CHAPTER 7

The INNER Agility

The Power of Pause and Mindfulness

Friday, February 14, 2020

Table 7.1 Kanban board

To-do	In progress	Done
•  The first chemotherapy (Neil out of office 7 to 9 a.m.) •  What is Inner Agility? •  Ways to embrace Inner Agility •  Define Inner Agility Manifesto

The First Chemotherapy

A few hours later, I find myself walking up and down the hallway of the hospital to help time pass by. The nurses are helping Cindy prepare for the first chemotherapy session in a private room.

The hospital is less busy, and most of the junior doctors and nurses are having their break as I notice them socializing near the vending machines.

I see Dr. Anu in the passage across the chemotherapy room. Perhaps, by know she knows I am edgy.

“So, Dr. Anu I have been reflecting a lot in the last few days and I am really curious about why and how Cindy got the cancer. And how do we avoid it in future.”

“Mr. Frost, I don’t think that we can pinpoint to any one source. It’s a combination of factors, including family and medical history. But with my research, there is generally one common pattern in the patients. That is, the mental well-being of a patient plays a pivotal role in their fight.” She explains.

She wants to know if there was anything unusual in Cindy’s life.

I pause to recollect some images.

“The two images include my mother-in-law in tears in her death bed and losses Cindy experienced in her real estate business.”

Cindy was a successful realtor when we married. Cindy owned her own real estate company. She was known for her witty nature and treating her staff with respect. During the same time, her mother was sick for many months. “Cindy could not spend much time with her mother due to her frantic work and professional commitments.”

I pause for a sip of water “And soon after the death of her mother, a couple of her deals did not go as planned either. She had to let go all many of her employees. She blamed herself for months for not being next to her mother in her last days and then laying off her colleagues. It made her depressed for months.”

Dr. Anu takes a deep breath: “You see, we are always in the quest for more and more! More money, more influence, the latest smartphone, the best social media presence with desires to drive the most luxurious car, or live in a mansion. In our quest, we may grab the best gizmos, tools, and latest technologies. But in this never-ending desire to do more things, we tend to ignore the most basic and fundamental of all the tools and technology, our body, mind, and soul.”

“The physical, mental, and spiritual well-being are connected at a fundamental level. During and after treatment, it is well known that the mental well-being, will power, and resilience are quite important for the effectiveness of treatment and longer-term survival.”

“We need our inner strength and resilience to face unpredictable circumstances.” She adds.

Dr. Anu suggests Cindy to start a mindfulness course to nurture her mental health, to which we both agree. I volunteer to join her in most sessions to provide emotional support and camaraderie to Cindy.

We both decided to join the hospital’s mindfulness course run by the city’s renowned Zen Center. Fortunately, it starts next door in next hour.

We carefully and quietly take off our shoes. We put them sideways fitting it in dark brown shoe rack tightly packed with shoes, chappals, and slippers of various hues and sorts.

People are sitting on the dark red and blue mats. Most are sitting in a cross-legged position, and some are in a full lotus position. We feel intense energy and positive vibes. I take a deep breath and feel a sense of calmness taking over. The smell of incense fills my nostrils.

I whisper in Cindy’s ears, “I love the scent. It’s very clean and refreshing.”

We look at the writing on a poster in the room.

Sensei assures me that he will help answer this question after a breathing exercise. We all start to sit in lotus position.

“Start by closing your eyes. Take in a deep breath for about four seconds and pause for another four seconds. Breathe out for the next four seconds through the nostrils and not your mouth.”

My attention comes back, as I look at Sensei. I raise my hand and ask a question.

“As adults, we all tend to think children are impulsive and they need to learn a lot, so why do we as adults need a child’s mind?”

“The naturalness and spontaneity are vital characteristics that should not be confused with recklessness or impulsiveness. A beginner’s mind is open and receptive to say why not, or let’s give it a shot.” Sensei enlightens.

What Is Inner Agility?

I still feel somewhat vague about the idea, and so I run it through Sid, perhaps looking for some sort of affirmation before I invite others.

Figure 7.1 Text—Sid and Neil

My invite starts getting accepted ensuring an active participation in the session. I already feel excited and start to create a brief presentation to crystalize my thoughts.

Zen in a nutshell itself means meditation and mindfulness—or more accurately, a way of life. It could have different meanings to different people. It is about a peaceful mind, calmness, and a simplicity which brings us concentration, simplicity, focus, and awareness of who we are more. It is the motivation to make a real difference in our work, lives, and ultimately bring about happiness.

“It is what we need in this company, a new way of thinking and way of living and doing things. It focuses on plainness and intuition rather than traditional thinking focused only on self, limited to certain tasks, or excessive preoccupation on just rigidly completing goals.

