The MW Newsletter is a long-form resource whose aim is to bring substance and insight to your work and life. Help spread the word! If you know someone or some organization that would be interested in strategies and tips on creating meaning, why not share this newsletter? Dr Todd Mei Editor & Founder of Philosophy2u |
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Content for August 2024 Our focus this month is Productive Detours. What is a Productive Detour? Practice: Jumping the Curve Ideation: Identity Check Identity Formation: Seaside
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What Is a Productive Detour? “There is no trap so deadly as the trap you set for yourself.”
Raymond Chandler, The Long Goodbye * * * * *
You may have heard of The Planning Fallacy which is a cognitive bias where people underestimate the cost and time for completing significant projects, such as building a home.
Ways to combat this fallacy include: calculating contingencies costs into the budget, using a time management tracker for milestones, and reminding yourself to be realistic (whether this is an internal check or in dialogue with an expert). Another more interesting tactic is to deliberately plan for productive detours, which are points at which you realize that the shortest route to an endpoint or next stage involves diverting from your current path. The diversion might consist of learning a new skill, gaining knowledge about a new topic, consulting with an expert from another industry or field, or developing another aspect of the overall project that you had not noticed before. Think of these types of detours as an unexpected gift that expands your vision and builds capacities. It will require more time and resources, but the end result is a much better project. Remember that these kinds of detours are productive precisely because they require more in order to make you or your organization more resourceful. And that's essential in today's rapidly changing technological, natural, and people environments. In this issue of the MW Newsletter, Joe Smart will explore productive detours in terms of the Sigmoid Curve, Todd Mei with regard to the refiguring Identity, and Giacomo Savani in view of a Seaside detour. |
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Practice: Jumping the Curve In a recent discussion, I explored the concept of the Sigmoid Curve, a model for understanding growth and decline that Charles Handy popularized in his 1995 book The Empty Raincoat. I believe this concept is incredibly relevant in both personal and professional contexts, and I want to share the key lessons that can guide us through the inevitable ups and downs of development. Understanding the Sigmoid Curve The Sigmoid Curve, often visualized as an "S" shape, represents the stages of growth that we undergo, whether as individuals or organizations. When we start something new, we often experience a phase of "unconscious incompetence", where we're unaware of what we don’t know. This is followed by a phase of "conscious incompetence", where we begin to realize just how much we need to learn, which can lead to a dip in our performance. However, as we push through this phase and continue learning, we reach "conscious competence", where we become effective in our roles, even though it still requires effort. Eventually, we may achieve "unconscious competence", where tasks become second nature. But at this peak, complacency can set in, which might lead to stagnation and eventual decline. Lesson 1: Embrace the Struggle The first key lesson I’ve taken from this is that the struggle at the beginning of any new venture is not only natural but essential. That initial dip in performance is a necessary part of the learning process, where we transition from not knowing what we don’t know to recognizing and addressing our knowledge gaps. This stage can be frustrating, but it’s crucial for long-term growth. Understanding that this struggle is temporary and part of the journey has helped me persist through the challenging early phases of new projects and roles. Lesson 2: Start the Next Curve Before the Peak One of Handy's critical insights that I’ve found particularly valuable is the importance of initiating the next Sigmoid Curve before reaching the peak of the current one. As we approach the height of our capabilities in a particular area, we risk becoming complacent. At this stage, it's essential to start exploring new challenges or ventures—what I like to call starting a "second curve"—even when the current trajectory is still upward. This proactive approach can prevent the decline that often follows a peak, ensuring continuous growth and adaptation. Companies like Amazon are great examples of this strategy, as they’ve repeatedly reinvented themselves from an online bookstore to a global tech giant. |
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Lesson 3: Avoid Complacency and Embrace Continuous Learning
Finally, I’ve come to understand the danger of complacency. When we reach a level of unconscious competence, where tasks are performed almost automatically, there’s a risk of becoming too comfortable. This comfort can lead to a decline in performance if not addressed. For those who find themselves in this situation, I recommend actively seeking out new challenges and opportunities for growth. This might involve learning new skills, exploring new areas of interest, or even changing roles or careers. By constantly seeking new challenges, we can maintain our momentum and avoid the stagnation that often comes with prolonged comfort. ~ In conclusion, my discussion on the Sigmoid Curve offers valuable lessons for personal and professional growth. Embracing the initial struggle, proactively starting new ventures before reaching the peak, and avoiding complacency through continuous learning are key strategies for sustaining long-term success. By applying these principles, we can navigate the inevitable ups and downs of our careers and lives with greater resilience and foresight. Thank you for joining me on this exploration of the power of jumping the curve. I look forward to hearing your thoughts and continuing this conversation next week. Take care. Joseph Smart OD&D Consultant, Smart Joseph Consulting joe@smartjoseph.com |
