Strange Bedfellows

This picture was taken during my visit to our London office in October 2010. Someone had obviously put this unusual pair together, intending to create cognitive dissonance in the eyes, and hence mind, of the beholder.

What is it about a simian reading a book, that disturbs the placid lake of our conventional thinking -provoking a smile if the book is about Peter Rabbit, and perhaps a smirk when it's about complex systems?

So much change since we climbed down a tree and picked up a book, consummated only through eons of evolution. Yet the chilling tale ‘Planet of the Apes’ by Pierre Boulle speaks of a planet where apes evolved from humans.

With this new perspective, the picture now represents an intelligent human who ran up the tree (and residing in a nicely decorated tree house) and sat out evolution over a book.While the same picture would not evoke a sense of cognitive dissonance amongst the simian citizens of the planet of apes, it certainly would if they had to see a human reading such a book by the fireside. When in fact, he should be comfortably swinging through the trees, as rightly imagined by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

Hence cognitive dissonance, as intended by my colleague in London, is a matter of perspective. An outcome of conditioned thinking striding several generations and peculiar to the human race on planet earth, circa 2013.

Things could change very soon. The pace of evolution is exponential and as Alvin Toffler quotes U. Thant in ‘Future Shock’, “It is no longer resources  that limit decisions. It is the decision that makes the resources”. Significant changes in evolution which were earlier measured eons apart, can now be flipped at will, with a few snips to our own DNA. 

We can decide whether we want to continue the pace of climbing down the tree, or freefall into a completely different organism by the time we hit the ground.Shake the tree and an apple can indeed fall far from the tree, changing into a pear along its gravitational trajectory and thumping into the earth as a pineapple – or something more exotic.

The key question is, will we be able and willing to 'unshake' the tree if others experience cognitive dissonance looking at us then? 

Breaking space and time

Recently, global representatives of a organization came together, to design an ERP rollout strategy and roadmap. Instead of brainstorming in a conference room around a large table and powerpoints to anchor them, they chose to work in a kindergarten-like environment filled with mobile white boards, breakout areas camouflaged behind some tall plants, stuffed toys as onlookers, interesting information up on the walls about explorers from across the world. Woven into their serious agenda was an activity requiring them to build a model ship comprising of 155 parts. Starting with minimal instructions to guide them and 3 separate teams (each team comprising a mix of global peers) working on different parts, the complex ship was put together with new learning’s about decision making and collaboration across geographies – and more importantly, an intent to work together to build that ‘ship’.

After an intense 2 day workshop of imbibing complex information, juxtaposing it with real business needs and arriving at a pragmatic way forward, the client sponsor said “we did in two days, what would have taken us months to achieve”.

Interestingly, this is not the first time clients are astounded by such group transformation. It is what happens when people connect together in such an environment where space and time can be made to bend, to result in extreme collaboration.

Einstein is reported to have famously said the definition of insanity is when we try to solve problems at the same level at which they are created. This is why it becomes important to bend time and space for our clients, to create breakthrough results.

What exactly do we mean by bending time and space? Let’s consider ‘time’ – traditionally we view this as a linear function, trying to stuff it with a packed agenda. Often this can result in information overload. One hard retrospective look at our conventional meeting agendas reveals this truth. 

However, if one uses time compressing techniques, it becomes possible for participants to assimilate more, more meaningfully. Presenting the right information at the right time, enabling its application to a problem statement can create significant ‘aha’ moments that are deeply entrenched as a take away for planning next steps.

Combine this with the magic of space, and you can significantly influence the best thinking in people. The way a group of people come together to imbibe, assimilate and debate information can be enriched significantly by making the environment fluid. A group converges and dissipates into sub groups, structured for optimizing complex decision making. The way they share the output of their best thinking with each other, exchanging views and experiences to refine ideas even further, results in testing ideas and solutions.

Finally, bringing it all together as action plans with intent to be a part of the solution execution is a powerful amalgamation of each one’s contribution of ideas and insights – ready for implementation. A heated knife, ready to cut through the toughest cold slab of butter.

Seek ways to break space and time to enrich the transformation experience.

The Art of Collaboration

Having read ‘The Moon and Sixpence’ by Somerset Maugham several years back, I was naturally curious to view the exhibition of Paul Gauguin’s work at the Tate Modern in London. As I jostled in the crowd to view his prolific genius, I was amazed at the sheer number of people who had turned up for the exhibition. An eclectic crowd comprised of art connoisseurs, students, accidental tourists, corporate executives, families, curious onlookers. I could not but help wonder how the work of a single genius could bring such a diverse group of people together in unison and admiration.
As I studied each work of art – I do not use the term ‘painting’, as Gauguin dabbled in paintings, sketches, sculptures, ceramics, wood printing - I realized that these had come together for a brief period of time, as part of an endeavor to present the entire collection of this artist under one roof. These artifacts belonged to diverse museums and private collectors from across the world, acquired in myriad ways spanning decades. I tried to imagine the careful orchestration in convincing all these guardians of art to relinquish their treasures temporarily so that this unique experience could be created.
It struck me that collaboration can occur across hundreds of individuals and organizations, without ever having to meet. Letting go of the little pieces of jigsaw, so that others can see the puzzle in its entirety. Knowingly or unknowingly, these artistic pieces of jigsaw were yielded for a larger purpose, creating a new experience for many who possibly did not possess a piece.
I wonder what would Gauguin have thought, if he were alive to see this. Perhaps he too would have been amazed by the experience of seeing all his work in unison, music written for each instrument at different times, never intending it to come together as a brilliant symphony for a future audience.
I left the exhibition content, the symphony imbibed forever.