Tapping The Infinity Factor™
Within Yourself, Your Family, Country, Humanity, Nature, and Spirit
CBODN
Presented by: Barry Johnson and Cliff Kayser
April 30, 2010
This book belongs to _____________________
This material is based on work by Barry Johnson and Polarity Management Associates
Copyright © PMA 2002
Polarity Map ™
0
The Infinity Factor
• The energy system within all
interdependency in life. If there is an
interdependency, the infinity factor is at play.
• Most basic interdependence is between 2
elements = interdependent pairs = polarities.
• “And” is the connecting word between the
two elements of an interdependent pair.
• “Or” is the connecting word when the two
elements are independent.
Copyright © PMA 2002
Polarity Map ™
1
Clean out
Carbon Dioxide
Get
Oxygen
Inhale
Too much
Carbon Dioxide
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Polarity Map ™
and
Exhale
Too little
Oxygen
2
Positive results from
focusing on activity
Activity
Positives results from
focusing on rest
and
Rest
Negative results from too
Negative results from too
much focus on activity and
much focus on rest and no
no rest
activity
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Polarity Map ™
3
Competitive Advantage
Autonomous
Business Units
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Polarity Map ™
and
Can’t Compete
4
Key Points
1. Every change effort is part of an infinity loop energy system. The
Infinity Factor is at play.
2. Treating a polarity as if it were a problem to solve
a) reduces the attainability
b) slows down the process by increasing resistance
c) even if the resistance is overcome, the goal of the change is
inherently unsustainable.
3. If you want to guaranteed the failure of a change effort, tie it to one
pole of a polarity
4. To maximize the attainability, speed and sustainability of a change
effort, tie it to one or more key polarities because those polarities
will be indestructible and unstoppable.
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5
High Performing Organization
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Polarity Map ™
Leaders who manage
polarities well out
perform those that
don’t
Organizations that
manage polarities well
out perform those
that don’t
Leadership
Development
Organization
Development
and
Low Performing Orgnaization
6
“I believe that the central leadership attribute is the ability to manage polarity.”
8 Polarities in “The Fundamental State of Leadership”
From Building The Bridge As You Walk One It by Robert E. Quinn
Spontaneous; Expressive AND Self-disciplined; Responsible
Compassionate; Concerned AND Assertive; Bold
Mindful; Reflective AND Active; Energetic
Principled; Integrated AND Engaged; Involved
Realistic; Questioning AND Optimistic; Constructive
Grounded; Factual AND Visionary; Hopeful
Confident; Secure AND Adaptive; Flexible
Independent; Strong AND Humble; Open
Peter Koestenbaum
10 Polarities in “Level 5 Leadership”
From Good To Great by Jim Collins
Self AND Organization
Willfulness AND Humility
Debate AND Unity
Candor AND Diplomacy
Reality AND Faith
Deep Understanding AND Simplicity
Discipline AND Entrepreneurship
Technology Fads AND Pioneering
Evolutionary AND Revolutionary
Preserve Core AND Stimulate Change
12 Leadership Polarities
From Polarity Management Associates
Conditional Respect AND Unconditional Respect
Task AND Relationship
Candor AND Diplomacy
Responsibility AND Freedom
Confidence AND Humility
Analysis AND Encouragement
Control AND Empowerment
Grounded AND Visionary
Structure AND Flexibility
Logic AND Creativity
Individual AND Work Group
Planning AND Implementation
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8 Leadership Polarities
From Lost in Transition by Richard Elsner and Bridget Farrands
To shake things up AND To preserve
To be open to events AND To be intentional about results
To develop bonds AND To keep distance
To seek help to learn about the org. AND To give value by showing
how to succeed or avoid failure
To impose AND To facilitate
To go fast to perform AND To go slow to prepare
To clean out AND To develop
To support the team AND To serve the hierarchy and/or the wider
organization
7
11 Important Organizational Polarities
3 Organizational Polarities
From Polarity Management Associates
From The Three Tensions
by Dominic Dodd and Ken Favaro
Centralized Coordination AND Decentralized Initiatives
Profitability AND Growth
Recognize the Individual AND Recognize the Team
Today AND Tomorrow
Reduce Cost AND Improve Quality
Competing with Others AND Collaborating with Others
The Whole AND The Parts
Stability AND Change
Celebrating Our Differences AND Celebrating Our Commonalities
1 Organizational Polarity
Care for My Part of the Organization AND Care for the Whole Organization
From Built to Last by Collins and Porras
Showing Respect for Every Person AND Showing Respect Based on Performance Preserve the Core AND Stimulate Progress
Getting the Job Done (task) AND Building Relationships
Taking Care of the Organization AND Taking Care of the Customer
1 Organizational Polarity
Work AND Home
From Firms of Endearment by Sisodia, Sheth, and Wolfe.
Company Interests AND Community Interests
7 Organizational Polarities
From Managing on the Edge by Richard Tanner Pascale
(Left column = the 7 areas of “Excellence” from In Search of Excellence)
Strategy ……...Planned AND Opportunistic
Structure…..….Elitist AND Pluralistic
Systems..……..Mandatory AND Discretionary
Style…………..Managerial AND Transformational
Staff…………..Collegiality AND Individuality
Shared Values…Hard Minds AND Soft Hearts
Skills…………..Maximize AND Meta-mize
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Polarity Map ™
10 Strategic Management Polarities
From Strategy Synthesis by Bob de Wit and Ron Meyer
Logic AND Creativity
Deliberateness AND Emergentness
Revolution AND Evolution
Markets AND Resources
Responsiveness AND Synergy
Competition AND Collaboration
Compliance AND Choice
Control AND Chaos
Globalization AND Localization
Profitability AND Responsibility
8
6 Cross-Cultural Polarities
From Building Cross-Cultural Competence by Charles Hampden-Turner and Fons Trompenaars
Universalism AND Particularism
Individualism AND Communitarianism
Specificity AND Diffuseness
Achieved AND Ascribed Status
Inner Direction AND Outer Direction
Sequential AND Synchronous
5 Cross-Cultural Polarities
From Cultures Consequences by Geert Hofstede
High Power Distance AND Low Power Distance
High Uncertainty Avoidance AND Low Uncertainty Avoidance
Individualism AND Collectivism
Masculinity AND Femininity
Long Term AND Short Term
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Polarity Map ™
9
Polarity Management® Map
Action Steps
How will we gain or maintain the positive
results from focusing on this left pole?
What? Who? By When? Measures?
1. Marketing (understand imperative
to share)
2. Training (how/why to share)
3. Integrate security solutions into
sharing activities
4. Implement Intel Community
Information Security marking
(IC ISM) standards
5. Implement good governance and
oversight
6. Implement the DoD Net-Centric
Data and Services Strategy
by mission area and
community
7. Implement ABAC
Greater Purpose Statement (GPS) * - why balance this polarity?
Information Advantage
Values = positive results of focus on the
left pole
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Measurable indicators (things you can
count) that will let you know that you are
getting into the downside of this left pole.
1. Loss of Personally Identifiable
Information (PII) up
2. Successful Intrusions/Data
exfiltrations up
Innovation
Creativity
Agility
Attracting Net Generation
Workforce
Collaboration
Effective Decision Making
Knowledge Mgmt
Synchronization
Increased National Security
(Awareness)
Information
Sharing
Early Warnings***
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
**
Vulnerable
Identity Theft
Loss of competitive advantage
Information Overload
Data Loss
Loss of Public Trust
Risk to Mission Completion
Lack of data integrity (tainted)
Cost to recover (clean-up)
Fears = negative results of over-focus on the
left pole to the neglect of the right pole
Values = positive results of focus on the
right pole
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Protected
Reduce loss
More costly for attacker
Increased National Security
(Protection)
Identity Protection
Data integrity
Continuity of Operations
Integrated Security and Risk
Management
Information
Security
and
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Stifles creativity
Inflexibility
Negative workforce attraction
Creating stovepipes
Lack of Information
Lack of choice/access
Increased time to collaborate
Increased costs (inefficiencies)
Technology restrictions
Action Steps
How will we gain or maintain the positive
results from focusing on this right pole?
What? Who? By When? Measures?
1. Marketing (understanding the
value of security)
2. Training (practicing good security
hygiene)
3. Providing good security tools
4. Implement good governance and
oversight
5. Develop better metrics to measure
security vulnerabilities
6. Implement ABAC
Early Warnings
Measurable indicators (things you can
count) that will let you know that you are
getting into the downside of this right pole.
