What's on Your Mind?

Please share your thoughts with us!  

Our ongoing survey is a way to stay in touch with you.  Please let us know how you are doing in this survey and we'll respond in the next issue of our newsletter or in person.

It's good to be in touch with you!

Your Story

One of our corporate clients operates at about 200 miles per hour, every day, day after day. They do take breaks … on the weekends.

And they are a very, very successful organization that wants to encourage entrepreneurship … adaptive ways of working.

So in we come teaching them coaching skills, asking them to pause, be in silence at times and be together in a circle without tables. Their discomfort was noticeable and presented a great opportunity to ask the question, “What does this space we’ve created for you tell you about coaching?”

How did they respond? They shared their varying levels of comfort with intimacy. They recognized the need to be aware of “position power”. They realized that they get to decide how they best relate to their clients.

Ultimately, their energy built as coaching conversations blossomed. They learned from the ideas they shared with each other, as they also learned from the concepts and frameworks we presented.

People came away feeling “excited, challenged and encouraged” with some nervousness mixed in. Most found that the IAM tools worked well. Striking that balance between support and challenge, structure and freedom is tricky!

And so the conversation continues…

Getting Personal

Each one of the Associates working with IAM has experienced varying degrees of fear and anxiety, hope and excitement about our current world chaos.

In our different ways, we have all come to a determined focus on our Essential Best, knowing that within each of us is the power to make the best of what’s happening around us.

We are settling into that clear, confident and courageous part of ourselves, knowing that all is well, things are getting better every day, and we are headed toward the dreams we have been imagining.

We know that we can count on our piece of the giant pie of abundance that is the Essential Best of everyone. There is more than enough for everyone!

So we invite you to relax and enjoy the waves of transformation that are engulfing all of us. It’s fun and easy to discover the gifts in chaos!

What's New

We welcome Lisa Negstad to our group of newsletter authors! Lisa is a former client turned Associate who has been experimenting with the IAM materials for over three years now. We’re looking forward to Lisa’s learning related to IAM and other assorted adventures!

We'd also like to point you to the latest letter from David Whyte, a poet and author that has inspired many folks connected to IAM. This work gives a comforting perspective on the gifts we can find within ourselves as we deal with confusion around “the peripheries”.

Communications Corner

The Communications Corner Column is currently on hold as we develop the material for our communications skills workshop.

In the meantime, we would still love to hear from you and learn of your communications celebrations and challenges.  So, please, share your communications thoughts with us here.

Call To Being

A call to being is an opportunity to connect more deeply with the aliveness and possibility that has been awakened in you by reading this newsletter.

In pushing this button, we invite you to the "other side" to clarify intentions, launch them into your larger Life, and open to the delightful certainty that you will be met.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The truth is that our finest moments are most likely to occur when we are feeling deeply uncomfortable, unhappy, or unfulfilled. For it is only in such moments, propelled by our discomfort, that we are likely to step out of our ruts and start searching for different ways or truer answers.

                      ~~ M. Scott Peck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Success isn't a result of spontaneous combustion. You must set yourself on fire."

                  ~ Arnold H. Glasow

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.

                      ~~ Nietzsche

 

The Gifts in Chaos

We have reached the end of an historic year, culminating with hopeful highs, uncomfortable unknowns, and downright terrifying lows… chaos indeed!

In our December issue of Playing In the Gap! we invite you to remember that there are always Gifts in Chaos. If you are experiencing a season of winter in your corner of the world, remember the ways that remind you there is always light in the dark.

Table of Contents

Stop the Insanity and Lighten Up 
What Are The Gifts in the Financial Chaos of 2008?

Using IAM to uncover the gifts in chaos.

Stop the Insanity and Lighten Up
What Are The Gifts in the Financial Chaos of 2008? - by Karen Tax

One of my favorite magazines, “Ode”, confirmed my hopes for the global economic meltdown of 2008 by saying: “the Anglo-American type of capitalism has come to an end. The world of turning profits […], disconnected from the fabric of life, has come to an end.”

Those of us working with IAM have been anticipating the need for more sustainable, holistic, and effective business solutions for some time now...

We are excited about playing a role in building sustainable businesses!

Articles from the recent “McKinsey Quarterly” suggest that several things are needed to create long-term and flexible business health:

• Stay calm and centered

• Look for opportunities to shape the future

• Develop greater awareness and resilience

• Get comfortable with uncertainty

• Do more with less with adaptive systems

• Expand thinking; use insight and imagination to anticipate change

McKinsey flatly states that trying more of the same is the wrong approach; cutting costs will not be enough, business models must be transformed and everything must be simplified. Healthy rebounding depends on global economic health and an understanding of our mutual interdependence.

IAM develops all of the attributes mentioned by McKinsey while also reconnecting people to each other and to the natural cycles of life.

How exactly does IAM get to the gifts of our current financial chaos? We’ve spent the past year writing about this, the IAM journey: 

1.     Treat every day as a new beginning (always bring a beginner’s mind)

2.     Focus on your Essential Best (stay calm and centered)

3.     Use Drama to get clear about what you want (look for opportunities to shape the future)

4.     Develop a strong ongoing relationship with yourself (create awareness)

5.     Expect a strong personal Energy ROI (full engagement of everyone)

6.     Claim yourself as a leader (adaptive systems need leadership throughout the system)

7.     Dream big as you clarify where you are headed (expand thinking, anticipate change)

8.     Overcome obstacles lodged in fear (be flexible, resilient and connected)

9.     Welcome the healing power of feelings (whole and healthy people create courageous and cohesive results)

10.  Expect strong team Energy ROI (dream teams do more with less)

11.  Trust your wise self (mobilize quickly based on gut knowing)

12.  Let go of what you thought you knew (get comfortable with uncertainty) 

The financial chaos of 2008 is a welcome shift into a significant healthier economy where the illusions of predictability and control have been shattered.

