Hack:
Manadvancement 1.0; the seismic shift of five darts.

Manadvancement 1.0 is the rendezvous between art and science, where the right-side of the dartboard meets the left-side, where individuals are allowed and trained to be visionaries and actionaries at the same point of time- space, where the highest amount of focus and harmony can be born and amassed.Manadvancement 1.0 is achieved when we consciously decipher its principles:

The first principle of manadvancement 1.0 says: A clear vision is that vantage point where you can distinguish between the “essence” and the “form”.

Driving from the Latin essentia, Essence is the quality of which the facticity of something is instantiation either conceptually or actually. The notion of essence is from Aristotle’s dictum” there is knowledge of each thing only when we know its essence.” ⁽¹⁾.Essence is a very wide topic in philosophy. There is no wonder that the term has permeated to the world of Art as for every creation in form, for every manifestation in this time- space reality, there are basic essences attached to it.

Essence is that simple, delicate, hidden driver, the intention under the surface. It is not physical but it is so alive, sitting out there, talking and at times shouting. The discernment of “form” and “essence” is vital for further progress. This is the vantage point that shows why there are forms in our lives, in our organization, in our society which were supposed to be “good” but after birth in physical form are cumbersome, or overwhelming, or dissatisfying, or not enough, or unnecessary .It deciphers that:

1)      A car is a “form” for transportation, but a car in traffic jam is not.The essences hidden in producing a car are :“movement”, “safety”, ”privacy”, ”smoothness”, “advancement”, and ”joy”. A car stuck in a traffic jam probably keeps the essence of “privacy” , yet release the essence of “advancement” or ”smoothness” .The very same car ,can regain its “smoothness” once there is a free circulation.

 2)      A conventional framework in management science such as marketing frameworks, HR management, operation management  is a “form”  of reference. The essence hidden in using these framework are “clarity”, ”easiness”, ”security”, ”power”. The same framework can lose its “clarity” while encountering an unconventional situation.

 3)      Our money is a “form” of exchanging our energies. The higher essences that money carries are “ freedom”, ”power”, ”joy”, ”security”. The same money can deeply lose the essence of “freedom” or “joy” or “security” while we want to spend it for an unwanted, incurred cost such as tax or medication.

4)      A Fortune 100 company is a “form” of exceptional place to work. The essences that working in these types of organization provides are “transformation”, ”growth”, ”vitality & aliveness”,”joy”,”achievement”,”security”,”fulfillment”,”success”.we all know about those who left this form to reclaim their “ vitality”.

5)      Education is supposed to be a “form” of learning new skills and knowledge over a period of time. The essences it carries are”Transformation”,”joy”,”power”,”clarity”,”vitality”,”connectivity”,”success”.Needless to say, we see graduates who are deeply lacking these essences even though they are provided the best education available,the  best “form”!. We also see there are graduates within the same” form” who are thrilled and fulfilled with these essences.

The first principle of Manadvancement 1.0 clarifies that we don’t necessarily need to RE-INVENT a “form “to regain the missing “essence”. We don’t necessarily need to leave an organization or a management practice to reclaim our” freedom “or our “growth”, or “achievement” or our “infiniteness”. Manadvancement 1.0 does not deny the necessity of creating a new “form” at times , it says prior to any new creation, this vantage point should be realized.

Besides the revolutionary impacts of the first principle on product development and marketing, this principle shapes and molds the mind of Manadvancers( previously known as Managers ), and the co-creators( previously known as  Employees & Stakeholders) in the way that any emotion close to dissatisfaction is caused of a missing “essence”. To illustrate, we can say:

1)      Different section of one’s life (spirituality, relationships, career and moneymaking endeavors, recreation and entertainment,..) are interwoven into each other and one missing essence in one section can impede of experiencing that essence in other areas.

2)      We can distinguish between a process of creation under the umbrella of “obedience, alignment, conformance” with an injected essence of” freedom” and without. Haven’t you noticed the most unruly children at home (when they are requested to obey the rules without the essence of “freedom”)? At football field, they are so conforming, so contributing to the success of the football team (Obedience with essence of “Freedom”).

The second principle of Manadvancement 1.0: Innovations are realizable through creative destruction.

Simple and terrifying. A house is constructed on the place of a demolished one. An innovation is human technology is constructed by releasing a deep belief, a premise, an assumption ,no matter how it was true or sounds true. Manadvancement 1.0 creative destructors are:

First creative destructor: “Problem” Vs “solution”; A” problem-solving focus” only leads us to more problems to solve ,it is that obstacle for unleashing the capacity we are all seeking .A visionary focus leads us to more fresh, expanded, and deliberate creation .

 Self-sufficient. This is the difference between “mechanic-type” managers, the “fixers” and the visionaries. Mechanics only meet problematic cars every day, no matter how hard they try, this is the lens of identity they are wearing.

Second creative destructor: Reaching the center of dartboard by peeling away the circles of justification, the layers of resource exhaustion.

