Finding the Needle of the Compass

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات · 2 دقائق وقت القراءة · ~10 ·

التدوين

مدونة Ali

Know your direction and where to go is a basic concept of strategy. If you don't know where to go then you may end up anywhere. We need a compass to show us the direction. In our highly unstable and volatile world we may have a compass to show us the direction, but unfortunately a compass whose needle got lost. How then we would find the direction to follow?

One possibility is trying to find the lost the magnetized needle of the compass in a haystack. How then to find the needle? There are ways such as dropping the haystack in water. The needle being heavy, will settle at the bottom. Now, you need a powerful magnet to attract the needle out of the haystack. A second way is by burning the haystack so that the needle shall be exposed. You may think of other ideas.

Relocating the needle is not enough to show us the direction. A compass needle shall cheat the direction if exposed to friction and gravity. The gravitational forces in an organization and the frictions within them might cause the needle to show the wrong direction. These organizations might be following a misleading direction of the needle and only to find their strategies falling down. I call this phenomenon "The Butterfly Effect of a Needle". Organizations not only waste their energies in conflicts, frictions, but also make the needle heavy and unable to cancel out the gravity effect. No wonder organizations that have a culture of conflicts, blaming, mistrust and lack of communication find themselves following the wrong directions.

The migrating animals and birds amaze all of us in their sensing of the direction to follow each time they migrate. How can birds and animals find their direction following magnetism when humans fail to do so? Not only that, humans may harm the ability of some animals to navigate their direction.

Amazingly, birds prefer to use the sun to follow know their navigation direction. However; is cloudy days how would these birds find their direction? Here, the birds revert to magnetism to find their direction. These birds have a substitute strategy for finding their direction. Could this factor be a determinant one in human organizations missing their direction? Salmon does the same. Salmon may use their magnetic sense to navigate to within reach of their river, and then use olfaction to identify the river at close range. I believe so, in bright business days, the sun helps businesses find their direction. However; using the same thinking to keep them on the same direction during the "cloudy days of business" may be a dominant factor in those organizations leading astray. Businesses need different cues as the climate changes to stay on course. We need our senses to stay on the desired direction and thinking alone might be insufficient. It is interesting here to note the recent findings on birds. Some birds, like pigeons, have a small zone in their brain made of magnetite (magnetic mineral), just like a small compass. But other scientists think it's rather in their eyes that some birds have a system which indicates them where the magnetic north is. We need to have magnets in our eyes to enhance out insights of direction.

Birds detect something happening in the eye at a subatomic level. Light striking the retina seems to stimulate chemical reactions that produce pairs of molecules with electrons that are “entangled,” meaning they share certain quantum properties. One of those properties, called “spin,” is affected by a magnetic field. That effect could tell the bird which way is north. Moreover, some birds are able to sense the magnetic field because of a magnetic receptor in their beaks. The beak is similar to a compass. These findings are again consistent with the idea that we need magnetized senses to stay on our direction.

We know that your vision lays out a destination; your destination guides your strategy; and strategy chooses action. We need magnetized eyes and noses and all our senses to identify our direction and stay faithful to it.

#Salmon #Butterfly Effect #Needle #Compass #retina

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #45

#55
I agree with you fully and I enjoyed this comment immensely dear Glenn Melcher. I am deeply grateful to you

Glenn Melcher

منذ 7 سنوات #44

I do believe intuition and the condition of our hearts are not separate.. Discernment and the many Blessings that are accompanied with this Gift are also weaved with our Hearts that are blessed with a good condition. Thank You for all You do. Glenn

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #43

#51
You are truly a wonderful strategist Devesh Bhatt as evidenced by your reference to double accounting and by giving a real example to explain what you mean "..One is marketing dept and one is planning dept...Don't isolate...Structure and simplify functioning 8 hrs in office is an extremely long time". Great thinking...

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #42

#50
I truly love your comment Devesh Bhatt would say!

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #41

#49
I thank you dear Jeet Sarkar for your mind-challenging questions. As I said before in a response to a comment here, sometimes having many choices may be confusing to the mind. The birds utilize fixed facts to take fixed directions such as the position of the sun and the magnetism of the earth and this way they may use simple rules in this complex world. We need sometimes to have fixed rules to follow to limit down our options and find a simple direction to follow. We may also recall that the magnetized beaks, for example, are not permanent magnets; in fact hey are only magnetized under certain conditions so that the molecules within may be magnetized under certain conditions. How about a similar thinking? We are not magnetized, but creative enough to learn from nature.

