With roots in ecology, the literal translation of the word involves two Japanese characters, kyo which means working together and sei which means life – taken together their most literal interpretation is cooperative living or symbiosis. With such energy at it’s root, it is no surprise that much of the most fruitful thinking of how to practice kyosei today revolves around mimicking natural systems in manufacturing, design and other aspects of business.

The twentieth century saw the word begin to be applied to the business environment – most notably by Ryuzaburo Kaku, Chairman of Canon Inc. His goal was to foster the understanding that long-term business success can only be founded upon a respect for the interconnectedness any business has with people, communities and the environment. Kaku defined kyosei as a “spirit of cooperation” in which individuals and organizations live and work together for the common good.

The incorporation of the principles of kyosei into mainstream corporate thought in Japan, however, goes back four hundred years. The earliest thoughts can be found in a document known as the shuchu kiyaku which is rooted in Confucian philosophy. The core tenets of Confucian philosophy underpinning the practice of kyosei are not the exclusive domain of Asian philosophers by a long stretch – to the contrary, they would be considered by many to be universal foundations of common sense and morality. These include such principles as:

• A belief in the principle of reciprocity and abiding by the golden rule of treating others as you would like to be treated.
• An understanding of our fundamental interconnectedness and the fact that our actions have an impact both in local (visible) and far-reaching (invisible) ways.
• Valuing the “middle path”. This may take the form of practicing moderation in personal habits as well as taking only calculated risks in business. It also includes the need to find a healthy balance between self-interest and altruism. As of course, either one (taken to extremes) can be a source of harm.
• Valuing character and virtue of the individual and the organization more highly than personal gain or corporate profits. This principle, unfortunately, seems to be the most challenging to practice as the immediate payoff of the latter is far more tempting than the subtle long-term satisfaction of the former.
• The importance of constant learning and growth - what in Japanese is referred to as Kaizen.
• A preference for simplicity. This preference is linked to a belief that the elegance of simplicity is more likely to bring us into harmony with others and the planet.

In upcoming posts, I will continue on the topic of kyosei with a more detailed look at why it is an idea whose time as come and the stages that individuals and companies go through in building their capacity to fully practice kyosei.

And so, between baby coddling sessions, I managed to tear myself away from our adorable new nephew long enough to join in their candid conversations about the lessons of Silicon Valley.

Having lived in Vancouver, my brother-in-law was passionate that Vancouver has all the critical ingredients to become a booming Silicon Valley itself – yet has not developed the spark to ignite the mix. Like the San Francisco Bay area, the Lower Mainland has great universities and colleges, is a great place to live, and has a thriving economy with sophisticated investors ready to go. In spite of this, the leadership and long-term thinking have not emerged to integrate these resources sufficiently to achieve the hotbed of technological business seen in Silicon Valley.

Ultimately, the key ideas that emerged from our discussions were relevant for businesses of all sizes to thrive. Here are the top three themes:

1) Blur the Lines

In Silicon Valley, Stanford University maintains close ties with the venture capital community and encourages research and development with practical business possibilities, spawning such companies as Cisco Systems, Hewlett-Packard, Sun, Google and Yahoo!. While the mentality is changing in Canadian institutions about the many benefits (for students, businesses and society) of such collaboration, in the past these links were often discouraged due to an academic purist view that considered research tainted if it was skewed towards business spinoffs.

While scandals in the pharmaceutical industry illustrate the importance of separating research from business interests to some extent, purists often lose sight of the fact that without business-funded research, much of the life we take for granted today would not exist. Rather than advocating all-or-nothing approaches, business, government and academic leaders need to become more comfortable with diving into the gray zone and, in so doing, leverage the highest benefit for the common good.

2) Compete – Together

In a global economy, larger businesses are conscious of the economic necessity of looking beyond their borders in a literal sense. Closer to home, however, small and mid-size businesses need to stop focusing solely on developing internal skills and expertise in order to become more competitive in their industry. They must learn to adopt a wider view and identify long-term strategic alliances by asking which other organizations have a complementary mission, vision, product or service and challenging themselves to think about collaborating to maximize the strengths of all concerned.

