from chaos to coherence

CH

ILDRE • C

RYERFRO

M C

HAO

S TO C

OH

ERENC

EPublishers of the H

eartMath

® SystemPLANETARY

FROM CHAOSTO COHERENCE

FROM CHAOSTO COHERENCE

HEARTMATH®

SYSTEMPL A N E T A R YA DI V I S I O N O F HE A R TMA T H LLCwww.hear tma th .com

Written by two of the most creative voices of business in the New Millennium.

From Chaos to Coherence is an inspired, pragmatic, and passionate exploration

that will challenge, stretch and transform your outlook

on personal and organizational excellence.

“This book is a gift to every individual and organization striving to make a difference, not just

a living, in today’s pressure-filled society...it advances the future by putting inner leadership at

the forefront, where it should be.”

— from the Foreword by Robert K. Cooper, Ph.D., author of Executive EQ.

“Provocative and highly practical approach at the heart of business and personal success in

the next millennium...a potent combination of biomedical and research validation with heart-

based technology. A must-read for any business person or executive wanting to measure and

sustain organizational improvement.”

— Ken Blanchard, co-author, The One-Minute Manager and Gung Hoand Gung Hoand

“The HeartMath has given us tools to make the difference between required courtesy and genu-

ine care... We have achieved our benchmarks in excellence in patient satisfaction and employee

satisfaction. I believe without HeartMath, we could not have reached our potential.”

— Tom Wright, COO, Delnor-Community Hospital

“Don’t underestimate the power of the HeartMath tools. Their simplicity and ease of use are

compelling in today’s roller coaster world. In our online, wired lives HeartMath gives us a way

to reclaim control and regain clarity about the “who, what, when, where and why” that can get

lost when we move at internet speed.”

— Buddy Teaster, Chief Networking Officer, Young Presidents Organization

“Throw away all those other management improvement books you’ve wasted your money on.

Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer have succeeded where most so-called ‘management gurus’ have

failed. They’ve found the way everyone in an organization, from the boardroom to the mail

room, can transform themselves and the company into a coherent, super-productive entity,

built on a foundation of understanding, compassion and caring. From Chaos to Coherence is

the personal and corporate solution we have all been waiting for.”

—Charles B. Inlander, President, People’s Medical Society

Business Management/Personal Development $16.00

DOC CHILDRE • BRUCE CRYER

FROMCHAOSTOCOHERENCE

FOREWORD BY ROBERT K. COOPER, PH.D.

(the power to change performance)

FCTC Cover.ID 1/7/04, 12:53 PM1

What people are saying about From Chaos to Coherence . . .

“… advances the future by putting inner leadership at the forefront, where it should be.”

– Robert Cooper, Ph.D.author, Executive EQ and The Other 90%

“… highly practical… a potent combination of biomedical and research valida-tion… a must-read.”

– Ken Blanchard, co-author, The One-Minute Manager and Gung Ho

“[Childre and Cryer have] found the way everyone in an organization, from the boardroom to the mail room, can transform themselves and the company into a coherent, super-productive entity.”

– Charles Inlander, President, People's Medical Society

“Ideal and sim ple tools for the internal trans for ma tion within our people. The re sults speak for them selves. Our air line, Cathay Pacifi c, now prides itself on de liv er ing an individual style of ser vice, straight from the heart. This has resulted in con sis tent ly being rated as having the best infl ight service in the world.”

—Peter Buecking, Director, Sales and Marketing Cathay Pacifi c Airways Ltd., Hong Kong

“HeartMath is making signifi cant progress in de vel op ing the research un der -pin nings that ex plain the powerful benefi ts of IQM for the per son and the orga-nization.”

—Tim Stone, CEO, Provizio

“Being at the vortex of the high-tech industry is very stressful. Using the techniques outlined in this book has literally added ten years to my life!”

—Patricia B. Seybold, CEO, the Patricia Seybold Group, and author, Customers.com: How to Create a Profi table Business Strategy

for the Internet and Beyond

001 Frontmatter FCTC.ID 1/6/04, 11:09 AM1

“A manual for anyone who wants to enhance their competitive edge through in tu i tive intelligence . . . and to adapt to more challenging times with ef fec -

tive ness and ease.”

—Vivian Wright, Strategic Change Services Hewlett-Packard

“. . . Brings irrefutable scientifi c underpinning to what our hearts have al ways told us about leadership and organizational development: intuition, sup port for in di vid u als, clarity, balance, and management of the emotional en vi ron ment all add up to or ga -ni za tions that are productive . . . and to lives that are ful fi lled.”

—James A. Autry, author Real Power: Business Lessons from the Tao Te Ching

“Speaks equally well to the leaders of large or ga ni za tions as it does to people in all walks of life, encouraging them to use in nate heart in tel li gence in dealing with the rapid pace of change during a very hec tic time in our his to ry.”

—Colonel Susan Goodrich, United States Air Force

“The back ground physiology and the scientifi c underpinning of this technique are ab so lute ly sound.”

—Graham Bridgewood, MD, Chief Medical Offi cer Shell International, United Kingdom

“There are two notable breakthroughs for Childre and Cryer in this book. They take the com plex and make it simple, and the abstract and make it real. A must read for anyone who wants to lead, support, or be a part of a high-performance team.”

—W. R. “Max” Carey, Jr., Chairman and CEO Corporate Resource Development

“. . . HeartMath’s core approach and its related programs . . . yields remarkable results.”

—Lucius C. Tripp, MD, MPH, Division Head, Occupational Medicine, Henry Ford Health Systems; former Regional Medical Director,

General Motors; and Principal, Wellness Group, Inc.


“HeartMath takes the mystery out of boosting organizational performance. Expect to elevate not only your business but your own personal existence as well. This book will profoundly and signifi cantly change your life.”

—Debbie Reichenbach, Manager, Employee DevelopmentTellabs

“. . . A wonderful, effective path to serenity for crazy, busy executives. The program not only works as a ‘problem fi xer,’ but more importantly it enriches one’s life. . . . Equips you to cope not only with all the stress in life, but then goes way beyond in in tro duc ing pos i tive, lasting changes.”

—Bob Morgan, PresidentCouncil of Growing Companies

“Challenging, insightful, provocative, practical, inspiring . . . a new and exciting perspec tive on how to improve . . . performance.”

—Warner Woodley, Senior Vice President Right Management Consultants, Canada

“. . . Exciting and life-changing . . . this book is a must for survival.”

—Fred Verhey, Vice President of Sales, Western Region Decker Communications, Inc.

“From Chaos to Coherence offers powerful tools, research, and case studies [for] in di -vid u als and organizations seeking to make better decisions, create cohesive teams, and achieve sus tain able results. ”

—Kristine Dale, President CEOProductions.com

“. . . Essential ingredients for business success.”

—Nancy Katz, President and CEO Calypte Biomedical


“. . . Masterfully weaves patterns of recent breakthroughs and chaos and com plex i ty re search, heart sciences, and organizational change work, into a rich tapestry of in- for ma tion, insights, and inspiration.”

—George Por, Founder and Senior Consultant Community Intelligence Labs

“. . . A book of profound operating intelligence.”

—Allan Cox, author Straight Talk for Monday Morning, Redefi ning Corporate Soul

“From Cha os to Co her ence is clear ly designed to help an organization excel rather From Cha os to Co her ence is clear ly designed to help an organization excel rather From Cha os to Co her encethan fall apart under these pressures.”

—Susan Mandl, President and CEO Newcourt Communications Finance

“A most pow er ful method for enhancing or ga ni za tion al learn ing.”

—Nick Zeniuk, former executive at Ford, President, Interactive Learning Labs Inc. and

Trustee-steward for The So ci ety for Or ga ni za tion al Learn ing (SoL)

“In all the books, texts and papers that I have read con cern ing effective manage ment none has had the positive im pact on me that this book has had.”

—Jack H. Holland, Ph.D., DSD, Emeritus Pro fes sor of Management San Jose State University

“. . . Begin[s] with coping with chaos and stress but ultimately it leads us to a uni ver sal source of inner peace and clarity.”

—James E. Warren, Jr., CFP, President Warren Financial Review, Inc.

“The book reveals sophisticated medical research about heart intelligence that is un der stood by nonmedical minds. . . . [It] provides meaningful data and in for ma tion mar i nat ed with prac ti cal tools on how to simplify solutions to life’s chal leng es.”

—Tim McGarvey, President and CEOEclipse 2000, Inc.


From Chaos to Coherence


From Chaos to Co her ence

[the power to change performance]

Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer

Revised Edition

PlanetaryA Division of HeartMath LLCBoulder Creek, California


Copyright © 2004 by HeartMath LLC

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a re triev al system, or trans mit ted in any form or by any means, elec- tron ic, me chan i cal, photocopying, re cord ing, or otherwise, without the pri or written permission of the publisher.

HeartMath®, Freeze-Frame®, Inner Quality Management® (IQM), Heart Lock-In® and Heart Mapping® are registered trademarks of the Institute of HeartMath. The steps of the Freeze-Frame technique are copyrighted.

Foreword to the Revised Edition Copyright 2000 by Robert Cooper, Ph.D.

The publisher offers special discounts on bulk orders of this book.For information, please contact:

Manager of Special SalesHeartMath LLC14700 W. Park AvenueBoulder Creek, CA 95006Tel: 831-338-8700Fax: 831-338-9861www.heartmath.com

Printed in the United States of America

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Childre, Doc Lew, 1945– From chaos to coherence : the power to change performance / Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer. p. cm. Originally published: Boston : Butterworth-Heinemann, c1999 Sub-title differs from 1999 edition. Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Organizational behavior. 2. Psychology, Industrial. 3. Work—Psychological aspects. 4. Quality of work life. I. Cryer, Bruce. II. Title.

HD58.7.C486 2000 158—dc21 00-033656

10 9 8 7 6 5 4


[ ix ][ ix ][ ix

Contents

Foreword to Revised Edition by Robert Cooper...................................xi Foreword by Scott Schuster.................................................................xiiiIntroduction to the Revised Edition ................................................xvi

Chapter 1 Business at the Speed of Balance.....................1 Chapter 2 The Coherence Imperative ..............................9 DYNAMIC 1 Internal Self-Management ..................... 25

Chapter 3 A New Model of Human Intelligence ............27

Chapter 4 Growing Up in the Hudson River: Overcoming Adaptation.................................56

Chapter 5 Freeze-Frame®: One-Minute Self-Management ............................................68

Chapter 6 Time, Expectations, and Other Things It’s Diffi cult to Manage.........................................83

DYNAMIC 2 Coherent Communication........................99Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Chapter 7 Authentic Communication: It’s Time for Some Serious Consideration .......................101


[ x ][ x ][ x From Chaos to Coherence

Chapter 8 Technology, Inner Technology, and the Measure of Human Capital ............................. 121

DYNAMIC 3 Boosting the Organizational Climate..................................................141

Chapter 9 There’s a Virus Loose and It’s Got Bob........... 143

Chapter 10 Core Values: The Foundation of Sustainability ................................................165

DYNAMIC 4 Strategic Processes of Renewal............. 185

Chapter 11 Leading from Chaos to Coherence ..............187

Chapter 12 Creating a Quantum Future .......................217

References ..................................................................230

Glossary .....................................................................239 Selected Reading .......................................................251

Index...........................................................................255


[ xi ]

Foreword to the Revised Edi tion

Robert K. Cooper, Ph.D.Chair, Advanced Ex cel lence Sys tems

Chair of the Board, Q-MetricsFellow, Silicon Val ley World Internet Center

International best-sell ing author of The Per for mance Edgeand Executive EQ: Emo tion al In tel li gence in Lead er ship & Or ga ni za tions

THIS BOOK IS A GIFT TO EV ERY INDIVIDUAL AND

or ga ni za tion striv ing to make a dif fer ence, not just a liv ing, in

to day's pres sure-fi lled society. As you will learn in the pages

ahead, re cent discoveries in neu ro science have turned much

con ven tion al wis dom about success upside down.

Over the years I have come to believe that each of us is

born with a unique po ten tial that defi nes a destiny in life and

at work. Few of us ever glimpse this hidden, one-of-a-kind po-

ten tial, much less liberate and explore it.

Among the main reasons for this is our over-dependence

on the intelligence that exists in the brain in the head and our

un der-uti li za tion of intelligence from the newly discovered “sec-

ond brain” in the hu man heart and “third brain” in the hu man

gut. By design, this complex and integrated three-part in tel -

li gence system is meant to be bril liant ly utilized and dis trib ut ed

throughout every aspect of human and or ga ni za tion al life. To

date, however, it rarely is. This book in vites you to change that.


[ xii ] From Chaos to Coherence

In a compelling call to action, Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer

draw upon leading edge research and years of practical ex pe -

ri ence to chal lenge each reader and or ga ni za tion to ad vance in

meaningful and mea sur able ways. Their approach is de signed

to help streamline your efforts instead of making them more

com pli cat ed. It turns out that an ounce of positive emo tion can

be worth a ton of repetition.

I have found that when people successfully face challenges

and do the best work of their lives, it’s largely because they have

found their own distinctive ways to gen er ate exceptional lev-

els of energy, passion, inner strength, and commitment. From

Cha os to Coherence is a valuable contribution to the literature Cha os to Coherence is a valuable contribution to the literature Cha os to Coherence

on this subject.

This book advances the future by putting inner leader-

ship at the forefront, where it should be. This is vital reading

for man ag ers and professionals at every or ga ni za tion al level.

The next steps are up to you.


Foreword [ xiii ]

Foreword

Scott ShusterFounding Director, Executive Programs, Business

Week

THE WORLD IS AN INTERNALLY CREATED PHENOMENON.

We take the in puts re ceived through our senses and process

that sensory data through our men tal i ty and emo tions to create

what each of us experiences as “the world.”

Every person’s world is necessarily different from everyone

else’s.

The quality of your individual world depends on your skill

in man ag ing and using the data that pours into you: The better

you are at operating your body’s data processing systems, the

more accurate your understanding of the world. And the more

accurate your im pres sions of the world around and within you,

the better chance you have of re spond ing to the world in the

man ner most effective for you and those with whom you as so -

ci ate.

But what are your internal systems? How do they work?

Where are the levers of con trol within us and how do we reach

those levers? Such mys ter ies of human design and response

have been the work of Doc Childre for over 30 years. In the early

1970s, Doc discovered that the human heart, an organ that ap-


[ xiv ][ xiv ][ xiv From Chaos to Coherence

pears to be principally a pump, in fact plays a demonstrable role

in human emotional response and in tel li gence. Hardly a sur-

prise to lov ers, songwriters, poets, or parents. But Doc proved it,

developing a thor ough go ing set of mental and phys i cal practices

that harness the emotional power of the heart mus cle and direct

that power toward the reduction of stress, im proved group in-

ter ac tion, and other positive effects. He called it HeartMath.

Doc and his collaborators—Sara Paddison, Rollin Mc-

Craty, Howard Martin, Deborah Rozman, Bruce Cryer, and oth-

ers—learned that the lin ear i ty of human thought and the pace

at which the body and mind tend to move from one momentary

ex pe ri ence to another were additional tools that could lever the

basic discovery concerning the role of the heart muscle. They

also learned that the HeartMath prac tice is especially effective

when conducted in the presence of oth ers—coworkers, for ex-

am ple.

Through the work of the not-for-profi t Institute of Heart-

Math and more recently through the development of IQM (In-

ner Quality Man age ment) techniques, Doc’s HeartMath tools

for the en hance ment of personal experience have been turned

to the sphere of team development and the improvement of or-

ga ni za tions. HeartMath and IQM today are being fi eld ed to the

corporate, gov ern ment, and military sectors. Repeat buyers of

the training in clude Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, Canadian Im-

pe ri al Bank of Com merce, Royal Dutch Shell (UK), and Cathay

Pacifi c Airways (Hong Kong), as well as many state, fed er al, and

provincial government agen cies throughout North America.

IQM is so hot that Doc, Bruce, and the man age ment team of

his newly formed for-profi t training and consulting com pa ny,

HeartMath LLC, are rapidly expanding to meet the world wide

corporate demand for their training courses.

On an afternoon in 1992, Bruce Cryer fi rst appeared in


[ xv ][ xv ][ xv

front of my desk at Business Week Executive Programs, 36 fl oors

up in Rockefeller Center in the heart of midtown Man hat tan.

His task was to impart an awareness of what at fi rst appears to

be pop psy chol o gy to a frankly skeptical editor in ter est ed only

in information of practical ap pli ca tion to the needs of large cor-

po ra tions. Bruce had no cor po rate clients at all: only a few pris-

ons, a juvenile delinquency pro gram, some school districts, and

a U.S. Army base.

The technology of HeartMath proves itself to any skep-

tic in sec onds: Focus your thinking on the pump beating in

your chest. Im me di ate ly the body warms and frame of mind is

loosened and changed. This was Doc Childre’s remarkable dis-

cov ery, a naturally oc cur ring transformative tech nol o gy of the

human body that had some how gone un dis cov ered or at least

undeveloped, unrecorded, and untransmitted for cen tu ries.

It was as though Bruce had brought me the fi rst re port of the

wheel, the telephone, or the semiconductor. I could see that this

was a new and dramatically useful tech nol o gy.

HeartMath is signifi cant both as a discovery and as a defi -

ni tion: Thanks to this book by Doc and Bruce, and to Doc's past

volumes, this remarkable internal tech nol o gy of the human

body is unlikely to again be forgotten. As news of the tech niques

spreads, HeartMath will be come part of the lexicon of hu man

behavior, part of everyone’s life.

There is no limit to the potential of HeartMath because at

root it is a simple, phys i cal act: a mental formation, a thought

with physical effects. It is neither philosophy, faith, nor belief.

The essentially phys i cal character of the practice enables its

easy ap pli ca tion across all the barriers that cus tom ar i ly divide

humanity. There is nothing cul tur al ly “American” about Heart-

Math. It will not transgress any re li gious or cultural pre cept. It

will work as well in India, Iran, China, or Nigeria as it works in


[ xvi ] From Chaos to Coherence

California, New York, the United Kingdom, or Sweden.

Within this potential universality lies HeartMath’s im-

mense promise: If everybody did this, what a wonderful world.


[ xvii ]

Introduction to the Revised Edi tion

THE YEARS SINCE THE ORIGINAL PUBLICATION OF THIS

book in 1998 have seen remarkable change. The internet

spawned an e-com merce revolution few of even the most op ti -

mis tic prog nos ti ca tors could have predicted. Technology stocks

su per charged an incredible period of economic ex pan sion.

Wealth was created at an unheard of pace. Con sol i da tion hap-

pened across many industries, creating fewer competitors and

giant behemoths. Bigger is better. So is faster. Dot-coms were

the rage, then the failures became staggering. Economic con-

traction, fed by the sudden glut of technology, set a wor ried tone

in American society, and then the terrorist attacks of Sep tem ber

11, 2001 shocked an American society which be lieved its wealth

and power somehow protected it from such acts, while many in

Western Europe and elsewhere wondered, “Who’s next?”

The pace of change was wild and exciting, and then it

turned dark and frightening, ag ing many of us faster than we

re al ize. What’s the price to us, from the sustainability of our

or ga ni za tions to the sustainability of our social systems, to the

qual i ty of life we’re mod el ing to our kids?

There’s another momentum picking up speed in the

world—a coherence momentum. Even in an era of un prec e-

dent ed economic and political uncertainty, this momentum

is ush er ing in new de sire to con nect, new forms of com mu ni -


[ xviii ] From Chaos to Coherence

cat ing, new busi ness mod els, new types of re la tion ships, and

new intelligence.

So where does the heart fi t in? Employees loved stock op-

tions but now crave mean ing in their work in place of non-stop

anxiety. Companies still angst over shareholder val ue and be ing

fi rst-to-market, but more strive to make the “100 Best Plac es

to Work” list so all the talent doesn’t leave when the economy

improves. Gen-Xers and boomers alike are drawing lines in the

sand about per son al free dom, fun and fulfi llment.

This book is about bringing coherence out of what in creas -

ing ly seems chaotic and crazy. It will describe a set of tools be ing

used around the world to help people sift through the moun-

tains of data, to reduce their stress, and to rebuild the health

and vitality of themselves and their or ga ni za tions.

This book presents new research dis cov er ies that are fun-

damentally changing the way we view healthy, high-performing

individuals and organizations. It will pro vide prac ti cal tools to

open up your think ing to new ways of be ing—for you and your

or ga ni za tion. It doesn’t have all the answers but it should make

you ask some really good ques tions. It may even awaken your

heart.

-Doc Childre and Bruce Cryer, 2004


[ 1 ]

c h a p t e r

11Business at the

Speed of Bal anceSome day, after we have mas tered the winds, the waves, the tides, and gravity...we shall harness...the en er gies of love. Then, for the second time in the history of the world, men will have discovered fi re.

—TEILHARD DE CHARDIN

SPEED IS AN INCREDIBLE DRUG. JUST ASK A FORMULA ONE

driv er, a day-trad er, or the CEO of any one of thousands of start-

ups try ing desperately to get there fi rst with the next great idea,

the really cool technology, the killer app. We have con vinced

our selves fast er is better, indeed faster is man da to ry. Lethargy, man da to ry. Lethargy, man da to ry

even bal ance, is death in today’s mar kets. But what fuel is driv-

ing us? Is our organization—are we—run ning on high-oc tane

or the fumes of fear? Fear we’ll lose the race, be left be hind, be

dumped in the trash heap of what could have been?

Balance sounds boring. And who’s got time for it? Who

cares that our bodies were not designed to handle the in cred i ble

information tsunami unleashed over the last de cade? Who cares

that information is now doubling every 12-18 months, com-

pared to every 30-36 months in 1995, or every 20 years back

in 1954? Who cares that most people in business today must

process hundreds of inputs daily (one survey sug gests 205 mes-

sages per day is the current average), let alone their regular job.

Who cares that in parallel with the glo bal iza tion of information

has developed an alarming rise of youth violence? Or that it took

01 Ch 1 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:45 PM1

[ 2 ] From Chaos to Coherence

the planet several million years to reach 3 billion inhabitants,

and less than 50 to add 3 billion more.1

Many people care.

From Chaos to Coherence was written for the future health From Chaos to Coherence was written for the future health From Chaos to Coherence

of organizations and the future potential of people. It proposes

a new way to build or ga ni za tions that respond to change, crisis,

and chal lenge with poise, fl exibility, and balance. Organizations

built of peo ple who respond quickly and caringly to changes in

the econ o my, their markets, their culture, and in themselves.

The “how” is a blend of sci ence, business practicality, and the

combined in tel li gence of the hu man heart and in tel lect.

Our view is that a new level of or ga ni za tion al effi ciency,

syn chro ni za tion, and effectiveness is pos si ble by studying and

ap ply ing new in for ma tion about the intelligence of the human

system. Or ga ni za tions will make only incremental im prove ments

in ef fec tive ness and sustainability until a more thorough and sen-

sitive un der stand ing of the human system resides at the core of

how or ga ni za tions function.

Research during the ’90s profoundly deepened our knowl-

edge of hu man intelligence, opening up radical new pos si -

bil i ties. The fact that intelligence is distributed through out the distributed through out the distributed

hu man sys tem and that the heart is an intelligent system pro-

found ly af fect ing brain pro cess ing represents a new model for found ly af fect ing brain pro cess ing represents a new model for found ly af fect ing brain pro cess ing

help ing or ga ni za tion al sys tems become more balanced, more

in tel li gent, more adaptive, and more humane. In many ways, the

emer gence of the Web mirrors this discovery.

Our team set out to build a coherent organization that would

put both care and effi ciency at the heart of all our activities: care

for our cli ents and care for ourselves, effi cient service for our cus-

tom ers, and in ter nal effi ciency for ourselves. Many of the 20 or

so who formed the original team at HeartMath had experience

working in com pa nies or public agencies mired in in co her ence

01 Ch 1 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:45 PM2

Business at the Speed of Balance [ 3 ]

and in ef fec tive ness. Hu man values often were absent, and so was

business ef fi cien cy. Ear ly on, Doc recognized a link between the

heart of a per son and the heart of an or gan ization. He knew organi-

zations re fl ect the col lec tive mind-sets and attitudes of the people

who in hab it them.

We spent most of the ’90s deeply researching human phys i -

ol o gy and or ga ni za tion al effectiveness. We tested our the o ries

and tools with thousands of people in dozens of public and

pri vate sec tor organizations in North America, Europe and Asia,

and in the organizations we built. Through this pro cess we

de vel oped In ner Qual i ty Man age ment® (IQM), a set of scientifi -

cally-based tools for help ing busi ness es (all or ga ni za tions) work

at the speed of bal ance.

THE FOUR DYNAMICS OF IQM

The four dynamics of Inner Quality Management are interde-

pendent and integrated:

• Internal self-management

• Coherent communication

• Boosting organizational climate

• Strategic processes of renewal

The cornerstone of IQM is internal self-management—internal self-management—internal self-management

help ing people manage their minds and emotions effectively.

Creativity, decision-making, health and well-being all im prove

when mind and emotions are coherent and relatively noise-free.

This is essential for building a high performance or ga ni za tion

in this age of accelerating change. Achiev ing co her ent com mu -

ni ca tion in an in creas ing ly noisy world is the prime ob jec tive ni ca tion in an in creas ing ly noisy world is the prime ob jec tive ni ca tion

of the sec ond dy nam ic. This involves managing both the huge

vol umes of elec tron ic com mu ni ca tion we are ex posed to as

well as the in ter per son al kind. The kind that drives us cra zy—or

01 Ch 1 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:45 PM3


brings deep sat is fac tion. A grow ing body of re search is re veal ing

the role cli mate plays in an or ga ni za tion’s long-term health and cli mate plays in an or ga ni za tion’s long-term health and cli mate

per for mance, and we all know what it feels like to work in a

team we love versus one we don’t. This is where dy nam ic three

will lead us. Dy nam ic four describes, through ad di tion al tools

and case stud ies, the strategic need for re new al in the culture of re new al in the culture of re new al

an organization. The ob jec tive of all this is in creased co her ence

in all as pects of in di vid u al and or ga ni za tion al life, leading to

sustainable business outcomes that insure an organization’s

viability and well-being. (Chap ter 2 will in tro duce the four dy-

nam ics in great er depth.)

01 Ch 1 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:45 PM4

Business at the Speed of Balance [ 5 ]

It’s Alive!

Consider that all organizations are living systems composed

of peo ple who think and feel. Each organization is a large com plex and feel. Each organization is a large com plex and

organism whose health and resilience depends on the same

fac tors that de ter mine an individual’s health and balance. Smart

or ga ni za tions—like smart peo ple—are now paying attention to

the el e ments that are work ing as well as to those that are not. Any

num ber of factors can weaken and di min ish the ef fec tive ness

of the oth ers: change in market, change in lead er ship, change

in gov ern ment. Change of any kind in creas ing ly af fects an

or ga ni za tion’s re sil ience, its per spec tive, and its clar i ty of

purpose. It’s fairly easy to spot the business outcomes of such

change. But it’s more important to fi rst understand the effects at

the individual level.

Dynamic 1. Internal Self-Management

If you have spent much of your career working in a medium to

large corporation, health care system, or government agency,

you have no doubt been trained to im prove qual i ty, think

stra te gi cal ly, out pace the com pe ti tion, or keep the cus tom er

satisfi ed. More than ever, organizations have to see outside

themselves. Isolationism and myopia don’t cut it today. It’s all

about connections, partnering, collaborating, and leveraging

what we have through the strengths and talents of others.

Many organizations are re al iz ing that it’s the adapt abil i ty, the

creativity, and the innovative intelligence with in the individual

that is the only real com pet i tive advantage any organization has.

In some ways, the military has fo cused on this more than

the pri vate sector, historically. Its num ber one ob jec tive must al-

ways be “force readi ness.”2 There is no ques tion, in the minds of

military lead ers, that the individual must be pre pared men tal ly,

emo tion al ly, and phys i cal ly to deal with any thing, in clud ing

01 Ch 1 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:45 PM5


life-and-death sit u a tions. Too of ten oth er organizations forget

this critical em pha sis on sus tain ing, nur tur ing, and pre par ing

the in di vid u al and, because of a ba sic emotional im bal ance in

that organization, twist mun dane prob lems into life-and-death

dra mas. People mak ing the tran si tion from mil i tary to busi ness

ca reers are of ten shocked by the cra zi ness in for-profi t compa-

nies over is sues “it ain’t worth losing any sleep over.” One of our

cli ents, a vet er an of the mil i tary and in tel li gence com mu ni ties

who served dur ing the Per sian Gulf War, told us of his shock at

the wasted en er gy he has seen in cor po rate Amer i ca over mun-

dane is sues mag ni fi ed be yond reason.

Internal self-management is based on these insights:

1. The pressure on the individual will increase in the years

to come.

2. Understanding human processes—mental, emo tion al,

and physical—is essential to the individual and the or ga -

ni za tion.

3. Identifying and plugging the leaks in your own system

saves energy.

4. You can increase your capacity for intelligence.

Dynamic 2. Coherent Communication

The success of internal self-management techniques is fi rst tested

in in ter ac tions with others. In an increasingly connected world,

com mu ni ca tion is more prevalent and demanding than ever.

Or ga ni za tion al and per son al ineffi ciency com pounds when the

qual i ty of com mu ni ca tion is low, when the im por tance of it is

ig nored, or when we simply tell ourselves “other things are more

press ing.” Coherent com mu ni ca tion is a model for effective

in for ma tion transfer and meaningful conversations between

01 Ch 1 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:45 PM6

Business at the Speed of Balance [ 7 ][ 7 ][ 7

co work ers, with customers, patients, or con stit u ents, and within

oneself. Coherent com mu ni ca tion is based on four principles:

1. Achieve understanding fi rst.

2. Listen nonjudgmentally.

3. Listen for the essence.

4. Be authentic.

Dynamic 3. Boosting the Organizational Cli mate

Signifi cant research has demonstrated—and most people’s

per son al ex pe ri ence confi rms—the necessity of a positive

work place climate for ef fec tive ness. This topic should not just be

the domain of the human resources or personnel department,

since everyone in the or ga ni za tion contributes to the climate,

as do fac tors external to the workplace. Anyone who has been

through a merger knows fi rst-hand just how dramatic a climate

change can be and how potentially devastating to personal

pro duc tiv i ty. This dy nam ic cre ates the in ter nal en vi ron men tal

fac tors that sup port or, if ig nored, un der mine dy nam ics one and

two. The key prin ci ples here are:

1. An “Emotional Virus” is insidious in many organizations

to day.

2. A healthy organizational climate heals the virus through

supportive man age ment, contribution, self-ex pres sion,

rec og ni tion, clar i ty, and chal lenge.

3. Human qualities such as adaptability, shared core values,

care, and ap pre ci a tion are the hallmark of great places to

work.

4. Understanding the distinction between knowledge

and wis dom leads to smarter decisions and smarter

or ga ni za tions.

01 Ch 1 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:45 PM7


Dynamic 4. Strategic Processes of Renewal

Moving from theory, conceptual models, and case studies to

prac ti cal ap pli ca tion is essential for ongoing organizational

co her ence. This is the nitty-grit ty of how the organization applies

its learn ing. This is also the dynamic that allows the organization

to renew itself at a strategic level, provided that the internal,

communication and climate dy nam ics are well balanced and

pos i tive. The principles of this dynamic are:

1. Balance is the keynote for self-renewing or ga ni za tions.

2. Building effective teams and coaching skills can le ver age

an organization’s human capital.

3. Creativity and innovation arise out of coherent peo ple.

4. Complex decision-making requires “big picture” think ing.

This book provides specifi c tools for the intelligent

or ches tra tion of each dynamic. Weakness in any area strains the

whole system and hinders performance. Progress in any area

boosts over all effi ciency and ef fec tive ness. It’s all about dynamic

bal ance.

01 Ch 1 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:45 PM8

c h a p t e r

22The Coherence Im per a tive

SCIENTISTS WHO STUDY THE BEHAVIOR OF LIGHT, AS

well as those who study bi o log i cal systems, understand the

con cept of co her ence. The dif fer ence be tween an ordinary

house hold light bulb and a laser il lus trates the concept. A light

bulb pro duc es light waves or particles that spread out from the

light source, bump ing into each other and diluting the potency

of the output. Scientists call this in co her ent light. Not terribly in co her ent light. Not terribly in co her ent

ef fi cient, but this is the in her ent nature of a light bulb. As a re-

sult, the light from such a bulb il lu mi nates only a limited range:

the high er the wattage, the more far-reaching its effect and the

more energy required to pow er it. But signifi cant en er gy must

go into a bulb for it to cre ate sig nifi cant light be cause of the

in co her ence—or in ef fi cien cy—of its light waves. Most or di nary

bulbs also burn out fairly quickly.

However, if these waves could be brought into co her -

ence—made more focused and or ga nized—a dra mat i cal ly new

level of pow er and ef fec tive ness would be achieved. This is the

un der ly ing prin ci ple behind a laser. A la ser pro duc es coher-

ent light waves that are highly effi cient, ordered, not wast ed or effi cient, ordered, not wast ed or effi cient

dis si pat ed bouncing into themselves. As a re sult, com mer cial

lasers need operate only on a tiny wattage because of this effi -

ciency. They are in cred i bly pre cise in a growing ar ray of sur gi cal

pro ce dures and com mer cial ap pli ca tions be cause they are so

fo cused, co her ent, and pen e trat ing. The shift from in co her ence

[ 9 ]

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM9


to co her ence is stunning: a 60-watt light bulb whose light waves

could be made coherent as a laser, would have the power to

bore a hole through the sun!1

We all have experienced moments of coherence, where

things were in sync, we were in “the fl ow,” our actions and in-

ten tions matched, and the outcomes were productive, ef fi cient,

and fulfi lling. For many, how rare and random these moments

are. They often emerge out of chaos. Imag ine if we could bring

our lives and our or ga ni za tions into a new level of co her ence,

fo cus, and clarity. What if an or ganization is doing an ad mi ra ble

job, providing decent customer service, good prod ucts or ser-

vices, while, un be knownst to it self, can cel ing out much of its

effectiveness be cause of internal dis tor tion, static, and stress?

Light bulbs burn out; so do people, and so do or ga ni za tions.

If employees are constantly brooding over negative com-

ments from coworkers or thinking about a problem at home,

coherence with in those in di vid u als is com pro mised. How could

it not be? They may try to be at ten tive to their work, but the

mental and emo tion al pro cess es they are going through will

drain them of vitality and dilute their ef fec tive ness. Just as in the

example of the house hold light bulb, they would be producing

ran dom ly, and it takes a lot of power to keep the light burn ing.

In the workplace, people some times fi nd this power through

drawing on raw nerve en er gy or the fear of not meet ing man age -

ment’s ex pec ta tions. If this pattern continues, they can burn out

and productivity ceases.

Here’s the puzzle: Chaos can be appealing. In the ’90s

many tal ent ed people left pre dict able, or dered, rou tine jobs

with suc cess ful companies (many with great stock options and

benefi t plans) for the unpredictability and ad ven ture of dotcom

start-ups. While the organizations these Gen-Xers and boomers

left may not have been models of coherence or bal ance, cha os

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM10

The Coherence Imperative [ 11 ]

with fun sounded a lot better than chaos with drone.

This became a profound management challenge for older

com pa nies until the recession took full effect. And staff re ten -

tion remains a critical issue for health care systems ev ery where.

When the economy rebounds, staff retention will be critical in

the private sector too, in order to main tain co her ence in the or-

ga ni za tion and at tract the kind of tal ent they need to grow and

prosper.

People—employees and customers alike—want in di vid u al

attention and customized solutions. The days of one-size-fi ts-

all—for any thing—are long gone. How can coherence emerge

out of this seeming chaos?

Putting emphasis on learning how to deal effectively with

work place and personal problems will create more co her ence in

the individual. At ten tion span, mental clarity, and creativity will

nat u ral ly increase. Coherence is effi ciency in action. Co her ent

people thrive men tal ly, emotionally, and phys i cal ly. Co her ence

is not a static, rigid state. When a system is coherent, virtually no

energy is wasted be cause of the in ter nal syn chro ni za tion. Pow er

is maximized—the pow er to adapt, fl ex, innovate. This coherent

pow er results in a major leap in ef fi cien cy and effectiveness.

Coherence within people can also be measured biomedi-

cally, with pro found implications for productivity, men tal clar-

ity, and car dio vas cu lar, im mune system, and hor mon al health,

as well as the aging process. Cardiac co her ence is a term used to co her ence is a term used to co her ence

describe the state of the car dio vas cu lar sys tem when the elec-

tri cal and mechanical sys tems of the heart are syn chro nized and

operating effeciently.2 Internal co her ence can be mea sured by

mon i tor ing the elec tri cal syn chro ni za tion of brain and heart and

determining whether the ner vous system is full of noise or static

free. (More on this in the next chapter.) The ef fect of increased

in di vid u al co her ence means we spend less en er gy to maintain

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM11


health, we waste less energy through in ef fi cient thoughts and

reactions, and our body does not strain to keep us focused and

productive.

