Patterns for Success
The Art of Change: Glossary
Explanation of key terms
How do you handle change? The Art of Change provides timeless answers to this eternal question. It is a modern reading of The Book of Changes/I Ching — a guide for sustainable success in turbulent times. All parts. Other reading formats.
Action
為 (wéi) means act, to do; change; make; try; practice. See also Action without Pressure and Control.
Action — Action without Pressure and Control
A Correlative Pair; see Action and Action without Pressure and Control.
Action without Pressure and Control
The doctrine of inaction is usually difficult to understand. Interpreted in the light of science, it means making use of the natural forces to achieve one’s objective with the greatest economy (Lin Yutang).
Conscious inaction so we can allow the most natural, effortless action to emerge; seek mastery through small, incremental actions (Goh).
Not doing nothing or no-intervention, but doing useful things and intervening wisely so as to allow beneficial outcomes to emerge ‘naturally’ (Nonaka & Zhu).
Doing things non-coercively and effectively in accordance with Purpose (Ames & Hall).
Promoted solely in the expectation of tangible benefits purely on the grounds of its effectiveness … it is by refraining from action that we can best bring about what we desire (Jullien).
We should not hurry to act, since most things in the world take care of themselves if left alone. And when we act, we should do so cautiously, or we might destroy more than we solve (Stenudd).
The favourite example for this is the growth of plants. One must neither pull on plants to hasten their growth (an image of direct action), nor must one fail to hoe the earth around them so as to encourage their growth (by creating favourable conditions for it). You cannot force a plant to grow by means of coercion, but neither should you neglect it. What you should do is liberate it from whatever might impede its development. You must allow it to grow. Such tactics are equally effective at the level of politics. Skilled leaders eliminate constraints and exclusions, make it possible for all that exists to develop as suits it … they act in such a way that things can happen of their own accord. Even if the doing becomes minimal, so discreet as to be hardly discernible, allowing things to happen constitutes active involvement (Jullien).
See also Action, Action — Action without Pressure and Control, Conditions — Consequences, Natural Collaboration without Pressure and Control (wu- forms).
Agility
Ability to adapt to and influence situations more skilfully than Competition, including timely breaking out of Successful but non—sustainable patterns.
Art of Change
A modern reading of the Book of Changes / I Ching.
Art of Leadership
A modern reading of Lao Tzu’s Tao Te Ching (On Purpose and Integrity).
Art of Strategy
A modern reading of Sun Tzu’s Art of War, including how it applies to business, conflicts and Strategy.
Art of War
Art of War
An ancient Chinese military treatise (“Military Methods”, 兵法) dating from the 5th century BC, the work is attributed to the ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu. It is composed of 13 chapters, each devoted to an aspect of warfare and how it applies to military strategy and tactics.
It remains one of the most influential strategy texts and has influenced both Eastern and Western military thinking, business tactics, politics, legal strategy, lifestyles and beyond. The Art of Strategy is a modern reading.
Assessment
A valuation of the current situation and conditions based on Purpose, Leadership, Landscape, Climate, Doctrine, Capabilities, training and clarity of feedback; informs choices of Gameplay in a Strategy.
計 (jì) means assessment, calculation, gameplay, plan, plot, scheme, stratagem, Strategy.
Balance
An ongoing, dynamic achievement that requires constant monitoring and adjustment (Ames & Hall).
靜 (jìng) means balance, equilibrium; stillness, tranquillity; still, calm, quiet, not moving; calmness of the heart and mind; enlightenment.
Book of Changes
Another name for the classic book of change and divination. The Art of Change is a modern reading.
Business
Succeeding together with your Stakeholders — maximising outcomes while minimising efforts.
Capability
The ability to fulfill a Stakeholder’s Need.
Change
The title of the classic Book of Changes (Yijing), which is the most fundamental book of Chinese thought, could equally well be translated as The Book of Facility, as “yì” means both “to change” and “easy”. This suggests that change always comes about in reality by following the line of least resistance (as water does), where it is easiest to move forward. (Jullien)
Alternative etymological derivations of the Chinese pictogram for “change” (易; yì) show the sun and moon, the cycle of the day; an image of the sun emerging from clouds; or, the content of a vessel being changed into another vessel.
