What vision do you project? Is the image a mirror of your reality or a dystopian facsimile? Building trust and authenticity often centers around the alignment of words and deeds.
Projection
mindset
Baggage Claim
When you build infrastructure and offices to deal with misplaced items, there is an understanding that the system has cracks. Commercial airlines staff baggage claim desks where one can report lost or damaged items. It is an assumption that checking a bag with an airline does not guarantee it will arrive at its final destination or drop onto the carousel in the same condition as it started the journey. The aviation industry has prepared us for acceptable loss.
What disruptions and loss have we built into our enterprises? What disappointments are our customers trained to endure?
Idyllic and Purpose
If you were asked to represent your cause’s utopian state and frame the representation, what image comes to mind? For some enterprises, it is an iconic headquarters building; others aspire to a level of impact, another group may highlight the people committed to the cause, and some might capture a signature program. Perhaps ask yourself if you can see yourself in the image. If we see a confluence point, we are doing the work that matters. If we cannot see ourselves in the projection of the future, our attempt to be of service may be misaligned.
We Are Watching
When hosting an event with twelve thousand skiers from multiple countries and endeavoring to enforce the rules, you might need to make the consequences visible; otherwise, some participants might think the regulations are optional. Remember, you protect an asset (scenery and natural setting) that makes the event remarkable.
Your Target
Is your team aligned with your preferred target? Even biathletes occasionally shoot at the wrong target, aiding their competitors and suffering the penalty for their own results.
Your Finish Line Might Differ
Competition provides a framework for scoring and usually consists of a start, middle, and finish. When we compete, we understand the expectations. If we assume an infinite mindset, we may advance a cause for a leg of the journey but ultimately not serve long enough to see the enterprise reach the finish line. In reality, the finish line is often stated in our cause’s vision. Finishing means fulfilling the vision and probably requires substantial course adjustments and/or the realignment of the organization. Staying in the race may be the most formidable work.
Useless Unless Checked
Your best tool left behind, no matter how integral, is valueless. Checklists matter and might change the outcome of your work. Atul Gawande’s Checklist Manifesto provides powerful insights into developing a culture that thrives under an agreed-upon protocol.
Ice Breakup
At some point, winter ice surrenders to the warmth of spring, and a new environment is revealed. There is a liminal moment where two seasons are suspended in brief animation, occupying the same spot but representing different outcomes.
How might we embrace these transitions to gain insights that may not be available for the rest of the year? What are your enterprise’s ice breakup events?
Motivation to Start
What gets you to the start line? What motivates you to line up when the weather is adverse, the traffic is challenging, and the number (or lack of) participants is overwhelming? What internal dialogue breaks through all the options that might dissuade us from showing up? What keeps you returning even when the results are less than your best or you feel unseen? What keeps you competing when the expectations get too high?
Sometimes Progress is a Place in Line
I raced the Engadin Ski Marathon in an all-day blizzard, with an amended course due to snow threatening the stability of the ice on the larger lakes; it was a unique iteration. Due to the snow and windy conditions, a preferred racing line became evident, and long queues of racers formed. Overtaking other competitors required a significant energy investment to ski in the deeper powder and headwind. On challenging days, the mentality favors those who can keep their mindset on progressing when the opportunity appears. A gap in the line forms, and one can jump ahead and wait for the next chance. But sometimes, remaining in the line is the best strategy, and navigating the biggest pinch points, this act abides by the unwritten racing rules.
What-if-concepts 