Business Lessons from the AT (Appalachian Trail): Part 3

Bringing your best

Here are five takeaways to help you navigate your best and find your true north, not just for you but also everyone you touch. Until next time. Eric

1.    commune

 I’ve been researching and writing about the subject of Organizational Ambidexterity for over 10 years. The ability to simultaneously “exploit” your environment with what you’ve already learned to do well and at the same time “explore” it for innovation, new learning, and new growth, it’s hard to do in part because it requires different ways of thinking. But for companies and organizations that have learned to harness it, it’s the key to their continuing success and renewal. Those who do it well never dismiss or diminish their connections with others, and the more diverse those connections the better, they’re a vital and necessary part of their success. While it’s true, that you may reach your destination faster, get there first, and make decisions quicker, you won’t have a complete picture of the problem when you get there, you won’t contribute to the betterment of a group, and you won’t have a 100% solution, you’ll be hiking in the dark. Celebrate the trailblazers, the lone wolves, and the solitary heroes but don’t worship them, they’re a façade as no one succeeds alone. Instead, honor those who travel in the company of others.

2.    be kind and supportive

Here’s the bottom line, you’re not omnipotent, you don’t know everything. And you don’t know what’s going on in others’ lives, so ease up a little, even on yourself.  I’ll let you in on a secret. Researchers believe we might spend as much as 90 percent of our waking day being controlled by the subconscious mind, so you might not even know what’s going on with you, or why you feel the way you do about something much less anyone else. People have days of high and low energy, sharp and dull acuity, and periods of distraction and focus. Spend a few minutes every meeting finding out where people are on any given day and subject and make sure they have the context and “read-ahead” about what’s going on. Here’s a trick I use. Pretend everyone’s a military General or Admiral and give them an executive summary regarding the work at hand. Not only does it benefit you, but it also shows respect.

3.    Treat hearsay like street signs

Sometimes I play a mindfulness game with street signs.  I acknowledge them, considering their applicability in the moment, and then let them go, sometimes ignoring them and doing what makes sense instead, don’t tell anyone. Hearsay and gossip are like that, a sign that may or may not be giving you relevant information about a real-time situation, take it in context. If other contextual clues don’t jibe, let the signs go, and go with your gut instead.

4.    Suspend judgement

New information will continue to come in long after an event happens. If you don’t have to immediately decide, act, or render a judgement about something then why do it? You may be painting yourself in a corner today which will limit, hurt, or cause you to get stuck tomorrow.

5.    find the balance

Notice that I didn’t say find “a” balance. That’s because there always is one, it doesn’t need to be fabricated or created it’s with you all the time. If you’re not surfing your balance it’s because you’re ignorant to it, choose not to, something has caused you to go “hard over” (an aviation term) in one direction, or you’re leading a careless life.  Warren Buffet once said, “you will move in the direction of the people you associate with” and that “we are an average of the five people we associate with.”  If he’s right then associate yourself with surfers instead of gate guards, martyrs, or disciplinarians.  There used to be more conversation about finding balance in life and you don’t hear people discussing it much anymore but don’t despair, that doesn’t mean it’s gone away; I think it’s because people are resolute. If you’re observant you will notice them expressing this balance anew, with vigor, and with new words, metaphors, and actions, they’ve stopped talking about it, now they’re quietly and determinately doing it, find those people.

Wrapping things up

Hikers don’t face the same challenges and struggles people in the workplace do, even with all the perils of the wilderness they have it easier, why? It’s in part because they exercise balance. In the wild, the left hemisphere of the brain can produce all the convincing decontextualized models it wants, project confident and strong opinions with ironclad explanation and bravado, and even carry out those actions based on that confidence. But natures unlikely to take notice of such bluster and certainty wouldn’t tolerate abominable or absurd action without swift repercussion. When the left brain has exhausted its crowing on the trail (and it doesn’t take long) its only option left is to acknowledge nature’s force and share the challenge of health and survival with the quiet, observant, open-minded, wholistic, and contextualized wisdom of the right hemisphere. In the workplace we’re not confronted with nature’s leveling effects, we’re faced with one other, and the artificial scaffolding we’ve created. It’s an ecosystem removed from nature that if connected, would produce better more sustainable outcomes.

As my son and I made decisions together on the Appalachian trail, using an exploitive and explorative (ambidextrous) approach in our decisions and actions, we benefited from one another. It strengthened us into a better team making better decisions in less time and with less effort. We also began experiencing moments of serendipity often occurring in the undecided gaps in our plans that we intentionally left open for what might be. Our reasoning?  We didn’t need to make every decision immediately and a clearer picture would reveal itself as we got further down the trail. We used a combination of decision-making and action-taking, along with the suspension of action and decision. And in these open spaces often came the best, most unimagined outcomes with ever-increasing frequency.

Dr. Zabiegalski is available to talk to your organization or venue about ambidexterity research or speak informatively and eloquently about organizational culture, leadership, strategy, learning, complexity, business neuroscience, creativity, mindfulness, talent management, personal success, emotional intelligence, Action Learning, and storytelling. Contact Eric about a talk, keynote presentation, workshop, or hike in the woods today!