Genius Stone Blog

By: Paul David Walker, CEO of Genius Stone Partners and Faculty Member of Executive Next Practices Institute

While helping CEOs and executive teams at mid-sized and Fortune 500 companies throughout the years to align strategy, structure and organizational culture, I have observed both great and unfit leaders and realized that leaders can literally invent the future of their companies and their lives. Today’s CEOs need teams with clear missions, a sense of urgency, the stillness of a master and explosive targeted actions. Like shooting rapids, there is a correct course in the currents of change; there are also those that will run you into rocks and those that will drown you and your company.

Companies that succeed in today’s volatile business economy must conquer obstacles the way a championship basketball team does in a “FastBreak,” overcoming the insecurities that hold them back and responding instantly to the flow of the game of business.

Before leaders can accomplish anything, they must first understand themselves and the present reality, challenge their own thinking, communicate a well thought-out and concise strategic direction, and define a clear and actionable plan for execution. No matter how much research is done, a leader must make the final call. To make that call with confidence, a leader must know the answer or how to find the answer, and he or she must communicate clearly, simply and concretely—and in a compelling manner. Only then will a team have the faith to follow and achieve the company’s objectives.

The following seven imperatives act as a road-map for surpassing common business hurdles to achieve success and invent a well-designed future for your business or your life. These steps work for everything from building a porch on the front of your house to improving your life, creating a great company, or galvanizing a nation.

1) Knowing the Answer: The first step, of course, is to know the right answer. But more important, you have to know when you know the right answer in business or in life. It is not enough to say, after it is too late, “I knew that.” In any endeavor, there is a correct course to set. That course is based on the realities of the market, competitive analysis and the true differentiation of the product, service or team being evaluated. A leader must be fully present in the reality of the moment to succeed rather than being attached to their thoughts and beliefs about that reality. The leader must know the difference between his ego’s hopes and fears and true reality. This involves a deep understanding of yourself and the flow of cause and effect. A leader must learn the art of “integrative presence,” which is like being “in the zone”
The future emerges from the present; the past is distorted by our beliefs, emotions and the limits of our perceptual abilities. “Integrative presence” allows you to integrate the reality of the moment with your intention for the future; thus responding correctly to the flow of the game. Product cycles are shortening, business is becoming far more complex, and global competition requires speed and accuracy. Without the correct understanding of the present reality and how that it is emerging into the future, you cannot move with accuracy and speed. A leader must dance with the present while simultaneously carrying an intention for the future. As you do this, you know how to move.

2) Communicating a Clear, Compelling Picture of The Future State: You cannot create something you cannot conceive. Once a leader knows the answer or the right course, that leader must be able to conceive and communicate the opportunity and understand how the team can capture that opportunity. Until this team can see, feel and hear the calling of the opportunity that present reality represents, they cannot truly follow. Without this clear picture, each team member will create his or her own picture of the future, causing friction and slowing the overall progress of the team. The leader’s presence and authentic commitment to the mission draws followers within the company and in the marketplace. The more clearly the picture of the future state is, the easier it is to create. Without a clear picture of the future in the mind of each leader, chaos will ensue.

3) Creating Total Commitment: After the team can see and feel the possibility of the future, their commitment grows.

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation.” - Goethe

First, the leader must be fully committed to the mission and then inspire the same level of commitment in those who follow. Part of being a leader is to challenge teams to face their fears and change their habits. What prevents them from committing is one or the greatest fears of mankind: the fear of the unknown. No one likes to walk into a dark room. As leader, you have to light the future with your vision. To move forward, you must paint a picture of a new reality to give your team confidence and keep them totally engaged. The clearer and more compelling this picture of the future state becomes, the more committed the team becomes. The same is true for the marketplace and your customers.

4) Acknowledging and Responding to Present Reality: Leaders who fall short of their goals have often skipped or distorted this step. No matter how committed a team is to a mission, having the wrong starting point can make plans useless. Knowing the good, the bad, and the ugly about any situation they’re facing allows the team to build plans that are targeted and effective. The challenge here is that people hate to be wrong, and they find ways to make reality comport with their beliefs. This is the problem with the belief in “positive thinking.” It often skips this step and moves too quickly to planning and action. Pessimists, because of their negative beliefs about life, give up at this step, feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. A plan that is not grounded in reality, no matter how clear and committed the team, will lead you over a cliff. If someone were to give you directions to Chicago and thought you were in Los Angeles, when in fact you were in Miami, you would become lost no matter how good the directions. A leader and his team must honestly face their weaknesses and misconceptions to invent the future. It is best to always come back to this imperative.

5) Developing Targeted Action Plans: Having passed through the first four steps, it becomes easier to create targeted plans, which provide a road-map that enables teams to deliver focused execution. The problem here is often that when things are not going well, leaders change the mission instead of adjusting the action plans. This means that they did not do the work in the first four steps. If you know and are committed to the mission, you will know to change the plan, not the mission. With the right plan, a team will surpass competitors while learning about themselves. Even at the final step, there may be obstacles, doubts, and fears to overcome. Be on guard for hesitation. A leader must not falter due the team’s fears.

