"Physics is like sex: sure, it may give some practical results, but that's not why we do it."

"Nobody ever figures out what life is all about, and it doesn't matter.  Explore the world.  Nearly everything is really interesting if you go into it deeply enough."

Richard Feynman, Scientist and Nobel Prizewinner

Discovering your 'energy envelope.' 

For too long we have been trapped in the primitive world of leadership witchcraft.

There is no shortage of authors selling leadership humbuggery, preying on our lesser natures.  It has become a daily avalanche of sheer stupidity.

There is just one serious problem.  None of it is working.

Perhaps it is time to come out of hiding and apply some science?

Consider the following.

Every organisation is a complex and dynamic system that competes to survive on a continuously evolving, chaotic four dimensional landscape.

Our theory may be linear, but the real world is non-linear.  Unknowable.  Full of surprises.  Every day.

To survive and compete in a complex world therefore needs leadership capability that is non-linear, complex and fast.

These are very real and practical skills that require a solid scientific foundation and practice.

THE ROLE OF ENERGY AND EVOLUTION

Think of your organisation as a system - a living, breathing, thinking sphere that can expand or contract much like a hot air balloon, interacting with other similar spheres.

To survive you need two things.

Energy.  To do the work.  This means a combination of thinking skills and action skills.

Evolutionary software.  Organisations can be in one of two states.  Sublinear - they are dying.  Or superlinear - they are growing.  Every person, team and organisation evolves every second of every day.  Smart leaders fully understand and apply evolutionary principles to generate superlinear growth.  Examples include Bezos, Musk and Jobs.  True geniuses in understanding system energy and evolution.

YOUR ENERGY ENVELOPE - THE NEXT STEP

Years of practical research has shown us the following.

Every organisation - without exception -  evolves a unique cultural DNA and a stable or equilibrium energy level.  And this system energy level always predicts performance.

It is this very system stability which leads to the 'energy envelope', the boundary which dictates performance.

Everything inside the 'energy envelope' represents the land of the possible.  Strategies inside this boundary are always possible.

However, most strategies such as high growth, increasing margins,  and generating new products require system energy outside of the 'energy envelope'.  This is the land of the impossible.  The land of eternal darkness.

The only solution is to expand the 'energy envelope'.

And the only way to do this is through increasing leadership energy.

All of our work with thousands of leaders has shown us the following incontrovertible fact.

All organisational performance is a direct function of leadership energy.

Low leadership energy generates low performance.

High leadership energy generates high performance.

It really is that simple.  Forget the witchcraft.

HOW TO INCREASE LEADERSHIP ENERGY AND EXPAND YOUR 'ENERGY ENVELOPE'

If you are with the logic so far, the next steps are practical and obvious.

MEASURE YOUR LEADERSHIP ENERGY - CRITICAL

This means assessing the energy of individual leaders and all leadership teams on a regular and scientific basis.  (We use the powerful GCIndex to measure potential energy and our own customised 360 to measure the kinetic energy or energy in action.)

Whichever tools you choose to use, just make sure you measure leadership energy properly.  It is the first and most intelligent thing to do.  (Without it you will always be groping in the dark and your energy envelope will move not one millimetre.)

MEASURE YOUR ORGANISATIONAL ENERGY - CRITICAL

Measure your organisational energy on a regular basis.  This will define both your unique cultural DNA and your 'energy envelope.'

Again without this critical data, you really will be groping in the dark.

If you are going to think like a system scientist, you must start with good data. (Good feel witchcraft being the only other alternative.)

GENERATE A NEW 'ENERGY ENVELOPE' - CRITICAL

Our experience has confirmed the work of William James who said that 99.99% of our thinking and action is based on habits, conscious or otherwise.

In addition he stated that genius is the ability to be consciously non-habitual.

Thus anyone can be a genius.  Just be aware every day of the habits that may be driving your behaviour and how you can change them.

Therefore:  All leadership energy is the product of deeply ingrained habits of thinking and action.  Change the habits, change the behaviour and change the energy.

It is that simple.

As a bonus.  Changing the behaviour directly changes neuronal networks.  Thus connecting your behaviour directly to your evolving biology.  This is truly powerful stuff for those interested in a new approach to leadership.

There is a real science behind changing behaviour that generates higher levels of leadership and system energy.  (No wishful thinking nor emotional witchcraft required.)

We use our own Black Box Method which focuses on the design and execution of specific new simple actions and behaviours that have built in evolutionary and emergent qualities.

Whichever method you use in your organisation, at least make sure that you have professionals in your system that are trained in the latest scientific methods of changing behaviour.

And beware of witchcraft!