LEADERSHIP DECISIONS: How do you call the Game?

Being intrigued by physics, mathematics, art and nature I enjoy applying these disciplines in developing unique perspectives on leadership and corporate structures. I hope you find this post both insightful and thought provoking.

Consider three umpires discussing their profession and how they call balls and strikes. 

 "I call 'em as I see 'em," the first says.

"I call 'em as they are," says the second.

"They ain't nothin' till I call 'em," says the third.

Their approaches illustrate the nature of interpretation and the way different management styles can coexist within business. [1]

How do you call the game?

It’s important to understand a few basic concepts that if not managed, can unconsciously undermine your decision process. It’s not a question if these are present, as they most certainly are, in the way you process information and make decisions . It has to do with recognition of their presence and how they can be managed to minimize making short sighted, unsubstantiated or even entirely wrong decisions.

Heuristic – This is your accepted approach to problem solving, learning, or discovery. Your heuristic norm is influenced by how you perceive, comprehend, and interpret the world. It is developed from years of experience and interactions however it also needs to reexamined, developed and evolved to keep pace with change.

Similarity - The danger in accepting similarity of past events to future events is it can misjudge judgments. It is important to understand that causes need not resemble effects and the likelihood or frequency of events can be influenced simply by the readiness with which they are perceived. Interpreting what we believe as similar events can be an important tool however events rarely should considered identical on face value.

Inferences – Our natural tendency is to accept inferences when making decisions based on past experience rather than direct measurements. We attempt to reshape or even dismiss unique perceptions and cognitions to fit past experiences. Inwardly focused leaders are most susceptible to making poor inferences than open ones who appreciate the value in diversity of ideas and perspectives when making important decisions.

Stereotyping - is a type of heuristic all people use to form opinions or make judgments about things they have never seen or experienced. They work as a mental shortcut to assess everything from employee potential, based on appearances, to assumptions that seem logical but in the end prove incorrect. A leader needs to ensure to keep stereotypes in check.

Schemas - describe the pattern or behaviors we utilize in organizing and categorizing information and defining its relationships and level of importance. We are more likely to notice things that fit into our schema, while re-interpreting contradictions as exceptions, and many times passively or even actively distorting information to fit our accepted schema. It is important to be conscious of your own personal or corporate schema and not dismiss a method or observation made by others as it may have more merit depending on the situation.

Dimension, strategy development and your decision process

When making a strategy or important business decision it is critical to know the field you are planning on and the perspectives it can offer.

Zero Dimension – dot - "I not on the field to call em"

In geometry a dot represents the zero order of dimension. The dot has no ability to move and is anchored in space. Think of the dot as a single individual within and organization or someone in the stands not present on the field of play but still have a strong tie to the outcome of the game. When an individual makes a decision in absence of the context or perspective of others this can be considered a zero dimension decision. In this case the individual relies on his gut or past experience. When this happens potential fallacies can enter your decision process as described above. This is the majority of decisions we make in any given day. My suggestion is to be aware that complex problems and important decisions usually require a greater degree of information and interaction to ensure organizational buy in and success.

First dimension – line = X "....I call 'em even if I don't see them"

 If we had only one dimension to work with, we could only move forward or backwards in a straight trajectory. The first dimension decision is very similar to the zero dimension; however we have the ability to either accelerate, decelerate, stop or reverse a decision. The best example of the first dimension is how the ball travels the field once thrown it is on a set coarse until caught. In this case the leader could be the pitcher he decides how the ball will move through space but once the pitch is thrown he waits to see the outcome. These types of decisions once made are on a predetermined course. In an organization a first dimension decision is all about setting schedules and progress gates with little consideration of effect on resources or the organization. This type of decision typically results in missed expectations and disappointment.

Second Dimension – plane X,Y ........ "I call 'em as I see 'em,"

 In a two dimensional world it is possible to move forwards and backwards on a line and turn in any direction to start a new line. Being able to travel anywhere on a flat surface or in mathematical terms the plane. One way to visualize the second dimension is everything is flat and missing depth. A two dimensional decision or process is narrow in perspective and information. Think about players once the ball is hit having multiple choices of were to throw the ball, maybe 1st base or maybe third base depending on their chances of getting a runner out. These decisions do not take into context alternative outcomes or alternative stakeholders outside our flat plane of view. In business that may be in the form of a stretch goal in which your team or organization is given freedom to explore coarse adjustments and corrections in its path one a single plane. In this case the goal always remains the same however a greater degree of freedom is afforded in its achievement than the first plane example.

Third Dimension – space X,Y,Z ......."I call 'em as they are,"

In a world with three dimensions, you can travel forwards, backwards, right, left, and even up and down. The ability to travel up into space and back down differentiates 3D from 2D. In a three dimensional strategy the entire spectrum of playing field is evaluated and an organization is able to consider the complete landscape in its achievement. In this case think about the manger deciding what players need to be on the field and in which positions. Once the players take the field the mangers level of control is diminished,the game is played, he can signal from the bench or make substitutions between the play, but has relinquished control to players. In this situation leaders trust employees to achieve desired outcomes and provide support for teams to move between levels or planes of the organization. This is a very dynamic organization that recognizes the value of highly engaged employees that are confident in operating a matrix organizational. Leaders utilize transparency to communicate strategies with clarity, accuracy and alignment between layers or planes of the organization. see (Lessons from Nature on Organizational Transparency).  

