Invisible Power

Bill Fox -

At Forward Thinking Workplaces, we discover the people, insights, and strategies that lead to Forward Thinking minds, leaders, and workplaces of the future — today.

Forward Thinking conversations will define the great workplaces of the 21st century. Check out our upcoming Events page or visit billfox.co to learn more.

13 Forward-Thinking Insights

  1. PEOPLE FUNCTION NATURALLY WHEN THEY DON’T HAVE A LOT OF NOISE IN THEIR HEAD
  2. WHEN PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW THE MIND WORKS, THEY INTERACT IN SUPPORTIVE AND GENERATIVE WAYS
  3. IT TAKES A CLEAR MIND AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE ENGAGED
  4. SUPPORTED TO BE AT THEIR BEST IN WHATEVER THAT MEANS FOR EACH PERSON
  5. A CLEAR MIND AND MEANINGFUL WORK
  6. WHAT’S MEANINGFUL TO YOU?
  7. WHAT’S MEANINGFUL TO YOU IN THE ROLE YOU WANT ME TO PLAY?
  8. WE ALL NEED TO BE IN SERVICE TO EACH OTHER
  9. WHAT DOES THE WISDOM IN ME MOVE ME TO DO RIGHT NOW?
  10. TRUST AND RESPECT — MAKE ROOM FOR IT
  11. IF YOU’RE SEEKING WISDOM, LOOKING INTO YOUR ANALYTICAL MIND IS NOT THE PLACE TO LOOK
  12. THE POWER IS IN THE THINKER
  13. THE POWER LIES IN THAT INVISIBLE, FORMLESS PLACE WHERE YOUR THINKING COMES FROM

Read the full interview at What Does Wisdom Move Me to Do Right Now?

Question 1: How can we create workplaces where every voice matters, everyone thrives & finds meaning, and change & innovation happen naturally?

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #1

PEOPLE FUNCTION NATURALLY WHEN THEY DON’T HAVE A LOT OF NOISE IN THEIR HEAD


“Everyone is designed for success—everyone has built into them a design to be at their best. People function naturally when they don’t have a lot of noise in their heads. A company that is operating in a culture with this understanding is in deep respect of the human dynamic—the way it’s naturally designed. I believe this would be an environment in which people look forward to having less noise in their mind and would be able to sit in their natural abilities operating innately from the inside out.”

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #2

WHEN PEOPLE UNDERSTAND HOW THE MIND WORKS, THEY INTERACT IN SUPPORTIVE AND GENERATIVE WAYS


“If people treat each other with the understanding that we experience life from the inside out, then everything that happens as people interact will be supportive and generate a minimum of mental noise. That’s what I think it would take to create the workplace that you described in your question. It’s also what we try to accomplish with our company.”

Question 2: What does it take to get an employee’s full attention and best performance?

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #3

IT TAKES A CLEAR MIND  AND AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE ENGAGED

“They would have to have a clear mind and be engaged with something that they’re interested in. The company would have to offer an opportunity for them to be interested in engaging in from a place that’s meaningful to them.”

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #4

SUPPORTED TO BE AT THEIR BEST IN WHATEVER THAT MEANS FOR EACH PERSON


"What would get someone’s best performance? It would have to be an environment in which they feel supported—to be at their best whatever that means for them, which would be different from person to person."

Question 3: What do people really lack and long for at work?

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #5

A CLEAR MIND AND MEANINGFUL WORK

"People want to be able to have a clear mind and have what’s meaningful to them be respected and appreciated. They want to have the opportunity to engage in something meaningful that is also meaningful to them personally.”

Question 4: What is the most important question management should be asking employees?

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #6

WHAT’S MEANINGFUL TO YOU?

“What’s meaningful to you?”

Question 5: What is the most important question employees should be asking management?

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #7

WHAT’S MEANINGFUL TO YOU IN THE ROLE YOU WANT ME TO PLAY?

“What do you need and what’s meaningful to you in the role that you want me to play? And how do you want me to play it?”

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #8

WE ALL NEED TO BE IN SERVICE TO EACH OTHER

"If the company is in service to something that’s meaningful, then ultimately the opportunity is for us to all work together—to do something meaningful together—that’s meaningful to ourselves individually in different ways. Picture it as a Venn diagram in terms of how our combined efforts will achieve something meaningful for people or the world.”

Question 6: What’s the most important question we can ask ourselves?

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #9

WHAT DOES THE WISDOM IN ME MOVE ME TO DO RIGHT NOW?


“What does the wisdom in me move me to do right now?”

Question 7: In your book Invisible Power it says…

“Down one branch of the fork is a life of trying to fix the thinking you already have, chasing after what your thinking has manifested. Down the other branch is a life of you seeing for yourself, in the moment, that the power lies in that invisible, formless place where your thinking comes from—and your potential lies—before you actually think anything. We are pointing to this branch.”

How can we more effectively access this wisdom?

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #10

TRUST AND RESPECT — MAKE ROOM FOR IT

“First, you have to trust that it’s there. Then you have to develop respect for it. You have to make room for it. You mentioned that you thought it was a good thing that I paused before answering your questions. I don’t feel like I’m the author of my intelligence, but I’m grateful I have it."

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #11

IF YOU’RE SEEKING WISDOM, LOOKING INTO YOUR ANALYTICAL MIND IS NOT THE PLACE TO LOOK

“I have profound respect that if I want to be clear about something—or if I want to get wisdom for something—looking into my analytical processing mind is not the place to look. I know that in the silence behind my thinking there is a very fertile rich living intelligence there. It’s important to create your personal way of connecting to it, respecting it, trusting it, and having a partnership with it.”

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #12

THE POWER IS IN THE THINKER

“The power is in the artist, not in what he paints. The power is in the thinker, not in what she thinks. This built-in capacity is the undervalued, often-ignored secret to your success.”

FORWARD-THINKING INSIGHT #13

THE POWER LIES IN THAT INVISIBLE, FORMLESS PLACE WHERE YOUR THINKING COMES FROM


"Down one branch of the fork is a life of trying to fix the thinking you already have, chasing after what your thinking has manifested. Down the other branch is a life of you seeing for yourself, in the moment, that the power lies in that invisible, formless place where your thinking comes from—and your potential lies—before you actually think anything. We are pointing to this branch.”

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING

What do you find most intriguing about our interviews?

“That these kinds of questions can be asked in the workplace. This conversation invites and allows whole beings to show up; like whole food, whole beings are more nutritious to the system they exist within.” — Anonymous