The Cycle of Civilization in 33 Words

This sequence is thought provoking.

It takes 3:07 to watch.

What do you think? Which of the words best describes our current situation?

'Time Banks' Help Spaniards Weather Financial Crisis

 

With the financial systems in the balance, people are looking for all sorts of alternatives to get the services they need.

Time banks are where people exchange time instead of money. Work and hour and someone works for you for an hour. It doesn't have to be the same person.  For example, I could earn an hour by tutoring math to person A and then consume that hour by getting housekeeping services from person D.

Everything is done on a gifting basis, so there is no tax involved.

It is making life possible for the people in economically ravaged Spain:
http://www.npr.org/2012/09/22/161380937/time-banks-help-spaniards-weather-financial-crisis

It is available in Austin:
http://www.austintimeexchange.org/

It is a great idea!

What services can you trade?

Vision>Strategy>Tactics

These three words get thrown around a lot. How do they relate? Do other words have almost the same meaning? The basic definitions clear up a lot!

A vision is a set of ideals - not a set of laws or rules. It is the overall goal of your efforts. Vision is immensely valuable in times when the obvious path is not clear. It is a guidepost or beacon to keep us from losing our way. Two upcoming parts of my Become a Change Agent book series deals with vision.

Strategy is a general plan or way of actions to achieve the vision. A strategy explains how advantages in resources are to be best used against vulnerabilities in barriers to reach objectives.  A vision needs one or more strategies. They are also called business models, distribution channels and lines of business in the commercial world.Step 1 of the Change Agent: Framework includes developing a strategy.

Bill Carson has an excellent blog on strategy.

A tactic is the tool to implement strategy. A tactic is specific action plan implemented as one or more specific tasks. Tactics are sometimes called other names like tools, methods, templates or processes. Steps 3 and 4 of the Change Agent: Framework go into tactics.

An Example

Rapid software development is the vision. Agile Development style is the strategy. Scrum, Pivot and Iterate are tactics. I write a lot more on this subject in my upcoming book, Become A Change Agent: Drive the positive change you want for yourself and the World! Part 3: The Framework.

Visions, strategies and tactics have something in common: they are meant to be used over and over again.

What is your personal vision?

Annie Griffiths is a Change Agent

I was privileged to attend a program by National Geographic photographer Annie Griffiths last night. She has single-handedly done more to advance peace and ease human suffering than most of us can even imagine. Her photography reminds us of the beauty this World has to offer.

Annie has photographed people and nature in more than 100 countries. Her portfolio is so huge that it is virtually impossible to look at her work without recognizing at least a few of the photos.

She discussed finding your vision and your passion. Her talk titled "A Camera, Two Kids & A Camel" was captivating!

An interview

Introduction to Leadership

 Part One of Become a Change Agent: ended by describing vision as the cornerstone of your leadership. Part Two dives straight into the nature of a vision because you can’t lead without an idea of where you are going! This series of blog posts will act as the bridge between Parts One and Two.

Chapter 3 even lists the negative trends that we readily see in today’s institutions and the “leaders” that manage them. Now is the time to ask…

What is a leader?

A leader organizes and directs people in a common direction. It may be toward a goal or a series of goals. Leaders and Managers are different; even though there is some overlap for managers of people. It is possible to manage a process, a service or inventory. You can only lead people. Managers have titles, budgets and infrastructure. Their authority is granted from a higher authority. Leaders have followers and their authority stems from their actions and skills. Leaders have roles.

Leaders lead from the front. They are doers, not managers. Those that follow them know they pull their weight and give more because they can see what the leader is doing – not cowering in a corner office. True leaders embrace their followers as equals. They celebrate the accomplishments of those they lead and freely give away credit.

Two critical components of leadership are transparency and the ability to present a coherent message. The leader’s vision may be huge and complicated. Presenting the parts in “digestible” pieces is key. At the same time, the pieces must both make sense and fit together in an easy to understand and follow format. This is the message or the vision in an easy to communicate form.

