Contents
Introduction
All Prime titles are to be printed in PMS 1795 U
PART 1: Universal Patterns For Leading In Uncertain Times
How are some people thriving in these uncertain times? What enables them to appear so certain and to take such decisive action in all this ambiguity about the future?
Chapter 1 Being Clear on What's Really Important
How did you decide how you spent your time yesterday? What criteria are you using to allocate your time tomorrow?
PRIME LeadING
Does being called a 'Leader' mean you are 'Leading'? What does 'Leading' mean?
PRIME IN - ON
Are you seduced by working 'in' the business at the expense of 'on' it?
PRIME CHANGE VS. TRANSFORMATION
Are you fixing or creating?
Chapter 2 Being Intentional and Going First
What are you committed to making happen and by when? What does 'committed' mean? What does your commitment mean to others?
PRIME InteGrity
Does your 'yes' mean 'yes' really?
PRIME Trust the Universe
Is your vision limited to what you've already seen?
PRIME Declaration
Are you willing to live unreasonably?
Chapter 3 Enrolling Others
Can you call people, from disenfranchisement and mere compliance, to their highest level of commitment?
PRIME Dynamic Incompleteness
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?
PRIME Enoblement
Does your vision elevate people in degree, excellence, and respect and inspire them to act boldly?
PRIME POWER
Do you know how to turn strangers, competitors, cautious allies, and suspicious stakeholders into powerful, outcome driven, coalitions?
PART 2: Universal Patterns of Powerful Alliances
How do you generate unprecedented power within the group? Is this question all that important to you?
Chapter 4 Gaining Shared Perspective
Everyone claims to value diversity. Can maintaining diverse perspectives ever be a bad thing?
PRIME Blind Men and the elephant
How do you get people to see the 'whole thing'?
PRIME Levels of perspective
How do you get people to see the same 'whole thing'?
PRIME S-CURVES
How do you get people to a shared sense of now?
Chapter 5 Establishing Shared Intent
How do you get the group to be intentional?
PRIME core prime
How do you get the group focused on the right things and feeling urgent about acting?
PRIME parity
What is the right ratio of analyzing vs. imagining?
PRIME stake
How do you get the group 'all in'?
Chapter 6 Taking Coordinated Action
How do you get the group to persistently do everything about a few critical things versus doing a few things about everything?
PRIME cohesion
Cohesion is an unnatural state for a group. How good are you at establishing and sustaining it?
PRIME Redpoint
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?'
PRIME MUDA
Can you distinguish ‘non-value added activity'? How much of your group's resources is it consuming?
PART 3: Universal Patterns of Outstanding Group Performance
What do high performance groups know and do that low performance groups do not?
Chapter 7 Making Decisions
What does the word 'decision' actually mean? How are decision made?
PRIME leadership spectrum
Are you the kind of leader that likes to facilitate consensus? The right answer is 'That depends'.
PRIME Concensus
Are you still using the traditional definition of consensus? Are you aware of how destructive the traditional definition is?
PRIME Open-close-decide
How do groups actually make decisions?
Chapter 8 Building An Intentional Culture
Quick – What does 'culture' mean? There are consequences of using more than 7 words to define culture.
PRIMEculture
Culture Happens. You shape it or it shapes you. How good are you at shaping a culture?
PRIME congruence
What is the dark side of a stated culture?
PRIME feedback AS CARING
How good are you at giving it? How good are you at getting it? Why does it matter?
Chapter 9 Social Contracting and Accountability Within the Group
How do peers give each other commands?
PRIME request
Why saying 'no' protects your saying 'yes'.
PRIME trust
We all say how important trust is. What is trust? How do you generate it and how do you destroy it?
PRIMEBreach
What do you do when your 'yes' turns out to be a 'no'?
Chapter 10 Saying and Not Saying. Listening and Not Listening.
How high performance groups sound.
PRIME perimeter
How small a fence have you built around what can and cannot be said?
PRIME facts, stories, and beliefs
Can you distinguish facts, from stories, from beliefs? Do you use facts the way a drunk uses a lamppost … for support vs. illumination.
PRIME gossip
What it is? What makes it so destructive? How do you stop it?
PART 4: Universal Patterns Of Group Failure
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?
Chapter 11 Overcoming Resistance
Are you okay with favoring some people and ignoring others?
PRIME laggards
Do you know how to starve 'possibility killers'?
PRIME fragmentation
How skilled are you at overcoming resistance from the powerful middle.
PRIME same- different
Everybody's special. Really?
Chapter 12 Managing Intractable Dilemmas
How do you end a never-ending argument?
PRIME big hat – little hat;
What do you do when the needs of the many conflict with the needs of the few?
PRIME right vs right
Resolving conflicts about right and wrong is child's play. How skilled are you at resolving matters of right vs. right?
PRIME resolution principles
Right vs. Right arguments have been going on forever. What can we learn from our ancestors?
Chapter 13 Avoiding Tripping Hazards
Tripping hazards are easier to avoid when you know where they are. When it comes to working in groups, can you see them coming?
PRIME chase - lose
Chase teamwork, leadership, moral, and culture and you will surely lose them all.
PRIME process - content
You can run the process. You can contribute to content. Pick one.
PRIME shape shifter
How to destroy your power in groups.
Chapter 14 Refusing To Hide Out
We all live our lives trying to avoid embarrassment. Can you recognize when you and your group are hiding out and playing safe?
PRIME victim - leader
What does 'going victim' sound like?
PRIME locker room – court
Do you find planning to be a near death experience?
PRIME confusion
Why is confusion such a wonderful way of being?
PART 5: Universal Patterns Of Thriving In Ambiguity
How do you stay healthier than the world is sick?
Chapter 15 Avoiding Bright Shinny Objects and Squirrels
How do you manage distractions?
PRIME a clearing
How skilled are you at creating nothing?
PRIME Issues Forward
Looking behind and looking ahead are both important. What is the right ratio?
Chapter 16 Taking Great Care Of Yourself
Can you give up coming from 'Something is wrong.'?
PRIME commitment - attachment
Why saying 'This project makes me so frustrated' is irrational.
PRIMEBe
How good are you at cutting grass when you are cutting grass?
Conclusion: Now What?
References and Resources
