The ability to take a bad situation and turn it around is a unique skill that can at times, seem like something only a super hero can do. In this dynamic book, Steve Zaffron, CEO of Vanto Group, a consulting firm dedicated to elevating organizational performance, and Dave Logan, faculty member at the Marshall School of Business at the University of California, and former associate dean, provide vivid case studies of how the application of three laws can make performance dreams a reality.
The book is written in a direct and approachable manner, with powerful stories, excellent questions, and clear proof they have discovered how performance is made possible. So, what is this book about? It is about the fact that until real conversations happen, free of ‘game playing’ and artifice no organization can succeed.
The Three Laws
1.How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them
2.How a situation occurs arise in language
3.Future based language transforms how situations occur to people
What does ‘occur’ mean? Think of a time when you saw a photo of yourself just taken by a friend.You said, “Oh, let’s take another, I look silly in that picture!” To which your friend replied, “C’mon, you look great!”.
While you are looking at the same picture, it ‘occurs’ differently to each of you.
This is how a situation can ‘occur’ in many ways depending on the people involved. Take this common situation and apply it to your professional environment, perhaps you and a coworker do not get along well. The situation that occurs to you might be something like: “They only got the job because they are related to the owner.” While the situation occurs to the other person as, “If I weren’t related to the owner people might respect me – no one knows how hard it was to get this job.”
Transforming an Impossible Situation
In chapter one of this book starting on page 3 is the following story that highlights how two people can apply the three laws to transcend even the deepest challenges.
This story moved me deeply, most of all because the message the three laws deliver is that two people have to see each other, and the situation from a common vantage point. The listening required is more than the norm. To activate the greatness of these laws requires one to supplant their ego, with no room to take offense. These laws also call upon our creative humanity to envision a different future, and to then commit to making it a reality, together.
This book will challenge you to look at a situation, and people as if you are seeing yourself for the first time. To leverage the wisdom in this book it takes a deep level of interest in others, in order to see, hear, listen, and understand how the world occurs to those other than you. Leaders who are willing to take the first step will be rewarding themselves and those with whom they work, for generations.
The book is written in a direct and approachable manner, with powerful stories, excellent questions, and clear proof they have discovered how performance is made possible. So, what is this book about? It is about the fact that until real conversations happen, free of ‘game playing’ and artifice no organization can succeed.
The Three Laws
1.How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them
2.How a situation occurs arise in language
3.Future based language transforms how situations occur to people
What does ‘occur’ mean? Think of a time when you saw a photo of yourself just taken by a friend.You said, “Oh, let’s take another, I look silly in that picture!” To which your friend replied, “C’mon, you look great!”.
While you are looking at the same picture, it ‘occurs’ differently to each of you.
This is how a situation can ‘occur’ in many ways depending on the people involved. Take this common situation and apply it to your professional environment, perhaps you and a coworker do not get along well. The situation that occurs to you might be something like: “They only got the job because they are related to the owner.” While the situation occurs to the other person as, “If I weren’t related to the owner people might respect me – no one knows how hard it was to get this job.”
Transforming an Impossible Situation
In chapter one of this book starting on page 3 is the following story that highlights how two people can apply the three laws to transcend even the deepest challenges.
Antoinette Grib, a white South African senior manager of Lonmin, was speaking toThe senior management took the next step, saying,
a group of about one hundred people when an elderly community member stood up,
interrupted, and insisted on saying something to her. The woman, Selinah
Makgale, began: “Antoinette, I have an issue with you.”
Grib’s shock was
obvious. She said, “But I don’t even know you.”
Makgale continued, “Yes,
I don’t know you personally, but you are a white South African woman, and I have
an issue with white South African women. When I was thirteen years old, my
parents told me that I needed to be the housekeeper for the white Afrikaans that
owned the farm we worked on. It was payment for us working the farm. I was like
a slave, not earning a cent. The woman, she was very, very bad to me. Getting
through the year was tough. I’ve been hating white South African women ever
since.”
Makgale paused, then continued, “I’m sorry, even though I don’t
know you, I’ve been sitting here for days hating you and all the other South
African women. You probably weren’t even born when all this happened.”
Grib smiled and said, “No, I wasn’t.”
After another
thoughtful moment, Makgale finished with: “Please accept my apology – you and
all the other white South African women here. I apologize to you all for making
you a faceless group and hating you.”
Some people grew serious, others
looked to be remembering the past. Some shook their heads. All were visible
touched by Makgale’s courage and intent to close a chapter from the past.
Selinah, I see that I represent something to you with my blond hair and my blueIn this brave dialogue, the first law (How people perform correlates to how situations occur to them) was expressed by Makgale. The second law (How a situation occurs arise in language) was visible in the clarity that was achieved through clear and honest language. The third law (Future based language transforms how situations occur to people) was applied when they both looked to the future as a creative opportunity, a place to make things right, instead of a place that was already wrong.
eyes that caused so much pain in your life all those years ago. I ask your
forgiveness for the mistakes my people made… I think we’re fortunate to live in
a country now, since 1994, where we can move forward and we can live together. I
offer you my support in getting this issue completely resolved. If you want, I
will go with you to visit the woman who treated you so poorly and see if there
are some amends that can be made. We can try that.
Both women started to
cry – one elderly, poor, and black, and one young, wealthy, and white. Makgale
replied, “Yes, I am willing to do that. Thank you very much. I hope our future
can grow better than before.” The group cheered.
This story moved me deeply, most of all because the message the three laws deliver is that two people have to see each other, and the situation from a common vantage point. The listening required is more than the norm. To activate the greatness of these laws requires one to supplant their ego, with no room to take offense. These laws also call upon our creative humanity to envision a different future, and to then commit to making it a reality, together.
This book will challenge you to look at a situation, and people as if you are seeing yourself for the first time. To leverage the wisdom in this book it takes a deep level of interest in others, in order to see, hear, listen, and understand how the world occurs to those other than you. Leaders who are willing to take the first step will be rewarding themselves and those with whom they work, for generations.
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