Coherence is a progressive state—the more we build it, the

more we have in reserve. The aim is to increase the ratio of time

spent, per son al ly and organizationally, in coherence. In creased

personal co her ence yields greater fl exibility, adapt abil i ty, cre-

ativ i ty, and per haps most important, the self-se cu ri ty to re gain

hope.

Organizations—being the sum total of the intelligence, cre-

ativ i ty, self-management, and coherence of their people—op-

er ate the same way. As co her ence increases within in di vid u als

and teams, a much high er level of or ga ni za tion al coherence and

alignment is possible—coherence between the organization’s

mis sion, its vision, its strategies and its ac tions. Coherence

is con sis ten cy be tween customer expectations and customer con sis ten cy be tween customer expectations and customer con sis ten cy

satisfaction. Co her ence is continuity in every internal process continuity in every internal process continuity

and com mu ni ca tion modality. Co her ence is balance within the balance within the balance

per son al life of each stakeholder in the process. Does this im ply

or require a static external environment? Hardly. The increas-

ing chaos in all the world's system re quires a high ly fl exible,

adap tive, intelligent response. Co her ence is the en er gy-ef fi cient

mo dal i ty in a chaotic world. Because so many corporate, public

and health care organizations lack much coherence, even a lit tle

coherence goes a long way.

Organizational coherence can also be measured. Research

con duct ed by the Institute of HeartMath labs,3 as well as by

oth er re search ers cit ed in this book, confi rms what many or ga -

ni za tion al think ers and businesspeople have known in tu itive ly

for years: Or ga ni za tion s which si mul ta neous ly address per son al

dynamics and or ga ni za tion al structures are more successful and and or ga ni za tion al structures are more successful and and

sustainable outperform their competitors.

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM12


EntrainmentThrough HeartMath's work with teams in many types of private

and pub lic sec tor or ga ni za tions, it became clear that individuals

fi rst must learn tools for their own self-management. Work shops

and offsite sem i nars abound to ad dress “team building” but

most ig nore the fundamental men tal and emotional processes

with in the individual. We ques tioned how teams could ever be with in the individual. We ques tioned how teams could ever be with in

more ef fec tive until the individuals became more “in sync” with

them selves. We began to understand a phe nom e non known

to sci en tists but quite lack ing in most or ga ni za tions—the phe-

nom e non of entrainment. Entrainment is the scientifi c term for Entrainment is the scientifi c term for Entrainment

the syn chro ni za tion of sys tems (see Fig ure 2–1). Flocks of birds,

schools of fi sh, the pace mak er cells in the hu man heart—all are

examples of en train ment. Teams that are entrained function

smoothly, cap i tal iz ing on the cre ativ i ty and intelligence of the

in di vid u al members with min i mal dis tor tion or static. To use

Faith Pop corn’s term, they are “click ing.”4 They are more coher-

ent in everything they do. There is less distortion and internal

con fl ict and greater re sil ience and fl ex i bil i ty in the face of chal-

lenge or cri sis. Opin ions and perspectives within the group are

diverse; they don’t all think alike, but there is respect and the

desire to col lab o rate. They are “in sync.”

Coherent individuals are the prerequisite for entrained

teams. In di vid u als who are coherent enjoy greater balance in

their work and personal lives, and fi nd decision-making easier.

You’ve experienced entrainment and its lack—orchestras,

sports teams, and dance troupes that achieved high levels of

en train ment and moved ef fort less ly as one co her ent whole, cel-

ebrating individual excellence and unique ness; com pa nies that

grew too fast and became in cred i bly disjointed; ath letes who

per formed “in the zone” only to lose it and grow de spon dent.

A common thread is the heart. Was their “heart” in what

they were doing? Were they operating from a deep in tu i tive in-

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM13


EntrainmentEntrainmentIn Sync

Out of Sync

copyright 1994, Institute of HeartMath

FIGURE 2–1 Entrainment. The concept of entrainment was fi rst discovered in 1665 by the Dutch clock maker Christiaan Huyggens, who observed that pendulum clocks fell into synchronized rhythm if their pendulums were of the same length. Even after breaking their rhythm they fell back into syn- chro ni za tion. Numerous ex am ples exist in the biological world of this innate tendency to conserve energy.

tel li gence or had personality dif fer enc es over rid den com mon

goals, common values, and a common mis sion? Were love and

appreciation guiding prin ci ples fueling their actions? Doc's and

Bruce's pro fes sion al careers have been extremely var ied—man-

u fac tur ing, mu sic, business, biotech, publishing, and now

per son al and or ga ni za tion al ef fec tive ness consulting. The high

points always hap pened when our hearts were fully engaged in

what we were doing. That pro cess always yielded cre ative in-

sight and ef fi cient solutions. And we had a lot more fun.

The State of What Is

How is this era of unprecedented change affecting personal and

organizational coherence? For corporations and health care or-

ganizations alike, in creased cus tom er and consumer aware ness

has re sult ed in great er ex pec ta tions and de mands. In creased

com pe ti tion has in creased internal pres sures—many of which

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM14


are emo tion al—while re duc ing profi t mar gins. A more com plex

mar ket place has re quired ever more so phis ti cat ed sales and

mar ket ing tech niques. The rapid pro lif er a tion of in for ma tion

tech nol o gy has created a moun tain of information to man-

age and re spond to. The pub lic sector has faced many of these

same profound chang es with the added bur den of an elec tor ate

deep ly cynical about the rel e vance of gov ern men tal in sti tu tions

and policies. Gridlock now is used to describe po lit i cal im pass es Gridlock now is used to describe po lit i cal im pass es Gridlock

as often as free way traffi c. Downsizing, also known eu phe mis t-

i cal ly as right-right-right sizing and dark ly as sizing and dark ly as sizing capsizing, has ar rived in every capsizing, has ar rived in every capsizing

seg ment of society, with numerous military base closures in the

Unit ed States causing wrench ing change in the com mu ni ties

grown de pen dent on them. Reengineering and outsourcing

have been ini ti at ed to boost internal effi ciency, while new skills

to manage the chang es have been re quired. Feel ing tired yet?

The Impact of Change

Many organizations have gotten fl atter, and the reduction in

bu reau crat ic lay ers has meant people have to be much more

fl ex i ble, have multiple skills, and struggle with roles that often

are less defi ned. Even the world of science has felt the pain and

promise of change. In the United States, managed care has to-

tal ly altered how disease is treat ed and dramatically af fect ed

al ready strained doctor-pa tient re la tion ships. At the same time,

the fragmentation of science into thou sands of subspecialties is

seeing a back lash into more in te grat ed ap proach es that build on

in ter dis ci pli nary strengths such as psychoneuroimmunology,

the study of mind-body interactions.5

A U.S. Bureau of Labor Sta tis tics study discovered that

sig nifi cant ef fects occur in em ploy ee productivity and ac tu al

be hav ior as a result of change.6 As a direct con se quence of or ga -

ni za tion al change—wheth er brought upon by changing mar ket,

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM15


downsizing, a merger, change in lead er ship, or sim ply a se ries of

bad decisions,

• Productive work dropped from 4.8 hours per day to 1.2 hours per day, a loss of 75%.

• Social chat and gossip in creased from 1.5 hours per day to 3.2 hours per day, an increase of more than 100%.

• Retraining time went from 0 hours to 1.8 hours, now oc cu -py ing near ly 25% of the employee’s time.

The Emerging Cost of Stress

According to the U.S. De part ment of Labor, the work place is the

great est sin gle source of stress, no mat ter what you do or how

much you earn.7 Stress may now account for 75–90% of all visits

to phy si cians, according to the Amer i can Institute of Stress.8 The

price tag to Amer i can busi ness es for stress is at least $200 bil lion

a year.9 Until very recently, this was the “Emperor’s new clothes”

of or ga ni za tion al ef fec tive ness—we knew stress was out of con-

trol, but most of us were afraid to speak up about it. Thankfully,

that has started to change. The coherence mo men tum is picking

up speed.

The Globalization of Stress

America has no exclusive fran chise on workplace stress. A 1997

New York Times ar ti cle noted that the word New York Times ar ti cle noted that the word New York Times stress has be come stress has be come stress

so uni ver sal it does not need to be trans lat ed into the local lan-

guag es.10 Say “stress” in vir tu al ly any country of the world and

the locals will know what you mean. A Unit ed Na tions Re port

called job stress “the 20th-cen tu ry disease.”the 20th-cen tu ry disease.”the 11

In the United Kingdom, as much as 10% of the GNP now

goes to stress-related costs. A recent study in the UK12 showed

that 60% of man ag ers work in excess of the normal work week,

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM16

The Coherence Imperative [ 17 ][ 17 ][ 17

and 52% claim to be suffering from too much work, up from

40% in 1993. Fur ther more, 40% of male re spon dents felt they

did not spend enough time at home. Over 50% cited the bal ance

be tween home and work as stress ful. This study also found that

47% of those in ter viewed found their workload had “in creased

great ly” dur ing that year. In Can a da, at least $12 bil lion is spent

each year on trackable stress-related costs, and 46% of Canadian

wom en and 36% of Ca na di an men cite “be ing too busy” as the

main cause of work stress.13

Their colleagues in Ja pan, Hong Kong, and the de vel op ing

econ o mies of Asia have sim i lar issues. In fact, Asian managers

have mir rored many of the same stressed out be hav iors and

con se quenc es of their Eu ro pe an and North Amer i can coun-

ter parts.14 In Ja pan, the word karoshi lit er al ly means dying at karoshi lit er al ly means dying at karoshi

your desk and is con sid ered a

na tion al health crisis affecting

tens of thousands each year.

Ac cord ing to the Na tion al Po-

lice Agen cy, sui cides in Ja pan

in 1996 totaled about 23,000,

more than dou ble the number

of traf fi c fa tal i ties. “The de-

mise of the job-for-life system

is especially tough for the Jap-

a nese salaryman, whose so cial

rank is de ter mined by his

company and his po si tion,”

reported Time magazine in a

February 1998 cover sto ry.15 At

least 200 law suits have been

fi led by fam i lies of people who

dropped dead af ter too many

all-nighters.16

we’re worried...

In one recent study, 44% of

the work ers ques tioned

be lieved their workload was

ex ces sive, 46% wor ried about

lay offs, 55% wor ried about the

com pa ny’s fu ture, and 50% felt

their jobs were not se cure. This

equates to millions of peo ple

try ing to work through worry

and in se cu ri ty, on a dai ly basis.

An oth er study found that 42%

of Americans had looked for a

new job be cause of the strug gle

to main tain work-per son al life

bal ance.

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM17


These statistics amount

to a global mountain of inner

tur moil and incoherence. The

typical organizational re sponse

has been denial or a band-aid

fi x. Of fer a lunch-and-learn

for those trou bled by stress.

Encourage managers to spend

more time lis ten ing. Send

an ex ec u tive to a lead er ship

course to help him smooth out

his style. Systemic solutions

that address core human emo-

tional processes have been

largely absent.

“Only the Dead Have Done Enough”

There clearly is much that

could be feared today. In co -

her ence reigns. There also is

much that could be appreci-

ated. Co her ence emerg es.

Which is it? Where do we focus

our at ten tion? If we ap pre -

ci ate only what’s good, will we

not ig nore the real prob lems

and is sues that cry out for at-

ten tion? A re cent high-lev el

meet ing of a glo bal tele com -

mu ni ca tion com pa ny shift ed

course con sid er ably when an

Get

Coherent

reduce stress

Stress is the main disabler

of per son al and or ga ni z-

a tion al per for mance. Ad dress ing

it has become a crit i cal business

strat e gy. Peo ple’s per cep tions

about events create in ter nal stress,

so sole ly ad dress ing struc tur al

and or ga ni za tion al is sues, and

not ad dress ing emotional per-

ceptions, will fail to resolve the

problem. Help ing people widen

their per spec tives about work

loads, em ploy ee re la tion ships,

man age ment, cus tom ers, etc., can

signifi cantly reduce stress lev els,

free ing up en er gy to address ex-

ter nal factors that encourage a

stress undertone. Changing per-

cep tion re quires new in tel li gence.

Allocate re sourc es to increase

heart in tel li gence with in your

or ga ni za tion and take steps to

pro mote mental, emo tion al and

work/life bal ance. Your ef forts and

ex pen di tures will sig nifi cant ly

in crease or ga ni za tion al co her ence

and per for mance.

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM18


ex haust ed man ag er stat ed, “Only the dead have done enough.”

This state ment, cyn i cal and des per ate though it was, was met

with com plete un der stand ing and sym pa thy from the oth er

over worked and underappreciated man ag ers and executives in

the room.

In her ex cel lent book Lead er ship and the New Science, Lead er ship and the New Science, Lead er ship and the New Science

Mar g a ret Wheatley asks: “How do we create or ga ni za tion al

co her ence, where ac tiv i ties cor re spond to purpose? How do we

cre ate struc tures that move with change, that are fl ex i ble and

adap tive, even boundaryless, that en able rath er than con strain?

How do we sim pli fy things with out losing both control and

dif fer en ti a tion? How do we re solve personal needs for free dom

and au ton o my with or ga ni za tion al needs for pre dic tion and

con trol? . . . Is there a magnetic

force, a basin for activity,

so at trac tive that it pulls all

be hav ior toward it and cre ates

co her ence?”17 To this we

would answer yes. That force

does exist. It can and must

be tapped for the future of

or ga ni za tions and our selves.

Testing the Theory

As a research organization, a

fundamental objective of the

In sti tute of HeartMath has

been to inform leaders in sci-

ence and busi ness of its dis-

cov er ies and to leverage previ-

ous work into more extensive

projects. Demonstrating the

In sti tute’s ideas of or ga ni za -

recognize change will accelerate

Complacency is out.

Adaptability is in. Every

glo bal trend fore cast for the

econ o my, health care, political

sys tems, ed u ca tion and fam i ly

life, points to a pe ri od of un-

prec e dent ed change. New in tel -

li gence is need ed to deal ef fec -

tive ly with changes that stretch

our capacities, per son al ly and

pro fes sion al ly. Make your own

in ter nal co her ence a pri or i ty.

The fu ture will de mand this

more than ever.

recognize

Get

Coherent

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM19


tion al co her ence in a world-class organization was a high prior-

ity. In 1994, the director of emerg ing tech nol o gies for a For tune

50 company approached Bruce about one of the fi rm’s core ob-

jec tives: enhancing the human per for mance of its peo ple. The

company already had a global rep u ta tion for prod uct in no va tion

and an unusually strong focus on its people. It en tered mar kets

where it had no expertise and quickly dom i nat ed them. The

company of ten credited the organizationwide focus on train ing

as fun da men tal to its mar ket leadership.18

But now the company’s issues were changing. Tech nol o gy

ad vanc es in their key in dus tries were becoming so rapid, lead-

er ship no longer was assured. Stress on people was in creas ing,

partly due to the or ga ni za tion’s size and challenge to sustain

its healthy growth, part ly due to societal and family is sues un-

related to the organization. The HeartMath team was asked to

design a series of programs for a wide range of staff mem bers

to address and measure multiple issues, such as pro duc tiv i ty,

teamwork, com mu ni ca tion effectiveness, health and stress, cre-

ativity, and in no va tion.

Plans were drawn to recruit three teams of employees for

the pi lot pro grams, which would be held in two different lo ca -

tions in the United States. The pilot groups would consist of one

group of ex ec u tives, mid dle managers and ad min is tra tive staff

members; one intact soft ware en gi neer ing team; and a team of

assembly line work ers. This was HeartMath’s fi rst sig nifi cant

research-based cor po rate intervention19 and the fi rst to test the

validity of its con cepts.

Improvements in Productivity, Teamwork, Health, and Em pow er ment

The program was conducted over a six-month period. Dramatic

im prove ments in pro duc tiv i ty were measured in the assembly

line work ers (see Figure 2–2):

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM20


• 93% had increased productivity.• 90% had improved teamwork. • 93% acknowledged an increased sense of empowerment.• 93% felt healthier, including signifi cant gains in energy and

vi tal i ty, less tension, fewer physical problems, a re duced need for med i ca tion, and greater personal and pro fes sion al fulfi ll-ment.

• More than 20 rec om men da tions made by the as so ci ates for improving pro duc tiv i ty were im ple ment ed by the manage-ment team.

• 22% decrease in defects.

A key factor of concern to the company was car dio vas cu lar

health and effi ciency. Of the adult working pop u la tion in Amer-

i ca, 33% have high blood pressure.20 The fi g ures are sim i lar in

Europe. High blood pres sure (or hy per ten sion) is the leading

risk factor for heart dis ease and stroke21 and can dra mat i cal ly in-

hib it performance and performance and performance pro duc tiv i ty. While this in ter ven tion had pro duc tiv i ty. While this in ter ven tion had pro duc tiv i ty

FIGURE 2–2 The graph shows changes in productivity, teamwork, em pow -er ment, and health in workers who learned HeartMath coherence tech-niques, compared to a control group of workers performing the same job.

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM21


not been positioned as a wellness pro gram—the intent was in-

creasing business pro duc tiv i ty—our clients in tu itive ly knew the creasing business pro duc tiv i ty—our clients in tu itive ly knew the creasing business pro duc tiv i ty—

relationship be tween individual health and pro duc tiv i ty:

• 26% of the executive, administrative, and engineering teams were hy per ten sive at the start of the study.

• After six months, all participants had regained normal blood pres sure. They had also learned to lower blood pres sure dur-ing high ly stressful situations.

There were signifi cant improvements in other pro duc -

tiv i ty-af fect ing factors:

• 18% less anxiety• 26% less burnout• 20% less hostility• 32% increase in contentment

There was a 36% reduction in overall stress symptoms,

which in cluded the following:

• 56% reduction in sleeplessness• 31% decrease in rapid heartbeats• 27% reduction in headaches• 33% reduction in heartburn• 30% reduction in trembling due to stress

Bruce also received many comments refl ecting greatly in-

creased per son al and team coherence.

• “More inventions were disclosed in the last six months.”

• “Since my stress levels are now lower, I am more relaxed and able to think more clearly. My negotiation skills have improved.”

• “My number of patents per month literally doubled.”

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM22


• “I feel happier with myself. I perform better with my job. I com mu ni cate more—without being afraid.”

• “I’m handling family life a lot better with less worries, and I’ve re solved a lot of prolonged issues. I can listen to oth ers, be open-mind ed, willing to train co work ers, and come to work feel ing hap py and ready to work.”

In corporate speak, we “hit a home run”—great data, great

per son al enthusiasm, plans to expand the im ple men ta tion

through out at least one fac to ry. The fact that the company was

Motorola gave us enor mous cred i bil i ty and leverage to begin

speak ing with other organizations about the po ten tial benefi ts

of the Institute’s technology. We were even rewarded with a spe-

cial prize at an internal competition held by the company.

The primary division where these tools were implemented

saw record growth and the cor po rate university began of fer ing

IQM at head quar ters. So we offer this story as an ex am ple of

what could be. In an age when organizational strain and un-

cer tain ty pre dom i nates, when our most productive hours and

years re main dedicated to or ga ni za tions that often show lit tle or

no loy al ty to us, there are com pel ling reasons to do things dif-

fer ent ly. And they can result in mea sur able im prove ments that

or ga ni za tions—and people—require.

Perception—the lens through which we view life—is at the

root of the solutions. As Victor Frankl, a Holocaust sur vi vor and

au thor, put it so eloquently,

“everything can be tak en away from a man but

one thing: the last of the human free doms—to

choose one’s at ti tude in any given set of cir cum -

stanc es, to choose one’s own way.”22

Doc has spent years showing that it is one’s attitudes that

un der lie ev ery as pect of per son al and organizational co her ence.

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM23


Too often it is the hand-me-down mind-sets, in herited from

gen er a tions of man ag ers be fore us, that reinforce or ga ni za tion al

rigidity and in fl ex i bil i ty. By free ing ourselves from those attitudes,

co her ence be comes pos si ble, es pe cial ly in an age where all the

rules have changed.23 As Albert Einstein said, “The world we have

created is a prod uct of our way of think ing.”24 We need a new way

of think ing. We need a new intelligence.

02 Ch 2 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:47 PM24

[ 25 ]

DYNAMIC 1

INTERNAL SELF-MANAGEMENT

1. Understanding human processes—mental, emotional and phys-ical—is necessary to create sustained organizational transfor-mation. A new model of human intelligence provides clues.

2. The pressure on the individual will increase in the years to come as societal, family, and internal stresses mount and the pace of change accelerates.

3. As individuals learn to identify and plug the leaks in their own personal systems, they stop draining energy and effectiveness personally and organizationally.

4. Individuals can learn to increase their capacity for intelligence, resulting in more effective decisions, greater resilience, and a heightened sense of well-being. This provides enormous value to any organization.

Internal Self-Management

IncreaseCapacity forIntelligence

RecognizeInternal Stresses

Understandthe Human

Process

Plugthe Leaks

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM25

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM26

[ 27 ]

c h a p t e r

3A New Model of

Human Intelligence

INTELLIGENCE USED TO BE SO SIMPLE. GOOD GENES

guaranteed high IQ, which got you into a first-rate university,

which paved the way for a great job, a beautiful family, and a

fine career. As long as you were part of the intelligentsia or the

business elite.

Then reality set in.

Many people began to doubt IQ was an accurate predic-

tor of real intelligence, the kind it takes to lead a good life, have

great relationships, and really be successful. Intuitively many

people knew IQ didn’t measure street smarts, creativity, artistic

brilliance, or emotional sensitivity.

Plaque seen in a rural store in North Carolina:

“The brain said, ‘I’m the smartest organ in the body.’ The heart said, ‘Who told you?’”

The human body is an incredible system—roughly 7

trillion cells with a mind-boggling level of physical and bio-

chemical coordination necessary just to turn a page, cough, or

drive a car. When you consider how little of it you have to think

about, it becomes even more amazing. When was the last time

you reminded your heart to beat, your lungs to expand and

contract, or your digestive organs to secrete just the right bio-

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/06/04, 3:53 PM27

[ 28 ] From Chaos to Coherence A New Model of Human Intelligence [ 29 ]

chemicals at just the right time? These and a myriad of other

processes are handled unconsciously every moment we live.

Our intelligence manages the whole system, much of it uncon-

scious. What is becoming increasingly apparent is that all our

processes are profoundly affected by what we consciously do:

what we think, what we feel, how we react. Research is now clear

that the inability to manage oneself efficiently leads to premature

aging, diminished mental clarity, and even blocked access to our

innate intelligence. The converse is also true: Increasing internal

coherence leads to more efficiency in all physiological systems,

and greater creativity, adaptability, and flexibility.

This is the backdrop for the first theme in the internal self-

management dynamic:

Understanding human processes—mental, emotional, and physical—is necessary to create sustained organizational trans-formation. A new model of human intelligence provides clues.

The notion of multiple intelligences came into vogue over

the last twenty years, each type of intelligence a unique dimen-

sion of what it means to be fully human. The parallels between

the development of computing and the evolution in our under-

standing of human intelligence are striking. Thirty years ago,

mainframe computers and the human brain were considered

the supreme source of all intelligence in their respective do-

mains: smart computer, dumb terminal; intelligent gray matter,

organs that simply follow commands. The explosion in com-

putational power of the microprocessor meant smart desktops

connecting with other desktops. Soon the network became the

computer and connectivity meant increased intelligence, or at

least increased access to information. Simultaneously, scientists

began to discover that human information processing was far

more distributed than previously thought. Perhaps most chal-

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM28


lenging to our notion of centralized intelligence was the discov-

ery that intelligence is not confined to the gray matter within the

human skull.

Neural circuits are pathways in our brains that develop as

we learn new behaviors and skills. They grow and develop as

we do. At birth, perhaps 100 billion neurons already exist in the

brain, yet few circuits, relatively speaking, have been formed,

which is why a human baby is so dependent on others for the

first few years of its life. How the neurons connect with each

other is determined largely by what the child experiences and

by the human social factors in the environment. Their connec-

tions with other neurons form the neural circuits—a grid that

greatly affects perception and learned behavior. They are the

storehouse of memory. Yet, neural networks exist in other parts

of the body beyond the brain. The hunt for more intelligence

had begun.

DNA and Development

DNA is a complex molecule found in every cell in our body.

It contains the genetic blueprint for the cells and how they will

shape our bodies. In terms of brain development, DNA has cod-

ed within it the basic patterns for the brain’s structure. However,

DNA does not determine the neuronal pathways (circuits) and

connections that form nor the strength of those connections.

These form as a result of our repeated experiences and the in-

fluence of the environment in which we live and to which we

adapt. Imagine a computer chip whose circuits formed through

experience as the operator used the computer, not only through

its intrinsic design. Every computer would be totally unique to

its user. The essence is that, while DNA gives us a basic structure

for brain development, the patterns formed by the neurons and

the strength of their connections develop as a result of the input

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM29


and experience we each have. Our intelligence is unique and

pliable.

As young children our neurons are rapidly forming new

circuits in response to learning a new skill, such as walking,

physical coordination, or adapting to the environment. If chil-

dren are often stressed, circuits develop that are hypersensitive

to stress in later life, and their ability to adapt is limited. Puberty

is characterized by the start of sex hormone production, result-

ing in a variety of physiological changes, including a reduction

of “plasticity” in the neural circuits. For example, learning a sec-

ond language after puberty is considerably more difficult, neu-

rologically speaking, than before. Or another—the first genera-

tion raised with computers since preschool is now entering the

workforce, and leading much of the Internet revolution. Their

circuits formed in response to an entirely different set of stimuli

than their parents. To them, technology is easy; it’s matter-of-

fact. In very real terms it’s a natural extension of how they think

and relate to the world.

Back to the neural circuit story.

Unhooking Neurons

It takes considerable focus and energy to reconfigure the

neuronal circuits once a basic pattern has been set. This does

not mean that the brain cannot be “rewired”; it simply requires

more energy. Once a thought pattern is set firmly in place it be-

comes a “mind-set,” meaning our perceptions and responses

are bound by that pattern. This limits our range of possibilities

and adaptability. If you ever wondered why changing mind-sets

can seem to be such a daunting experience, have you ever tried

to unhook a neuron? The concept of intelligence has required

some updating as this information has been uncovered. To limit

our definition of intelligence to mental capacity would obstruct

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM30


a new understanding of the entire human system as intelligent.

Intelligence itself has many dimensions.

Intelligence Throughout

It is now known that complex neuronal structures exist not

only in the brain but also within the gut and the human heart.

Neurochemicals, the carriers of nervous system information,

are produced in vast quantities in these organs as well. These

chemicals in turn affect brain processing and virtually every

other organ in the body. For several years researchers have

studied the enteric nervous system, a complex set of nerves

found in the intestinal tract. This elaborate network of neurons

and neurochemicals is so sophisticated and complex it is now

called the gut brain. Its activity directly affects brain function.

More neurons exist in the gut—about 100 million—than in the

entire spinal column1, and this gut brain appears to be heavily

influenced by our emotions. Have you ever felt “butterflies” in

your stomach or a “knot” of worry? Most gastrointestinal dis-

orders have a strong emotional component as any patient with

colitis or student about to take an exam will tell you.

Gut Feelings

The gut feeling many people trust has biological roots.

“Considered a single entity, [the gut brain] is a network of neu-

rons, neurotransmitters and proteins that zap messages be-

tween neurons, support cells like those found in the brain prop-

er and a complex circuitry that enables it to act independently,

learn, remember and, as the saying goes, produce gut feelings,”

according to an article in the New York Times.2 In many martial

arts traditions, this area of our anatomy is viewed as a source

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM31


of power and intelligence. Here, martial arts teachers tell us, is

where to center yourself and gain power.3 Troubling feelings

land here, too, as the millions who obsess over share price can

attest.

The Brain in the Heart

Now new research has been published that is totally re-

structuring our views about intelligence yet again. This new

data shows that a sophisticated intrinsic nervous system is now

known to exist within the human heart. Research cardiologist J.

A. Armour, M.D., of Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, calls

this intrinsic nervous system of the heart the little brain in the

heart.4 It has powerful, highly sophisticated computational abil-

ities and profoundly affects both heart and brain function. Neu-

rochemicals such as norepinephrine and dopamine, formerly

believed to be produced only in the brain and nervous system,

also are produced within the heart, as well as hormones such as

ANF, known as the balance hormone. These appear to directly

affect brain function.5 Just as the gut brain’s circuitry allows it

to act independently, learn, remember, and produce “gut feel-

ings,” so the existence of the heart’s brain helps to explain the

wide range of feelings associated with the heart.

Networked Intelligence

So it appears at least three brains—mind, gut, and heart—

are networked together, influencing each other 24 hours a day,

much of it below our conscious awareness. Stress and emo-

tional mismanagement appear to negatively impact the coher-

ent functioning among these three intelligent systems.

In his book Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the

Brain, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio offers compelling evi-

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM32


dence that emotions and intellectual functions are processed

in different parts of the brain, which then are integrated in the

prefrontal cortex.6 The notion that intelligence is a purely cere-

bral, aloof activity uncontaminated and unaffected by emotions

has been shown in this and much other recent research to be an

outdated and misguided myth. Emotions play a primary role in

the development and function of the mind. Emotions clearly

play a role in day-to-day productivity. Think of the last bad de-

cision made in your organization. Did mismanaged emotion

play a part? Did someone overreact and create a policy based

on knee-jerk reactions? Did reactive emotions in the organiza-

tion play a key role in the hue and cry greeting the unfortunate

decision? Chances are they probably did.

Emotional Intelligence

Daniel Goleman, a Harvard-trained Ph.D. and New York

Times science writer, has popularized the concept of emotional

intelligence in his book of the same name,7 and has spawned

a movement of researchers and consultants seeking to under-

stand the emotion-performance connection. Goleman cites ex-

ample after example of studies showing that emotional balance

and self-awareness are essential to success in all aspects of life.

He argues that we must begin to value emotional skills at least

as highly as intellectual ones, since standard IQ is so rarely an

accurate predictor of personal or professional effectiveness. He

summarizes what he means by emotional intelligence as these

abilities:

• Self-awareness

• Self-management

• Social awareness

• Relationship management

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/06/04, 3:53 PM33


These could be summarized as self-management skills and

interpersonal skills. Many researchers and educators have em-

braced the framework of emotional intelligence because it vali-

dates our experience of what determines organizational success

or failure, and personal coherence or chaos.

If we are honest, our organizations and our lives could use

a lot more of these characteristics than they currently exhibit.

We believe that: In an age of chaos, emotional management or

mismanagement is more important in determining the long-

term success of an organization than product success or process

improvements. This is as true of start-up firms that experience

rapid success but are unprepared for its operational realities as

it is for the massive older organization or institution affected by

large-scale emotional turmoil and malaise of its workforce. It is

also true that 80% of the Fortune 500 companies of 1970 have

disappeared off the list.

Hope and Resilience

Without hope, no one can live fully. Organizations with

hope are resilient and buoyant. They continue to learn and

grow and are able to adapt to crises or challenges within the

environment. The biological roots of hope and despair are

becoming clearer. Child development specialist and author

Joseph Chilton Pearce recounted research showing that, when

we become “upset” for any reason, “all neural action, learning,

memory, cognition, problem-solving, and so on, is adversely af-

fected.”8 How often does this happen in your organization? Our

emotional state is critical to what and how we learn in addition

to how well we can recall and apply what we have learned. An

unhappy experience while learning something can, in the fu-

ture, bring up that same feeling as we try to recall the item we

learned. Without conscious thought or choice, a person often

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/06/04, 3:53 PM34


avoids learning environments and challenges because of un-

pleasant feelings imbedded in neural tracks in our brains during

earlier learning experiences.

Early on in our careers, we began to understand the conse-

quences of organizational incoherence. One biotech company

we were associated with worked hard to land major national me-

dia coverage on a key product, knowing that would catapult the

company into the consumer mainstream and success would be

assured. In fact it had become highly focused on this idea, and

determined to achieve it. The firm was looking for the quick

bang, instant recognition, the sizzle, the stimulus of the quick hit.

(Deeper discussion on the operational and human consequences

was absent.) The media story hit, and business grew 500% in

one month. Needless to say, the company was ill-prepared for

this kind of growth. Not only were all the essential systems not

effectively in place, the human foundation had not been solidly

built so the employees began a revolving door syndrome of com-

ing and going that sapped the organization’s effectiveness. In-

coherence reigned. The company never again reached the sales

level of that one rocket-ship month.

Emotion and Intellect

Emotion, not intellect, is the fuel that drives the organiza-

tional engine. Intellect provides the direction, but not the fuel. In

most organizations, this understanding has not been activated,

so the fuel being used is not high octane, but more like kerosene,

fast-burning but low quality. How an organization reacts, how it

prepares its people for change—the emotional “field” of a com-

pany—all have underlying emotional components that organiz-

ations can no longer ignore. Smart organizations will learn to

harness and manage coherent emotional intelligence to unleash

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM35


tremendous power within that organization. One of the great

ironies, and opportunities, is that the mind becomes far more

effective, sharp, and clear as the emotions become balanced and

understood. The mind itself can tap into another dimension of

intelligence, clarity, and creativity when unmanaged emotions

are not leaking all the fuel.

What biology underlies this concept of emotional intelligence?

Built into the emotional-cognitive structures of the brain are many

evolutionary functions that date back to our species’ struggle for

survival and the mechanisms that evolved to cope with that stress.

Brain structures like the amygdala in the “emotional” or limbic re-

gion of the brain can “hijack” intellectual processes when intense

emotions are experienced in the system.9 This is why even very

smart people can make very foolish choices when under emo-

tional stress. And, even scarier for organizations and people today

is that millions of us have maladapted to the stress in our lives and

are just beginning to realize how much stress we have.

Evolution, Intelligence, and Stress

A commonly held view in neuroscience is that different brain

structures perform different functions that have evolved over

time (see Figure 3–1). In a general sense, the human brain can

be thought of as having three main structural regions, which are

associated with differing levels of control and a variety of func-

tions and basic drives. We call these the first, second, and third

brains.

The first brain is comprised of the brain stem structures in

the modern human brain processes, including hypothalamus,

pons, medulla, and reticular formation. It governs reflex and in-

stinct, and is responsible for many basic functions necessary for

survival, including:

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM36


• approach/avoidance behavior

• hormonal control

• temperature control

• hunger/thirst control

• basic respiration and heart rate control

• reproductive drive

The second brain consists of the subcortical (also called

limbic) areas, including hippocampus, thalamus, amygdala, and

pituitary. This region of the brain exhibits control over the first

level and is capable of hindsight, the ability to see, after the event,

what should have been done. This is an aspect of the develop-

ment of memory, which is an important evolutionary addition.

Its functions and basic drives include:

• territoriality

• fear, anger, attack

• maternal love

• anxiety

FIGURE 3–1 This diagram depicts the three generalized stages of brain evolution and the levels of control, functions, and behaviors that are asso-ciated with the three main structural regions of the modern human brain. © Copyright 1998 Institute of HeartMath Research Center

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM37


• hate

• jealousy

Emotional information appears to be processed in this

brain region, yet it is not where we actually experience the phys-

ical manifestation of the feelings. Positive feelings, such as love

or appreciation, are usually experienced around the heart area;

negative emotions, such as fear or anger, are often experienced

in the solar plexus, where the gut brain clues us in to things that

do not feel right, and heartache is an experience felt by many in

both the heart and solar plexus.

The third brain has the highest level of control and is

capable of foresight and many other important functions, in-

cluding:

• perception and differentiation of thought and emotion

• self-reflection

• discrimination of appropriate behavior

• problem resolution

• guilt

• goal satisfaction

• forgiving

The third brain, including the isocortex, frontal lobes,

temporal lobes, parietal lobes, and occipital lobes, constitutes

roughly 80% of the human brain. An organization hires you

largely based on what it thinks it can squeeze out of this portion

of your brain. Higher order human capabilities like language,

creativity, self-reflection, complex problem solving, and the abil-

ity to choose what is appropriate behavior are believed to emerge

from these structures. From our teen years onward, specialized

circuitry continues to develop in the prefrontal lobes that helps

us chart a moral course in life. We learn to manage and balance

reaction and emotion in making the little and big choices in life

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM38


through the development of the frontal lobes.10

Institute of HeartMath (IHM) research suggests that emo-

tional reactiveness and stress, which we often experience as feel-

ings of inner turmoil, can inhibit the cortical regions in the third

brain.11 With the cortical functions inhibited, problem-solving is

hampered, reaction speeds and coordination are impaired, and

we cannot think as clearly. Higher intelligence can be jammed by

the reactions and pulls of the first and second brain regions. Our

decisions are less effective, our listening skills impaired, our cre-

ativity obstructed. Fortunately, the reverse also is true. When we

feel harmonious and balanced, cortical (higher brain) function

is enhanced. We can see possibilities where previously we could

perceive only dead-ends. (Many people intuitively know this to

be true. It is fun to have the research catch up with intuition.)