1. Information in newly fielded
systems not visible/accessible
outside of the enclave
2. Time to get required information
up
3. Access to information denied
Fears = negative results of over-focus on the
right pole to the neglect of the left pole
Irrelevance and Insecurity
Deeper Fear from lack of balance
Polarity Map™ © 1992, 2008 Polarity Management Associates, LLC / * Thanks to John Scherer, The Scherer
Leadership Center / ** Thanks to De Wit & Meyer BV / *** Thanks to Todd Johnson, Rivertown Consultants
Copyright © PMA 2002
Polarity Map ™
10
Action Steps
Fortune 100 Company - USA
Action steps to gain or maintain the positive
results from focusing on this left pole.
1. Higher capital authority level (increase
amount for BU) and processing speed –
Bob and Dave will make recommendation
– May 14, 2003
2. Take a common customer approach with
3-5 selected customers (where we have
them between BUs and/or w/company,
work together synergistically) – Sam –
May 14, 2003
3. Mary & Ed meet to share customers and
have a common sales approach
4. Joint sales training (more sophisticated) –
have initial design discussions
5. Joint development of ingredient systems
(look harder when we go to a customer
about other systems we have access to in
the company – work together with the
company to figure out how we are going to
develop ingredient systems) – SEE
COMPANY UPSIDE 4 and 5 GREEN
FLAGS
Early Warnings***
Measurable indicators (things you can count)
that will let you know that you are getting
into the downside of the left pole.
1. We don’t address the duplication of effort
(trend line on SG&A as a percentage of
gross profit)
2. Platform “the approach” revenue goals
are not met
3. Less knowledge sharing (how measure?
Call reports?)
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Higher Purpose = Why Balance This Polarity?
Synergistic value – achieve the company vision.
Greater value to company
Positive results from focusing on this
left pole:
1. Reason to believe – further along on
the life cycle – operational
2. More clear goals/focus
3. Brings in cash
4. Speed/nimble
5. Easier for employees & customers to
be connected (more traditional)
6. High level of control within the BU
7. BU initiative and creativity
8. Products/services better defined
9. Aligning ee interest/skill sets w/BU
BU
**
and
Action Steps
*
Positive results from focusing on this
Right pole:
1. Synergy/coordination
2. Strategic advantage (distinctive)
3. Greater leverage of capabilities
and broader skill set
4. Integrator
5. New revenue streams
6. Insulation of ingredient sales
7. Different customer relations
8. More emphasis on intangibles (IP)
9. Less capital intensive
10. Knowledge generation/sharing
Company
Negative results of over-focusing on
Negative results of over-focusing on
this left pole to the neglect of the
this Right pole to the neglect of the
Right pole:
Left pole:
1. Higher costs/duplication of effort
1. More overhead
2. Focus is too narrow/siloed/myopic
2. Bureaucratic and slow
3. Loss of biz opps
3. Lack of clarity (internally &
externally)
4. Less sustainability of value
4. Lack of focus on ingredient sales
5. Lessened ability to integrate techs
5. Narrower customer base
6. Less leverage of capabilities
6. Slower to market/slower dev of new
7. Less competitive advantage
ingredients
8. More intense external competition
7. Loss of cash flow
9. Less knowledge sharing
8. Loss of some specific capabilities
10.Less employee networking/career
or individuals (specialty ingred
opps
skills)
Deeper Fear from Lack of Balance?
Some of the existing BU’s will not exist
* Thanks to John Scherer, Center for Work and the Human Spirit
** Thanks to The Strategy Academy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
*** Thanks to Todd Johnson, Rivertown Consultants
Action steps to gain or maintain the positive
results from focusing on the Right pole.
1. Merging common functions and assets
(quantifying and creating synergy value) –
see budget mtg action list (end of April)
2. Specifically plan projects that grow
ingredient sales – Sal by June 1, 2003
3. Target key BU customers and take an
integrated/systems approach to unseat the
incumbent
4. BUs forwarding project ideas and/or
customers for solutions approach for the
company (Corp. Steering Team)
5. Within BUs, develop ingredients or
derivative systems that achieve company
goals (i.e. achieve consumer needs) – Bob and
Bruce initial discussion by May 14, 2003
6. Share/assign xxx contacts between BUs and
CST, identify ee within BU to lead sales
effort with specific customer – Bob to get xxx
list compiled by June 15, 2003 – Mary and
Sam to assign appropriate sales contact for
target customers by May 14, 2003
Early Warnings
Measurable indicators (things you can count)
that will let you know that you are getting
into the downside of the Right pole.