Transparency means that people know what a leader is doing. There are 2 levels of transparency, internal and external. External transparency is communicating concrete and verifiable facts that indicate the leader and organization are playing by the rules and executing on their plan/vision.  This must be balanced against the needs to protect the confidences that have been entrusted to the leader. Leaders cannot openly talk about the organization’s “special sauce” – the special knowledge that makes the group’s deliverables unique.

Yet another aspect of transparency is a leader that openly owns his/her own mistakes. This has the added value of helping the group avoid repeating that mistake!

 

Leaders must vigilantly guard against falling into the ego trap. True leaders are constantly complemented because they are effective. Flattery can be addictive to the ego. The best way I know to preserve humility is to understand where the ego fits in the self. (A description of this is found at the end of my report on Models. You can get a free copy by subscribing to my mailing list.)

 True leaders lead with passion and love. Passion is an intensely positive attitude toward the leader’s vision and goals. Love is the genuine affection the leader feels for his followers. Leaders that fake either of these traits will be exposed in the long run!

Is there more than one kind of leader?

The short answer is yes, there are several kinds of leaders. Here are a few of the important types of leadership.

Business leaders lead organizations that produce goods and services for a profit. The leader may be over a small business or a specific unit of a large business. Large organizations tend to be run by professional Managers that don’t necessarily fit the description of leadership listed here.

Non-profit organizations are also run by leaders. These organizations tend to provide services that cannot be expected to earn a profit as defined by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. They must operate by a specific set of rules to qualify as non-profit organizations.

Community and political leaders tend to have common goals. They organize for the good of a specifically defined group such as the citizens of a city or a defined interest group. Their primary concern is the well-being of the people they both lead and serve.

Thought leaders strive to be at the cutting edge of new ideas. They both observe and create new methods and technologies. Thought leaders are recognized for innovation by their peers, typically in a specialized business environment. Most people additionally consider thought leaders as mentors that deliver value to customers in the form of innovative ideas.

Want more about Leadership?

Kevin W. McCarthy has written a couple of great books on the subject. He takes the subject of both personal and team leadership on in much more detail than I do.

On-Purpose Leader

What is coming in the next post in this Leadership Series?

The next post deals with visionaries and why they never go out of style.

 

Get my new Kindle book now!

Become a Change Agent:

Drive the positive change you want for yourself and the world!

Part One Understanding Change

http://amzn.to/QJ1yqX

 

Don’t have a Kindle? Here is a link to download a reader for PC, Mac, Android, iPhone and many others.

http://bitly.com/UDp7Ie

Be the change...

Review of Become a Change Agent: Drive the positive change you want for yourself and the world! Originally posted on Amazon.com on October 25
- by Occupy Texas

There are some very interesting positions posted here. Unfortunately, some are posted without reason or explanation. For example, he stated that our founding fathers believed, rightly, that democracy was undesirable. He offers no justification or explanation. What is desirable? A Plutocracy? An oligarchy? Who gets a voice? The rich? The college educated? Who decides who gets a voice, the ones with the largest guns? One aspect of our lack of direct democracy(The author errs in saying that direct democracy is undesirable, not in saying that we lack it.)is the Electoral College, which resulted in a candidate who had received fewer popular votes than his opponent being pronounced president by the Supreme Court. Thanks to that lack of direct democracy, the whole world paid and hundreds of thousands died. The people will make themselves heard, if not through the democratic process, then some other way.

Which brings me to the second disagreement I have with the author. He called the Occupy Movement disorganized and without goals. Like above, the author was partially correct. The Occupy Movement began as a reaction to what the people saw as grievous wrongs and the uprisings in the Middle East and Madison Wisconsin. The resulting anger caused Zucotti Park and the subsequent occupations of 1500 other towns and cities. As the author said, there was no planning or organization before the occupation, just a spontaneous expression of anger and passion.We went on that way for over nine months, but during that time, Occupy Philadelphia was organizing a national gathering in Philly, scheduled for Independence Day. At that gathering, the Visioning Statement was drafted. This was a list of our demands. The top ten demands, which are rank ordered, are (1)clean water, air and food, (2) free education for all, (3) no war, (4)a sustainable human society, (5) a culture of direct democracy, (6)free universal healthcare, (7)local food production, community gardens and permaculture agriculture, (8)economic equality, (9)localized economies and (10) a world where basic needs are met.

