Icarus Paradigms

A jinking target requires calm resolve.

Modern-day sages tell us to subvert the dominant paradigm, or dominate it, or otherwise bend it to our will (or much more likely, bend ourselves to it).

Whatever we do with it, the prerequisite is to grasp it. Not as easy as it sounds, with this moving, jinking target. Economic and cultural forces are rolling on the crests and troughs of seismic waves, turning over again and again as one upheaval or another transforms our world, ever more rapidly.

Think you got a handle on the dominant paradigm? Are you sure you’re not hanging on to a vanished reality from two or three paradigms past?

This is a world where information is currency, and industrial construction takes place on the nanometer level. A world of unrelenting connectedness, of data democratization, and of technologically enabled personal empowerment.

But don’t dwell too much on that world, on this paradigm. Because it’s changing again, right in front of you.

It’s easier, perhaps, to focus on what’s gone — to recognize the dinosaurs that have gone extinct. And there’s value in that, to a degree. There’s value in knowing what no longer works.

But we’re not really reactive types, are we? So how do we become proactive about this rapidly changing world? Simple — we change this world to suit our needs.

That’s not as arrogant, or as delusional, as it sounds. What is a paradigm, after all? It’s a pattern. It’s a pattern of behaviors, customs, interactions — that define how we work, play, live, and love. The patterns form from societal influencers, and they flourish because we accept and build upon them.

We excel at pattern recognition, but we’re even better at pattern creation. We are absolutely empowered, through technology and personal courage, to create new patterns, and thus new paradigms.

Easy? Nope. It’s much easier to go along with whatever the rest of the world is doing. Rewarding? Now you’ve got it. The reward for courage and tenacity is a world, or maybe just your little corner of it, that is patterned after your own ideals.

The C4:

1. We speak of paradigms and patterns. They’re one and the same. They’re the collective norm, the way most of us view the world and interact with it and each other.
   
2. For a myriad of reasons, the patterns are shifting faster and more dramatically than ever before. For most of human history, the patterns and paradigms recognizable in any one person’s lifetime were almost indistinguishable from those of their great-grandparents, or their great-grandchildren. Now our world shifts before our very eyes.
   
3. Do not despair. This isn’t future shock, it’s opportunity. The same seismic forces that roil our outlook also empower us. We can harness the agents of change to create patterns and paradigms that are worthy of our courage, our tenacity, and our noblest hopes and dreams.
   
4. “The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.” — Napoleon Hill

NLP Is A Tool For Programming Change, But...

Beware of duplicity?

Consider the hammer. It's the tool that, probably more than any other, built Western civilization. In the hands of a Michelangelo, it helps to sculpt David. But in the hands of a psychopath, it becomes truly frightening.

All tools are like that: neutral by nature, beneficial or maleficent depending on intent and application.

Next, consider NLP, or neuro-linguistic programming. It’s an approach to therapy, self-help, and behavior modification that’s been around since the 70s. It leverages the mind’s atavistic reaction to language, in order to alter demeanor, improve performance, and develop communications skills.

Now go Google NLP; or worse yet, do a search for that term on YouTube. You’ll find every type of huckster peddling NLP miracles, and promising of the ability to manipulate people to your will. Books like The Game by Neil Strauss detail how “pickup artists” use NLP to razzle-dazzle females into submission.

Some of it’s disturbing. Some is disgusting. But that’s what happens when powerful tools are used by bad people. None of it should discourage good people, though, who can use a tool like NLP for the best of reasons.

Want to improve your ability to communicate? Collaborate better with your peers? Shed harmful habits and cultivate healthy ones? Neuro-linguistic programming might be your ticket. It’s worth looking into.

As with all your endeavors, this one requires caution and common sense. Do your homework and be wary of inflated promises. There are scores of honest NLP instructors who can build a targeted course to help you and your organization reach your goals. You just need to separate the honest ones from the hucksters.

So will it work for you? Only one way to find out. All we can hope for is that you’ll respect it for the tool that it is, and use it only with the best intent.

The C4:

1. Neuro-linguistic programming is a behavior-modification technique developed by psychotherapists in the 1970s that uses language, rapport, and suggestion to achieve goals.
2. NLP can be used in business to create better communications methods, increase sales, and improve collaboration throughout the organization. It can also be used on a personal level for targeted self-improvement.
3. NLP is earning a bad rap, though, because some truly awful people are using it — selling courses that promise Svengali-like manipulation, and demonstrating pickup techniques based on deception and duplicity.
4. A tool in the hands of a bad person does bad things. In the hands of a good person it can better the world. What can you do with NLP?

Nothing Happens Without Awareness

Happy 70th birthday to the Ad Council.

The Ad Council is the advertising industry’s premier non-profit, founded in 1942 at the urging of President Franklin Roosevelt, to leverage the persuasive power of media for the sake of the common good. Those early years saw memorable campaigns on behalf of the war effort, including the introduction of an icon that remains moving and powerful to this day: Rosie the Riveter.

Since then, the Council has championed causes that benefit us all, while remaining decidedly non-partisan and uncontroversial. These include Smokey the Bear’s fight against forest fires, McGruff the Crime Dog’s exhortations to “take a bite out of crime,” and the familiar, effective message: “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.”

The Ad Council’s mission is made possible through the donated time and talents of the industry’s top creative minds, and more than $1 billion in free media space per year. We see the results every day on TV, online, in our magazines and in our newspapers. More importantly, we see the results in the positive social changes the Ad Council helps to bring.

The influence of modern advertising is a boon to business and commerce. We’re proud to be part of that. But we’re at least as proud of the role our industry plays in positive social messaging and change. So thank you, Ad Council, and here’s to your next 70 years of service.

The C4:

1. The Ad Council was founded in 1942 by advertising industry leaders, as part of the home-front war effort.
2. From 1942–1945 the Council helped sell war bonds, encouraged rationing, kept morale high and introduced Rosie the Riveter to the world.
3. Since the end of WWII, the Ad Council has leveraged top creative talent and billions of dollars in free media to promote some of the most important and most familiar social causes.
4. Nothing happens without awareness. Congrats to the Ad Council on its 70th anniversary.

Is the tide rising?

Housing and employment show good signs.

The downturn we call the Great Recession, which was our nation’s worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, began in December of 2007. The recession itself (defined as multiple consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth) ended in June of 2009. However, as we’re all too well aware, the recovery has been slow, halting and uneven.

At last, we’re glimpsing an end to that. If the collapse of the housing industry was what presaged the downturn — and it was — then a housing recovery means good news for us all.

We now know that the rate of foreclosures in 2011 decreased 24% as compared to 2010. The number of homeowners 90 days or more delinquent on their mortgages was down to 7.3% of all borrowers as of December 2011, versus 7.8% the previous December. And the number of U.S. metro areas showing measurable improvements in their housing markets increased to 98, as of the first of this month.

Do we still have further to go, and are there dangers still ahead? Yes and yes. But don’t let that keep us from indulging in a bit of optimism.

The Dow is up and unemployment is down. The housing industry is on its way back. The tide is rising and all boats are being lifted. Let’s enjoy it, celebrate it, and then let’s roll up our sleeves and get back to work.

The C4:

1. The Great Recession (2007–2009) was triggered by a collapse of the housing and mortgage industries.
2. The recovery has been one of the slowest on record, with nearly 18 months (mid-2009 through 2010) of little or no improvement in housing and employment.
3. There’s ample reason for optimism. We’ve seen five consecutive months of improving employment numbers, and a steady rise of the major stock indices.
4. Within Ohio and across the nation, the housing market is recovering. Healthy housing will complete this recovery. Cheers to that!