on their experience, intelligence or expertise, or if they became so by default or merely because you are friends.  Consider if your relationship with them is fully candid and honest. If you don’t have an advisor, consider what kind of characteristics and qualifications you would want your advisor to have. 

Here is a brief excerpt from the article:

"Elite performers, researchers say, must engage in “deliberate practice”—sustained, mindful efforts to develop the full range of abilities that success requires. You have to work at what you’re not good at. In theory, people can do this themselves. But most people do not know where to start or how to proceed. Expertise, as the formula goes, requires going from unconscious incompetence to conscious incompetence to conscious competence and finally to unconscious competence. The coach provides the outside eyes and ears, and makes you aware of where you’re falling short. This is tricky. Human beings resist exposure and critique; our brains are well defended. So coaches use a variety of approaches—showing what other, respected colleagues do, for instance, or reviewing videos of the subject’s performance. The most common, however, is just conversation."
Full article here >>>

I’m fortunate to have such candid conversations with top leaders nearly every day as an important aspect of doing my job.  Additionally, I have a handful of advisors/coaches that I call upon regularly to keep me at the top of my game. Each one has achieved undeniable success in their field. Our conversations are always interesting and their perspectives always helpful. I can honestly say that my life wouldn’t be what it is without them. 

I hope you enjoy the article and, more importantly, I hope your advisors and/or coaches continue to serve you well.

© 2011 Joe Caruso and Caruso Leadership. Reprints available with permission.