“Dad”
“Yes, Johnny”
“The PC is not working”
“Look up the user manual”
“Dad”
“Yes, Johnny”
“The UPS is not working”
“Look up the User Manual”
“Dad”
“Yes, Johnny”
“I can’t figure this out. Where is my User Manual?”
“Ask Panditji”. (Panditji is the neighbourhood astrologer and dad a Professor of Strategic Human Resource Management in an ivy league B- School.)
Machines and gadgets come accompanied by a User Manual. But we do not come across a User Manual to the most sophisticated system that we own and use, the self. We use it in very different ways and pay very heavily for our ignorance of the design of the system.
There must be some principles that one cannot do without for achieving better outcomes. These posts focus on them.
Self is the system through which we ‘see’, create meaning and make choices. The choices decide whether our actions lead to improvement or otherwise.
With more and more options available to each one of us the opportunity could as well be a threat, how the interface is aligned will decide whether it will lead to greater good or havoc.
Self is the observer and also the observed. Reality is perceived / created by our inherited mental models that evolved over the history of humanity. If the world has turned out to be imperfect, it has more to do with our models of the world than anything else.
Being the instrument of all knowing and learning, study of the self is the first discipline, the foundation/unifier of all other disciplines.
The practice evolved through a process of dialogue since 1990 using the First Discipline Framework as a tool to create convergence through a process of discovering, enhancing and strengthening the individual, group, organisational and community self. The approach facilitates the emergence of a roadmap for unification, continuous improvement and renewal, transcend barriers created by different disciplines bringing the various perspectives together into a coherent whole – a new way of looking at reality.
The approach incorporates positioning, measurement, feedback and self correction – the functions of the compass, clock and the feedback system which enables the traveller to be on course.
Getting started
I have a new DP, dialogue partner.
He is new to Bangalore and spent quite a long time reaching me and the opening sentence when he met me was
I have a problem with my GPS
Thank god you know that you have a problem with your GPS. Most people think they don’t have a problem with their GPS
What do you mean?
What is the first thing that we need to know if we want to reach my destination?
As usual we get a wide set of answers except THE FIRST which is where am I now.
So where are we now?
We may have to ask more questions before we come to the answer to that question?
When were you born?
dd.mm.yyyy
That was the birth of your body. You didn’t have anything much to do with it and you are much more than the physical.
Or is it that I am yet to be born?
WE, the community self is yet to be born ?
Birth of self and community self
We were not born when we were born since physical birth is not synonymous with birth of self.
The Community Self is yet to be born.
The system at birth is comparable to the bullet that leaves the barrel of a gun. The bullet is helpless to influence its trajectory. Most systems do not go beyond this level though the duration could be much longer.
Self regulation is the differentiator to qualify to be a higher level system, evolving to become aware of the position, direction and regulating itself to influence the outcome, creating a more desirable future.
The key words are birth of self, position, direction,reflection and self-regulation
Another question- what are our basic needs?
Are they the physiological? – Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; food, shelter, clothing , reproduction, social, self actualisation and so on. We will revisit Maslow some time later .
For those who commit suicide, life is no more meaningful, not worth the trouble.
If so the most basic need must be the need for MEANING. If life is meaningful, then food has meaning – to keep the body and soul together
Soul is the unifying principle that, which connects, the glue, gives meaning, spirit. We have’nt really started. We are already getting mired in the semantic swamp.
The semantic swamp contributes to global warming, cutting down more trees and creates more intellectual poverty rights.
Symbols make it easier than all the text and discourses.
The philosophy and the maths are very simple – the new maths
New or the very old, I don’t know
0, 1, 2, 3, ∏
Where
0 = nothing
1 = everything
2 = duality, the linear, static, partial truth
3 = connecting, the linear is transformed
∏ = synergy, whole > the sum of parts, dynamic, continual, real time, unending, quality of being connected, centre and the periphery
When the setting is right, the intent is expressed, the seed turns into the tree, caterpillar to the butterfly and the bullet becomes aware of its self, takes birth to eternity.
The journey begins here, that of transformation. “Well-nigh two thousand years and not a single new god”- Nietzsche.