Let’s consider one of the least innovative sectors, the most resistant toward change in any culture:” governmental sector’. The customer-oriented, outside-in strategy, which in politics it is called “democracy”, entails the people in power (including the president of the country) to engage the stakeholders in the stream. The time is perceived to be not enough. There is always some sort of deficit in the budget .The avalanches of expectations and previous unfulfilled desires are reaching the governmental body .The inner urge to be perceived as “supreme” is proliferated inside out. There is a non-stop rain of scrutiny from other political parties. The rain must fall and the avalanche must roll in. The shelter is required, the shelter of justification. The “first 100 days” is dedicated to build that shelter and then we need to inject stability to our shelter; we continuously maintain it, until the fourth year which is completely used for justification of past actions. The shelter of justification is build with different layers:

1)      Identity layer, the way you justify your past selves: background, personal history, educational certificates, the brand of schools, references, previous success, previous bankruptcies.

2)      On-the-go layer, the present selves: your perceived capabilities through outer expressions, behavior, words, and appearance. When you explicitly answer the question: why should I hire you?” or when you implicitly justify your sales drop through competition status, economic conditions, and trends.

3)      Future layer, the way you justify your future selves: When you answer the question: “How do you see yourself in five years from now”. or when the president is asked” what is you plan for the future of country” or when you justify your innovative ideas. This is that layer which deters innovative ideas to be recognized and supported and finally manifested.

 Here is the rule: The more energy is used for justification, the less innovative and agile one can be. But beyond the avalanche and rain and all those energies wasted for the sake of oneself is the clear transparent sky, where Manadvancers oversees the dynamics of this setting.

They know that an individual can be innovative disregarding the resistant inside the system/organization; in cases a bureaucratic, inertial, politicized system can contribute to the process of creation same as a stream depressed behind the valve gathers more focus, force and energy.

 In addition, Manadvancers are aware that” Nothing is as powerful as an idea whose time has come”, believing that an innovation can be appeared disregarding of the channel of appearance, disregarding of who was the first who energized the idea.

 So here is that philosophical question: In order to join the stream of creativity faster and easier, to “foster renewal”, and to “create a borderless world”, who is the first to be altered: System, Ideas, or individuals?

 System: Should we reinvent our organizations/systems to be more recipient of innovation by reducing justification, fear, and means of control? Should we redesign hierarchy? Should we focus on web or distributed networks or other resources and draw new systems out of that?

 Ideas: Should we create a model that ideas, innovative ideas can be more appeared? Any internal market of ideas? Another brainstorming method? Another Alpha-focused programming?Another rewarding method?

 Individuals: Should we let individuals understand who really they are? Should we allow this vulnerable, fragile human race to see how magnificent, powerful, fearless and creative they can become? Should we allow them to understand there is no need for justification, fear, and boredom and life was supposed to be full of passion and all barriers are self-imposed? Should we allow MBA students to understand that all the problems solved in international economics course were based on a false assumption:” lack “and “shortage”; a twisted perception of reality?

 Manadvancers are aware that applying this creative destructor to individuals (their co-creators) is the fastest way of joining the stream of innovation .The system and Ideas will join the stream automatically.

Third creative Destructor:  “Vision” Vs “action”;Manadvancers are Minimal actionaries; for every vision they put economy of effort .Spontaneous actions are abhorred .Spontaneous visions are rewarded.

The old vicious circle of being, doing, and having.

The third principle of Manadvancement 1.0: Manadvancers are” Status-quo savvy”.

We all know about a famous politician who once said: “Status quo, you know, that is Latin for the mess we’re in “

Here is our status –quo:

 According to the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) of Maryland, we each house two to five pounds (1.0 to 2.26 kilograms) of live bacteria inside our bodies. Bacteria come in good and bad varieties, or more to the point, can be helpful or harmful. For example, a dormant or neutral bacterium might become harmful if triggered by conditions that cause it to multiply or change. Bacteria can interact with human cells, causing cell receptors to “grow extensions” to which the bacteria can adhere. Complicating matters, scientists report that at least 50% of these strains cannot be grown in a lab because of the difficulty in creating a suitable environment that simulates the human gut.⁽²⁾

This is Fabulous. We each house 2Kg of live bacteria .This is our status quo. Likewise, our organizations have millions of challenging, probable, dormant conditions which may shake us completely, upside down, outside in, inside out: global economic conditions, global warming, another Tsunami, international competitions from everyone, everywhere, changes in boardroom, changes in financial market, changes in perception of our name, our brand. Status quo warns that we can be very vulnerable .We pay attention to its message and we go for a better health care plan, we build a thicker defensive shield for our job position, for our organization. You know, “we have to be ready, we need plan-B”.

Manadvancers are aware that those tiny bacteria in our body need a suitable environment to come to play. Even those left-mind scientists declare the need for a receptive environment. They also aware that that suitable environment are caused and amplified by “thought “forms, by our beliefs about the nature of reality, by our perception of reality. This is the observer effect, the wave-particle duality of existence.