Month: December 2018

Decision Making

Posted on by Seung Chan Lim 0

When we are involved in a process of innovation,
the kind mired in
volatility,
uncertainty,
complexity, and
ambiguity
What we often need
is someone who can
be there by our side
to help us navigate through
the difficult,
uncomfortable,
sometimes drawn out,
process
of coming to make a decision.

Not someone
who is quick to
tell us
what decision to make.
Nor someone
who leaves us
alone
to make a decision.

Yet more often than not
we are surrounded
by the latter two types of people,
While it is rare to be in the company
of the first kind of person.

To all my readers,
if you wish,
May this new year
bring more
of the first kind of person
into your lives.

To all my clients,
I’m eternally grateful
for your willingness
to let me be this kind of person.

Innovate First, then Problem Solve

Posted on by Seung Chan Lim 8

Innovation does not solve problems.
It only has the potential to do so.

Say I produced an innovative vacuum cleaner,
If the problem is a dirty house,
unless someone uses the innovation repeatedly,
problem persists.

Innovation creates unexpected choices we didn’t perceive to have,
Problem solving uses existing choices to achieve an expected result.

Problem solving gets stuck
when we lack the requisite variety of choices
to achieve our expected result.

Thus,
when we’re stuck,
we need to temporarily put aside problem solving
in favor of innovation
to first increase the variety of our choices.

Sometimes innovation even helps us realize
that what we considered a problem is not,
and the problem vanishes

Event & Context

Posted on by Seung Chan Lim 0

If an “event” that happens is the tip of the iceberg,
“context” is the rest of the iceberg.

If my saying something is an event,
its context includes
my intentions,
emotions,
needs,
values,
beliefs,
history, etc.

When we hear what others say,
we often use the first context that comes to mind
to make meaning from their words.

This can lead to misunderstandings.

We only understand the words of others
when we interpret their words
in conjunction with a context sufficiently similar
to the context that gave rise to their words.

So to better understand the word of others,
we often need to momentarily let go
of the first context that comes to mind.

The Journey of Three Emotions

Posted on by Seung Chan Lim 0

When we, as founders—
especially those with humane intentions—
work to fertilize change in our organizations,
3 types of emotions often rise up
in ourselves:

  1. Overwhelm
  2. Anxiety (also Worry / Doubt / Concern / Fear)
  3. Frustration (or Anger)

When we don’t spend the time
to realize empathy with ourselves
in relation to these emotions,
these can easily develop into:

  1. Sense of Isolation
  2. Hopelessness
  3. Helplessness

Which, over time, can calcify as:

  1. Sense of Betrayal
  2. Shame
  3. Resentment (or Contempt)

Choosing Our Role

Posted on by Seung Chan Lim 0

We play “designer,”
when we act to fulfill an emotional need.
Wish to fulfill your need for communication with those far away?
Play “designer” to design a mail system.

We play “judge,”
when we blame someone.
Wish to label someone at fault?
Play “judge” to peruse the evidence & make a decision.

We may play them well or poorly,
but once we become aware of these roles,
they are available for our choosing
from moment to moment,
even if they’re not on our business cards.

The question is “What role do we want to play?”

Whatever our answer,
it’ll profoundly affect our sense of identity.
The sense of who we are,
from where our thoughts & behaviors
will naturally flow,
at least temporarily.