(If you want to see the original interview, please visit Dr Amit Nagpal blog)
1) Tell us something about your book, “Strategy, Leadership and the Soul”
In 2005 I met Koby Huberman my co-author at an amazing conference called Forum 21 http://www.forum-21.com/whatIs.asp
Koby was speaking about “open space” technology and how he was using that method to create conversation circles in his own community between Arabs & Israeliss.
I was speaking on the topic “If You Want to Change the World, Change Your Life: Micro-shifts = Macro-impact”.
We each had a plan on how to share all of the information we had learned and wanted to become accountability partners. In this we scheduled a call two times a month over Skype. I know Skype is popular now but in 2005 it was innovative to use.
Because our conversations were so rich we decided to have them transcribed. Over the course of two years a pattern emerged and we noticed that everything we discussed fit either strategy, leadership or soul. We really had something and knew the message was scalable.
So we gathered information and perspectives for three years, organized the information for one year, and it took a year to find a publisher. We were so pleased that Triarchy Press published our work in 2010.
Link to the 1st Chapter of the book: http://www.agility3r.com/Book/Chapter-1.html
2) Explain ‘Agility’ and its components in simple words.
I started my own company in 2000 and it was called Customer Service Alliance. We did customer & employee satisfaction surveys and consulting regarding improving scores. I was deeply impacted by Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat.
In fact I was lucky enough to interview him: http://tcollins.hipcast.com/download/7872866e-0a28-24bb-9aed-b39e3650bfd0.mp3
After reading his work, I decided competitive advantage had less to due with surveys and more to do with mental conditioning. I felt the greatest contribution I could make is by helping individuals & organization get better conditioned for the macro environment, globalization, and scenario planning.
It was then, I changed the name of my company to Agility3R.
I believe the most important skill today is agility and it is defined by resilience, responsiveness & reflection
* These can be interpreted at the individual level as well as enterprise wide
Resilience has three implications
1) how well you bounce back from failure
2) how well you learn from that failure and also inform the entire eco-system of that learning so the lesson can be scaled
3) diversity of experience–the more robust and diversified a person’s experience-the higher the probability for resilience (going to how cells has so much information they had to separate into two cell)
Responsiveness
The more accurate the read on the landscape the more appropriate the interpretation.
Being responsive means looking into and environment and being able to assess the most appropriate way to “be” in that environment in order to create value
Being able to process “just in time” informaiton and integrating that synchronistically into both behaviour and especially language
Reflection
Valuing quiet – no activity time in order for sense-making to accur.
Creating buffers in for patterns to emerge, for retro-review of activities to assess for learning and or future adjustments
Space for deepening of insights and space for “magic” to occur (theory-U jazz) in this space
3) What are the major services provided by Agility 3R to its clients?
Our company now focuses on three primary offerings:
1) Team Leadership–six month training that incorporates coaching & a customized multi-media curriculum designed based on the source of competitive advantage (for cross-functional teams ranging from 6-18 participants)
2) Keynote talks – customized interactive lectures that invigorate employees & foster higher level strategic thinking
3) Interplay Business Simulation – a facilitated board game experience that allows intangible assets to gain more visiblity as you take a company through a business life cycle from start-up to full maintained with challenges from the macro and the need to write and perform an investor presentation
Key outcomes or the promises our work makes include:
- Swifter and more decisive
- More efficient in your decision-making
- More confident in the choices you make
- Increased effectiveness in leading your sphere of influence
- More in control of the complex world you compete in
- A better champion for your brand both company & personal
(for more robust descriptions of our offerings http://www.agility3r.com/offerings)
4) What exactly is Mindshare and how does it provide competitive advantage?
I just love this slide. When I was a manager at a 200 person call center, we sold phone service & benefits. If we could sell call waiting & caller ID, we would have more of your wallet.
Walletshare was a marketing conversation about how to gain more of already existing customers. Today, if you understand your own mind and how it works, your triggers, your inspiration etc. You will probably make wiser choices as self knowledge allows for more choices (at least one would hope). In addition, if you also understand the neuroscience of those in your business ecosystem — you will probably have more lead time to learn & adopt as their world changes you have an edge.
I say that your value isn’t in what you do or where you work. Your value is in the level of accuracy in your own interpretation of reality and the way you choose to articulate your life experience.
That is mindshare and that is truly today’s currency.
5) What is Existential philosophy?
According to Wikipedia, “Existentialism is a term applied to the work of a number of philosophers since the 19th century who, despite large differences in their positions, generally focused on the condition of human existence, and an individual’s emotions, actions, responsibilities, and thoughts, or the meaning or purpose of life. Existential philosophers often focused more on what they believed was subjective, such as beliefs and religion, or human states, feelings, and emotions, such as freedom, pain, guilt, and regret, as opposed to analyzing objective knowledge, language, or science.” For more, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Existentialism
I got two Bachelor of Arts from University of Colorado in Boulder. One in Existenital philosophy and the other in English.Who would have thought a liberal arts major from the West would end up being a business coach with a passionate and loud voice for strategy?
I cannot tell you how much philosphy has impacted my success. I started learning about philosophy when I was an eight year old child. My mother -who is strong, beautiful and talented, was also struggling with mental illness.
At the time, there weren’t so many regulations and when she was hospitalized, I would visit here the hospital and play ping-poing and drink chocolate milk with the other patients. Eight years old is before shame enters–so I had no problem jumping into character and learning what the world looked like from their point of view.
It became a game to me as a child and one I certainly benefited from as an adult. Now you can understand how much I fell in love with Immanuel Kant when I learned about his contribution to the theory of subjectivity. Prior to him people believed one text, one experience. He said, no– one text, a multitude of experiences.
Anyway, I was thrilled to know that other people were curious about ways of knowing and ways of being. I dived in, and if you happen to follow me on twitter you know the water gets deeper and deeper. Learning how to honor indiviudual point of view and compassionately see from their vantage point is vital for the multiplicity of the globalization that is occuring.
I am so lucky my life gave me such early training and I am tested and cutting new edges each day in both intelligence and compassion.
Thanks a lot Jennifer for sharing your deep insights on leadership, strategy and the soul with us. I really respect you as a thought leader in the field.
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Brief Profile
Beacon of hope. Purveyor of discipline.
Global Citizen. Transleader.
Coach. Facilitator.
Author- Strategy, Leadership & the Soul and Founder of Agility3R.
Links
Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jS5BpO6l8mo
Amazon
Strategy, Leadership and the Soul: Resilience, Responsiveness and Reflection for a Global Economy
Thanks to Dr Amit Nagpal for his permission to publish this interview here.
Michael Thallium
Global & Greatness Coach