 

  I AM transforming every day. Are you? 

 

 

 

I Have Something to Say
Thanksgiving Chaos Maximus - by Diane Craver

Dusty’s family gets together every year for the Thanksgiving holiday. It’s the whole crew –parents, sisters and brothers, and all the kids. Five separate families merged into one huge house for one week – talk about chaos!

Some chaos is actually fun – cooking together, deciding the day’s activities, playing board games, and so on. Then there’s the other chaos – when you speak up and someone gets offended, or perhaps it’s the internal chaos when you don’t speak up and your frustration intensifies.

Dusty had been pretty frustrated with her mom for several days because her mom had been fairly grumpy, but she just stuffed her feelings. Dusty rationalized: “Maybe it’s me, I have been pretty tired.” Or, “She’s always been this way. She won’t change.” Or, “Perhaps a little fairy will come and rescue me.” Then it happened, just after the turkey stupor ... Dusty got triggered by something her mom said, and she exploded! Dusty and her mom were in the throes of chaos maximus!

Do you know anyone like Dusty? Can you relate to her,  maybe just a little bit? Dusty has all kinds of hopes and wants, but she just won’t speak up. She quietly stuffs her wants; meanwhile her frustrations are building until the proverbial volcano erupts.

The next day Dusty and her mom began to “un-stuff” their earlier drama – sharing their unspoken hurt and anger. Once they got past their initial argument, they recognized a deep love for each other and a desire to be valued and respected.

Drama is our pathway to the truth; avoiding it only intensifies it. Contemplate the drama you have been avoiding -- breathe deeply, stay curious. Then, when you’re ready, speak in your own voice and uncover the truth, a native land that has been waiting for your discovery and participation into who you really are and what you really want.

 

 

Leave the stuffing for the turkey. Speak up! I can hear you now...

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, I AM Brilliant
2008 Business Year in Review - by Lorraine Cohen 

Taking time to reflect on the past year by acknowledging your successes, uncovering obstacles, and completing as much as you can before the year ends, opens space for new intentions to actualize. It's also a way to see how far you have come and celebrating all you have achieved brilliantly!

Writing your responses to these questions will support you in being your best so that you can build upon your business successes and experience greater personal happiness.

1. What successes, accomplishments, and things are you most proud of? Write them all down including the small ones too! Ask friends for some feedback to help you fill in the picture if you need some help.

2. What contributed to your success? What worked well? What didn’t? Where did you come up short? As you reflect on the year, are there any intentions left over that you no longer feel passionate or excited about? Perhaps you needed to change direction? Which ones will you recommit to in 2009?

3. What obstacles got in your way of fulfilling your intentions? Looking back, what would you do differently that would lead you to success today? What would need to change?

4. What is unfinished? What is bugging you or hanging around that is incomplete? This could be anything that still feels important or stuff that is energy-draining.

5. What was upsetting, disappointing or challenging in the past year? Every experience presents an opportunity to learn something new and offers a gift of growth regardless of the outcome. Write down the gifts of each experience. What did you learn and how has each experience helped you, personally and professionally to be your best?

6. What were the insights, new learning and awareness you've gained about yourself in the last year? We often earn things and forget to own them as we move forward. Writing them down helps us to remember and integrate them more deliberately into our hearts and lives. 

7. What are you thankful for? Gratitude and love magnetizes abundance and opens the door for good things to flow to us.

8. How will you celebrate and acknowledge your wins this year? What plans will you make to give yourself kudos?

9. What are your intentions for next year? What’s your dream? Describe it in detail so it’s compelling and inviting. What are you ready to say yes to?

10. What will you need to achieve what you want in 2009? Consider what worked well for you in this year that you can leverage next year. What’s missing that you might need? What steps will you take to fill in any gaps?

Bottom line – use this as a learning tool to celebrate how far you have come as well as helping you to dream big for 2009!

 

 

Why Can't I Go It Alone?
Why I Need a Tribe - by Lisa Negstad

It happened in a split second - the sharp knife slipped on the onion and my finger was spurting blood.  Quickly, I turned around and stuck my finger in the sink, running water over it as the blood pulsed out.  "Oh, I think this is a bad one" I said to my kitchen colleague, Beth. She, being a steady, practical, midwestern Mom, said "Okay, better let me see it."  She ran over to the sink, I pulled it out from under the water as she said "Yep, you better put that big flap of skin over." 

In the 30 minutes of ensuing chaos, Beth was the wise one helping me get a tight bandage on the finger.  Bob, another colleague, quietly got the antibiotic ointment.  Jan, the Director of the retreat center where I am working, jumped in and got the rest of the lunch out for the guests.   They were all relatively calm and helpful.  I was not!  My emotions ranged from angry at myself for doing such a stupid thing ....to fear that this would get in the way of all of the outside work that I had been so looking forward to .... to guilt for not being able to complete my responsibility in getting the lunch out on the table.

Minor mishaps like this have been happening to me lately as I navigate a major life change.  In the last few months, I sold my house in Baltimore, MD, quit my senior leadership position in a respected non-profit organization, and moved across country to live in the white pine forests of Minnesota.  Everything in my life has changed. 

One of the reasons I made these changes was to focus on building a tribe for myself.  I've spent years cultivating an independent, go-it-alone fearless identity for myself.  As I age, I see what a myth that is.   I need others to support and help me:  as my family has done in countless ways through the move; as my friends in Baltimore did before I moved; and as my new colleagues and community are doing in the Minnesota woods.  These mishaps are little presents/gifts to me in reminding me my need for my tribe. 

p.s. My finger is healing thanks to this amazing stuff called "Dermabond" - basically superglue for emergency room docs!