The Fertile Unknown

Creative Culture: From Finite to Infinite Games

Creative organizations and communities not only play by different rules,
they actually play a different game. One of my favorite books to illustrate this
difference is James P. Carse's book, Finite and Infinite games: A Vision of Life as Play and Possibility. It speaks to the new games - those which cultivate play, improvisation and engaging the unknown...creating as you go. Here are a few nuggets from the book:

A finite game is played for the purpose of winning, an infinite game for the purpose of continuing the play...infinite games are unscripted and unpredictable...the rules of an infinite game have a different status than those of a finite game. They are like the grammar of a living language, where as those of a finite game are like the rules of a debate...when we are playful with each other we relate as free persons and the relationship is open to surprise; everything that happens is of consequence...

To be serious is to press for a specific conclusion....to be playful is to allow for possibility...because infinite players allow themselves to be surprised by the future, they play in complete openness. It is not an openness as in candor, but an openness as in vulnerability...

To be prepared against surprise is to be trained...to be prepared for surprise is to be educated...training repeats a complete past in the future...education continues an unfinished past in the future...

Culture is an infinite game...a culture understands its past not as destiny, but as history, a narrative that has begun but points toward the endlessly open...

Finite players play within boundaries...infinite players play with boundaries...the rules of a finite game may not change in the course of play...the rules of an infinite game must change in the course of play...

Infinite play is inherently paradoxical, just as finite play is inherently contradictory...the paradox of infinite play is that the players desire to continue the play in others...

Where's the "Co"?

I was clearing out old files and I stumbled across notes from a class I took in high school. On one of the pages was written:

The Most Common Prefixes

Prefix              Meaning
pre-                 before
de-                  away, down
inter-               between, among
ob-                  against
in-                   into
mono-              alone,one
epi-                  upon
ad-                   to, towards
un-                   not
non-                 not
re-                   back, again
pro-                 forward, for
in-                   not
dis-                 apart, not
over-               above
sub-                 under
mis-                 wrong
trans-               across, beyond

At the time, I never thought anything about it, but coming to it today, what immediately struck me was the lack of the prefix co- which means together, jointly, mutually. I wonder if that reflected the culture of the times, or if it still would not show up today as one of the most important prefixes...?

The Creative Source

Inside each of us there is what I call the Creative Source - the source of our creative flow and our inherent order, emerging structures, the creative impulse, inspiration to create and evolve, the place within us that is life always seeking more life. I personally believe it is the true "fountain of youth" - the creative wellspring of total aliveness - every fresh, ever generative, ever originating and ever unfolding. It contains within it an embedded creative intelligence of  pure, raw potential integrated with purpose, motion and trajectory. It is by accessing, cultivating, forming and shaping this universal - and uniquely personal - creative resource into being that positive change happens in our selves, our organizations, our systems and our lives.

I recently read an excerpt of a letter Yasuhiko Genku Kimura, founder of Vision-in-Action, wrote to one of his students. It resonated so much I had share it here:

"The satisfaction or the fulfillment of the visionary's life does not come from public recognition but from the inner joy of envisioning and creating and from the profound reverent connection to the Source whence his visions and ideas originate. Ascend therefore within your own self and reach the inner Source whence all visionaries and creators draw their inspiration. The purpose of your life is the evolution of your soul, and your soul evolves through the inspired act of envisioning and creating and by the spiritual nurture you thus receive from the Source..."

Check out the mission of  Vision-in-Action at  via-visioninaction.org

Nassim Haramein: "The Vacuum is not Empty"

I had the pleasure of being in scientist-philosopher-mystic Nassim Haramein's session at the Institute of Noetic Sciences conference a while back. His was one of the most interesting presentations. A multi-dimensional pioneer, he is working on a unified field theory he calls the “Holofractographic Universe.” I deeply resonated with what he was saying - not through the lens of a scientist, but through my lens of the living, fertile, fractaled, integrative, shape-forming, creative universe. He has mathematically and scientifically discovered what creators and mystics have always known - that we create by feedback and change and that we are all beings of infinite creative potential - in a very literal sense: the vacuum is not empty - it is not nothing. It is actually highly organizing and always communicating - an "unknown" that is actually fertile with creative potential. He founded The Resonance Project Foundation. You can see him speak on the Crossing the Event Horizon video on YouTube.

I found this write-up of him at The Laughing Coach Newsletter:

Nassim Haramein, a world traveler, was born in Geneva, Switzerland. As early as 9 years old, Nassim was already developing the basis for a holographic hyper-dimensional theory of everything he calls the “Holofractographic Universe.”