Figure 7.2 Could we embrace Inner Agility?

With what is happening in my personal and professional life, I have come to realize that there is a very real and profound connection of our minds with the way we think and behave in our work environment.”

“Do you guys agree?” I look around and see the room is silent.

“Zen is simply the state of centeredness with an open mind and includes compassion, values, and wisdom to make a real difference around us!” Saira adds.

“And it’s correlated to respect for the individual, and acting with patience, situational awareness, right?” Seth nods.

“I think it could help in embracing change as an ally?” Daisy concurs.

“Yes, yes, and yes!” I almost yell.

I look at Tim, who looks a bit hesitant.

Keisha inquires “Could we make it real, tangible, actionable, or else it could remain an abstract concept buried in our minds.”

We resolve individually or in pairs that each one of us will share our thoughts.

Ways to Embrace Inner Agility

Everyone self organizes just beautifully to reflect on the Zen values. I am feeling a sense of relief inside me to see the energy and engagement.

Sid whispers “a Shibumi moment!” I am perplexed with his choice of words.

“It’s an instance of flow, clarity, and harmony!” He assures to describe at length later.

Beginner’s Mind

“The fear of making a mistake or risking an error or being told you are wrong is constantly with us. And that’s a shame. Isn’t it?” Paris suggests rhetorically.

To support the argument, Saira reads an extract from a book.

We should observe the problem as an opportunity without preconceptions.

A child is one who approaches life with the beginner’s mind, bringing a diversity of thought, freshness, and enthusiasm. In contrast, an expert or an experienced individual is generally conditioned to think in a predefined way.

Our expert minds are generally bound by past experiences and are not receptive to newer untried possibilities. Adults tend to think that they are experts, and more often than not, they could be biased to think that this cannot be done.

But if you are not willing to make mistakes, then it is impossible to be truly creative. The best solutions come from an environment that fosters fresh and new perspectives that are not driven by fear and risk avoidance.

We need to have a child’s mind to challenge the status quo and question the laws of the universe by thinking, doing, and testing the various possibilities. This is a mind that is open to exploration, discovery, and experimentation, and this is not constrained by old habits or obsessed about the way things are done around here.

The beginners’ minds are open minds full of possibilities without limitations. They have an abundance of possibilities and potential solution. They are being intuitive, intrinsic, and innate and manifest in spontaneity. It creates environment conducive for intrinsic motivation.

Children are not biased by what can and cannot be done. They are curious and inquisitive and have a number of ways to look at things, they are unbiased, and they have multiple ideas which may sound strange and outlandish. It is possible that some could turn out to be really creative and even feasible.

A beginner’s or child’s mind is not worried about how things were done, older ways, previous habits, or how things have been until now. If we approach an activity or task from our open beginner’s mind, we are not afraid of being wrong.

Here and Now

Tim and Keisha have two flipchart sheets.

You see, our minds are constantly disrupted because of all kinds of interferences, external factors, and abnormalities, for example, when the right tools are not in place or due to unreasonable requests from bosses like when we are asked to prepare a document that very few will have read. This makes it difficult to concentrate on the real task of bringing optimal quality, rigor, and creativity.

Generally, we all have preconceived feelings and judgments about events, challenges, and even biases about people around us. We usually tend to become judgmental and start with some conscious and unconscious biases in our minds.

In order to yield the most optimal outcomes, we must pay attention to the present moment without biases. The way we think without preconceived notions could make all the difference!

Here and now refers to a state of mind in which the person is totally immersed and exists in the present moment, entirely at peace with it. They are prepared to boldly face any situation with a steadiness, calmness, and composure. It means less distraction by least non-value-adding tasks, in the absence of unnecessary stress, office politics, and frustrations.

In a nutshell, this allows us to be fully present in our work. So, the goal of a well-performing workplace is to free up the minds of its most important asset, that is, people from unnecessary burdens, follow-ups, and office politics!

Thinking and living in the moment is about freeing ourselves from the delusions that keep us restricted in insecurity, self-centeredness, pretense, and narcissism. It helps us to stay open, focused, patient, and curious.

Imagine how our sense of quality and balance would improve if we could simply drop the old habits and predispositions, looking freshly at every moment with open minds. It’s about accepting the challenge of each moment, to maximize our impact in simple ways. We must provide the right working environment for people to perform their jobs effectively and to ensure that they are not performing tasks on “autopilot” but with full concentration and focus.

Everyone is impressed by Tim and Keisha’s clear explanation and applaud them.

We all pause for the yoga pose, the Standing Forward Bend.

“Standing straight with the feet together, bend forward at the waist, try to touch the ground placing palms down firm and flat, and keep your back and knees straight. Hold for up to one minute and go back up to mountain pose.”