3) Be Willing to Fail

The final thing that stood out for me about Silicon Valley was that, while there are many successes, there are even more failures. My brother-in-law had numerous stories of friends and acquaintances on their second or third attempt at startups. In fact, stemming perhaps from a ‘debugging’ mentality shared amongst truly geek entrepreneurs, business failures were considered necessary steps towards success, creating learning to be implemented in the next version – Business 3.0, perhaps?

Entrepreneurial success is not just about good ideas getting adequate funding – it requires commitment, passion and ingenuity on the part of the entrepreneurs to follow through to success. Of course there are those “lucky” ones who were in the right place at the right time, but business success still comes from a unique vision combined with the courage to persist until the dream is realized. In the end, the main source of “financing” any dream is still the currency a person holds in his or her own heart.

Andrea Jacques

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While it is difficult to attach numbers to exactly how much these intangibles impact the bottom line, the evidence that they do can be seen in the fact that all too many businesses, once sold, fail to live up to the performance expectations anticipated prior to the sale. For this reason, many purchasers insist on the owner and other key staff staying on for anywhere from one to three years after the sale.

It can also – as in the case of a colleague of mine with a very successful consulting business – be what limits you from selling your business at all. Despite annual revenues of $1 million, he discovered that his clients were resistant to working with anyone but him as he began exploring selling his business to an associate.

The bottom line is that, whether or not you ever intend to sell your company, understanding and maximizing intangible assets is critical to building a business that is not dependent upon you or any other specific individual in it – the mark of a truly successful business.

An example of this are two good friends of mine, Lawrence and Lori-Ann Keenan, who run a very successful ESL school here in Vancouver. They began the business as a couple, doing almost all of the work – from teaching the classes to marketing the school and everything in between – themselves. After just 10 years, she now works only one day a week, and his involvement with the business is negligible, save for focusing on investing their profits.

What has allowed them to have such freedom is that they have created and continue to refine written systems for everything they do. The importance of creating systems is understood by most business owners, but generally they focus on creating bare-bones systems that reflect simply the “how to” rather than the “how we do it here.” What sets my friends’ business apart and allows their success to continue to grow despite less and less involvement from them are the systems they have developed for instilling a distinct culture and personality into the school.

The school is very much centred around Lori-Ann’s personality. Like her, it is high-energy and fun with a no-nonsense professionalism and a passion for excellence in customer service. An example of one of the systems that sustains this is a weekly high-energy graduation ceremony at which all students are present. This event involves plenty of clapping, singing and general fanfare. Back in the staff room there may be some rolling eyes in the anticipation of this weekly ritual, but once staff step into the limelight to play their part in the celebration, they find it hard not to be caught up in the simplicity and energy of the familiar routine.

Companies like Google have systematized a culture of innovation by requiring employees to spend 20 percent of their time on side projects not related to their daily work. West Jet systematizes fun with their pre-landing jokes – no matter how corny they may be. Nordstrom has systematized customer service excellence through rigorous and ongoing training programs on empowerment and customer service excellence. Southwest Airlines systematizes its culture by training all of its staff in “Living the Southwest Way,” by practicing the three characteristics of having a Warrior Spirit, a Servant’s Heart and a Fun-LUVing Attitude.

All of these are examples of how to build those intangibles into the core operating systems, principles and standards of your business. Not only will these types of systems make your business more attractive to potential buyers in the long run, they will make it more attractive to those employees who are best equipped to deliver on your brand promise, thus attracting and keeping loyal customers. Ultimately these intangibles are not only what drives a strong bottom line, but sustains it over the long term. They are, at the end of the day, where the true value of a business lies and what helps any business owner to realize the full value of the business they have built – whether they sell it or not.

-Andrea Jacques aka. Kyoseigirl

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As I sat reflecting on what had caused this dramatic fall from grace in my own life, I realized that the lessons I needed to remind myself of were the same challenges I see with organizations – large and small – who get caught in survival mode by focusing on dealing with immediate crises instead of cultivating the habits and mindsets they need to thrive.

The Three Keys to Refocus Your Priorities and Create Success with Ease

1) Doing vs. Planning

One of the key causes of my self-inflicted crisis was jumping prematurely into work mode. My partner, Boyan, insists that 50 percent of the time on a project should be spent on research and planning. The “driver” part of my personality is always impatient to get started with what I consider “real work”, yet time and again I have had to recognize that Boyan’s strategy tends to result in faster and higher quality results.

