PART 4

THE BROADER CONTEXT

The fourth part of this book highlights why 31Practices makes sense now as a methodology. What makes it particularly relevant at this point and how the 31Practices method fits given the context organizations find themselves in. In Chapters 19–24 we explore Complexity, Change, Wisdom, Neuroscience, Choice and Leadership.

These are common “headlines” in the business world, each one a meaty topic in its own right. Making some sense of these concepts in terms of the practical day-to-day decisions and situations we are faced with is important, in our view.

In Part 3, we have described how our world as individuals is flexible and how we can change how we see, think, feel and act if we choose to do so. In other words, our experience is in a large part made-up, subjective, rather than an objective reality that we can all agree upon. In Part 4, we build on this idea of flexibility and introduce the idea of a systems view, all parts of a system are dependent in some way on each other. Organizations are not fixed entities. The people in organizations act and respond in turn to an ever changing set of circumstances. In a world that is emerging rather than fixed, a style of thinking and working that can navigate this complexity is likely to help people and organizations to thrive.

Part 4 moves from the macro to the micro and back out again – from the big picture of complexity down to the inner workings of our physical brain, and outwards again following our moment by moment choices as leaders and leadership. We are complex systems,¹ constantly changing and responding to our internal and external environments. We don’t exist in isolation, we exist in relationship to dynamic situations people and ideas. Existing within multiple complex systems as we do requires us to develop personal wisdom to survive and thrive. We have endless choices about what we think, feel and do at any given time. These moment by moment choices create the person we are at any moment in time.

The chapter on Leadership could easily sit apart on its own – certainly, there has been enough written about the subject over the years. Our view of leadership is as part of a system and doesn’t exist in isolation. It fits firmly within this part of the book. At the same time, Leadership draws on all of the underpinnings shared in Part 3.

Our intention in sharing these subjects through our 31Practices lens is that we are both provocative and pragmatic, leaving you with greater clarity and confidence about how you are choosing to be.

“In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”

Warren Buffett²