Devesh 🐝 Bhatt

منذ 7 سنوات #40

Followed by sounds and then smell. I say smell as the third because if you observe the 24 HR cycle, rarely do both nostrils operate simultaneously in a lifestyle where we are usually seated in AC environment. But eyes and ears usually operate together. If we equate with the human body, why do we assume sight as one input, why not assume two parralelly functioning eyes...I compare it with operational and accounting double entry...In strategy we look at accounts but often are lazy to view operational entries simultaneously... The linkages behind the numbers. Similarly two ears not exclusive in inputs but outputs...Factual and hearsay...Outputs being same..Outlook 2 nostrils, for risk and opportunity simultaneously...One is marketing dept and one is planning dept...Don't isolate...Structure and simplify functioning 8 hrs in office is an extremely long time..These things can be done in under 20 mins with practice. And yes, practice to sharpen the senses.

Devesh 🐝 Bhatt

منذ 7 سنوات #39

Talking about paradoxes Evaluating inputs of our senses is done by the brain. This evaluation is not within the realm of our conscious rationality, but serves as an input. Our body evolves as per experience, senses improve with higher variations in the environment, and rationality improves with sensory inputs and practicing rationality. So the best method of sharpening senses is through varied experience, which can be natural or experimental as prescribed by rationality. The very discussion of senses tilts our evaluation towards the rational side and we are conditioned to assume rationality and sensory inputs as exclusive and a matter of choice and not complimentary. Hence the first step as reflected in your posts ..Is rational acceptance of our senses, The second step hence must be experience of the senses, effective modules for sharpening our senses...The easiest being sight

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #38

#46
This is the irony Alan Culler- we are still not sure of how birds do it. How birds sense their direction? As I mentioned in the buzz- nearly all the methods you summarized in your thoughtful talk. I myself believe like molecules send messages in our bodies, there are also molecules in birds that make them aware of direction. How? I am still trying to understand. The journey is a long one my friend.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #37

#45
Thank you dear Alan Culler. As much as I appreciate your comment; equally I am thrilled by the questions you ask. You got me engaged in my own buzz. What a challenge for me!

Alan Culler

منذ 7 سنوات #36

In the US a few months ago we were treated to the annual migration of the Canada Geese - a great 'V' of birds in the sky flying South. It is tempting to thing that they all follow a leader at the point of the 'V'. On further observation, one sees that the point position is rotational -the leader drops back to the position on one of the wings of the 'V." The ornithological hypothesis is that the point position encounters greater wind resistance and is therefore very tiring -therefore the rotation. But how do the geese all know the direction? Is it visual based upon landmarks? Is it sound based -communicated by that incessant honkink as they fly overhead -or when the gaggle mills about chaotically on the ground? Or does the magnetism of the poles and lines of longitude and latitude speak to them all? Or is it memory -individual and species memory that directs them? Or all of these things? And how would we as humans learn from this -seeing -feeling- connecting- talking -joining and moving together. Thank you, Ali -I always enjoy the mental adventures you lead. Alan

Alan Culler

منذ 7 سنوات #35

As usual, Ali Anani a beautiful post tapestry with so many threads: Personal purpose, inner direction and vision direction Strategy -understanding direction and over-coming the "conflicts and frictions" that will get in the way of execution. The how of purpose or vision detection -Magnetic perceptions -. or sense driven -sight and sound -more concrete -but just as hard to understand. And the collective behavior of the flock -all moving in the same direction. I'm thinking a lot about that -Thank you. Alan

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #34

#43
Thank you my friend Glenn Melcher. Love the way you put it "the condition of our heart....". I wonder if you believe that the condition of our hearts is related to our intuition!

Glenn Melcher

منذ 7 سنوات #33

Wonderful insight again Ali Anani if I could add this thought that our condition of our Heart ❤️ is what matters most in finding this elusive needle..