Dragons, the most powerful creatures in Chinese mythology since the Neolithic period (c. 7,000–1,700 BC), can change their physical appearance, which makes their personalities, which remain consistent, their most important trait. Dragons are thus masters of transformation, the ultimate shape-shifters. Their ability to fly between heaven and earth and to change size and shape reflects the Chinese view of life as a dynamic process of constant transformation. The dragon’s connection to water also symbolises fluidity, adaptability, and the transformative power of nature.
According to Chinese and Japanese mythology, a carp swimming upstream decided to reach the top of a mountain; it swam further upstream and finally reached the peak, where it found the Dragon Gate waterfall. Upon ascending and jumping over the top of the falls, the carp transformed into a dragon, symbolising perseverance and successful change.
Cultures, nations, religions and people are not rocks. They are in constant transformation.
— Hans Rosling, physician, academic, public speakerThe game is not better predicting the future, but better adapting to how the present is different from your expectations.
We can drive ourselves crazy with expectation. But by preparing for every eventuality we can think of, we leave ourselves vulnerable to the eventualities we can’t imagine.
There is another way. The team can be perfectly prepared at any moment to go in whatever direction the business or the system demands. By giving up explicit preparation for change, paradoxically they become entirely prepared for any change.
They expect nothing. They can no longer be surprised.
— Kent Beck, programmer and creator of XP
There is no one-size fits all solution but rather a dynamic mindset that adapts and evolves. It invites us to embrace change, question our assumptions, and continuously seek improvement.
— Jim Highsmith, software engineer and creator of Adaptive Software DevelopmentHuman beings are amazingly adaptable. We are just enormously resilient as human beings. So, in many ways human beings already have the essential qualities that our organisations lack.
— Gary Hamel, management professor and consultantWe got to change — come together.
— James Brown, musician
易 (yì) means change; easy, simple, not difficult; effortless, smooth, flowing; facility; gentle, kind, amiable.
Chuang Tzu
Born c.369 bc, died c.286 bc. Chinese philosopher and writer. Chuang Tzu (“The Village Master”, Zhu ̄angzˇı 莊子) is traditionally credited with writing — in part or in whole — a work known by his name, the Chuang Tzu, which is one of the foundational texts of Taoism.
Climate
The forces acting on the environment — including patterns of the seasons and competitors’ actions. The rules of the game, patterns that are applied across contexts (Wardley).
天 (tiān) means climate; universe, world; nature; sky, heaven (non-religious).
Coercion
The practice of forcing to act in an involuntary manner by use of threats
or force. Synonyms include “pressure” and “control”.
Compassion
A strong feeling of sympathy and sadness for the suffering or bad luck of
others and a wish to help them.
The Chinese character 仁 (rén) is constructed from the elements 亻 (rén), “person”, and, 二 (èr), “two”, and originates historically from a Proto-Sino-Tibetan word which means “heart”, “brain” or “mind” — hence a caring relationship between two people.
Rén (仁) means compassion, compassionate, humane; humaneness, benevolence, kindness; love; kernel.
Competition
- Conditions in which an Organisation strives to gain an advantage over others by means of constraints, e.g. limitations of resources, time, money or people.
- One or several Competitors.
Competitor
An Organisation that desires the same area in the Landscape as your Organisation.
Component
A single entity in a Wardley Map; there are different component types: activity, practice, data, knowledge. A component is located in a domain (Wardley).
Conditions — Consequences
Use Setup to create suitable conditions for an advantageous Momentum to develop as a consequence. This condition-consequence approach is complementary to the classic Western ends (objectives) — ways (courses of actions) — means (resources) approach to Strategy (Echevarria) which, although valuable for initial planning, is far from optimal in volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous Environments with Stakeholders having different, potentially conflicting Purposes.
