“Fundamentally, we are sense-makers… looking for patterns in what’s going on… which we use to create our models of the world,” Marc explains, as he and Laura jump into a conversation about the lenses we use to view and experience the world through.
We have two agents at play in our minds – one is the creative storyteller, and the other is the editor – that selects the stories that make the most sense. But it’s important to understand that many of the lenses – values, beliefs, stories, ideas, thoughts – we use are biologically inherited and/or absorbed through our early childhood influences and experiences. We may not be consciously aware of the filtering those various lenses provide and what that means for how we move through our lives.
If we are willing to expose ourselves to others’ lenses, perspectives, experiences, and stories, we may recognize two key truths: We have more in common with others than we imagine, and our experiences/lives will be much fuller, richer, healthier, and creative when we are open to including, listening to, and engaging with others who appear to be different than us.
The effectiveness of this approach is evident in work and at home, researched through team science studies, as well as in business operations. Marc shares an insightful – and somewhat frightening – story about some catastrophic events in the airline industry.
The bottom line: There’s value in bringing different perspectives to the table, whether that’s in someone’s home or in a boardroom. Each of us has something of value to contribute and there’s power in sharing the cognitive burdens of life and work with others.
Listen in for deeper insight into the greatest waste on the planet, why psychological safety is crucial, what Agile processes are and how they are used in business, and how to build learning into the foundations of whatever projects we might initiate.
Marc’s Bio
Marc says: “I’m a native Californian, who like many in the history of our state has been lucky enough to find new and interesting ways in which what I find interesting has turned out to be what some folks find useful. That’s how our state has reinvented itself so often.
I’m currently leading groups that do what is called “agile transformations” in organizations – which, to me is simply a way to put people and common sense front and center. I’m exploring ways of making procedural change in organizations tie to behavioral, and, ultimately, mindset change.
For me, the most I’ve learned about dealing with people has come from raising my sons. They’ve taught me patience, empathy, and how to decide that if no one is bleeding, it’s not really a crisis.”
Connect with Marc and other resources:
