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The Primes
How Any Group Can Solve Any Problem
Chris McGoff (Author)
9781118173275, Wiley
Paperback / softback, published 27 April 2012
272 pages
20.1 x 20.1 x 2.3 cm, 0.386 kg
Discover fundamental principles of high-stakes change and organizational transformation The "primes" are universal and unavoidable patterns of group behavior that emerge whenever people attempt to transform systems or collaborate to solve complex problems. Every change agent has felt their effect, but few can recognize, anticipate, and manage them. Unacknowledged, the primes can put any leadership agenda at risk. Once mastered, the primes become a force that drives intended outcomes. The Primes is a field manual for anyone ready to step up to serious challenges, predict and manage inevitable problems, create a brighter future, and produce extraordinary results. An essential guide for 21st century problem solvers and change agents, The Primes unveils 46 universal secrets of how to: The Primes gives leaders the edge they need to succeed. Once the primes are revealed, you'll see them everywhere!
Introduction xxv Part 1: Universal Patterns of Leading in Uncertain Times 1 Chapter 1 – Being Clear on What’s Really Important 3 Leading 5 In–on 9 Change Versus Transformation 13 Chapter 2 – Being Intentional and Going First 18 Integrity 21 Trust the Universe 25 Declaration 29 Chapter 3 – Enrolling Others 32 Dynamic Incompleteness 35 Ennoblement 39 Power 45 Part 2: Universal Patterns of Powerful Alliances 47 Chapter 4 – Gaining Shared Perspective 49 Blind Men and the Elephant 51 Levels of Perspective 55 S-curves 59 Chapter 5 – Establishing Shared Intent 62 Core Prime 65 Parity 73 Stake 77 Chapter 6 – Taking Coordinated Action 80 Cohesion 83 Redpoint 85 Muda 93 Part 3: Universal Patterns of Outstanding Group Performance 96 Chapter 7 – Making Decisions 98 Leadership Spectrum 101 Consensus 105 Open–close–decide 109 Chapter 8 – Building An Intentional Culture 113 Culture 115 Congruence 119 Feedback as Caring 123 Chapter 9 – Social Contracting and Accountability Within the Group 126 Request 129 Trust 133 Breach 137 Chapter 10 – Saying and Not Saying; Listening And Not Listening 140 Perimeter 143 Facts, Stories, and Beliefs 147 Gossip 151 Part 4: Universal Patterns of Group Failure 153 Chapter 11 – Overcoming Resistance 155 Laggards 157 Fragmentation 161 Same–different 165 Chapter 12 – Managing Intractable Dilemmas 168 Big Hat–little Hat 171 Right Versus Right 175 Resolution Principles 179 Chapter 13 – Avoiding Tripping Hazards 181 Chase–lose 183 Process–content 189 Shape Shifting 191 Chapter 14 – Refusing to Hide Out 194 Victim–leader 197 Court–locker Room 199 Confusion 203 Part 5: Universal Patterns of Thriving in Ambiguity 205 Chapter 15 – Avoiding Bright and Shiny Objects and Squirrels 206 A Clearing 209 Issues Forward 213 Chapter 16 – Taking Great Care of Yourself 216 Commitment Versus Attachment 219 Be 223 Conclusion: Now What? 226 Notes 228 Index of the Primes 237 About the Author 239
How do some people, organizations, and coalitions thrive in uncertain times? What enables them to appear so certain and take decisive action amid ambiguity about the future?
How did you decide how you spent your time yesterday? What criteria are you using to allocate your time tomorrow?
Does being called a ‘‘leader’’ mean you are ‘‘leading’’? What does ‘‘leading’’ mean?
Are you seduced by working ‘‘in’’ the business at the expense of ‘‘on’’ it?
Are you fixing or creating?
What are you committed to making happen and by when? What does ‘‘committed’’ mean? What does your commitment mean to others?
Does your ‘‘yes’’ really mean ‘‘yes’’? xvii
Is your vision limited to what you’ve already seen?