For an outcome to be realised effectively, it must arise as a consequence of a process that transforms a situation rather than it being a goal that leads to Actions. Unlike the ends–ways–means approach which involves a predetermined plan (course of Actions) that is liable to disintegrate when put into practice facing Stakeholders, the condition-consequence approach is designed to leave as little room for chance as possible. This is done by identifying favourable factors before they have developed and creating suitable conditions in advance, enabling evolution in an appropriate direction.
There are three distinct advantages of the condition-consequence approach to Strategy compared to the traditional end-means-ways approach when circumstances (Landscape, Climate, Stakeholders, Organisation, . . . ) change as they invariably will in a volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous Environment (Yuen):
- It helps avoid being locked into a predetermined course of action.
- It helps avert constant re-planning when there is too big a difference between reality and plan.
- It helps avoid being locked into bringing about one single, predetermined outcome.
Correlative Pair
A pair of opposite and complementary aspects used to understand relations, transcend, move beyond or integrate apparent paradoxes or trade-offs, or, embrace clashing, instructive perspectives, e.g. order — chaos, Strength — Weakness, Expected — Surprise, Resilient — Fragile, alignment — autonomy.
Far from being two irreducible or mutually exclusive states, a pair consists of two consecutive stages that are part of the same continuum — influenced by the ever-changing reality, e.g. efforts by Stakeholders and changes in Landscape and Climate, which tend to mutually influence each other in an endless cycle.
Finding ways to move beyond or integrate the apparent paradoxes or trade-offs requires deep analysis and synthesis and is essential to Strategy Development. The resulting pattern for understanding the dynamics of the correlative pairs serves as a necessary means for Successful Strategy Deployment and Engagement, e.g. Shaping for Expected — Surprise.
Skilled leaders employ correlative pairs for Orientation when preparing to move beyond apparent trade-offs, and, as a stepping stone towards seeing and Harmonising the System (Yuen).
If you want to understand something, take it to the extremes or examine its opposites (John Boyd in Coram).
A modern example of a correlative pair where it is possible to move beyond the apparent trade-off is alignment — autonomy in organisations, where high alignment on intent (what & why) enables high autonomy in actions and decisions (how) by individual people and teams which results in higher speed, more innovation and higher engagement (Bungay, Schön).
Doctrine
Ways of operating, communicating and organising that apply irrespective of Landscape and Climate, i.e. approaches which can be applied regardless of Context (Wardley).
Effectiveness
Maximum outcomes, through suitable actions, decisions and behaviours to fulfil a specific Purpose (“doing the right things”), while minimising effort (“doing things right”). See also Integrity.
Energy
A vital field that the universe and its phenomena are perturbations that emerge out of and fold back into (Ames & Hall).
氣 (qì) means energy, life’s energy, vital energising field, psychophysical matter. The Chinese sign combines the signs for “rice” and “steam”. Rice was and is the main food for the Chinese, but it needs to be boiled before consumption.
Engagement
A collision of Organisations where each Organisation aims to fulfil its Purpose; a conflict where two Organisations desire the same thing;
戰 (zhàn) means specific engagement, military action, battle;
争 (zhēng) means conflict, dispute, fight;
兵 (bīng) means Competition, war, weapon, soldier, force.
Harmony
An emergent sense of order that begins from the coordination of concrete details, maximises diversity and avoids sameness; the quality of the combination at any one moment created by effectively correlating and contextualising the available events or entities (Ames).
The etymology of the character is culinary, Harmony being the art of combining and blending two or more ingredients so that they enhance one another without losing their distinctive flavours … Harmony… entails both the individual Integrity of the particular ingredient and its integration into some larger whole. Harmony in nature is not only auto-generative and self-sustaining, but persists only as long as it remains free from calculated manipulation, well-intended or otherwise. When the patterns of nature are taken as counsel for political order in the empire, they teach us that the human world too will flourish if left to its own internal impulses. (Ames & Hall).
Harmony incorporates specific personal goals, in the plural, in the making. Strategy is about adjusting and coordinating such personal goals into a shared common good appropriate to particular situations. Since situations are ever-changing in unrepeated and unpredictable ways, the more diverse the community’s capacities to act, the more chances it will have to sense, seize and realise emerging opportunities (Nonaka & Zhu).