The Holofractographic Universe theory is a unified field theory resulting from over two decades of investigation into the geometry of hyper-dimensional systems and their relation to the creation of three-dimensional reality and all of its forces—including consciousness.

The premise of The Holofractographic Unified Field Theory research is that space is not empty, it is full. It is full of an energy that, through a specific set of fractal geometry, creates atomic structures that are themselves made of 99.999% space. It is a sea of electromagnetic flux we call the zero point energy, which has been demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt, since its mechanical effects have now been measured in laboratories.

This is nothing new, most ancient civilizations believed in a primordial soup of energy embedded within the fabric of space and in a primary geometric pattern coordinating creation. Later many of the world's great thinkers, including such scientists as Albert Einstein, Nicolas Tesla, Buckminster Fuller, and Walter Russell, believed in an all prevailing energy at the base of the fabric of space.

Haramein's findings have resulted in theoretical and practical developments based on a specific geometric array fundamental to creation. This theory has now been presented to the standard scientific community with great success, and his papers on the Holofractographic Universe will soon be followed by a book for the layman entitled "Crossing the Event Horizon."

Nassim's investigation of the geometry of hyperspace has combined quantum physics and cosmological understandings of universal forces with other sciences such as biology and philosophy, resulting in advanced unification computations that, astonishingly, relates to ancient codes left in monuments and documents around the world—including the Bible, the I Ching, the Mayan Sacred Calendar, Pyramids, and Egyptian temples. The results of his research may bring our planet to a new dimension of understanding and existence, one which was predicted by the ancients to arrive at this time in history.

Nassim is fluent in both French and English. He conducts workshops and seminars on his theories to help bring an awareness that is greatly needed in these times. His lectures are designed around his life experiences beginning with childhood illuminations and culminating in the discovery of a technology and united view that seems to have been left encoded by ancient civilizations for us to rediscover. His work may lead to some of the most important scientific, philosophic and technological discoveries in written history.

©Copyright 2000 by Nassim Haramein
All rights reserved

The Ta-da List

A concept that emerged in my consciousness, while working with a client a while ago, was the idea of a Ta-Da! List -- instead of the dreaded To-Do List. Both are about getting things done, but one is heavy with the idea of having to do it, the other is energized with the feeling of getting to do it.

It totally changes the energy...makes actionable items and commitments more fun, engaging, and accessible. If puts the focus more on process engagement rather than being just a boring, or arduous, check list you need to get done.

And, like with any fun performance, you get to say "Ta-da!" afterward.

Chief ________ Officer

One of the principles of Creative Emergence is new language and metaphors emerge to replace the old. The current language in any emergent system becomes, by its nature, too limiting to contain the new emergence, so a new language has to emerge to better describe and make sense of it. One of the areas I have enjoyed noticing this in the Chief Officer titles and roles.  Until recently, all you would find between the words Chief and Officer in a business context were Executive, Financial, or Information. In the last couple years, however, other Officer titles have been emerging at an accelerated pace, including my own: Chief Emergence Officer. Some other titles I have seen used are:

Chief Learning Officer                   Chief Innovation Officer
Chief Customer Officer                  Chief Activation Officer
Chief Storytelling Officer               Chief Humor Officer
Chief Encouragement Officer         Chief Exploration Officer
Chief Creativity Officer                  Chief Diversity Officer
Chief Integration Officer                Chief Design Officer
Chief Play Officer                          Chief Medical Officer
Chief Connections Officer              Chief Wisdom Officer
Chief Musical Officer                     Chief Curiosity Officer
Chief Understanding Officer           Chief Intelligence Officer
Chief Discovery Officer                  Chief Visionary Officer
Chief Scientific Officer                  Chief Imagination Officer

My own is Chief Emergence Officer. What's yours?

Free Hugs Campaign

In the course of 2 hours, I received a link to the FREE HUGS YouTube video from 3 people I know as well as from 2 mailing lists. It is having a viral effect, creating an emotional reaction in viewers. Change from within is inspired. It is emotional. And we know this happens more with integrative language of words, music, and image woven together for a whole-person, resonant story. I look forward to the day when all of our business communications use these methods to reach the human underneath the employee...then real change - and innovation - can be accelerated.

You can view the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4

The X-Factor

Every culture has its own way of describing that special "X-factor" - a life energy certain people or places exude. These words are in a creative feedback loop with their culture - they reflect their culture, and at the same time inform their culture. In the Psychology Today article, Charm By Any Other Name, they list several cultural expressions of this certain way of being. 

