“Every creator painfully experiences the chasm between his inner vision and its ultimate expression. The chasm is never completely bridged. We all have the conviction, perhaps illusory, that we have much more to say than appears on the paper.” ~ Isaac Bashevis
Take a hard, long look into the “rear-view mirror” of your life to reflect upon your most significant successes as well as your eloquent crash and burn failures. What approach did you use in pursuing these hard-to-achieve goals; the safer Stair-Step or high-Beta Chasm-Leap?
Now; disregard the ultimate outcome of success, failure or somewhere in-between. Focus keenly on the “take off point” and recall the knowledge you possessed at that take-off point.
- Could you see a clear path to success; albeit a few likely bumps along the way?
- Were you the only one driving the success or were others collaborating and supporting you?
- Had you ever produced a similar outcome or was this the first outcome of this type for you, your company, your community, etc.?
In the financial industry, the term Beta is used to measure an individual stock’s movements relative to the overall market’s movement. For example, a higher risk stock with a Beta of 2.5 should move 2.5 times more (higher or lower) than its index. Most investors attempt to avoid high Betas, since they find it difficult to stomach the potential losses.
Leadership (and life in general) styles can utilize this Beta concept. In utilizing the Standard Bell Curve, we know most leaders are similar to investors. They attempt to maximize their personal returns while minimizing their risks. Many successful careers have employed this strategy; which I refer to as the Stair-Step style. You can see each step, none are too far apart and you can plan each one out with a significant level of predictability.
Stair-Step’s opposite leadership style is Chasm-Leap. With the Chasm-Leap style, you can vaguely see the next step, you’re not sure how far away the landing point is before you jump and you’re not able to plan many of the details before you begin your leap. Why? Simply because the outcome you’re attempting to produce, has never been produced by you, your company, your community, etc. No leader has summoned the Intellectual Horsepower, courage and Vision for Possibilities … until you.
Industries, businesses, societies, etc. are changed by leaders with Chasm-Leaping styles; not by Stair-Steppers. However; once these major changes take place, I believe, if you observe closely, the Stair-Steppers who are early adopters to the new opportunities created by the Chasm-Leapers, are the primary beneficiaries long-term. Again; another major advantage to being a Stair-Stepper. Warning: There’s an unattractive component associated with Stair-Steppers. If you look at this Chasm-Leaper / Stair-Stepper relationship closely; it represents somewhat of a parasitic relationship, in which the Chasm-Leapers are the hosts. I won’t expand on this fascinating topic of its own, but do want to point this out.
If you’re looking to change the world, an industry, your company, your life, etc., you’ll need a double-dose of courage, a broad and deep Talent Portfolio and an extraordinary inner circle that supports and believes in your Vision for Possibilities. Your inner circle will help to intelligently prepare you for your leap and will also be the only ones willing to life-flight you out of the deep, dark chasm, on those times when you don’t reach the other side safely.
Who changes the world? I believe it’s almost exclusively the Top-7%. They are the only ones with the Talent Portfolios and social consciences needed to actually implement significant positive social impact. If you believe you’re one of these executives, we’d love to explore possible opportunities.
Get Making A Difference! ~ JR