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #32

Great reminder Mohammed Sultan

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #31

#39
Dear Mohammed Sultan- thanks again for engaging my mind. When scouts of bees find a good resource they waggle dance to let other bees find out the new location and the direction how to get there. The bees need to know not only where to go, but also the direction how to get there. As for birds that migrate to the same place annually they know the destination well ahead of time. They could travel more than 1000 km to get there. They need now more the direction how to get there because they know the destination. So, I agree with you and your son if birds were to migrate to different places they need first to find the destination. This what bees do as they scout different flours . They send scout bees to find a new source. The destination in this case comes first.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #30

#34
I thank you heartedly dear CityVP \ud83d\udc1d Manjit for writing a lovely comment. Till now scientists are not sure how birds do it. We know birds and animals do it, but how is still a challenging question in most cases. You bring two hugely relevant points. Yes, Serendipity has played a major role in our lives and has led to great discoveries. So many chemical and other discoveries weren't planned for; through serendipity they emerged. X-ray is one example. As for the rational thinking of man- yes, and this is an asset the man forgets to use and I feel sometimes it is better than have it and neglect it is worse than not having it at all. As I mentioned in my response to Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman how much rational thinking goes in the stock markets when greed becomes a dominant force and all lessons and data are burnt by greed. Inner compass and inner motivation- and now inner compass and outer compass- a great point to expand on my friend.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #29

#33
- I am very glad you referred to the instinct as Donald Grandy did as well. Your lovely comment and definition of intuition supports the idea this issue merits a buzz on its own. I thank you Kevin Baker for visiting and commenting.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #28

#32
Devesh Bhatt- I remember engaging in a hot discussions on the JBR on LI on whether intuition is dependable or not. This was two to three years ago. THis is a great suggestion and I am considering it seriously.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #27

#31
Thank you Franci\ud83d\udc1dEugenia Hoffman both mentioned same in their comments, but with a different approach. Your comments make us all think, Franci.

CityVP Manjit

منذ 7 سنوات #26

There is an assumption of rationality here that often does not fit the actual direction thought goes, so the first question that I ask is if animals are as irrational as humans. I don't know the answer to that but I suspect that they are in their own peculiar ways. At least the most observable animal we all know is still the most irrational of all animals, which is man. When a bird see's a tree and flies to it, seems entirely rational that the bird see's a tree, but the reality is that it saw a reflection of a tree on an office window, and if it survives crashing into the window, it is not going to be more rational about mirrored reflections - and here the rationality of human beings can save birds because they would still see a tree and not a reflection of a tree - but very few human beings pursue safer strategies for birds, let alone recognize this being a problem for birds https://www.allaboutbirds.org/why-birds-hit-windows-and-how-you-can-help-prevent-it/ On the outside the irrational in human beings can lead to what is called serendipity - and everyday organizations make strategic decisions which are interpreted by their employees and serendipity is an outcome that is positive though it may not have been a rational choice. So our outer compass contains serendipity where we end up making brilliant and happy mistakes and a new direction emerges. We can also use our inner compass and that is intuition, and no matter how much we glorify intuition, we rely more on partial or no information to make decisions than we do a definitive evidence base or rational scientific decision. Ultimately the news we watch contains more acts of irrationality than it does acts of rationality and those that see the word NEWS as a Compass are very few in number i.e. for it spells North-East-West-South. Most of us don't question this, but I do.

Devesh 🐝 Bhatt

منذ 7 سنوات #25

Maybe you could write about organisational instincts, Maybe you already have :)

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #24

#28
True Pascal Derrien for if the moral compass is alright then it shall not lose its needle. Spot on remark and I am truly thankful to you.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #23

#27
I like your human spirit Bill Stankiewicz, \ud83d\udc1d Brand Ambassador. You bring a new issue to the discussion and how to deal in a humanly way with people who lost their compass. I feel this points deserves a dedicated buzz from you. People need other when they run into difficulties much more than when they are having an easy sailing.

Pascal Derrien

منذ 7 سنوات #22

the animal in me thinks that if your moral compass is alright you can forget about the needle :-)

Bill Stankiewicz

منذ 7 سنوات #21

Very well written @Ali Anani, there are times when folks may loose a sense of direction but then find the right path with guidance from family, friends, religion, or books. Its important to always be patience & thoughtful when dealing with folks that may have lost their compass. Be kind & helpful is the key. Best regards, Bill Stankieiwcz

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #20

Thank you my friend Milos Djukic for sharing the buzz. Fractals are forever with your astute guidance.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #19

#24
Thank you for writing such an insightful comment dear Donald Grandy. I agree with both of you and our instinct is an internal compass and I hope that we don't ever lose its "needle". I love the way you expressed your second point "Lessons learned by previous experiences are important in shaping our future direction". Very true and if the future is not an extension of the past; still the lessons learned from it should make us wiser in shaping our future.

David B. Grinberg

منذ 7 سنوات #18

Thanks for another thought-provoking and insightful read, Ali! I a few things comes to mind: 1) Go with your gut instinct/feeling. Just as birds follow their inner compass to reach their destinations, so must we follow our gut feelings and inner voice which point us along the right path...even if that means taking a "leap of faith" (no risk, no reward). 2) I'm reminded of that saying: to know where you're going, you first must understand where you have been. Lessons learned by previous experiences are important in shaping our future direction. Thanks again, Ali, for another beautifully written and uniquely insightful buzz!

