We Do as We Are (Part 1: T-Shaped People)

A foundational element of our capacity to understand and engage the world is the way in which we relate to the world. In other words, we understand that of which we are aware–what we perceive. We engage with what we believe the world to be. How we engage with the world is who we are. A simple example is this: If I perceive the world as fundamentally other or separate from me then I will tend to be in opposition toward it. I will tend to try to control it, manipulate and use it as end to my means. That is who I am. Sound familiar?

In the this series of posts we’ll look at the different stages of perception we pass through as adults and the types of people these stages of perception tend to produce.

There has been a lot written about T-shaped people. For a good list of links visit Keith Instone’s blog. Tim Brown’s article in Fast Company talks about their strategy at IDEO:

We look for people who are so inquisitive about the world that they’re willing to try to do what you do. We call them “T-shaped people.” They have a principal skill that describes the vertical leg of the T — they’re mechanical engineers or industrial designers. But they are so empathetic that they can branch out into other skills, such as anthropology, and do them as well. They are able to explore insights from many different perspectives and recognize patterns of behavior that point to a universal human need. That’s what you’re after at this point — patterns that yield ideas.

T-shaped people can dive deep like their predecessors, the I-shaped people, but they have left the safety and comfort of their expertise behind. They engage and appreciate others and the contribution those people might bring to the project. However, people at the T-stage in their development may still tend to see their wide ranging connections as a means to a specific end. In other words, if you are in the T-shaped person’s network, you may be being used.

To really get egalitarian, we’re actually not looking at “T”, we’re talking about “H”. The difference is this: at the “T” level of capacity we are just beginning to engage others and the world in their complex glory. Others are still others. The world is still “out there.” When we make the move from “T” to “H” we take on a more inclusive perspective. The boundaries between “me”, “you” and “the world” begin to blur. The flower of inter-relation blossoms and the potential for organizations, communities and nations to really begin to transform emerges.

 

Tags: capacity, H-shaped people, I-shaped people, t-shaped people

What is your (food) stock investment strategy?

In this installment of the C+C News we look at food. This article originally published in the Wall Street Journal can also be found here. Hold onto that can of beans-it’s appreciating faster than pretty much any low risk savings options in the market. To quote:

Reality: Food prices are already rising here much faster than the returns you are likely to get from keeping your money in a bank or money-market fund. And there are very good reasons to believe prices on the shelves are about to start rising a lot faster.

Do the math. If you keep your standby cash in a money-market fund you’ll be lucky to get a 2.5% interest rate. Even the best one-year certificate of deposit you can find is only going to pay you about 4.1%.

The latest data show cereal prices rising by more than 8% a year. Both flour and rice are up more than 13%. Milk, cheese, bananas and even peanut butter: They’re all up by more than 10%. Eggs have rocketed up 30% in a year. Ground beef prices are up 4.8% and chicken by 5.4%.

What’s causing this chaotic rise? Commodity prices are on the rise because staples like corn (and the arable land used for other crops) are being diverted to fuel. However, the cost of making biofuels is still high, making them expensive. Oil prices continue to skyrocket making the shipping of just about everything exorbitant. The market responds by re-orienting itself around these price spikes (and the potentially big profits to be gleaned from the turbulence). Demand continues to rise (population increases, we all gotta eat) so prices follow suit. 

Conventional linear thinking is not going to get us out of this wicked mess.

Tags: capacity evolution, complexity, food prices