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I find it interesting to follow blogs which are personal, especially if they reflect personal trials and learnings. A story tells much more than a bulleted resume. We have overconfidence in conveying a message by presenting facts and would rather present ourselves as “ready” and perfectly fitting for a job, than someone who is in the making, who makes mistakes and learns.

Stories give context for the facts and bring in emotions. You become alive to the listener.  Stories are what people remember. It might be what distinguishes you from the rest. Yes, telling facts are important, but also tell what you are passionate about, tell how things came to be as they are. And make authenticity a guiding star in your talk. We all have stories about our life that is a mix of many years of experience, thought and emotion and they are important. You take a risk when you are personal and transparent, but do it anyway.

Ever since we lived in caves we have communicated through stories and the digital age has not removed this need. On the contrary the need for an emotional context has increased, because today information is so abundant and easy accessible.

So, tell me your story.

Creative conversations

A few days ago I had a very nice talk with a friend. It was an inspiring and energizing talk and some ideas were born inside me. Actually some thoughts went off like bombs on the inside of me. It was what I call a “creative conversation”. They happen every now and then and are very precious. I am sure you have recognized that some thoughts passing through you mind are light and some thoughts are heavy, dense and full of substance. Some talking we do is just like chatter, it passes unnoticed and some talking creates things in a powerful way. I have noticed that together with some people under the right circumstances there is like a magic in the middle. Things are born. Ideas are created. Creative conversations cannot be controlled, but they occur in an atmosphere with certain ingredients. We can try to arrange an environment that invites it.

Plenty of un-thougt ideas

I believe there are many ideas that wait to be thought, to be spoken and acted upon. Inventions are waiting to be discovered. I don’t necessarily mean world-revolutionary inventions, but unique solutions in your business and in your situation. More often we should start expectantly with a blank paper when we try to solve problems. We should learn to think outside the usual ways. Man has an unique ability to be creative and we should deliberatively harness that capacity. We need creativity in this time, don’t we?

Coming together – a key

I believe one of the reasons of the lack of ideas is that we don’t come together and think together. Some ideas can only be birthed in a group or community. There can really be a magic in the middle. What do I mean by that? There is a higher level of creativity when a group of people with different backgrounds and experiences joins together and in openness, curiosity and humility work together. We can be creative partners if we listen to each other and build together. An utopia? I don’t think so. It is a cultural question. If we continue to push in this direction of cooperation it will open up. It is a common opinion that competition spurs development, but what about cooperation? What if there is an even higher gear to put in? Let’s explore this ground! The company that manages to build a feeling of community among the employees will likely be prosperous.

Generosity

I believe we don’t have to be afraid that someone will steal our idea, because there are more ideas to be found. When we jealously hold on to our ideas we stagnate, but when we share we get more. I believe that generosity and creativity goes hand in hand. Let’s cooperate. Let’s create opportunities for creative conversations.

What is your comment? How have you experienced creative conversations? How can we make room for them? Is it naive to think business can thrive by generosity in today’s world?

Other posts about this subject you might want to read:
Being touched deeply
Humanness and conversation
Green world café
Cross-cultural conversations

My work with system dynamics triggered an interest in the broad perspectives of economy. Almost everything we do is affected by economic thinking or activity, whether we like it or not. And if we want to change how things operate, economic incentives are powerful.

Economics course

Because of this awakened interest I will take courses in National Economics the coming two terms. The courses will touch on micro- and macroeconomics, international and political economics. I would like to move inside the economic thinking and understand the underlying models and assumptions . I felt the best way for me to do that was to steep myself in economics with an open and curious mind; a better alternative than just peek into it with preconceived ideas. I have started reading the course literature (Parkin, Economics for example) and I can’t avoid noticing the authors’ enthusiasm and faith in the market economy principles.

Reinforces itself

You could think of the economic principles of supply and demand (Adam Smith) and model of the “economic man” that acts out of self-interest as facts; “this is how reality and man is”. Or perhaps “this is a very true model of reality”. This way of thinking developed over time and formed a culture inhabited with people that acts according to it. Institutions like stock markets, banks etc that supports the economic paradigm have evolved and shaped the way man thinks and act. Things work the way they do because we have made them to work that way. It is hard to tell what is cause and what is effect. The thinking reinforces itself. It produces people that behaves accordingly, like a self-fulfilling prophecy. We stand in the middle of this universe we have created and believe that this is the natural way the world operates.

Part of a something greater

The economic principles are part of a dynamic social system and we have the possibilities to influence it and change it. Some say that economics should be considered by itself, separate from other areas. Perhaps that is true; you simplify and make it understandable. But this dividing up and analytical approach is also an assumption and just one approach. It will be very interesting to go deeper into economics with a system perspective. We can work on uncovering the hidden assumptions, combining ideas and promoting a holistic perspective.

Solving problems – economic incentives

I am very interested in how you can make policy changes the most effective way. If you have situation where people act in a certain way and you want to change it, what are the leverage points, the most efficient areas to alter? Economic incentives are likely to come up often. How do we solve  problems? We can have dreams about sustainability, but how can we actually make them come true? Understanding the economics part of the system is truly important .