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #17

#22
Absolutely Donald Grandy- what a grand comment from Grandy! I experienced this in my own life and was guided by my inner voice or intuition when I had no clue to which direction to go. I think people who are honest with themselves, ingenuity to improve and who make every effort to move up find this inner voice acting as a genuine compass for them. Yes, I agree that the inner voice is our magnetized sens. What a lovely comment, Donald! A big thank you to you

Donald 🐝 Grandy PN

منذ 7 سنوات #16

Wonderful post Ali Anani I have used a slightly different method of determining my "Sense of Direction" . Maybe it's the same only using different words. It's my intuition or "inner voice" that tells me my intimate and important details that nobody else will—It will also tell me things that my own mind will argue with. We are conditioned to being rational but what about our “inner voice,” our gut feeling—that “little something” instinctual from within, that tells us how we feel beneath those layers of logic? Would that inner voice qualify as a magnetized sense that helps us to stay on our direction?

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #15

#20
Dear Sara Jacobovici- nothing shall ever surprise me any more to find that our thoughts cross-fertilize. Only minutes ago I checked your profile for fear that I missed one or more of your buzzes. Now, that you are drafting a buzz on "Our Sense of Direction" is in fact a tribute to me to have thought of the same. Your comment and elaborations are simply huge build up on this buzz. Just by reading this part of your comment "As humans, meaning, purpose, subjective agendas all "cloud" a shared vision" I feel you have interpreted the word cloud with an exceptionally relevant magnitude. I think this point on its own is a worthy buzz. I hope you write about it. I thank you for writing as usual a comprehensive comment. This is a compass for me.

Sara Jacobovici

منذ 7 سنوات #14

I know you will believe me Ali Anani when I say that synchronicity strikes again! I am working on a draft called Our Sense of Direction. I'm happy to put it on hold while I take in the many thoughts and insights of your post. You have taught us how much we have in common with other species and how we can benefit from understanding our natural environment. If we were to have the "common sense" to learn from how birds navigate and use their sense of direction to arrive safely and productively to their preconceived destinations, we would have a very bountiful economy. Birds, as salmon, understand where they're going and why and tap into their internal resources to accomplish their task and journeys. As humans, meaning, purpose, subjective agendas all "cloud" a shared vision. As you say, "Businesses need different cues". We need to look towards the rainbow that results in the entity of holding a spectrum of colors when the weather conditions permit the rainbow to be seen. A business leader has to see beyond the tip of his nose and open up to taking in the myriad of cues. What that entails is also something we need to emulate from the birds and fish; focus - the ability to stay on track and if thrown off, understand our way back. Thanks Dr. Ali for being a strong compass needle for us.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #13

#17
You opened a new angle for me to think about dear Mohammed Sultan to study organizational health. I have some new ideas. Thank you

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #12

#17
You opened a new angle for me to think about dear Mohammed Sultan to study organizational health. I have some new ideas. hak you

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #11

#15
This is a very eloquent what you wrote Mohammed Sultan," plan as they move". The birds know that no matter how our world is complex, there remains some basic "navigating facts" to take them in the right direction to their destination. The sun shall always rise from east and the earth's core is magnetic. The birds use their senses to use both the sun and earth magnetism to guide them in the migratory journeys. I believe organizations' leadership should be aware of some fixed guiding principle to move them to their destination as well and assist them to take the proper direction to their destination. I discussed this before. I mentioned that no matter how complex the human body is; still body temperature, breathing rate and blood pressure have certain values to help MDs reach the destination of finding out what is wrong with their patients. We may need similar approaches when it comes to organizations. Do you agree?

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #10

#13
Your mind is a great assets for all of us here on beBee Devesh Bhatt. I paused here "Here we have wrong inputs , wrong baselines and wrong project reports to qualify". No wonder we never find the direction in these dark circumstances. SOme organizations make a black body of them and no wonder cloudy or bright days, no light is reflected.

