My Plan to Go from Good to Great

This isn’t going to be easy! According to Jim Collins, the path to upping my game to the next level is by confronting the most brutal facts of my current reality.

Crikey, achieving this will test my commitment to honesty, respect, self-discipline, and mindfulness to the limits.

This construct is part of creating inputs of disciplined thought to help me deliver superior performance, make a distinctive impact, and achieve lasting endurance.

It’s good to rediscover this excellent book through becoming a foundation member of the Business Whanganui I Chamber of Commerce book club. Good to Great by Jim Collins was one of the three authors chosen for our first discussion meeting.

Concurrently, I am reviewing my social entrepreneurship business plans and personal goals. I do feel things are going well; however, I want to move everything up to another level. Good to Great seems an excellent framework to adapt and incorporate to maximise my potential.

I like it because it seems to be based on these four excellent principles:

  1. Know yourself
  2. Keep your plan simple
  3. Be passionate
  4. Be realistic

Greatness as a construct is quite difficult for me to grasp. I’ve failed with things at key times in my life, which have been difficult experiences because the failures occurred during times I thought I was doing great. Looking back now, I have realised I was looking for greatness for myself and not for achieving my purpose. Reading Jim Collins has given me a new, different perspective on being a good-to-great social entrepreneur for digital inclusion.

“The good-to-great leaders never wanted to become larger-than-life heroes. They never aspired to be put on a pedestal or become unreachable icons. They were seemingly ordinary people quietly producing extraordinary results. …It is very important to grasp that Level 5 leadership is not just about humility and modesty. It is equally about ferocious resolve, an almost stoic determination to do whatever needs to be done to make the company great.”
https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/level-five-leadership.html 

This is a perfect way to describe what I want to do: “Build enduring greatness through a paradoxical blend of personal humility and professional will.”

OK, now I want to be great (again), but I must confront the Brutal Facts.

“This marvellous ability to combine faith and facts—unwavering faith in the end game, confronting the brutal facts that are right in front of you—this is the Stockdale Paradox. Every one of our great leaders was incredibly comfortable with picking up the rock and looking at the ugly stuff underneath and saying, ‘What are those facts?’ Because if we don’t confront the brutal facts, they will confront us. The greatest mistake in public leadership, as Winston Churchill put it, is to hold out false hopes that will soon be dashed by events.”
https://www.jimcollins.com/concepts/confront-the-brutal-facts.html

Even though Winston Churchill and I are 12th cousins (seriously, see my family tree record here), I do not expect to have to confront adversity in my life in the same way. However, it is cool to think this ethic/creed can be incorporated into our everyday lives and deeds too.

Not only do I intend to apply this framework to my mahi in digital inclusion, but I also think Good to Great is a framework that can be adapted for personal activities such as gardening and home maintenance.

Taking my work for digital inclusion from good to great is certainly something I intend to prioritise.

How interesting that Jim Collins describes his working style as a Socratic Method practitioner. Socratic inquiry is akin to critical thinking.

Lately, I have been looking at what critical thinking is and asked ChatGPT to give me the top approaches to using it for problem-solving.

Here is the brilliant answer:

Ranking of Approaches to Critical Thinking for Problem-Solving:

 

When analysing a problem, it’s essential to follow a logical and systematic approach. The ranking of approaches is not fixed and may vary depending on the specific problem, context, and goals. However, here is a general ranking of approaches in the order they should be applied:

  1. Contextualisation: Understanding the problem within its broader context.
  2. Identification of biases: Recognising and accounting for own biases.
  3. Literature review: Conducting a thorough examination of existing research and scholarship.
  4. Problem mapping: Visualising the problem to identify relationships between components, stakeholders, and potential solutions.
  5. SWOT analysis: Evaluating the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to a particular situation or solution.
  6. PESTLE analysis: Examining the political, economic, social, technological, legal, and environmental factors influencing a situation or solution.
  7. Data analysis: Systematically examining and interpreting relevant data.
  8. Theoretical frameworks: Applying relevant theories, models, and concepts to analyse the problem and develop solutions.
  9. Evaluation of evidence: Critically assessing the strength and relevance of available evidence.
  10. Logical reasoning: Using logical arguments and deductive reasoning to evaluate the coherence and validity of proposed solutions.
  11. Consideration of unintended consequences: Anticipating and evaluating potential unintended consequences of proposed solutions.
  12. Fair-mindedness: Considering alternative perspectives and being open to changing one’s view.
  13. Rigor and transparency: Maintaining a high level of intellectual honesty, rigor, and transparency throughout the analysis process.

By following this ranked approach, you’ll be better equipped to critically analyse complex problems and develop effective solutions. Remember to adapt this approach to suit the specific needs and context of your problem-solving efforts.

Wow— I reckon this is the ‘Eldorado’ of doing things the best way. Sure, not all the approaches need to be applied to all problems, especially the smaller ones, but for the important ones, they sure do.

 

So this is the way I’ll be approaching getting my strategies evolving and actioned from now. It is going to take plenty of self-discipline and mindfulness for sure.

Just as well this is a journey and not a destination. I don’t anticipate achieving greatness anytime soon, but I’m sure I’m going to have a great time trying!

This blog post is a collaborative creation by Alistair Fraser, with the innovative assistance of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and DALL-E , showcasing the synergy of human creativity and advanced AI technology.

 

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