Living Simple Rules

Learning to deal with and overcoming adversity is what makes us who we are. Every challenge and every difficulty we successfully confront serves to strengthen our will, confidence and ability to conquer future obstacles. One example of how simple rules can help comes from a colleague of mine, I.P.R. She is a coach, consultant, author and advocate.

“I have set some simple rules for myself personally as I continue to recover from cancer and complete my divorce.

• Get healthy
• Get business
• Stay connected

The last one is somewhat important for me because I have a tendency to isolate myself in difficult times.  This prompts me to put effort into staying connected with others in a larger sense, and in a more focused sense it helps me to overlook little irritants with my daughter to maintain our relationship while we both go through this life change.  AND, I still need to make a living.”

 

Karin Hurt is an experienced executive and leadership zealot, challenging leaders to question, experience, grow and succeed.  This short list of simple rules emerged from her work on collaboration and community.

• Do the best that everyone of us can
• Have each other’s backs
• Share the bad, the good and the best
• Be there
• Learn, grow and celebrate together

To find out more about Karin check out her blog, Let’s Grow Leaders.

 

Kirk Weisler is an Entrepreneur, Speaker, Motivator, and Chief Morale Officer.  His passion is to be a catalyst for positive change.  A recent post on his Thought for the Day site, T4D, about simple rules caught my eye and Kirk graciously allowed us to share these with you. Be sure to check out all of Kirk’s posts.

Three Simple Rules for Life:

• If you don’t GO after what you want, you’ll never have it.
• If you don’t ASK, the answer will always be NO.
• If you don’t step forward, you’ll always be in the same place.

Thanks, Kirk!

 

Larry partners with clients throughout the US and western Europe to accelerate measurable, sustainable change. He and his team at 3-D Change follow simple and powerful rules to guide every interaction with each other and their clients:

• Use any and all tools we possess, in any combination, needed to address our clients’ unique situations and needs. There is no “one best way” to make change happen.
• Recognize that if our clients don’t own the solution, it is unlikely to be sustainable. Focus on asking a great question rather than providing a great answer.
• Strive to build lasting relationships with clients and each other. Especially in complex systems, the work is never “done.” Our goal is to earn the right to work with our clients and their emerging needs over time.
• Recognize we can’t – and shouldn’t be “all things to all people.” We must add real value in the areas we can – and acknowledge those areas where we can’t.
• We must never lose sight of the fact that our clients invest their trust and resources with us. We owe them a positive return on their investment.

 

Cocomotion is a non-profit community of coaches committed to supporting organisational and individual learning in the third sector (charities, social enterprises). We’ve been running for about two years and over the last couple of months have been looking at how to best unfold the community (grow it), and have been exploring Human Systems Dynamics tools.

We developed a set of simple rules which emerged from how we are already working, and then tested them with new Cocomotion members, which quickly refined the rules to this current set.

1. Engage in learning for all – clients, you, community.

2. Notice what changes and share stories to inform community and third sector.

3. Let curiosity lead: take risks and aim for surprise.

4. Do what you think is right for sustainable outcomes for you, the client and Cocomotion.

5. Create a safe space for self and other.

6. Do it for the love of it and have fun.

We found simple rule development to be quite subtle – the key thing seemed to be to keep them at the right level: not so low level that they feel behavioural, nor so high level that they become vague. I am really curious to see how our ‘semi autonomous agents’ actually work with these in real life. Anyway, it’s been a great process and the discussions about the rules have made it clear where our mojo is!

 

I have extensive experience working with management and labor, particularly within the Public Education sector.  As an organizational development expert, I specialize in negotiations and HR systems.

I believe these to be generic Simple Rules for Negotiations (which are always fraught with conflict):

1. Look for interests, not positions.
2. Always plan at least three steps ahead.
3. Look for ways to say yes.
4. When in doubt, ask a question to explore. When certain, ask a question to verify.
5. Envision a solution that meets the needs of all parties.
6. Focus equally on building relationships and resolving issues.

Some of these are based on Getting to Yes; some originate from basic communication skills. Thanks!

 

 

I am a literacy teacher and work mostly with high school students and teachers. Along with colleagues we have developed a list of simple rules for “generative learning” — teaching and learning that is sensitive, responsive, adaptive, and robust! It’s a pretty long list, but even if we could just focus on 3-4 of them, we think we could make a big difference in schools.

Here they are:

• Teach and learn in every interaction.
• Pay attention to the whole, the part, and the greater whole.
• See, understand, and influence patterns.
• Build on individual, social, and cultural assets.
• Seek the true and the useful.
• Be curious, embrace uncertainty, and act with courage.
• Engage in joyful practice.