The Chinese character 和 (hé) is constructed from the elements 禾 (hé), “grain”, and, 口 (kˇou), “mouth” — food meets mouth, hence “harmony” being the art of combining and blending two or more ingredients so that they enhance one another without losing their distinctive flavours.
和 (hé) means Harmony, achieved order, peace, union, united.
Heart and Mind
In the ancient Chinese tradition, almost all human intelligence, thinking and understanding, as well as emotion, intention and determination are associated with the Heart and Mind.
See also Thinking and Feeling, Thinking and Feeling—Unmediated Thinking and Feeling, Unmediated Thinking and Feeling, Feeling, Feeling—Unmediated Feeling, Unmediated Feeling.
心 (xīn) means heart; mind, intelligence; soul, spirit.
Integrity
The wholeness or completeness of a given entity. It represents the selfhood of every being in the universe. Integrity may also have a moral dimension in the sense of adherence to a set of values (Mair).
The most valuable ways of getting the most from our personal lives as members of a thriving community in relation to a common Purpose; a characterisation of the most valuable relationship between leader and followers including mutual compassion, mutual respect, involvement and participatory agency (Ames & Hall).
The Chinese sign contains the signs for “walking”, “movement” or “behaviour”; “an eye looking straight ahead”, and “heart-and-mind”; we would call it walking the narrow road of righteousness.
德 (dé) means integrity, character; effectiveness, efficacy; charisma; ethics;
excellence, goodness; inner potency; kind, kindness; morality, power;
virtue, virtuosity.
善 (shàn) means good, virtuous, charitable, kind.
Intent
欲 (yù) means intend, intent; desire, want, long for. See also Intent — Respectful Intent and Respectful Intent.
Intent — Respectful Intent
A Correlative Pair; see Intent and Respectful Intent.
Label
Naming with fixed references is a way of making distinctions in order to function effectively that can distort the way in which we understand the world by institutionalising and enforce an overly static vision of the world, and in doing so, deprive both language and life of their creative possibilities (Ames & Hall).
See also Label — Label without Fixed Reference and Label without Fixed Reference.
The Chinese character 名 (míng) is constructed from the elements for 夕 (x ̄ı) “crescent moon” and 口 (kˇou) “mouth”, so combined “say one’s name to identify oneself in the dark”, hence “label” or “name”.
名 (míng) means label, labelling, name, naming, noun, place, famous, noted, distinguished, rank, title, position.
Label — Label without Fixed Reference
A Correlative Pair, see Label and Label without Fixed Reference.
Label without Fixed Reference
A way of labelling or naming without assigning fixed references. It is dependent upon an awareness of the indeterminate aspects of things. The ongoing Shaping of experiences requires a degree of imagination and creative projection that does not reference the world as it is, but anticipates what it might become. Labeling or naming that does not arrest or control; labeling or naming that appreciates rather than depreciates a situation (Ames & Hall).
See also Label and Label — Label without Fixed Reference.
無名 (wúmíng) means without fixed reference, nameless, obscure, unnamed, anonymous, unsigned.
Lao Tzu
Born 6th century BC, died 6th century BC. Chinese sage, philosopher and writer. Lao Tzu (“Old Master”, Lǎozǐ 老子) is traditionally credited as the author of Tao Te Ching.
Leadership
A set of actions, decisions, choices and Gameplays based on Purpose, Landscape, Climate, Doctrine and Capabilities — guided by knowledge, trust, compassion, courage and fairness (Sun Tzu).
The authority of leaders is measured by their Success in drawing the hands and hearts of people together to realise common goodness (Ames & Hall).
Leadership is the capacity of a human community to shape its future and
to sustain the significant processes of change required to do so (Senge).
“Leaderless leadership” is a different form, away from an archetype of heroic leader. It could be many, transient or even a different role — more nurturing / gardening / servant — concept. It’s one where it becomes difficult to identify who the leader is … The leader is transitory i.e. it’s constantly changing. You can’t say “this person is the leader” as it’ll vary from moment to moment according to the situation we find ourselves in. (Wardley, swardley).
