The CEO of a public organization in Scotland told me how the group's business planning cycle occurred during the last quarter of the calendar year, which was also its busiest time of the year. So not only was it difficult to take people out of execution during this time, but none of the redwork performed during that last quarter, which might amount

The CONNECT play is the antidote to fear. Connect makes it safe to say what we see and think, even if no one else sees or thinks the way we do, even if we are not 99 percent sure that we're correct. Connect creates cultural conditions that encourage diversity of thought and variability of opinion. Connect is what allows us to move from paralysis to

To celebrate with, not for: appreciate, don't evaluate; observe, don't judge; and prize, don't praise.

Celebrating by describing what you have observed and signaling appreciation for the behaviors can sound like this:

• "I see that you've organized the presentation into three sections-I've got your points organized in my head now."


• "It looks like the

2. Admit You Don't Know
   
   It's hard to connect with a know-it-all, and a know-it-all is not going to care what you think. Instead, we get the sense from know-it-alls that all they care about is what they think. For a long time, I made a living being a know-it-all. I was supposed to know all the answers and have all my decisions be correct. I was not

TO MOVE FROM COERCE TO COLLABORATE

1. Vote first, then discuss.


2. Be curious, not compelling.


3. Invite dissent rather than drive consensus.


4. Give information, not instructions.

CONNECT

Connect is the enabling play that makes all the other plays work better. The Industrial Age play is conform. Connect is about caring: caring what people think; caring how people feel; caring about their personal goals.

Connect is not a superficial "friendship" but caring for someone else and wanting the best for them. Connect is love.

The key

Many of the strategies that thawed Frozen are components of the IMPROVE play. Improvement-which comes from egoless scrutiny of past actions, and deep reflective thinking about what could be betteris the core purpose of bluework, which is meant to improve redwork. Bluework in isolation is useless. It's relevant only to the extent that it makes

TO MOVE FROM COERCION TO COLLABORATION

1. Vote first, then discuss.


2. Be curious, not compelling.


3. Invite dissent rather than drive consensus.


4. Give information, not instructions.

If you want to keep your commitments, try using "don't," not "can't."

• "I don't buy product insurance," not "I can't buy product insurance."
  
  . "I don't miss deadlines," not "I can't miss this deadline."
  
  . “I don't spend my time that way," not "I can't spend my time that way."