Belief

Mile Markers and Belief

If you are hiking a mountain trail and come across a sign marking the distance to the destination (or the number of switchbacks remaining to the summit), is there a total that is too overwhelming to consider? Does the knowledge of how much work is left become discouraging if it is too much/many? On occasion, we might believe we are setting people up for success by marking the intervals, but in fact, some individuals find the information supplied to be discouraging. How might we mix sharing what we need to share with a confirmation of belief in those who are mid-journey?

More Than We Can Hold

What can you not achieve alone but can achieve with a coordinated team of individuals? When we organize, we achieve much more than we might have anticipated. What act of teamwork has surprised you?

Onward!

"Something hidden.  Go and find it. Go and look behind the Ranges - 
"Something lost behind the Ranges. Lost and waiting for you. Go!" -Rudyard Kipling

What gets you seeking?  What keeps your adventure going?

Iconic

Seeing a Coors can flattened in the dirt on the side of a 4-wheel dirt road is an iconic signature of the American West. It can easily be defined as trash and littering, but for some, it is confirmation that they exist in a location that represents their values. Coors has branded itself as coming from the heart of the Rocky Mountains; seeing a Coors can is evidence.

Not all iconic moments represent our best work. They do tend to rhyme with our values and beliefs.

Core Matters

A standing tree looks strong and robust. When we see the core we gain insights on the health of the tree. With a tree this can be harder, unless we take take a core sample. It is more accessible with an organization. What an enterprise states what it believes, we can then monitor if their actions and see if they match-up.

Symbols and Meaning

Is there a symbol for your enterprise that captures what you stand for? Is it a logo, a person, a word, a program, an event, an image, a collage? What do you believe it represents? What do your fans believe it stands for? What is an outsider’s impression?

How a Math Theory Might Confirm Belief

Belief might be based on a sense of proportion and scale. As we gain access to more evidence we can reinforce our beliefs. We have access to a prior perspective and then opportunity to experiment with change. Our perspective may be confirm our beliefs or encourage an update.

Blind Corners

When our line of sight is limited, we have choices. Speed up, maintain pace, or proceed with caution. Our sense of place and mindset impact our ultimate decision. Driving on the interstate, we can expect the road is engineered to support the speed limit. So a curve should not result in radical deviation. Mountain biking down a flow trail, we can expect banked corners to accommodate the speed we might be carrying from above. In a high alpine backcountry setting we might anticipate some thoughtfulness in trail design but if the vertical exposure is sufficient, we might decide to decrease our pace.

We encounter blind corners all the time. We can not see into the future far enough to anticipate the terrain. If we previously traveled a path it is easier to approach with a sustainable pace. If the trail is new to us, we might settle for a cautionary approach, allowing us time to adjust our course.

The recent months have presented a series of blind corners. COVID, financial recessions, virtual workplaces, Black Lives Matter, and masks. Some enterprises saw a chance to accelerate into open space. Others pulled to the shoulder of the road with their hazard lights ablaze. Each organizations saw their approach as best. Blind corners tend to amplify our beliefs and values. If we see each opportunity as a challenge to maximize our talents, then we might proceed in sports mode. If we believe we are playing the infinite game, then we might downshift and cover the brakes, confident we will be able to continue to journey.

How do our choices amplify (or derail) our core values? Have we built trust and loyalty because we acted in concert with our beliefs or have we created factions in our team due to misalignment? Are we still on the road or have we spun out into the ditch?

Connections and Combinations

But today, value isn’t created by filling a slot, it’s created by connection. By the combinations created by people. By the magic that comes from diversity of opinion, background and motivation. Connection leads to ideas, to solutions, to breakthroughs.
Seth Godin

It is the new points of view, the uncommon connections, the different perspective that make our collective service more remarkable. Be powered by uncertainty to ask questions. Be inspired by those generating movements in foreign lands. Be willing to share with those we have just met. Be willing willing to wayfind. Assume best intentions. Be connected by a shared vision.

Having a Moment

We know not when we are going to ‘have a moment.’ An unexpected encounter. A surge in demand for our services. Being in the spotlight, facing an exponentially larger audience. The tailwind of a lifetime to push us towards a personal record.

If we are uncertain of where we stand and our desired destination, we will not adapt quickly enough to meet the moment. The forces will outrun us, and we will be swept by the current of the audiences’ intention.

However, if we state what we believe, remain authentic, then we are assured of developing connections built on trust and a shared vision. The moment of first contact starts with a sustainable foundation.

What-if-concepts

Empowering those who inspire so they excel at the work that matters.