Cultivate an attitude of Gratitude

It is said that gratitude is the single most important ingredient in happiness. How can you be happy if you are not grateful for the people in your life and the things you have? This question may be a clue to the general state of malaise I have seen in my experiences with suburban America where "keeping up with the Joneses" and "getting ahead" are the expected behaviors.

Being grateful has lots of other positive side affects. Anger and fear cause your body to manufacture chemicals that have long-term negative consequences.

Cultivate an attitude of Gratitude. Learning to focus on what you are grateful for will allow you to face the inevitable challenges of life with a much more positive attitude. This will actually help you focus on solutions rather than expending effort assigning blame.

Author DL Hart wrote a great book on this subject!
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006FRAVJ2

Wex Development Team

Tony Cota's Wex is a great community building project. I will find a way to get involed

http://tonycota.ning.com/

Case Study: Peter Diamandis

This is a case study of Dr. Peter Diamandis. I first came into contact with him as a supporter of the X-Prize (and I thought it was a HUGE, out of this world idea). Little did I know that this was a mere middle chapter in the life of this remarkable visionary.

Let’s examine his career using the principles of Becoming a Change Agent. The first thing to examine is his vision:

Humans should be a multiplanetary species. That is big and it is contagious. It is a clear statement of intention. It is a vision for his life as well as the planet!

The next step is to analyze his work in light of the Framework.

1.       Set Sail

By 1980 it was obvious the government’s approach to space exploration was too timid for the Diamandis vision. In fact, the United States’ last maned flight had taken place in 1976. As a college student, he created Students for the Exploration and Development of Space. 35 people showed up for the first meeting and it continues to spread.

In 1987 he and two colleagues founded the International Space University. It grew from a graduate-level summer program to have a permanent campus and 3,300 graduates today.

2.       Now – Waiting on government sponsored programs is waiting forever.  

Diamondis realized this in 1992 when the Administration made empty promises to return to the moon and Mars.

3.       The path to activating the vision and

4.       Taking steps along the way

Two things have always driven exploration, resources and tourism. So He took steps to leverage those activities into a human presence in space:

·         1992- Founds Zero Gravity, a for profit business that allows customers to experience weightlessness on parabolic airplane flights. Steven Hawking is his most famous customer.

·         1996- Announces the X-Prize, borrowing the idea of a contest in the same way that the Ortieg prize (won by Charles Lindbergh) jump-started the aviation industry.

·         2001-Space Adventures (a company he founded in 1998) arranges for Dennis Tito to visit the International Space Station

·         2004-Awards the $10 million Ansari X-Prize to Mojave Aerospace Ventures, who successfully completed the contest in their spacecraft SpaceShipOne. A total of $100 million was spent by 26 teams competing for the prize.

·         2005-Expands the X-Prize foundation to spur breakthrough work in other areas such as clean energy, education and health care

·         2008-Founds Singularity University, an intensive 10-week program in which students and faculty study emerging technologies to address “Humanity’s grand challenges”. To date, 24 companies have been spun off from these studies.

5. How do you read the map?

He wrote an alternative to Murphy’s Law called “Peter’s Laws” – If anything can go wrong, fix it. “No” means begin again one level higher. Do it by the book but be the author.

He has observed that small teams can accomplish amazing things with world-changing technology. The world’s biggest challenges are also the biggest market opportunities.

An era of unprecedented abundance is arriving. Today, a Maasai tribesman in Kenya has better mobile communications than President Reagan had in the White House. If it is a smart phone, it is better than President Clinton had. Their Google is exactly the same as Larry Page’s (a key executive at Google).

The key risk is risk aversion. There are no breakthroughs without risk. Society has moved from a stance of it is OK unless it is specifically illegal to it is wrong unless it is specifically permitted.

6. Keep it going

This year, Dr. Diamandis founded Planetary Resources, an asteroid mining company with backing from Larry Page, James Cameron and Ross Perot. The priority for the next 2-5 years is finding targets. The goal is to land robotic mining equipment on an asteroid in a little over 10 years.

Change Agent: Framework Steps 5 & 6

5. How do you read the map?

You will probably be creating new things and working with new ideas, so there is no road map. You are in undiscovered country. Here are a few tips for navigation.

Seek out others with similar visions and ask their advice. You will likely find allies and co-creators to collaborate with as you activate your vision.

Have I mentioned how important it is to share your vision with others? The key to success is that your vision must be contagious! The projects you choose should naturally gain followers. You in turn have a responsibility to those that follow you.  True leaders serve!

Focus on learning everything you can about those you serve. They will show you the way by their actions more than their words. People naturally want to support and encourage you. That support needs to be in the form of taking actions that are measurable.

Build data collection into your processes. Most web sites have analytics built in or available as a plug-in option. Save as much data as you can reasonably collect because you typically do not know what the questions will be in the future. Collecting the raw data (even when it initially seems pointless) allows you to have data to mine for the answers you do not even know how to ask today.

It is important to return to your vision and think about it often. That keeps you focused on the true point. Sometimes you are so busy innovating, iterating, pivoting and managing the Everyday that you lose track of what or where it is you were going in the first place. 

Sometimes quietly contemplating your vision allows you uncover refinements. Make sure you include time for reflection – maybe not daily but certainly weekly.

6. Keep it going!

You will be repeating steps 3, 4 and 5 a lot. You will be repeating the whole framework, too. This is natural in the process of validated learning. Write a plan to follow. Use a pencil and have a big eraser. This is the first step toward non-attachment. Plans need to evolve, boundaries change and the envelope gets pushed. It is what visionaries such as you do! When you accomplish the first chunk, celebrate! Then move on to the next chunk.

As more of your work gets done, it is natural for progress to accelerate. Additionally, if you are co-creating, accretion (the growing together of separate things or processes) tends to happen, as if by magic.

As your vision refines, it begins to seem natural, more play than work. Tom Jones, a prolific singer/songwriter since the 1960s, made the comment that he has not worked since 1962. He wasn’t joking.

In conclusion, here are the signs of a healthy cycle of action as you activate your vision:

·         The Vision is refined as you learn more

·         Strategy is driven by vision and iteration

·         Tactics pivot constantly

Coming next

A case study on a person with a personal vision that is literally out of this world! Chunks of his vision include founding nearly 2 dozen companies, colleges and foundations. Better yet, we share a vision for large organizations.

Change Agent: Framework, Steps 3 & 4

3. Path to activating the vision

The first project toward your personal vision that you developed in part 1 is (and should be) too big to accomplish all at once. The path to activating the vision starts by breaking it down into smaller pieces. Then you need to develop a strategy.

There seems to be a law of nature called the 80/20 rule. It manifests in a lot of different areas…80 % of your progress comes from 20% of your effort.  20% of your portfolio yields 80% of your profit. 80% of your fun comes from 20% of your leisure time.  20% of your “friends” cause 80% of your grief. Study this phenomenon in your own life.

Chunking is learning to solve problems by leveraging this rule. If you face a project that is incomprehensibly large and complex, break it down into smaller tasks.  One of them (usually a 20% piece) is the key. Discover it. If that chunk is still to large/complex, break that chunk into pieces. Find the key part or chunk. Rinse/repeat until you have a key piece that constitutes a small enough chunk to handle.

If the chunk is will be something that you show the world, it is what Agile terms a minimum viable product (MVP). Your project might create an MVP or it might only be part of one. If the key chunk of the project proves not to be doable, you have just saved an enormous amount of research time. If it proves workable, you have created a plan for accomplishing your goal!

Next, develop a strategy to implement that key chunk. A strategy is how advantages in resources are to be exploited against vulnerabilities in barriers to reach objectives. Notice that strategies contain several elements, objective(s), advantages, resources, barriers, and vulnerabilities. Your objective is to create (activate or manifest) the key chunk.  Barriers are the obstacles that prevent the key chunk from manifesting. Advantages and resources are the tools that you can apply to the vulnerabilities in the barriers that prevent the objective from becoming reality.

Bill Carson has an excellent blog on the topic of strategies.