Perception and Stress

Let us look deeper into the role of perception and stress. For many

years, it was believed we consciously perceive an event prior to the

awareness that it could be dangerous or a threat to our survival.

However, in recent years, research has revealed the role of an al-

mond-sized structure that profoundly influences both perception

and behavior. Called the amygdala and located in the region

of the second brain, one of its key roles is to compare incom-

ing information with past experience, looking for a match (see

Figure 3–2). It also is believed to be the storehouse of emotional

memory, so the matches it is looking for are emotionally signifi-

cant. The amygdala is not terribly precise, so if new information

appears to match, messages are sent to the brain that indeed a

match has been found. This can result in what has been called

emotional hijacking, where we have an immediate emotional

reaction to something based on past experience, whether or not

that experience is relevant to the new situation. This emotional

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM39


reaction not only bypasses the higher centers of the brain but also

profoundly affects perception and ultimately behavior.

The Physiology of Stress

When we perceive or anticipate a threat of any sort, no matter

how small, we fire up our nervous system, or more specifically a

branch of our autonomic nervous system (ANS) called the sym-

pathetic nervous system. The inner emotional turmoil that often

accompanies the activation of this “fight or flight” response is

what we call stress. This state of arousal results in the production

of chemicals such as adrenaline. In contrast, when we relax, other

chemicals such as acetylcholine, which help slow our systems

down, are produced by the parasympathetic nervous system in

greater amounts. This is what has been called “the relaxation

FIGURE 3–2 The amygdala is an almond-sized structure in the subcortical area of the brain. It “eavesdrops” on information received through the thala-mus, looking for an emotional match to previous experience. Working at high speed, if a match appears to be found, it communicates to the higher regions of the region affecting our behavior and decision making. © Copyright 1998 Insti-tute of HeartMath Research Center

Emotional Memory

Amygdala

Activation of ANS andstress hormones

CortexFrontal lobes

Cerebellum

Thalamus

VisualCortex

1997, Institute of HeartMath

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM40


response.” There is a considerable body of evidence suggesting

that overdominance of the sympathetic drive can result in hyper-

tension, and imbalance in these two branches underlies many

chronic diseases. (See Figure 3-3)

The Emotional Axis

In addition to the autonomic nervous system there is an addi-

tional axis of human experience that profoundly influences our

response to threat: the emotional or hormonal axis. If negative

emotions, such as fear, anger, worry, or anxiety are present, the

body produces more cortisol. If these “negative” emotions persist

cortisol levels can increase to the point that they can negatively

impact health, productivity, immune function, and sleep pat-

terns. The detrimental effects of raised cortisol levels are fre-

quently exacerbated by simultaneous increases in adrenaline

levels. These chemical changes not only cause long-term damage

FIGURE 3–3 Autonomic nervous system. The ANS consists of two branch-es, the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. It regulates over 90% of the body’s functions automatically. The heart, brain, immune, hormonal, respiration, and digestive systems—all are connected by this network of nerves. © Copyright 1998 Institute of HeartMath Research Center

Parasympathetic

Constrict bronchioles

Slow down heartbeat

Increase secretion

Increase motility

Sympathetic

Dilate bronchioles

Speed up heartbeat

Decrease secretion

Decrease motility

Secrete adrenaline

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM41


but they accelerate the aging process.12 In contrast, when we’re in

a consistently positive emotional state, production of hormones

such as DHEA is increased, and we feel a sense of well-being and

success, hardiness, and resilience. Most traditional stress man-

agement techniques focus on relaxation and seek to bring down

the level of arousal. While it is very important to be able to relax,

the effects of relaxation are often short-term. Therefore relaxation

is only part of the answer, because low arousal, relaxed states can

be detrimental if associated with a “negative” emotion such as

boredom, apathy, resentment, or withdrawal. In other words,

relaxation isn’t the answer if the passion is gone. (See Figure 3-4)

Emotional Alchemy

Positively transforming the internal emotional state has a pro-

found effect on our hormonal balance, increasing the production

FIGURE 3–4 The physiology of stress. The vertical axis represents the au-tonomic nervous system described in Figure 3–3. At the top is sympathetic activity, indicated as high arousal/effort. At the bottom is parasympathetic activity, indicated by low arousal/relaxation/sleep. The horizontal axis rep-resents the emotional domain. Negative emotion on the right is associated with excessive levels of cortisol, while positive emotion leads to increased DHEA levels. © Copyright 1998 Institute of HeartMath Research Center

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM42


of DHEA13 and reducing cortisol levels. DHEA is an essential

hormone and is known as the vitality hormone because of its

anti-aging properties. If our emotional state is more positive and

coherent, even difficult external factors do not destabilize us, and

we are able to move between excitement and contentment more

of the time. The generation of a “stress response” with increased

adrenaline and cortisol levels should not be seen as negative.

They can be perfectly healthy so long as the chemical activation

does not persist and become chronic. Similarly “stressful situa-

tions” should not be viewed as negative but as a wake-up call, an

opportunity to switch gears and find more productive perspec-

tives and solutions. Chaos isn’t the problem; how long it takes to

find coherence is the real game.

The Perception Loop

The crucial factor here is that we have control over the whole

process. We have control over our perceptions and the under-

lying reactions we generate, which create a cascade of events

that either enhance or limit our effectiveness. Perceptions gen-

erate thoughts and emotions, which in turn produce measur-

able changes in heart rate, hormonal balance, immune system

strength, and a host of other internal processes. These phys-

iological effects, in turn, alter the neural circuits themselves,

which affects our perception. This is a feedback system. When

we are in a negative mood, for example, a distorted perception

can generate negative thoughts and emotions, causing physio-

logical imbalances in the heart, immune, and hormonal systems,

which reinforce the circuitry, and the negative cycle continues.

Research in emotional intelligence has shown that the most

successful people in life are the ones who have learned to man-

age their emotional reactiveness, neutralizing or transforming

negative emotions and in the process gaining a new richness of

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM43


experience.14 Emotional intelligence can be taught and learned.

The human heart provides the key.

Heart-Brain Communication

Improving heart-brain communication is key to developing

emotional intelligence. One of the greatest changes in scientific

understanding over the last twenty years, has been the detailed

understanding of how different bodily systems interact. One of

the most surprising findings is that the heart plays a critical role

in a whole array of brain processes. The heart communicates

to the brain in a variety of ways. It communicates electrically

through two sets of nerve pathways. It also communicates elec-

tromagnetically by radiating a signal that reaches every cell in the

body, including the brain. And, it communicates mechanically

through pressure waves conducted along blood vessels. The in-

fluence of the heart on the brain should not be underestimated.

We often speak of the importance of “heart” in getting things

done, in having pride in our work, in having the courage to take

risks or speak our truth. However, in North America and Europe,

mainly over the past 50 years or so, having "heart" is often seen as

a sign of weakness, irrational behavior, or being “soft.” It has been

barred from most business discussions on the grounds of imma-

Perception

Thoughts &Emotions

PhysiologicalEffects

NeuralCircuits

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM44


turity and over-emotionalism.

Ironically, many organizations

today act in remarkably im-

mature, overemotional ways

because of a lack of heart, un-

derstanding, and compassion.

Meanwhile, heart disease has

become the number one killer

in much of the world.

Research over the last

two decades has revealed that

emotional states profoundly

affect the rhythmic beating of

our hearts, and the signals they

transmit.15 These signals in

turn cause measurable chang-

es in our brains’ ability to think

and process information. Re-

searchers in the 1960s found

that the heart acted as if it had

“a mind of its own.”16 In the

fetus, the heart starts to beat

before the brain and nervous

system have developed, and it

appears to have its own type of

intelligence. The electrical en-

ergy in each heartbeat and the

information contained therein

is pulsed to every cell of the

body. When the electrical pat-

terns of the brain synchronize

with the rhythmic patterns

The modern-day Chinese pic-

togram for “listen” is composed

of symbols for ear, king, eye, and

heart. The meaning is to listen

with the ear, giving respect as

you would to a king, watching

with the eye, and doing this with

a full heart.

The ancient Chinese pictogram

for “think” represents a baby’s

skull connected to the heart.

The meaning is that to think re-

quires an open mind connected

to the heart. An ancient diction-

ary definition describes the “silk

threads” that connect brain and

heart.

Listen

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:10 PM45


of the heart, people operate with greater physiological coher-

ence, resulting in increased conscious awareness and greater

intelligence. The ability to self-generate feelings such as care,

appreciation, and compassion is key to greater brain efficiency,

enhanced learning, and a more emotionally balanced life. This

is one reason why heart intelligence is such a powerful meta-

phor for increasing personal and organizational effectiveness.

More importantly, it works.

Cortical Inhibition

A negative reaction to an unpleasant interruption can cause the

signal generated by the heart to become chaotic, which in turn

can inhibit cortical activity.16 You have been jarred, focus is lost,

and it requires an additional expenditure of energy to get back on

track. Understanding this heart-brain interaction helps explain

the relationship between emotional and cognitive processes in

early childhood development as well as later in life. In practical

terms, it is now clear that negative emotional states cause more

chaotic heart signals so the information being sent to all these

structures in the brain is less coherent.17 Desynchronization within

the brain is a common result, leading to poor or short-sighted de-

cisions, impulsive communication, lack of physical coordination,

and other no-win outcomes. The resultant chaos and confusion

in the brain, first discovered in the 1960s,18 is called cortical inhi-

bition. (See Figure 3-6)

Coffee in Your Keyboard

Cortical inhibition manifests itself as less efficient decision mak-

ing or hesitant speech as people struggle to find the right words

to say what they really mean. Reaction speed is also measurably

slowed at these times. Usually, it is when you are rushing or pan-

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM46


icked that you accidentally knock a cup of coffee onto the pile of

papers or into the keyboard. Focusing on internal self-manage-

ment starts to help you gain control, as you become a master, not

an unwitting victim of the normal “knee-jerk” response. Organiz-

ations of the future will study closely how learning happens at the

biological level and help all the players maximize their learning

within the organization.

Amplified Contrast

Organizational incoherence—the accumulated noise, turmoil,

pressure, and conflict—can increase the internal distortion people

feel, strengthening and reinforcing the negative, chaotic pattern

in the individual. The good news is that a positive environment

can play a significant role in making coherence more familiar and

help dissolve the negative patterns. Even in people with lifelong

patterns that are nonproductive or unhealthy, a core remains that

yearns to be productive, be effective, and feel fulfilled. Increasing

levels of stress in the world only amplify the contrast between the

FIGURE 3–6 Your changing heart rhythms affect not only the heart but also the brain’s ability to process information, including decision making, prob-lem solving, and creativity. Jagged rhythms, shown at top, lead to cortical inhibition, while smoother rhythms, below, are associated with cortical facili-tation. © Copyright 1998 Institute of HeartMath Research Center

50

60

70

80

90

100

HE

AR

T R

AT

E

1 50 100 150 20050

60

70

80

90

100

HE

AR

T R

AT

E

TIME (SECONDS)

APPRECIATION

FRUSTRATION

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM47


drive and desire for coherence and the ever-present incoherence.

As the gap widens between how people feel and how they want to

feel, despair or resignation too often fills the gap. Biologically, this

only makes matters worse and our effectiveness in dealing with

problems is weakened or distorted. Identifying personal reactive

patterns and understanding their consequences is the first step

in reprogramming them. Research suggests that reprogramming

inefficient thought and emotional processes indeed is possible.19

If you want to be effective personally or keep good people in your

organization, it may be required.

Big Babies and the Storefront

Emotional states are contagious. Smile at a baby, and the baby

smiles back. Treat a customer sincerely, and the customer ap-

preciates you and rewards you with loyalty. You get upset, and

the baby cries. Treat employees with anger and disrespect, and

employees internalize their resentment and lose the motivation

to do their best. You can sense an immediate shift in a baby’s

emotional state by virtue of muscle tone and the way it holds

its whole body. Ever noticed the same shift in an uncomfortable

staff meeting or customer interaction? Usually, this is much more

subtle and covert than with babies, who have no social condi-

tioning to edit their behavior. By adulthood many of us have per-

fected the “storefront,” hiding our real feelings behind a facade

of strained niceness while the internal engine of discontent revs

furiously. This requires massive quantities of energy, and is in

stark contrast to the spirit of connection that has emerged in the

last few years.

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM48


Learning in the Workplace

In adult learning, the effectiveness of the “teacher” or coach, who

is often the supervisor or manager, has everything to do with the

internal coherence of that teacher. But the level of insecurity is so

high in many organizations, interactions between supervisor and

supervised are filled with the silent noise of uncertainty, the fear

of criticism, and the resistance to input. A supervisor’s warmth

and coherence can do much to dissolve this resistance and ten-

sion. Conversely, a manager’s discomfort, frustration, or anger

will reinforce the resistant attitude on the part of the employee. In

the excellent book, First, Break All the Rules, the authors remind

us that most people quit bosses, not companies. It is the all-too-

often incoherent leadership decisions that convince people it’s

time to move on.20

Emotional Buying

Let us take this discussion of internal emotional coherence

to a very practical business situation: the sales call. The first

impression within the buyer usually is an emotional one: feel-

ings of discomfort and distrust or security and comfort with the

salesperson. The emotional state of the salesperson sets the tone

for the exchange that follows. When people are being “sold” they

tend to observe more acutely and, rightly or wrongly, form opin-

ions about the salesperson at high speed. People often buy from

someone they like, and if a salesperson seems insincere, pushy

or emotionally unstable, the buyer often has reservations about

making a purchase. An old axiom in the sales profession is that

nothing is as ineffective as a desperate salesperson. Conversely,

increased coherence in the salesperson fosters greater respect

and trust in the buyer, deeper, more effective listening, more

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM49


understanding and clarity, and greater potential for a successful

sale. Now we can see the biological and electromagnetic roots of

that observation.

Rewiring Neural Tracks

People can learn to “rewire” maladapted neural tracks that in-

hibit the learning, growth, and emotional maturity necessary

for success in any aspect of life. With practice, profound results

can occur. These changes can be measured using spectral anal-

ysis of the ECG as improvements in cardiac coherence,21 with

concurrent brain wave entrainment,22 enhanced immunity,23

and improved hormonal balance24. These powerful effects are

brought about through the application of techniques that foster

the entrained state. Caring and appreciation, consciously ap-

plied, are perfect examples of how “heart intelligence” changes

physiology.

More Than a Pump

The term heart intelligence implies that the heart is far more

than just a pump, mechanically beating at least 110,000 times

a day. In fact, its electrical, magnetic, neuronal, and hormonal

properties make it a truly remarkable part of the human system.

The surprising conclusion of a number of recent strands of re-

search is that the heart possesses even more intelligence than

those functions suggest. We know the heart is fundamental to

our existence, and in fact use the word heart to describe any-

thing that is core, central, or foundational. Ironically it was only

during the last century that the West assumed the supremacy of

the brain and intellect, the heart fell out of favor and was viewed

as a sentimental trap. But viewing the heart as weak, emotional,

and irrational is an old-fashioned mental model that is not only

incorrect and outdated but also no longer serves our highest

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM50


interests. It’s time to stop blaming the heart for mismanaged

emotions and to start to see the heart for what it is—the source

of our core power and essential in helping us to access new intel-

ligence.

The heart we are talking about is not synonymous with

emotion. Research conducted at the Institute of HeartMath and

elsewhere suggests that the heart possesses an intelligence be-

yond the emotional or analytical. The heart does indeed sense

emotional information and is capable of transcending the traps

of unmanaged emotion. Evidence is mounting that the heart’s

intelligence is a core operating system in the human being, ca-

pable of the coherent organization of mental, emotional, and

cellular intelligence.

Frequencies of Intelligence

Frequencies are everywhere. We can see light frequencies,

hear sound frequencies, and sense the varying frequencies of

thought and emotion. Eyes are receiving stations designed to

pick up certain but not all frequencies of light. Ears are designed

to detect audible frequencies in a specific range. People can’t

hear what a dog’s ears are designed to hear, although the

sounds a dog hears are just as real. AM radio is designed to

receive frequencies in the AM range of a radio dial; FM stations

broadcast in another frequency range, which an FM radio is

designed to pick up. Although the heart and brain each radiate

electrical frequencies vibrating within yet another range,

primarily 0–30 Hz, the amplitude of the heart’s signal is 40–60

times stronger than that of the brain. At the same time, these

intelligent organs also “receive” incoming information and

can produce a host of biochemical and electrical changes in

response to this sensory input. (How interesting something as

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM51


fundamental as the electromagnetic spectrum is now licensed

by the federal government for use by all the tech companies

needing “bandwidth.”)

Heart Intelligence Defined

Heart intelligence can be defined as the intelligent flow of in-

sight that arises once the mind and emotions are balanced and

coherent. Appreciation, caring, courage, and compassion are

examples of core “frequencies” within the bandwidth of heart

intelligence. Each time you generate one of these frequencies,

or positive emotions, your physiology shifts into a more effi-

cient mode. Activation of heart feelings is an intelligent use of

the body’s emotional power and serves as the ignition key for

intuitive intelligence. Often, in moments of peace, stillness, or

appreciation, intuitional insights start to “flow.” Even the most

restless mind gains new perspective and understanding in the

presence of a caring heart. Positive emotions have a specific fre-

quency pattern, as seen in HRV (heart rate variability) traces, and

their frequency is quite different from “negative” emotions.

Intuitive Intelligence

We define mental intelligence as that range of human intelligence

in which the brain can analyze, deduce, reason, and memorize.

Emotions influence and perturb these processes, which are central

to human interaction. HeartMath defines heart intelligence as that

part of human intelligence that operates in a bandwidth embracing

mental, emotional, and even cellular intelligence. As one’s mental

process comes under management by this heart intelligence and the

fuel of emotion surrenders to the intelligence of wisdom, intuitive

intelligence unfolds. New understandings about oneself, the orga-

nization, the market, or anything important are quicker to emerge.

You engage heart intelligence each time you attempt to step back

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM52


from chaotic situations to gain

a more balanced, emotionally

neutral perspective. Intuitive

insight often emerges.

Mental intelligence is to

analysis as heart intelligence is

to intuition. The management

of one’s emotional nature—

and the ability to consciously

generate positive emotion—

provides the doorway for

unleashing intuition. Without

active intuition, life becomes

rigid and inflexible, so we eas-

ily miss important cues on

lessons to be learned or oppor-

tunities to be created. Many

decisions in this accelerating

business environment seem

to be based more on a keep-

up-with-the-Joneses mentality

than balanced, mature insight.

Ironically, intuition operates at

high speed, so we can keep up

without blowing up when we

activate intuition.

Intuition is a Bandwidth

One of the key insights that has

shaped our research over the

last 15 years was the sugges-

tion that intuition is a type, or

develop intuitive intelligence to round out intellectual capacity

Intuition exists in a “bandwidth”

of intelligence beyond what

most people have developed. Ev-

eryone is born with the capacity

for intuition—the ability to know

something without knowing how

you know. The propensity towards

rational, linear methods of prob-

lem solving has muted the voice of

intuition in most of the developed

world. What if the human system

actually possessed a high level of

intuitive intelligence, but we just

hadn’t learned to operationalize

it? The accelerated age in which

we live demands that we optimize

it. The kinds of personal and or-

ganizational breakthroughs that

are needed to move through the

inertia and the old ways of doing

things will not come from an anal-

ysis that is based primarily on past

experience. The development of

intuition is the next frontier in op-

timizing human performance. Ask

your heart how to have more of it.

Get

Coherent

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM53


bandwidth, of intelligence central to the design of the human be-

ing. All people are born with the capacity for intuition. It is just as

central to humans as the drive to survive or to care for others. It

can be blocked and obstructed, but that makes it no less powerful

in its potential to guide people’s lives or guide the organizations

in which they work. Consistently tapping into one’s innate intui-

tive intelligence represents the most efficient method of internal

self-management available. We suggest that the human system

is preprogrammed to operate with a high level of operational

intuitive intelligence, and that in this accelerated information

age we have created the perfect conditions to optimize it. With

consistent practice, it becomes automatic instead of random.

Tamed Complexity

Intuition does not always appear as the ingenious breakthrough

or something grandiose. Intuitive thoughts, feelings, and solu-

tions often manifest themselves as good old common sense,

which as we all know is not that common. Common sense is

efficient. Simple, common sense should be respected. Simplic-

ity is complexity that has been tamed and reduced to something

that easily can be applied. It is like a complex math equation that

finally results in “equals.” The equation can be quite long, but

eventually it resolves itself and produces just a few very appro-

priate and accurate numbers. Intuition often leads to simplic-

ity and common sense. How many situations do you face right

now that you wish could be made simple and dealt with through

common sense?

New Way of Thinking—The First Priority

The kind of personal and organizational insights needed to

break through the inertia and old ways of doing things will not

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM54


come from analysis or reason based primarily on past expe-

rience. Did it for you? Consistently? Probably not. A new way

of thinking—collaborative, compassionate, and creative—will

be required for success and coherence in the future. Activating

heart intelligence will be key to creating the internal coherence

to make it possible.

A mind (or organization) without heart is scattered, im-

pulsive, and easily distracted. Emotions (and organizations)

without the intelligent balance that comes from the heart cre-

ate flash fires of instability and waste, causing people to stay

locked in self-justified mental loops, missing a heart intelligent

perspective that could offer deeper understanding. Incoherence

rules. (People leave.) Groups operating only on instinct arising

from gut feelings and often based in fear stay constrained in

modalities that imprison the spirit and age prematurely. The

heart puts first things first, from the 7 trillion cells it nourishes to

the life it sustains to the vitality it ensures—intuitive, intelligent,

businesslike; core, fundamental; the first priority.

03 CH 3 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:11 PM55

c h a p t e r

44c h a p t e r

4c h a p t e r

Growing Up in the Hudson Riv er:

Over com ing Ad ap ta tion

MANY YEARS BEFORE I MET DOC, I WAS AN ACTOR AND

ap peared in about 700 performances of the New York produc-

tion of The Fantasticks. Early on, the process of speaking the

lines, sing ing the songs, and bounding around the stage be came

au to mat ic; for an actor, the challenge in a long run is mechani-

cality, not mem o ry. One night, about 400 per for manc es into my

run, I went totally blank. Time warped for a split second and

I ex pe ri enced total terror un til, without my con scious mind

know ing what I was saying, the words started coming out of my

mouth, automatically. I was relieved and amazed words were

be ing spoken with no apparent conscious input. I had been

saved by the medulla.

A portion of the brain—the medulla—helps us “bail out”

of the con scious thought process because of what are called ste-

reo typed be hav iors. This is the part of the brain where we learn

functions that soon can become au to mat ic. With ste reo typed

behaviors, we often are unconscious we are do ing them. People

who commute to the same place daily often have no actual

rec ol lec tion of how they got to work, because they may be so

preoccupied with business problems or per son al is sues. Yet the

innate intelligence of the brain and muscular sys tem handles it

[ 56 ]

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM56

Growing Up in the Hudson River [ 57 ][ 57 ][ 57

all automatically while our pri ma ry focus of at ten tion lies else-

where.

We do many things automatically, without really un der -

stand ing the impact of the behavior or its cellular con se quenc es.

As a boy grow ing up in northern New Jersey in the 1950s and

1960s, I made frequent trips into Manhattan.

The Hudson River was in bad shape in those days and I

won dered how fi sh—or any thing—could survive in such murky,

oily, gar bage-in fest ed water. Later, in the context of what I had

learned about human adaptation, I mused how a fi sh raised in

the Hudson perceived life. Grow ing up in there, the fi sh knew

noth ing else, had no other life ex pe ri ence to compare it to, no

benchmark of a clean, fresh river. Born and raised in that en-

vi ron ment, the fi sh was forced to adapt, no mat ter what the

health or survival consequences might have been. In deed, we

heard sto ries of a depleted fi sh population, we were warned not

to eat fi sh caught there, and we saw pictures of dis eased fi sh be-

ing caught on poles off the old docks in low er Manhattan. What

if one of those poor Hudson Riv er fi sh won a “dream va ca tion”

to Lake Tahoe? That fi sh might at fi rst be shocked by the pu-

rity and pris tine na ture of the lake but would quickly adapt and

thrive and prob a bly would fi nd the ca si nos on the Ne va da side

es pe cial ly intriguing.

Adaptation. Many people are so familiar with a certain

lev el of anx i ety, ten sion, or frustration in their organization or in

their lives in gen er al, they think that is the only alternative; an-

oth er way of func tion ing seems a distant or cruel dream. They

have adapted. Then, if they hit the jackpot, their com pa ny goes

pub lic, or they achieve a new status in life or move to a nic er

neigh bor hood, within a few months they can “adapt” again and

take that for grant ed. The nov el ty, and the re gen er a tive pow er of

ap pre ci a tion, has worn off.

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM57


One of the truly remarkable aspects of life on this planet

is adaptability. The adaptive power of the human system is es-

sen tial in accelerated times. Yet, people have a tendency to mal-

adapt to their environment, blocking the very intelligence that adapt to their environment, blocking the very intelligence that adapt

would lift them out of the pain or suffering they feel.

Maladaptation

Maladaptation means adapt ing in an unhealthy way to cir cum -Maladaptation means adapt ing in an unhealthy way to cir cum -Maladaptation

stanc es in ourselves and/or our environment. Maladapting

to stressful events means we live un con scious of their con se -

quenc es, thinking there is no al ter na tive or, worse, that it is

okay to behave in certain ways, det ri men tal or not. We perceive

everyone around us thinking and acting in a similar man ner, so

we become semiconscious, allowing our mal adap tive behavior

to slow ly drain us. This re sults in the con vic tion we are do ing

just fi ne, but in fact we could be taxing our bod ies un nec es sar i ly

and operating with far less ef fec tive ness and ful fi ll ment than we

ac tu al ly could.

The way in which many people respond to stress ful sit u a-

tions pro vides a per fect sce nar io for this mal ad ap ta tion pro cess.

Management im ple ments a new pol i cy, so many em ploy ees

com plain about the change. It appears as if it is not only okay

to moan and groan, but that is the ap pro pri ate re sponse to the

sit u a tion. The com plaints spread like an in fec tious virus, and

once on the ram page, it can seem as if a con test is going on to

see who can come up with the most cre ative gripe. Whether the

policy change is for the best or not makes no difference to our

bodies. The stress created by neg a tive, judg men tal thoughts and

feel ings creates a hormonal imbalance, taxes the nervous sys-

tem and the heart, and burns a lot of en er gy. Cortical in hi bi tion

results, and we think less clear ly. We feel tired and do not know

why but con ve nient ly blame it on the pressures of the job or the

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM58

Growing Up in the Hudson River [ 59 ]

“obviously out-of-touch” management team. Af ter all, isn’t that

what your co work ers are say ing? Blame fur ther am pli fi es the

neg a tive im pact of the re sponse to the re quired change, and

peo ple sink further into a quicksand of their own making while

thinking they are re spond ing ap pro pri ate ly.

How many in your organization maladapt to daily stress,

rather than adapt healthfully? Even the positive benefi ts of reg-

u lar exercise can mask the causes of stress—noneffi cient per-

cep tions—while soothing only the symp toms, such as fa tigue.

As stress mounts, most people internalize the strain and

re act—that is the extent of their adaptive process—so that a

new level of ten sion and in ter nal distortion seems normal. This

pro cess continues unchecked, but be cause it is so gradual, most

cannot see its dev as tat ing effects. You could call this “death by a

thousand paper cuts.” Physiologically, maladaptation is blamed

for contributing to cer tain chronic conditions such as high

blood pres sure. Our bodies maladapt to the mounting external

stress, with out neutralizing its effects; and our biology reacts to

the new more frenetic pace. Now the bar has been raised, phys-

i o log i cal ly speak ing, we have ab sorbed the noise in stead of qui-

et ing it, and a new lev el of in ter nal in co her ence be gins to seem

nor mal. High blood pressure too often comes with the ter ri to ry.

This process is at the root of the second theme of Internal

Self-Man age ment:

The pressure on the individual will increase in the years to come as societal, family, and internal stresses mount and the pace of change accelerates.

The word stress has old roots in the Latin word tress has old roots in the Latin word tress strictus and strictus and strictus

an cient meanings like “affl ict,” “punish,” and “pull asunder.”

Soon af ter World War II, the medical community began pack-

ag ing a new con cept of stress, the notion that the trials and trib-stress, the notion that the trials and trib-stress

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM59


u la tions of life trig ger a physiological “stress response,” re sult ing

in mea sur able phys i cal and mental illness.1

Hans Selye coined the modern use of the term stress and stress and stress

de scribed it as “the rate of wear and tear on the body.”2 New re-

search has found that what creates more stress than any other

stressor mea sured is people having to shift concepts, shift in-

ten tion and focus, to many different tasks, many times an hour.

The stress is worse when you also feel worry, anxiety, in se cu ri ty,

or feel that you have no con trol. It’s not the shifting, per se, that

is damaging; it’s all the mind-emotional reactions that come

with the shifts. Unlike 30 years ago, in the fast pace of life to-

day, re search sug gests the av er age per son in an or ga ni za tion is

called on to shift con cepts—or shift the fo cus of attention—doz-

ens of times each hour. The advance of tech nol o gy insures this

number will keep in creas ing. E-mail, voicemail, in ter rup tions,

fax es, phones ring ing, peo ple (in clud ing spouse and children)

demanding at ten tion while you are trying to get something else

done—all are ex am ples of con cept shift de mands. When you

con sid er the num ber of peo ple in fairly rou tine jobs with few

in ter rup tions, that means many people are dealing with 10 to

20 or more con cept shifts per hour. When you consider an 8–10-20 or more con cept shifts per hour. When you consider an 8–10-20 or more con cept shifts per hour

hour day, this concept shift ing easily could translate into 80,

100, or even 150 shifts a day. At each of these shift points, you

have a choice: react and let stress ac cu mu late, or stay neutral

and balanced with full ac cess to your intelligence. Do you shift

and grind the gears in ter nal ly or, with more applied intelligence,

could you shift through “neu tral” before activating the next

gear and save your self a lot of wear and tear? This can sound

abstract or ide al is tic, yet most of us know some one who seems

to glide ef fort less ly from task to task, with feathers un ruf fl ed

and pro duc tiv i ty remaining re mark ably high. These people are

in cred i bly valuable to or ga ni za tions.

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM60


Stressful reactions have an impact on your health, sleep

pat terns, com mu ni ca tion effectiveness, health care costs, de-

ci sion making—the list goes on. Clearly, the sheer volume of

stressful reactions most people face—many of which are au to -

mat ic and unconscious—rep re sents the most serious chal lenge

to health, productivity, and or ga ni za tion al coherence. It is non-

stop.

Focusing on self-awareness and internal self-management

of your men tal and emo tion al processes begins by iden ti fy ing

when you are feeling stressed or operating below par, then

neu tral iz ing the doz ens of internal reactions to in crease your

in ter nal co her ence. Recognizing whether you have adapt ed or Recognizing whether you have adapt ed or Recognizing

mal adapt ed, how ev er, can be es pe cial ly challenging, since many

people are like the fi sh in the Hudson River with au to mat ic,

pro grammed reactions to the en vi ron ment and no apparent

al ter na tive. More than once, HeartMath facilitators have heard

workshop attendees describe how they have no stress in their

lives and are wondering why the facilitator is spend ing so much

time talking about it. Then, when asked, the par tic i pants explain

that they do not get along with their co work ers, hate their boss,

and have few friends, but for tu nate ly, no stress!

Hormonal Maladaptation

Maladaptation results in increased levels of the stress hormone

cor ti sol and depressed levels of the vitality hormone DHEA.

DHEA and cortisol have very different effects on human cells.

When chronic maladaptation causes the ratio between these

two pow er ful hor mones to be imbalanced, the body re sponds

in sev er al ways: In su lin drops; bone density goes down; mus cle

mass is de creased; fat ac cu mu la tion around the waist and hips

goes up; and skin re pair, tissue healing, and immune activity

slow down—all lead ing to accelerated aging. This is because,

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM61


bio chem i cal ly, the body is in “survival mode” as a result of the

un seen mal ad ap ta tion. If these reactions continue, the hy-

po thal a mus in the brain is reset to higher cortisol levels. This

eventually de stroys brain cells in the hippocampus, a part of

the brain that causes memory, while spatial and other learning

abil i ties di min ish. REM sleep is im paired, resulting in sleep less -

ness or waking up depressed. In creased cortisol and de creased

DHEA lev els are a predisposing fac tor to many age-re lat ed dis-

eases, in clud ing obe si ty, osteoporosis, arthritis, Alzheimer’s dis-

ease, ar te rio scle ro sis (hardening of arteries), and some forms of

can cer. Other than that, no problem.

Recent studies on aging by the MacArthur Foundation re-

port ed that, “The way people age—whether they end up sick,

demented or sex less in their 70s or 80s or vigorous, sharp and

li bid i nous—is mostly a matter of how they live. Only about

30% of the characteristics of ag ing are genetically based; the

rest—70%—is not.” Genetics play the greatest role in health

char ac ter is tics early in life. But, by age 80, for many char ac -

ter is tics, hardly any genetic infl uence is left. According to John

Rowe, gerontologist, former president of Mount Sinai Med i cal

Cen ter in New York, and now CEO at Aetna, “People are large ly

re spon si ble for their own old age.”3

Flexible Attitudes Build Flexible Physiology

“This job is killing me” may make literal sense, according to a

pair of reports in the British Medical Journal.British Medical Journal.British Medical Journal 4 According to the

re search ers, men who showed large increases in blood pres sure

as they anticipated an ex er cise test and who reported high job

demands had 10–40% greater carotid artery thickness than men

whose per ceived job demands were low. These fi nd ings were per ceived job demands were low. These fi nd ings were per ceived

stron gest among men who showed at least 20% ca rot id artery

thick en ing on their baseline ultrasound exams. Moreover, in

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM62


this subgroup, men with high job demands and whose blood

pres sure went up “had more than 46% greater pro gres sion of

ath ero scle ro sis than the others.”5 Per cep tion rears its head

again. An important axiom here: flex i ble at ti tudes build fl exible

physiology.physiology.physiology

Emotion and Immune Health

A study conducted at the Institute of HeartMath6 demonstrated

a link be tween emotion and immune function. Groups of vol-

un teers were asked to focus on two different emotions—an ger

and care—while a key immune sys tem antibody, secre to ry IgA,

was being measured. IgA (immunoglobulin A) is widespread in

the immune system, acting as a protective coat ing for the cells

against invading bacteria or viruses. Stress is known to decrease

IgA levels, leaving us more vulnerable to res pi ra to ry problems

such as colds or fl us. The study found that a fi ve-minute period

of recalling an an gry experience caused a six-hour sup pres sion

of IgA levels. Five minutes of sincerely feel ing care or com pas -

sion, on the other hand, boosted IgA lev els for six hours.

You come out of a staff meeting feeling annoyed and angry

at how your proposal was dismissed. You replay the scene in

your mind, scripting the perfect defense, anger simmering the

whole time. (You are lucky if you spend only fi ve minutes do-

ing this; many people spend hours.) More ef fec tive ly than most

en vi ron men tal factors could do, you have created hormonal

im bal ance and suppressed a key part of your immune func-

tion—for hours. Chron ic re play ing of the event runs static in

your thinking and decision-making and can lead to an in creas -

ing ly com mon state—burn out.

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM63


Burnout Hits the Wall Street Journal

The malaise hitting the workplace clearly is not an isolated in-

stance. A re spect ed writer for the Wall Street Journal covered Wall Street Journal covered Wall Street Journal

such issues for years, then felt compelled to come clean about

her own challenges:

Though I’ve written about burnout as a workplace issue, I secretly

be lieved it was a malady suffered by others. Studies have said as

much as 25% of the work force is at risk of burnout. Nevertheless, I

thought of the term as a pop-culture label for fatigue, or a scapegoat

for bad work habits. With a fl ex i ble job I enjoy, I thought I was im-

mune. That’s what I thought. And with that at ti tude I ran my life—

straight into the ground.7

Emotion and Stress Affect Heart Survival

More and more studies are demonstrating a link between one’s

emo tion al state and long-term health. A study conducted at the

Georgetown Uni ver si ty School of Nursing in Washington, DC,

shows that psychosocial factors can contribute to heart survival

even more than the person’s physiological status. In an article

published in the American Journal of Critical Care, American Journal of Critical Care, American Journal of Critical Care 8 Dr. Sue A.

