Our value immersion study for the months of November and December, is:
‘IMI OLA: We are meant to be Seekers
‘IMI OLA can be heady stuff at first take, whether we choose to define it as the value of mission and vision or ‘seeking our best possible life.’
In the exercise I’ve taken with it —which I told you about on November 1st— I’ve discovered my current mood to be much lighter though, and I encourage you to be open to that possibility too.
To pen an ‘IMI OLA list,
is to create a near future you eagerly look forward to.
What do you expect to gain from your attention?
‘IMI OLA is freeing when that is the expectancy you bring to working with it.
‘IMI OLA gives you the option of not having a specific answer, and indulging in the search itself, as you look for one. The only decision you really have to make, is if you will commit to taking the time to do.
Then do it.
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs.
Ask yourself what makes you come alive.
The world needs more people who have come alive.”
— Jonathan Harris
Best practice: Keep a notebook, if only for the sake of getting out of your own head once in a while.
I’m a fan of simple thought-provoking exercises, the analog ones done with;
- Paper, preferably a blank page in your journal
- Pen or Pencil, whichever helps you enjoy writing by hand
- A Good Question or two you’ll need to answer (and often, we need to clarify those questions so we understand their prompting)
- A block of Undistracted Time we award to our own thinking, and the process of writing to learn about ourselves
- The intention to follow-up on what you discover— to do the work on it.
Assembling these bullets as an exercise is indeed ‘simple’ and it’s amazingly effective. The critical requirement: Just decide you’ll do it.
X = an activity with a consequence (so, um, practically everything) — Jessica Hagy
Our Aloha Intentions with ‘IMI OLA
The #AlohaIntentions hashtag we have adopted for our value immersion, is our shortcut packaging of the 5 actions we want to take, when studying a value to deliberately apply it: 1—Living, 2—Working, 3—Speaking, 4—Managing, and 5—Leading, each and every one with Aloha.
Here is some help with the 3rd bullet point above, “A good question or two you’ll need to answer…” with examples of how “…often, we need to clarify those questions so we understand their prompting.”
If you are participating in our Ho‘ohana Community’s value immersion for November 2016, and want to stay on track with it, complete this exercise before Thanksgiving week—you know the holiday will distract you soon, and Thanksgiving is a good distraction to enjoy in the spirit of MAHALO.
Our #AlohaIntentions with ‘IMI OLA
This could be a single weekend exercise in the penning of it. To do the work involved with the decisions you come to, can then be the actionable steps of your next-stepping all through the rest of November and December:
Living with Aloha —How do you define your necessary sustenance in living the good life of ‘IMI OLA? Are there any changes you should make to keep your ‘best possible life’ at hand right now? Identify small steps: Consider ‘IMI OLA a constant work in progress, and NOT a someday/maybe luxury.
Working with Aloha —How can you Be a Reinventor in the work you do right now? One of the objectives employed by ‘IMI OLA reinventors, is to eliminate work which drains you (tedium, drudgery, boring process) by transforming it into work which recharges you with new possibility, more positive in-process prospects, and better outcomes.
Speaking with Aloha —What are the ‘IMI OLA conversations you want to have in the next 2 months? An ‘IMI OLA conversation is one which creates a more favorable comfort zone within any given partnership —it represents progress in how you relate to someone.
Bonus Link: Review SLC Conversation 101 in this article: Conversational Catch-up ~ With Aloha.
Managing with Aloha —Think of managing as optimizing existing energies, through organizing and planning: What is the ‘Imi ola work you have been wanting to do on your MISSION?
Leading with Aloha —Think of leading as creating new energy: How can you Be a Seeker in the work you do right now? Is there study, research, or new learning involved? Is there a new partnership or new network to be explored for added inspiration? What is the ‘IMI OLA work you have been wanting to do on your VISION?
Bonus Link on RosaSay.com: Be clear on the difference between mission and vision, to be clear on how you will work on them, managing versus leading. Review The Mission Driven Company.
Don’t miss links included within in this posting:
- Our November/December 2016 Value Immersion: ‘IMI OLA: We are meant to be Seekers
- About Next-stepping: Next-Stepping and other Verbs
- Mission or Vision? Gain clarity: The Mission Driven Company
- Managing or Leading? How we define them: Speaking with Aloha: Energy, Managing, Leading
Related Reading with more Analog Goodness:
- Carry, and Use, Pen and Paper.
- Curate and Be Curated.
- Long Read on Fast Company: 10 Ways To Rescue Handwriting From The Grave. In his book The Missing Ink, Philip Hensher argues that handwriting is good for us and one of the defining behaviors that make us human. Here is his guide to help you reclaim the written word.
This one, number 7. on his list, resonated with me as true of my own learning habits, and because I consistently experience it with managers who attend my Managing with Aloha workshops: After witnessing the differences Hensher speaks of, I am now sure to give participants in-workshop time to write answers into special handouts I have designed for the purpose:
7. When something important that you need to understand and remember is being said to you, make a note of it by hand.
“To be able to write down a summary with pen and paper is, I’m convinced, a quite different and superior skill to making notes in any other way. I talk regularly to a lot of students on academic themes, and, despite institutional pressure, don’t use anything like Powerpoint to get my argument across. I write with a marker on a white- board. It forces everyone into a more active engagement.
From the other side, the students who make no record, but stare astonished into space, wishing they were still on the ski slopes, do worst in the end. The second worst are the ones who plonk a tape recorder on the desk in front of them and record everything you say with the firm and honorable intention of listening to it again later. The worst ones after that are the ones who get out their laptops, and type furiously as you speak. Those, I have to say, are often still pretty bad students, because typing as someone talks encourages transcription without much thought. That’s great if what you are hoping to do with your laptop is to transcribe a stretch of overheard dialogue, not so great if you are trying to understand what people say.
The very best students are the ones who take out a piece of paper and a pen, and write down the things that they think are interesting as you talk, making sense of it as they go. Those are the good students. Yes, you should make notes of anything important, because that’s how the mind works.”
—Philip Hensher
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