The act of writing this article is a simple example of this process. I spent two frustrating days trying to crank it out before I finally surrendered to some brainstorming and planning with pencil and paper to focus my concept. In the end, the article took an hour to plan and forty-five minutes to write. How much time do you spend planning and strategizing in your business before you jump into action?

Most organizations I know of spend too little time planning and researching and even less time revisiting, following and updating their plans and research to stay on track.

2) Tangible vs. Intangibles

The next trap I had fallen into on the project I was working on was placing more importance on the tangibles than the intangibles. On impulse I decided to spend two days helping create a video on the organization’s vision that wasn’t part of the quote. Even though my inner voice said this wasn’t the best use of my time, it took me an entire day before I understood that this detour would negatively impact both the speed of developing the remainder of the program and its quality.

Small businesses tend to make similar mistakes in their time allocation by focusing too much on systems creation and revenue generation and not enough on the intangibles of building a high performance team, fostering values alignment, creating opportunities for the team to interact socially, and inspiring passion and purpose in their people. These intangibles are important activities that, if not attended to, result in a constant state of struggle.

3) Have to vs. Want to

One of the things I did right to prevent the project from becoming overwhelming was to identify the talents of both my internal and external teams. This allowed me to focus on my strengths, delegate tasks effectively to others who could contribute their expertise, and access resources quickly and efficiently.

Entrepreneurs often lead themselves to burnout trying to assume all the organizational roles. They mistakenly believe there are things you “have to do” in their business. While I agree that managing finances is a necessary role, the person who manages them doesn’t necessarily have to be you. Forcing yourself, or others on your team, to do things that are not strengths is likely draining more resources from your team than it would cost to hire an expert to do the task.

Small and large organizations alike fall prey to the above survival thinking modes on a regular basis. And as I have discovered, knowing what you should be doing is not the same as doing it. It takes constant vigilance to remember what it takes to thrive and to resist crisis-oriented thinking that can get you caught in a downward spiral of struggle.

Andrea Jacques -kyoseigirl

1) Purpose

One of the greatest challenges with retail is that employees and employers alike see its core purpose as making money – and research shows that making money is not the prime motivator for most employees to perform and stay in a job.

The retail clients Kyosei Consulting work with provide amazing products to the world, yet many staff still feel torn because, at the end of the day, they are still just selling stuff. The most engaged retail organizations cultivate a sense of purpose in their people beyond just making money for the company.

Employees who have stayed in retail long-term and are passionate about it always have a sense of purpose that is meaningful to them. They don’t sell clothes; they help people feel beautiful. They don’t sell bikes; they are helping people stay healthy or doing their part to reduce global warming.

They make people’s lives more vibrant by matching them to the perfect music, furniture, or artwork. While your business may have an official purpose statement that is noble and inspirational, the bottom line on attracting and retaining great retail staff is to help them connect with their individual sense of purpose.

2) Movement

What if, instead of trying to reduce turnover, your company were to embrace a philosophy of making sure your staff are here for a good time, not a long time? Consider an employee onboarding program that helped each person create a career plan for when they were going to leave their job, along with specific objectives for how they wanted to grow personally and professionally while they were there.

Topsy-turvy thinking for traditionalists, but how much easier might it be to attract and keep great front-line people if you started to view the purpose of your business as developing people versus selling product? What if you could create an environment where people saw working for your company as a life-changing experience, one where they learned as much of value about self, business, and the world as they did at university – and they got paid to do it?

Shifting your focus to providing employees with the best possible experience and helping them to move on would, ironically, be more likely to increase the amount of time that they stick with and, more importantly, stay engaged in their job.

3) Care

Take the time to care about your team as people. This builds a sense of belonging and creates trust – filling two of the most basic human needs. Several of our clients are training their managers in how to be better coaches for this very reason. With a few strategic coaching skills, and the right framework for understanding how to develop employees, these “caring conversations” often turn into coaching conversations that end up positively impacting performance and engagement. No, you don’t need to greet them with a hug at the beginning of every shift. Simply take the time to find out about their lives.