6) Having the Courage to Act Quickly: When you have all of the above steps in place, your fears are less likely to interfere—but they may still prevent you from implementing the plan. Courage to confront your fears and those of the team sets a true leader apart from someone who knows the answer but lacks the courage to act and lead. Once a leader knows the answer, that leader never gives up. With shortening product cycles and limited capital, leaders must first define the markets, enter them, and create excitement. With targeted actions that everyone believes in, the leader forms “FastBreak Action Teams” that are infused with clarity and confidence to reach the new reality. With good marketing and branding, the marketplace will have the same courage.

7) The Stillness of a Master: In martial arts matches, it is said that a master watching a match can tell who will win as the competitors bow to each other before the match. It is the one who has the most stillness, or the most presence. In moments of stillness, the motion around you slows and you can see, feel, and understand the right course of action. With training, your body will respond. The same kind of stillness is needed as you navigate the whitewater rapids of business and the flow of cause and effect that is challenging your business. Take time to be still and reflect. As in martial arts, presence and balance are important. You must balance all these imperatives.

Of course this is all easier said than done, but if a leader can take the time to follow through each of these steps, he or she can take full control of the future. Fears and doubts arise during each step; a leader must work to mitigate those fears with possibilities and a compelling picture of the future state with his or her role model.

After the Nazis had rolled over Europe, destroying great armies and cities and killing millions of people, Winston Churchill saw his army defeated at Dunkirk, his air force in tatters and U-boats sinking his navy and blocking supply lanes. He still had the courage to say, “We will never surrender.” He said this with full knowledge that he and his family would be tortured and killed, should Hitler win. Addressing his divided government and the nation in 1940, two years before the USA joined the fight, he painted a clear and compelling picture of the mission while acknowledging reality.

“… I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: ‘I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.’

We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. Let that be realized; no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, ‘Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.’

Worthwhile business missions are not this dramatic or important, but the courage and clarity represented in this moment in history is a great model for any leader. Practicing the imperatives above will make teams stronger, more confident, and more effective to enhance their companies’ performance in the marketplace. Though business leaders are not at the vortex of history, as Winston Churchill was, each leader who invents new realities in business grows the wealth of the company, the people within it, and the communities they touch.

Don’t believe me. Look back on the successes in your life and see how these imperatives drove your success. Ask yourself which of these are missing from your leadership and your organization.

Companies who succeed in today’s volatile business economy must learn to conquer obstacles like a championship basketball team in a “FastBreak” overcoming the insecurities that hold them back and responding instantly to the flow of the game.
Before leaders can accomplish anything, they must first understand themselves and present reality, challenge their own thinking, communicate a well thought out and concise strategic direction and define a clear and actionable plan for execution. A leader must make the final call. To make that call with confidence a leader must know the answer and / or know how to find the answer, and must communicate in a compelling manner that is clear, simple and concrete. Only then, will his team have the faith to follow and achieve the company’s objectives.
The following six guidelines provide a roadmap for surpassing common business hurdles to achieve success and invent a well-designed future reality for your business or life. These steps work for everything from building a porch of the front of your house, to creating a great company, or nation:
Six Steps to Inventing the Future:
1. Knowing When You Know: Of course the first step is to know the right answer, but more important, you have to know when you know the right answer in business or life. It is not enough to say, after it is too late, “I knew that.” In any endeavor there is a correct course to set—and this course is based on the realities of the market in which one operates, competitive analysis and the true differentiation of the product, service or team being evaluated. A leader must be fully present to the reality of the moment to succeed, vs. being attached to their thoughts and beliefs about that reality. The leader must know the difference between his ego’s hopes and fears and true reality. This involves a deep understanding of yourself, and the flow of cause and effect. A leader must learn the art of “integrative presence” that allows them to really know and fully experience the unique set of circumstances they face to make the correct choices faster and more accurately than the competition. The future emerges from the present, the past is distorted by our beliefs, emotions and the limits of our perceptual abilities. “Integrative presence” is similar to an athlete being in the zone. Your presence allows you to integrate the reality of the moment with your intention for the future. Thus responding correctly to the flow of the game.

Product cycles are shortening, business is becoming far more complex, and global competition requires speed and accuracy. Without the correct understanding of the present reality and how that it is emerging into the future, you cannot move with accuracy or speed. A leader must dance with the present while simultaneously carrying an intention for the future, as you do this you know how to move.
2. Communicating Clear Compelling Picture of The Future State: You cannot create something you cannot conceive. Once a leader knows he knows, he must be able to conceive and communicate the opportunity and how the team can capture that opportunity. Until this team can see, feel and hear the calling of the opportunity that the reality represents, they cannot truly follow. Without this clear picture, each team member will create his or her own picture of the future, causing friction and slowing the overall progress of the team. The leader’s presence and authentic commitment to the mission draws followers within the company and in the market place. The more clearly the picture of the future state is, the easier it is to create. Without a clear picture of the future in the minds of each leader, chaos will ensue.
3. Creating Total Commitment: After the team can see and feel the possibility of the future, their commitment grows.
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation.” -Goethe

First the leader must themselves be fully committed to the mission, and then develop the same level of commitment in those that follow. Part of being a leader is to challenge teams to face their fears and change their habits. What prevents them from committing is one or the greatest fears of mankind: the fear of the unknown. No one likes to walk into a dark room. As leader, you have to light the future with your vision. To move forward, you must paint a picture of a new reality to give your team confidence, and keep them totally engaged. The clearer and more compelling this picture of the future state becomes, the more committed the team becomes. The same is true for the marketplace and your customers.