Leadership is beyond what managers or people in formal leadership roles do: it is a service provided by — potentially all — people in the Organisation.
The Chinese character 聖 (shèng) consists of two characters: 耳 (ěr) which means “ear” or “to listen” and the character 口 (kǒu) which means “mouth” or “to speak” which indicates that the legitimacy and power of leaders are not God-given but achieved via talking and listening to people, sharing their visions with others and taking their views into account (Nonaka & Zhu).
The Chinese character 君 (jūn) consists of two characters: 尹 (yǐn) which means “to oversee”, “manage”, “order” or “regulate” and 口 (kǒu) which means “to talk”, “express” or “persuade”. The Chinese character 群 (qún) which means “to gather” or “be together” combines 君 (jūn) with the character for “sheep” 羊 (yáng). The implication is a person gathering people, acting together with and leading them.
聖 (shèng) means leader; sage; master and is related to sensitivity and wisdom.
君 (jūn) means leader; ruler; monarch, lord; gentleman.
君子 (jūnzǐ) means leader; exemplary person; nobleman, person of noble character.
Natural Collaboration without Pressure and Control (Wu-Forms)
Behaviours that seek to optimise relationships through collaborative actions that, in the absence of coercion, enable one to make the most of any situation (Ames & Hall); the art of making changes ‘natural’, workable, beneficial. Lao Tzu (and Chuang Tzu) encouraged engaging the world with proper intention, contextual knowledge, subtle competence and, above all, consequential experimentation appropriate to situated particulars. They are a million miles away from thoughtless, mindless, intentless “strategies” (Nonaka & Zhu).
- Action without Pressure and Control, 無為 (wúwéi)
- Label without Fixed References, 無名 (wúmíng)
- Respectful Intent, or Desire without Object, 無欲 (wúyù)
- Serve without Interfering, 無事(wúshí)
- Strive without Competing, 無爭 (wúzhēng)
- Unmediated Feeling, 無情 (wúqíng)
- Unmediated Thinking and Feeling, 無心 (wúxīn)
- Unprincipled Knowledge, 無知 (wúzhī)
See also Conditions — Consequences and Self-Organisation.
Need
Something that is wanted or required from a larger System.
Organisation
A group of people with a particular Purpose and Doctrine.
Purpose
A higher meaning or reason that keeps people united, supporting each other without fear through Success and failure (Sun Tzu).
Dào (道) is composed of two elements: “foot”, “moving” or “leading through”, and, “head” (hair and eye together) carrying the meaning “to lead” in the sense of to give direction, so combined, “to give direction to your steps”, “to give direction to life”, hence “purpose”.
道 (dào) means purpose, to give direction; guiding a river to prevent it from flooding the banks (one of the earliest usages) (Sterckx); path, road, way; commands, guide, method, principle, steps in a process; morality, reason, truth; say, speak, talk, tell, verbalise; courses in a meal.
Respectful Intent
Deferential or respectful intention. A desire shaped not by a desire to own, control or consume, but by a desire simply to celebrate and to enjoy; objectless desire. See also Intent, Intent — Respectful intent and
Natural Collaboration without Pressure and Control (Wu-Forms).
無欲 (wúyù) means respectful intention; desire without an object; unselfish; disinterested; unavaricious, free of avarice.
Self-Organisation
Organisation of oneself or itself, often in relation to Purpose. Spontaneity thus conceived entails both self-creativity and co-creativity. Spontaneous social and political order emerges under non-coercive actions by effective leaders (Ames & Hall).
See also Conditions — Consequences and Natural Collaboration without Pressure and Control (Wu-Forms)
自然 (zìrán) means self-organisation, spontaneity; nature, natural, naturally
Serve
Going about your business or serving stakeholders in fulfilling Purpose.
See also Serve — Serve without Interfering and Serve without Interfering.