4. Taking steps along the way.

Start using the now to concentrate on making the identified key chunk a reality. You are now on the path to accomplishing your vision!

Sometimes, you find that there is a difficult obstacle on the path. Focus your effort toward overcoming that obstacle. Occasionally, the issue proves to be insurmountable. It is best to find it as early as possible.

-          You discovered it early, so you have not wasted effort. You have certainly learned something about your vision!

-          Small failures are OK; in fact they tend to provide valuable lessons.

-          This experience gives you valuable knowledge to find an alternate path toward your vision.

-          In some cases, you may need to adjust/reset your vision.

There are some Agile concepts that can be applied to these outcomes.  If some obstacle proves to be insurmountable, you need to pivot.  That means going back to step 1 and rethinking the first project. Pivoting means that you keep one foot firmly planted (i.e. you retain your vision) and move in a different direction with the other foot (i.e. change the project or pick a completely different one).

The second concept is iteration. If executing your strategy produced only got you part of the results that you intended, make small, fast improvements. You share the results of your work with others and seek their feedback. At some point, the improvements will be good enough to declare success.

You might find that what you have accomplished is good enough to allow you to move on to the next step. Caution: Only you have the complete vision.  Feedback is important but only you know if you have accomplished enough to move on. You will know if future steps will satisfy the negative feedback or if you need to continue making iterations until this step in the project is complete.

Introduction to Change Agent: Framework, Part 1

The last two posts introduced you to the Change Agent: Foundation and one of its peers, the Change Agent: Vision. I shared my personal Vision. Here are a few examples of other Visions:

     Pro Futuris is Baylor University’s Vision for the next 10 years
     Helping Baby Boomers change their lives through career design
     Amnesty International

The next few posts introduce you to the 6 steps in Change Agent: Framework for Activating Change. This provides you with a process for turning your Vision into reality!

I am also pulling down the June 18 post. Things I have learned in the last few weeks make the material in it out of date.

1. Set sail toward your vision

First, are you living your vision? This is being true to the idea of being the change you want to see in the world.
·         If the answer is no, you know what needs to be done.
·         The answer is most likely maybe. That is OK. You see opportunities for improvement.
·         If you want to change the world, change yourself first!

Visualize your Vision as a complete success. This may actually take some time. Record it in a way that is best for you. It may be written and it may be a drawing. It might be some other media but it needs to be in a form you can access easily and often. Before proceeding to any sort of planning, it is important to know what your vision looks like in its fully realized form.

Next, choose a project to make your Vision reality. This project should create a key element in the process of making your Vision into reality. Part 3 of the Change Agent: Foundation is about creating strategy with goals and taking actions that implement your project.

It is important to get others excited about your Vision. Strong emotions and gratitude validate your efforts. Expect naysayers. There are always reactionaries in the World that want to avoid change, even if it kills them like Harry Randall Truman. He refused to leave his home at the foot of Mount Saint Helens. Let people like that be footnotes in history, not destroyers of your Vision!

2. Now

Focus on what you can do now.  Be fully immersed in the task at hand now. The only changes you can affect are the changes happening now. If you are in a conversation with another person, be fully present. Being distracted subtly tells that other person the distraction is more important. Focusing on the task at hand now is a key to consistently doing your best.

What happened in the past cannot be changed. The past has presented you with the set of options and consequences that are before you now. If the set of options is not enough, you can spend your now searching for or creating other options.

You can only choose options in the present. That is what makes it so powerful.

The future has not happened yet. You have the option to spend your now planning what you are going to do in the future. The action of planning will affect the options and consequences of your future now. Until recently, preparing for the future was a valid use of your time. Things now change so rapidly that you should be creating options for your future rather than simply preparing for it. Preparation assumes that some aspects of the future are predictable. Adaptability is the new wealth.

 

Introduction to Visions

 A vision provides a beacon to guide our way. It is not a set of laws so much as a set of ideals. Vision is immensely valuable in times when the obvious path is not clear. It is a guidepost to keep us from losing our way.

Visions need to respect the boundaries of nature and humanity. The vision needs to be flexible enough that an unforeseen change causes a pivot in strategies or tactics, not a reversal of the vision. Finally, it needs to be flexible enough to be refined as wisdom that accumulates.