Fourth Dimension - space-time X,Y,Z,W ...."They ain't nothin' till I call 'em,"

In the forth dimension we look at the possibility and probability of other fields of play. This is the time outside of the game were the back office and mangers decide the team they will put on the field for the next game, the players they need for the session and how they will build a long term successful franchise. This planning is less about what is happening on the field during a game but what could happen given different resources playing the game.

 Many argue that space-time is not a true mathematical representation of fourth dimensiona so I will share two different and unique ways the fourth dimension is discussed in most modern interpretations.  

In the geometric sense, think of a cube inside a cube or what is referred to a tesseract with center cube having the ability to freely fold over the outer cube see animated view at the following link: tesseract

I understand that is difficult to comprehend or visualize fourth dimensional space so I have attached the following video.

In physics, the fourth dimension is defined as space-time (space X, Y, Z and by combining three spatial dimensions (length, width, height), and one temporal dimension (time) into a single interwoven continuum represented in a mathematical model called a manifold.

The concept was formulated in Einstein's theory of general relativity. In simple terms large objects in space, due to gravitation forces, have the ability to warp or bend time. 

The best way to invasion this is take a blanket and hold it taught at all for corners forming a flat plane representing constant time. Then place objects onto the out-stretched blanket and you will see were the mass or weight of objects deforms the surface, the larger the mass, the greater the deformation. This is a very simple representation of general relativity and space-time theory also see Time it is Not all Relative

A four-dimensional being would be able to see the world in three dimensions. For example, it would be able to see all six sides of an opaque box simultaneously, and in fact, what is inside the box at the same time, just as we can see the interior of a square on a piece of paper. They would be able to effortless move through time and space and our perception of these beings would be extremely distorted in our three dimensional reality.

I postulate that leaders can visualize space-time in this same conceptual manner. We build a strategy and utilize our three dimensional abilities to consider its applicability in a three dimensional world. We align our organizations resources in its achievement. Sounds very powerful and it is however if we add a fourth dimension we can consider its effectively in different time realities. It is this ability to use an efficient three dimensional strategy and then apply it to various different times scales and outcomes that demonstrates space-time relativity and applicability. 

Is time compression your biggest business threat?

I know you may be saying, "we already consider time and the future", and to a point I agree. The ability to see and evaluate future states is no simple task as even the highest preforming organization may be executing a well-defined strategy that in the future proves to be ineffective or obsolete. Think of the many companies that focus on operational excellence only to discover their entire business models was obsoleted through disruptive changes in technology and customers’ expectations. The following or some everyday examples: streaming video vs. blue ray vs. compact disks vs. VCR vs. 8mm film vs. slides vs. still photography vs. portrait painters or smart phones vs. cell phones vs. pagers vs. land lines vs. telegrams vs. pony express or etc...  

When a disruptive technology enters a mature technology market it does not move on a typical time constant. The change is rapid and happens in logarithmic time. While companies are evolving and refining existing technologies they tend to not visualize a future state that deems its current products and services obsolete. These disruptions appear to come from an alternative dimension than our business is operating within and rarely do they come from a current competitor. This lack of vision to potential extinction events has driven many Fortune 500 organizations into obscurity. see Will Your Company Failure - statistics say yes and Big Bang Innovation and Effects of Creative Destruction.

If you look to customers to provide foresight on these changes, by the time they acknowledge their presence, it is most certainly too late for most organizations to reform and play catch up. One practice is to look for technologies that while in their infancy may only address a lower end of the market but once refined have the ability to move past even the most demanding use case. Using the fourth dimension requires evaluation of potential futures to make considerations of organizations and technology that is outside of a company’s current line of sight. In simple terms it requires stepping out of our current understood dimension and into alternative ones to see how these may affect our organization in the future.  This is challenging and requires an ability that most leaders may have little experience with. In a future post I will share how it is possible to navigate between alternative business dimensions and provide real examples from different industries and companies.

In Quantum Physics "….They ain't nothin' till I call 'em"

I am sure you thought the last umpire in the quote at the top of this article seemed egotistical. The actual reality is in quantum physics particles, such as electrons and photons, can act like both a particle and a wave. In addition, a particle’s choice for which way it behaves depends upon how it is measured at the end of its journey. At the quantum level it has been proven through experimentation that observation and measurement is everything and reality is undefined if it goes unexamined. I suggest, as a leader, until you see your future it has unlimited possibilities.

These are my own personal discoveries and observations and if you find this information informative please provide Comments, Likes and feel free to Share the post with others in your network.

Thanks,

Kevin

Citations:

[1] Nisbett, R.E. (2016, January 28) The Bugs in Our Mindware… Nautilus issue 32