Developing Superlinear IQ

It is time for straight talking. Every organisation, including yours, is an imagined reality. It simply doesn't exist in the real world of rivers, trees and lions. It exists only in the minds of people. And this is an infinitely complex space, where there is an infinite appetite for anything that can be imagined from 'gods, organisations and nation states' (Sapiens) to Facebook and rhino horn curing erectile dysfunction. This may explain the continuous avalanche of psycho mumbo jumbo on all social platforms concerning life, the universe and everything.

But make no mistake. For millennia we have tried every which-way to manage the space between chaos and tyranny and this space is a constant battleground between reality and imagined reality, where the latter generally wins the day.

So, Mr CEO. This is your real job. Managing the imagined reality of people. Creating something that doesn't really exist and persuading people to pay for it. Politics for example. Not quite what you learned at business school.

There is one obvious conclusion. To be successful you need to accept that as CEO you manage an imaginary world and you are, in fact, an imaginary character. Shakespeare was a few steps ahead when he said that life is but a stage and all the men and women merely actors on it.

And you will need to understand three critical equations on Einstein's chalkboard above.

First Carl Sagan on our imagined world.  The Pale Blue Dot

And here is a stunning visual of what Sagan is describing

 
And one more from Sagan.  The Demon Haunted World

  Bridging the real and imaginary divide in business

The hills are alive with the continuous tinkle of marketers and advertisers converting the real into the ever more powerful imagined reality.

Let's start with Apple, perhaps the most successful organisation in our imagined history. There is a delightful early video - probably 1980's that tells us more about the thinking of Steve Jobs than much of the later carefully crafted offerings. He says that Apple is about more than computers. It is the belief that people with real passion can change the world. Apple is a bridge between the real world of computers, rivers and trees and the imagined world of organisations and a better society. In other words start with why.....that is, find the driver in the imaginary world. Listen to what he admires about Nike. It is all imaginary. And powerful of course.

And now Coca Cola. For over half a century they have been the past masters at selling imagined reality. It starts with an imaginary flute player to make sure you don't get confused with reality, then moves whimsically into imaginary sex, sun and fun and life in another world. And half a century later the theme remains the same.

And of course the early smoking ads just brazenly sold sex and good health in a very imaginary world.

Of course our imaginary world would be incomplete without bridging the real world of cars that kill 1,25 million people every year - that's ten loaded jumbo jets every day - with an imaginary world of....let's be kind....pure nonsense.

AND NOW THE THREE EQUATIONS IN THE REAL WORLD (SORT OF)

1. E=mc2  2. Entropy = -△energy/time  3. Superlinearity = + △energy/time

ENERGY E = MC2

All three equations relate to energy, one of the many enigmas that permeate our daily lives. Einstein gave us E = mc2 which basically tells us that everything in our known universe is a form of energy, and that includes you, everything you think, feel and do. And as we have agreed that your organisation is part of our imagined reality and it is driven by energy that manifests in intelligent thinking and intelligent action. If you are smart enough you stay in business. If not you go out of business.

ENTROPY = ENERGY LOSS OVER TIME

Entropy is the natural loss of energy over time that occurs in every system from relationships and sports teams, to teams and organisations. We know entropy exists in organisations as they are all governed by a half-life law of ten years. Richard Feynman once said that entropy is like gravity. We all know it exists but we don't really know what it is.

Whoever you are and whatever organisation you work for, due to entropy, you will lose energy every minute of every day. And if you don't find an effective way to compensate for this natural loss of energy, you will simply go out of business.

SUPERLINEARITY = ENERGY GAIN OVER TIME

I define superlinearity as the natural and universal force which drives evolution, progress, intelligence and emergent complexity. Quite simply we know this force exits as we can observe its impact, just like gravity and entropy. Strategic survival, growth and profitability is therefore a direct function of superlinear thinking and superlinear action.

Superlinearity is not just the opposite of entropy in the way light is opposite of dark, up is opposite to down. It is a parallel but independent force that drives survival and growth. It is the process of driving continuous evolution through intelligent thinking and intelligent action.

The following article will provide more detail.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/super-linear-strategy-gateway-survival-growth-john-raddall/

Therefore to be a truly effective CEO you need to show you have more than a good understanding of finance, operations and people - you need to demonstrate a high superlinear IQ.

Remember that organisational survival and growth depends on the organisation's ability to evolve continuously in a landscape which is also evolving continuously. Building superlinear intelligence cannot be taught in the classroom. It can only be developed by doing very specific things on a daily basis. Superlinear IQ itself evolves over time.

Here are some basic steps, that just as going to the gym regularly will improve your fitness, will gradually improve your superlinear IQ. Remember that evolution is a gradual process based on the high repetition of basic key steps. It is never an isolated workshop, conversation or event. Superlinear intelligence evolves through repetition.

Here are three simple steps to get you moving on your superlinear highway. Remember that capitalist democracies have offered the best overall solution to the chaos/tyranny challenge. We operate best when we have freedom from autocratic control and have the freedom to take new superlinear action. Freedom of speech and freedom to act form the DNA of superlinear IQ.

• Read every day. Always keep books on your desk and on your coffee table at home. Don't read from A to Z. Learn to pick them up, open anywhere and find something interesting. You will soon find superlinear connections between other authors and emerging concepts and these will evolve in your mind like an ever enlarging treasure chest. Talk to people about what you read. Encourage them to read more as well.
• Ask questions. Always. Build this into your DNA. You learn more this way. See Better Brainstorming by Hal Gregerson in the March-April HBR. He describes three steps. Set the Stage, Brainstorm the Questions, and Identify a Quest - and commit to it.
• Safe thinking and re-active behaviour is a form of entropy along with hierarchies, bureaucracies and poor leadership. Always go outside your comfort zone. Learn new things every day. Never stop building your superlinear 'muscle'!