4. Acknowledging Present Reality: Leaders who fall short of their goals have often skipped or distorted this step. No matter how committed a team is to a mission, having the wrong starting point can make plans useless. Knowing the good, bad, and the ugly about any situation being faced allows team to build plans that are targeted and effective. The challenge here is that people hate to be wrong, and find ways to make reality comport with their beliefs. This is the problem with the belief in “positive thinking.” It often skips this step and moves too quickly to planning and action. Pessimists’, because of their negative beliefs about life, give-up at this step feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. A plan that is not grounded in reality, no matter how clear and committed the team, will lead you over a cliff. If someone were to give you directions to Chicago, thinking you were in Los Angles when in fact you were in Miami, you would become lost no matter how good the directions. A leader and the team must honestly face its weaknesses and misconceptions to invent the future.
5. Developing Targeted Action Plans: Having passed through the first several steps, it becomes easier to create targeted plans, which provide a roadmap that enables teams to deliver focused execution. However, the problem here often is, that when things are now going well, leaders change the mission instead of adjusting the action plans. This means that they did not do the work in the first three steps. If you know and are committed to the mission, you will know to change the plan, not the mission. With the right plan, a team will surpass competitors while learning about themselves. Even at the final step, there may be obstacles, doubts and fears to overcome. Be on guard for hesitation. A leader must not falter due the team’s fears.
6. Having the Courage to Act Fast: When you have all of the above steps in place your fears are less likely to interfere, but may still prevent you from implementing the plan. Courage to confront your fears and the fears of the team is the difference between someone who knows the answer, but lacks the courage to act and lead. Once a leader knows the answer that leader never gives up. With shortening product cycles and limited capital, leaders must first define the markets, enter them, and create excitement in the market. With targeted actions that everyone believes in, the leader forms “FastBreak Action Teams” that are infused with clarity and confidence to reach the new reality. With good marketing and branding, the market place will have the same courage.

Of course this is all easier said than done, but if a leader can take the time to follow through each of these steps, they can take full control of their future. Fears and doubts arise during each step, a leader must work to mitigate this fears with the possibility and a compelling picture of the future state with his or her role model. During WWII Winston Churchill, after the Nazi’s had rolled over Europe destroying great armies, killing millions of innocent people and destroying cities, with his army defeated at Dunkirk, his air force in tatters and U-boats sinking his navy and blocking supply lanes, had the courage to say, “We will never surrender.” He did this with the full knowledge that he and his family would be tortured and killed should Hitler win.
Addressing his divided government and the nation in 1940, two years before the USA joined the fight, he painted a clear and compelling picture of the mission while acknowledging reality.
… “I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”

“We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind. We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering. You ask, what is our policy? I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival. Let that be realized; no survival for the British Empire, no survival for all that the British Empire has stood for, no survival for the urge and impulse of the ages, that mankind will move forward towards its goal. But I take up my task with buoyancy and hope. I feel sure that our cause will not be suffered to fail among men. At this time I feel entitled to claim the aid of all, and I say, “Come then, let us go forward together with our united strength.”
Worthwhile business missions are not this dramatic or important, but the courage and clarity represented in this moment in history, is a great model for any leader. Practicing the steps above will make teams stronger, more confident and more effective to enhance their company’s performance in the marketplace. Each leader who creates opportunities grows the wealth of the company, the people within it, and the communities they touch. Look back on the successes in your life and you will see these steps.

During a recession relationship is more important than ever, because it is relationships that will hold you, your customers and vendors together. Together, during a recession, you can increase market share easier than increasing profits. If you, your customers, and vendors survive and / or thrive during weak demand, you will rise together as demand increases, which it always does. Here is how you do this.

Recession Value Proposition

Adjust your value proposition to fit the new economic circumstances, and train all people who interact with customers to implant this in the minds of customers. For those of you who are in the B to B space, at some point in time your customer will be in a meeting with corporate leaders asking, “What vendors can you eliminate? How can we reduce our costs and be more appealing to our customers?” At that time you want the voice in the back of your customer’s head to be saying that your company is a keeper for the reasons you have implanted. Likewise, if you sell to the consumer, you want the consumer thinking that your products will help them live better in this economy. The consumer advertising, packaging and PR should be positioning your brand as the answer. Your new value proposition should to targeted and ever present.

One of my B to B customers mission is to provide “Engineered Solutions” that improve the efficiency of their client’s factories. They explain, “We will work with flexibility and expertise.” They are making sure all their customers have this on the top of their minds. Another client, who sells to consumers, vision statement is: “Better Products … Better Life.” They are sure their advertising drives home how their products provide twice the value at lower prices. They are working on getting this message into the scripts of their customer service teams around the world. The most successful businesses during a recession implant their new value proposition at every contact with customers. This makes the relationship strong, and creates hesitation before a customer changes brands. That relationship will benefit all as the tide rises.

Extend Your Team

Make it clear to your vendors and customers, that we are all in the same boat floating on a low tide of demand, and that we must work together for mutual success. Continuously reach out to customers to understand their changing needs and wants and make temporary deals with the customers and vendors that will carry all through changing economic dynamics. If your customer needs a price break, ask your vendors to reduce their prices. If they need to reduce their inventories, get your vendors to help you create just-in-time inventory programs. Find out what your customers and vendors need to help their business prosper, and have the flexibility to change your products or services to fit. Do not get stuck in business as usual. Business as usual will be a death sentence. Build a community of strong relationships with your customers and vendors.