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Ideation:Identity Check Although you may think that your "self" is pretty much a set identity with specific characters and features, there's a lot underneath the surface that is constantly changing due to new concerns and pressures that tend to erupt in life with little notice. Age is an obvious niggler, where a sudden realization that you're no longer as young as you used to be might force you to re-assess your habits and lifestyle. So, how do we deal with change and identity? The philosopher Paul Ricoeur entertained a dynamic notion of the self. He characterized the constant side, which we associate with the "same" person who is always there (in front of the mirror) as the idem. It's Latin for the self and typically draws on the features of our character and personality. Then, there is the side that changes and "re-writes" our self-conception. Ricoeur refers to this aspect of the self as ipse, which is also Latin. Think of this side of the self as the one who relates to life as an ongoing story which will inevitably involve encounters, confrontations, and changes to which the author (or you) will need to adapt. Ricoeur thought this dynamic theory of the self was more prudent, responsible, and self-aware because . . . well, it takes change seriously without trying to overcome or diminish it. To help better understand what Ricoeur means, here's an Identity Check thought experiment to try: Choose something about your sense of self that you would like to explore and understand better. Call this the focal point.* Next, pick a significant moment in your life that was extremely challenging and affected your relationship with yourself and/or others. Write a short paragraph about that event and how it changed your life. Call this the tenor, as in the sense of movement or a change over time. For contrast, pick a time before that event you just described where you were in a different stage of your life. Now get into the mindset of that prior self (whose life was quite different). Call this the framing point since it will help give you a sense of the degree or character of the change you experienced during the tenor phase. Finally, it's time for self-assessment. How do you think that "prior you" (framing point) would understand that event you described and how you reacted to it (the tenor)? Would they be disappointed in you? Shocked at what you did? Supportive? Ask you to change back!?
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Assessing the relationship between the tenor and framing point allows you to gain some perspective and get a sense of the extent and depth of change you've undergone. That is to say, it allows you to focus on understanding yourself better (focal point). You most likely will have noticed there are two very different stories or narrative strands, two very different versions of yourself. Yet, they are each still yourself. The ability to hold those two in tension, without erasing or forgetting either is what Ricoeur means by ipse identity—the person who is the same only through undergoing change. It's the whole you that perdures across the story of your life as it intersects and is interwoven with the stories of others. And the idea is that to be able to hold in perspective this journey of change makes for a healthier sense of self. And by virtue of that, it can help you get a sense of what detours in learning, relationships, life commitments, etc. you might want to make in the future. I employ devices like this when working with individual clients who are seeking to make significant changes in their lives. It's quite a powerful experience for both the client and me. It's what Freud referred to as the talking cure, and it's an effective tool when the philosophical spirit of investigation is a woven in. If you'd like to continue this conversation, please reach out. Dr Todd Mei Founder and Consultant for Philosophy2u tsmei@philosophy2u.com * I've taken the terms focal point, tenor, and framing point from the theory of metaphor, which Ricoeur uses when discussing how things like metaphor refigure our identity. |
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Identity Formation:Seaside __________________ by Dr Giacomo Savani _____________________________ Identity Formation is about the power of works of art to help us reflect and explore our relationship to ourselves, others, and the world around us. It derives from hermeneutics and critical theory. |
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Detours are often a source of unexpected joy for landscape painters. One afternoon, while walking on the Coastal Path from Crail to St Andrews in Scotland, I decided to leave the trail to get closer to the shore and found this spot, which struck me for its severity and beauty. I didn't have much time, so I made a quick sketch with dark brown and azure pastels before the light changed. I finished it that evening back home. It became one of my favourite spots on the coast, and I came back to paint it a few times but never found the same silver light I think I managed to capture in the original. ~ Dr Giacomo Savani, Assistant Professor in Ancient History, University of Leeds (UK). Giacomo's Website |
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