Spiritual Intelligence (SQ) is “The ability to act with Wisdom and Compassion while maintaining inner and outer peace, regardless of the circumstances.” (Cynthia Wigglesworth, President and Founder, Conscious Pursuits, Inc.)   SQ is based on the model of Emotional Intelligence, but with the focus on how one uses the skills of wisdom and compassion in one’s work. 

Why would a business care about having SQ in the workplace?  Well, would you rather work in an organization where people are able to weather stress and maintain inner and outer calm, or one where people fly off the handle, are reactionary and rude?  That is one difference of how using SQ enables us to work more effectively, productively and respectfully in the workplace.  Imagine if employees were better able to deal with tough customer situations by listening with their hearts rather than thinking in their heads? Check it out and read Wigglesworth’s paper Spiritual Intelligence:  What is it?

Why is this a concern?  The newest generations will “expect an instant response from everyone they communicate with, and won’t have the patience for anything less.”   This is a “must read” to understand the profound implications the pace of technology and social media is having on our communication patterns, social relationships, and workplace. 

Maybe I’m showing my generational ineptness (Baby Boomer who is 56), but I find Phelan’s remarks alarming and disturbing!  Being the father of a 25 and 20-year old, I can tell you that face to face communication is critical to establish throughout the times my adult children were children. 

Where are the “heart-to-heart” talks that happen late at night when your daughter breaks up with her boyfriend, or your son struggles with making decisions about college choices, or both of them need help to sort out what friendship is about?  You don’t do it texting, my friend. 

Texting cannot replace the powerful nurturing and bonding that goes with personal conversations at the dining room table, standing and shooting the breeze in the kitchen, chats while in the car, or late nights in their bedrooms talking about their fears and joys. Any parent who believes otherwise will end up with a “long distance” relationship with their children. 

I continued reading this ad and it turns your thinking upside down because it contends being the same for 117 years is a good thing.  Post has used the same original ingredient since 1892 – “fiber-rich 100% whole grain wheat.”  Whole wheat grains are good for you, so why is there a need to change, to be innovative?  The ad ends signed by “Frank Druffel” with the caption under his name “We put the ‘no’ in innovation.”

Okay, this ad really got me hooked.  Then, at the very bottom of the page it said, “See Frank in action at ThePalaceOfLight.com.”  I invite you to visit this site because there are several short video clips of Frank with employees of the company contending that “progress is overrated.”  Frank’s rationale is clever, filled with examples, very convincing, and entertaining.  But, it drives the message that the 117 year-old Post Shredded Wheat is not into innovation.  What was good for you back in 1892 is still good for you the way it is in the 21st century.

This ad and website definitely is counter to what is believed to be a success in the marketplace – be innovative or die.  Or is it?  Explore yourself and let me know.  I’m pleasantly stumped!

As a facilitator, I've used a variety of creative meeting processes to help groups brainstorm, plan, make decisions, or to simply get people off their feet and start thinking!

One of the most engaging and stimulating processes I’ve used is called Open Space Technology (OST).  It is “effective in situations where a diverse group of people must deal with complex, and potentially conflicting material, in innovative and productive ways.”  The best situation for its use is when nobody knows the answer, and “the ongoing participation of a number of people is required to deal with questions.”

Here are just a few tantalizing characteristics of OST process:

• The total agenda for the meeting is represented by a blank wall.
• It is a self-managed process by the participants themselves.
• It can be used with little as 10 people or over 250 people.
• It is unlike anything you’ve ever experienced.

One final note is to know about the Four Principles of OST: 

The Four Principles

Whoever comes is the right people.

Whatever happens is the only thing that could have.

Whenever it starts is the right time.

When it is over it is over.

Have fun exploring!

One of the many contradictions we are faced with in our personal and work lives have to do with relationships with people and the clash of our values in situations we are faced with.  A book entitled The Second Half of Life by Angeles Arrien, a cultural anthropologist, explores these contradictions in our human condition.  The practice is to “befriend” these contradictions, not unlike what da Vinci experienced. 

Here are a few contradictions that you may relate to.  Ask yourself, “How can I be present with both?” 