Experiential Learning

Richie and Seth have visual cards to explain the concept of experimental learning.

The formal education is rigid, rules-driven, and test-based. The education cannot just be limited to the reading and writing of words and letters or transferring of information.

The informal learning of “practice” is free from a set of rules. This informal learning is that which flows with one’s life experiences and is practical in nature. The learning needs to be contextual, adaptable, and vibrant. We must practice what we learn to actually learn and confidently teach others. We should not just remember instructions or memorize theory but explore opportunities for empiricism and experimentation.

The best method of learning is learning by doing and experiential learning, which focuses on learning from past and present experiences. Those experiences then stay in our minds and help us to actively apply what we learn in multifarious environments and settings. We learn by the observations and experiences of the teacher, the Sensei, but at the same time, everyone is encouraged to observe, reflect, and verify teachings by themselves as well.

It is pragmatic to learn through direct experience and empirical insights. It includes learning by example, through observation and inspiration, by reflection, and by application of skills.

Leaders could serve their teams well by creating dynamic environments where their teams can learn and have experiences at the same time.

Continuous Flow

Hana and Daisy have an article to share.

Our lives are a great illustration of change. Life is a chain of natural, spontaneous, and incessant changes. We should let things play out and flow naturally.

Things have to be in an even flux, a smooth flow, moving on or passing by, as of a stream, or like a river where there is a constant flow of water. We need a continuous and unbroken flow in processes, practices, structures, and technologies. Just like the time which endlessly flows, we need to build uninterrupted flow in our value streams to delight customers.

In the same way that machines need periodic maintenance to optimally function and reduce the chances of overheating, wearing out, and ultimately breaking down, people need quiet time open mind and space for creativity to sustain their natural flow of talent. When teams are in the state of flow, we are all completely focused on the task at hand, feel happy, and become creative and productive.

Inner Agility starts with compassion. And if you’re compassionate, you are imagining an abundance of possibilities. We could empathize meaningfully and practically with others because we are not restricted by possibilities to solve their problems.

Table 7.2 Zen values and adoption

Zen values	Ways and means of adoption
Beginner’s mind	•  Embrace a mindset of abundance •  Pledge commitments “Inner Agility Manifesto (I AM)” •  Design (re)thinking for effortless customer experience and excellence
Here and now	•  Self-organized, truly independent and empowered teams, i.e., a unified development and operations team to reduce interdependencies and distractions. •  A visual management space to foster collaboration and concentration, the Obeya
Experiential learning	•  Define a place for immersive learning by doing and experience •  Use A3 Thinking for succinct and comprehensive visual manifestation •  Integrate “Kaizen” for unsolved problems from team retrospectives
Continuous flow	•  Adopt “obligation to WAR” (waste avoidance and removal) in all sprint retrospectives •  Flatten the organization to promote uniform flow of value •  Establish a continuous flow of talent and capabilities

Just like a child, we should be thinking about a problem, a situation, or a challenge in a fresh and independent manner. New insights and fresh perspectives to solving a particular problem are essential for an abundance of possibilities.

Saira quickly draws a visual illustration of abundance mindset.

“But I still don’t know how we could use it in our work” asks Saira.

“So how do you create an abundance map?” I probe.

Sid draws a small table and we all get up and start writing some of our thoughts on the abundance map.

Sid, Tim, and I have a call with Richie and Charlie after our session to brief him.

I am provocative “This sounds great on paper, but how could we avoid half-hearted adoption like previous initiatives?”

“We must invite the company’s leadership to collectively define, commit, and embrace the ‘Inner Agility Manifesto (I AM)’ for collaboration, self-organization, and servant leadership.” Charlie affirms.

Figure 7.3 Mindset of abundance

Table 7.3 Abundance map

Abundance map
Abundance of markets and customer segments	Abundance of challenges and problems to solve	Abundance of possibilities, ideas, and alternatives to explore
We need to define user personas representing 80 percent of our customers	Let’s look at Customer Wall and journey map to identify why deliveries get delayed?	UV for sanitization of packages needed in today’s environment
Abundance of opportunities for learning and collaboration	Abundance of technological and digital possibilities	Abundance of talent inside and outside the organization
Revisit our vertical organization structure to improve collaboration	Explore drones, Green packaging Expand digital fluency	Get new digital talent faster and regularly

He suggests that we draft a statement of commitments and invite all the leadership and teams to be a signatory. We start to outline a draft memorandum for our CEO to send to the board members, company executives, and senior management team.

Inner Agility Manifesto

As the Executives of Walkers, we need to unlearn the older management practices to embrace a new leadership style. The change starts here and now and with us all, as tenured professionals, leaders, mentors of new talent, and stewards of our company. You are cordially invited to co-create, endorse, and promote.