Th o mas, lead researcher in the study, said:

Patients who suffer serious cardiovascular disease are at higher risk

if they have changes in their emotional status, too. We can’t just

treat one and ne glect the other and expect that people are going to

get well. We can’t just treat the physical. We have to treat the whole

per son, the mind and the body. . . . The pattern of higher numbers

of past stressful life events, lower ex pec ta tions of future life changes,

and increasing levels of depression in the period after myocardial

in f arc tion [heart attack] presents a consistent psychosocial profi le

of cardiac patients with increased risk of dying. . . . This study and

oth ers show that the emotional state and relationships of pa tients in

the pe ri od after [the heart attack] are as important as the pa tient’s

car dio vas cu lar dis ease severity in determining their prognosis.

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM64


A study at Duke University in North Carolina9 suggests

that re lax ation, feeling better about yourself, and managing

emo tion al and psy cho log i cal stress can profoundly reduce the

risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). CAD affects 13.5 mil lion

Americans and hun dreds of millions world wide, at a price tag to

the U.S. economy of at least $117 billion in lost pro duc tiv i ty and

treatment. Published in the American Med i cal As so ci a tion’s Ar-

chives of Internal Medicine, the fi ve-year study with 107 pa tients chives of Internal Medicine, the fi ve-year study with 107 pa tients chives of Internal Medicine

with heart disease showed that patients who learned to manage

stress re duced their risk of having an oth er heart at tack or heart

problems by 74% when com pared with pa tients re ceiv ing med i -

ca tion only. Re duc ing mental stress also proved more benefi cial

than getting exercise.

Stopping Emo tion al Drain

The third theme of internal self-management is crit i cal:

As individuals learn to iden ti fy and plug the leaks in their own per son al sys tems, they stop draining en er gy and effec tive ness per son al ly and or ga ni za tion al ly.

You obviously have a choice in how you re spond to these

sta tis tics about the re la tion ship of emotional bal ance to health:

react with fear that you are on the road to a life of mis ery, deny

it, or greet the news with hope that in tel li gent so lu tions may

ex ist. We sug gest the last re sponse. Any par a digm shift to in-

creased peace and in tel li gence in the new mil len ni um will have

to in clude man ag ing the emo tions and bring ing them in phase

with the in tel li gence of the heart. This process builds emo tion al

pow er so you can man age rap id change. Peo ple are taught

in school to man age emotional out bursts, but an emo tion al

drain of energy still goes on inside that most peo ple do not

recognize. Most peo ple think managing emo tions is just about

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM65


con trol ling anger or the more obvious dis plays of emo tion al

mis man age ment. It also is about all the lit tle hurts, dis ap point -

ments, anxieties, fear ful pro jec tions about the future, and so on.

These more sub tle emo tion al states drain away more vitality

and in tel li gence ca pac i ty than peo ple know. They are the real

rob bers. Once emo tion al en er gy is leaked away, deep ex haus -

tion sets in. When we are emo tion al ly drained, we be come more

vul ner a ble to an gry out bursts and caus tic be hav ior. The ac cu -

mu lat ed drain of emo tion al mis man age ment is a major cause

of severe anx i ety and de pres sion. If that isn’t warn ing enough,

a 32-year study of more than 2,000 men showed that anx i ety is

one of the stron gest risk fac tors for sud den car di ac death. Men

with anx i ety had six times in-

creased risk of sud den car di ac

death than men who re port ed

no symp toms of anx i ety.10

There has been much trag-edy in my life; at least half of it ac tu al ly happened.

—MARK TWAIN

It takes emotional buoy-

an cy to experience a con ti nu ity

of rich tex tures in life. When

you feel buoy ant, it is eas i er

to de fl ect problem sit u a tions.

What at times could make you

angry does not seem to mat ter

that much. Buoy an cy fi lls you

with energy. Quality of life is

not just a ques tion of lifestyle

or ca reer choice but is based

increase your capacity for intelligence

Intelligence capacity is

diminished when frustra-

tion, anx i ety, or in ner turmoil

op er ate. Such emotional states

cause incoherence in the rhyth-

mic and elec tri cal output of the

heart, diminishing neu ro log i cal

effi ciency. It’s one of the reasons

smart people can do stupid

things. When you make internal

coherence a daily priority, you

save time and en er gy. Internal

coherence “oils” your system.

Without oil in an en gine, it burns

up. So can you.

increase your

Get

Coherent

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM66

Growing Up in the Hudson River [ 67 ][ 67 ][ 67

make fl exibility your aim

Flexibility and adaptability

do not happen just by re-

act ing fast to new in for ma tion.

They arise from mental and

emo tion al bal ance, the lack

of at tach ment to specifi c out-

comes, and put ting care for self

and others as a prime op er at ing

principle. Flexible at ti tudes

build fl exible phys i ol o gy. Flex-

ible physiology means more re-

silience in times of challenge or

strain. Staying open—emotion-

ally—insures in ter nal fl exibility.

make fl exibility

on wheth er your emotional re serves are fi lled or drained. Peo ple

of ten try to mend emo tion al energy drains with phys i cal stim u -

la tion—food, ex er cise, drugs, sex—but still fi nd them selves tired

and worn out once the buzz has worn off. This is be cause the

mind has con tin ued to justify the emo tion al bleed-off of the un-

re solved sit u a tion, re sult ing in an on go ing in ner dialogue that

per pet u ates more emo tion al drain and fa tigue.

The energy required to sus tain a “storefront”—look-

ing good on the out side while feeling bad on the in side—is

ex pen sive. You can be mild tem pered yet full of in ter nal

emo tion al re ac tions that leave you con tin u ous ly be low par.

It takes sig nifi cant en er gy to sus tain emo tion al re ac tive ness,

en er gy you oth er wise could use for cre ativ i ty, enriching your

re la tion ships, and in creas ing

your ful fi ll ment in all as pects

of your life. A high er ra tio of

emo tion al man age ment will

bring a high er return in per-

son al power and ef fec tive ness.

En gag ing pos i tive emo tions is

an in stant energy booster that

sustains. Jus ti fy ing neg a tive

re ac tions is an energy drain

that also sus tains. As you plug

the leaks—emo tion al ly—your

en er gy starts to ac cu mu late.

Energy for clear thinking, cre-

ativ i ty, quick so lu tions and

human con nec tion.

There’s a simple tool to

clear up the murky waters and

move into the do main of heart

intelligence—Freeze-Frame.

Get

Coherent

04 CH 4 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:49 PM67

c h a p t e r55

Freeze-Frame®: One-Minute Self Man age ment

AS KIDS WE WERE TAUGHT: STOP, LOOK, LISTEN. AS ADULTS,

the new mantra has become: stop, shift, listen.

The re search de scribed in Chap ter Three in di cates that the

heart-mind-body com plex is in her ent ly de signed to work in en-

er gy-ef fi cient, har mon ic, syn chro nized ways. This is as much to

main tain our en er gy lev els when deal ing with ex ter nal en vi ron -

men tal or so cial fac tors as to max i mize the po ten tial for growth.

Aware ness of the nat u ral in ner workings of our system, if ap-

plied with even a fraction of the en er gy we ap ply to learn ing ex-

ternal systems such as com put ers, tech no log i cal con ve nienc es,

or any skill we throw our heart into, can have a huge payoff. The

payoff starts with pay ing at ten tion.

Freeze-Frame is a pow er ful tool to neutralize any neg a tive

or in ef fi cient re ac tion—or

pre vent it before it starts—by

cap i tal iz ing on the built-in

heart-brain com mu ni ca tion

link. Freeze-Frame is a way

to stop the ac tion (much like

press ing the pause button

on your VCR or DVD re mote

control), shift your focus of

at ten tion, and scan for en er gy-

[ 68 ]

The next theme of internal

self-man age ment is this:

Individuals can learn to in crease

their ca pac i ty for in tel li gence

re sult ing in more ef fec tive de ci -

sions, great er re sil ience, and a

height ened sense of well-be ing.

This pro vides enor mous val ue to

any organization.

Frame is a pow er ful tool to neutralize any neg a tive

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM68

Freeze-Frame: One-Minute Self Management [ 69 ]

sav ing so lu tions. While Freeze-Frame is by no means a tool just

to re duce stress, regular prac tice of the tech nique great ly height-

ens your aware ness of the noise in your sys tem and al lows you

to hear a common-sense voice inside. You gain in creased access

to in tel li gence.

Freeze-Frame is a fast-acting power tool for transforming

stress ful thoughts and emotions into clarity, allowing you to take

ef fi cient and ef fec tive action. With practice, you gain increased

pow er to come to balance and quickly change a negative, drain ing

response into a proactive, creative one. Here are the steps.

Freeze-Frame Steps

1. Take a time out so that you can tem po rari ly dis en gage from your thoughts and feelings—especially stress ful ones.

2. Shift your focus to the area around your heart—now feel your breath com ing in through your heart and out through your so lar plexus.

Practice breathing this way a few times to ease into the technique.

3. Make a sincere effort to ac ti vate a pos i tive feeling.

This can be a genuine feel ing of ap pre ci a tion or care for someone, some place or some thing in your life.

4. Ask yourself what would be an ef fi cient, effective at ti tude or action that would balance and de-stress your sys tem.

5. Quietly sense any change in per cep tion or feel ing and sus tain it as long as you can.

Heart perceptions are often sub tle. They gently suggest ef fec tive

solutions that would be best for you and all con cerned.

Step one requires self-awareness and the realization that

learn ing about your internal communication network will max-

i mize every as pect of your fulfi llment. This is like scanning to

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM69


see what seems out of phase, troubling, or confusing.

Step two sets the stage for a new approach. Focusing in

the area of the heart is unfamiliar to many people but quickly

be comes natural. People usu al ly feel their most positive feelings

of love, appreciation, or joy as warm sensations around their

heart. Do not try to feel the heart beating or any oth er phys i o-

log i cal sensation in the organ; rather focus your attention gen tly

in that area. Try to be neutral. (Focusing fi rst on your big toe for

a few seconds, then the palm of your hand, then the cen ter of

your chest helps give you a feel for this focusing pro cess. Once

you feel comfortable focusing in the area of the heart there is

no need to repeat the focus on the big toe or hand.) Breathing

deeply helps increase the sensation. The es sence of step two is

to anchor yourself in your heart so you are not dragged back in

to the ineffi cient mental loops that caused you to Freeze-Frame

in the fi rst place.

In Step three you activate a positive feeling. This both

neu tral iz es the neg a tive emotion you had and brings increased

electrical coherence to the body. This step goes beyond vi su -

al iz ing a pretty scene or having a “happy thought.” The in tent is al iz ing a pretty scene or having a “happy thought.” The in tent is al iz ing

to actually feel it. Just as the amygdala in the brain has the power feel it. Just as the amygdala in the brain has the power feel

to conjure up negative emotional mem o ries that can rob clear

perception, you can generate positive feel ings which re store you can generate positive feel ings which re store you

balance phys i o log i cal ly while widening per spec tive.

Step four enables you to revisit the problem from a new

emo tion al state. At worst, you have neutralized the stress re-

ac tion and stopped a mental, emotional, and physical drain. At

best, you also have gained insight that helps you solve prob lems

or take action.

Step fi ve ensures that you listen to and act on any new in-

sights.

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM70


Why Does Freeze-Frame Work?

By consciously shifting focus from the problem causing stress

and fo cus ing instead in the area of the heart on a positive feel-

ing, you are withdrawing amplitude from the problem and al-

low ing your per spec tive to widen. In Freeze-Frame, the pro cess

of shifting focus to the heart enables the power in the elec tri cal

system of the heart to work for you, resulting in new in tu i tive

insights for dealing with the prob lem. Even if no new in sights

appear, Freeze-Frame can get you into neutral, buying you time

for more clarity while reducing the strain on you.

The affairs of the heart are directly connected to the brain and it’s the heart’s natural intelligence that must be unfold ed for the brain to operate with greater effi ciency.

—JOSEPH CHILTON PEARCE, EVOLUTION’S END

Like Bruce, the realization that asking the heart for guid-

ance could re sult in intelligent solutions came early on in my

professional life. A native of North Carolina, like many of my

friends, I began work ing at a furniture fac to ry after a tour in the

military. Confl icts erupt ed on the job, particularly when I felt

un fair ly judged. Still fairly hot-tempered, a deeper intelligence

reminded me that to lose it over something trivial could jeop-

ar dize my job. Arriving late for work one day, I was soundly hu-

mil i at ed by a supervisor. I was determined to tell off my su per -

vi sor, over the prin ci ple of it, but I realized this was short sight ed

and foolish. Heart in tel li gence had saved the day—and saved

my job.

Freeze-Frame provides direct access to heart intelligence.

As you prac tice, you are retraining your physiology. Your mind

and body have be come quite familiar with the reactive pat-

terns—they have become habit. These are habits it clearly is in

your self-interest to break. As you shift focus to your heart and

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM71


Freeze-Frame, heart rate patterns be come smoother, so the

mes sag es the heart is sending the brain fa cil i tate the brain’s

ac tiv i ties in stead of inhibit them. The more bal anced emotional

state Freeze-Frame gives you also al lows for great er electrical

co her ence in your body, so all sys tems can run more ef fec tive ly.

The essence of the Freeze-Frame process is

• Shift

• Ac ti vate

• Sense

Shift your at ten tion to the area around your heart. Shift your at ten tion to the area around your heart. Shift Activate

a positive feel ing from the past or even some thing fun in the

fu ture. Sense a new, more effective attitude or action to take.

(Re mem ber, each time you act counter to your val ues, which

spring from your heart in tel li gence, you are fi ght ing your self. It

is a battle you can not win.)

Neutral

Neutral is one of the most ef fi cient psychophysiological states

on the plan et. Neu tral is a state where you are not jumping

ahead too quick ly nor moving too slow ly. Neutral does not mean

being in ac tive, com pla cent, or pas sive. It is a calm poise that al-

lows new in for ma tion and new pos si bil i ties to emerge be fore

rushing to ac tion. When in neu tral you actually in crease your

sen si tiv i ty and in tu i tive in tel li gence. Neu tral is fertile ground

from which new pos si bil i ties can grow. It is not a state you could

sustain all your waking hours—at least not yet—but the minutes

and hours you are able to be neutral have tremendous benefi ts

in increased clarity, increased energy, and reduced ag ing.

Neutral means put ting the overactive mind in check, slow-

ing down the con stant stream of thoughts and taking a deep er,

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM72


unbiased look at sit u a tions big and small. Neu tral saves wear

and tear on our bod ies. It keeps our sys tems working smooth ly,

in a fl ow. It is an eco nom i cal ap proach to life. If we con stant ly

react to every con ver sa tion, as sign ment, change, or random

perception, we drain away valu able energy that can be needed

when a de fi n i tive ac tion needs to be tak en. Neu tral is not an

unfocused, un pro duc tive state. It is a highly in tel li gent, or dered

awareness that ob serves with out boxing you in.

Neutral takes practice be cause the mind works at high

speed and quick ly forms opin ions and perspectives about ev-

ery thing, right or wrong. E-mails are fl ying with rumors about a

man age ment change in your organization. You project neg a tive

scenarios into the fu ture, and ex pe ri ence a cas cade of “what ifs,”

de vi tal iz ing your system and com pro mis ing pro duc tiv i ty in the

pro cess. What ac tu al ly hap pened is that some one over heard a

com ment that the man ag er of your di vi sion is go ing to be trans-

ferred. They did not really hear the whole con ver sa tion, just a

few words. You only heard the rumor. With out go ing to neu tral

you can start to think things like, “Does this mean the de part -

ment is going to have to go through an oth er re or ga ni za tion? I

bet Bill will get the man ag er’s job in stead of me. I just knew it.

That’s just not fair! If it’s true and I don’t get a pro mo tion I think

it’s time to start looking for another job.” One pro jec tion leads

to another and an oth er and before long you’ve painted the en-

tire pic ture of a possible scenario on which you have very little

in for ma tion. All of that mental pro cess ing adds stress to your

sys tem and ac cel er ates the aging pro cess needlessly. At times

like these, a dose of neutral would go a long way. In neutral, you

would put the mind projections on hold. Stay bal anced and wait

and see what hap pens. You re al ly do not know the outcome of

the change or, in this ex am ple, if a change re al ly will take place.

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM73


Let’s continue with the example: A coworker asks you if

you had heard any thing about a possible managerial change

and how you feel about it. You say that you are do ing fi ne, you

are neutral about it. On deep er review you could be feeling low-

grade angst inside. You believe that you have re al ly gone to neu-

tral be cause the po ten tial change no longer is caus ing an guish

and anxiety, but in truth you con tin ue to subtly process the po-

ten tial ly un pleasant pos si bil i ties all day, de vi tal iz ing as you go.

You might say you feel neutral about it—but not re al ly—not to

the point where you’re really at peace with it. From a heart in tel -

li gent per spec tive, you would see there still is un fi n ished busi-

ness to take care of, a deeper state of neu tral to be ac tu al ized.

Neutral can be disguised in internal conversations:

“What ev er. I guess it will be all right. Some how I’ll probably fi nd

a way to deal with it no mat ter how it goes.” This kind of ap-

proach often is ac com pa nied by feel ings of res ig na tion. You feel

beaten down and have not really sur ren dered en thusiastically to

the situation. Real neutral con tains self-se cu ri ty. You peace ful ly

allow things to play out and use your avail able en er gy in more

productive ways.

Getting back to a neutral state is becoming increasingly

es sen tial for en hancing personal balance and effectiveness.

One study found that if you work too long at mental tasks, your

prob lem-solv ing time can increase by up to 500 percent.1 When

you are in neu tral, energy is not draining, you are not wasting

gal lons of en er gy in worry or anxiety.

The Power of Becoming Neutral

Becoming neutral several times each day, even if you cannot

fi nd a pos i tive feeling to focus on, gives you these benefi ts:

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM74


• It prevents sudden surges of adrenaline that drain energy.

• It stops chaotic messages inhibiting the brain, which slows

thinking.

As you pay at ten tion to the thoughts and feel ings that go

on each day, deep er levels of neutral can be achieved. This can

seem par a dox i cal, but as you increase in self-man age ment, you

be come more sen si tized to sub tle noise and incoherence in your

system. What seemed neutral when you start ed can be come

pro gres sive ly deep er aware ness. From this state of neu tral, your

system can re charge and new insights can un fold.

Stress Prevention

Most people have numerous pre dict able situations that throw

them off bal ance or cause stress—the weekly staff meet ing, the

daily com mute, the per for -

mance appraisal, tele phone

calls with clients, cus tom ers

or vendors. A 30-sec ond

Freeze-Frame pri or to any of

these events helps you man-

age your self, save en er gy and

in crease your co her ence.

Sit quietly at your desk,

eyes open or closed, shift your

fo cus in ter nal ly to the cen ter of

your chest and breathe deep ly.

Recall the most pos i tive feel-

ing you can mus ter. If you

are about to meet with or talk

to some one with whom you

have had con fl ict before, fi nd

how do you get neutral?

What does it feel like?

Neutral is a state of qui-

etude in side—not total si lence

or the total ab sence of thought,

but a state of greater bal ance

than usu al, a dynamic peace.

Use the fi rst two steps of Freeze-

Frame to get you there:

1. Recognize how you feel.2. Shift your attention to the

area of the heart and breathe through the heart and solar plexus.

Stop. Shift. Listen

Get

Coherent

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM75


some thing in the per son to appreciate. Stay anchored in your

heart and re mind yourself to at least stay neu tral if the wa ters stay neu tral if the wa ters stay neu tral

get rough. (In later chapters, we de scribe how Freeze-Frame can

be in cor po rat ed in all com mu ni ca tion to ensure au then tic i ty in

what you say and depth in how you hear.)

Button Pushers

Have you ever experienced a neg a tive irrational reaction mere ly

on see ing the name of the send er of an e-mail mes sage? (Of

course you have. If you haven’t, you prob a bly are in e-denial.)

Do you ever think, “Oh boy, here he goes again!”? Do you ever

jump to con clu sions and start ac cus ing your child of naugh ty

be hav ior be fore fi nd ing out the truth? In all these ex am ples,

you could be “right” to jus ti fy the re ac tion—based on the emo-

tion al mem o ry stored in the brain. How ev er, right or not, your

re ac tion is drain ing your energy, it could be cloud ing a more

ac cu rate per cep tion, and it can drive a spike into the heart of an

im por tant re la tion ship.

Staying neutral allows you to save energy just in case the just in case the just in case

oth er per son was not to blame, the e-mail actually was a thank

you note, or the child was in no cent of the “crime” ac cused.

Neu tral is a tre men dous en er gy saver.

Energy Effi ciency

Focusing on internal self-man age ment results in more ef fi cient

use of your energy on all lev els—men tal ly, emo tion al ly, and

phys i cal ly. Stop to Freeze-Frame, then ask your self, “What is the

most en er gy-ef fi cient response in this sit u a tion?” The con cept

of en er gy effi ciency became pop u lar in the gas-guz zling 1970s,

when the skyrocketing price of oil forced a rethinking of how we

spend our fi nite en er gy re sourc es. Ap plied to the hu man system,

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM76

Freeze-Frame: One-Minute Self Management [ 77 ][ 77 ][ 77

be com ing more energy ef fi -

cient per son al ly can help you

see a big ger picture, save en-

er gy now, and un told amounts

of en er gy lat er on. In creas ing

per son al en er gy ef fi cien cy is

anal o gous to in creas ing profi ts:

More spare en er gy is avail able

to “in vest” in fun, cre ative, or

re gen er a tive ac tiv i ties.

Each day brings mul ti ple

new opportunities to explore

in creas ing en er gy effi ciency.

As you begin to Freeze-Frame

sev er al times a day, you will

be come more sen si tized to

sub tle stress es in your system.

You will no tice more often

when your ac tions con tra dict

an in tu i tive insight. You will

an tic i pate fu ture prob lems

ear li er and have in creased

en er gy avail able to pre vent prob lems or mitigate their dam-

age if they al ready oc curred. Ap ply this con cept to cus tom er or

patient interactions, wheth er or not to hold meet ings, or what

type of com mu ni ca tion is ap pro pri ate around a spe cifi c is sue.

Con sid er ing energy ef fi cien cy im me di ate ly shifts you into a

more expansive per cep tu al frame work, more options are seen,

and wider con se quenc es un der stood. Con sid er ing en er gy ef fi -

cien cy in her ent ly in volves whole-sys tem views. If a par tic u lar

course of ac tion seems ex pe di ent to you or a key stake hold er

but would dra mat i cal ly alien ate oth er key play ers, it clear ly

learn to manage your “but ton-pushers”

Everyone has things or

people that “push their but-

tons.” Those “but ton push ers”

are generally fairly pre dict able,

as irritating as they may be. Make

a list of these seem ing ly mi nor ir-

ritants for a deep er look at things

that cause a reaction on a regular

ba sis. The fact that you continue

to re act means you are also be ing

pre dict able, the victim of neural

circuits that engage when ev er

the button-pusher does “that

thing.” Freeze-Frame or fi nd a

neutral perspective to let your in-

tel li gence perceive the sit u a tion

in new ways.

learn to manage

Get

Coherent

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM77


would not be energy ef fi cient.

The ex tra en er gy you expend

to deal with the fall out could

neu tral ize the positive ben e fi t

of the ex pe di ent de ci sion. As

you con sid er var i ous sce nar i os

this week or this year from

the point of view of en er gy

ef fi cien cy, a new bal anced pic-

ture begins to emerge, of ten

yield ing sur pris ing in sights. A

pro cess for deep en ing these

in sights in prob lem-solv ing or

de ci sion-mak ing mo dal i ties is

called the as set-defi cit balance

sheet.sheet.sheet

The Asset-Defi cit Bal ance Sheet

The asset-defi cit balance sheet

is designed to sys tem at i cal ly

un cov er new in for ma tion

about personal or busi ness prob lems while re duc ing the drain

of neg a tive or un bal anced emo tions. The con cept is that, when

mak ing de ci sions that re quire deeper re fl ec tion, a care ful weigh-

ing of the assets and defi cits of the pro posed course of ac tion

yields clar i ty and more en er gy-ef fi cient de ci sions. This pro cess,

by the very act of care ful ly con sid er ing upsides and down sides

from a neutral per spec tive, reduces emo tion al drag. Many times

in our own or ga ni za tion, people have made pro pos als op po site

to their orig i nal emo tion al im pulse, once they had con sid ered

deep ly all the as sets and defi cits. Some times un ex pect ed as sets

freeze-frame during meet ings

Meetings can sometimes

begin to slow down and

de scend into chaos. Peo ple

start talking over each other,

dif fer enc es of opin ion begin to

arise and the orig i nal fo cus of

the meet ing starts to dis ap pear.

As a man ag er, once you re al ize

this is hap pen ing, it can help to

stop pro ceed ings for one min-

ute, dis en gage from the meet ing

pro cess and ask the group to do

a Freeze-Frame. This will help

sig nifi cant ly to get the group

and your meet ing back on track

and moving forward with clarity

and balance.

Get

Coherent

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM78


came to mind that were un seen when the idea was fi rst fl own.

Also com mon was the re al iza tion that po ten tial defi cits are eas-

i ly man age able in the face of the over whelm ing assets. At oth er

times, sig nifi cant defi cits were re vealed that would have been

ig nored if the fi rst “evan gel i cal” in stinct had been fol lowed.

Business and Well-Be ing Im prove ments

All the clients we work with have critical business is sues that

need im prov ing. At Royal Dutch Shell in the United King-

dom, sev er al op er at ing com pa nies in sti tut ed pro grams in the

HeartMath tech nol o gy af ter a suc cess ful ini tial pilot pro gram

in volv ing mid dle and se nior lev el man ag ers. In the pi lot pro-

gram, several sig nifi cant pos i tive chang es were not ed, in clud ing

an over all drop in blood pres sure from 126/80 to 118/78 with in

six weeks. Sig nifi cant im prove ments were not ed in the group

an asset-defi cit exercise

Scan the past week and jot down all the sig nifi cant pos i tive

events that occurred, both per son al ly and pro fes sion al ly. Write

them down on the left side of a sheet of pa per un der the head ing As sets. Feel

ap pre ci a tion for each item you jot down. Now shift to the defi cit side and,

from a neu tral per spec tive, jot down the neg a tive per son al and pro fes sion al from a neu tral per spec tive, jot down the neg a tive per son al and pro fes sion al from a neu tral per spec tive

events dur ing the same pe ri od. Note if any of the defi cits oc curred be cause

you failed to lis ten to in tu ition. Also note if any defi cits could be trans-

formed—at least neu tral ized—through Freeze-Frame. No tice if the type of

as sets and defi cits you have fall into a pat tern. For ex am ple, many peo ple say

their as sets are re la tion ship based but the defi cits re fl ect sit u a tions be yond

their con trol. Often times, people are sur prised how much en er gy can be

drained by one or two defi cits, while sig nifi cant as sets go un no ticed. Freeze-

Frame one last time, then sum ma rize to dis cov er the es sence of your week.

How bal anced was it?

an asset-defi cit exercise

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM79


with the high est lev el of stress. These in clud ed re duc tions of

65% in ten sion, 87% in fa tigue, 65% in an ger, and 44% in in ten -

tions to leave the com pa ny. A fur ther as sess ment six months

af ter HeartMath tools were in tro duced saw a fur ther re duc tion

in vir tu al ly all key pa ram e ters (see Fig ure 5–1).2

At one of the world’s larg est and most powerful tech nol o gy

com pa nies, similar results oc curred for a high per for mance en gi -

neer ing team. Tracked against a con trol group of en gi neers from

the same di vi sion, the program was con duct ed dur ing one of the

most intense pe ri ods of growth and strain in the di vi sion.

rebounding

Patricia Chapman at tend ed a HeartMath pro gram after a six-

year bout with ar rhyth mia and ven tric u lar ta chy car dia (an elec-

tri cal mal func tion ing of the heart). Her con di tion had in volved sev er al

se ri ous at tacks, sur gery, and an ex tend ed work ab sence. A longtime em-

ploy ee of one of Silicon Val ley’s leg end ary com pa nies, her job in volved

over see ing in ves tor re la tions, a high pres sure job to be sure! She stat ed,

“I was so used to the adren a line rush that I did not know what it was

like not to have it.” Af ter she at tend ed a week end HeartMath sem i nar,

Patricia’s col leagues im me di ate ly noticed a dif fer ence—less stress and

ten sion and more ease, even dur ing a par tic u lar ly hectic work pe ri od.

Her ar rhyth mia spe cial ists at Stanford Uni ver si ty were also im pressed

and within fi ve months af ter her pro gram, they re duced her med i ca tion

by 50%. “After my week end at HeartMath, when ev er that adren a line

would start to rush again, I could stop the trig ger. Now I can pull my self

back into bal ance at will.” Her health im prove ment has now sus tained

for fi ve years and there have been no fur ther ep i sodes of ven tric u lar

ta chy car dia or need for surgery.

rebounding

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM80


• The test group saw a 17% re duc tion in fatigue compared to

the con trol group’s 1% in crease.

• The test group had a 7% increase in vitality while the con-

trol group saw vitality fall 7%.

• Sleeplessness improved 8% in the test group while it wors-

ened 18% in the control group.

• Social support rose 11% in the test group while it de clined

by 6% in the control group.

FIGURE 5–1 A summary of stress-re lat ed improvements seen in three or ga -ni za tions uti liz ing the IQM tech nol o gy. Pre- and post-IQM tech nol o gy values represent a six-week pe ri od. Number values represent the percentage of par tic i pants who re port ed the stress symptoms “often or most of the time.” © Copyright 1998 Institute of HeartMath Research Cen ter

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:50 PM81


• Anxiety fell 13% in the test group while increasing 1% in

the control group.

• Rapid heartbeats declined 17% in the test group, while ris-

ing 10% in the control group.

Among the tens of thousands of people worldwide who

have learned the IQM tools, one of the most common benefits

people cite is having more time. The next chapter explains how.

05 CH 5 FCTC.ID 01/06/04, 3:56 PM82

c h a p t e r

66Time, Expectations,

and Oth er Things It’s Dif fi cult to Manage

TIME WAS TOUGH ENOUGH TO MANAGE; THEN THE

Internet arrived. 24/7, the pressures of doing business with

sev er al continents (let alone several time zones) in a sin gle

day, the need to generate clinical outcomes when man-

aged care forces cost and quality compromises, all add to the

col lec tive im pres sion time is rac ing ahead and the brakes

aren’t working. How do we step back with out fall ing be-

hind? More daringly, how do we see ahead with clar i ty and

vision without compromising our own health and balance?

One of the biggest energy drains for most people is their

love-hate re lationship with time. Time was a major challenge

while the fi rst edition of this book was be ing writ ten. All the

training and consulting activities of our non-profi t organization

had just been licensed to a new for-profi t company, HeartMath

LLC. Some re porting re la tion ships changed, no one lost his or

her job but many new jobs were add ed and many of our re la -

tion ships were changed pro found ly. Anyone who has been in-

volved with a sig nifi cant business re struc tur ing understands the

com plex i ties involved. Add to that the legal, accounting, and tax

im plications of cre at ing a new for-profi t company out of a not-

[ 83 ]

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM83


for-profi t one.1 Time felt crunched as people were chal lenged to

do their regular jobs while spend ing con sid er able time plan ning

and or ga niz ing the tran si tion.

While this transition was essential to the ex pan sion of our

work, we did not rush it. We set mile stones and goals, mar shaled

resources hop ing to meet them, but stayed fl ex i ble in the face of

busi ness and legal re al i ties. This change was not one we would

undo, so taking our time and do ing it prop er ly—with min i mal

strain on the peo ple and existing busi ness mo men tum—has

been es sen tial.

We launched the In sti tute’s corporate training ac tiv i ties in

1993 and watched them grow at a rate of 70% per year for four

years. While jug gling four training and in ter na tion al consulting di-

vi sions, with all the strategic part ners and players that im plies, we

remain focused on the foundation of all our work: the inside job.

When we contracted for this book and agreed to a com-

ple tion date, we thought: “Whoa! We’ll need a time shift to get

all this ac com plished and maintain personal balance.” Since the

book was fi rst published, HeartMath merged with a pub lish ing

and mul ti me dia company, further pushing the en ve lope in our

re la tion ship with time.

What do we mean by a time shift? Time shifting could time shift? Time shifting could time shift

sound like a con cept out of the movie Back to the Future or an-Back to the Future or an-Back to the Future

oth er time-warp ing movie. The sense we mean is far more prac-

ti cal yet profound. Time shifting is survival in the Internet age. It

de scribes an in ter nal state so coherent that your per cep tion of

time—and your ability to shape it—changes dra mat i cal ly. Ev ery

time you catch yourself before falling into a neg a tive re ac tion,

you have time shifted. Ev ery time you stop long enough to fi nd

an in tu i tive solution in stead of rushing ahead im pul sive ly, you

have time shifted. Ev ery time you allow your in tu i tive in tel -

li gence to pro pel you out of inertia or con fu sion, you have time

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM84

Time, Expectations, and Other Things It’s Diffi cult to Manage [ 85 ]

shifted. If you arrive at a solution to a diffi cult per son al or or ga -

ni za tion al issue in fi ve minutes in stead of fi ve hours, you have

time shifted. You have jumped out of the self-lim it ing men tal

fre quen cy that says, “Cer tain things just take time,” into a new

di men sion. Time shift ing means moving past standard lin ear

time fl ows. Staying in the Now, more aware and sensitive to

whatever is go ing on would be effi cient use of time. We call this

being present. Most people, how ev er, at any giv en time, have present. Most people, how ev er, at any giv en time, have present

a percentage of their thoughts assigned to re liv ing the past or

projecting into the fu ture. Not having enough time, especially

with the crush of information over load, is a high-rank ing source

of stress yet most peo ple do not stay as present as they could. By

learn ing how to stay present, time is used more ef fi cient ly and

stress over load is great ly reduced.

Some would say, “There is an objective reality to time; 24

hours in each day, no more, no less.” Yet your perception and

ef fec tive ness in regard to time clearly changes as your per cep -

tion changes. Love what you are do ing and “time fl ies.” Hate

it and time stretches mad den ing ly. Stay stuck in an in ef fi cient

thought loop, and your ef fec tive ness within a given time span

can diminish dramatically.

Many problems people have fi nally do resolve but not be-

fore they have used up a lot of precious time. For example, two

staff argue over patient treatment. After the ar gu ment they each

re play the un com fort able incident over and over. In an ef fort to

feel jus ti fi ed, they may tell someone else about it, mak ing their

points about what they said and why. Lat er in the day, the mind

begins to run out of gas and new thoughts like “per haps I was a

little too emotional in that ex change” or “I wish that hadn’t hap-

pened. I really do like her” start to arise. Soon, a more ob jec tive

review of the argument comes on-screen and a desire to apolo-

gize or make things right starts to dom i nate the mental process.

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM85


The next day, the apology is made and both par ties feel a re-

lease. Things go back to nor mal and balance is re gained.

In this case, what if effi ciency and effectiveness had been

di min ished by 10, 20, or even 50% during the hours this person

com plained and re sented? His use of time clearly was not ef fi -

cient, and emotional mis man age ment was the culprit. Learn ing

to Freeze-Frame and neutralize the petty an noy anc es and dis-

turbances saves enor mous loads of energy and, in this ex am ple,

could have shifted this scene in the movie of life ahead several

hours. A time shift.

How many situations face you each day where time feels

like the en e my or at least a hun gry competitor for your san i ty

and sense of bal ance? Snap ping

out of a judgmental thought

pro cess causes a time shift.

Catching yourself re play ing the

same inner di a logue over and

over—and stopping it—causes

a time shift. We mean this liter-

ally. Your re la tion ship to time

fun da men tal ly shifts when

you engage heart intelligence

in stead of relying sole ly on the

mind. Scientists on the edge

pro pose an elastic view of time,

that in an ex pand ing uni verse,

time is stretch ing. We know

the sense of sat is fac tion that

comes when we’ve completed

a diffi cult as sign ment, or made

it through a troubling con ver -

sa tion with min i mal emo tion al

Get

Coherent

use freeze-frame several times a day

Freeze-Frame brings

increased co her ence to

the au to nom ic ner vous sys tem,

en hanc ing hor mon al and im-

mune system bal ance and car dio -

vas cu lar ef fi cien cy. Freeze-Frame

helps to max i mize your co her -

ence, bal ance, poise, and men tal

clar i ty. Practice Freeze-Frame

dur ing tran si tion times — from

home to work, when chang ing

be tween dif fer ent tasks at work,

from work to home. Try it fi ve

times a day for a month and see

what hap pens.

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM86

Time, Expectations, and Other Things It’s Diffi cult to Manage [ 87 ][ 87 ][ 87

tur moil. We enjoy the next span of time in fi nite ly more than had

the issue not re solved.