4) Support

Front-line staff with many of my clients feel that while expectations are high, respect for what they do is in short supply. Rather than assuming that there is something flawed in your staff when they fall short, ask yourself if, placed in the same circumstances they deal with day after day, you would be able to meet your own standards.

Do your people really have adequate tools, training, resources and ongoing support to be able to perform to your expectations? You can’t expect people to fly to the moon with a paper airplane. High expectations together with limited resources and support is the fastest way to create a “work to rule” staff culture where people bring their bodies to work but not much else.

5) Challenge

How do you challenge people when much of the work that needs to be done is basic and repetitive? Sales contests are a common technique retailers use to challenge and motivate their staff, but knowing the goals, interests and passions of your team is more likely to provide growth opportunities that are meaningful to each individual – and therefore more likely to impact performance.

If your employee is a student who loves research, get them involved in researching a new product line. If they love to socialize, then put them in charge of planning a staff party. On a simpler level, create daily mini-contests to make the repetitive work more fun.

Who can restock the shelves the fastest? How many shoe numbers can you remember and retrieve from the stock room at the same time? With a little creativity, the hard costs of implementing growth initiatives for front-line retail staff can prove minuscule compared to the benefits in terms of increased customer service.

At the end of the day, the secret to creating a high-performing retail environment is to take your focus off how you can get more from your people, and ask if you are willing to invest in giving what they need to live up to your expectations – an environment that supports them to work with joy.

Andrea Jacques (kyoseigirl)

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Surviving, however, is not the same as thriving.

To thrive, it is important to recognize that blind spots can undermine the integrity of even the most well-conceived brands, eroding relationships with customers and employees in the same way that one’s individual blind spots erode integrity and relationships at a personal level.

The challenge is that blind spots, by their very nature, are invisible to us. To build both your personal and brand integrity, you must be willing to do some digging, sweep away some cobwebs of denial, and clean off those filters so that you can finally see what you normally can’t – or simply don’t want to see.

Most organizations only consider two key areas when building their brand. First, they think about what they will look like at their best. Because most businesses these days recognize the power of branding, many begin building their brand before there is even a real business to base it on. The second area is in consideration of what the market actually wants. They look at the latest consumer trends and fads and try to ensure their brand hits as many of those “hot buttons” as possible. It is when they fail to honestly consider a third element  – the element of who and what they actually are – that they risk eroding their integrity in the marketplace.

First, let’s look at branding on the individual level. This is especially significant for small business where the product or service is often indistinguishable from the owner. Many people make the mistake of trying to portray themselves as something they are not because this is who they think they need to be to get business. In reality, it is more important that your personal brand is authentic than trendy.

My last hairstylist, T, is a perfect example of this. I stopped seeing him last year, despite being very happy with how he did my hair, after he made an offhanded comment about how recycling and other such environmental do-gooding were pointless. I knew that it was futile to try to convince him otherwise, but felt that in continuing to give him my business, I would be supporting this stance, so I switched to a salon that specializes in products that keep our environment and our bodies pollution-free.

I’m happier because I am now getting my hair needs met somewhere that more accurately reflects who I am and what I want to stand for. T, however, might get another client for the very same reason that I left. While you might not be on trend, being authentic makes it easier for the customers who resonate with you and your unique brand to find you.

Not only is it important to be clear on who you are, but on where you are on the growth curve. Several high-flying technology companies I’ve observed over the years went public early on because they were in the latest hot new market. Investor funds poured in, giving these companies the illusion that they were actually profitable. The reality was that they were not yet actually making money, only spending it. Of course, because they were all aspiring to be Google-esque, many began to immediately invest in all of the fun perks that such companies have become known for. Fitness trainers were hired. Gym memberships were purchased. This was a great perk for employees and carried some cachet in stories on them in the press, but it was neither realistic nor responsible to be spending investor money in this manner for the negative-cash-flow stage they were in.

Unfortunately many of those companies didn’t make that shift from promising idea to profitable product. It wasn’t because their idea was flawed, their staff were lazy, or even that they didn’t have a good brand. It was because the person captaining the ship was determined to see the company as being somewhere that it was not. It is great to have a vision of the kind of company you want to be, but it is harmful when this vision of who you want to be causes you to be blind to the reality of your current situation. This blindness is often the source of people and businesses alike putting the proverbial cart before the horse.