Talk about your mutual missions and synchronize them so all can succeed during economic change. Make it clear to all that you and your company are committed to mutual success. Let them see and feel your commitment to mutual success.

Attack Weak Competitors

As your competitors fail to adapt to the changes in the wants and needs of the market place, their customers will be moving. Be sure they move to you. Conduct research to determine your competitor’s weaknesses and focus on acquiring their customers, who will be frustrated with those weaknesses. If your value proposition is right, and being communicated in the market place at every point of contact, they will come to you. The most venerable competitors have the following weaknesses:

1. Overextended credit
2. Old technology
3. Cash flow problems
4. Poor customer service
5. Inability to adjust prices
6. Lack of flexibility

Once you understand the nature of the weaknesses of your competitors, select the three weakest and develop a strategy to acquire their customers. Position yourself as the life raft for the customers tied to a sinking ship. People in corporations tend to change at a slower rate than people in the market. Be ahead of the wave of change and find competitors who are not.

Business has always been driven by relationship and trust. During high demand it may not be as important because of the lack of supply for surging demand. During economic and social change when demand is falling, relationship and trust are even more important. If you have ridden the wave of demand, maximized your profits and weakened your relationships, it is past time to change, but never too late. Do not hesitate, find and communicate the correct value proposition for your business, extend your team to include customers and vendors, and rescue customers from the sinking ships of your competitors.

What if there were a communication network that worked without hardware and communicated without the limitations of time and space. Would your business be interested? In ancient times great ideas have emerged at the same times in history on different continents, without any visible connectors. The pyramids in Central and South America have an amazing similarity to those in China, and archeologists wonder if there were trans-Pacific journeys that carried these ideas. They have not found any. Stone Circles appeared all over Europe over five thousand years ago without any real communication between cultures.

In London in the 1940’s Blue Tips all suddenly learned how to peck the caps off of milk bottles to drink the cream that would raise to the top before pasteurization. This spread so quickly, that scientists are still trying to figure out how the birds communicated this skill. Even the CIA is working on psychic abilities to predict events and find people. Today the desire for freedom and its possibility, with the help of the internet, seems to be swelling in the hearts and minds of peoples all over the world. Certainly Facebook is a factor, but are there other forces at work?

If there were a commutation network that accounted for trends, inventions, and feelings of people around the world, business leaders would certainly be interested. Based on the scientific studies of Quantum Physics, not only does this network exist, but it communicates outside of time and space. It sends out signals instantly, without the passage of time over any distance.

Quantum physicist, Antoine Suarez, is quoted in an article in Discover Magazine (Page 51, March 2011 issue) about what he calls entanglement. “In entanglement, two particles become twinned in such a way that the measurement of one always determines the properties of the other, no matter how far apart they may be.” Later in the article he says, “You could say the experiment shows that space-time does not contain all the intelligent entities acting in the world because something outside of time is coordinating the photons’ results.”

In this, and a number of other experiments, physics has proven that all things seem to be connected, and that there are channels of invisible communication that instantly occur. Atoms communicate to each other outside of time and space. Atoms are the building blocks of everything in our world. Like the atoms who communicate without language, so do we. Who is to tell when or where our energies begin and end, or from where communication might come. Clearly, there are forces at work that we have yet to understand scientifically. Yet do we actually use these forces without knowing.

Human Intention

There has been much written about the power of intention. Goethe, a well-known German thinker, said:

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness concerning all acts of initiative and creation. There is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans; that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too, all sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen events, meetings and material assistance which no one could have dreamed would have come their way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now!”

Goethe knew this even thought the experiments I mentioned earlier had not been conducted. We have all experienced this in some way or another. Look backwards into your own life and see if this is not true. I can count a number of occasions when I was totally committed to something and, in fact, as Goethe said, “All sorts of things occurred to help.”

What is it like to be around a committed person? There seems to be a great intensity, an attraction that draws you into whatever they are doing. They seem to shine. No matter how badly things go, they get up and try even harder the next time. They may lose a battle, but they will not lose the war. Sometimes they just drive you crazy, but most times you admire them, even if you don’t agree with their point of view. Does their energy travel over this network causing “all sorts of things” to occur.

Even more powerful is a committed team. Have you ever had to face a truly committed team in sports or business? It is very intimidating. They have this look in their eyes and humble confidence in their voice. I like to watch the interviews prior to a playoff game. Sometimes you can tell which team is truly committed to winning and which team is only saying, “We are going to do our best.” The team that wins is always the one that intends to win, but not with just words; with a certain energy. In my experience as a CEO Coach and Leadership consultant, the same it true for business teams.

Intention Uses Forces Outside of Time and Space

Throughout each of our lives we all have a glimpse or two into deeper realities but often forget, or think perhaps it was a dream, luck or a hallucination. We have moments of wonder and insight that pass too quickly. It maybe that muses or angels are providing us with a flash of insight, or perhaps we are tapping into something we do not yet understand. The mysteries of how people with strong intention seem to magically have things occur, seemingly out of their will has always puzzled humanity. With recent scientific evidence, it is not crazy to think they have connected to a force from a dimension most don’t understand.