Time Wizards

Some of the most effective peo ple are those who are not im pris -

oned by in com plete per spec tives of time. They are the ones who

say, “Why are we rush ing this decision?” Their pa tience usu-

ally pays off. They also are the ones who, at other times, can be

quite decisive and in tu itive ly recognize the im por tance of quick

action be cause of how much time and en er gy could be saved

by not delaying. The emo tion al ly in tel li gent people recognize

the ob jec tive reality of time but deep ly understand how easily

its grip on our per cep tions can be loos ened and transformed.

Temporal alchemy.

When faced with ob vi ous ly con fl ict ing pri or i ties that

“can not pos si bly be ac complished in the time frame,” what

al ter na tive is there other than mind-numb ing stress? The fi rst

thing is to as sume there is a solution that can be achieved once is a solution that can be achieved once is

you get in ter nal ly coherent enough to per ceive it. Internal co-

southwest time

High performance teams seem to operate in a parallel uni verse of

time and effectiveness. South west Airlines is a mod el of or ga ni z-

a tion al co her ence. Time ef fi cien cy is one of their bot tom-line out comes

and their on-time per for mance beats the com pe ti tion every year. They

have time shifted into a new di men sion of effectiveness that their cus-

tomers love and their com pet i tors envy. When you watch many oth er

airlines per form the same tasks, it is easy to see a marked con trast.

Internal co her ence—loving what they are doing and hav ing fun do ing

it—is the spring board for time ef fi cien cy at South west.

southwest time

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM87


her ence is the priority and can lead to sur pris ing time saving

con ve nience. Speed with balance.

Time Convenience

The number of conveniences that occurred for us once the

de ci sion was made to produce a fi nished manuscript in nine

months—while maintaining a 50–60 hour "regular job" work

week—have been amazing. Meetings to dis cuss the con tent and

di rec tion of the book occurred just at the “right time” on sev er al

oc casions, saving us con sid er able energy and time. A key client,

for ex am ple, post poned two ses sions at a time when we need ed

ex tra writ ing time. Two free writing days resulted. Two divisions

of another client independently decided im por tant meet ings

should be held on the same day, saving several hours of trav el

time. We scheduled more than 60 “book days”—un break able

ap point ments—and informed staff members we were un avail -

able those days. Life be came more coherent as we did. Balanc-

ing all these pri or i ties became a daily chal lenge and a game to

mas ter.

Then another reality set in: The rapid growth of our busi-

ness made it increasingly diffi cult to put consistent “qual i ty

time” into writ ing. Many is sues came up re gard ing our re struc -

tur ing and new stra te gic direction that required input. To keep

say ing, “We are work ing on the book,” was starting to sound

hollow and even a bit ir re spon si ble. And yet our con tract with

the publisher had a fi xed date. The only pos si bil i ty was to re-

quest a sig nifi cant extension, de spite con cern that publication

of the book would be delayed for a full season. Meanwhile, the

publisher had in de pen dent ly realized the fol low ing season

would be better any way, so an extension was will ing ly grant ed.

Time had shifted, and the shift occurred because of an internal

at ti tude shift that acknowledged that, in the name of bal ance,

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM88


“life” had to shift.

What are some of the key attitudes and internal per cep -

tions un der ly ing your problems with time? How do you man-

age something as ab so lute and un con trol la ble as time? The fi rst

point is to remember the obvious: time itself is un man age able.

What you can manage is your perception of it and the events can manage is your perception of it and the events can

with in it. Pon der deeply on this. Nu mer ous pro grams exist to

help us “gain mastery” over time and many sys tems offer prac-

ti cal for mats and guide lines. Yet the mastery peo ple need is over

in ef fi cient thoughts, judgments, and ex pec ta tions.

Expectations

Few things can devastate per son al or professional re la tion ships

and in ner peace—or cause a bigger drain on your mental and

emotional balance—as much as unmet expectations. The raise

we ex pect ed to get, the rec og ni tion we expected to get, the

com mit ments we ex pect our colleagues to keep, the qual i ty of

work we are ex pect ed to pro duce—all of these unmet ex pec -

ta tions and our reactions to them can gen er ate a stream of dis-

ap point ed thoughts and feel ings. These emotions so eas i ly can

move into a torrent of frustration, resentment, and anger, all of

which affect pro duc tiv i ty at every level of life. We fi nal ly re al ize

we have to neu tral ize expectations if we want to enjoy life.

The problem is how easy reactions are to justify. After all, how easy reactions are to justify. After all, how easy reactions are to justify

you ex pect ed to be treated a cer tain way: “any rational per son ex pect ed to be treated a cer tain way: “any rational per son ex pect ed

would have expected the same treatment,” you tell yourself and

anyone who will sympathize. The free-agent economy—Me,

Inc., and all its variations—have created unspoken ex pec ta tions

of entitlement, expectations that are almost im pos si ble to con-

sistently meet.

Ex pectations often are based on some form of idealism.

They set us up for dis ap point ment and allow for no new pos si -

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM89


bil i ties to emerge. When reality does not match your men tal im-

age, the gap between your expectation and the per vad ing reality

creates a tension that can be hard to re lease. The paper wealth

catapulting employees’ net worth into the strato sphere brings

with it post-IPO depression when the share price dives. Super-

charged emotional expectation is the cause. If you could re lease

or trans mute the ten sion, you could move on quick ly and adapt

to the new re al i ty. In fact, the new re al i ty might turn out to be

bet ter than the one we ex pect ed, but if we see things through

old mental models about the way things have to be, we are cut

off from new possibilities. Tough to do in the high-speed, hyper-

competitive new economy.

If your expectations have become crystallized, it takes emo-

tion al adapt abil i ty and fl ex i bil i ty to regain balance and se cu ri ty. In

the ab sence of such powerful intelligence, the emo tion al res i due of

the ex pec ta tion lingers, cre at ing the per fect opportunity for dis ap -

point ment, the pri ma ry by-prod uct of ex pec ta tion. At a more sub tle

lev el, dis ap point ment is a con ve nient hid ing place for judg ments.

You judge people, plac es, is sues,

and your self for not meet ing

your ex pec ta tions. You say you

were not judging, you were just

dis ap point ed about the sit u a-

tion. But, if you looked deep er,

you might fi nd that judg ment

was at the root of your dis ap -

point ment.

A team member you re-

spect promises a report by 3:

00. By 4:00, noth ing; 4:30, still

noth ing; 5:30, not even a hint.

At 5:45 the report fi nal ly ar-

rives via e-mail, putting you

Get

Coherent

manage your manage your feelings around unmet ex pec ta tions

Scan your awareness

regularly for sub tle as well

as overt ex pec ta tions of your self

and oth ers. Con sid er how to stay

emo tion al ly bal anced if things

do not work out as ex pect ed. Will

all life as we know it really expire

if the ex pec ta tion is not fulfi lled?

Prob a bly not.

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM90


badly behind sched ule on your project. You say you are not mad,

just dis ap point ed that this person was not as re spon si ble as she

should be. Some where in this example a judg ment is lurk ing. If

you could see a tran script of the thoughts and feeling you had

between 3:15 and 5:45 it would reveal a lot about how ex pec -

ta tion led to judgment and then to dis ap point ment. When the

team member who was late tells you her child had fall en down

at school and cut his hand, requiring stitch es, and that she was

called to the school to take the child home and just for got to call

to say the re port would be late, you quickly for give her, but the

dam age of ex pec ta tion has al ready been done to your body and

your men tal and emo tion al energy reserves.

As the broken ex pec ta tion lingers, a lot of en er gy is used

to sus tain the dis ap point ment, energy no long er available for

pro duc tive activities. Your mind is pre oc cu pied, the in ter nal

di a logue races, and time once again is the enemy. Your phys i -

ol o gy slides deeper into in co her ence, making it hard er still to

shift per spec tive. Your cells actually age. It does not have to be

this way.

In the process of in creas ing your internal self-manage-

ment through heart in tel li gence, scan your aware ness regularly

for sub tle as well as overt expectations of your self and others on

your team or in your family. Con sid er how to stay emo tion al ly

“neu tral” if things do not work out as ex pect ed. Deeper man-

age ment of ex pec ta tions re quires un der stand ing the ex cite ment

that often spawns them and where it originates. Many sce nar i os

would tell the story equal ly well, but the sales pro cess pro vides a

con ve nient model.

“Ratios”“Ratios”“

We both have known many sales peo ple who were ex cel lent at

at tract ing a buyer’s interest but then, in their overenthusiasm

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM91


over the po ten tial of a large sale, short-circuited the process.

In the long run, they lost more sales than they made. Each time

this happened, the dis ap point ment grew, mak ing the ex pec -

ta tion for the next sale even harder to manage. This kind of neg-

a tive feedback loop can be dev as tat ing to self-confi dence. Many

good sales peo ple give up be cause of the dis ap point ment from

unmet expectations about the “sure thing.”

Successful salespeople know about “ratios”: Some deals

close, some do not. As long as the ratio stays con sis tent with

their goals, ev ery thing is fi ne. They in tu itive ly know that over-

ex cite ment about po ten tial sales cre ates the per fect breed ing

ground for fail ure. Sales peo ple with a bal anced in ter nal atti-

tude un der stand the unpredictability of life, so such people can

bounce back quick ly even when the sure thing evap o rates.

The concept of ratios is cen tral to rapid progress in in-

ter nal self-man age ment. First you use it to balance your own

ex pec ta tions, then apply it to oth er ar eas. You may make rap id

progress in stopping the leak of a long-standing mental habit,

then feel your progress sty mied when a tough sit u a tion causes

you to lose your cool. You feel like you slid backward be cause

you reacted negatively, and then you judge your self for the slip.

Slipping does not negate the genuine progress you made. What

you do next in your internal attitude, however, sets the stage for next in your internal attitude, however, sets the stage for next

either more progress or in er tia. Los ing hope, be com ing de spon -

dent, or doubt ing yourself will leak mas sive quantities of en er gy

and intelligence. Appreciating the in creas ing ratios of time you Appreciating the in creas ing ratios of time you Appreciating

already spent in greater co her ence provides a booster for sus-

tain ing them, especially when chal lenged. Un der stand ing ratios

helps you have sensible ex pec ta tions about people, your self,

and your work in stead of de mand ing ab so lute per fec tion and

being con tin u ous ly dis ap point ed.

We have learned, from per son al experience, the need to

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM92


stay bal anced and positive while keeping energy-draining ex-

pec ta tions to an absolute min i mum.

This attitude of allowing life and people to be their un pre -

dict able selves, while main-

tain ing a positive inner at-

ti tude that has security ei ther

way, can bring ever-in creas ing

rates of success, per son al ly

and professionally. What an

iro ny: manage ex pec ta tions

and watch them be surpassed.

And if they are not, you have

accumulated ex tra energy to

move on to the next po ten tial.

Become over ly crystallized

and at tached to a po ten tial

out come and you block a

more pos i tive po ten tial from

un fold ing.

Much of the noise and

in co her ence in organizations

to day re sults from over prom -

is ing and underdelivering. In

your en thu si asm to convince a

buy er of the val ue of your prod-

uct or a col league of the value of

an idea, it is easy to set ex pec -

ta tions at un reach able lev els.

Overenthusiasm based in the

mind’s need for stim u la tion is

the real cul prit. The great est

an ti dote is build ing more ac-

sales turnaround

Aregional offi ce of a large

computer reseller saw its

rev e nues and customer sat-

is fac tion plum met over a six-

month pe ri od, going from $5

mil lion per month in rev e nues

to $1 million per month. Things

got so bad they even had a streak

of 34 consecutive proposals lost.

A com pre hen sive HeartMath

pro gram was instituted for all

125 people in the di vi sion, along

with special strategy ses sions

with the management team,

sales team, and executive coach-

ing. In creas ing personal and or-

ga ni za tion al coherence was the

target so the company could at-

tract and keep good cus tom ers.

Six months after the program

was launched, during one three-

week period the fi rm won $45

million in new con tracts.

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM93


cep tance and ap pre ci a tion for

what is. A self-se cure per son

knows it is much smart er to un-

derpromise and overdeliver, but

it takes in ner se cu ri ty to hold

true to that per spec tive. Es pe -

cial ly when the hype ma chine

blares from TV sets, ban ner ads

and spam.

Freeze-Frame is a great

tool to scan your inner radar

screen for sim mer ing ex pec -

ta tions in your self or those you

could have cre at ed in others.

As soon as you do this scan-

ning, you will be gin to get a

pic ture of how much more

en er gy and in tel li gence you

could have avail able.

Judgmentalness

Another signifi cant energy drain already mentioned is be-

ing judg men tal. Judgment of others or yourself results from

as sess ments made with out ben e fi t of heart in tel li gence. They

of ten re sult from an over ac tive mind “siz ing up” a person

or sit u a tion based on lim it ed or emo tion al ly dis tort ed in for -

ma tion. Judg ments have no payoff. They throw your sys tem

out of bal ance phys i o log i cal ly—in fact, you are most vul ner a ble

to be ing judg men tal when op er at ing at a defi cit emo tion al ly.

Be ing judg men tal drives a wedge be tween your self and the

per son you are judg ing. Judg ments of one self are par tic u lar ly

in sid i ous, cloaked as they are in the robes of self-im prove -

understand the science of “ratios”

Understanding the con cept

of ra tios will accelerate

your progress in in ter nal self-

man age ment. First use it to bal-

ance your own expectations. Ap-

preciate all the good already in

your life, even though one thing

didn’t work out. Then, ap ply it

to oth er areas. Ap pre ci at ing the

in creas ing ratio of times you’ve

spent in great er coherence pro-

vides a boost er, es pe cial ly when

chal lenged. It’s not about being

perfect. It’s about im prov ing on

the ra tios.

understand the

Get

Coherent

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM94


ment. We judge our selves over a “stupid mis take,” not being

quick enough on our feet, not being con fi dent in the cli ent

presentation. We say we are not im prov ing, or we fear an un-

changed pat tern will doom us per son al ly or pro fes sion al ly,

all the while drain ing our emo tion al re serves and lim it ing

the po ten tial for growth. We judge oth ers be cause their be-

hav ior fails to “match” our ex pec ta tions, but all too of ten,

when over stressed or overrushed, we “default” to judg ment

at the fi rst sight of a cer tain per son or be fore even read ing the

boss’s e-mail. At our most im ma ture, we feed judg ments based

on gen der, race, gen er a tion, pro fes sion, or ac a dem ic back-

ground. The big se cret is this:

ev ery one else is do ing the

same thing to themselves!

In all these cases, judg-

ment drains and robs us of

the clar i ty need ed to build

re la tion ships or take decisive

ac tion. While it can seem stim-

u lat ing, even fun, to judge,

judgmentalness ac tu al ly con-

sumes tre men dous quan ti ties

of en er gy. Its only use ful ness

is as a wake-up call, let ting

us know we let unmanaged

emo tion cloud per cep tion

while ac cel er at ing our ag ing.

Ap pre ci at ing that we spot ted

the judg ment, then quick ly

neu tral iz ing the unmanaged

emo tion, can re store balance

and full in tel li gence.

under-promise and over-deliver

In this age of hype and hyper-

competition, the noise of

out land ish guarantees can be

deaf en ing. Over-enthusiasm

based on the mind’s need for

stim u la tion is the real culprit.

By building more acceptance

and appreciation for what is,

you’ll gain a sense of balance

and ma tu ri ty that will feel sol id

to you and those around you. A

self-se cure person knows it is

much smarter to un der-promise

and over-de liv er. It takes inner

se cu ri ty to hold true to that per-

cep tion.

under-promise

Get

Coherent

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM95


Judgment is one of the

most pervasive drains on the

plan et. Judg ment underlies

all ethnic, ra cial, and regional

con fl ict. It un der lies teams

re fus ing to co op er ate with

oth ers, stra te gic alliances and

mergers gone bad, executives

over ly crit i cal of sub or di nates,

even nations out to de stroy a

neigh bor. Of ten the judgment

seems jus ti fi ed, based on past

ex pe ri ence. “This was a take-

over, not a merger.” The mind

con structs its mem o ry of a

past abuse, then carefully pro-

tects its vi a bil i ty. Judg ments

rare ly re treat with out a fi ght,

so deep ly em bedded can they

be in our men tal, emotional,

and cel lu lar make up.

Heart intelligence, ac-

ti vat ing positive emotional

states to yield in creased in tu i-

tive un der stand ing, can pop

the bal loon of judgment so

we re gain balance. Once their

fangs have been re moved,

judg men tal at ti tudes can be

seen as mere ly the in ef fi cient prod uct of mental-emo tion al im-

bal ance. Neu tral iz ing judg ment will not rob you of the power to

dis crim i nate, as sess, or eval u ate. In fact, once the judg men tal

mind is rec og nized, clar i ty, bal ance, and poise all can in crease.

Get

Coherent

stop judgmental stop judgmental at ti tudes

We defi ne judgmentalness

as the tendency to make

as sess ments of peo ple or sit u a-

tions without the benefi t of com-

passion or un der stand ing from

the heart. Judgmental at ti tudes

drive a wedge be tween you and

that which you are judg ing. Real-

ize these judg men tal attitudes

are often based on misperception

or lack of in for ma tion. De spite

the fact that the tendency to

be judg men tal is culturally in-

grained from an early age, there

is wisdom in learning to un learn

this pattern. Use Freeze-Frame to

catch judgmental at ti tudes and

neutralize the ef fects by asking

your heart for a more complete

perspective. Ex tra credit: avoid

the trap of judg ing your self for

catching your self in a judgmental

at ti tude.

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM96

Time, Expectations, and Other Things It’s Diffi cult to Manage [ 97 ][ 97 ][ 97

Dynamic Balance Dynamic Balance Dynamic

For those of us who love to work at high speed and pride our-

selves on be ing able to thrive under pressure, the no tion of

bal ance could seem cute but frankly rather bland and un pro -bal ance could seem cute but frankly rather bland and un pro -bal ance

duc tive. So think of high-wire artists. Clear ly these per form ers

un der stand the im por tance of balance; in fact, for them it is a

life-and-death is sue. They must make hun dreds of mi cro-ad-

just ments to stay bal anced on the wire and keep their nerves,

anxiety, and vi su al dis trac tions from ru in ing their day. Balance

is key, but there is no lack of ad ven ture, ex cite ment, or risk. In

fact, with out bal ance their fun would be a one-shot thing.with out bal ance their fun would be a one-shot thing.with out

Look at balance from an oth er perspective. In the 1960s

and 1970s, a great Amer i can track star, Lee Evans, set world re-

cords in the 400 meter, 500 meter, 600 meter, and 1,600 meter

relay and many oth er distances. Many of these records were

not bro ken until the 1980s. In his track days, Lee was known as

an ex treme ly hardworking athlete, but what set him apart was

some thing dif fer ent. Lee was not the most grace ful run ner, but

he had learned that to go fast er, the an swer was not to tense up,

but to re lax more deep ly. While run ning, he would tell him self

to relax and fi nd a more fl ow ing style; he would ac cel er ate and

win near ly ev ery race. A deep er lev el of bal ance helped him fi nd

more speed and grace.2

A third analogy is a high performance car. For a Ferrari to

pick up speed, you need to shift gears intelligently. Each time

you shift gears, the en gine is able to run more ef fi cient ly so

you can drive fast er with less wear and tear on the engine. High

per for mance cars like a Ferrari need constant tuning so that a

dy nam ic balance is main tained and high er speed is pos si ble.

With out constant aligning and balancing of the engine, the

wheels, proper fuel and vital fl u ids, the car runs poorly or, worse

yet, can spin out of con trol. Speed still is the ob jec tive, but bal-

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM97


ance is the way to achieve it.

Pay ing at ten tion to the car’s

need for adjusting is a con-

stant priority.

Think about how these

analogies relate to your day

or your organization: Are

you rac ing to get more done,

while causing in creas ing wear

and tear? Could you cre ate

“personal strategic mo ments”

to slow down, step back, and

discover a more bal anced,

effi cient way to get the job

done—with less strain on you?

What effect might that have on

your sense of time, your pro-

duc tiv i ty, your re la tion ships,

or the qual i ty of your com mu -

ni ca tion? Where is the organi-

zation picking up friction by

going too fast without checking the oil, refueling, and re-strat-

egizing? Yes, speed mat ters in the new economy. Chal lenge your

assumption that speed and frenzy are the same thing.

Get

Coherent

innovate—try innovate—try balance

Balance is a dynamic state

of max i mum fl exibility,

not a bland un pro duc tive state

of me di oc ri ty. Balance requires

mo ment-by-moment re-cal i -

bra tion to changing con di tions,

attitudes, and op por tu ni ties.

Bal ance is unique for each

person. True bal ance means

internal dis tor tion is minimized

so your full intelligence is max-

i mized. A high-wire artist is a

prime ex am ple of balance in

the midst of adventure and risk.

Don’t mis take boredom for bal-

ance.

06 CH 6 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:54 PM98

DYNAMIC DYNAMIC 2

COHERENT COMMUNICATION

1. Achieving understanding fi rst is essential for effective com mu -ni ca tion. How easy it is to think we understand the views of a customer, colleague, or constituent without truly know ing.

2. Listening nonjudgmentally allows full intelligence and un der -stand ing to unfold. It requires careful attention to mind-sets about people and ourselves. High speed judgments of others block full understanding of their point of view.

3. Listening for the essence of a communication means hearing Listening for the essence of a communication means hearing Listening for the essencedeeply the core message without being distracted by the superfi cial tone or quality.

4. Authentic dialogue brings increased clarity and reduces the noise in any system. Heart-based authenticity represents an in tel li gent trans for ma tion of unmanaged diatribe, an tag o nism, or with hold ing.

[ 99 ]

CoherentCommunication

BeAuthentic

ListenWithout

Judgment

AchieveUnderstanding

First

Listen forthe Essence

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM99

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM100

c h a p t e r7

Authentic Communication: It’s Time for Some

Serious Consideration

ORGANIZATIONS TODAY ARE CHOKING ON MYRIAD

communication problems—from conflict avoidance to systems

confusion to sheer information overload to male-female pos-

turing and wariness. In an era when the primary reason people

leave their jobs is the inability to get along with their supervisor,

improving communication rapidly is becoming a personal and

strategic necessity. What is missing? An obvious answer would

be the heart. But, again, we do not mean just that communic-

ation needs more sentiment or emotion. Rather, compassion,

mature understanding, and intuitive sensitivity are needed to

transform the communication distortions we experience daily.

We need some real conversations.

Authentic communication implies listening and speaking

with sincerity, security, and balance. Using your own voice and

deeply respecting the voice—the heart—of the other. It implies

a fullness, a completeness, a directness to one’s communication

that arises from the core of oneself, not the storefront. As Rob-

ert Frost said, “Something we were withholding made us weak,

until we found out it was ourselves.” Sincerity is the oil that

lubricates communication, dissolving the metallic friction so

prevalent in this information-inundated world. Security arises

[ 101 ]

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 01/06/04, 3:58 PM101


from a core “know ing” that everything is okay; its Latin roots

mean “without fear.” Balance provides the self-calibration so

heart intelligence is the core frequency—the central operating

sys tem—guid ing how we speak and listen.

If organizations would ever muster up the courage to

mea sure the lost pro duc tiv i ty and stress generated because of mea sure the lost pro duc tiv i ty and stress generated because of mea sure

the un ex pressed con cerns, fears, and an tag o nism present, they

would be shocked. The gap between what most peo ple feel and feel and feel

what they say is huge and cost ly. National surveys in the United say is huge and cost ly. National surveys in the United say

States sug gest 70% of employees are afraid to speak up at work.

(In some other coun tries, this per cent age is far higher.1)

We have trained ourselves—and most or ga ni za tions abet

this train ing implicitly—to speak in a voice other than our own.

As a young actor I would occasionally muse what it would be

like to have a career in which you were paid to be yourself. I did

quite nicely putting on the per so nas of various characters, but

al ways talked in the voic es of others. Sure, “I” came through

the character, but I was always aware of the fi lters, the masks,

through which I spoke. I ro man ti cized about work ing in the cor-

po rate world and be ing paid to “be myself.” Soon after leav ing

the the ater in the late ’70s I learned just how naive I was. I be gan

to see fi rsthand how much peo ple feel they must com pro mise

them selves, in the name of busi ness. A website, which then

be came a book and a “movement”—The Cluetrain Manifesto—Cluetrain Manifesto—Cluetrain Manifesto

sees the Em per or’s new clothes, and isn’t afraid to speak up.

We don’t believe what we’re saying at work. We know no one else

be lieves it either. But we keep saying it because because because be-

cause the needle’s stuck. The record’s broken. Be cause we just can’t

stop. Because who would we be if we didn’t talk like that?2

We are not advocating a free-for-all of truth telling for its own

sake; in fact, that can be quite de struc tive in an emo tion al ly im-

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM102

Authentic Communication [ 103 ]

ma ture en vi ron ment. Some use

au then tic i ty, or being a “straight

shooter,” as a mask for unman-

aged emotion and judg ment.

Real authenticity is not re-

ac tion; it is expression from the

core—the core of com pas sion,

un der stand ing, and in tu ition.

Nor is au then tic i ty soft or tenta-

tive. The fail ure to be au then tic

and the resulting in co her ence

is cost ing more than we want

to know. How do you feel when you feel when you

you fail to speak up over an in-

sen si tive decision, know ing your

courage could be greeted with

blackballing and iso la tion?

What ex am ples in your pro-

fes sion al career have you seen

where the failure to ad dress

an issue proved costly? There

are some trag ic examples. The prob lem with the O-rings in the

space shut tle Challenger was known prior to launch. Fail ure to

speak forthrightly—and for that com mu ni ca tion to be heard—

cost the lives of the entire crew. Ev ery day in or ga ni za tions

around the world, peo ple no tice things that could be cost ly, but no tice things that could be cost ly, but no tice

often out of fear, many of these observations go un ex pressed.

The personal guilt and self-blame you can ex pe ri ence for not

speak ing up can haunt you for years.

Any book on organizational theory states the obvious: Ef-

fec tive com mu ni ca tion is essential for successful re la tion ships

and suc cess ful or ga ni za tions. But we are sug gest ing something

achieve understanding fi rst

If your mental engine is

revving too fast, you can

jump to con clu sions or make

as sump tions that could be

com plete ly wrong. Discipline

your self—especially in the face

of unpleasant news, ru mors,

or delicate personal issues—to

make sure you un der stand what

a customer, colleague, or friend

really means, rath er than un-

der stand ing just what they are

saying. What people mean and

what they say may not be the

same thing, particularly when

people are under pressure.

Get

Coherent

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM103


much deep er: authentic, essence lev el com mu ni ca tion that

catapults speak er and listener into a new di men sion of clarity,

resonance, and entrainment.

Is authentic communication merely an interpersonal

im per a tive between us and our colleagues or between man-

age ment and em ploy ees (not that this is exactly easy to ac com -

plish)? Don’t our cus tom ers want the same truth and di rect ness

we hope for in our close re la tion ships? The Web has opened

up conversations like never before in hu man history. Ev ery -

thing your or ga ni za tion is doing—or not doing—is grist for the

mill for some chat room or listserv and myriad other forms of

impartial, in stan ta neous communication. Again the Cluetrain

pro vo ca teurs:

Marketing has been training its practitioners for de cades in the art of

im per son at ing sincerity and warmth. But marketing can no longer

keep up appearances. People talk. They get on the Web and they let

the world know that the happy site with the smiling puppy masks a

company with coins where its heart is supposed to be. They tell the

world that the company that prom is es to make you feel like royalty

doesn’t reply to e-mail messages and makes you pay the shipping

charg es when you return their crappy mer chan dise. The market will

fi nd out who and what you are. Count on it.

That’s why you poison your own well when you lie. You break trust

with your own people as well as your cus tom ers. You may be able to

win back the trust you’ve blown, but only by speak ing in a real voice,

and by en gag ing peo ple rather than delivering messages to them.3

Underlying these fundamentals is the deep principle that

to au then ti cal ly communicate with others requires self-honesty

and in creas ing levels of self-maturity. Authentic communica-

tion starts with listening to yourself, especially the sometimes

chal leng ing prompt ing of your heart. So many things in life can

convince people to justify their reactions, throwing them back

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM104


into fear or insecurity. Freeze-Frame and neutral are two tools

to bring you back to bal ance and help you become more deeply

aware of what you are feel ing, the consequences of these feel-

ings, and possible true-to-your self solutions.

Electric Communication

Some re search ers sug gest that our com pre hen sion of a con ver -

sa tion is only minimally based on the words ex pressed. As much

as 58% of our un der stand ing is due to our in ter pre ta tion (per-

ception) of body lan guage, 35% on our per cep tion of the lan guage, 35% on our per cep tion of the lan guage tone

of voice, with only 7% based on our in ter pre ta tion of the of voice, with only 7% based on our in ter pre ta tion of the of voice words

themselves. Obviously, this leaves lots of room for mis un der -

stand ing and in co her ence.

“What a radiant person she is!” “He has such magnetism

and pres ence.” “The room was electric as she announced the

plans for next year.” These and other phrases reveal a deep in-

tu i tive un der stand ing that com mu ni ca tion is not just auditory

but also vi su al; and it is electromagnetic. Research has dem-and it is electromagnetic. Research has dem-and

on strat ed that the heart produces an electromagnetic fi eld that

can be measured at least ten feet from the body using cur rent

technology. As soon as you come within ten feet of some one

else, your fi elds interact. (Another rea son why crowd ed subways

are so hard on the nerves?) Research has es tab lished that mea-

surable changes occur in the heart’s fi eld, de pend ing on one’s

emotional state: Frustration causes “static” in the fi eld, while

appreciation or care creates increasing levels of coherence in

the fi eld (see Figure 7–1).

So, while your words communicate one message, your

tone of voice another, and your body language yet another,

your own heart is radiating an undeniable, hard-to-hide elec-

trical mes sage. Quantum the o ry would sug gest that, although

the elec tri cal component of hu man communication may only

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM105


trans mit 10 or 12 feet, the quantum level knows no such lim i -

ta tions. Once again it is clear: We live in a sea of frequencies.

Information is ev ery where. We each broadcast and re ceive. The

clarity of the reception has ev ery thing to do with the clar i ty of

the receiver—you. Have you ever listened to someone a bit im-

pa tient ly, tried to speed the conversation along by fi nishing the

speak er’s sentence and letting him or her know you un der stood,

only to fi nd out you were dead wrong and com plete ly missed

the point? Or if you cannot remember ever doing this, no doubt

it has been done to you and it drove you cra zy. Internal noise

from unmanaged emotional stress is one of the greatest inhibi-

tors of clear, effective, essence level com mu ni ca tion.

FIGURE 7–1 Feelings affect the information contained within the heart’s elec- tri cal signal, which is transmitted to all the cells in your body. The graph on the left shows the “noise” created within the heart electrically when we ex pe -ri ence a neg a tive emotional state such as frustration. It is called an in co her ent pattern be cause the signals are distorted. The graph on the right shows the co her ent elec tri cal patterns created by the heart during a positive emo tion al state, in this case, ap pre ci a tion. Notice how the lines are clear, or dered, and harmonious.

0 10 20 30

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25

0.30

Frequency (Hertz)

ECG Frequency SpectrumECG Frequency Spectrum

0 10 20 30Frequency (Hertz)

FrustrationFrustration AppreciationAppreciation( Incoherent ) ( Coherent )

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM106

Authentic Communication [ 107 ][ 107 ][ 107

The electrical signal radiated by the human heart is trans ferred be tween

people when they touch, as shown by these two graphs. Two subjects

were being measured simultaneously: Subject A’s brain waves and sub-

ject B’s elec tro car dio gram. The graphs on the left show their re spec tive

mea sure ments while sitting four feet apart. However, when they touch,

as shown in the graphs on the right, the electrocardiogram of subject B

appears in the brain wave pattern of sub ject A, showing a mea sur able

elec tri cal trans fer ence while the two touched.

Electricity of Touch

the electricity of touch

Additional research at the Institute has shown that, when touch ing

someone through a handshake or hug, a measurable trans fer ence

of elec tri cal en er gy between the two people takes place. Happy, sad, lov-

ing, or insecure—it does not matter: Touching gen er ates an elec tri cal

trans fer ence. In fact, even close proximity be tween two peo ple registers

an elec tri cal effect, when people are as close as 18 inches.4 If the heart’s

electromagnetic fi eld acts as a carrier wave for emotional tur moil or

pos i tive feelings, we would be wise to pay closer attention to our at ti -

tudes and feelings. We may be affecting others more than we re al ize!

© Copy right 1998 Institute of HeartMath Re search Center© Copy right 1998 Institute of HeartMath Re search Center

the electricity of touch

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM107


Deep Listening

If deeper, more authentic communication with others is the

goal, how could you avoid starting with yourself—the gut feel-

ings, the instinct, the still small voice within? How often do you

ignore an intuitive sense because the mind’s rationality or past

experience (that pesky amygdala) blocks the way? Re mem ber

that in tu i tive in tel li gence represents an un der de vel oped fre-

quen cy range with in each person’s in tel li gence capacity. From quen cy range with in each person’s in tel li gence capacity. From quen cy range with in each person’s in tel li gence capacity

time to time you may get a fl ash of in sight or glimpse of the

obvious, but how random or un pre dict able these intuitions can

seem.

Attempting to listen to the intelligent voice of the heart

re quires prac tice, especially when the mind’s decibel level is

peak ing. But it is a practice that yields payoff in every di men sion

of life. Mastering lis ten ing to yourself is facilitated by disciplined

at tempts to do so. Freeze-Frame throughout your day and ask

yourself to pick up subtle signals telling you that some thing is

out of phase, some thing needs attention, “I need to deal with so

and so.” Pick spe cifi c times in your day to scan the inner ra dar

screen for un at tend ed-to is sues or concerns. Ear ly mon i tor ing

during the daily commute, lunch, and other breaks are ex cel lent

times to step back, check the inner voice and re spond, save, or

delete. A major part of everyday stress re sults from failure to

lis ten to one’s own intelligent input. Can you re call any times in

the past week, month, or even year when you kicked yourself for

not do ing something, or you regretted say ing some thing that in

your heart you knew was not ap pro pri ate? For most people, this

is fair ly common. If ex am ples are hard to come by, look for it in

others. You’ll get the picture.

Listening to yourself as you would a child or a friend with a

prob lem can quickly increase compassion for yourself and then

for oth ers. Most peo ple have mastered one overused aspect of

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM108


lis ten ing—the art of listening to their own self-judgment and

self-blaming. They play hours of per son al ized “self-helpless”

tapes, designed to imprison them in the familiarity of de spair

and unfulfi llment. It requires a new, more compassionate focus

to be come neutral and quiet long enough to listen to a deeper

in tel li gence be neath the emotional pain or tur moil. Of course,

once you get adept at lis ten ing to yourself, au then tic action is

mandated from within. In the face of in tel li gent choic es, fail-

ure to act confi rms the self-defeating behaviors you are try ing

to trans form. Acting from the heart represents a new level of

self-em power ment, a new platform from which to build more

in ter nal co her ence and more authentic communication.

Whether your role is to lead others or simply to lead your-

self, acute ly understanding what you are feeling and per ceiv ing

is the pre req ui site to understanding what others think and feel.

It is easy to master the “store front” we talked about. In a society

where “looking good while feeling bad” is hav ing ever more seri-

ous consequences, it is time to let the heart’s wis dom guide our

actions. Start by paying clos er at ten tion to your subtle in ter nal

feelings. Attempt to verbalize them on paper or to close friends.

Never stop this pro cess if con tin u al growth and un fold ing your

in tel li gence is a goal. Shar ing one’s deepest insights in vari ably

yields un ex pect ed clar i ty. In tel li gence is ev ery where.

Barriers

There are two types of barriers to effective, authentic com mu -

ni ca tion: en coding errors and decoding errors. Encoding in-Encoding in-Encoding

volves the meaning we as cribe to the communication we send;

decoding is the process of making mean ing out of what we hear. decoding is the process of making mean ing out of what we hear. decoding

Encoding errors occur when we as the speaker:

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM109


• Are not clear what we want to say due to excessive emo-

tion al noise.

• Do not know what we really mean.

• Use words that have meaning only to us, with no clear

trans la tion for the listener.

Decoding errors occur when we as the listener:

• Misinterpret the essence based on our perception of body

lan guage, tone, or words.

• Form judgments about the speaker.

• Listen at only the surface lev el.

• Make an inappropriate “match” between what the speak er

is say ing and some pre vi ous experience.

• Have so much internal noise that the signal we are listen-

ing to is drowned out.4

Intuitive listening provides a technique for reducing these

“er rors” so greater coherence can be achieved.