We see the light at the end of the tunnel and walk out of the dark hole, the prison that we built for our SELVES
Oneness is the quality of the whole – the child in the womb is one with the mother and at birth is confronted by the separation, a perceived duality which is the quality of two, a linear world of many, day and night, good or bad, true or false, yes or no – the domain of problems. The prodigal son revolts, eventually reconciles. The self evolves to resolve the contradictions, duality and recognise the connectedness – oneness. Not a return in the sense of going back since the self has moved to a higher level in terms of growth and maturity from the level of yes or no, true or false to the level of yes and no, true and false , good and bad.
This is the quality of three – trinity, the third position from which agreement, improvement and solutions are possible. The shift from the static and linear to the dynamic happens.
Intelligent choices and conscious evolution follow.
So where are we now ?
Other Less FAQs
Which is true north, the direction for the journey ?
How do WE make sure that WE are on the path?
Do we have a map of everyTHING to make it easier and foolproof?
The Map of Everything
The First Discipline Framework is a map to attenuate variety, reduce the babble among disciplines to facilitate positioning, fixing direction and self-correction for the process of continual renewal and improvement at different levels – individual, institutions, communities and community.
The map makes it possible to hang our different hats as practitioners of various disciplines, ‘social programmers’ – parents, pedagogues, priests, and politicians connecting the various disciplines and put them in perspective, SEE and SHOW (the visual has the highest bandwidth) how everything, living, nonliving, internal and external- is ONE, a continuum, in process and evolving.
The framework helps the observer self, to connect with the observed SELF, position, visualise the gap between potential and performance, fix the direction for the journey and make sure that we are on the path of continuous improvement/renewal.
Metrics, measurement, of true progress becomes possible.
The map has four quadrants and the observer is at the centre. The observer could be the individual, a group, an organisation or the species.
NW is a map of the ideal, the deep structure, the conceptual, pure potential, design and the world of ideas .The order, hierarchy, increasing complexity and potential with each level, alignment and connectedness need be re- ‘cognised to understand the performance issues in the external world mapped in the bottom right quadrant, SE.
The four quadrants are like the four wheels of the car, a learning engine which continues to improve its performance as it goes forward
The eye at the centre represents self, the observer, and the driver of the car
The wheels must be aligned for the car to move on
But there exists a conflict between quadrants NW and SE, ideal and the operational
Between internal self and the external social system, quadrants SW and NE
It is for us to create the alignment so that the car moves on
First step is to see the interconnections and see the whole as one system in process, evolving
What makes the human unique as a class of systems is the potential to improve. There is ‘no’ gap between potential and performance up to the level of animals (see quadrant SW)
The gap begins after the level of animals. The gap can also be seen as the waste in the system, the unrealised potential, the root cause for problems. In terms of potential vs. performance the human is sub animal
Corresponding to the total potential/performance gap, there exists a gap in every one of us which forms the personal sphere for improvement which would lead to the question – what is my potential and my performance?
Quadrant NW represents the ideal, perfect, conceptual, pure potential, internal to the self and in perfect alignment at all levels starting from the maps to Meta systems (represented by the umbrella). Quadrant SE represents the physical world, measurement, performance. Mirrors NW up to the level of animals. The knowledge gap is the major reason for the gap. There will always be a gap but it is feasible to narrow the gap and bring about sustained and continual improvements
Quadrant SW is internal to the self and NE represents the external social system. While learning is a pre-requisite to improvement, history and habits encourage conformity. This is both a challenge and an opportunity. Self could be the individual, team, organisational or community self. Complexity increases with levels
The map facilitates positioning, fixing the direction for the journey and measurement of progress. It is possible to visualise the nature of the journey as an ongoing process of continual improvement and renewal. The first step is having a map for the journey. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Confucius. To take that first step we need to know where our position is and the direction in which to take that step, to be on course.
The potential performance gap is illustrated by life expectancy vs. longevity of exceptional people. Life expectancy in developed countries is around 75 which is an indication of performance. Potential is reflected in the exceptions, people living beyond their 100. The gap or the waste in terms of unrealised potential is 25 years, though life expectancy is not the only aspect to be taken into account. There are exceptions who achieve much more than average people with shorter life spans and those who continue to be much more productive in their second careers than in their first.
We need to visualise human potential if we are to realise it. On a global scale the aggregate waste is astounding. The estimation has to be on multiple factors to illustrate the issue better. A corporate would attempt to look at the issue from many different perspectives, in terms of market potential vs. performance or the human potential vs. performance. The same could be attempted at different levels- individuals, institutions, communities, nations, global
First Discipline 