Ancient Wisdom and New Science

Great philosophers, like Goethe, and poets for thousands of years have tried to draw our attention to these moments from our lives. They try to open our windows of perception. Remember what one of our greatest thinkers said:

“I do not invent, I discover realities that were previously undiscovered”
-Albert Einstein

If they are undiscovered, how did he find them? What realities beyond time and space are yet to be discovered. There have been stories of wizards, saints and shamans who effect events from a distance in both ancient and modern literature. As a poet I feel much of my writing comes through me. If fact I feel I have been compelled or “called” to write this. Who is to say what is yet to be discovered.

What if we could project our intentions into this timeless force and effect the molecular structure of our bodies? That would explain well-documented healing of cancer patients and others. What if we could transfer our energies into the heart of others, like people do when they fall in love. Many feel prayer works; is it traveling over this quantum force? What if leaders could attract customers to buy their products using this force. What if we could travel on this timeless energy? We could literally find our self anywhere in the the world or universe instantly.

Having worked with successful CEOs most of my adult life, I have seen this many times, and I have some experiences and theories, but I would first like to hear yours.

Paul David Walker, CEO Coach, Poet and founder of Genius Stone Partners, www.geniusstone.com. Join Paul on April 13th, at the Center Club in Orange County, California. His topic is “Happiness Conversations” register at www.ethicaledge.org/happiness/ You can find his book “Unleashing Genius: Leading Yourself, Teams, and Corporations” at www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_c_1_17?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=paul+david+walker&sprefix=paul+david+walker

Cause and Effect Moves With or Without You

The flows of cause and effect move events, stimulate ideas, and drive consumer wants and needs because everything is connected. This flow has a powerful momentum, and moves like the multi-dimensional currents in a powerful river. This force moves forward with, or without, our conscious involvement. We are all connected to it even if we are not aware of our connection. The more we are consciously in sync with what I call “The Life Force,” the faster, more targeted and powerful are our actions. Like an athlete “In The Zone,” we accelerate our performance with grace and ease.

Imagine how difficult life would be if you are not aware of these flows. Many of us are not. It would be like hiking through a wilderness fog without a compass. Even if you knew you needed to go North, you could not tell which way it is. Likewise, we need an “Inner Compass” to navigate within the the flows of cause and effect that influence every moment of our lives, a way to understand where we are, and where the flow of history is going. But what is, and what is the practical use of, our inner compass? A story best illustrates.

What Is Your Inner Compass?

When I was working as a leadership consultant to Don Ross, Chairman and CEO of New York Life, during the summer of 1987, many people were coming to me questioning the Chairman’s actions. He had asked the investment department to slowly move all investments out of the stock market into conservative investments. This frustrated his investment team because the stock market was at an all time high and their competitors were using “High Yield Bonds” and stocks to create gains much greater than New York Life’s. They wanted to play in the game, and Don Ross was telling them to step back.

Many came to me, as Don’s coach, to suggest I persuade him of the foolishness of his actions. I explained that I was his leadership coach and had little knowledge of the financial markets, but encouraged them to speak directly to Don. However, no matter how people pleaded, he would not change course. Several key players resigned and went to more “progressive” companies.
In October of 1987, while I was on site at New York Life, the market crashed. It was the biggest crash since the Great Depression. But New York Life had moved most of its investments out of the stock market and had not invested in any “High Yield Bonds,” known later as “Junk Bonds.” Don Ross was now considered a genius. The financial gain was enormous.

A week or so later, I asked Don how he knew to pull all of the company’s investments out of the stock market three months before the October 1987 crash. He said, “I just knew it couldn’t last.” Everyone in his world thought he was wrong, yet he had the wisdom and courage to do what he felt was right.

Knowing the Difference

When I pressed him to tell me more, he went on to explain that, as Chairman and CEO, he was continuously bombarded with “experts” trying to convince him of completely different strategic directions. Each had incredible credentials and a good story, yet each recommended different directions. The only tool he had to make the final decision was his instinct, or intuition. He said, “Whenever I have gone against my intuition, I have regretted it.”

Don Ross explained to me, “The key to wisdom is to know the difference between your wild hopes and fears and common sense, intuition or true wisdom.” They often seem the same, but they are not. There is a distinct difference in the feeling. One comes from the Ego and insecurity, and the other comes from Wisdom. Great leaders learn the difference and, given this knowledge, develop the courage to act quickly. Don had found ways to live in the present like an athlete “In The Zone,” but with an easier more sustainable feeling I call “Integrative Presence,” or at least he was able to find that state of mind when he needed insight. When I met with him over the years, he was often in the state of Integrative Presence. He was warm, yet seemed to be able to see through people. Insightful, yet he moved with grace and ease.

Courage To Act

All the great leaders I have worked with know how to achieve the state of Integrative Presence, even though they may not understand the nature of this state of mind. They have experienced being connected to something that supercharges their own knowledge. They speak reverently about this connection in private, but rarely talk about it to the press. It just seems too outside the norm for stockholders and the public. But knowing and connecting to wisdom through Integrative Presence is essential for leaders in business today. Markets move quickly, often with little warning, and the wise leader can feel the moving currents. At each moment, like a surfer, the conscious leaders are so present they take advantage of trends as they emerge.