Intuitive Listening

If you have taken a man age ment development, cus tom er ser-

vice, sales train ing, or parenting course, you probably learned

fun da men tals of good lis ten ing: steady eye contact, open recep-

tive body language, paraphrasing key points. All good storefront

com mu ni ca tion. Intuitive com mu ni ca tion im plies that a deeper

level of in tel li gence, ef fi cien cy, and ef fec tive ness are at play

when you get past the mannequins in the win dow.

Good listening requires both the hardware and soft ware,

hearing and un der stand ing. There are three distinct levels of

lis ten ing:

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM110


1. The word level is where much mis com mu ni ca tion hap-

pens. How many ar gu ments or mis un der stand ings are over the

words said and not the real meaning? The words them selves are

just the tip of the ice berg of the real com mu ni ca tion a per son

is try ing to make. Many times peo ple cannot fi nd the words to

describe accurately what they want to say; others are sim ply not

adept with words, although they might com mu ni cate their feel-

ings in a very expressive way. What one person means by heart, heart, heart

for ex am ple, could be totally dif fer ent than what someone else

means. Words are cages around fre quen cies. They are often

crude attempts to capture the essence of an idea and con vey it

with clarity and spec i fi c i ty. They are nec es sary but not al ways

suffi cient, and of ten the cause of con fu sion.

2. Beneath the words we speak is the feeling level, where a feeling level, where a feeling level

deep er meaning can be found. We all have listened to peo ple

who were say ing one thing, but we thought they meant some-

thing quite dif fer ent. Feelings are an area most people are

un com fort able dis cuss ing, and clear differences exist be tween

men and women. Yet, this often is where re la tion ships are made

or lost. Feel ings of ten are ex-

pressed, es pe cial ly in busi ness

set tings, through tone of voice

and body lan guage. Less often

are they expressed au then -

ti cal ly.

3. The deepest level of

com mu ni ca tion is called the

es sence lev el. Re mem ber a es sence lev el. Re mem ber a es sence lev el

con ver sa tion with someone

in which you felt so in sync,

it was as though the person

knew ex act ly what you meant

practice listening in tu itive ly

Great leaders hear the

meaning behind the words.

They are able to an tic i pate prob-

lems before they occur, and pay

at ten tion to feel ings, not just the

data. Focus in the heart and be

neutral to lis ten for sub tle sig nals

that could be easy to miss.

practice

Get

Coherent

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM111


or felt. This is very ef fi cient com mu ni ca tion that cuts through

when words are in ad e quate or do not convey the deep est mean-

ing. Get ting to the essence saves time, fa cil i tates understanding,

and es tab lish es a true con nec tion.

Finding the essence means getting past the store front to

the stock room. What is on the shelves inside, is it organized, is it

carefully man aged? We are using this metaphor guardedly, not

so you actually will seek to un der stand the “inventory” in a con-

ver sa tion, but rather to in tu itive ly un der stand the core, the real

substance, un der neath the sur face.

There is no downside for seek ing to un der stand the es-

sence of an is sue or another

per son’s point of view. While

it could sound time con-

sum ing, in tu i tive lis ten ing

has as its aim a tremendous

in crease in mu tu al respect,

un der stand ing, and en er gy ef-

fi cien cy. By uti liz ing in tu i tive

in tel li gence, you op er ate out

of a deep part of your own es-

sence, which is why you more

easily can hear the es sence

of another per son or mes-

sage. Not only do speak er and

lis ten er feel better about the feel better about the feel

ex change, co her ence is high er,

lead ing to cre ative so lu tions

that surpass what is pos si ble

when the air is fi lled with dis-

tor tion and con ten tion. In fact,

this type of com mu ni ca tion

is highly en er giz ing. When

listening as an in no va tion tool

It’s amazing how much more

creative and innovative

peo ple are when they feel heard

and ap pre ci at ed. Organizational

cul tures that pride themselves

on biting critiques of new

ideas—often masking an in tel -

lec tu al arrogance—inhibit the

spirit of innovation that seeks

freedom, needs space to operate,

and will grow in value if ap pre -

ci at ed. Listen sincerely to new

ideas, honor the intention of the

originator, and, even if the idea

is premature or incomplete, en-

courage more!

listening as an

Get

Coherent

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM112


you feel heard, es pe cial ly if the is sue is emo tion al ly charged, a

tre men dous re lease can occur, free ing up en er gy for more pro-

duc tive things.

Intuitive listening re quires being neutral or even pos i tive

emo tion al ly while lis ten ing to another person:

• Try to feel appreciation for the other as a person, so you

see a full er pic ture, not just a limited view created by the

mes sage be ing delivered or an old memory you have.

• This means allowing the person the time and space to

com plete thoughts without interrupting, judging, or rush-

ing.

• It means giving your complete attention, not having your

mind on oth er tasks because “you have so much to do.”

• It involves, when nec es sary, repeating what you believe to

be the es sence of what the other person has said—to make

sure the per son feels heard—before re spond ing with your

per spec tive or opin ion.

• It requires a measure of emotional maturity to not simply

re act de fen sive ly if the mes sage contains feed back for you.

From this foun da tion of ma tu ri ty, a deeper re la tion ship

can be built. For cus tom ers and cli ents this is es sen tial,

just as it is for friends and col leagues.

Each of these principles can and should be applied both

to our selves and to our communication with others. Several

years ago a new member of our staff was having a challenge

adapting to our unique organizational cul ture. An MBA with

extensive con sult ing ex pe ri ence on Wall Street, she found the

degree of co op er a tion, col lab o ra tion, and camaraderie appeal-

ing but some what dis con cert ing because of how different it was

from her previous highly competitive professional experiences.

At one point, she began grum bling about the dynamics within

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM113


the team. I asked if she would be willing to bring up the issue

open ly in a team meeting. She agreed, although it took some

cour age on her part. During the meeting she force ful ly shared

her con cerns, which related to a perceived gap be tween the se-

nior members and the junior ones, and the intense frus tra tion

this caused her to feel. I tried to listen nonjudgmentally (though

this was not entirely easy), re al iz ing I could have had the same

per spec tive be ing in her shoes. I locked in to the es sence of her

words, try ing not to get thrown by the emo tion al de liv ery (neu-

tral came in very handy). As I lis tened, I ap pre ci at ed her cour- tral came in very handy). As I lis tened, I ap pre ci at ed her cour- tral

age for speak ing up and her anxiety over the gap she felt. But,

be fore making any com ments,

I made sure I had un der stood

the es sence by para phras ing it

back to her, then asked if I had

heard her cor rect ly. She threw

her arms up in the air and said,

“Fi nal ly, some one has heard

me!” The relief in her face and

body was tre men dous. Gone

was the ten sion, the fear, and

the in se cu ri ty that, if poorly

ex pressed, her words could

re sult in reprisal or iso la tion,

a com mon pat tern in so many

cor po rate en vi ron ments. I

con clud ed the ex change by

sug gest ing we talk “off-line”

to make sure I un der stood her

con cerns fully.

Here is where the power

of intuitive listening became

authentic intranets?

People want to talk. They

also want to be heard. The

Web is quench ing this thirst

for some, but many want to

talk open ly about your or ga -

ni za tion—what’s working, what’s

not; what wild, new ideas could

jumpstart the rocky new prod uct

launch; what attitudes in the cul-

ture would make peo ple want to

stay when the head hunt er calls.

Your intranet can be a place to

en cour age open con ver sa tions.

Don’t try to con trol them. Fat

chance, any way. But do make a

sin cere ef fort to hear what they’re

trying to say.

authentic

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM114


so pro found. While talking privately she realized that once she

fi nal ly “felt heard,” it be came clear that most of the problem

was in her per cep tion. She thanked me for listening, and a bond

of open ness, se cu ri ty, and respect remains to this day.

Time after time, we have seen the power of intuitive in-

tel li gence trans form ordinary communication. Performance

reviews that nei ther party is look ing forward to, diffi cult ne go -

ti a tions, client in ter ac tions—all these con tin u al ly become more

ful fi ll ing and ef fi cient when in ter nal coherence is max i mized,

noise is reduced, and the heart provides the play ing fi eld.

A software company pres i dent from Australia of fered this

story:

Today, one day after I fi nished the HeartMath program, I went into

what I ex pect ed to be one of the most diffi cult negotiations of my

life. I was ne go ti at ing the [company name] distribution agreement,

which was like many agreements that I have negotiated in my life,

ex cept that this time I was ne go ti at ing with my life savings, re sult ing

in a not insignifi cant in crease in pres sure. The agree ment that I

had received from [company name] about two months ago did not

re fl ect the true spirit of the agree ment that we had made on a hand-

shake, and I started to feel very confl icted about this. From the dis-

tance of Australia, I felt that [com pa ny name] want ed to draw back

from the agreement that we had made verbally. Actions sub se quent

to my challenging the basic conditions of the agree ment were also

not helpful in changing my opinion that they were re neg ing. They

did not respond to phone calls or e-mail. Finally, and most criti-

cal, they did not send me a fi nal draft of the contract as I re quest ed.

Hence, I had every rea son to expect the worst (from a nor mal busi-

ness point of view). Hav ing changed my per cep tu al po si tion with

respect to [company name], these were the smooth est negotiations

that I have ever been in. I Freeze-Framed often and poured love out

of my heart for the negotiators as often as I could. They con ced ed ev-

ery major point in the negotiations, about 15 in all, and only on one

point did they not con cede, which, from my point of view, was a mi-

nor con sid er ation. This negotiation went like clock work and major

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM115


issues like term of contract, continuity, ar bi tra tion procedures, and

quotas all fell the way that I wanted.6

At fi rst glance it seems te dious to have to make sure you

un der stand the essence of what someone is saying. After all,

don’t most people talk in slow, cir cu i tous sen tenc es anyway?

It is much more “effi cient” to cut in and help the other person

clar i fy his or her thoughts, isn’t it? Hooked on speed, al ways

rush ing to keep up, how easy it is to jus ti fy insensitive, in ef -

fec tive com mu ni ca tion, veiled as it is behind the screen of judg-

ment. The iro ny is how much havoc is cre at ed by the rushed

de ci sions and fran tic thought pro cess es we con vinced our selves

are es sen tial to our organization or ca reer.

Slowing the mental chat ter while neutralizing the emo-

tion al clat ter al lows the high speed refi ned intelligence of in tu -

ition to be heard. The heart has the power to neu tral ize run away

mental mis siles and disarm the emo tion al gre nades. As a side

benefi t of lis ten ing in tu itive ly for the es sence, a study con duct ed

at Johns Hopkins Uni ver si ty showed that mar ried peo ple who

were able to ac cu rate ly sum ma rize the feel ings of their spouse

were able to low er blood pres sure.

Think of the great leaders of our time or a mentor who

made a last ing impact on you. We suspect a part of your heart

was awakened by the sin cere spir it of that person. Most like ly

the person had the gift or de vel oped the skill of deep lis ten ing,

and that depth in fused the words he or she spoke as well. The

power and authenticity of their ex pres sion seemed to res o nate

from a deep passion and knowingness.

Communication Webs

Another important di men sion is the coherence of a team’s com-

mu ni ca tion with oth er parts of the or ga ni za tion, as well as the

net works of re la tion ships it is able to build outside its im me di ate

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM116

Authentic Communication [ 117 ][ 117 ][ 117

sphere. Main tain ing co herence within necessitates co her ence

with out. In one study at the Harvard Business School, the way

a team or unit was linked to oth ers had a dra mat ic effect on its

per for mance. In one mul ti na tion al elec tron ics com pa ny, for

ex am ple, the best con nect ed busi ness units were able to bring

prod ucts to mar ket 30% fast er than av er age.7 As any one who’s

ever talked on a cell phone or trans mit ted data through a mo-

dem knows, it’s one thing to be con nect ed, and quite an oth er

when that con nec tion is dis tort ed or in ter mit tent.

Or ga ni za tion al Ap pli ca tions

The applications of coherent

communication to an or ga -

ni za tion are many.

• Meetings. Before a meet-

ing starts, review the key

prin ci ples: listening non-

judgmentally, lis ten ing

for the es sence, achiev-

ing un der stand ing fi rst,

and speak ing au then -

ti cal ly. Write them on a

fl ip chart or grease board

as a re mind er. Sum-

ma rize key points of any

dis cus sion or pre sen -

ta tion to make sure the

whole group is in sync.

Con tin ue dis cuss ing

un til there is shared

clarity. An intact team

communication leaps

Many organizations have

seen measurable ben e fi ts

from ap ply ing tools of co her ent

com mu ni ca tion. At a glo bal en-

er gy com pa ny, a key stra te gic

team had only 14% of its mem-

bers feel ing meetings were well

or ga nized. After six months with

IQM tools, this fi g ure had jumped

to 53%. Only 43% felt they lis-

tened to each oth er pri or to IQM

train ing, but six months later

73% felt lis ten ing was good. And

in this same team, only 57% felt

free to express them selves pri or

to IQM. Six months after the IQM

in ter ven tion, 93% felt free to ex-

press their views.

communication

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM117


from Hewlett-Packard used this pro cess to make sure

the an nounce ment of a new strategy was un der stood by

ev ery one. The an nounce ment took less than fi ve min-

utes to make but more than an hour to dis tin guish the

var i ous in ter pre ta tions from the real mes sage ex pressed.

Had they not taken this time, con sid er able un cer tain ty

and con fu sion would have re sult ed, wast ing many hours

and pos si bly cul mi nat ing in mis guid ed de ci sions. Has this

hap pened in your or ga ni za tion?

• Phone conversations. Whether dealing with a customer,

ven dor, or patient, applying the principles of intuitive

lis ten ing and au then tic com mu ni ca tion helps ensure a

speed i er, mutually ben e fi cial outcome that can be en-

er giz ing. Es pe cial ly when you have no body language

or other vi su al clues to rely on, focusing on keeping

yourself emo tion al ly neu tral or pos i tive while mak-

ing sure you hear the other per son is far less drain ing

than being judg men tal or making unfair or inaccurate

assumptions.

• Performance reviews. Performance reviews are one of the

most emo tion al ly draining and commonly avoided or ga -

ni za tion al ac tiv i ties. Yet, they can be a rich op por tu ni ty for

growth. Au then tic com mu ni ca tion in this con text means

putting the per son’s highest good as your pri ma ry ob-

jec tive. Make sure your appraisal allows ad e quate time for

the per son’s as sets to be dis cussed—and make sure the

per son hears your ap pre ci a tion, sin cere ly. Where feed-

back is necessary, make sure the tone is not judg men tal

but is supportive and direct. Using Freeze-Frame at the

start of this pro cess can neu tral ize or re duce anxiety while

cre at ing a stron ger fi eld for rap port in stead of an tag o nism.

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM118


• External relationships. Evaluate the quality of com mu ni c-

a tion be tween your team and other key di vi sions within

the organization. Where is coherence lack ing? Where

is it strong? Par tic u lar ly ex am ine any areas of ex tend ed

com mu ni ca tion where people have be come re signed to

in co her ence or an tag o nism. This is a high le ver age point

for boosting pro duc tiv i ty. Typ i cal ex am ples of hardened

re la tion ships in clude man u fac tur ing with mar ket ing, sales

with ac count ing, marketing with sales, and medical staff

with administration.

• System noise. Continue to ask where there is noise in any

part of the system:

—Sales people frustrated over level of services and sup-

port,

—Administration staff inhibited by infrastructure or pro-

cess in ef fi cien cies,

—Production people resentful over design delays or con-

stant chang es,

—Nurses stuck in a no-man’s land between se nior man-

age ment preoccupation with shareholder (or board)

perception, and physician attitudes and patient expec-

tations.

Then ask your people what solutions they see, which

rec og nize the needs of the whole system: employee, man-

ag er, department, company and customer.

Fundamentally, beneath all the research and the sug ges -

tions for how to increase coherence personally and or ga ni za -

tion al ly, it boils down to this: the human need to con nect with

others in a meaningful way is more urgent than ever. The emer-

gence of the Web and a diz zy ing array of com mu ni ca tion tools

and devices has only made ob vi ous what our hearts knew we

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM119


wanted all along. The Cluetrain writers en vi sion:Cluetrain writers en vi sion:Cluetrain

New types of connections. The heart fl owing to oth er hearts. A new

rhythm. A new causality. A new un der stand ing of pow er. Con ver -

sa tion that understands that it isn’t a dis trac tion from work, it’s the

real work of business.8

07 CH 7 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM120

c h a p t e r8

Technology, Inner Technology, and the

Measure of Human Capital

AS WITH VIRTUALLY EVERY FACET OF SOCIETY TODAY,

technology is in massive transition, facing significant choices for

its future direction. The picture is chaotic to be sure. With com-

puting power now exceeding even Moore’s Law of doubling of

microprocessor speed every 18 months and devices becoming

smaller, more compact, and more versatile, the future looks

like a gadget freak’s paradise. Much of this new technology will

add immeasurably to our ability to learn and understand across

borders and across time zones. Our glee in successfully using a

GPS (global positioning system) navigation system (provided at

no extra charge by Hertz) and the ease it afforded us going from

appointment to appointment all over the Chicago metropolitan

area, was yet another example of how fun and energy-saving

technology can be. So what's the downside? Concerns about

cyber-crime, children glued to computer screens, breakdown

of traditional communities, the digital divide between rich and

poor—connected and unconnected—are just some potential

effects.1

The debate rages. None other than Bill Joy, a founder of

Sun Microsystems, and one of the industry’s most thoughtful

[ 121 ]

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 01/06/04, 3:59 PM121


pi o neers, has publicly questioned the un bri dled technology-

for-technology’s-sake mentality. The IPO frenzy surrounding

all the Internet start-ups fur ther amplifi ed an often irrational,

keep-up-with-the-Joneses mindset that embraces every tech-

nological in no va tion without con sid er ing the social or human

con se quenc es. Bill Joy:

For Aristotle, an argument based on a poem was as valid as one

based on science. We’ve lost that. I don’t sense in this com mu ni ty

that an eth i cal, spir i tu al-based ar gu ment carries nearly as much

weight as a capitalist im per a tive or the notion that progress is the ul-

ti mate. That what ev er hap pens happens. It’s scientifi c fa tal ism and it

could be fatal for us.2

Or this from Tom Valovic, author of Digital Mythologies:

There is a tremendous, market-driven haste to get into in vis i ble

tech nol o gies that are unstable and dan ger ous to life. It re quires this

re li gious leap of faith that science knows best.3

The point is not that technology is evil. It’s neutral. The

lack of emotional management—at this critical stage of human

evo lu tion—is the wild card.

Increasingly, communication is becoming electronic. The

good news is that there are more ways to connect than ever; the

bad news is that there seems to be no escape. As bandwidth (the

range of available frequencies) expands to satisfy our craving

for information, so does the potential for in for ma tion overload.

The more information to which we gain access, the more our in-

ter nal circuitry overloads, making ef fec tive pro cess ing diffi cult

at best.

A Reuters study4A Reuters study4A Reuters study suggests we are witnessing the “rise of a

new generation of ‘dataholics.’” Based on a survey of 1,000 peo-

ple in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany,

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM122

Technology, Inner Technology, and the Measure of Human Capital [ 123 ]

Singapore, and Hong Kong, the survey cited these responses:

• More than 50% feel unable to handle all the information

ac cu mu lat ed in their jobs.

• 61% believe information overload is present in their work-

place, with 80% predicting the situation will worsen.

• 47% take material home or work longer hours to keep up

with the amount of information accumulated.

• 55% are concerned children will become information

junk ies, with 36% “ex treme ly worried” their children were

overexposed to in for ma tion.

• Nearly half of all parents said their children prefer PCs to

peers.

The picture has not brightened since 9/11. Two re search ers

have determined that as much as 85% of the pop u la tion feels

uncomfortable with technology.5 The 15% who are com fort able

still fall prey to frustration, intimidation, or dis tress. Even the

techno-literati feel the pressure. The number of messages and

oth er demands on our at ten tion—whether phone calls, e-mail,

TV ads, Internet “junk mail” (af fec tion ate ly called spam), or oth-spam), or oth-spam

er kinds of messages—number in the tens of thou sands daily.

As we were work ing on this book, a call came in from a cli ent, a

senior executive of a global technology cor po ra tion, who was la-

ment ing the incredible drain on his en er gy required to deal with

the 200–250 daily e-mail mes sag es he receives. Most get deleted

without being read. And yet the send ers thought they had “com-

municated.”

E-mail can rapidly aggravate organizational incoherence.

React neg a tive ly, even mistakenly, to a new policy or any sit u a-

tion, and you can in stant ly broadcast your displeasure to doz-

ens of people. Here is a simple sto ry. In a large fi nancial ser vic es

fi rm, an irate employee gave hostile feed back via e-mail to a co-

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM123


worker and sent copies to 15 other people, including the boss of

the coworker’s boss. The team director then had to sort out the

is sue, while re sponding to two higher levels of man age ment and

calming down the co worker who had been pub lic ly and unfairly

humiliated, elec tron i cal ly. Similarly, cus tom er com plaints elec-

tronically can snake their way very high into an or ga ni za tion,

involving many people emotionally in the drama. In both ex-

amples, e-mail is not the villain; it is neu tral. But e-mail has be-

come a convenient vehicle in the trans mis sion of incoherence

and emotional mis management.

The information overload phenomenon increasingly is

glo bal. Another survey done by Reuters,6 conducted with man-

age ment per son nel in the Unit ed Kingdom, United States,

Australia, Hong Kong, and Singapore, revealed a tre men dous

amount of men tal an guish and physical illness re sult ing from

“in for ma tion fatigue.”

• One in four of the 1,300 managers surveyed admitted to

suf fer ing ill health as a result of the volume of information

they must han dle.

• 48% agreed that the Internet will play a primary role in

fur ther ag gra vat ing the problem over the next few years.

• Two thirds of managers re port ed that tension with work

col leagues and loss of job satisfaction arise because of

stress as so ci at ed with in for ma tion overload.

• 43% of senior managers suffered from ill health as a direct

con se quence of stress associated with information over-

load.

• 62% testifi ed that their personal relationships suffered as a

result of information overload.

• 44% believed the cost of collecting information exceeds its

value to business.

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM124


How much of this craze for information arises out of in se -

cu ri ty and fear—fear we will be left behind, fear someone else

will do the deal or get to the mar ket faster, insecurity that if we

are not constantly “con nect ed” our value and worth will be

questioned and ultimately cast aside?

It is fascinating to step back and realize how quickly in for -

ma tion tech nol o gy be came

cen tral to our lives. Can you

re mem ber when you did not

own a VCR, nobody sent fax es,

no body used e-mail, per son al

com put ers were a nov el ty (even

in busi ness), pag ers did not ex-

ist, and phones in cars were for

pres i dents and prime min is ters?

This pastoral scene is 1980! Fast

for ward to the present and we,

in the de vel oped coun tries,

clear ly live in an entirely dif-

fer ent world. To day, many of

us—more all the time—work

and live in tech nol o gy-in ten sive

en vi ron ments. Our homes in-

creas ing ly refl ect the tech nol o gy

fren zy in or ga ni za tions. And, by

all ac counts, the in ten si ty and

speed of change will only in-

crease. There is no end in sight

for this trend to slow down or

shift di rec tion.7 Only when the

neg a tive con se quenc es cost us

dearly are we like ly to chal lenge

the basic as sump tion that an

examine how to reduce information over load

Technology facilitates

convenience and effi ciency

—and also creates chal leng es.

Healthy or ga ni za tions of the fu-

ture will balance the ac qui si tion

of information with in di vid u al

well-being and pro duc tiv i ty.

Un bri dled as sim i la tion of in for -

ma tion grinds individual pro duc -

tiv i ty un der a moun tain of need-

less data. Make sure in for ma tion

sys tems and pro cess es make it

eas i er for peo ple to do their jobs,

not feel more over whelmed. Use

this same principle to examine

how to make it easier for cus-

tom ers to do busi ness with you.

Con nec tiv i ty is great when there’s

meaning in the con nec tion.

examine how to

Get

Coherent

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM125


ever-in creas ing vol ume of raw in for ma tion is in her ent ly good.

(One can die of too much of any thing, in clud ing water.)any thing, in clud ing water.)any thing

In a very short time—15 years or so—computers and in for -

ma tion tech nol o gy rap id ly became the primary physical as set

of corporations and cen tral to their operations. Today, close

to half of all capital ex pen di tures made by companies are on

com put ers, networks, and software, the largest single cat e go ry

of ex pen di ture.8 Almost every employee of public and private

sec tor organizations must be able to operate at least one but

usu al ly several kinds of in for ma tion tech nol o gy device: com-

put ers, laptops, modems, fax ma chines, e-mail, pagers, cel lu lar

phones, and other similar equip ment.

A Coherent Response to Information Tech nol o gy

How do we cope with all this? Pull the plug on technology and

go back to simpler living? Unplugging is not prac ti cal nor pos-

si ble for organizations, though we clearly have a choice at home.

Fur ther more, our perceptions of tech nol o gy and the kinds of perceptions of tech nol o gy and the kinds of perceptions

demands and changes on our lives that come with it are key to

whether tech nol o gy’s value exceeds its price.

“Technology does not place us into an idyllic garden of

par a dise but rath er into an unsettling garden of paradox,” as-

serts David Glen Mick of the Uni ver si ty of Wisconsin in Mad-

i son.9 “The essence of a paradox is that it cannot be re solved.

It creates an emotional confl ict within a person that can be a

source of considerable stress, and the need to cope with that

stress affects how the person behaves as a consumer.” Mick

and fellow researcher Susan Fournier of the Harvard Busi ness

School have identifi ed seven paradoxes that char ac ter ize the

re la tion ship between consumers and tech nol o gy:

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM126

Technology, Inner Technology, and the Measure of Human Capital [ 127 ][ 127 ][ 127

• The way in which technology insures greater control or ex-control or ex-control

ac er bates cha os.

• Whether technology promises freedom or creates new freedom or creates new freedom en-

slave ment. slave ment. slave ment

• The need for the latest new technology versus the fear of

be com ing obsolete.

• The way technology boosts our intelligence while at times

hu mil i at ing us into a feeling of stupidity. stupidity. stupidity

• The promise of increased effi ciency versus the reality of ex-

tra new chores creating ineffi ciency. ineffi ciency. ineffi ciency

• The premise technology will fulfi ll needs, while in fact cre-fulfi ll needs, while in fact cre-fulfi ll needs

at ing new needs.

• The value of technology in increasing assimilation and

con nec tion between people, versus its tendency to create

iso la tion by di min ish ing face-to-face contact.di min ish ing face-to-face contact.di min ish ing

Technology serves us when it enhances un der stand ing. In-

for ma tion is useless without an agile mind and a balanced heart.

The Cluetrain boys again:

We don’t need more information. We don’t need bet ter in for ma tion.

We don’t need automatically fi ltered and summarized information.

We need un der stand ing. We desperately want to un der stand what’s

going on in our business, in our markets. And un der stand ing is not

more or higher information.10

The information age requires a new type of intelligence

for peo ple to sort through, fi lter, and effectively process all the

data and choices now avail able. Whether you are a consumer of

tech nol o gy or a product de vel op er, learning to develop “heart

in tel li gence” gives you increased insight to assess the essential

value of information—or a new product—from a wider per-

spec tive. Without heart intelligence—when operating solely

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM127


from an over taxed mind—people quickly are over whelmed and

respond to only the loudest and most persistent in for ma tion or

“default” to old, familiar pro cess es. An intelligent as sess ment of

new information is diffi cult at best. In the extreme, you may de-

fen sive ly shut down and not really assimilate much in for ma tion

at all. As the knowledge base is built and you achieve com pe -

tence in reducing your internal noise, you can use intuition to

search the internal knowledge base at lightning speed, bypass-

ing a more linear search process. The internal knowl edge base,

coupled with intuition, allows one to leap be yond known pos-

sibilities to fi nd unique new solutions when necessary. This rep-

resents tremendous le ver age for anyone in busi ness today. When resents tremendous le ver age for anyone in busi ness today. When resents tremendous le ver age for anyone in busi ness today

trying to sort information at high speed, focus on your heart, get

neutral, and ask yourself for the most important understanding

you can gain.

So if technology has radically increased the bandwidth of

pos si ble in for ma tion transfer—more ways in which to connect,

more conduits for knowl edge fl ow, and more opportunities to

be over whelmed—what if tech nol o gy was actively being used to

enhance the quality of that information? Watts Wacker and Jim

Taylor, authors of The 500-Year Delta, make this observation:

It was Arno Penzias, the 1978 Nobel laureate in physics, who fi rst

the o rized that computing had met communicating to form con-

nec tiv i ty and that, in ef fect, everything eventually will be con nect ed.

Computing, in short, was nev er about data crunching. Data crunch-

ing was the means; connectivity was the end, which is why the data-

pigs and cyber-pioneers will never in her it the Earth. Nor was the

communications revolution about the ma chines and ser vic es that

spawned it. Fax machines, modems, interactive TV, and Internet

providers were all the means; connectivity was the end. Com put ing

and communicating did more than intersect; they fused. And when

they fused, connectivity was born. But connectivity fi nally is not the

end, either. Connectivity is a state of existence, nothing more. The

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM128


true end is what hap pens when things are in connection, what hap-

pens when con nec tiv i ty itself fuses with information.11

To which we add: Connectivity is great if the signals are

clear and the content has enduring value. But, how much noise

is present in the con nec tion, the noise of incoherence on the

part of the sender or receiver? What is the enduring value of the

messages being sent? How do we improve the inner quality of

the people operating the tech nol o gy? people operating the tech nol o gy? people

Torrey Byles is a business economist and writer on elec-

tron ic and dig i tal commerce. Byles points out that com put ers,

like any other tool, above all are in tend ed to en hance human

productivity. For ex am ple, call-center and cus tom er sup port

departments use com put ers to quickly bring up the account

fi le of a customer who calls in. Call-center rep re sen ta tives are

far more pro duc tive in deal ing with the spe cifi c is sues, requests,

and other pertinent in for ma tion con cern ing the cus tom er

than if they had no ready ac cess to the cus tom er fi les, which

the computer provides. The result, we all hope, is a customer

who re mains loyal to the company and sat is fi ed with his or her

interaction with it. But what about the in ter nal attitude of the

rep re sen ta tive? Does the customer feel un der stood or respected

during the in ter ac tion or just ef fi cient ly han dled so another call

can be taken? Tech no log i cal ef fi cien cy can en hance, but never

replace, the warmth of hu man respect and sin cere listening.

Another example is the re search er in a governmental health

agen cy. She uses com put ers for many purposes in clud ing search-

ing databases of re search papers or oth er in for ma tion, build ing

sim u la tions and models of nat u ral pro cess es, and con duct ing

sta tis ti cal analyses of lab o ra to ry ex per i ments. In both of these

ex am ples, com put ers make a big dif fer ence in al low ing work ers

to achieve the de sired out comes. Without com put ers in these

examples, either dras ti cal ly more work ers would be re quired to

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM129


achieve the same re sults or else

the same re sults just could not

be ac com plished in the same

pe ri od of time and for the

same cost to the or ga ni za tion.

Un for tu nate ly, com put er sys-

tems can be poor ly de signed

and im ple ment ed into work-

places, so that they coun ter act

pro duc tive hu man work. In

these cases, com put ers only

frus trate, over whelm, or oth-

er wise block the ef fi cient fl ow

of work.

Byles goes on to suggest

that the heart—and per son al

emo tion al bal ance—plays a

critical role in get ting the most

pro duc tiv i ty out of in for ma tion sys tems.

In the design and deployment of computers, balanced emotions on

the part of the designers will result in effective computer sys tems for

the end-users. In the day-to-day use of computers by end-users at

work, balanced emo tions will allow workers to use the systems in the

manner in which they are in tended, and to avoid being frustrated

and overwhelmed by them. In oth er words, by combining emo-

tion al ly balanced people with the pow ers of in for ma tion tech nol o gy,

companies can achieve break throughs in per for mance.12

The Heart and Human Capital

To what extent computers have truly added to human pro duc -

tiv i ty is a sig nifi cant debate among economists and busi ness

leaders cur rent ly. At a cli ent lunch where the fl ood tide of e-mail

don’t use technology as a sub sti tute for human warmth

It’s easy to fi re off an e-mail,

full of comments you would have

nev er said in person. It’s also handy

to leave voicemail mes sag es at odd

hours, knowing you can avoid direct

contact and real con ver sa tion. Re-

mem ber, you like peo ple to com mu -

ni cate with you with some warmth,

care, and di rect ness, rather than

us ing half sen tenc es, sym bols and

ab bre vi a tions. Re mem ber the heart.

Get

Coherent

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM130


overload was being lamented, one high-tech company executive

sincerely asked wheth er we felt technology had enough positive

benefi ts to outweigh its obvious stress-pro duc ing down side. In

an age where the mass con scious ness seems to assume more

technology is inherently better, many say that no well-grounded

mea sure ments unequivocally show that computers have en-

hanced workers’ output. Others say that, be cause computers

wholly change the nature of output (in terms of quality of prod-

uct, ability to customize product to in di vid u al cus tom er pref-

erences, speed of production, worker skill re quire ments, and

oth er factors), the impact of computers is almost impossible to

measure in an “apples-to-apples” fash ion. Nevertheless, most

economists and others in the fi nan cial community agree that

com put ers and information tech nol o gy are features of a new

un der stand ing of human eco nom ic growth: in tel lec tu al capital

and the knowledge econ o my.

In this new understanding, the content of people’s intellect

(their imag i na tion, knowledge, creative ideas, skill sets, as sess -

ments, de signs, abil i ty to make requests and promises, fu ture

expectations, etc.) is the source of all wealth. Material prod ucts

are only by-prod ucts of the intellect. Ma te ri al, tangible things

come into existence only af ter people have con ceived of them,

worked to attain them, and used specifi c prac ti cal ways of at-

taining them. The in tan gi ble and in tel lec tu al pre cedes—and

is inherently more valuable than—the tan gi ble and ma te ri al.

(Clear ly our view is that in tel lect is only one as pect of human

and or ga ni za tion al in tel li gence. But how re fresh ing that some-

thing as intangible as in tel lect ac tu al ly is being mea sured in

organizations.)

Leif Edvinsson, the world’s fi rst vice president of in tel -

lec tu al cap i tal at Swe den’s Skandia, and Micha el S. Malone, a

noted business writer, sum up this point well in their book, In-

tel lec tu al Capital: tel lec tu al Capital: tel lec tu al Capital

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM131


All individual capabilities, the knowledge, skill, and experience of the

com panies’ employees and managers, is included under the term

hu man cap i tal. But it must be more than simply the sum of these

mea sures; rather, it also must capture the dynamics of an intelligent

organization in a chang ing com pet i tive environment. For ex am ple:

Are employees and man ag ers constantly upgrading their skills and

adding new ones? Are these new skills and com pe ten cies recognized

by the com pa ny and incorporated into its operations? And are these

new skills, as well as the experiences of com pa ny veterans, being

shared through out the or ga ni za tion? Or, al ter na tive ly, is the com-

pa ny still draw ing on a body of aging and in creas ing ly ob so lete skills,

ig nor ing (even pun ish ing) new com pe ten cies gained by em ploy ees,

and locking up knowl edge as a way of cornering pow er and infl u-

ence with the or ga ni za tion?13

Given that we are be gin ning to see how important—and

mea sur ably valuable—the intellect is, what does this tell us

about the emotional and in tu i tive sides of being human? What

would happen if we could coherently orchestrate a balance of all

human factors, change able and dynamic though they are? The

fruits of the intellect’s pow ers are con di tioned by the emo tion al

state of the person. An angry or depressed sci en tist is a sci en tist

whose in tel lec tu al cap i tal is low. A joy ous, en thu si as tic plumb er

is a plumb er who brings tre men dous in tel lec tu al cap i tal (cre-

ativ i ty, knowledge, skills, etc.) to mak ing a won der ful hu man

hab i tat. At the same time that some busi ness es have dis cov ered

“in tel lec tu al capital,” we are dis cov er ing “hu man cap i tal.” Good

human capital—in oth er words, in tel lec tu al and emo tion al bal-

ance—is a pre req ui site for a per son to gain access to his or her

in tel lec tu al cap i tal.

Byles makes a further point worth pondering. Hu mans have

in vent ed many in cred i ble tools over the mil len nia. (An thro pol o-

gists say that tool mak ing is a fun da men tal human trait.) The

spe cies has now advanced to the point where we rec og nize that

our tools are not only phys i cal but non phys i cal as well. We are

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM132


now working to sys tem at i cal ly cre ate and ex ploit non phys i cal

tools—in soft ware pro grams, ed u ca tion and train ing, and knowl-

edge that is recorded in var i ous elec tron ic media.