1. Meeting audit (measure of value, speed
of decision making)
2. BU revenue goals are not met
3. Shrinking BU customer base
4. Engagement survey q’s that relate to
lack of clarity
11
Managing Well and Managing Poorly
Well Managed Polarity
Competitive Advantage
Continuity
Core Values
Tap Past and
Present Wisdom
Stability
Stagnation
Loss of Energy
Missed Opportunities
New Energy and
Direction
Creativity
Tap New Wisdom
Change
Lose Continuity
Lose Core Values
Foolish Risks
Can’t Compete
Overemphasis on Stability
Overemphasis on Change
Competitive Advantage
Competitive Advantage
Continuity
Core Values
Tap Past and
Present Wisdom
Stability
Stagnation
Loss of Energy
Missed Opportunities
New Energy and
Direction
Creativity
Tap New Wisdom
Change
Lose Continuity
Lose Core Values
Foolish Risks
Can’t Compete
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Polarity Map ™
Continuity
Core Values
Tap Past and
Present Wisdom
Stability
Stagnation
Loss of Energy
Missed Opportunities
New Energy and
Direction
Creativity
Tap New Wisdom
Change
Lose Continuity
Lose Core Values
Foolish Risks
Can’t Compete
12
Managing Well and Managing Poorly
Capitalizing on Both Points of View
Competitive Advantage
Continuity
Core Values
Tap Past and
Present Wisdom
Stability
Stagnation
Loss of Energy
Missed Opportunities
New Energy and
Direction
Creativity
Tap New Wisdom
Change
Lose Continuity
Lose Core Values
Foolish Risks
Can’t Compete
Stability Centered
Point of View
Change Centered
Point of View
Continuity
Core Values
Tap Past and
Present Wisdom
Stability
New Energy and
Direction
Creativity
Tap New Wisdom
Change
Lose Continuity
Lose Core Values
Foolish Risks
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Polarity Map ™
Stability
Change
Stagnation
Loss of Energy
Missed Opportunities
13
Getting Unstuck
5
Competitive Advantage
Continuity
Core Values 1
Tap past and
present wisdom
4
New energy
and direction 3
Creativity
Tap new wisdom
Stability
Change
Stagnation
Loss of energy
Missed opportunities
Lose continuity 2
Lose core values
Foolish risk
Can’t Compete
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Polarity Map ™
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Anticipating the Learning Curve
Competitive Advantage
Continuity
Core Values
Tap past and
present wisdom
New energy
and direction
Creativity
Tap new wisdom
Stability
Change
and
Stagnation
Loss of energy
Missed opportunities
Lose continuity
Lose core values
Foolish risk
Can’t Compete
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Polarity Map ™
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Future Search
Appreciative Inquiry
Past/Present
Problem Solving
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Polarity Map ™
and
Present/Future
Shadow Work
16
CBODN seeks experienced professionals with proven speaking ability to present at its 2010 Annual
Conference in Washington DC. The 2010 Conference Theme is “Leading Transformation in Complex
Times.” We seek presentations that build upon the Conference theme and focus on topic areas such as:
1.Changing technology: Ever-changing technology; influence on OD scholarship and practice; social
networking; the benefits and challenges of a virtual workforce
2.Environmental stewardship: How can organizations incorporate and honor environmental
sustainability goals and achieve business results
3.Leveraging differences in a changing world: Beyond diverse populations, how do OD practitioners
help organizations implement and sustain inclusionary practices and strategies
4.Ambiguity is the norm!: Embracing and working with increasing ambiguity and polarities in
organizations and in our OD practices
5.Global OD: Introduce new and reinforce traditional skills and competencies OD practitioners need
to help transform global, transnational, multinational, and international organizations during complex
times
6.Transformational leadership: Discuss leadership styles and competencies needed to help client
systems navigate and evolve in complex times
7.Shifts in problem-solving: Introducing and exploring organic, linear, and traditional systemic
problem-solving capacities and processes to navigate complex, dynamic environments
8.Case studies examining organizational transformation processes and the mechanisms that measure
results
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Generic Part & Whole Polarity
Action Steps
How will we gain or maintain the positive
results from focusing on this left pole?
What? Who? By When? Measures?
1.
Higher Purpose = Why Balance This Polarity?
Positive results from focusing on this
left pole:
**
Freedom
Uniqueness
Early
Warnings***
Measurable indicators (things you can count)
that will let you know that you are getting into
the downside of this left pole.