Know How It Feels

When I have asked people to describe how they feel when they experience being “In The Zone” or Integrative Presence, they say things like: confident, at peace, exhilarated, powerful, graceful, and present. Some report a slow motion effect as time slows. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar told how the five seconds he had to win the NBA championship with one shot seemed like five minutes. He felt relaxed, as if he had all the time in the world, yet he appeared to move like lightning to the rest of the world–the very definition of Integrative Presence. His creativity, within these few precious seconds, was nothing less than pure genius. He was integrating the skills he had learned over the years, his desire to make the shot, and the flow of the moment.

It Is A Natural State of Mind

As I have experienced and studied athletes in the zone or integrative presence. I have found that this state of mind, though not often reached, is a natural way of living. It seems we have lost touch with true presence overtime. Ironically, the art of getting into this state of mind is letting go of what we think we know. As you let go, this state of mind just takes over. You don’t need to train yourself to experience Integrative Presence, you merely need to “let go.” This state takes over your consciousness and supercharges your performance because it is in our nature to live this way.

Sports create highly charged environments. They are designed to bring out the best in people. But can this state be achieved outside this arena? Certainly, if these states of mind that seem to create super human results can be created in one area of life, they should be able to be created in others. While the environment is particularly right for this kind of performance in sports, it is not beyond or separate from this “real world” we all operate within.

The Present Is The Only Portal To The Future

You might ask, ”If you are in the present, “How do you create the future?” Here is my answer. Imagine the world is a dance floor and the rhythm and flow of the band is “The Life Force,” which infuses everything. The multidimensional flow of the band seems irresistible to some, yet others stand against the wall not knowing how to jump in, and many are not even aware of the dance. They have heard people talk about it, but can’t seem to hear or feel the flow of the music. Those who feel it deeply dance like gods and goddesses in the middle of the floor creating a vortex of energy and motion that draws new dancers into their circle.

The band, which represents “The Life Force,” naturally lures people onto the floor to dance in a rhythm and harmony that seems to come from outside them. Of those out on the floor, many dance out of rhythm most of the time, but have moments of grace. Others have a routine that they have worked out over the years which works for them, but only captures a small part of the rhythm. Some have a routine and experiment momentarily with new movements, but mostly go back to what they know. Those who feel the music deeply dance adding rhythms and counter rhythms and seem to be an extension of “The Life Force” that passes through the band.

Without knowing, many start to follow the waves of energy coming from the leaders and the overall quality of the dance improves. At some point in time, magic occurs. The beauty and energy of the lead dancers is so compelling that the band itself is drawn into the dance creating new rhythms and flows as the Life Force, the band, and the dancers join and create new realities.

Start With The Present Moment

“The Life Force” creates Life and Life influences “The Life Force,” just as the band creates the rhythm and flow and changes, because the lead dancers energy becomes part of the rhythm and flow. The only way to create the future is to engage, like the dancers, with the rhythm and flow of the present; and by doing so you become a co-creator. It is not about wishing and hoping as the popular book “The Secret” would suggest. The various rhythms and flows of business markets are subsets of the rhythm and flow of “The Life Force,” which animates everything. Both can be influenced in the manner just described. Great leaders have discovered and mastered this secret.

There Is No Substitute For Practice

The flow of market wants and needs is like the complex themes, harmonies, and rhythms in music. Your team must spend lots of time dancing with those rhythms to know how to influence the flow of the dance. Your team, products and services must dance first with the rhythm and flow of the present, then lead. There is no substitute for this kind of presence in your target market, and like dancing to a good band, or being in “The Zone” in sports, it is a blast! The energies of the market will feed you and your creativity will lead the flow of the market.

Your inner compass lets you know the difference between your thoughts about the flow of cause and effect, and the actual flow. We have to practice to know the difference between the feelings that come from our thoughts and ego and our natural wisdom. Knowing how to access our natural wisdom is the inner compass. Having this compass helps us walk with the wind of “The Life Force” at our backs and in our hearts.

We live in a world that is beautiful beyond description, yet most of us only glimpse this beauty occasionally. Why? What if the puzzle of life was that we are surrounded by, and a living part of, what the Taoist called “The Flow of Heaven,” yet we are not conscious of it because we became fascinated with the ability to conceive and create. What if the gift of thought was a blessing and a curse? I believe it is.

A Mixed Blessing

I am using thought right now to communicate with you. The Egyptians tamed the Nile and created great temples and cities that exist today. The beauty we have created from our imaginations and thought is marvelous. Yet a schizophrenic cannot tell the difference between reality and their thoughts. While this is an extreme example, many of us cannot always tell the difference between thoughts and reality. Wars have been fought over thoughts and ideologies.

In fact, any thought, or system of thought is at best an approximation of the reality it is trying to describe. Thoughts about things can never match the complex and beautiful reality of the world all around us, and taking our thoughts too seriously can drive us crazy. So you might ask, what does this have to do with happiness?

We Can Lose Touch With Life

If the world we live in is beautiful beyond description, but our consciousness is only focused on thoughts that describe reality, or worse, is focused on our thoughts about thoughts. Each level of thought takes us level after level away from the living reality of life. As we lose touch with the living reality of life that is all around us, we begin to feel bad. Overtime our mood plummets into depression, anger or other low moods. By our focus on these thoughts, we lessen our connection to life.

