Teams in Crisis

The Navy Seals are perhaps the best fighting forces in the world whose training gives them differentiation on all the three elements of warfare: Communicate, Combat, and Cover ground: three critical processes of what they do extremely well. That’s what it is all about essentially – being the best in the 3C’s.

All of their training help them to do just this over Sea, Air and Land (Seal). But most of all is the ‘brotherhood’ values they espouse that set them apart: one for all, all for one, never leaving a comrade behind, etc being just a few of the examples of their values.

So what is it that we can learn from them and more importantly what lessons are they to be learnt from this in the area of organization crisis.

For one, it is critical to be extremely prepared  both physically and mentally and more so through regular practice ‘war games’ stimulating almost real life war conditions. All theory is applied through building in instinctive unconscious second habit training, where in a crisis, their training just take over. Nothing needs to be said: regular months of practice allows them to play ‘déjà vu’ situations with impeccable precision maneuverers, even while their training allows them to adapt and be creative to make up moves depending on what the situations demand. The attitude is paramount: never say die. They will inexorably keep coming back to their objectives of the mission: failure is not an option.  Wounded, hungry, unarmed, in hostile terrain, and facing imminent capture they will stay the course evading capture as long as they possibly can.

Secondly, working together as a team. Weeks and weeks of carrying wooden logs and doing complicated moves, and moving rapidly against the waves have confirmed to each that unless they all give their 100% together, they will not win. Such teams do not have passengers or easy loaders. They strive together, knowing that each one is doing their job, and they are to do theirs. Being human, each one will often fail, wish to give up, but their team commitment does not allow them to do so. The honour to be a brother in arms bonds and binds them: a sense of pride. They know that their partners have their backs, as so does each for the other.

Thirdly, excellence in whatever you do. No matter is small or trivial. Everything needs to be done with  flawless brilliance: the wake up on time each day, making one's bed up in flawless fashion, being well groomed on inspection day, bathing rituals, exercise and training, cleaning of weapons, mastery of weapons, advanced communications devices, first aid, shooting, methods of ingress and egress. Walking movements over various type of grounds, setting up ambush and response to being ambushed. No matter how well you do: one fails regularly in the weeks of training: an important lesson: excellence is a destination, and you are but on a journey. You are never a finished product, such getting even better, and requiring even more practice. 

Fourthly, mind over matter. Overcoming exhaustion, working under debilitating conditions and weakened mental processes: mastering fatigue, cold, hunger, stress and pain. To master each and to keep walking, till the mission is finished. This mental intelligence is what makes the soldier, what is physical is not what makes him different. what is his weapons is not the differentiator. In fact, his superior mental strength over his adversary is what he learns to enjoy and what painstakingly takes him to his goal. . 

He dominates the present conditions: physically, mentally and emotionally. In all events, his response to the emerging situation allows him to have the upper hand at all times. His training and professionalism gives him the edge. 

Many Seals have gone on to become entrepreneurs and have been very successful. One of them is Jen and Eli Crane (bottlebreacher.com) who opened up a business of their own. When interviewed their talked about several things their military training had taught them: resilience, guts, sacrifice, discipline, stay with the mission objectives that they found critical to surviving in the jungle of commerce. More importantly the importance of team working, 'watching your 6' (having your back) As Eli commented, during tough times (funding), "it could have been a lot worse. I remind myself at those time, atleast no one is shooting at us".

Having no formal MBA exposure he quickly learnt to follow the Green, not just the Dream (inspired by the Sharktank Show (Kevin), and how it was critcal to marry insights with integrity.

To me, we need to imbibe more of this discipline rather than allowing a WIMPS culture (Where is my pay cheque, Sir?)

in conclusion, its not one or the other. Not one style over another style. Not an MBA education to a 'college drop out'. Its not the game of 'either - or'. To me, the coin has three sides: Heads, Tails and an Edge. It the practice at the 'edge' that creates the differentiation.

Some points to ponder, how small practices in SEAL Training teach life skills!

1.     Inspect your bed – do the small things right.

2.     7 member boat crew - only together we succeed

3.     nothing matters, but your will to succeed.

