1 A Case Study of The U in Action By Yan Song March & April, 2008

2 Introduction This case study is intended to serve as a sounding board and learning tool for MLC. Theory U is being leveraged not as a hammer but a useful tool to better understand and deal more effectively the full complexities of our everyday lives at work and home. Thus, I intend to spend most of time on specific professional and personal experiences/situations to illustrate each concept and method of execution. The group meeting on April 20 will be highly interactive – more a discussion than presentation. You are encouraged to produce your own energy maps similar to those on pages 8~11. No one is required to share his/her map (unless you want to, of course), so please be authentic and maximize the gain!

3 Why Bother? Improve Professional/Organizational Effectiveness –Better Results (sales, budgets, timelines, objectives, etc.) –Greater Opportunities (responsibilities, influence, impacts) –Etc. Improve Individual/Collective Quality of Life –More Satisfying Experience –More Trusting/Loving Relationships –More Money –Etc. Integration Reveals/Requires An Even Deeper Level of Understanding and Navigating Skills of Reality

Suspending Deep dive Letting goLetting come Enacting Embodying A new Social Technology with Seven Leadership Capacities: 1. Holding the space: Listen to what life calls you to do 2. Observing: Attend with your wide open mind 4. Presencing: Connect to the deepest source of your self and will 6. Prototyping: Integrate head,heart, hand 7. Performing: Play the “Macro Violin” 5. Crystallizing: Access to power of intention 3. Sensing: Connect with your heart © 2007, J. Flick PI VOC VOJ VOF OPEN MIND OPEN HEART OPEN WILL

Downloading How Much Time/Energy Am I spending in Each Field? Does the Flow Feel Fluid? Is There A Bottleneck? Where? Who Is My Self? What Is My Work? What Can I Do Next Week to Make a 1% Difference? How May I Express and Embody My Highest Intention in Life? Performing

6 Outline 1.Sensing: Understand the Underlying Reality/Energy Patterns/Flows (Tool: Otto’s Field Map on next page) –The Environments (World, Nation, Society, Company, Department, Team, Boss, Colleagues, etc.) –Yourself –Your Work 2.Pre-sensing: Develop a Sense of Flow, Direction and Purpose –Emergence, Direction and Purpose –Generative Leadership 3.Creating: Make a Difference/Impact –Gain access to the power of Intention –Develop a game plan –Execute and learn

Downloading: Talking nice, politeness rule-reenacting Debate: Talking tough rule-revealing Listening 1: Downloading habits of thought Listening 2 : Factual, object-focused Listening 3 : Empathic listening Listening 4 : Generative listening Centralized: Machine bureaucracy Decentralized: divisionalized Networked relational Ecosystem Ba Micro: THINKING /LISTENING Meso: CONVERSING /LANGUAGING Macro: ORGANIZING /STRUCTURING Mundo: Mechanism of COORDINATING Hierarchy: Central plan Market: competition Dialogue: (mutual adjustment) Collective Presence: Seeing from the emerging Whole Dialogue inquiry rule-reflecting Presencing: Collective creativity, flow rule-generating Field 1: Operating from the old me-world Field 2: Operating from the current it-world Field 3: Operating from the current you-world Field 4: Operating from the highest future possiblity that Is wanting to emerge Field Structure of Attention © 2007 C.O. Scharmer

8 Sensing #1: Understand Your Environment (Distribution of Energy) China Population US Population Middle Mgmt Senior Mgmt Field 1>90%>70%>50%>25% Field 2>7%>20%>35%>60% Field 3<3%<9%<14%<19% Field 4<<1%<1%

9 Sensing #2: Understand Yourself (Distribution of Energy) At WorkAt HomeIntention/ Priorities Skills Field 1>25% LowPoor Field 2>50%>30%MediumGood Field 3<20%<30%HighOK Field 4<5%<10%HighPoor

10 Sensing #3: Understand Your Work ComplexityManifestationsObstaclesInterventions Field 1 Inertial/StaticHierarchy Law Enforcements Cultural/Family Codes Consumerism DeadwoodRe-Produce (e.g., SOPs, Laws, Rituals, Fundamentalism, Jihads etc.) Field 2 DynamicWorkflows Competition Stock Market “Globalization” VOJRe-Design (e.g., Sales Territories, Six Sigma, Lean, Outsourcing, Classical Mechanics, etc.) Field 3 SocialOrganizational Effectiveness Social Responsibility VOCRe-Frame (e.g., Double-Loop Learning, The Fifth Discipline, Dialogue, Facilitative Leadership, Presence, Social Ecology, Quantum Mechanics, etc.) Field 4 GenerativeSustainability Globalization Cosmic Religious Feeling VOFRe-Generate (e.g., The Theory of Relativity, Spiral Dynamics, Theory U, The Discussion on the criteria of truth in China 30 years ago)