There is a series of 5 visions in the Change Agent: Foundation that range in scope from individual to global. For now, let’s examine the Individual Vision.

Individual Vision

I am not going to try to give you a personal vision – in fact, my personal mantra is “One size fits none”. I want to stimulate you to create a vision that is right for you. Some people will need more than one vision. Personal visions do have some common characteristics, though.

The first characteristic is that your vision should be BIG! It should be idealistic and it should get you, personally excited. With vision, the alarm clock snooze button is a useless accessory because working toward your vision gets you out of bed in the morning. If your vision is not a wellspring of interest and energy for you, it is not big enough or personal enough.

This is your intension in the yogic sense, only bigger. It is the idea that helps you focus on the task at hand. You keep coming back to it in a practice. Intention is not a goal but more of a journey. Think of intension as a gift you give yourself. So is your personal vision.

Your vision should also be tempered by your personal abilities and interests. Making the Olympics is not a realistic vision for someone that hates to work out.

For most of us, our vision includes improving some aspect or aspects of the world.  The very first step is changing yourself in the image of your vision. Be the change you want to see in the world. Your vision will somehow involve service to others if it is a viable one.

My personal vision is to help as many people as possible transform into the creative beings that thrive in the environment of today and the future. I hold the image of groups of people surfing the massive waves of change together - not grasping for the quickly disintegrating security of the “used to be”.

There are certain ethical restraints that a vision must have. The boundaries involve personal responsibility which leads to a discussion about the Global Vision. For now, vision should not involve force, fraud or damage to others or nature. In fact, it should be the opposite – uplifting, empowering and creative!

As you share your vision with others and work toward creating it, you will naturally come into contact with others that see your vision too. Their Vision will compliment yours and provide opportunities to work together in co-creation. This is called the law of attraction. As these collaborations grow, Intentional Communities will form around them. Intentional Communities represent another of the 5 Visions.

Your vision should bring you happiness. Being happy allows you to focus on the now without effort. As you live your vision, expressions of joy and gratitude should become a common part of your everyday life. Gratitude acknowledges the gifts that other people and external forces constantly bring to you. It helps others validate their vision. Wouldn’t life be wonderful if everyone you interact with helps elevate your vision because they are elevated by the interaction as well? Make it so!

Coming next:

An overview of the first 2 parts of the Change Agent: Framework for activating change.

Introduction to the Foundation for Change

The Change Agent: Foundation has 3 interconnected parts (peers of the foundation, if you will) Vision, Framework and Tools. These 3 parts allow you to not just survive all the massive change happening all around us, they help you transform into a person or group that activates, embraces and thrives on change.

The Foundation takes the Information Technology concepts of Change Management and Agile development, mixes in my knowledge of history, economics, yoga, philosophy and business to create this interconnected Foundation.

Vision: Where and how do you as an individual fit into the greater community (Global and Universal)?

There are actually 5 levels of visions ranging from personal to global.

Framework: A guide for the actions needed to take to activate the Vision.

There are 6 steps on the path to realizing your visions. Each step is flexible enough to take into account that there is so much change no one can possibly anticipate it all. The Framework makes heavy use of validated learning techniques developed for Agile.

Tools: Specific techniques and technologies that maintain the Vision and Support the Framework.

There are currently 14 tools. That count will surely change as we progress.

 Coming next

An introduction to Vision and developing a Personal Vision.

Corporatism

One of the great puzzles I have been pondering recently is how both extremes – represented by the Tea Party and the Occupy Movement can have valid arguments. The answer is that our country's system of government has become Corporatism and both the left and right sense how wrong this is!

The representative democracy and free markets that was the basis of our country has been replaced by corporatism. Corporatism is the organization of a society into industrial and professional corporations serving as organs of political representation and exercising control over persons and activities within their jurisdiction.

Lobbyists have become more important than voters in the political process.  Lobbyists are political arm of corporations (at least the ones that get the attention of lawmakers). Politically, lawmakers are no longer bound by the restrictions placed on them by the Tenth Amendment which clearly prohibits the Federal Government from activities not listed in the Constitution. This has been replaced by Keynesianism, which advocates involvement in every aspect of the economy.