Ultimately, brand integrity comes from an alignment between what the market wants, who you say you are, and who you actually demonstrate yourself to be through your actions and decisions. At the end of the day, if you are true to this, you may end up targeting a smaller market niche, but that niche is far more likely to be ardent, loyal, fans of your business – and keep you afloat!

-Andrea Jacques (aka. kyoseigirl)

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In lay terms, open source software gives the public free access to source code for redistribution, modification and creation of derivative works as long as any changes are made available to others to use. The speed at which this allows evolution to occur is astonishing compared to the slow pace of conventional software development in closed proprietary systems.

What is most thought provoking, however, is that open-source offerings have grown (and continue to do so) primarily through a pool of passionate volunteers who freely contribute their time to improving the source code. In the 21st century knowledge economy (where speed to market and the ability to harness the full creativity, commitment and intellectual capacity of one’s workforce has been identified as a key driver of business success and sustainability) understanding what has inspired so many to contribute so much without financial compensation bears examination.

Three Keys to the Success of Open Source

1) Leaving a Legacy of Excellence and Social Responsibility

More than anything else, the open-source community is focused on making great products. It is difficult to get people excited about mediocrity. While many businesses today are built on the strategy that releasing products that have “bugs,” or will eventually wear out ensures an ongoing market for their “consumable” products, it goes against the natural desire of the human spirit to strive for excellence and leave a legacy. As both customers and employees become increasingly aware of how the “planned obsolescence” business strategy is filling landfills and polluting the environment, people are increasingly motivated and inspired by a sense of noble purpose. They are far less motivated to contribute to a company that places its own interests ahead of the common good. On a more basic level, many simply recognize logically that it is a waste of their time, energy, and the earth’s resources.

2) The Opportunity to Express Passions and Develop Talents

Another key reason the open source initiative has been able to garner an ever-increasing pool of people to contribute their time and intellectual resources is because it aligns with their passion for programming.

Open source provides programmers an opportunity to use, challenge and develop their talents. Research on employee engagement and high-performance workplaces also supports the idea that people who are able to use their preferred talents are more productive, more loyal, and contribute more to bottom-line results.

To tap into the creativity and commitment similar to that which is freely invested in open source, leaders must learn to identify the talents and passions of their people and adapt roles to allow them to focus almost exclusively on what they love most and do best.

3) Shared Leadership

A final key element of the success of open-source initiatives is shared leadership. The very nature of open source is that it evolves based on reviews and revisions by a team of one’s peers. This shared leadership by a group of peers is made possible by the fact that there is a strong set of common precedents or operating principles for what works and what doesn’t. These values and standards are universally understood and accepted because they are created by, and evolve with, the community that uses them to guide decisions and contributions. Rather than being enforced by leaders, the simplicity, logic and universal acceptance of these standards allows them to be strictly enforced, when necessary, by a community of peers.

-Andrea Jacques (aka. kyoseigirl)

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Old equipment is kept running as long as possible and broken machines are scavenged for parts and recycled back into the market. Every part of an animal is used for food. While some of the things they ate challenged my western palate, I certainly admired their ability to follow the principle of “waste not, want not” to its utmost degree.

I contrast this with the five years I spent in Japan where regular dai gomi or “big garbage” days saw some streets near my home piled two feet high for a full block with ‘fridges, stoves, stereos, televisions, dishes, desks, kitchen tables, chairs and even computer equipment that was in perfect working condition.

While my other gaijin (or western) friends and I did our best to liberate as much of this merchandise from the landfill as we could, by giving select pieces a new home in our apartments, we barely made a dent in the piles. In this process we discovered an important idea that mainstream businesses are finally beginning to embrace: that recycling (and energy conservation) can, and does, have a positive effect on the bottom line. We saved money, while diverting some of the “garbage” from the landfill.

Although the population density of Japan made the wastefulness of an industrialized society painfully evident, I was aware that back in Canada our per capita waste was likely equal, or not far behind.

