In This Issue: October 2006

• In the main article, I'm looking at getting to the essence - and I examine three areas where you might focus on what's essential.
• "Don't Take My Word For It" captures others' thoughts on the essence of science, pleasure, scholarship, cinema, optimism, and being human.
• Got It Going On: see the cool and funky places where I'm speaking in the coming months - and please plan on dropping in if you happen to be near.
• Market Place Products of the Month:
  • For leaders and teams in organizations, the Do The Work That Matters workshop.
  • For individuals, The Eight Irresistible Principles Fun Pack.

The Angels' Share

I've always been proud of my Scottish heritage. My grandmother - Maida - was a Scot and my middle name is my clan name, Burnett (motto: Virescit Vulnere Virtus or "Courage Grows Strong at the Wound").

All of which is the excuse I need for liking good single malt whisky. I'm sure in part it's because I'm buying into the myth that drinking whisky makes me appear rugged, mature beyond my years, complex and slightly mysterious... but part of it is that I've actually been to some of the distilleries in Scotland.

It was while visiting Oban that I learned about The Angels' Share, the 2% or so that evaporates every year from the barrel as the whisky mellows and matures.

I love the poetry cloaking the art of distillation. In this edition of Outside the Lines, I'm exploring how to get down to what's essential, distilling what's most important... and seeing what your boiling point might be.

Know anyone else who's looking for what's important (or at least who enjoys a glass of whisky)? Please forward Outside the Lines (in its entirety please) to anyone you think might be interested. This community grows with your help.

I'd be delighted if you should wish to reprint (for free) any part of Outside the Lines in your newsletters, websites, and message boards. Contact me at michael@boxofcrayons.biz for further details.

Michael Bungay Stanier
Principal, Box of Crayons

Don't Take My Word For It

"What is real is not the external form, but the essence of things... it is impossible for anyone to express anything essentially real by imitating its exterior surface."
Constantin Brancusi, Romanian sculptor

"The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy."
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, German theologian

"That is the essence of science: ask an impertinent question, and you are on the way to a pertinent answer."
Jacob Bronowski, English scientist

"Originality is the essence of true scholarship. Creativity is the soul of the true scholar."
Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria's first president

"The essence of pleasure is spontaneity."
Germaine Greer, Australian thinker

"The essence of cinema is editing. It's the combination of what can be extraordinary images of people during emotional moments, or images in a general sense, put together in a kind of alchemy."
Francis Ford Coppola, American film-maker

"The essence of being human is that one does not seek perfection."
George Orwell, British author

"The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth."
Albert Camus, French author

Getting to the Essence

Doing science in high-school seemed to involve a lot of Bunsen Burner explosions and the smell of singed hair.

But I also remember the art of fractional distillation - the way different elements of a liquid mixture boil and evaporate at different temperatures, which allow you to condense and separate the pure liquid from the compound mixture.

It's a powerful metaphor for one of my favourite coaching questions: what will you say yes to, what will you say no to?

I'm also taken with the sense of the "boiling point" - what's the tipping point when you start making choices about what's in or out, the moment when you decide what to stop tolerating and what to embrace.

Here are three "essences" that you might consider distilling in your life.

1. Essential people

The mix: You are surrounded by people - friends, family, work colleagues, and all the other people who have strolled into your life.

The boiling point: Who are you tolerating? Who are you being with out of habit rather than out of desire? Who bores you?

The essence: Who loves you? Who do you love? Who makes you bolder, braver, more courageous? Who laughs with you? Who makes you think?

Action: With whom do you need to reconnect? With whom is it time to say goodbye?

2. Essential work

The mix: You're busy. Everyone's busy. Your life is full of work.

The boiling point: You've got Bad Work in your life- the stuff that's a waste of your time, energy, life. You've got Good Work in your life- the work that's comfortable, fulfilling and even enjoyable... but it's part of the routine, something that fades from the memory before it even arrives there.

The essence: What's the Great Work - the stuff that challenges and provokes, the stuff that you'll boast about, the stuff that's a mix of excitement and fear, the stuff that pulls you forward?

Action: What's the edge you're willing to step towards? What's the risk you're willing to take?

3. Essential stuff

The mix: You've been accumulating all your life. Flotsam and jetsam have washed up on your shore.

The boiling point: Clutter. You're weighed down by what you've accumulated. Boxes unopened for years. Clothes untouched in your closet. The implements in the third drawer of the kitchen that you never use. (And that's just the start)

The essence: If you had to pack a suitcase - just one - right now and walk away from your life... what would you pack?

Action: Fill a bag with the stuff you don't need any more. Give it away.

SOMETHING TO PRACTICE

You now have things to consider.

But here's a question: how do you get down to the essence of things?

Here's a process that's derived from an improv exercise. It works particularly well with teams who want to articulate - in a new and more powerful way - what they want to do.

As a team, create a short sketch 1 minute long that captures the current situation (or the way you'd like things to be).