事 (shí) means (do) business; to serve; affair, matter; thing; fact; accident, incident.
Serve — Serve without Interfering
A Correlative Pair; see Serve and Serve without Interfering.
Serve without Interfering
Going about your business serving Stakeholders — without interference and coercion.
無事(wúshí) means serving without interfering; safety; peace; quietness.
Shady
See Yin; see also Sunny.
Shaping
Influencing Competition in order to erode their Resilience by hiding intentions, creating false impressions, and, unsettling Competition to discover a potential advantage, encourage its impetus, push it to the extreme to get them into a weak position (or get them to get into a weak position by themselves) before exploiting the impetus when it reaches the tipping point, i.e. creating the conditions for Success before Engagement starts (Yuen).
Also, influencing customers and other stakeholders to succeed together, e.g. by positively surprising them.
Guǐ (詭) means anomaly, bluff, concealment, confusion, cunning, deception, deceit, delusion, dissimulation, distraction, feint, illusion, lie, manipulation, oddity, paradox, weirdness.
Stakeholder
A person or Organisation who can affect or is affected by the fulfilment of the Organisation’s Purpose, e.g. a customer of products and services that the Organisation provides, people in the Organisation, suppliers and partners to the Organisation, owners and other financiers of the Organisation, trade associations, standardisation bodies, trade unions, people and communities in the society where the Organisation operates, and, other Organisations including Competitors (Freeman).
Strategise
Doing Strategy using the correlative pair strategy development — strategy deployment including devising Gameplays.
Strategy
Governed by Sun Tzu’s five fundamental factors: Purpose, Landscape, Climate, Doctrine and Leadership.
The art of manipulating an environment to gain a desirable outcome (Wardley).
The essence of Strategy is to force or persuade those who are hostile or unsympathetic to act differently than their current intentions; it is about getting more out of a situation than the starting balance of power would suggest. It is the art of creating power (Freedman).
Individuals, teams or Organisations fulfilling their Purpose in situations outside their direct control, sometimes engaging with others desiring the same thing — consisting of the intricate interplay of Correlative Pair Strategy Development and Strategy Deployment (Schön).
Strategy Deployment
Making Strategy happen by everyone everywhere in the Organisation taking initiatives, decisions and actions in a Harmonised direction.
Strategy Development
Preparing Strategy by making choices for a Harmonised direction for the Organisation based on regular assessments of Stakeholders’ Needs and the Organisation’s Purpose (Schön).
Strive
爭 (zhēng) means strive for, vie for; argue, debate, dispute; fight; contend.
See also Strive — Strive without Competing and Strive without Competing.
Strive — Strive Without Competing
A Correlative Pair; see Strive and Strive without Competing.
Strive Without Competing
無爭 (wúzhēng) means striving without competing.
See also Strive and Strive — Strive without Competing.
Success
Fulfilling your Purpose together with your Stakeholders.
Sun Tzu
Born c.544 BC, died c.496 BC. Chinese general, military strategist, writer and philosopher. Sun Tzu (“Master Sun”, Sūn Zǐ, 孫子) is traditionally credited as the author of The Art of War.
Sunny
See Yang; see also Shady.
System
A regularly interacting or interdependent group of items forming a unified whole. A whole which is defined by its function in a larger system of which it’s a part. Every system is contained in a larger system. Its role or function in that system or the service it provides is what defines it. For a system to perform its function it has essential parts. A system is not the sum of its parts, it is the product of their interactions (Ackoff).
Tao
Following Henricks:
The Tao resembles an untended and uncared-for (“uncultivated”) field, and the varieties of wildflowers that grow in such a field represent everything in the world. Were you to go to such a field in the winter, you would see only brown soil or white snow. The field appears to be one in essence, undifferentiated, and “empty” of all forms of life. Nonetheless, should you return to that field in May or June, you would discover that a marvellous transformation had occurred, the field now being filled with all kinds of wildflowers. There are, as it were, “ten thousand” different varieties of flowers, with each species (dandelions, nightshade, chickory, etc.) and each individual in each of the species being somehow unique in colour and shape. And you now know that what had appeared to be devoid of life in the winter was in fact a very fecund womb, containing within itself in its oneness the seeds and roots of all different things.
