Why is this The Moment?
Guest blogger Mark Kuznicki is Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of The Moment.
When Dan, Greg and I first started talking about creating The Moment, before we had a business plan or a name for the firm, we had many deep conversations about the world we find ourselves in. These conversations brought together the difficult challenges that were showing up in all sectors of society and the exciting new methods and approaches that were emerging to meet these challenges. We were focused on making sense of the patterns that we were seeing.
For my first official Moment blog post, it seems only fitting to share some insight from our beginning; the purpose for why we feel so passionately and urgently called to this work.
Complexity
In 2000, Thomas Homer-Dixon wrote in Ingenuity Gap how the systems human civilization had created had become so interconnected and complex, that they were creating many unknown unknowns: new unpredictable problems that we are unable to solve using traditional mindsets and institutions. He described this gap in ingenuity as the challenge of our time, with grave implications for all aspects of human life and work, calling for “meta-innovations” to accelerate our ability to address this complexity.
Creativity
Daniel Pink pointed to similar forces in calling for A Whole New Mind, a different way of thinking and problem solving to meet the challenges of this massively interconnected and complex age. Now the right (imaginative) brain is ascendent because of its ability to work creatively with complexity. Pink describes the six senses of this new mind as: Design, Story, Symphony, Empathy, Play and Meaning. We can also describe these senses as the elements of Design Thinking: an approach to intentionally exercise and tap the power of the imaginative brain to solve difficult challenges.
Participation
The internet and new media have changed us. For the first time ever, all of humankind is connected into a single network of networks. The combination of this network and the economics of technology driven by Moore’s Law have radically reduced the cost of communication, knowledge dissemination and content creation. Suddenly, everyone can be a creator.
This hyper-connected, complex and
exciting time of challenge and change
is calling for leaders to rise
to meet the needs of our time.
Authentic Leadership
This hyper-connected, complex and exciting time of challenge and change is calling for leaders to rise to meet the needs of our time. Among the capabilities needed is a sense of authentic self that empowers individuals to be facilitative leaders, helping others navigate through complex change and tap their own creative human potential. The practices of mindfulness, empathy, humility and the artful use of human dynamics are powerful tools for this kind of authentic leadership. When Dan, Greg and I took that journey together on retreat at the ALIA Summer Institute in 2011, the power and importance of authentic leadership was made clear to us all.
Flow
Greg, Dan, and I know the feeling of being in the creative moment, a peak experience where the most difficult challenges suddenly become effortless, when the murky fog of war recedes to reveal sudden clarity. What creates these moments of clarity and flow is mysterious, but not unknowable. Mihaly Czikszentmihalyi described how artists, creators, athletes and spiritual practitioners provide clues to its source, and how attention to balancing challenge and skill levels can make flow states more likely.
The influence and intersection of these emerging trends, practices and patterns form the foundation of The Moment.
This is why The Moment exists. This is why we invite you to join us.
About the author
Mark Kuznicki, Chief Strategy Officer
Mark is an innovation and change leader with deep expertise in designing collaborative experiences to accelerate new ideas and meet changing realities. A skilled facilitator, he is a recognized leader in integrating online and offline experiences to foster public engagement and innovation. Mark has drawn upon these experiences to help clients such as the Ontario Public Service, Evergreen CityWorks, Dundee Realty, TVO and Microsoft access the intelligence of employees, stakeholders and communities in co-creating new solutions to difficult problems.
This article is the first in a series of three by the founders of The Moment. They originally appeared on their blog and are re-published here with permission.