If we have a Customer Wall, we could respond quicker and successfully to our customers’ needs and their changing behaviors. We decide to set up a Customer Wall to regularly consolidate and continuously update the relevant customer voices, vibes, compliments, quotes, ideas, and verbatim feedbacks. A physical wall is a setup at the side corridor with set of three giant whiteboards.

Table 7.4 Inner Agility Manifesto

DRAFT

Customer •  We shall inculcate empathy and ingenuity for customers and respectfully challenge all colleagues in best interests of customers and not focus on self-centered agenda. People •  We shall exemplify the servant leadership style to help unlock intent, instill a sense of shared purpose, decentralize decision making, and not permit micromanagement. Culture •  We shall promote a culture of respect for enabling trust, psychological safety, liberty to dissent and self-organization of the teams, and not allow command and control. Shareholders •  We shall be accountable for our shareholders, company’s performance, customers, talents, suppliers in a balanced manner, and not have bias toward anyone. …... I AM committed to this manifesto Signatories Charles Moreli | Daisy Love | Richard Parker | Tim Woods | Paris Fey | Neil Frost | Hana Saito| Bobby Hanks ………………………………….

Figure 7.4 BB c–g

A3 is the crisp and concise visual manifestation for impactful communication, planning, innovation, and problem solving, all in one all-inclusive view of A3 size paper.

The word Kaizen is a positive word. For example, the word Kai means change, and the word Zen means good, and together that word means a good change.

Kaizen should be viewed as those improvements which are identified in a team’s retrospectives but require engagement and alignment with other groups in the organization.

Retrospectives are when you are reflecting back to what went well and what didn’t. The team must plan improvements as soon as possible if it’s within the team’s control, but if there are improvements which are outside the gamut of the team or are enterprise-wide improvements, then Kaizen is most helpful.

Kaizen epitomizes the philosophy that small improvements at regular periods can lead to sustainable improvements and outcomes overtime. Engaging teams in small improvements almost every day (and at least once every spirit) helps lead to a bigger change. Kaizen is for everyone, in every sprint, and everywhere.

Kaizen as a viewpoint recognizes that a continual pursuit of excellence should be treated not as a goal to be achieved, but rather as an intrinsic belief and a never-ending pursuit, because there should be no boundary or an end to getting faster, effective, and better.

It’s about taking small, incremental, and steady steps, rather than large and rapid leaps, and it’s the key to confidently and constantly moving forward, and thus achieving long-term success. In fact, we could interpret Kaizen philosophy as the principle that there is no best practice, only a better one.

A Kaizen event could also be the starting point for enterprise improvements. We plan 10 percent of our time improving what is not working and set up continuous improvement cycles.

Structure and Steps for Kaizen

We adopt a PICASO format to make it easy to remember for A3 Thinking and problem solving. In order to keep it succinct and focused, we formalize A3 Thinking for Kaizens.

Later on, in the day at the office, Paris and the team conduct a revealing assessment of our managerial culture and needs for talent transformation.

Keisha concludes, “Really worthy solutions and valuable options could be imagined if we are open to explore, discover, and test and learn. It can bring us a plenty of possibilities and opportunities.”

Table 7.5 A3 problem solving

A3 problem solving
Problem What problem we are trying to solve?	Importance Why is it important?
Current state What is current state?	Alternatives What are solution alternatives?
Success metric How do we measure which solution is best?	Ownership Who owns actions and by when?

Sid and I meet over our lean coffee.

“Much needed food for your thought and actions.” Sid mentions.

“But at the same time, you see we need to boost our business performance. The digital products of Walkers still are quite mediocre. I didn’t have a good experience ordering on the Walkers app the other day. It just takes long; the app has technical glitches and requires lots of effort to search the damn stuff.” He emphasizes.

“Yeah. We need to make the shopping easy and intuitive. I like a term I heard called Design Rethinking, seems like a fair next step? But how do we go about it?” I probe.

“Let me connect us to a design guru in the next day or so. He is known to have designed one of the early smartphones in Silicon Valley way back in 2007. Let’s bring some fresh design ideas and kick-ass viewpoints. He takes Zen one step further to Design Thinking.”

“Did you know even Steve Jobs was inspired with Zen of design” he guzzles his double shot espresso at once.

Table 7.6 Kanban board

To-do	In progress	Done
	•  Plan a session with Guru of Design, the GOD.	Zen values for Inner Agility: Here and now; Beginners’ minds; Experiential learning; and Continuous flow
		The latest Building Blocks: c) Customer Wall, for aggregate feedbacks d) Obligation to WAR e) Abundance map, for newer possibilities. f) Inner Agility Manifesto (I AM), to embrace change g) A3 Thinking and Kaizen, for continuous improvements