Moreover, the work of the field does not end with springtime creation. For the field continues throughout the summer to care for and nourish each of its “children”, supplying them with the water and nutrients that are vital for life. And in this nurturing work, the field cares for all of the flowers without discrimination, and it takes no credit for all that it does. The brown soil is always in the background and “unseen”, our eyes being dazzled by the colours and forms of the flowers. Finally, the field accomplishes all that it does “without coercion” (wuwei); that is to say, we never see the soil actively doing anything; all that happens seems to happen on its own “by nature”.
For any individual flower … to be what it can be — for a sunflower to realise its “sunflowerness”, its genetic makeup, and … to live out its natural lifespan (which varies with wildflowers from species to species), there is only one requirement that must be met — it must keep its roots firmly planted in the soil.
As the Tao is to everything in the world the leaders are to their people. Skilled leaders work to make it possible that all people will grow to maturity in good health and will feel free to be who or what by nature they are, yet they claim no credit for all that they do.
See also Taoism, Integrity and Purpose.
Tao Te Ching
A Chinese classic text (Dào Dé Jīng 道德經) dating from the 6th century BC attributed to the Chinese sage and philosopher Lao Tzu. It is a fundamental text for both philosophical and religious Taoism. It also strongly influenced other Chinese philosophy and religion schools, including Legalism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, notably Zen Buddhism.
It supplies practical advice for making one’s way in the world wisely
without forced interference doing things naturally (Nonaka & Zhu).
Taoism
A combination of tradition, religion, philosophy and practical wisdom for living and leading Effectively in Harmony with Purpose — avoiding pressure and control; see also Natural Collaboration without Pressure and Control (Wu-Forms).
Being human is to act in the world. The Purpose of mastering Tao is to cope wisely with life problems (Nonaka & Zhu).
Tao is made in the walking of it (Chuang Tzu).
Thinking and Feeling
Using your Heart and Mind to make sense of the universe. The mind cannot be divorced from the heart. The cognitive is inseparable from the affective; there are no rational thoughts devoid of feeling, nor any raw feelings altogether lacking in cognitive content (Ames & Hall).
Thinking and Feeling — Unmediated Thinking and Feeling
A Correlative Pair; see Thinking and Feeling, Unmediated Thinking and Feeling and Heart and Mind.
Timely Balance
Timely balance means doing what fits a situation at a given time, i.e. carrying out appropriate actions and decisions depending on the circumstances. For example, choose conflict, collaboration or something in between depending on the timing and context.
Graphically, timely balance is illustrated in the below. The timely
balance position is illustrated by the Yin–Yang figure where the position
at a specific time depends on the size of the pyramid and the size of the
square at that time. At time (a), the timely balance position is exactly at the midpoint m since the pyramid and the square are exactly the same size. At time (b), the timely balance position is under the pyramid since the pyramid is much bigger than the square. At time (c), the timely balance position is under the square since the square is much bigger than the pyramid. At time (n), the timely balance position is closer to the pyramid than the midpoint m since the pyramid is slightly bigger than the square
時中 (shízhōng) means timely balance; conduct suitable for the context at a suitable time; timely appropriate conduct; just right at the right time.
Unmediated Feeling
無情 (wúqíng) means unmediated feeling; pitiless, ruthless, merciless, heartless.
See Thinking and Feeling, Thinking and Feeling — Unmediated Thinking and Feeling, Feeling — Unmediated Feeling and Natural Collaboration without Pressure and Control (Wu-Forms).
Unmediated Thinking and Feeling
無心 (wúxīn) means unmediated thinking and feeling; unintentionally; innocence.