Can I be                                                                      While still remaining

Angry at someone                                                      Loving toward this person

Against an idea or plan                                               Respectful and cooperative

In agreement                                                             Firm in my own convictions

Emotionally involved                                                   Intellectually clear

Able to see the worst possibilities                                 Hopeful

Afraid                                                                        Capable of acting

Respectful and yielding                                                Firm in my own beliefs

Both sides are present and neither negates the other.  The challenge is to live with both because they are present.  

What are some traits that I see in these people?

• Unconventional
• Risk takers
• Critical thinkers
• Challenge the status quo
• Entrepreneurial spirit
• Passion
• Intensity
• See the world through many different eyes

Ever wonder how Google Earth came to be and how they figured out to create a Street View of your neighborhood?  Read about Stephen Chau #17, product manager, Google Maps and Google Earth. 

Looking for a tuition-free, on-line-only, open-source university?  It’s happening with its creator Shai Reshef, founder, University of the People, #37 on the list.  Classes start in fall 2009. 

And, who is ranked #1?  You'll have to read the article.  Enjoy!!

Listening is the first step in making people feel VALUED.  How do we do that?  

• Listening is a CHOICE, a decision we make.  It takes energy and action to listen.
• Listening is a GIFT, which means no advice is given, no lecture is provided.
• Listening is an ART.  It's how we listen that elevates it to an art.  We are in a moment where time stands still; we are "just in it."

Let's apply this insight to our workplace.

Question:  To what extent do you consciously choose to listen to a customer, peer, or direct report?  Would it make a difference in your relationship with that person?

Question:  How often do you give advice or suggestions when listening, when all that is called for is to be the gift of listening?  

Question:  To what extent are you present in the moment with that person, to be "just in it" rather than thinking about what you want to say?

This may be a different way you approach listening.  If it is, I encourage you to start listening by making it a CHOICE, GIFT, and ART.  See if it makes a positive difference not only for you but for the person you are listening to.  You may find as a result that you are less defensive or judgmental and more relaxed.  It may help move you to a more deeper conversation.  You may realize your focus is in your heart rather than in your head.  

Now, I’m going out on a limb as to what I’m about to say.  My take on the book is this is a classic example of packaging a very difficult issue – how humans successfully deal with change – into a cutesy animal story line.  In my opinion, you could skip the whole penguin fable and go directly to Kotter’s Eight Steps.  And, even his Eight Steps are pretty simple in approach and lack substance.  I don’t disagree with the Eight Steps; it’s just there’s not much depth to them.

In my opinion, what would have made a greater impact on me?  If Kotter had related a true story of how an organization applied the Eight Steps.  Now that’s substance which gives credibility to his change steps. 

What are your thoughts on the book?  Did you find the book helpful or not? 

What drew me to the article is she writes about how hope and fear have been in the news.  As examples, President Obama’s election “was heralded as the triumph of hope over fear.”  But since November 2008, the “world’s dilemmas and terrors have again cast their long shadows.”  She describes life these days as a “roller coaster ride between hope and fear.” 

Wheatley states that we may be entering a period where we encounter groundlessness.  As examples, she states:

• “Systems and ideas that seemed reliable and solid are dissolving at an increasing rate.”
• “Knowing that nothing ever remains the same.”
• “Learning to live with the unrelenting constant of change.”
• “Realizing that even the good things won’t last forever.”

What does she see in the crystal ball for us?  Wheatley proposes that we shift our emphasis on outcomes to relationships:  “To feel hope, we don’t have to accomplish anything.”  She refers to Thomas Merton, the famed Christian mystic, who spoke that “outcomes don’t matter; it’s people, our relationships that give meaning to our struggles.”

As Wheatley said, “We’ve learned that no matter how despairing the circumstance, it is our relationships that offer us solace, guidance, and joy.  As long as we’re together, as long as we feel others supporting us, we can persevere.”

She closes with these thoughts about our time in history:  “Patience is, perhaps, this journey’s destination.  Can we do our work without needing to see results?  Can we be content that our work might bear fruit, but not in our lifetime?”

I invite you to read her article, which is great food for thought and reflection on our time in history.