Devesh 🐝 Bhatt

منذ 7 سنوات #9

#11
consensus amidst the decision support designates, they drive the majority. Even if one is opposing, hear the reasoning and then decide direction.ut should not come to a 'i told you so" scenario. In Indian context, Tata developed into an institution because it somehow worked geography specific methods with ground understanding. Every other company the owner is larger than the company itself, they are not institutions in a sense, the wealth and status of the owner are talk of the town, not the company. It is because the companies run with the clouds and the owner ultimately mints money from the grey market. Perhaps many companies like the clouds, less competition, still criteria of evaluation are based on copied systems. Eg USA has strict laws and heavier liabilities if wrong information is conveyed, enveloped within the consumer laws. Here we have wrong inputs , wrong baselines and wrong project reports to qualify. Once we secure investments we work differently, there are two businesses going on, one in the light and one under the clouds, the one in the light is under a solar lamp assumed as the sun, and the one under clouds is people carrying a cloud above their heads in a sunny day. This is a contagious method evident in most companies. Then they hire people for employee engagement and efficiency not for organisation benefit but to save taxes. All summed up, every action is with an ulterior motive. Not necessarily an evil notice but we are already milking the value ads without focus on the core output.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #8

#10
Compass and compass-ionate- what a lovely combination Mohamed Amroussi! I like it very much.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #7

#9
Devesh Bhatt- wonderful what you wrote "But in cloudy days when the source of information (sun; magnetism) isn't available, other sources of information must be utilised". This is what I highlighted in the buzz by birds depending on different senses to keep on their direction. As you qualified later "Days will always be cloudy as long as we copy others rather than develop our own analytical tools which support and not displace consensus". It is interesting here that you called for consensus and not majority. I find people reach consensus when their survival is at stake or when they have a grand purpose to which they agree. Does this mean that the clouds are their to stay permanently? Lots to ponder on.

Devesh 🐝 Bhatt

منذ 7 سنوات #6

#8
we do need the light of information, but the ground expert has the information and is willing to take accountability for it with evidence. It's just that it's not a prescribed source. We commit the blunder of sidelining ground inputs because of scope of error. But in cloudy days when the source of information (sun; magnetism) isn't available, other sources of information must be utilised. Organisations have a lot of people at their disposal. Earlier the problem was gathering consensus, so we introduced Analytical systems. Today the problem is lack of consensus, over imposition of analytical systems, we cannot copy Western ways without genuine information. Since business decisions are prone to error, we secure profits though accounting loop holes and corruption. Days will always be cloudy as long as we copy others rather than develop our own analytical tools which support and not displace consensus.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #5

#7
Your solid comment tells a lot about the depth of your strategy background Devesh Bhatt shall find them relevant. You have a point tat merits special attention "So the sense of direction to me boils down to on-site skills, knowing the business first hand, that is why primary research works best, specially in countries where false data doesn't make anyone liable.. I wonder how do we dare to take a direction while standing on sinking sand. Soon the sand shall keep our eyes closed. We need the light of information to know where we stand before deciding where to go.

Devesh 🐝 Bhatt

منذ 7 سنوات #4

I'm from strategy background. I used to be an analyst but I don't quote numbers simply because sufficient data is required and by the time it's verifiable chances are that the data is redundant. World is dynamic. So the sense of direction to me boils down to on-site skills, knowing the business first hand, that is why primary research works best, specially in countries where false data doesn't make anyone liable.. firstly many managers deny the existence of clouds which are evident, secondly they deny ground experience saying how can you tell directions by looking at a tree or the moss :) Thirdly they wait for analytical data of the volatile factors , often with no ground level knowledge of what's stable, the stable can be the launchpad but they are focused on the volatile..What's volatile...data quickly becomes redundant by the time they apply it. But these are industrial best practices, everybody uses the same approach and claims victory INA race of turtles in an ever-changing world. Those with a heavy bank balance, survive the slow race, those who copy but have empty pockets, die a quick death in a slow race.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #3

#3
This is a bright thought Deb\ud83d\udc1d Lange "Birds do fly together and connect by bird sing only, they connect with magnetic fields of energy". You said what I wanted to convey in this buzz. Thank you for such an illumination.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #2

#2
Thank you for sharing and making beautiful comments dear Deb\ud83d\udc1d Lange. I go all the way with you if we had a light focus on sensing energy in our groups, our meetings, our organisations we could discover new information". My senses (hopefully magnetized" tell me this is the topic of your next buzz. Yes, I knew you shall agree because you are the master on senses and your book on same subject testifies for what I am saying.

Ali Anani

منذ 7 سنوات #1

#1
Thank you dear debasish majumder for sharing and writing a lovely comment. As you wrote "and i do believe, traditional management cannot produce such unique quality" I find myself in full agreement with your conclusion. Yes, we need more active senses.

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