Cultivating Beginner’s Mind for Managing in VUCA Time
“Being right is the enemy of staying right because it leads you to forget the way the world works.” – Jason Zweig, Bestselling WSJ financial journalist
In a 2012 movie, a Buddhist teacher explains to his pupil that “like this overflowing cup your mind is full of opinions and speculations. To see the wisdom, you must first empty your cup”.
Zen Buddhism has a concept called Shoshin the beginner’s mind. Keep your mind open to explore new ideas and experiment new things. This is only possible if we unburden our mind of preconceptions and free ourselves of past experiences like a fresher would. What is in your mind?
Senior executives carry the memory of past experiences which interferes with accepting novel ideas. As the Zen monk Shunryu Suzuki put it in his book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind (1970): ‘In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s, there are few.’ Knowing you have a competitive advantage is often the enemy of beginner’s mind, because doing well reduces the incentive to explore alternative ideas, especially when those ideas conflict with your proven strategy. Is this complacency or being complacent, knowing all type?
This is dangerous in an age of rapid disruption. Being locked into a single view is fatal in an economy where competition can come from any direction rapidly dismantling old strategies. Decline of even the most successful business is inevitable at some time. This is true of individuals as well as organisations. A successful CEO would welcome disruption and look for new growth avenues when the present business is at the peak. Look around!
In our book The VUCA Company, we discussed the case of a successful banker with a strong track record who fails at another bank which selected him as their CEO. He did not study the culture and people of the new company and tried to run it the same way as the previous organisation which had brought him success. What stops from one being an explorer and cultivating as a beginner’s mind?
Thomas Cook invented the package tourism business over a century back. It had over 500 travel shops on high streets and operated its own hotels and airline. It was a successful operation and this became the major cause of its decline and eventual bankruptcy. It failed to see the changes in consumer trends which were moving towards low-cost internet based travel companies undercutting Thomas Cook, which operated on a high cost integrated travel business model. Previous success blinded Thomas Cook to read the emerging signals with fatal consequences.
In our country too, Murphy was the market leader in radio but failed to see the emergence of television and Dalda which was the leader in vanaspati failed to notice the changing consumer preference to healthy oils.
Over time, maintaining financial success takes precedence over traits that were vital to building the initial business. Kodak, the leader in photographic business for over 50 years, paid high dividends while the revenues from photographic business continued its declining trend due to advent of digital imaging. Its rival Fuji Film saw the writing on the wall and invested heavily in new businesses which will replace its photographic revenues. While Kodak died, Fuji scaled even higher peaks of success. This was counter strategy as a learner.
After a long period of success, it is easy for the mind to become closed to new ideas. Cultivating a beginner’s mind helps us rediscover the joy of learning and chart new paths.
When Satya Nadella took over as CEO of Microsoft, he found an organisation rooted in hierarchy and bureaucracy and it has taken its toll on creativity. He says, “Anything is possible for a company when its culture is about listening, learning and harnessing individual passions and talents to the company’s mission. Creating that kind of culture is my chief job as CEO. The culture change I wanted was centred on delivering a growth mindset….” He spent much of his first year listening to employees at every level in the organization anonymously, individually, or in focus groups. He was once asked about his personal growth philosophy. He answered that there are two types of people in the world, “know all” and “learn all”.
He instilled in his people to realize that learning is a continuous process that never stops. People learn today for the interest of using knowledge in the future. More so, no one has a monopoly of knowledge. In fact, CEOs who are far removed from the front lines may not be aware of the changing market trends. Therefore, leaders should embrace the tendency of having a thirst for learning new things each day without getting to the point of “know all” It required a humble mindset that I can learn from anyone and any situation. How about you?
Senior management should hold regular dialogues with young employees. They see familiar things with new eyes and a mindset unburdened with long experience. In particular, look for mavericks. In our article Mavericks: Innovators for The VUCA World, we have argued that mavericks are non-conformists, with little respect for authority and independent in their thoughts and action. They are like a rebel within the placid existence of an organisation, always ready to topple the status quo. In the uncertain, fast-changing VUCA times, these may be the most valuable employees who can be relied upon to think out of the box and provide innovative solutions. Adam Grant writes in his book ‘The Originals’ on conformity and originality. While conformity follows a conventional path originality takes on the less travelled one. How many challenge the status quo? A succession of conformist leaders who suppressed innovation to maintain market share and profitability led to the bankruptcy of Kodak.
Regularly discuss business models with employees who are working at the front-end of the business such as showroom employees, medical representatives etc, they are in touch with customers on a regular basis and would be the first to spot emerging trends, especially threats. Widen your engagement with vendors and outsiders who are not connected with the business and encourage them to challenge your beliefs and mental models. This is the way forward in the VUCA world. Start respecting the child in you and start cultivating a beginner’s mind for managing in VUCA times!