Part
*
Positive results from focusing on this
right pole:
Action Steps
How will we gain or maintain the positive
results from focusing on this right pole?
What? Who? By When? Measures?
1.
Equality
Connectedness
Whole
and
Early Warnings
Negative results of over-focusing on
this left pole to the neglect of the
right pole:
Negative results of over-focusing on
this right pole to the neglect of the
left pole:
Inequality
Isolation
Loss of
Freedom
And
Uniqueness
1.
Measurable indicators (things you can count)
that will let you know that you are getting
into the downside of this right pole.
1.
Deeper Fear from Lack of Balance?
Copyright © PMA 2002
Polarity Map ™
* Thanks to John Scherer, Center for Work and the Human Spirit
** Thanks to The Strategy Academy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
*** Thanks to Todd Johnson, Rivertown Consultants
18
Spirit
System
Level Six
System
Level Five
System
Level Four
Individual
Family
Individual
Part
And
Humanity
Individual
Individual
Country
Individual
Org.
And
Family
Whole
Individual
Nature
And
And
Spirit
Nature
Humanity
Country
Org.
And
And
System
Level Three
System
Level Two
System
Level One
Polarity Management™ Bibliography
References on Polarities as important - In terms of the literature, several books have been written that indicate that those leaders
and organizations that manage (polarities/dilemmas/paradox) well outperform those that don't.
Below is a short, annotated list of 19 key books.
Collins, James C. and Jerry I. Porras. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. New York: HarperCollins, 1994.
Authors identify the "Genius of the 'AND'" as a central variable that distinguished the
"Gold" companies from the "Silver"
companies. The whole book is based on managing the polarity of “Preserve the Core & Stimulate Progress.” This could also be
seen as the generic Stability & Change polarity.
Collins, Jim. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap…and Others Don’t. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.
The “Genius of the ‘And’” continues as an important variable in this book and is identified as a key characteristic of leaders moving
companies from Good to Great. There are 10 identifiable polarities seen as central to becoming a level 5 leader.
Dodd, Dominic and Ken Favaro. The Three Tensions: Winning the Struggle to Perform Without Compromise. John Wiley and
Sons, 2007.
Authors interview executives from 200 companies and identify 3important tensions (polarities) central to their organization’s
effectiveness: Profitability & Growth; Today & Tomorrow; and, The Whole & Its Parts.
de Wit, Bob and Ron Meyer. Strategy Synthesis: Resolving Strategy Paradoxes to Create Competitive Advantage. London:
Thomson, 1999.
de Wit and Meyer identify 10 paradoxes (polarities) which are at the heart of strategic
management.
Elsner, Richard and Bridget Farrands. Lost in Transition: How Business Leaders Can Successfully Take Charge In New Roles,
London: Marshall Cavendish Limited, 2006.
Authors identify 8 tensions (polarities) which, when managed well, contribute significantly to being successful in new jobs.
Fletcher, Jerry and Kelle Olwyler. Paradoxical Thinking: How to Profit From Your Contradictions. San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler,
1997.
“After more than fifteen years of studying thousands of detailed examples of people
performing at their best, Fletcher and
Olwyler have found that individuals are always
paradoxical when performing optimally and that each person has a particular
combination of contradictory and paradoxical (polarity) qualities that work together to produce that person’s best work.”
Hammett, Peter, Unbalanced Influence: Recognizing and Resolving the Impact of Myth and Paradox in Executive Performance.
Davies-Black Publishing, 2007.
Ten year of executive research indicates the importance of paradox in executive performance.
Hampden-Turner, Charles. Charting the Corporate Mind: Graphic Solutions to Business Conflicts. New York: The Free Press,
1990.
Charles Hampden-Turner has written several books on the advantage of managing dilemmas in which his research shows that those
companies that manage key dilemmas well outperform those that don't.
Hampden-Turner, Charles and Alfons Trompenaars. The Seven Cultures of Capitalism: Value Systems for Creating Wealth in the
United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Sweden, and The Netherlands. New York: Doubleday, 1993.
---.Building Cross-Cultural Competence: How to Create Wealth from Conflicting Values. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons, 2000.
Hampden-Turner
and Trompenaars identify 6 dilemmas (polarities) which must be managed to support cross-cultural competence.
