Francis WadeFramework Consulting · Consultant who solves tough strategy and productivity problems for corporations | Author | Web-Speaker | Jump Leap Long-Term Strategy Podcast

Dr Riel Miller clip 1 The Long-Term Strategic Planning Conference

Name: Dr Riel Miller clip 1 The Long-Term Strategic Planning Conference
Uploaded: 2024-06-18T14:32:57+00:00
Duration: 2 min 11 s
Channel: Francis Wade
Description: In this presentation, Dr. Riel Miller argues that founding myths and entrenched organizational narratives, while initially powerful, become constraints…

18 Jun 2024 · 2 min

Watch on YouTube

2:11

In this presentation, Dr. Riel Miller argues that founding myths and entrenched organizational narratives, while initially powerful, become constraints that hinder long‑term adaptability. He emphasizes the difficulty of recognizing these constraints—comparing it to a fish not knowing it is in water—and advocates for deliberately distancing oneself from such stories. Miller highlights the role of collective intelligence and anticipatory systems, noting that anticipation is a fundamental trait of living organisms. By cultivating diverse ways of sensing, imagining, and training, organizations can learn from each other, reinforce desired behaviors, and, crucially, let go of outdated visions. He stresses that imposing past visions on future generations creates fragility and brittleness, whereas generosity—leaving space for new ideas and not demanding immortality—fosters resilience and effectiveness.

Chapters

And I did, you know, you take the example of Nokia, but it's very common. The founding myth of a moment or a particular company or even country is often very powerful, and that narrative, that story ends up becoming a constraint. And it can be very effective, but it's also, of course, a weakness after a certain point. Being able to be aware, to distance yourself from your own narrative. In other words, how does a fish know it's, you know, in water? I mean, it's not easy. It's not an easy thing to do. But there are ways for us to take a step back, for us to be able to share with each other. And this is where collective intelligence, but also understanding something like what I call anticipation, the anticipatory systems. There's a whole field that's doing work now on the way Anticipation is something fundamental to all living organisms. And by understanding the diversity of ways that we can read and write, the diversity of ways that we can train our bodies, uh, the diversity of ways we can use our imagination, I think we can become more effective, uh, as organizations and as communities to, uh, learn from each other. To reinforce things we want to reinforce, but also to let go of things that we think we can let go of because we're not as frightened and we don't feel the same pressure of saying, well, if you don't live forever, you're a failure. That's ridiculous. It's not generous. It's not doable for the most part. You know, you're leaving space being light, good compost, that's a gift. That's generous. But weighing on the shoulders of future generations, imposing your vision of yesterday on tomorrow, that's not generous. And it's not, it's in fact not even effective because it creates this kind of fragility and brittleness.