There is a quote that goes something like this: the quality of your conversations is the quality of your life. Few of us wake up in the morning with a clear sense of who we might end up having a conversation with. At least not the agenda free variety. Sure you might be leading a meeting, or gearing up for “that conversation” you wish you didn’t have to have, but beyond that we rarely set out to have rich and meaningful conversations about anything. This, I think, is a real shame and a missed opportunity to add value to our own lives and the lives of others. Statistics tell us that parents spend on average no more than 10 minutes per week-in conversation with their children. And in the work force conversation is being reduced e-mails, text messages and tweets. An unhurried conversations leads to unpredictable discoveries; it facilitates social bonding, and puts people in touch with their own and other peoples’ values, assumptions, ideas and strategies. The fact is we all know when we have had a good conversation because we leave bigger and better for having had it. Perhaps it’s time to take inventory of the quality of your conversations. Are you providing openings for dialogue? Are you giving people your attention? Are you using conversation strategically to boost creativity and innovation? Are you deepening your relationships through sharing and listening?

I have a tall privacy fence surrounding my backyard. The ally is paved and not particularly charming and i just prefer not to look at it when i am out in the garden. But this isn’t about my fence,  it’s about making sure the right people are on our teams and in our organizations. But let me take you back to my garden for just a moment: When i bought my house i brought with me a container of bamboo, and because it met some criteria i deemed important at the time- sleek, beautiful, green, tall- i planted it. That was five years ago and today the bamboo is pushing itself up through the pavement in the ally,  obstructing the gate which can no longer open or shut properly and generally pushing its way around my “organization’ with little regard for the rest of us. That pervasive problem is similar to what occurs when we fail to use our hiring intelligence. Having the wrong people- bullies, incompetents, attitudinal disasters, makes it very difficult for other things to grow. And we must be prepared to deal with that fact if we don’t take the time up front to select wisely and train and mentor accordingly. At this point, in attempting to remedy the poor choice i made five years ago, i have four options: Quarentine the bamboo; allow it to take over the entire garden; sell the house and pass the problem on to someone else- or GET RID OF IT.

Clarity of vision and purpose makes hiring a whole lot easier and using learning tools to identify personal style preferences and values can help to ensure the right people are growing together.

I am reading Otto Scharmer’s book U Theory: Leading from the Future as It Emerges….and i am loving it!!! Just a couple of weeks ago I was thinking about strategic planning and how organizations approach it as a means to ensure ongoing organizational relevancy, profitability, growth and success. This is all fine and dandy, but I don’t think it’s enough. Not in the context of globalization and the need for a true shift in consciousness. I began to imagine a world where leaders would approach strategic planning first and formost from a place of global stewardship. Thereby making their businesses  active agents in the reversal of catastrophic environmental and social trends and pioneers in the persuit of a future truly worth persuing.

John Wooden defines success as “peace of mind attained only through self satisfaction in knowing you did the best of which you’re capable”. So often we look to others to validate our sense of self. We confuse reputation (what others perceive)  with character (who we really are). This reversed logic makes if very difficult to pursue our truest aims as we are forever seeking to please others. But what if we were to  consider the notion of self satisfaction in knowing we did our best? How would this change the way we work, love, live, play, pray?