Family Values (page 169)
FC Article

• How do we find a systematic solution to this predicament? 'Men and women continue to resist any divergence from traditional, gender-based roles, largely because organizations still reward employees who stick to old ways of doing things.' What are the gender-based assumptions in thinking about family and the workplace? How do these assumptions reinforce the division between career path and personal life? How do we simplify the relationship between gender, work, relationships, marriage, and family? What part of the system is most accessible to impact and influence? What is the first step in rethinking work in your own terms? How can you design organizations, communities, or corporate cultures in order to make these changes sustainable?
• How does one strike a balance between a work life and a personal life? Whether or not your personal life emphasizes a relationship, family, or simply private time, how do you manage and maintain personal space? Write a set of simple rules or resolutions that helps emphasize balance in your daily life -- start by examining the small parts of your everyday experience: What is the first thing you do do when you get home from work? How much time do you spend outside per day? What personal conversations did you have today?
• Think about the concept of 'life's work': What does this consist of? What is the most important value to you in terms of your life's work? How does this overlap with the different categories that make up your life's work? Does your most important value bring together your work and personal/family life? Do you think that your personal/family life and work life exist in separate spheres? Do you think there is a benefit in the convergence of personal/family life and work life? Or should they exist as separate entities?
• Consider the question: 'What do you want to do with the rest of your life?' What is your personal road map for fulfillment and success? Describe your life in pie-chart format: What are your categories (work, play, family, study)? Does each of these categories have a strict boundary? Are any of these categories fluid, overlapping one another in terms of impact or energy? Does this chart accurately represent your priorities? Does this chart accurately represent your passions?

Are You Marked for Greatness? (page 226)
FC Article

• What are the fundamental characteristics of a successful entrepreneur? As an aspiring entrepreneur, where would one begin collecting or acquiring these qualities? As John Hamm notes, 'Track records can tell you a lot more about what people are really committed to.' Which of these important qualities have you gathered from your own experience? What are the learning experiences that you would seek to gather these other important qualities?
• Hamm poses the question, 'On behalf of what are you trying to make your mark?' What is the purpose behind your commitment? What are the driving motivations and values behind your will to succeed? How do you define success? How would you answer the question, 'What are the nuances of your commitment?' What is the difference between describing your personal commitment to an idea and your career/organizational commitment to an idea?
• Are you a learning machine? How do you balance outcome with the ways and means of achieving that outcome? How do you adapt to circumstances and unforeseen situations? How does your organization adapt? What is the role of a learning process in your action plan? How do you evolve your procedures in order to strive towards your goal yet still embrace continuous learning?

Natural Leader (page 268)
FC Article

• Rayona Sharpnack insists that 'leadership isn't about doing... Its about being. You are more likely to succeed if you concentrate on transforming your mental framework, rather than on memorizing mechanics.' How do you achieve this state of being? Where does one begin? Sharpnack defines 'context' as an individual's mindset or state of perception, as assumptions rather than facts or data. How would you describe your context? What part of this context can you attribute to learned ideas or inheritance? What part of this context comes from personal observation? Where do the ramifications lie in terms of personal fulfillment and success? How can you avoid these roadblocks? In an ideal world, what would you do to jump the fences of your context?
• How do you turn an idea into action? What is a 'cathedral for change'? Why does Sharpnack use the metaphor of a cathedral in describing the fundamentals of creating effective action? What role does trust play in this action agenda? How does an organization characterized by mutual trust respond to a new idea? Compare this to the response of an organization lacking trust. How does one build this trust? What are the building blocks for creating a 'cathedral of change' within your organization?
• How do you have a 'conversation for action'? How does a group of people stick to the kind of conversation that results in performance? Does bringing the question of 'what are you building a case for?' to the forefront of conversation keep the flow of ideas on track? How do you keep a meeting steered towards an agenda for action? How does collaboration add to this agenda for action? How do you build an organization that can have conversations for action while simultaneously creating a cathedral for change?
• Confidence versus competence: Which do you begin with? Which is the end goal? How is the acceptance of failure the key to success in gaining either quality? What is the role of confidence and competence in learning? What does it mean to aspire to something 'that's bigger and more compelling than what you've got'? How does your context shift or change through gaining confidence and competence? How does this affect your ability to take action?

December 2000Connexus | Flash Points | Next Steps

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