The in for ma tion age with its in for ma tion tools (name ly,

com put ers) is the dawn ing of an age where a common and

wide spread prac tice in hu man so ci ety is to use intangible tools

at work. Com put ers are some what of a bridge tool: part phys i cal

and part non phys i cal. They con nect the phys i cal world with the

in tel lec tu al world, the world of ideas and intellect.14 Emo tion al

man age ment prac tic es are an oth er set of in tan gi ble tools. Where

in for ma tion tech nol o gy has been viewed as the tool of the in-

tel lect, the intellect is a far more pow er ful tool when fu eled by

man aged emo tions. Heart in tel li gence is the up grade for the hu-

man op er at ing sys tem.

The Institute of

HeartMath has created an in-

stru ment that mea sures key

aspects of hu man capital and

pinpoints where stress is in-

hibiting its full leverage. The

Personal and Or ga ni za tion al

Quality As sess ment (POQA)

mea sures more than a

dozen sep a rate constructs,

tracking self-management

com pe ten cies, personal qual-

ity, organizational quality and

or ga ni za tion al climate. The

or ga ni za tion al con structs

mea sured by the POQA in-

clude social sup port, goal

clar i ty, men tal clar i ty, job sat-

coaxing the knowledge out

Is our harried quest for more

information driving real

knowl edge and wisdom un der -

ground? How much knowl edge

lies buried in the hearts, minds,

and hard drives of our best and

brightest, but we’re all feeling too

overloaded to share it? How can

we encourage, honor, and reward

the open shar ing of what we’ve

learned in ways that don’t add to

our bur den, but could lighten the

load?

coaxing the Get

Coherent

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM133


is fac tion, pro duc tiv i ty, and com mu ni ca tion ef fec tive ness. The

self-management com pe ten cies include global neg a tive affect

(mood), sad ness, de pres sion, an ger, dis tress, fa tigue, pos i tive

af fect (mood), peace ful ness, and vi tal i ty. The stress symptoms

mea sured are sleep less ness, anx i ety, body aches, indigestion,

and rapid heart beats. Attitudes to ward the job, toward man-

agement, and intention to leave the job are just a few of the

organizational is sues explored.

The POQA is used to com pare the health and hu man cap-

i tal of an or ga ni za tion against a da ta base of world-class or ga ni z-

a tions, and to measure chang es resulting from the ap pli ca tion of

the IQM tech nol o gy. (The case stud ies data cited in the Appen-

dix were gen er at ed through the POQA, with the ex cep tion of the

biomedical data, which was generated through stan dard medi-

cal monitoring.) As this information is fed back to participants

and man age ment, clear steps can be taken to re duce the noise,

resulting in higher value hu man capital and business solutions.

Coherent Information Shar ing

Clearly, the coherent sharing of information is a key to suc-

cess in the fu ture—and a pri ma ry way to reduce per son al and

or ga ni za tion al strain. As tech nol o gy con tin ues to ex pand the

band width of com mu ni ca tion, people still must over see the

qual i ty. Inner qual i ty man age ment em pha siz es help ing in di -

vid u als un der stand how to boost their own in ner qual i ty—to

im prove the internal com mu ni ca tion with in them selves—then

take that to their team (or family), their de part ment (or so cial

cir cle), their or ga ni za tion (or community).

We found that this shar ing of information is easy to ser-

mon ize about but harder to ac tu al ize when business op er ates

at ever-in creas ing speeds. For people to stop long enough to

re mem ber the im por tance of shar ing (when they have “a mil-

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM134


lion other things to do”), they

need spe cifi c tools for the

process of step ping back. The

ability to pull back and rec-

og nize frus tra tion, ir ri ta tion,

anger, or anx i ety is the fi rst

im por tant step to ward fi nd-

ing an ef fec tive en er gy-sav ing

so lu tion, to move from chaos

to coherence.

Living Information

Getting off the treadmill for

one minute to Freeze-Frame

can in stant ly wid en the band-

width of avail able in tel li gence:

more in for ma tion with which

to make de ci sions and more

care to add to one self and the

situation one is in. In terms of

the com mu ni ca tion process

it self, this creates what we call val ue-add ed information, with

the potential for much great er impact and broader ap pli ca tion.

When true care is at the core of the de sire to share, the quality

of all sub se quent activities shifts into another do main of power

and effectiveness.

Another way to look at this: it is one thing to rec og nize the

im por tance of a broadcast, another to spend the time ensuring

that the receiver is properly tuned and distortion free. Most or-

ga ni za tions are fairly good at the former but com plete ly ig nore

the latter. Real shar ing of information re quires un der stand ing

the subtleties and nu anc es of in for ma tion trans fer be tween

in an age of “internet time,” move at the speed of balance

The internet economy has

caused a tremendous ac-

cel er a tion in business ac tiv i ty.

Without balance, this high-speed

connectivity can lead to rushed

decisions, strained sys tems, and

over whelmed em ploy ees. Seek

balance in your stra te gic discus-

sions. Stay vis i ble and attentive

to rap id ly changing markets and

world con di tions, but act with

ma tu ri ty and care for peo ple and

balance any tendency towards

emotional reactivity or strained

im pul sive ness.

in an age of

Get

Coherent

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM135


people. Then it becomes the trans fer of living information.

As soon as humans are involved, we need to remember

that we are deal ing with nonlinear systems who feel as well as feel as well as feel

think. The hu man being, physiologically and psychologically, is

a living example of chaos theory in ac tion. Skill in human un der -

stand ing provides the resonant fi eld to allow seam less, stat ic-

free information transfer. Put simply, when you re mem ber to be

compassionate, authentic, and caring in your com mu ni ca tion,

it is much easier for the listener to hear the mes sage. This is a

skill that requires practice to de vel op and the positive, public

reinforcement of its merits. For example, stop ping to deeply con-

sider the range of responses to a piece of e-mail you are about to sider the range of responses to a piece of e-mail you are about to sider the range of responses

broad cast can save considerable stress and increase productiv-

ity. Con sid er ing the most appropriate means of communica-

tion—even mul ti ple modes—ensures a high er level of receptiv-

ity to and sustainability of the mes sage. “But I sent you e-mail

about this!” is no excuse for in suf fi cient com mu ni ca tion.

A Creative Vision

Information technology today is very primitive compared to what

it will be in the future. In 20 years, we will look back at to day’s

com put ers, wireless com mu ni ca tion devices, the Internet, and

so forth and think that these are very sim ple tools, some perhaps

even mis guid ed. Byles believes “in for ma tion tech nol o gies will be

designed around principles of emotional man age ment and other

core human char ac ter is tics.”15 Ar gu ably there is no oth er al ter -

na tive. What do we do in the mean time?

Practical examples of stress-reducing ways of han dling

tech nol o gy overload in clude the following. Take a moment to

Freeze-Frame be fore logging on to be fore logging on to be fore e-mail. Then as you scan the in-

box, ask your self, what is the high est pri or i ty in for ma tion here and

what is the most ef fi cient way to re spond? Stay “neu tral” to keep

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM136

Technology, Inner Technology, and the Measure of Human Capital [ 137 ][ 137 ][ 137

your re ac tions in check as you pore through oth er wise non essential

in for ma tion. Re main ing emo tion al ly neu tral means stress will not

subtly ac cu mu late on the back of judg men tal thoughts, con cerns,

or frus tra tions. Be stra te gic as to when and how you re spond. Re-

mem ber that if you are op er at ing in a re ac tive mode, you will not

re spond with full in tel li gence or care.

At HeartMath LLC, we im ple ment ed a simple meth od that

has saved con sid er able time in e-mail read ing and set ting pri or i-

ties. Since some e-mail mes sag es need be only a simple phrase,

such as “Be there at 3 for the meet ing” or “Report need ed by 4:

30,” we es tab lished a pro to col that any mes sage that could be

sum ma rized in a few words would start with a * sym bol. This

* symbol in the subject line

lets the read er know the en-

tire mes sage is con tained in

the sub ject line, there fore no

need to open the e-mail since

there is nothing else there to

read. For example, our admin-

istrator sends us a re mind er

phrased like this: *Itin er ary in

your in box!

We simply read this sub-

ject line in the list of e-mails,

then delete. You would be

surprised how much time

this simple pro cess can save,

especially when you consider

the number of employees,

the number of hours spent on

e-mail, the number of days at

work. While this does not solve

be connected, not en slaved

The lure of technology and

the pressure to con stant ly

ex pand one’s knowledge base

cre ates a dilemma. Do you stay

con tin u ous ly connected in an

in creas ing ly des per ate attempt

to stay informed, or learn to

use tech nol o gy as a tool, not a

drug? Tech nol o gy can ag gra vate

per son al in co her ence. Use your

intuition to know when to un plug.

Look for bal ance in how to use it.

Let its power to create sys tems ef-

fi cien cies be the guide line. Learn

how to surf in tu itive ly.

be connected,

Get

Coherent

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM137


the whole prob lem of over use of e-mail in many or ga ni za tions,

it does encourage an attitude of effi cient, concise com mu ni c-

a tion that is sensitive to the needs and workload of the re ceiv er.

We heard of at least one multibillion-dollar organization

giv ing per mis sion to overworked employees not to respond

to e-mail for 24–48 hours, to encourage greater balance in the

face of e-overload. The policy achieved mixed results since the

culture continues to covertly reward overwork and employees’

work hab its are slow to change. The attitudinal level is where

the real work must occur.

Organizations also need to dis cuss how communication is dis cuss how communication is dis cuss

work ing, in what ways people are feel ing over whelmed, where

they feel underinformed, so the mind and heart together can

de sign effective ways to com mu ni cate that are effi cient for all

con cerned. Intuitive in tel li gence increases as you continuously

step back for a moment and ponder a more effective re sponse.

One of the most pre cious commodities for all of us is time, and

we could all do a lot better job of re specting each other’s and

our own.

Voice mail is yet another ubiquitous form of com mu -

ni ca tion that has rad i cal ly changed the nature of how we com-

mu ni cate. (When was the last time you called a large organiza-

tion and heard a busy signal? We heard one re cent ly and, for a

moment, didn’t know what to do.) Re spond ing to the number of

voice mail messages and an occasionally strained or angry tone

is a signifi cant source of an guish and dread, sapping coherence

in virtually all or ga ni za tions. What if your computer system

could monitor the in co her ence generated dur ing and after

listening to voice mail and could track the impaired decision

making, the health con se quenc es, and the loss of pro duc tiv i ty?

You probably would be shocked at the data. Taking a mo ment

to Freeze-Frame and fi nd “neutral” before and during listening

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM138


and responding to voice mail can keep your sys tem more in bal-

ance, as well as help you hear beneath an an gry or im pa tient

tone to the underlying essence of the mes sage. Intuitive listen-

ing can ensure you are hearing the es sence of the message and

responding from that depth. The al ter na tive is ever-increasing

levels of incoherence, per son al ly and professionally.

Technology can be a vehicle for positive experience be-

yond in tel lec tu al stimulation in many ways. Screen savers could

remind you to value important elements of your life. Digitized

images on your com put er monitor could help you recall a feel-

ing of peace and rejuvenation. While some or ga ni za tions frown

on personalized use of computers, ever-wors en ing productivity

and deepening mal aise eventually will reveal that computers

and information sys tems must become vehicles for the posi-

tive reinforcement of be hav iors that boost the organizational

climate.

One of the most popular follow-up tools we ever devised

is a sim ple Internet group subscribed to by past IQM program

at tend ees. Each week thousands of people around the world

re ceive a two to three para graph e-mail message about the ap-

pli ca tion of one of the tools they have learned. We continuously

hear that these sim ple e-mail messages quick ly are read and ab-

sorbed, so sure are the read ers that this will be a to tal ly pos i tive,

useful, and car ing message. Noth ing else to do, no response

re quired, no re ports to fi ll out. Just a brief interlude to remind

them what is im por tant, to re gain co her ence, to move past me-

chan i cal hab its and get the mind and heart in sync. We have

helped client or ga ni za tions set up similar dis cus sion groups to

keep or ga ni za tion al co her ence themes alive amidst the din of

work.

What if computers and oth er information devices in the

fu ture were able to mon i tor your physical or emo tion al state and

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:55 PM139


re mind you how to shift per-

cep tion? What if they could

dis play on the screen your

out-of-sync heart rhythms,

then at the touch of a but ton,

you could re bal ance them

and re fresh your en tire sys tem

for the next few hours? (Just

such a tool was de vel oped by

our re search team since the

fi rst edi tion of this book was

pub lished. Called the Freeze-

Framer®, this award-winning

computer learning system gives

users immediate feedback on

the rhythmic patterns of their

hearts, which respond dynami-

cally to changes in stress and

emotion.) What if hard ware and soft ware en gi neers in the future

continuously ex plored how to make these tools ser vants of our

growth as peo ple, not just ve hi cles for more in for ma tion?

In the visionary words of Singapore’s prime minister, Goh

Chok Tong, “We should focus on building capabilities, re sil -

ience, and heartware for the fu ture.”16 The caring and ef fi cient

integration of tools for in ter nal self- management and coherent

com mu ni ca tion un der pin the next dy nam ic: or ga ni za tion al cli-

mate.

plug the leaks

Anything unresolved—

events or concerns you

con tin ue to ex pend un nec es sary

en er gy on—drains energy not only

per son al ly but or ga ni za tion al ly.

Stop ping any drain saves energy

and also helps restore hormonal

and car dio vas cu lar balance. Use

the Freeze-Frame tech nique to

iden ti fy areas you’re leaking en er gy.

You can learn to use this high per-

for mance technique to plug leaks

before they be come fl oods.

plug the leaks

Get

Coherent

08 CH 8 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:56 PM140

DYNAMIC 3

BOOSTING THE ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE

1. An emotional virus is attacking many organizations today. It is the result of emotional mismanagement and shortsighted management practices. And a corollary of this is organi-zational learning thrives when the organizational “immune system” is strong and vibrant.

2. A healthy organizational climate is now proven to boost productivity. These elements include supportive manage-ment, contribution, self-expression, recognition, clarity, and challenge.

3. Shared core values such as adaptability, flexibility, care, and appreciation underlie sustainable organizational cli-mates.

4. Understanding the distinction between knowledge and wisdom is essential to organizational leadership. Building wise companies through developing wise people is the next or-ganizational frontier.

[ 141 ]

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM141

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM142

c h a p t e r

9There’s a Virus Loose

and It’s Got Bob

YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. THERE’S A VIRUS SPREADING IN

your organization, but it didn’t come through the e-mail system.

It spreads person to person, department to department. Across

cubicles. Across time zones. Across cultures. Thank goodness

there is an antidote.

From a systems perspective, an organization is an or-

ganism—a living, breathing, mutually dependent entity. It

requires a wide variety of nutrients and resources to be healthy;

it can get sick in response to external stressors or internal im-

balance and, unless it learns to

heal itself, eventually becomes

sick and dies.

Typically today when an

organization recognizes some-

thing’s not right, the solutions

are to focus on cost cutting,

process reengineering, product

improvements, or improving

customer service. While these

well-intentioned initiatives

are usually necessary, they are

not sufficient. They focus on

[ 143 ]

what’s got bob

An “emotional virus” is

attacking many organiz-

ations today. It is the net effect

of emotional mismanagement

and shortsighted management

practices. And its corollary is

this: organizational learning

thrives when the organizational

“immune system” is strong and

vibrant.

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM143

[ 144 ] From Chaos to Coherence There’s a Virus Loose and It’s Got Bob [ 145 ]

the symptoms, not the cause. In many organizations, this clas-

sic Band-Aid approach actually creates more frustration, anger,

and anxiety, while the organization, or organism, becomes even

sicker. Once people are drained emotionally, the creative energy

needed to develop new innovations is sapped. Additional en-

ergy is then expended in inefficient ways that put added strain

on the people, and the downward spiral accelerates. Acrimony,

mistrust, antagonism, and blame are just a few of the emo-

tional reactions that take up residence in the workplace. Finger

pointing becomes the preferred exercise program, and left un-

checked, the very creative source for the organization is drained.

A CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation) Index “State of

Reengineering Report” revealed these statistics undermining

many organizational climates:

• 50% of the companies studied reported that the most dif-

ficult part of reengineering is dealing with fear and anxiety

in their organizations.

• 73% of the companies said that they were using reengi-

neering to eliminate, on average, 21% of the jobs.

• Of 99 completed reengineering initiatives, 67% were

judged as producing mediocre, marginal, or failed results.

Consider this analogy. Bob, an executive with your firm,

goes for his annual physical. Nothing seems to be wrong health-

wise, just a routine checkup. Of course, he had been feeling a

little tired lately, but who wouldn’t be with all the international

travel, round the clock pressure, and “never enough help.”

The doctor reviews the lab reports, checks the vital signs, then

rechecks. His face turns serious. Bob expects the worst. “Your

blood pressure is at the edge of stage two hypertension, choles-

terol is nearly off the chart, and you have the beginning stages of

arrhythmia. I’m putting you on a program of increased exercise,

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM144


no-fat diet, and no more

stress!” To Bob, life has just

been turned upside down. A

radical rethinking of his entire

lifestyle has been necessitated

by the doctor’s shocking dis-

covery. No second opinion is

going to lower that blood pres-

sure or cholesterol. And how is

he going to have no stress?!?

Bob’s problems are not just

physical. He’s been struggling

for the past 12 months with a

poorly conceived merger. The

two cultures have clearly not

meshed, and the antagonism

between the factions have

gotten extreme. Now he’s the

target of employee hostility

and it doesn’t feel fair!

Compare this to the busi-

ness that is humming along

successfully, taking its market

by storm, feeling indomitable.

Its new technology is the buzz

of Wall Street and a cover story

in Fortune is in the works. A

few systems seem to be strain-

ing every so often, but this is

considered just growing pains.

However, a series of late prod-

uct releases and the departure

eliminate the emotional virus

The collective lack of

emotional self-manage-

ment within an organization can

prevent increases in productivity

and inhibit sustained long-term

growth. An organization with an

unhealthy climate permeated

by judgmentalism, anger, blame,

constant complaining, overcare,

and an “us versus them” attitude,

impairs the organization’s abil-

ity to innovate and to remain

resilient. In a highly competitive,

rapidly changing business envi-

ronment, failure to address these

cultural issues will ultimately

lead to corporate failure. Make

these cultural issues a priority.

Obtain the resources needed to

identify the “emotional virus” in

your organization. Implement

a strategy to create a new level

of emotional coherence to help

ensure the long-term success of

your organization.

Get

Coherent

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM145


of two key executives have people edgy. Before long stock

analysts worry the share price is overvalued, and the company

cannot meet the demand for its technology, so management

brings in a consultant team that says the company needs to

reengineer. But the situation quickly turns critical. After two

consecutive quarters of losses, the Board of Directors steps in

and orders a downsizing. Now everyone feels like they have just

been hit by the flu, but there is no Alka-Seltzer for this sickness.

In an era of corporate chaos, we are now seeing a new phe-

nomenon: the emotional virus. The virus hits its victim organiz-

ations unexpectedly, seemingly without symptoms, until sud-

denly the organism is quite sick and may be in need of radical

surgery. The roots of the sickness are emotional. The virus grows

and thrives on emotional imbalance, insensitivity, and overre-

action in the organization. It is the antithesis of organizational

coherence. The greater the incoherence, the more nutrients the

virus has to feed on.

What Is the Virus?

Doc first coined the term emotional virus while he was con-

sulting with a CEO who had attended an IQM program in

California. The executive was concerned about the internal

backbiting among several of his management teams, which was

clearly affecting not only morale but also productivity in a key

division. The emotional virus was described this way: It is the

net effect of emotional mismanagement within an organization.

As with other viruses, the emotional virus is highly infectious.

People think it is okay to complain, whine, and sarcastically

laugh about the imbalanced coworker, the stressed out boss

who ignores voice mail or e-mail, the department that just can-

not get its act together—not realizing they have caught the emo-

tional virus bug.

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM146


Each casual complaint

and unconscious judgment is

like coughing in a coworker’s

face, thus spreading the germs

of negative emotions and

creating a caustic, unfulfilling

environment. Once an out-

break of the emotional virus

has been detected, the work-

place should be quarantined

until proper medicine arrives,

but that is not the way busi-

ness works—yet.

In evaluating long-term

growth, companies that

spend time and money on

eliminating the emotional

virus will see a big return on

their investment. Ignoring

it and staying on the track of

believing “that is just the way

it is” is a dangerous move on

the chessboard of future busi-

ness. People are changing

and the knowledge worker of

tomorrow will have a different

set of standards for evaluating

job satisfaction.

This already is hap-

pening. The workforce already

is demanding more harmo-

nious working relationships.

Your appropriate use of

judgment and account-

ability as a manager and within

your team or division is crucial.

However, a team permeated with

negative, judgmental attitudes,

constant criticism and blaming,

is a team with limited coherence

and a limited chance for success.

As a manager, start by making

a concerted effort to eliminate

blame concerning the people

you manage. Then, encourage

or even insist, that the people

you manage stop judging and

blaming each other. When you

see it in meetings, in the lunch

room or in the hallways, point it

out, with care. Creating a culture

within your team that supports

each other, offers balanced feed-

back when needed, but stops the

use of blame, is an important

key to team coherence.

BLAME

Get

Coherent

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM147


Salary, although still important, is not as high on the list as it

used to be. Workers often are “cashing out,” taking less pay

and moving into jobs more in line with their core values. Work-

ing in an environment where people do not stab each other in

the back, where management and employees can have a more

open dialogue, and where the employee feels connected to and

proud of the company and its products are among the career

core values people are adopt-

ing. The emotional virus eats

away at these organizational

qualities and many people are

seeking a place to work where

they do not have to witness

watercooler and break room

character assassinations. It

isn’t that people can’t take it.

Millions do daily. Times are

changing, however. As Doc

told the CEO, “In the name

of smart business, increased

productivity, less employee

turnover and lower health

care cost, the emotional virus

eventually will have to be dealt

with.”

The workplace is not the

only location where an emo-

tional virus is on the attack.

Many employees leave home

or community environments

full of viral activity. Without

tools for effective self-manage-

ment, people become drained

demonstrate sincere appreciation

Sincere appreciation, not

just a cursory or contrived

gesture, is a powerful motivator.

A simple act of appreciating

someone for a job they’ve

done, for their commitment,

or for simply being who they

are, adds a boost of energy that

pays big dividends. Managing

often requires giving feedback,

encouraging others to improve

performance, and in some cases

delivering reprimands. Here’s

a tip. Always try to express as

much or more sincere appre-

ciation as you do criticism for

the people you manage. Your

employees will appreciate this

and appreciation quickly builds

team coherence.

Get

Coherent

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM148


emotionally because of the increasing pressures in society, fam-

ily life, and their workplace. They are unable to recoup the lost

energy, and the people around them soon become affected or

infected. Like any virus, it spreads quickly if the organizational

immune system already is weak.

The only way we have seen to eliminate the emotional

virus or stop it before it gets out of control is to educate indi-

viduals who make up an organization on how to manage their

thoughts and emotions. It has to come from the individual

change of perspective within the people who make up an orga-

nization. It is usually essential to start right at the top with the

senior management but it can start in a team of line workers

and be highly effective. Just as the emotional virus spreads from

person to person so does the antidote. As people in the orga-

nization, especially the most visible and influential ones, begin

to actualize change within themselves, others soon will follow

suit or move on to another environment that resonates with

their attitudes. Start by fostering an atmosphere of appreciation.

Do not allow judgments to go on without pointing them out.

Put more care into communication and use heart intelligence to

make decisions, big and small, especially when the decision af-

fects others. There is more but these suggestions, if applied with

sincerity and consistency, at least will save you from becoming

infected and go a long way toward helping your coworkers and

your organization.

There Must Be Someone We Can Blame

Executives like Bob often take the blame for being the carriers

of the virus that has hit the company. And sometimes they are

indeed a major source of incoherence. Witness the unpleasant

public departures of CEOs at Apple three times within five

years, a company once noted for its innovative vision and peo-

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM149


ple-oriented culture. Or the

blindness of American auto-

makers to their companies’

sickness while the Japanese

gained dominance and mar-

ket share. Many business

magazines write gloating

postmortems of once-hot ex-

ecutives, helping their demise

become public. No company

is immune from the emo-

tional virus or its ravages. Yet,

rarely do analysts look at the

emotional coherence of the

organization, so easy is it to

blame missed product dead-

lines, bad decisions, or other

external factors that have a

deeper cause.

It could be tempting to

see the emotional virus as

an isolated phenomenon.

“It won’t happen here.” Re-

consider some of the global

statistics cited earlier. The

sudden collapse of several

Asian economies in 1997

forced a major reexamination of business potentials in that part

of the world while affecting global commerce. What role has

emotional mismanagement —greed, unhealthy competition,

and the like—played in that drama? Similarly, could many of

the stress-related health care and productivity-related costs of

doing business today in Europe and North America be based,

Blame is definitely a “lose-

lose” strategy. The physio-

logical impact of blame on the

body and the effect it has on

those blamed should be moti-

vation enough to eliminate it.

Since people have unconsciously

created, over a number of years,

neural circuitry that often sup-

ports blaming and judgmental

attitudes, it can take some time

to adjust these patterns. Recog-

nize when you’re blaming man-

agement, the system, a client,

a spouse, then shift to neutral

and look for a more balanced

perspective. While the blame

may seem justified, remember it

actually drains your energy and

inhibits creativity.

#2BLAME

Get

Coherent

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM150


at least in part, on underlying emotional mismanagement and

organizational structures that ensure a fertile environment for

continued viral growth? We anticipate the situation will worsen

as increasing globalization creates conditions perfect to mutate

new strains of the emotional virus. As with populations that

were isolated for centuries then devastated by disease brought

by their conquerors, few have built the emotional resilience re-

quired to manage unprecedented change and uncertainty. In an

age of connectivity, no one is isolated anymore.

How to Strengthen the Organizational Immune System

Recent research in human physiology has revealed key aspects

of immune system health with remarkable parallels in orga-

nizational behavior. In the human body, feelings like anger,

frustration, and irritation weaken the immune system and drain

vitality, leaving you more susceptible to colds, flu, and more

serious illnesses. An Institute of HeartMath research study,1

published in the Journal for Advancement of Medicine, shows

that even a five-minute episode of recalling an angry expe-

rience can suppress a key component of the immune system

for as long as six hours. This research is showing the converse

is also true: Attitudes like appreciation, care, and compassion

significantly boost the immune system, and give you more resil-

ience and strength to withstand sickness (see Figure 9–1). With

these positive feelings operating in your system, even if you do

get sick, you recover more quickly and recoup lost energy. The

more your system is balanced, the more intuitive insight you are

capable of—intuition that can anticipate problems before they

turn ugly.

Organizations are strikingly similar. Work environments

characterized by excess stress, contention, and anxiety breed

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM151


insecurity and nonproductivity and inhibit creativity. People

do not want to come to work in these rigid, inflexible environ-

ments. The negative attitudes compound the pressure on an al-

ready strained organization. The last place most people look for

answers is within; the first thing many will do is find someone

or something to blame, reinforcing the organizational rigidity.

Bob’s an easy target.

The same attitudes proven to boost a person’s immune

system are the ones known to create a harmonious, productive

and creative workplace. Where people are valued, appreciated

and cared for, they produce more, have greater loyalty to their

employer, and have higher levels of creativity (see Figure 9–2).

Attitudes like appreciation, care, and compassion are not just

sweet; they are powerful medicine for the virus.

FIGURE 9–1 Emotions can affect the body’s first line of defense against bacteria, viruses, or pathogens. In this study, IgA (secretory immunoglobulin A), a key immune system antibody, was found to be suppressed for nearly six hours after a five-minute period of recalled anger. On the other hand, a five-minute period of feeling sincere care caused a significant short-term rise in IgA, and a gradual increase over a six-hour period. © Copyright 1998 Institute of HeartMath Research Center

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How to Spot the Emotional Virus

The challenge in tracking and curing the emotional virus again

is one of perception. Like the fish growing up in the Hudson

River, assuming the polluted water was “real” water, many of

the symptoms of the emotional virus are so prevalent, there

seems no alternative, or they seem invisible, so maladapted are

FIGURE 9–2 Attrition improvements. A summary of improving employee attitudes in three companies utilizing the IQM technology. Data reflects responses to questions on home and work conflict, desire to leave the or-ganization, desire to quit the job, and feeling good about the job. Data was collected over six months, showing a significant improvement in all measures. For each category, three bars represent pre-data, post-data (six weeks), and post-post-data (six months). © Copyright 1998 Institute of HeartMath Research Center

09 CH 9 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 4:18 PM153


we to their effects. Common symptoms include:

• Caustic humor

• Constant stream of complaints

• Defeatism

• Resentment

• Us vs. them mentality

• Suspicion

• Frequent communication breakdowns

• Ongoing fatigue or an overrushed pace of work

• Anxiety, fear, intolerance, resignation, antagonism, despair

All these symptoms can be seen, heard, and felt in lunch-

rooms, around the coffee machine, by the copier, in mail rooms

and boardrooms, and around the dinner table. Early detection

and prevention is the best insurance policy.

Climate

How does your workplace feel? Dynamic, energized, a magnet

for talent? Frantic, rushed, burning people out? Downbeat,

discouraged, rats leaving a sinking ship? Most of us intuitively

understand that the climate of one’s workplace has an impact

on how people feel and on how they perform. In using the term

climate, we refer to the collective atmosphere of a workplace:

the attitudes, perceptions, and dynamics that affect how people

perform on a daily basis. Climate, like the weather, is not static

and unchanging. Nevertheless, as with any locale, certain cli-

mate patterns are unique to each organization. More important,

unlike the weather, we all are involved in creating our organiza-

tional climate on a daily basis.

For almost a century researchers have explored the causes

of work-related injuries, a major cost to any organization and

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one of the earliest measures of organizational incoherence. At

first, it was believed certain employees were more “accident

prone” than others, but studies failed to support this contention

as a definitive personality trait. Research then shifted to uncov-

ering the personality traits that differentiated workers who were

hurt from those who avoided injury. Looking into the psychol-

ogy of safety became essential as organizations such as OSHA

and the National Safety Board in the United States determined

that 90% of all accidents are caused by unsafe acts, while only

10% are caused by unsafe working conditions.2

The vast majority of workers today are employed in non-

manufacturing jobs, where workplace safety concerns focus

more around issues such as ergonomics, workload, and mental

and emotional processes, as opposed to the heavy labor of our

forefathers. Yet workers’ compensation claims are soaring in

many nonmanufacturing sectors of the economy. And health,

safety, and environmental issues are growing in importance,

especially in industries such as technology, petroleum, and avi-

ation, where disregard for these issues can be catastrophic.

According to Dr. Phil Smith, an organizational psychologist

working in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong, a review of 61

studies of job burnout concludes that

of the three facets of burnout—emotional exhaustion, depersona-

lization and diminished personal accomplishment—emotional

exhaustion is most sensitive to factors which negatively influence

workplace climate, and is the strongest predictor of attachment

to the organization. Interestingly, job stressors such as role stress,

workload and role conflict have a disproportionate impact on emo-

tional exhaustion, not equaled by the relief provided by resources

such as social support, job enhancement and reward structure. This

implies that attempts to compensate for the effects of stressful work

environments by the provision of additional resources may not be

successful.3

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Dr. Smith goes on to suggest that, “While a good emotional cli-

mate is not by itself sufficient to ensure success, a bad climate is

certain to prevent it.”

The Brown and Leigh Study

Underlying the inner quality management model is the under-

standing that your effectiveness in anything you attempt—ca-

reer, marriage, relationships, fun—is based on activating the

most intelligent perceptions of yourself, your environment, and

those with whom you interact. Most of us would agree with this.

Research showing a direct, measurable link between one’s per-

ception of the climate of one’s workplace and one’s own perfor-

mance has been lacking, however. A ground-breaking study by

Steven P. Brown and Thomas V. Leigh, published in 1996 in the

Journal of Applied Psychology, sought to investigate the process

by which workplace climate is related to employee involvement,

effort, and performance.4 A refreshing aspect of the study was

that the researchers chose 178 salespeople in three different

companies as the test subjects. Sales results were monitored

and correlated with the study’s predictions, providing a bottom-

line context for the study outcomes.

Based on numerous previous studies, Brown, a professor

at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University,

and Leigh, a professor at the Terry College of Business at the Uni-

versity of Georgia, designed their study to examine six dimensions

of a workplace’s psychological climate (see Figure 9–3):5

• Supportive management. The extent to which people feel

supported by their immediate manager.

• Clarity. The degree of clarity about what is expected of an

individual.

• Contribution. The feeling that one’s contribution is worth-

while.

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• Recognition. The feeling that one’s contribution is recog-

nized and appreciated.

• Self-expression. Feeling free to question the way things are

done.

• Challenge. The feeling that one’s work is challenging.

Each of these was considered to be an indicator of how

psychologically safe and meaningful the employee/salesperson

perceived the organizational environment to be. The dimen-

sions build on the work of the past century in linking job satis-

faction and specific organizational outcomes.

The 178 salespeople, one group of which represented a

paper goods manufacturer and the others represented office

products companies, were surveyed on these six aspects of their

managers’ attitudes and the workplace climate. The salespeople

in turn were measured by their managers on three dimensions

of work performance: achieving sales objectives, extent of tech-

FIGURE 9–3 Brown and Leigh study of organizational climate. Source: Reprinted with permission from Steven P. Brown and Thomas V. Leigh, “A New Look at Psychological Climate and Its Relationship to Job Involvement, Effort and Performance,” Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, no. 4 (1996), pp. 358–68.

Climate boosts performance

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nical knowledge, and administrative performance.

The study results were significant and supported the re-

searchers’ predictions: An organizational climate perceived by

employees as psychologically safe and meaningful positively af-

fects productivity. This occurs when

• Management is perceived as supportive.

• Work roles are well-defined.

• Employees feel free to express and be themselves.

• Employees feel that they are making a meaningful contri-

bution.

• Employees are appropriately recognized for their contri-

bution.

• Employees perceive their work as challenging.

Then, employees are more involved in their job and exert

greater effort.6 This leads to measurable improvement in sales,

administrative performance, and product knowledge. (De-

scribed later is a way to measure and productively address these

aspects of climate.)

Ignoring the Climate

The health consequences of ignoring the workplace climate

was researched in a long-term study of British civil servants.

The study indicated that employees with little control over their

working environment face a significantly higher risk of heart dis-

ease than those with authority to influence their job conditions.

“Our research suggests that illness in the workplace is to some

extent a management issue,” says Michael G. Marmot, director

of the International Centre for Health and Society at University

College in London and lead author of the report.7 “The way work

is organized appears to make an important contribution” to the

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link between socioeconomic status and heart-attack risk, he

adds. The study, which tracked nearly 7,400 men and women in

London civil-service jobs for an average of more than five years,

found that those in low-grade positions with little control over

their responsibilities were at a 50% higher risk of developing

symptoms of coronary heart disease than those in higher level

jobs. Since 1992, the United Kingdom has made companies li-

able for employee stress. Numerous lawsuits brought by em-

ployees against employers who created stressful environments

have been won. Similar legislation in the United States so far has

been blocked. In the highly litigious American culture, one can

imagine the economic and social chaos that would be wrought

by such legal actions. Liability issues aside, organizations the

world over must deal on a daily basis with the consequences of

unhealthy climates.

Assessing Organizational Coherence: The Organizational Coherence Survey

Building on the considerable organizational research of the

past 100 years, the Institute has developed a survey instrument

that carefully assesses how employees feel about their organi-

zational climate. The Organizational Coherence Survey,8 cre-

ated jointly by Edgecumbe Consulting Group Ltd. (UK) and the

Institute of HeartMath, gives management focused information

on the state of the organizational climate and how to improve it.

Edgecumbe’s chairman, Dr. David Pendleton, an organizational

psychologist and codeveloper of the survey, says,

There is an increasing body of evidence that coherent organizations

do better than their misaligned counterparts. They outperform the

market and bring out the best in their people. We believe that they

outperform their competitors because they bring out the best in their

people. They certainly gain clear and predictable advantage because

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they are more efficiently coordinated. In the public sector, they pro-

vide consistently superior service to their constituents.9

The survey is designed to provide insights into the extent

to which an organization is coherent. Pendleton views coher-

ence as

the state in which those features that are considered important

by the stakeholders are performed to a high standard in the orga-

nization. It is the consistency between expectations and reality that

goes beyond mere “alignment,” a buzzword of the ‘80s and ‘90s.

Aligned organizations may consistently implement norms that do

harm to their people. Coherent organizations are aligned around

norms that bring out the best in people at work.10

Organizations usually do not become incoherent by delib-

erate actions. They usually are not sabotaged into an incoherent

state, nor do most managers act maliciously. They are under-

mined by subtle factors that are easily ignored or missed in the

high speed world experienced in most organizations. The survey

is designed to act as an early detection mechanism and identify

how appropriate actions may be taken. A unique aspect of the

survey’s design is that questions are asked two ways: “How do

you feel about the issue?” and “How important is it to you to feel

good about it?” The distinction between importance and current

feelings shows the gap between expectations and reality and the

sources of organizational noise and incoherence. The emotional

virus lives and thrives in the gap between expectations and per-

ceived reality.