It was the juxtaposition of these images of affluence and wastefulness in Japan that led me to enroll in graduate courses in sustainable business and economic development that first exposed me to a different way of thinking about the fundamentals of doing business.

While I recognize that new technology can benefit us in our lives and work, the “planned obsolescence” that is a central part of the profit models of many businesses today, is no longer sustainable.

The following statistics on cell phones and computers – two now indispensable but seemingly infinitely disposable business tools – gives reason for concern.

• Between 1997 and 2004, 315 million computers worldwide are expected to be ready for disposal, potentially ejecting 550 million kilograms of lead, 900,000 kilograms of cadmium and 180,000 kilograms of mercury into the environment.

• Producing the average PC uses 10 times its weight in materials, chemicals and fossil fuels before it even leaves the factory (BAN 2004).

• An estimated 130 million cell phones will be discarded in the United States by the year 2005, resulting in 65,000 tonnes of cell-phone waste.

In studying how to build a truly restorative economy, I have discovered that there are many alternatives to our traditional thinking – ways we can create profit without wreaking havoc on our health and our planet.

Models such as ‘product stewardship’ and ‘closed-loop manufacturing’ are two core concepts that are shifting the thinking of leading businesses today.

Product stewardship calls for all parties involved in designing, manufacturing, selling and using a product to take responsibility for environmental impacts at every stage of that product’s life.

Closed-loop manufacturing refers to reengineering the manufacturing process so that it eliminates all forms of waste in the manufacturing cycle. This might involve using different chemicals that do not give off toxins, or looking at the waste products generated and finding ways to use those waste products in further production.

Recycling is a part of both of these models, but it is no longer seen solely as the mandate of the end user. If companies learn to manufacture their products in ways that consider how they will be re-used or recycled most efficiently from the outset, it makes the end-user’s role more effective and also generates possibilities for the company to profit from such redesign. These models involve organizations taking responsibility for eliminating waste and dramatically reducing environmental impacts throughout the life cycle of their product.

A traditional bottom-line view sees this process as an added cost in the manufacturing process. There are many companies today, however, who are turning this outdated perspective on its head: where creativity in reducing waste and using non-toxic materials is actually generating profits.

Interface, an Atlanta-based company that is the largest commercial carpet manufacturer in the world, applied the principles of product stewardship and closed-loop manufacturing to create Solenium, a carpet that lasts four times longer than conventional ones, uses 40 percent less material than ordinary carpets, is free of toxic materials, virtually stainproof, and easily cleaned with water. This product is so superior for endusers that the company doesn’t even bother to market it specifically as an environmental product. This and similar waste elimination activities have resulted in a cumulative global savings of over $231 million since 1995.

Taking this thinking one step further, Interface has also shifted its business model from selling and installing carpets to providing floor covering services. They launched this product as the Evergreen Lease which provides a floor-covering service for a monthly fee, complete with monthly inspections to detect and replace worn carpet tiles. As 20 percent of the carpet area gets 80 percent of the wear, this method minimizes waste as well as the disruption necessary to replace whole carpets, and provides the tax benefits of leasing versus owning.

No matter what industry you are in, you can tap into your creativity and rethink your organization, both for increased profits and for the common good, by being willing to question the assumptions you make in your everyday endeavours.

Andrea Jacques (aka. kyoseigirl)

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Now I may be too much of a Type- A personality, but “balance” has never been something that excited me, so this trend led me to investigate this topic and eventually to begin writing my forthcoming book, Beyond Balance. The book will examine why balance, while part of the solution, is also a barrier to creating healthier individuals and organizations.

To begin my research, I reflected on my own life and recognized the times I had felt a longing for more balance were not the times I was busiest, but rather the times I was feeling out of sync with my authentic self, my natural style, my strengths, and my vision for my life. When I was aligned with these things, the hard work was energizing and time for family, friends and self all seemed to fit somehow into the flow. This personal experience suggested to me that something might be missing in typical work-life balance programs that focus on efficiency, time management, stress management, fitness programs and support to alleviate caregiver strain.

