A problem or dilemma that is embedded in a rugged landscape is likely to have a large proportion of components that are under one’s partial control. By contrast, a problem, mess or dilemma that is embedded in a dancing landscape is less likely to be under one’s control. A polarity that is embedded in and has likely been the primary cause of an oscillating landscape is even more elusive when it comes to control. It is hard to determine what actually is potentially under our control. This doesn’t mean that we give up on our attempt to lead in a dancing landscape or manage an oscillating landscape. It only means that we need to be patient and persistent in engaging this landscape of mixed uncertainty and certainty.
Our primary (Essential) task is to carefully and thoughtfully engage in a slow-thinking process that I have already introduced several times in this essay. This is the process of discernment: what can we control and what can’t we control? We should be curious about how our dancing landscape operates with regard to our own participation. How does this landscape work? Are there any nodal points in this dancing network where so influence can be asserted? As I have already mentioned, we might be able to control or at least join with other people in pushing or pulling one element of this landscape.
Curiosity should reign supreme when living and working in a dancing landscape. Many intriguing questions can be posed. Which elements connect with which other elements? Are there some patterns in this rich, evolving tapestry? What really is predictable and what clearly is uncertain? We will be able to successfully address a challenging Essential issue – be it a problem, mess, dilemma or polarity– only by being curious and creative in exploring alternative roles for us to play individually and collectively in a dancing landscape. Most importantly, we can embrace a balanced perspective in our polystatic stance regarding predictability as well as internal and external loci of control.
The Fundamental Decision: Serenity or Essentials?
As I bring this first essay on the Lens of Essentials to a close, it seems appropriate to return to our opening observation. When faced with the many challenges associated with VUCA-Plus it is very tempting to seek out the rabbit hole as an entrance into a serene wonderland of distorted reality. The alternative is to find or create one or more Essential lenses. An Essential lens might help us converge on that which is important in our life and work. This lens might also enable us to magnify and attend to that which is most important.
Essential lenses can operate in many ways. They can assist us expand and diversify our vision regarding what is most important or help us extend our perspective (in time and space) regarding that which is of greatest importance and value in our life and work. In this essay, I have specifically tended to those lenses which transform the world of VUCA-Plus into one with stabilizing anchors. Furthermore, through the engagement of an Essential lens, we may find ourselves being curious regarding the issue(s) being addressed—this curiosity leading to clarity and creativity.