See also Thinking and Feeling, Thinking and Feeling — Unmediated Thinking and Feeling; Feeling — Unmediated Feeling, Unmediated Feeling and Natural Collaboration without Pressure and Control (Wu-Forms)
Unprincipled Knowledge
Knowledge without the assumption that there is an unchanging reality behind appearance, i.e. knowledge without fixed principles, categories and labels. The acceptance of the world on its own terms without recourse to rules of discrimination that separate one sort of thing from another. This type of knowledge gives the ability to mirror the world at each moment in a way that is undetermined by the shape of a world that has passed away, or by anticipations of a world yet to come (Ames & Hall).
See also Knowledge, Knowledge — Unprincipled Knowledge, Sensitivity and Natural Collaboration without Pressure and Control (Wu-Forms).
無知 (wúzhī) means unprincipled knowledge; innocence; ignorance.
Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA)
An acronym coined by the US military and adopted by a wide range of organisations, including for-profit corporations and universities, to describe certain conditions and situations in the world and the challenges they pose.
Volatile: the nature and dynamics of change, and the nature and speed of change forces and change catalysts.
Uncertain: the lack of predictability and the prospects for surprise.
Complex: the multiplex of forces and dependencies and the confusion surrounding an organisation.
Ambiguous: the haziness of reality, the potential for misreads, and the
mixed meanings of conditions; cause-and-effect confusion
Water
Water is not fixed in any definite aspect, never immobilised in any particular place. It is the least thinglike of things — the most alive, the most alert.
The Chinese tradition expresses admiration for the continuous flow that so resembles the great process of the world, the source of which is inexhaustible since its course never stops proceeding, water represents effectiveness. The uninterrupted flow of variance, so well illustrated by the course of flowing water, is regarded as constituting the very course of reality (Jullien).
World
All that exists under heaven or between the ground and the sky. See also Climate.
天 (tiān) means world, universe; nature; sky, heaven (non-religious).
Yang
陽 (yáng) means positive, active; sun; open, overt; originally: sunny side (of a mountain). Characterised as fast, hard, solid, focused, hot, dry, active. Associated with fire, sky, the sun, masculinity, daytime. See also Yin and Yin — Yang.
Yin
陰 (yīn) means negative, passive; moon; covert, concealed, hidden; originally: shady side (of a mountain). Characterised as slow, soft, yielding, diffuse, cold, wet, passive. Associated with water, earth, the moon, femininity, night time. See also Yang and Yin — Yang.
Yin — Yang
A fundamental Correlative Pair consisting of two opposing forces into which Energy divides and whose fusion in physical matter brings the world into being; every phenomenon, every process, is viewed as a particular blend of these two forces. Since yin — yang was originally derived from observations of nature, they offer a way of describing the interactions of natural physical forces. Yin — yang can be considered complementary forces that interact to form a dynamic System in which the whole is greater than the assembled parts. Because of this, yin — yang can also be applied to biological Systems like the human body and social Systems like Organisations and their Engagements such as war and business. See also Yang and Yin.
The Art of Change: All Parts
Pick section(s), ponder patterns, change, learn, repeat!
Contents: A summary of all parts
Introduction: Patterns for Success
- Sections 1–8: Turbulence, Flow, Growth, Learning, Waiting, Conflict, Competition, Collaboration
- Sections 9–16: Nurturing, Mistakes, Balance, Obstruction, Fellowship, Power, Modesty, Excess
- Sections 17–24: Following, Renewal, Attitude, Observing, Resistance, Image, Division, Cycles
- Sections 25–32: Flowing, Capabilities, Nourishing, Overload, Danger, Knowledge, Resonance, Perseverance
- Sections 33–40: Retreating, Strength, Progress, Darkness, Teamwork, Opposition, Difficulty, Removal
- Sections 41–48: Decline, Surge, Determination, Alliances, Teaming, Rising, Adversity, Energising
- Sections 49–56: Change, Renewing, Shock, Stillness, Development, Underdog, Success, Unknown
- Sections 57–64: Influencing, Joy, Dispersal, Restraining, Integrity, Exceeding, Completion, Incomplete
Glossary: Explanation of key terms
Acknowledgements: Standing on the shoulders of giants
Sources: Where to learn more
Other reading formats: Hardcover, paperback and PDF
This text is provided as Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International by the author, Erik Schön.