Yiddish has elbowed its way into English with "chutzpah," while the French bubble over with "joie de vivre," "elan," "savoir faire" and other high-spirited bon mots. Indeed, many languages have their own X-factored terms that describe a unique constellation of desirable traits, if not success pure and simple. Such words reveal as much about the culture that prizes them as they do about the individual who possesses them.

    * Akamai (Hawaiian): Smart, on the ball, savvy. Richard Branson is "akamai."
    * Brioso (Spanish): Fiery, spirited and charming.
    * Sabrosa (Spanish): Literally "flavorful" or "zesty," this refers to someone who is
      lively, complicated and may have a naughty streak.
    * Dushevnost (Russian): Soulful and deeply emotive, but also warm, open,
      gregarious and passionate.
    * Gemuetlich (German): Pleasant, cozy, amiable—a person, place or
      experience can be gemuetlich.
    * Hyggelig (Danish): Similar to "gemuetlich," this adjective captures the
      easygoing Danes' desire for a relaxed atmosphere.
    * Mi ren (Chinese): Fascinating, enchanting, charming, tempting.
    * Okuyukashii (Japanese): Elegant and modest, usually in regard to women.
    * Shibui (Japanese): Cool, understated. Usually used in reference to an older man.
    * Sprezzatura (Italian): Deliberate nonchalance. The art of making something
      difficult appear effortless and beautiful.
    * Unesidima ne sithozela (Xhosa—South African tribal language): Someone with
      an aura, who is well respected and held in high esteem.

Beyond Business Buzz Words

Word Spy denotes the definition of a buzzword as: "An an often-used word or phrase that sounds more important than it really is, used primarily to impress other people." We're in a time where innovation is a core organizational value. Yet so often, adhering too tightly to the buzz words du jour actually inhibits potential for creative ingenuity. Some of the most common business buzz words which do not do a whole lot to inspire innovation are:

benchmarking                        competitive advantage                     actionable
diversification                       decentralization                               leverage
joint venture                         mission statement                            low-hanging fruit
vision statement                    strategic planning                             market segment
intellectual property               incentive plans                                mission critical
quality improvement               best practices                                 operationalize
market risk                            opportunity costs                             value-added
distribution channels              product mix                                     positioning
target market                        win-win                                           risk management
multitasking                           B2B                                                outside the box
offline                                   bandwidth                                       mindshare
smartsize                               strategic alliance                              empowerment

New ideas often emerge wrapped in new language. In workshops, emergence coaching sessions, and creative projects, and I have noticed consistently the best ideas, the most novel ideas, and the most innovative business ideas emerge, not in business language, but in human language - holistic, conceptual, metaphorical, emergent, impassioned, poetic, story, visual images, excited.

If you have to reel in your communications into business speak, do that at the end of the creative process, not at the beginning. It's not about never using the buzz words, because they are a form of communicated understanding - a common language, but just not being limited by them. Leave the business buzz words on the back burner as you engage the creative process initially, and then, only after the new idea/vision/mission/product/service/strategy has been cultivated, is it a good time to come back and focus the language for the understandings of your "target market."

The Living Language of Talking Your Business

A discussion on a leadership conference call earlier this evening, where a business leader/entrepreneur feared that by using her authentic langauge with her cleints she would not be taken as seriously in the business community, inspired me to write the following:

For inspired entrepreneurs: In being true to yourself, finding your passion, and structuring it into a business, how do you market yourself - and be authentic to the language you think, live and engage - without sounding "woo-woo" in a business world that thinks and speaks mainly in jargon, buzz words, and often empty mechanistic terms?

Be fully present to what you genuinely have to offer and speak from that place. Those who are best suited for your message will hear your message. They will resonate, even if the words are less familiar - because you are speaking to the human underneath the buzz words. If you confine your message too heavily into everyday business speak , it is like freezing the substance of what you have to offer...it can't move and grow and generate.  It ceases to contain the life energy of inspiration, passion, and newness. People are drawn more to the energy and enthusiasm underneath the words than the words themselves. In other words, believing in and embodying what your are saying and doing will naturally engage others.

Engage in living language - that which is alive with natural exuberance, creativity, and new possibilities. Impassioned language is larger and more encompassing than professional buzz words. It may contain them at times, but it goes beyond them. Buzz words are inadequate to express the aliveness, potential and capacity of what you have to give. There is so much advice out there on how to communicate what you have to offer, and while that is valuable, it is seriously incomplete. There is also a place within our selves - where our dreams, creative ingenuity, and enthusiasm exist - that can only be cultivated and expressed from within us, and has its power in our own words...the place where external advice gives way for inner authority to emerge.