Now, having acted that out... do it again, but this time in 30 seconds. (At this stage, the team will probably do the same sketch but move more quickly and speak more quickly)

Now, having done that... do it again, but this time in 15 seconds. (At this stage, the action is being reduced down to a few key elements).

And now, in 7 seconds (now it's down to three or four key movements and just a few words).

And now in 3 seconds (two movements, two or three words or noises).

And finally, in just one second (one movement, one word or noise).

And there you have it: the essence of a situation.

WANT TO LEARN MORE? HERE ARE SOME USEFUL RESOURCES

Each month, you will find all recommended titles on Michael's Bookshelf

You can find titles I've recommended in the past in the Classics section

Are you doing Great Work? Or merely Good Work? Read my article here

The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz. Loehr and Schwartz argue that "time management" is an impossibility - and what needs to be looked at is energy management. The point to four different arenas in which to manage your energy: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual. I particularly like their insight that you can't rely on self will alone to make changes, and the power of routine to make behaviour change. Buy here

Is Your Genius at Work?, Dick Richards. The subtitle for this book is "4 key questions to ask before your next career move"... but I really like the 32 different exercises here to help you work out what your core values are. This goes way beyond a career move - it's about building your life on the foundations of who you are and what matters. Buy here

When Things Fall Apart, Pema Chodron. Chodron is the resident teacher at Gampo Abbey on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. This book contains 22 reflections on how to deal with difficult times. I particularly like the chapter "Six Kinds of Loneliness" which speaks to the value of "cool loneliness", in a similar way to how Peter Block and Peter Koestenbaum talk about the power of anxiety in Freedom and Accountability at Work. Buy here

The Simplicity Survival Handbook, Bill Jensen. Jensen has a delightfully blunt, practical and iconoclastic approach to making things easier at work. This book contains 32 ways to do less and accomplish more, from how to delete 75% of your emails to how to get better budgets for your projects. Each chapter/tactic comes with a measurement gauge of courage, difficulty and yield - so you can quickly weigh up whether you want to implement it or not. Buy here

Comments? Feedback?
michael@boxofcrayons.biz

Market Place Products of the Month

This month, two different products and services from the Box of Crayons store.

1. Do the Work That Matters

Does your team or organization feel busy?

Are you running flat out - but not necessarily focusing on the work that matters?

Box of Crayons offers a half-day workshop for leaders, managers and teams in organizations. In this highly interactive workshop you'll learn:

• Two simple and powerful models for determining the work that matters to you
• Four core strategies for staying focused on that work
• The three key "coaching moments" so that you can coach in the moment when it matters most
• The secret to having great ideas and creating new possibilities
• The way to double the likelihood of getting done what needs to be done.

British Gas, Kraft, Pfizer and Xerox in the US, UK and Canada are just some of the organizations that are now using the tools and practices from this workshop.

Curious? Drop me a line at michael@boxofcrayons.biz

2. The Fun Pack

Did you enjoy The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun movie?

We've now combined a bunch of goodies into the Fun Pack. The fun pack features The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun card set, a set of the "Stuck Busters" note cards, and your own CD of the movie.

All of that and at more than 10% of the regular price.

You can see more here.

Got It Going On

October and November are busy months in my public speaking schedule. I'm speaking in Calgary, Toronto, Michigan, St Louis and Vancouver. You can see exactly where here.

And if you're a coach, check out this PDF to get a hint of the Five Unspeakable Truths That None Dare Acknowledge... the really great workshop I'll be presenting with Molly Gordon and Jen Louden at the ICF Conference in St Louis.

My next open Get Unstuck & Get Going teleforum is on Wednesday, October 18 at 2pm EST – you can register here.

As you might be able to guess, I love to speak and run workshops or teleforums for groups! Read more about the keynote and workshop topics I offer in this PDF.

'The Scribbler'

Look for the next edition in your Inbox on Thursday, October 26 with guest writers Alison Smith and Stephanie West Allen.

Michael Bungay Stanier is the Principal of Box of Crayons, a company that works with organizations, teams and individuals to help them move from doing Good Work to doing Great Work. He is the author of Get Unstuck & Get Going ...on the stuff that matters, a coaching program and tool endorsed by leaders in the coaching and training professions, and creator of The Eight Irresistible Principles of Fun, a movie that's taken the internet by storm. He is the 2006 Canadian Coach of the Year. You can find out more at www.boxofcrayons.biz or you can contact him directly at Michael@boxofcrayons.biz or +1 (416) 532-1322.

To subscribe to Outside the Lines & The Scribbler click here. If you have any trouble accessing the form, send an email to subs@BoxofCrayons.biz.

Outside the Lines is distributed on the 2nd Thursday of every month. The Scribbler is distributed on the 4th Thursday of every month. Your contact information is never traded, never rented, never sold.

©Box of Crayons 2006. Box of Crayons is a registered trading name of Maida CC Inc.

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