So wish me good luck on this journey! I will report as I proceed.

Other posts about similar things you might want to read:
Me, a student
Systems dynamics learnings so far

I have recently returned from a one-week trekking in the mountains in the company of my oldest son Mattias and my dog Viggo. We visited the area west of Abisko in the very north of Sweden. It was really an adventure with many experiences of the greatness of nature. As a preparation for the trip (just for fun) I read and thought a little about survival strategies. What are the most important patterns that make people survive when they get into trouble; a plane crash, a catastrophe or when they get lost in unknown territory.

Those who survive shipwrecks, plane crashes, natural disasters and prison camps are those who are open to the changing nature of their environment, according to many psychologists. The survivors are those who notice that something changes around them and adapt accordingly.

Each one of us live with a mental model of the world, psychologists say. We see what we expect to see. We see what makes sense and what makes sense is what matches your mental model. More or less unconsciously we find reasons to exclude the information that might contradict our inner world instead of updating our view. Here comes the insidious thing. When things change around us, we don’t notice it. When the unexpected happens, we move on as usual or sit down denying the facts. We have a tendency to anticipate and predict the future based on our mental model and that puts us in trouble. We have this false sense that we are always in control.

At one point in Abisko we were a bit disoriented and were slightly on the wrong path. The landscape before us didn’t match the map as we expected. This happened at the end of the day. We had just finished a difficult passage and were hungry and tired, expecting an easy route to our next stop. We had to pause, eat some snacks (important!) and reorient, updating our mental image of our position.  We could easily have continued for miles in the wrong direction, but luckily we didn’t.

Psychologists say survivors more than others allow new information to reshape their mental model. They admit reality, accept it and work with it. They are open and curious. This rule is obvious in the nature. Those animals that adapt to changing environment survive and those who don’t become extinct. People who are rule followers don’t do as well as those who are of independent mind and spirit. Survivors question everything, sometimes annoyingly.

Trekking is a great way to learn to be a better observer. You have to look at what is around you and intelligently compare it to the map. When you walk in isolated parts of the country, losing your way can be unpleasant. This keeps you alert. You also have to look back every once in a while and memorize how your past path looks, because you might be forced to turn back.

Thankfully, we can learn to live aware and open. We ought to nourish our curiosity constantly and question what is happening. Perhaps it is a just matter of relearning, since no one is more observant and adaptive than a small child. This observant and adaptive lifestyle might save our life one day.

Playing music

This year I celebrate 10 years as bass player. I haven’t blogged much about bass playing or music lately, but my band is quite active and keeps on playing at restaurants and parties in our region. I started with music because I wanted to try something new. I had no particular experience from younger years and it was scary in the beginning. All the other guys in the band had several years of experience, but all turned out very well.

Learning new things

This musical journey did something for my life, besides giving me a fun hobby. It showed me the possibilities and the joy of learning new things. It is easy to get stuck with the things you master or are familiar with. You operate safely within known limits. Dare to step out! This will keep your life fresh: every once in a while launch out into unfamiliar territory. I challenge the view that the older you get, the harder it is to learn something new!

Wholeness

Another thing bass playing did for me, was to open my eyes to wholeness and systems thinking. This may sound strange to you, but it is true. Music is primarily a right-brain activity and much of the ability to see the whole resides there. My first approach to playing music was a typical left-brain approach. I learned what to play piece by piece. My “linear” mind was very present in every step. I kept myself like to a rail road track. But as I moved on I found something different. I noticed that there could be a creative flow, birthed in each moment in which I could express myself. Together with other musicians you are part of a whole and your flowing together creates music. The whole is more than the sum of the parts. This is an incredible interesting area. I believe that by participating  in musical activity you nourish your own ability to understand and navigate in the systems that surrounds us, a much needed ability in these days.

And art?

Giving attention to music opened up a new perspective for me.  It  enhanced other areas in my life, like creativity and problem solving. Some time ago I asked myself; what if I push this a little further? Music is just one form of creative expressions. I suffer from a slight degree of colour-blindness (green-red). One day I realized that I hadn’t really paid attention to (man-made) art and design because of that. When it came to design I often let someone else do the work. I chose to handle the functional and practical aspect. I have always enjoyed nature. Walking slowly, just looking at all the beauty around is so refreshing. But man-made art has been a white spot.

Going further

I said to myself; what new perspectives will open up if I start to pay attention to form, colour and beauty. Perhaps there is a border possible to cross here. So I started paying attention and you know what …here is new, exciting territory I haven’t visited before. Fascinating! It is strange how you can look at things and don’t really see. Art has been an inseparable part of human history for as long as we know. Music is one of the expressions of the heart of man and art is the same. It is like a palette with many colours. I believe that art is a very necessary part of our culture and of our lives.

I am not limited by my background or by already discovered natural talents or absence of talents. Who am I? I am crossing a border. I am changing. Anybody out there doing this journey also?

Other posts about this subject you might want to read:
Musicians and systems thinking