11 Sensing #3a: Understand Your Work - Implementing Business Software ComplexityManifestationsObstaclesInterventions Field 1 Inertial/StaticTechnical difficulties of Installing the software Deadwood Lack of basic technology infrastructure/tools Work Instructions and Testing (to Re-Produce) Field 2 DynamicProcess difficulties of integrating the software into the overall business workflow (disjoint workflows, superficial preferences, arbitrary variations between groups/departments) The mentality that there is one and only one way (theirs) of accomplishing something Process analysis and reengineering (to Re-Design) Field 3 SocialOrganizational/political difficulties of introducing change (turf battles, lack of larger vision/purpose) Bitterness towards change, often re- enforced through past experiences Dialogue, Double-Loop Learning, Facilitative Leadership (to Re-Frame) Field 4 GenerativeDifficulties of transforming the existing culture from reactive to transformative change Fear of losing control/prestige/market/f riends/reality Generative Leadership (to Re-Generate)

12 Pre-sensing #1: Emergence, Direction and Purpose Where Are the Energies Coming From and Going To? In the Environment, Yourself and Your work? –Developmentally (decades) –Historically (thousands of years) –Biologically (millions of years) –Cosmologically (billions of years) Nature of Reality –Constantly emerging, not static –Increasingly more complex and organic

13 Pre-sensing #2: Two Essential Questions of Generative Leadership Who Is Myself? –Part of a larger, more complex, emerging and organic reality –Agent of organic change (inclusive of fields 1~4) What Is My Work? –Facilitate emergence of this larger, more complex reality by Recognize and articulate new energy flows/patterns Develop and apply the skills of generative leadership in professional and personal contexts

14 Pre-sensing #3: Some Examples of Generative Leadership Obama vs. Clinton –Hope for the future as well as experience of the past –Not mutually exclusive from field 4 or generative perspective Randy Pausch –Always have fun – choose to be a Tiger vs. a Eyre –I know that I am dying, so here’s what I want to tell my children –Make time for what matters Managing Emergence (field 4) as well as Paycheck (field 1), Results (field 2) and People (field 3) –The capacity and skills of managing total energy flows wherever,whenever and whomever you are with

15 Creating #1: Empower Your True Self Gain Access to the Power of Intention –Stop Wasting Energy in Blaming Others –Connect to the Source or Deeper Self –Clarify Your Highest Intention in Life –Tune Self in Relation to the Environment and Work –Sense the Opening and Possibilities –Visualize Potential Expression/Embodiment

16 Creating #2: Develop a Game Plan Integrate Head, Heart and Hands –Understand Head (the Map, the Environment), Heart (Yourself) and Hand (Work, Job) –Remove Deadwood(s) –Assess Capacity/Skills –Plug Drain Holes (Dysfunctions at All Levels) –Align Roles with Complexities of the Situation/Job –Adjust/Set Expectations –Create Feedback Loops

17 Creating #3: Execute and Learn Play the “Macro Violin” –3 Cs: Communicate, Collaborate, Commitment –Start Small and Scale Up Incrementally –Develop Leadership Capacity/Skills Continuously –Share Risks as well as Opportunities –Pick Your Battles –Anticipate/Manage External Shocks –Learn When/How to Walk Away

18 Reflections and Questions

19 Next Steps to Consider Construct Your Own Energy Maps and Job Descriptions –Imagine the difference that we would make if we simply constructed a dozen or more U-job descriptions similar to slide #11! Pre-sensing Exercise –Learn how to see, feel and will your self as part of the emerging whole –Explore the tools: the Theory of Relativity, Spiral Dynamics, Theory U Action Design –Start where you are –Examine the game you are playing now –Refine your game plan and boost your professional effectiveness and quality of life next week!

20 Backups and References

Downloading This Has Been My Story So Far … At This Point of My Journey, I Feel Most Passionate About … This Is How I Might Do More of What I Love … Performing

22 I-in-me I-in-it I-in-you I-in-now Listening 1: Downloading Listening 2: Factual Listening 3: Empathic Listening 4: Generative Attending from your open mind Seeing new/disconfirming data Understanding technical complexity Attending from your open heart Seeing through the eyes of another Understanding social complexity Attending from the patterns of the past Reconfirming what we know Stuck in your own prison Attending from Source (open will) Seeing from emerging futures Understanding emerging complextiy

Downloading: Talking nice Debate: Talking tough Dialogue: Reflective inquiry Collective creativity: Generative flow Saying what I think Exchange of divergent views I am my point of view Adaptive System Seeing what we say and do From defending to Inquiry into viewpoints I can change my view Self-reflective System Saying what they want to hear Empty phrases polite, cautious Autistic System Speaking from what is moving through Co-creating something new presence of an emerging future Whole Generative System © 2006 C.O. Scharmer

Three Types of Complexity Social complexity: Actors have different views and interests Dynamic complexity: Cause and effect are distant in space and time Emerging complexity: Disruptive patterns of innovation and change  Whole system approach  Multi-stakeholder approach  Sensing and presencing approach

4. regenerating 1. reacting 3. reframing 2. redesigning thinking process, structure Source of identity, inspiration and will manifest action Four Levels of Responding to Change social complexity emerging complexity dynamic complexity