Are you willing to live unreasonably?
Can you call people, from disenfranchisement and mere compliance, to their highest level of commitment?
Can you create a vision that is compelling because of what it says and at the same time inviting—for what it leaves yet to be said?
Does your vision elevate people in degree and excellence and respect and inspire them to act boldly?
Do you know how to turn strangers, competitors, cautious allies, and suspicious stakeholders into powerful, outcome-driven coalitions?
How do you generate unprecedented power within the group? Is this question all that important to you?
Everyone claims to value diversity. Can maintaining diverse perspectives ever be a bad thing?
How do you help people to see the ‘‘whole thing’’?
How do you help people to see the same ‘‘whole thing’’?
How do you lead people to a shared sense of now?
How do you lead the group to be intentional?
How do you help the group to focus on the right things and feel urgent about acting?
What is the right ratio of analyzing versus imagining?
How do you get the group ‘‘all in’’?
How do you get the group to do everything persistently about a few critical things versus doing a few things about everything?
Cohesion is an unnatural state for a group. How good are you at establishing and sustaining it?
A good question to ask is, ‘‘What is important to do?’’ A better question is, ‘‘Of all the important things we could do, what are the fewest, most important?’’
Can you distinguish ‘‘non-value-added activity’’? How much of your group’s resources is it consuming?
What do high-performance groups know and do that low-performance groups do not?
What does the word ‘‘decision’’ actually mean? How are decisions made?
Are you the kind of leader who likes to facilitate consensus? The right answer is, ‘‘That depends.’’
Are you still using the traditional definition of consensus? Are you aware of how destructive the traditional definition is?
How do groups actually make decisions?
Quick—what does ‘‘culture’’ mean? There are consequences to using more than seven words to define culture.
Culture happens. You shape it or it shapes you. How good are you at shaping a culture?
What is the dark side of a stated culture?
How good are you at giving it? How good are you at getting it? Why does it matter?
How do peers give each other commands?
Why saying ‘‘no’’ protects your saying ‘‘yes.’’
We all say how important trust is. What is trust? How do you generate it and how do you destroy it?
What do you do when your ‘‘yes’’ turns out to be a ‘‘no’’?
How do high-performance groups sound?
How small a fence have you built around what can and cannot be said?
Can you distinguish facts from stories from beliefs? Do you use facts the way a drunk uses a lamp post—for support versus illumination?
What is it? What makes it so destructive? How do you stop it?
How good are you at anticipating, avoiding, and slaying the dragons that inevitably show up and threaten your group and the outcomes your group is standing for?
Are you okay with favoring some people and ignoring others?
Do you know how to starve ‘‘possibility killers’’?
How skilled are you at overcoming resistance from the powerful middle?
Everybody’s special. Really?
How do you end a never-ending argument?
What do you do when the needs of the many conflict with the needs of the few?
Resolving conflicts about right and wrong is child’s play. How skilled are you at resolving matters of right versus right?
Right versus right arguments have been going on forever. What can we learn from our ancestors?
Tripping hazards are easier to avoid when you know where they are. When it comes to working in groups, can you see them coming?
Chase teamwork, leadership, morale, and culture and you will surely lose them all.
You can run the process. You can contribute to content. Pick one.
How to destroy your power in groups.
We all live our lives trying to avoid embarrassment. Can you recognize when you and your group are hiding out and playing safe?
What does ‘‘going victim’’ sound like?
Do you find planning to be a near-death experience?
Why is confusion such a wonderful way of being?
How do you stay healthy when the world is sick?
How do you manage distractions?
How skilled are you at creating nothing?
Looking behind and looking ahead are both important. What is the right ratio?
Can you give up coming from ‘‘something is wrong’’?
Why saying ‘‘This project makes me so frustrated’’ is irrational.
How good are you at cutting grass when you are cutting grass?
Subject Areas: Business & management [KJ]