When I looked at the actual definitions of balance, I discovered the root of my misgivings. Balance is defined as “a state of equilibrium.” It is easy to see why this would be desirable in a time where change is both rapid and seemingly out of our control in our lives and work. But take the definition one step further, and you find equilibrium defined as “a condition in which all acting influences are canceled by others, resulting in a stable, balanced or unchanging system.” This would be great if we had already achieved an idyllic state, but in Canada fully 86 percent of employees report moderate to high levels of work-life conflict. An “unchanging system” in regard this condition is the last thing people want.

I explored further by sending surveys to several hundred people asking what balance meant to them. Not one person mentioned the words stability or equilibrium. They all spoke about wanting more: more fulfillment, more happiness, more time, better relationships, more fun, more meaning. For them, balance was not about keeping things the same. They wanted things to be different, to be better.

The definition of equilibrium also explains why balance is an ongoing struggle and our efforts to improve often cancel each other out. I would go one step further, in fact, to suggest that each individual (and every organization for that matter) is already balanced. Oddly, it was my orthodontist who inadvertently brought this point to my attention. On my initial visit he offered these profound words, “Your teeth are in perfect balance exactly as they are right now. Although you may not like the way they are, they have established a stable equilibrium.”

So the 30 extra pounds you carry around balances the emotions that you are eating to suppress. The six cups of coffee each day balance the lack of sleep you get. Working long hours helps you to avoid having to deal with issues with your children or spouse.

In order to truly thrive, however, people and organizations must find a way to integrate these two seemingly conflicting urges: one toward stability and one toward growth. In order to thrive, we need models that help build foundations for equilibrium by enhancing our ability to initiate change. Rather than struggling to maintain balance, both people and organizations need to learn to step beyond balance and its fear and survival mentality to set their sights on thriving.

Three Keys to Shifting the Balance and Inspiring Innovation

To thrive, people and organizations must learn to shift the status quo and find new ways of doing and being that are more productive, efficient and fulfilling – essentially they must understand the roots of true innovation, a familiar quest for all leading organizations today.  Not coincidentally, the keys for individuals and organizations to thrive on a permanent basis are very similar to the requirements for sustaining healthy, relevant and ongoing innovation.

1) Remember your core.
Whether the goal is thriving or innovation, both individuals and businesses need to understand and stay aligned with their core. A person who becomes a lawyer for the money and status without having a passion for it might achieve short-term financial success, but over the long-term lose in terms of stress, compensating addictions, and a mid-life crisis because of this misalignment.

Similarly, fostering healthy innovation requires an awareness of what is core to the organization and the ability to resist the temptation to enter new markets simply to feed unrestrained growth. Many organizations mistakenly believe that any innovation is good, and fail to examine whether the innovation supports the core of their business. Both individuals and organizations need to learn that just because something is a good thing, doesn’t mean it is their good thing. Learning to thrive is just as much about which opportunities you choose to let go of, as it is about which you choose to pursue.

2) Strategically address needs to align with your core.
Thriving requires being able to strategically address multiple needs simultaneously in a way that aligns with your core values, talents, purpose and vision. We have so many needs that trying to address each need separately can be overwhelming. If individuals and organizations take the time to look at the big picture, assess their varied needs and create strategies to meet them that align with their core, they will use their energy and resources far more efficiently. Rather than cramming in a 5 am workout by yourself, meet your need for physical activity and your value of family by finding ways to make exercise a family activity. In the same way, organizations that take time to look at the big picture and coordinate initiatives will avoid having separate departments working at cross-purposes or duplicating efforts.

3) Consider the common good. We may be tempted to criticize those who “rain on the parade” of new technology or innovations, but we must recognize that no action is without consequences; we owe it to ourselves, and those who rely upon us, to exercise precaution. Rather than getting caught in the struggle of “either/or” dilemmas, those companies and individuals who are able to thrive and innovate over the long term learn how to ask more strategic and inclusive questions that ensure all parties are considered.

4) Don’t stop at the first right answer.
Finally, people and organizations that are thriving and innovative demonstrate tremendous optimism and curiosity. They never stop at the first right answer. They never stop seeking to improve. When they find one way to do something, rather than rushing to implement, they stop and consider, is it really the best way?Even if all of these criteria are met, just for fun they ask, “How else could it look?” The beauty of believing in, and looking for another, right answer is that you always find one.

-Andrea Jacques (aka. kyoseigirl)

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