Ground Breaking Study

In a ground breaking book, Sanity, Insanity, and Common Sense, a team of psychologists discovered that low moods, or “states of mind,” are conditioned states caused by thoughts that repeat themselves in our minds, and that higher states such as love, gratitude, focus, contentment, and happiness in general, are natural unconditioned states of mind. What they are saying is, all we have to do is let go of repetitive thoughts that form patterns in our mind and we will feel happy naturally.

Happiness Is A Natural State if Mind

This is why babies tend to be naturally happy and curious. They are not worrying about what might happen tomorrow. We worry about tomorrow for them, and take action to keep them safe. The challenge is, how to plan for tomorrow without getting totally captured by our thoughts. This is the key to happiness.

But how? Understanding the use of and dangers of thought, is the key. If you believe that thoughts are real, instead of approximations, then it will be hard to let go of your thoughts. If you understand that thought is used to create, and realize it’s dangers, you will be able to let go of thoughts that are not working for you.

Our moods, both low and high. are feedback from our psyche’s. If we put our hand in a flame, we feel the pain and pull back. This is the bodies feedback system. Likewise a low mood is feedback that our thoughts are repeating themselves in our minds, and drawing us away from “The Life Force” or the “Flow of Heaven,” causing all forms of unhappiness.

Try This

For a week, observe the thoughts that repeat themselves in your mind, and write them down. Also notice your low feelings and see what thoughts might be associated with them. Overtime you will notice patterns that create your low moods. As you do, it will be easier to let go of these thoughts, realizing they are not real and are lowering your state of mind. As you start letting go of these thoughts, notice how you feel. See if you start feeling better.

Join Paul David Walker for Happiness Conversations, April, 13th, from 7pm – 9pm at the Center Club, 650 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa, CA. Your investment will be $75. To register call Paul David Walker at 562.233.7861 or register a www.ethicaledge.org/happiness/

CNN Heroes: Find Your Soul’s Purpose

Today we watched CNN’s tribute to heroes who found their soul’s purpose in helping relieve the suffering of humanity, each in their own way. Building bridges over dangerous rivers for African tribes people, bringing solar lights to children who want to learn in remote corners of our world, and one who saves young women from sex slavery and gives them a new life. Yet most of us sit here only watching. Our hearts soften and our eyes tear, but what should we do.

What Should We Do?
Imagine a world where our wealthiest countries turn their power away from war and consumption to lift people out of suffering. We could build one or two less grand buildings and help millions of people live a better life. On a local level, a few acts of random kindness, like a smile to a stranger, and forgiveness of others and ourselves are important. I encourage my readers to reach out in this New Year to help make our world a better place, and to remember the Golden Rule, “Love thy neighbor as thy self.”

First Love Yourself
To quote a song, “Learning to love ourselves in the greatest love of all.” If we cannot love ourselves, it is hard to love our neighbors both near and far. If we distrust ourselves, we will distrust others. If we hate ourselves, we will hate others. Before we feel guilty for not being heroes ourselves, remember that the first step to loving others is to forgive our own sins. Clearing our hearts of self-judgment helps us see the light in everyone’s eyes. Be compassionate with yourself as you approach the New Year. Free your heart of the burdens your mind has created. As the heartache clears, see what mission calls out to you from your soul.

Touched By Moments of Grace
I have been fortunate to remember many times when I was touched by moments of grace. My purpose is being a reminder to all I touch that there is a natural genius and loving spirit within every being. In plain and simple words, I will always remind people of the times when they were touched by moments of grace and experienced “The Flow of Heaven.”

Find Your Soul’s Purpose
Sit in a quiet place and write down all the times you have been touched by grace all the way back you your childhood. Find moments when beauty filled you and you felt connected to the world around you. Find moments like this that you may have discounted, and write them down in a journal, then share them with people you trust. Build a catalogue of your peak experiences. In doing this try feeling your soul’s message to you this year, and look for the light in peoples eyes even when it is covered with their masks of sorrow, fear and hate.

See The Light In Others
Psychologists say we only share one in twelve appreciative thoughts that we have about people, describe the beauty you see in people more often. Get up to three thoughts out of twelve shared this year, and you will see the light in yourself brighten. As we love others, we learn to love ourselves. It is the circle of life that all great teachers have talked about for thousands of years. But most important, learn to love the spirit of the divine that comes into you through your heart and soul, and find your soul’s purpose in this world.

Special Thanks
I send out a special thanks to all the famous and wealthy people in our world who use their fame and wealth to help others. Hearing about your works on CNN and other programs truly touches my heart, and inspires me to help in my own small way. I cannot name them all, but you know who you are. God bless each and every one of you. Wishing you all a Happy New Year.

What is the difference between an idle thought and an intention powerful enough to move providence? Some say if you want it to be so, think about or write down our desires and it will come true. Others point out it has to be a strongly held thought or intent. Goethe said that, “The ground raises to the feet of the committed man.”

It seems to me that intention is more like a feeling than a thought. Like working your way into a wave when you are surfing. As a friend of mine who is a Harvard PhD. and surfer, Said, “You cannot think your way into a wave, you have to feel it.”