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© PMA 2002
Polarity Map ™
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Polarity Management™ Bibliography
Bibliography (continued)
Handy, Charles. The Age of Paradox. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1994.
Handy builds on his earlier work, The Age of Unreason, to assert the balancing of paradoxes (polarities) at the heart not just of
effective personal and organizational life, but of our survival as a world community.
Hickman, Craig R. Mind of a Manager Soul of a Leader. New York: John Wylie & Sons, 1990.
Support for the benefits of paradoxical thinking also show up in Hickman's book the title of which is a fundamental polarity in
leadership.
Hofstede, Geert. Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations.
London: Sage Publications, Ltd., 2001.
Hofstede identifies 5 dimensions (polarities) of national culture to help us tap national differences as a resource.
Johnson, Barry, Polarity Management: Identifying and Managing Unsolvable Problems. Amherst: HRD Press, 1992, 1994.
Johnson shares a number of case examples in which the shift from seeing an issue as a problem to solve to managing it as a
polarity added real value for individual leaders and for organizations.
Johnston, Charles M. Necessary Wisdom: Meeting the Challenge of a New Cultural Maturity. Seattle: ICD Press, 1991.
Johnston identifies 5 key polarity domains within culture and asserts the importance of understanding and bridging polarities.
Managing polarities are at the heart of wisdom and cultural maturity and how we “must learn to think and act if our future is to be a
healthy one.”
Pascale, Richard Tanner. Managing on the Edge: How the Smartest Companies Use Conflict to Stay Ahead. New York: Simon &
Schuster, 1991.
Pascale identifies "managing contention better" as the key variable that separated the 14 companies that kept their "excellent" rating
from the 29 that did not when looking at the 43 companies identified in the book In Search of Excellence. What he means by
"managing contention" is managing polarities/dilemmas/paradoxes and he identifies 7 giving examples of each.
Quinn, Robert E. Beyond Rational Management: Mastering the Paradoxes and Competing Demands of High Performance. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1988.
Quinn asserts that mastering paradox (polarity) is the central to high performance.
Quinn, Robert E. Building The Bridge As You Walk On It: A Guide for Leading Change. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2004.
Quinn identifies 8 polarities as “The fundamental state of leadership.”
Sisodia, Raj, Jag Sheth, and David B. Wolfe. Firms of Endearment: How World Class Companies Profit from Passion And
Purpose. Wharton School Publishing, 2007.
The authors discovered that the key indicator for whether a company is a great investment is the degree to which it manages the
polarity of taking care of the stockholders & the stakeholders. In other words attending to company interests & the interests of the
larger community in which the company exists.
.
Copyright © PMA 2002
Polarity Map ™
21
Competitive Advantage
VALUES
2
• Entrepreneurial Initiative
• Speed and responsiveness
• Business unit freedom and
innovation
• Business unit recognition
Autonomous
Business Units
•
•
•
•
Silos – isolation of the units
Excess competition
Inequality between the units
Redundancies
Problem
•
•
•
•
Solution
Integration of business units
Collaboration and mutual support
Equality and mutuality
Efficiencies of coordination
Integrated
Business Units
3
• Bureaucracy and red tape
• Slow and unresponsive
• Excess conformity and lack of
innovation
• Lack of unit recognition
1
Fears
Copyright © PMA 2002
Polarity Map ™
Can’t Compete
22
Polarity Management Map
®
Action Steps
How will we gain or maintain the positive
results from focusing on this left pole?
What? Who? By When? Measures?
Greater Purpose Statement (GPS) * - why balance this polarity?
Values = positive results of focus on the
left pole
**
Values = positive results of focus on the
right pole
Action Steps
How will we gain or maintain the positive
results from focusing on this right pole?
What? Who? By When? Measures?
and
Early Warnings***
Early Warnings
Measurable indicators (things you can
count) that will let you know that you are
getting into the downside of this left pole.
Measurable indicators (things you can
count) that will let you know that you are
getting into the downside of this right pole.
Fears = negative results of over-focus on the
left pole to the neglect of the right pole
Fears = negative results of over-focus on the
right pole to the neglect of the left pole
Deeper Fear from lack of balance
Polarity Map™ © 1992, 2008 Polarity Management Associates, LLC / * Thanks to John Scherer, The Scherer
Leadership Center / ** Thanks to De Wit & Meyer BV / *** Thanks to Todd Johnson, Rivertown Consultants
Copyright © PMA 2002
Polarity Map ™
23