Lobbyists are very adept at navigating the nuances of the current political process. As laws are drafted, they provide the subject matter expertise to legislative subcommittees. As the Bills progress through the legislative process, they provide the talking points for debate and amendment. The Bills that become law are typically too complex for the average Congressman, Senator or Academic to understand. That means the Lobby group provides manpower to the Federal Agency that is inevitably takes the Law and converts it to regulations.

This system is not free markets! It is corporate influenced government layered on top of and disrupting free markets. It is not representative democracy or liberty! It is power flowing from the corporate elite, not the people.

Friday, August 22, 1997 was the day that I became an agent of change in my own life.  I was a successful retailer, running my family’s chain of liquor and convenience stores since my father retired. Back then, my title was the Booze Guy of Borger, Texas. I was CEO of 3 corporations and a member of the Chamber of Commerce, Rotary and Country Club.

The first thing that happened on that day was that I was notified that I lost the bid to purchase two mini-truck stops. These stores were critical to my plan to establish a regional rather than local footprint. This was yet another body blow to my initiative to change our business model from “Keeping you in the best of spirits since 1936” to “Powering you into the 21^st Century”.

That evening, I attended Borger High School’s 20^th class reunion. The bartender and I were buddies, so my Weller and waters were very strong.[i] I reconnected with a friend from the past that moved had away. His girlfriend started asking me very pointed questions while the alcohol was acting as a truth serum. She guided me to the realization that I wasn’t happy with my life. I was living my father’s dream, not my own. The solution was to change everything.

First, I put the stores up for sale – a process that took four years. Second, I chose to go back into Information Technology. My knowledge was hopelessly out of date, so I enrolled in classes at the local Junior College. Third, I looked for a change of venue.

After selling the stores, I took an entry level position with Dell Computers in Round Rock, Texas. It was 2001 and the Internet bubble had just burst, so the road was tough. I was competing with 20 year olds that barely remembered life before the Internet and veterans that had to come out of retirement after their portfolios evaporated. It took 10 years to work myself to a position where I consider myself a success at my second career.

Last Christmas, I started pondering the big question of, “Now what?” This blog, the speaches I present and the book I am writing are the beginning steps toward answering that question. We are in a period of tumultuous change and I need to share my experiences to help others survive and grow.

---

[i] In a typical small town twist, the bartender’s late son was a member of that High School class.

Almost every aspect of life as we knew it ended in the last decade. A tidal wave of change swept the planet and resistance is futile (even deadly!) You can't swim against this tide.

What is happening now is unprecedented - both in terms of the rate of change and the substance of the changes. Learning to cope with all this change requires a perspective that is not chained to things taught in a university graduate program or learned in a stint of government service. I think most of conventional science and analysis is fixated on increasingly obsolete (or flawed) models of reality.  Most experts will never be able to change their minds fast enough to effectively anticipate and offer reasonable suggestions of how to deal with what I believe is a rapid evolutionary jump in our species.

The convergence and coincidence of driving forces suggest that the conventional change that is growing all around us is at least in part derived from unconventional dynamics. The unusual things that are being reported point to the conclusion that has planet entered into a period of absolutely unprecedented change. We must embrace both the physical and the metaphysical if we wish to survive.

I gather and report information along 2 paths:

1.       Really bad news about how the present system is rapidly coming apart. We could spend time assigning blame (oh, there is a lot of blame to go around) or we can

2.       Explore the rather unconventional proposals for dealing with the situation because the “bad stuff” is outside our control.

The new game is not being played on the old field.

The Change Agent is here to teach you to about ADAPTATION! That means acquiring adaptation skills:

- Setting up early warning signals that detect coming change   Oops, too late for that!

- Understanding what particular changes mean for YOU.

- Prepare for them by altering your behavior and putting new processes in place while there is still time.

- This adds to your flexibility which makes you adaptable.  Adaptability is the new wealth!

I will teach you how to TRANSFORM in the right way! I align myself with VISIONARIES that spend most of their time thinking about the future and the trials that will get us there. Don’t get swept away by the tsunami!