Connect To Who We Really Are
Like the surfer connected to a force of nature that propels them forward, our intentions have more power when they are flowing with the natural current of our lives. We all have a natural current and rhythm within us that is part of the greater flow, which is our unique being or who we really are. When we resist this current, which some call purpose, we suffer. When we know it deeply, and learn to swim with it, we move forward with grace and ease in an almost magical manner.

“Know Thy Self”
Knowing yourself is not a mystical notion, it is entirely practical, but it is not easy due to the distortion of our thoughts and belief systems. Once a belief system gets a hold on us, we distort our true reality to be right about what we believe. It is like trying to navigate to a location without knowing your present position. It is impossible, and will be filled with misadventures, frustration and anger. Our present reality is not a framework or belief, which by their nature are only an approximation of reality. These notions must be discarded or put into perspective as approximations, before we can feel who we truly are. As the Buddhists say, “Don’t mistake the finger pointing at the moon, for the moon itself.”

It’s the Feeling or A Knowing
Knowing how to connect with the larger current that we are part of on a deep level is genius. Feeling the difference between emotions that come from our thoughts and beliefs and the feeling of being connected to our unique river is the secret. Once we know this, we can begin to expand ourselves while moving forward in our natural current, and use intention to create new realities that change the flow of our lives, and the flow itself. We move with grace and ease creating something that is a natural extension of our deepest purpose while adding to the beauty of the world around us.

Again, I look forward to your insights and thoughts, even though they are only an approximation of reality, as are mine.

What is the difference between thoughts about thought, and thoughts that describe insight from a spiritual or transcendent experience? … And how do you know the difference?

Imagine a world, company or life committed to nourishing every glimmer of wisdom from the cradle to the grave. How would a world whose first priority was seeking and manifesting wisdom feel? Can you see how wisdom would flourish into genius with waves of innovations that naturally lead to abundance and wealth beyond our imagination today?

Wisdom Has Created Wealth and Well-Being Worldwide

I have been working with CEOs and their teams for over 25 years. Their biggest challenge is to build teams that create new innovative realities before others have even thought of them. Two minutes of true insight and wisdom can discover realities that can change the world, your life or your company, small or large. A flash of insight into the true nature of something important to our future can create a whole new world, as did Columbus and others who realized the world is round.
Ancient Wisdom

The stone circles created 5000 years ago are examples of ancient technology, which enabled prediction of the seasons and increased agricultural productivity. Someone noticed the position of the sun each season, had an insight, and began laying out stones. Then the technology spread by word of mouth, and the world changed forever. There are remains of over a thousand stone circles in the UK today.
Wisdom Is The Seed
I have seen leaders whose teams, once sparked by wisdom, are like a basketball team “In The Zone” on a fast break committed to a new innovation. I have found a number of important elements on these teams. But the first is wisdom that reveals insight, that creates actions that unleash wealth and well-being. Wisdom is the seed for our field of dreams. The definition tells us why:

Wisdom n. The ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting; insight. Common sense; good judgment: It is a characteristic of wisdom

Without this discernment most of the innovations that make our world so comfortable and safe would not exist today. For example, the use of fire, the wheel, refrigeration, our communication satellites, the Internet, and machines that can fly from one Continent to another with the best safety record of any form of travel ever. When the great sailing ships, which were technological innovations, were the only way to cross the oceans entire crews where lost. The dangers to travelers, and businessmen were enormous. There was no telling when a ship would be crushed by a storm, or blown into the uncharted wilderness, beyond the reach of civilization. Our collective wisdom has discovered new technologies that have dramatically improved wealth and well-being worldwide.
Is Seeking Wisdom A Priority For You?
Yet, how many leaders make the deepening of wisdom an organizational or national priority? Few I would say. Do you make seeking wisdom one of the most important commitments in your life? Are you refining your “ability to discern or judge what is true, right, or lasting?”

When wisdom is manifest in action wealth and well-being are often created. Yet, we seem to long for wealth and well-being without seeking wisdom. Wisdom comes first; it is the seed for wealth and well-being. The desire for wealth and well-being is not enough. The need for wealth or well-being often interferes with wisdom. When wisdom is the priority for an individual or a team passionate about a purpose they create what seems like miracles.
Organizing Wisdom World-Wide
My dream has always been to lead a team of champions in their fields that partner with leaders to create wisdom, wealth and well-being on a global scale. To me it is our only choice. How many times has a dream glimmered in your consciousness and then was lost. Have you ever seen a new innovation in your mind’s eye, let it go then seen it implemented by someone else? Companies, societies and people who do not make wisdom, and the manifestation of wisdom a priority lose great amounts of wealth and well-being every day. On the other hand, imagine each person on your team, company, in your life, and country committed to seeking the wisdom that unleashes their own genius and the genius of others. Imagine technologies that could be manifest, and then picture how our world would improve.
A New Renaissance Could Happen Today
The Renaissance came out of the Dark Ages, to create the wealth and well-being we have today. I am assembling teams of seasoned business advisors who have found their natural genius and have wisdom working in their favor. Teams who partner with leaders and investors, who make seeking and manifesting wisdom their first priority, will change our world. They may even seed a New Renaissance. I recommend you stop wasting time doing anything that does not lead to developing your own wisdom. Make seeking and manifesting wisdom your first priority, and find others who are committed to seeking and manifesting wisdom. It will be the most fun and exciting thing you have ever done, and we will all benefit from the wisdom you discover.