4.     Inspection – you were never going to be perfect

5.     In the circus – built you and made you stronger

6.     Night swim with sharks

7.     Underwater attack – need for calm in the darkest moments.

8.     Mud flats – power of hope.

9.     Brass bell – ring the bell to quit. You always have a choice to quit.

We die Twice

We die Twice

We die twice:

Once, when the breathe leaves our body (in fact interestingly it is said, the last thing before death is when the sound dies from our ears) and we die once more, when the last person who knows our name dies too.  Few of us will have the fortune to embed our name over centuries, unlike Socrates or a Jesus. Even most loved celebrities live in our hearts for a while, but soon get forgotten: a cohort that would soon pass on and then to oblivion would remember Marilyn Munroe.  

Elton John, says Goodbye to England’s Rose, Lady Diana:

And it seems to me you lived your life
Like a candle in the wind
Never fading with the sunset
When the rain set in
And your footsteps will always fall here

Along England's greenest hills
Your candles burned out long before
Your legend ever will

Your footsteps will always fall here
Along England's greenest hills
Your candle burned out long before your legend ever will. 

To me a life well lived is one which held:

• ·      A personal purpose to one’s life that had the opportunity to potentialise at work or within society, and contributed to adding good.
• ·      Someone whom by luck, you found loved you and you loved back
• ·      A meaningful job that allowed you an opportunity to earn your livlihood and provide for those you loved: your family.
• ·      A faith, that offered a high purpose to life.

Our moment on this earth is shortlived. If we viewed everything we do from the realisation that there is no beginning, no end: then all acts would fall into perspective.

In the end what is left of us is a tombstone, a marked grave, to whom friends, relatives and kith return, till memory holds true. Then with passage of time, no one reurns, and the inscription merely records our name: date born, date died.

To dust thou art, and to dust thou shall return, says the bible.

Head and Heart at work

Conversations is about connecting with the heart not head. The heart is superior to the head. What ever is known to the head is available to those who connect with the heart and more.

The head has knowledge. That knowledge is gathered from the world of manifest. It is ordered and patterned through modeling and algorithms. It is designed for input, process and output. This knowledge is functional, purposive and supports manifest outcomes.

The head solves for problems around the physical laws. Maths, Physics, logic serves well when trying to solve for complex design issues that lend itself to this.

Here, problem definition, root cause analysis, determining possible options and arriving at criteria’s to for best solution and implementation plans and contingency plans. Are critical to success. Be it a marketing campaign or a war campaign, strategy and tactical execution is critical. 

Professionally, we have to be good at Head. That is what the workplace is about: solving business problems. Competition, product placements, pricing, distribution, logistics and manufacturing at optimized costs. The head is all about functional and business competencies and we have to be good at it.

At the level of the heart, lies leadership of people, who make the head happen more effectively. The head requires management, while people require Leadership. Leadership is about the softer aspects of business. Interestingly, the harder problem is to the ‘softer’ side of enterprise.

Knowledge when fused with heart becomes wisdom. Head gives you data, analytics, insights even, but heart takes you further: it provides forsight.

When you operate at the level of the Heart, Head is already there.

The head can never trust, the heart can never doubt.

Organisation Workshop - Exploration in Systems Thinking

Most explorative work usually is around the individual. I am often asked if there are effective designs around exploring Organisation dynamics. Yes there is, and it is the Organisation Workshop introduced by Barry Oshry.

In this workshop, participants are randomly selected to play the roles of Tops, Middle, Bottoms, and Customer(s). Each day in the organization is of 15 minutes with reflection time built in between each day (Time out of time).

Instructions are few and simple. Tops have wide powers around organization and direction. Each day costs are clarified by way of expenses and variable costs: some fixed and some discretionary. The task is relatively simple and explained by the Customer to the Tops, who then go about communicating and executing through the Middle and to the Bottom. The ensuring drama provides rich data on how people communicate, collaborate, and act. A classic for reviewing systems thinking.

Several days are played out before the simulation ends. Then de-brief begins.

The whole simulation is not role playing but real play.

I have used this often in my work and it is a treasure house to reflect on Organisation.

“The nature of system is certainty; the nature of structure is security; the nature of beauty is order. These define the ‘oughts’ of a good society. When the ‘oughts’ become ‘musts’, they become tools of oppression and unleash great sorrow. When that sad day arrives, the way to regenerate the society is not to defy or to deny but to define; not to resist or to desist but to persist.”~ Pulin K. Garg