Content

The survey investigates how the respondents are feeling in gen-

eral. It seeks to determine the extent to which they enjoy their

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work, feel motivated, feel (un)stressed, feel valued, feel proud

to be a member of their organization, and feel committed to it.

It also asks how they feel when they have finished a typical day.

These outcomes represent their responses to how they are treat-

ed at work, and how they feel about their experiences there.

The six topics explored in the Organizational Coherence

Survey (see Figure 9–4) are as follows:

1. Taking care of business. The extent to which each key

group of employees takes care of the interests of its cus-

tomers, staff members, and shareholders.

2. A sense of well-being at work. How people feel in their

workplace.

3. Relationships at work. How people feel about their rela-

tionships with key individuals and groups.

4. Managing people. The style of management that brings

out the best in the employees surveyed and sustains their

efforts in the longer term.

5. Managing the organization. How people feel about the

balance between their work effort and the rewards they

receive.

6. The working climate. How people feel working for their

particular manager (this topic investigates the six dimen-

sions explored in the Brown and Leigh study).

Once the information is clear on how the organization

perceives itself and its management practices and behaviors,

clear priorities can be established and action plans built for

continuous improvement. Many organizations do annual or

biannual employee satisfaction surveys. Because most such

surveys ask only how employees feel, while neglecting to ask the

importance, the information is far less focused and meaningful.

One client is a rapidly growing company within a large

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health care organization. Rapid growth meant new systems

and processes were required that had been unnecessary when

the company was small and entrepreneurial. Rapid growth also

meant lots of hiring, so the unique West Coast culture of inno-

vation and friendliness began to be diluted. The strain in the

company was showing up in declining employee satisfaction

scores. In 1995, an outsider was named VP of marketing while

the popular previous VP assumed a larger role. The new VP was

greeted with mistrust and suspicion, and satisfaction scores in

marketing plummeted. Hoping to turn around the decline in

her organization and uncover the emotional virus, the VP asked

us to provide the Organizational Coherence Survey to pinpoint

the areas of incoherence and find the virus. Several parallels with

their own employee satisfaction survey were found, allowing for

FIGURE 9–4 Organizational coherence survey. All items within each of the six topics are plotted in a scattergram format, yielding information on priority and importance. Depending on where in the graph each item falls, it can be characterized as fix, celebrate, ignore, or question.

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targeted discussions and solutions. Six months later, satisfaction

survey scores had doubled or tripled, even though it had been a

period of significant turbulence

in the department. Along the

way, the company saw rev-

enues increase to record levels

and market share increase,

while the top priority in mar-

keting and customer service

had become “organizational

climate.”

The survey was not

administered in isolation.

Marketing and customer service

staff members were trained in

IQM tools, the tools became

integrated in staff meetings and

performance reviews, and a

coaching series was initiated for

managers. The Organizational

Coherence Survey is designed

for continuous feedback.

After an initial survey of the

entire organization or division,

representative samples

are frequently tested—say,

every three months—so the

information is kept current

and feedback to employees can

happen quickly.

The assumption, too,

is that employees must be

how do you create a start-up climate?

The lure of a start-up is not

only stock options and

IPO wealth—it’s the climate of

challenge, fun, risk-taking, be-

ing part of something new, and,

especially, feeling you can re-

ally make a difference. Larger

technology companies who have

traditionally been magnets for

talent—like Microsoft, Sony

or Cisco—are finding growth

has made them big, with all

the problems that implies. In-

novative managers are now

realizing they need to create a

start-up environment to attract

or retain great people. To pull it

off requires autonomy, account-

ability, and more than a little

chutzpah. How could your com-

pany or division have the spunk

and energy of a start-up, with

the maturity and wisdom you’ve

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given tools to manage their perceptions and emotional reactions

so they become active creators of a healthier climate, not just

victims of management whims. Analyzing organizational

incoherence—while giving employees practical tools for

managing and leveraging their emotional and intellectual

processes—represents a powerful parallel approach to regaining

organizational vitality.

But the work on climate should not rely solely on

information and perceptions from within. Your customers, your

key partners and your major vendors are also interacting with

your organization. They’re experiencing firsthand the effects of

a virus, or hopefully being delighted to do business with such a

healthy, resilient organization. Do you know how each of these

constituents would rate your climate, or what suggestions they

could make to create more coherence? Conversations—deep

and ongoing—with each of these groups can be like a fresh

breeze into a stale or dark atmosphere. At times the feedback is

liable to feel like thunder and lightning. But the electricity could

be just the energy needed to wake up a sleepy town.

By the way, Bob sends his regards. He’s on a beach in Maui

exploring his options.

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c h a p t e r

10Core Values: The

Foundation of Sustainability

With the demise of the myth of job security, the accel-erating pace of change, and the increasing ambiguity and complexity of our world, people who depend on external structures to provide continuity and stability run the very real risk of having their moorings ripped away. The only truly reliable source of stability is a strong inner core and the willingness to change and adapt everything except that core. —JAMES C. COLLINS AND JERRY PORRAS1

UNSWERVING AT THE CORE—REMAINING TRUE TO ONE’S

heart—is the prerequisite to building resilience and flexibility

mentally, emotionally, and physically. The model of coherence

suggests that coherence at the heart of a system, personal or or-

ganizational, is the foundation for rapid shifts in effectiveness,

growth, and motivation. Our research into human efficiency,

performance and fulfillment has yielded this conclusion, the

third principle of Dynamic 3:

Shared core values such as adaptability, flexibility, care, and appreciation underlie sustainable organizational cultures.

Core Values as a Foundation

As we and others have delved deeply into the common prin-

ciples and best practices of great companies, that search has

[ 165 ]

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[ 166 ] From Chaos to Coherence Core Values: The Foundation of Sustainability [ 167 ]

reflect on, and feel, your core values

These are the values that

truly matter, not the New

Year’s resolution variety. These

are the values that sustain you in

times of crisis or tragedy. Start

the day by remembering what

really matters to you—your aims

in life. When you remain con-

nected with your core values,

your life will more readily reflect

them. Developing your core val-

ues through increasing levels of

self-care and care for others will

impact the quality of your life

and your contribution to life.

Get

Coherent

yielded a common conclusion. At the heart of all successful

organizations—and indeed successful people—is a set of firmly

held core values for which the organization feels passion. These

values, more than just profits or the thrill of competition, are the

source of the organization’s creative energy. Business leaders

and their organizations need to make sure that as business strat-

egies change, adapt, and morph into new activities uniquely

suited to the time and the market, core values and purpose re-

main stable and protected.

It is no different personally. When we are fulfilled, it is be-

cause of coherence between the values of our hearts and the

actions we carry out in our professional and family lives. While

our relationships will vary de-

pending on the depth of trust,

love, and commitment, the

core—the heart—out of which

we act does not change. In fact,

the more consistently we act

from our core values, the more

the intelligence of these values

unfolds, increasing our abil-

ity to adapt intelligently to the

world around us.

Indeed core values are

powerful because they are the

embodiment of intelligent op-

erating principles for our lives

or our organizations. Values as

intelligence may be a new twist

on this fundamental principle,

and yet each of us could see

how the values we hold most

dear indicate the direction

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for a highly intelligent use of our energy. Intelligent not in the

context merely of being intellectually astute, but in being energy

efficient. Our perceptions are clearer, decisions more balanced,

communication more caring and well-reasoned. Core values do

not lead to mushy actions or sentimentality; they are the bat-

tery chargers for wisdom. We are smarter when in phase with

our core values. As internal coherence increases by becoming

more consistently in phase with the heart’s core values, leaps in

perception, creativity, and adaptability are possible. That’s heart

intelligence.

Adaptability Revisited

Why would adaptability be an essential characteristic? Certainly

the pace of change would demand it. According to research

conducted by the authors of The Service-Profit Chain,2 the clear

differentiator between high and low performing firms, all with

strong cultures, was the ability of each firm to adapt to chang-

ing environments, whether legal, technological, social, or com-

petitive. The authors discovered that the single most important

indicator of adaptability was the adherence by management to

a clear set of core values stressing the importance of delivering

results to various constituencies, especially customers and em-

ployees, as part of an effort to deliver profits to owners. They

concluded:

1. Strong cultures don’t win as consistently as adaptable ones,

2. Adaptability is a “state of the management mind” resulting from a

set of core values that include an emphasis on the importance of

change, and

3. Organizations that vigorously practice these core values and in-

stall devices for maintaining adaptability not only greatly improve

their chances of sustaining high performance over time, they in-

crease their chances of achieving successful transitions from one

leader to another.3

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The true meaning of adaptability implies healthy adjust-

ments to external factors, as opposed to the maladaptation pro-

cess discussed earlier in the rigidifying way most people react to

stressors. True adaptability is the ability to assess from the mind

and the heart—to analyze and feel—then shift attitude and ac-

tion. How we respond to a crisis or unexpected occurrence un-

derpins true adaptability. Adaptability allows speed without the

negative consequences.

The Role of Significance

How you adapt to each event of your day is based largely on

the significance you ascribe to it. Consider significance from an

emotional perspective. How significant something becomes is

directly proportional to the amount of emotional energy you as-

sign it. When you feel secure and confident, unpleasant events

have much less significance than when you are emotionally

imbalanced. You see things in perspective. But when operating

at a deficit, the tone of voice, the inflection or the implied mes-

sage in a conversation can easily become magnified in your per-

ception. Then, your internal video machine replays the “story”

repeatedly while you work yourself up into greater emotional

turmoil. All of this because of the significance you placed on the

event.

Certain people overinvest in making things significant.

They make a big deal out of nearly everything. From a balanced,

heart-driven perspective people can see more easily how much

of their own vital, precious energy needs to be given to each

daily event. If everything is significant it becomes difficult to not

eventually feel drained and victimized by emotions. People who

do well long term and can handle pressure are often the ones

who naturally are more even keeled. They do not make things

overly significant. This does not make them better or worse than

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others, but it is a gift that saves energy and sustains personal

productivity. All of us can learn to take the significance out of

things. The concept and practice of “taking out the significance”

is powerful. It seems so simple and it is, but when applied as a

tool or technique the amount of your unnecessary, inefficient

energy expenditures will decrease significantly.

There is a fine line between an attitude of irresponsibil-

ity or simply brushing things off as opposed to intelligently

withdrawing some of the significance out of life’s tricky events.

It is intuitive intelligence in action to know how much of your

emotional energy to give to something. Some things are more

important than we at first perceive, while other things are not

as important as we make them out to be. Overdramatizing and

adding significance to anything amplifies it, just like throwing

a log on a fire causes the fire to burn brighter and hotter. Use

heart discrimination to decide what kind of fires you really want

to build.

Taking out the significance is an important skill for devel-

oping adaptability. Adaptability is an energetic flexing of our in-

ner muscles when a situation requires extra energy. It builds re-

serves in the system that manifest themselves as more genuine

care. As you learn to take the significance out of things that you

know will not serve your best interests, you will see a natural in-

crease in your ability to care.

It is much easier for people to adapt to change when the

environment supports them, as the Brown and Leigh study

implies. However, if your organizational climate clearly is filled

with an emotional virus, it is still in your interest to adapt as fully

as possible, even if that adaptation process involves an intel-

ligent exit from the unhealthy environment. (Being a “doormat”

for abuse or incoherence is not the intelligent insight of truly

caring perspectives.) This is as true at the individual level as

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at the team or organizational level when faced with unhealthy

competition, unethical practices, or attitudes that contradict

your deeply held core values. Adaptability in this context, espe-

cially, requires centering ever more deeply in your core values

and, from that position of strength and wisdom, determining

the most energy-efficient, coherent response possible.

Organizational life today is full of such bombardment that

true adaptability rests on your ability to heartfully adapt to all

the mini-crises and disturbances, using heart intelligence as

an inner guidance system. This can be as simple as stopping

long enough to ask yourself, “What is the best way to adapt to

this situation, for the good of all involved?” Your heart, if asked,

can supply surprising wisdom. When you learn to adapt by be-

coming internally coherent, you can discover more coherent

solutions.

Learning to take the significance out of situations that re-

ally are minor blips on the screen saves energy for those issues

of real significance—the core values and viability of you and

your organization. With unnecessary significance kept to a min-

imum, the energy to adapt, flex, and innovate is maximized.

Care

A basic human instinct is to care. In our work, we have seen that

care is central to personal or organizational effectiveness, when

balanced with efficiency:

Efficiency + Care = Effectiveness

Consider this simple equation both personally and or-

ganizationally. Biomedical research cited in the last chapter

suggests that feeling sincere care for something or someone

actually boosts immune system function, as measured by the

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antibody IgA. A study by Harvard psychologist David McClel-

lan and C. Kirshnit in 19884 showed that inducing the feeling

of care could boost levels of IgA, the body’s first line of defense

against pathogenic invaders such as viruses or bacteria. Clearly,

care is a good investment of energy. You receive a payoff for you

when you care, beyond just being nice. Care is rejuvenating for

both the giver and receiver. It acts like a lubricant on mental,

emotional, and physical levels, increasing adaptability mentally,

emotionally, and physically.

Here we present one of the prime personal and organiza-

tional challenges in this age of transition: Care is its own reward,

as poets and philosophers have said for centuries. Whether or

not the other person sees your actions as caring, by adapting

to stress through the heart, you have saved untold amounts

of energy, potentially saved a decision that could have proven

costly to the organization, and stopped an emotional and phys-

iological drain in your own system.

Reviving the Corporate Heart

The research cited in the last chapter revealed organizational

benefits of caring. Consider how you and your organization

could apply care to the six dimensions of climate:

• Recognition

• Clarity

• Contribution

• Supportive management

• Self-expression

• Challenge

Even asking the questions would be an act of caring, but be pre-

pared to follow through sincerely on the responses or the efforts

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will backfire, being viewed cynically as yet another example of

management paying lip service to employee perceptions and

concerns, with no intention of acting on them.

A practical application for caring in the workplace is to ask

your managers to have their people assess their own assets and

deficits on each of the six dimensions of climate, then discuss

with them key patterns in the feedback and how to best address

them. Do the same yourself with those who report to you or, if

you do not manage others, with your closest colleagues. Discuss

in your next staff meeting how your department or division, as

well as the organization as

a whole, stacks up on each

dimension. By evaluating

deficits and assets you can un-

derstand what areas require

attention, while appreciating

those areas deserving appre-

ciation and celebration. This

activity can lead to a sense of

excitement and pride as you

recognize what is good in the

climate you have all created.

Sincere appreciation builds

a solid foundation for future

growth.

Sincere Care

Underlying the application of

care in your workplace is sin-

cerity. Without sincerity car-

ing acts ring hollow. Sincere

care is required to achieve a

merger mayhem

You don’t need more

statistics to know many

mergers succeed only on the

pre-merger spreadsheet. Just

ask any merged employee who

has seen their budget, their

authority, and their internal net-

works freeze as the merger “sets

in.” Most often, a fundamental

clash of values is at the root of

the turmoil. The promised busi-

ness efficiencies may eventually

result, but at what cost? Cultural

integration—connecting in the

heart—may be the only life pre-

server if the culture collision is

too extreme.

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true service attitude with people. When care is mechanical or

insincere, it causes resistance and reaction in others, undermin-

ing adaptability. Coworkers, family, clients, and superiors can

tell the difference between required courtesy and sincere care.

Put simply, it is much easier to adapt healthfully to unpleasant

or unexpected circumstances when we feel our workplace or so-

cial environment is caring. Care is the glue that keeps relation-

ships together once the novelty has worn off. This is as true in

organizational life as in the personal domain.

Tom Peters has echoed this point:

Store shelves groan under the weight of new products, but few have

heart. Service offerings are about as lifeless. Most hotels, for ex-

ample, spent the last decade buffing their customer service. The me-

chanics are better. Bravo. But the heart is usually absent: the sincere

sense of “Welcome to my home” as opposed to “I’ve gotta remember

to act like I care.”5

The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in San Francisco is different.

An award-winning hotel in the heart of San Francisco’s financial

district, it has consistently provided exceptional value and ser-

vice to its guests since opening in the late 1980s. And yet like any

other high performing organization, management recognized

its staff members were being held to ever-higher standards

while facing greater personal pressures as societal stress in-

creased. IQM tools were instituted at all levels of the hotel staff

to help ensure a high level of balance of personal and profes-

sional effectiveness. At the Mandarin, there is an understanding

that care for oneself and for colleagues goes hand in hand with

exceptional care for customers.

“Caregivers”—whether social workers, health care profes-

sionals, or counselors—are at their best when providing the kind

of support that makes it easier for the patient to adapt to and re-

cover from the illness, injury, or personal setback. The caregiv-

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ers themselves, however, must learn when the care is enhancing

their own and others’ adaptability and when it is detracting. A

1990 study6 on caregiving among nurses observed that caring

did not lead to burnout but it was the lack of caring or overcar-

ing that did. The study reported that “caring itself allows nurses

to access a very important source of energy and renewal.” When

nurses became overly emotionally identified with the plight of

their patients, their care turned to burnout. Whether your job

involves caring for patients, caring for customers, or requires

extra care in times of high stress and pressure, keeping your

care balanced and rejuvenating requires vigilance and close at-

tention. This is one of the greatest challenges in an age of chaos

and complexity. When care depletes, it becomes overcare.

The Drain of Overcare

Overcaring is caring that crossed the line into anxiety and worry,

ceased to be nurturing for the giver and receiver, and is close to

the top of the list of personal and organizational energy drains.

Overcaring begins as caring, but because of unmanaged emo-

tions such as unrealistic expectations, emotional attachment, or

mental preoccupation, the caring becomes tainted and dimin-

ished in its effectiveness. In the extreme, overcaring is debili-

tating for all concerned, driving a wedge between you and the

object of your overcaring. Clear examples of overcaring would

be these:

• The micro-manager who must have a hand in every detail

of his division, causing stress and inefficiency in those he

supervises, and confining himself to a self-created en-

vironment of obsessive mental activity, cut off from the

nourishing power of the heart.

• The parent who hovers over a sick child, creating an en-

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vironment not of caring support but of overbearing in-

trusion.

Overcaring is tricky because, in our achievement-oriented

society, the only alternative to overcaring seems to be uncar-

ing or apathy. The truth is that overcaring is so emotionally and

physically draining, chronic overcaring eventually leads to not

caring. But there is a healthy, balanced alternative. The chal-

lenge is to identify overcaring early on and utilize heart intelli-

gence to determine a more balanced and caring response.

A simple question can help distinguish caring from its kiss-

ing cousin overcaring: “Is my care stress producing or stress re-

ducing?” If it is overcaring, you will sense stress in your system;

if balanced caring, you will experience more contentment and

peace.

Identifying Overcare

Overcare is defined not by the specific behavior or action but

by the underlying attitude. This often is experienced as ongoing

anxiety and concern, which may briefly subside in moments of

appreciation but continues to drain energy and occupy our at-

tention. While there are no pat rules for what actions are over-

caring and what are caring, here are some examples. Working

overtime to complete a project is not always driven by overcare;

it could be an act of true caring, so long as the internal attitude

was not fueled by worry and fear. How much more energized

do you feel by any project when you are positively motivated

to complete it instead of fearing the consequences of its lack of

completion? When worry or fear is the fuel, you still may com-

plete the project in the allotted time—maybe even faster—but

at a significant cost to your health and balance on all levels.

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Similarly, failing to address a difficult employee issue could be

the result of overcaring about how the employee might react.

The caring action would be to ask the heart for a clear perspec-

tive on the situation and how to most effectively resolve the sit-

uation for the good of all concerned. A reminder: the effects of

these stressful, overcaring behaviors do not just go “poof!” and

disappear. They live on in our bodies as diminished vitality and

the emotional memories of the overcaring events that replay

themselves.

In our work with organizational clients, we continuously

ask ourselves if the “something extra” we think we should do for

the client truly adds value or if it is just going to add stress to us

and provide nothing beneficial to the client. Keeping overcaring

in check is a tremendous energy saver, with the added benefit

that the effect of care on clients, customers, and staff members

is increased significantly. In staff meetings we ask each other

what areas of overcare we have around workload, deadlines, or

performance, then get help to diminish the load or explore new

perspectives on the reality of the pressures. Stopping overcare

in its tracks frees up tremendous energy that allows you, or

your team, to jump to a whole new level of efficiency and effec-

tiveness that translates into improved business results.

How easy it is to spend hours watching an internal movie

of possible horrific future scenarios, all the result of overcaring!

If they fail to manifest themselves, we still have aged our bodies

in the hours or days or weeks we spent overcaring. Clearly, not

an efficient investment of energy. But, once again, the healthy

alternative to overcaring is not apathy but rather balanced car-

ing. It is incumbent on us as leaders, managers, or parents to

take seriously potential threats to the health and safety of our

organization or our loved ones. Overcaring can be the wake-up

call that a new perspective and action are necessary to deal with

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a potential threat. However, once overcaring is recognized, we

would do well to adapt our attitude, neutralize our stress re-

action, then proceed with whatever balanced caring would be

appropriate.

Overcaring blocks effectiveness, person-

ally and professionally. It is noise that distorts clear

communication, whether you are the receiver or the transmitter.

It limits our ability to satisfy internal or external customers or be

as productive and fulfilled as we can be. The good news is that

all overcaring starts out as caring, but unmanaged emotions

dilute the caring and keep us stuck in perspectives that tend

to perpetuate the overcaring. The challenge is to bring the car-

ing back into balance. Overcaring creates the breeding ground

for actions and attitudes that will self-fulfill the underlying

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overcaring. Overcaring breeds more overcaring. Unchecked, over-

caring can lead to reactions and attitudes that allow the emo-

tional virus to thrive.

What examples of overcare in yourself or others can you

think of? Take a moment and list a few key examples of overcare

in your life. Then, recognize the current effect on you, the other

person, your energy level, effectiveness, health, and so on. One

of the most powerful tools for neutralizing overcaring is Freeze-

Frame. Most overcaring is

just “one attitude adjustment

away” from a caring, balanced

attitude and action, but with-

out stopping and consulting

the heart, the answers easily

can evade your awareness. Use

Freeze-Frame to ask yourself

how to bring the overcaring

back into balance and uncover

intelligent alternatives.

Jobs That Magnetize Overcare

Certain segments of an orga-

nization are especially vul-

nerable to overcaring, such

as customer service and sales.

Because these positions deal

directly with the customer,

most reps live in a precarious

world of loyalty to two mas-

ters. Caring for both, it is often

hard to discern the appro-

care without overcare

Learning how to maintain a

state of balanced care

without falling into the trap of

worry, anxiety, and overload

about your job and/or the people

you manage is essential. Care is

regenerative. Overcare drains

your energy and compromises

your effectiveness as a manager

while at the same time negatively

impacting the people you man-

age. Make an effort to identify

your “overcares.” Then, use the

Freeze-Frame technique to elim-

inate these overcares and bring

yourself back to balanced care.

Take things one step at a time

and appreciate your successes.

Get

Coherent

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priate action—look after the needs of the customer or look after

the company? The pat answer would be that in taking care of the

customer the company will be taken care of. In a general sense,

this is true, but when an irrational or out-of-control customer is

in your face, such a perspective lacks credibility and practical-

ity. In the real world, people get upset, expectations are not met,

insecurity is high, and things are said or done that do not reflect

the deeper core values of that person. Recognizing, neutralizing,

then moving past the overcaring can bring balanced solutions

or, at least, minimize the drain. Neutralizing any emotional

reaction from a negative interaction with a customer—before

dealing with the next one—has immediate payoff.

Overcare is a powerful inhibitor of personal and organiz-

ational effectiveness, cloaked as it is in the robes of care and

concern. In many organizational cultures, we are rewarded for

overcaring. Our commitment is questioned if we fail to display

the proper overcare. “How dare you leave the office at 5:00 to

be with your family, don’t you care?” “Why aren’t you worried

about the production delay, don’t you care?” “Why aren’t you

anxious about the client presentation, don’t you realize the sig-

nificance of this account?” In our extremist, stimulus-addicted

culture, there appears no alternative to chronic, debilitating

overcaring, other than total apathy or self-centeredness. Yet

research on the effects of chronic anxiety or worry on health,

let alone the emotional drain on the organization of constantly

being on edge, should suggest overcaring already is costing us

dearly.

If you manage people, you would do well to examine areas

of overcaring in your management style. Overcaring disempow-

ers others. Overcaring in leaders robs them of the magnetism

necessary to inspire confidence and hope. Overcaring is caring

made incoherent. When people resist change, overcaring ac-

cumulates. As you adapt intelligently to change, that is caring.

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Care regenerates; overcare depletes. When overcaring is rec-

ognized in a team or in yourself, specific steps can be taken to

regain balanced care.

Self-Care Revisited

A powerful element in the reduction of overcaring and

achievement of organizational adaptability is self-care. In many

cultures, self-care is almost taboo, because the fear is that any

focus on self-care will lead to self-obsession and attitudes

that undermine the collective well-being. The Asian focus on

collective culture makes it challenging to justify the importance

of self-care. American culture by contrast could seem to be self-

indulgent and self-caring to the extreme. And yet, for many,

balanced self-care is nearly nonexistent, going no deeper than

self-medicating with drugs, alcohol, or a once-a-year vacation

that is often stressful, a strain to prepare for, and over far too

quickly. The notion of self-care can conjure up images of

mandatory exercise, no junk food or high-cholesterol meals,

severely restricting or eliminating ingestion of substances

such as alcohol or tobacco—in short, self-care seems to be

self-denial. What we are suggesting is something much more

core to each person—the balanced care of oneself. People take

for granted that children need care to grow and mature, that

plants need regular attention and care to thrive, that pets need

care to be the happy playmates we want them to be. Are you

any different? Deep self-care would mean regular reflection on

your core values, assessing where your life lacks coherence and

balance, evaluating how much and in what way you want to

attend to physical health—in short, caring for all the dimensions

of your life. And, if fun is not on the list, good luck not feeling

deprived.

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By focusing self-care in the mental and emotional domains

and achieving balance there through the activation of heart in-

telligence, significant jumps in effectiveness can occur. An orga-

nization where self-care is a valued quality is far more resilient

than one that denies its importance. Imagine a car refusing the

offer of a fresh tank of gas!

The Heart Lock-In®

A powerful tool for increasing internal coherence through self-

care is the Heart Lock-In. In this tool, the objective is to practice

staying focused in the heart “frequencies” of care and appre-

ciation. It is called a lock-in because you attempt to lock in to

the heart feeling domain, like a jet fighter pilot directs radar to

lock onto a target or a great athlete stays locked in to “the zone,”

keeping mental and emotional distractions to a minimum

so performance is optimized. Heart Zones7 is music specially

designed to facilitate Heart Lock-Ins. This four-song concept

(composed and performed by Doc) takes you through a “car-

diovascular workout” for your mind and emotions, leaving you

feeling refreshed and energized. The overall intention is to calm

and reenergize. As with a Freeze-Frame, you attempt to keep

your focus in the area of the heart, but if thoughts or concerns

arise, you note them, then return to a focus in the heart. Many

organizations today incorporate this simple 5–15 minute cen-

tering tool in meetings or planning sessions. The rationale? By

increasing internal coherence, you increase team coherence.

Over the past 25 years, we explored many tools for adapt-

ability, increased intelligence, and self-care. We have found the

Heart Lock-In technique to be extremely powerful, providing a

daily boost and surprising clarity. With consistent practice, levels

of physical, mental, and emotional resilience increase dramati-

cally. As a state of internal balance more frequently is reached,

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it becomes much easier to quickly adapt to unexpected change.

The Heart Lock-In was designed to help people build a strong

muscle for internal self-management, making it much easier to

find a neutral or positive perspective when they Freeze-Frame.

An entire organization using this tool enhances its adaptability,

creativity, and climate.

We had an example of the benefits of frequent Heart Lock-

Ins in Kuala Lumpur. While testing the presentation technology,

we realized the power converter had been broken in transit.

When an alternate converter was finally found, we plugged in all

the equipment and watched

as a key biomedical device

began to smoke, while brown

oil leaked from the switch.

Our hosts became quite con-

cerned, while all our attention

went to how best to adapt.

We stayed calm, scanned for

alternatives in the event the

unit was damaged beyond

repair, knowing the nearest

repair shop was 10,000 miles

away. By staying in balance,

we helped our hosts keep

their concerns to a minimum.

By the time the unit was suc-

cessfully repaired by a highly

ingenious man named Siva,

we had kept stress from grab-

bing our vitality. Heart Lock-In

techniques had helped us sus-

tain health, clarity, and focus.

lock-in to your heart three times a week (or more)

Great athletes, musicians

and leaders know the

importance of mental and emo-

tional balance. They also know

that if your heart is not engaged

in your work, you will be less ef-

fective and less fulfilled. A Heart

Lock-In—practiced regularly—is

a powerful tool for increasing

your mental and emotional bal-

ance. It’s well worth the time in-

vested to truly “lock-in” to deep-

er heart feelings, giving you a

refreshing break from the mind

and helping to activate your

heart intelligence—intuition.

Get

Coherent

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In the past two chapters, we discussed the role of climate

in organizational performance, the primacy of core values to

organizational longevity, and essential qualities such as adapt-

ability, care, self-care, and appreciation. In the background dur-

ing this discussion lurked the fourth principle of Dynamic 3:

Understanding the distinction between knowledge and wisdom is essential to organizational sustainability. Build-ing wise companies through developing wise people is the next organizational frontier.

It is no longer enough to be smart—all the technological

tools in the world add meaning and value only if they enhance

our core values, the deepest part of our heart, and our con-

nections with others. Acquiring knowledge is no guarantee of

practical, useful application or depth. Wisdom implies a ma-

ture integration of appropriate knowledge, a seasoned ability

to filter the nonessential from the essential. Self-management

and internal coherence are central to the emergence of wisdom

personally and organizationally. A healthy, adaptive climate

makes the journey all the easier. Wisdom also will emerge as

information overload—knowledge addiction—pervades more

corners of our lives. For some, pain or tragedy will force the is-

sue. For others, deeper promptings from the heart will urge a

shift in perception, an insistence on living in integrity with our

hearts, of putting care for self and others as a prerequisite to

survival and fulfillment in the next millennium. The markets,

the customers, the constituents will expect this from us. They

want it, too.

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10 CH 10 FCTC_2 copy.ID 01/05/04, 1:11 PM184

DYNAMIC 4

STRATEGIC PROCESSES OF RENEWAL

1. Balance is the keynote for self-renewing organizations.

2. Key management skills will be seen as strategic imperatives:• Building effective teams can be achieved based on the

model of entrained systems. • Coaching guarantees ongoing learning and continuity of

the coherent organization.

3. Creativity and innovation arise out of coherent people and coherent processes and underlie competitive advantage.

4. Complex decision making and project planning require “big picture” thinking.

[ 185 ]

StrategicProcesses of

Renewal

DecisionMaking & Project

Planning

Team Work &Coaching

Balance

Creativity &Innovation

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11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM186

c h a p t e r

11Leading from

Chaos to Coherence

THE GRAND BALLROOM WAS BUZZING WITH PRE-CONCERT

anticipation. The conductor strode confidently to the podium,

plainly comfortable in his role despite the odd khaki safari outfit

he was wearing. He introduced himself to the orchestra, dressed

in evening wear, which seemed pleased to meet him, although

many of us in the audience of 1,000 CEOs1 and spouses were

perplexed at the apparent unfamiliarity between orchestra and

conductor. The conductor placed his baton on the podium and

invited the orchestra to play the first movement of a Beethoven

symphony—without him. Startled but professional, the concert-

master (first violinist) raised his bow and with a nod of his head

the orchestra began, playing flawlessly—leaderless, in sync, har-

monious. Whatever nervousness they may have had about the

conductorless performance quickly dissolved in the coherence

and professionalism of their effort.

The conductor then turned with a challenge to the CEOs.

“How many of you have such faith in the professionalism and skill

of your people to attempt something like this? Do you really ap-

preciate their talents and creativity or do you assume everything

will collapse without you?” He was not done.

The conductor then demonstrated how, with the caring ap-

plication of intelligence, even greater potential could be realized

[ 187 ]

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[ 188 ] From Chaos to Coherence Leading from Chaos to Coherence [ 189 ]

in the orchestra. He rehearsed each section of the orchestra (a

group of professional musicians who had been assembled for

one night only) through the same symphony, singing passages

where subtle nuances would bring the symphony to life. He

encouraged balance and coherence among the sections, or-

chestrating an entire performance with eloquence and passion.

He left the stage, changed into a white tuxedo and returned to

conduct. With his coaching, they now performed again, this time

with even greater brilliance, grace, and passion. Thunderous ap-

plause greeted their final note.

Many in the audience were stunned by the rapid transfor-

mation they had just witnessed. Entrepreneurial and driven, the

CEOs were being asked to appreciate more, to care more, to go

beyond “living life from the neck up,” and to share their insight

and wisdom with their people. We all had witnessed a coherent

organization take shape in front of our eyes. The CEOs now had

a new challenge: how to translate this inspiring metaphor into

practical application that recognizes the realities of business and

organizational life.

Excellent organizations are self-renewing systems, finding

continuous nourishment, internally and externally. They are

alert to subtle or profound changes in the environment inside

or outside the organization that can be intelligently adapted to.

This is the imperative for success in an age of unprecedented

acceleration. Whether you are the leader of many, leader of a

few, or simply leader of yourself, renewal is a strategic necessity.

Typically the term strategy is used to describe the clear vi-

sion and comprehensive plans that are designed to accomplish

specific organizational or personal objectives. The problem to-

day is the rapid obsolescence of most strategic thinking. Exces-

sive strategizing based solely on analytical thinking or competi-

tive analysis is contradictory to the very principles of innovation

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and flexibility required today. So many corporations link strat-

egy only to short-term profitability, to the great detriment of the

organization’s viability. In the future, strategy will be seen as

simply one factor—albeit an essential one—ensuring viability,

with individual and organizational coherence as the foundation.

We believe the critical strategic imperatives for success in the

21st century are building adaptability, coherence, and innova-

tion into all levels of the organization.

The first theme in Dynamic 4 is this:

Balance is the keynote for self-renewing organizations.

A balance of all four dynamics of IQM—internal self-man-

agement, coherent communication, boosting organizational

climate, and strategic renewal—can ensure that the orga-

nization is resilient, nimble, and always innovating. Balance in

this context does not imply that the organization is static or still,

but rather intelligently and dynamically aware of itself and its

environment, fine-tuning itself when it gets thrown off course.

Aware of the market and its customers, communication is rich

and frequent, the lifeblood of the organization’s rapid evolution.

Renewal at the organizational level can go deep as the indi-

viduals themselves are encouraged and rewarded for renewing

themselves.

The Service-Profit Chain

How do high-performing organizations consistently renew

themselves? Patterns of organizational renewal were described

in the mid-’90s when James Heskett, W. Earl Strasser, Jr., and

Leonard A. Schlesinger at the Harvard University Graduate

School of Business Administration reported ground-breaking

research around an idea called the service-profit chain.2 The ser-

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vice-profit chain (see Figure 11–1) was developed from analyses

of successful service organizations such as Southwest Airlines,

Wal-Mart, Intuit Corporation, Taco Bell, and MCI. It establishes

clear relationships between profitability, customer loyalty, and

employee satisfaction, loyalty, and productivity. The links in

the chain are as follows:

• Profit and growth are stimulated primarily by customer

loyalty.

• Loyalty is a direct result of customer satisfaction.

• Satisfaction is influenced largely by the value of services

provided to customers.

• Value is created by satisfied, loyal, and productive em-

ployees.

• Productivity is largely the result of employee satisfaction.

• Employee satisfaction, in turn, results from high-quality

support services and policies—the internal quality of an

organization—that enable employees to deliver results to

customers.

• Internal quality results from leadership, which under-

stands that frontline workers and customers need to be

the center of management focus. The flow of organiz-

ational care and appreciation must especially go to those

key stakeholders.

The IQM model of organizational coherence maps well

to this research. The absence or presence of internal self-man-

agement, coherent communication, a healthy organizational

climate, and strategic renewal can be seen in every link in the

chain. The service-profit chain focuses management thinking

on two very important ideas:

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1. Do what is necessary to detect the needs and ensure the

satisfaction and loyalty of targeted customers.

2. Achieve this, in most cases, by giving employees the lat-

itude and support necessary to deliver high value to de-

sired customers.

In short, create coherence and balance within the organization

around each link in the chain.

In looking deeper at the service-profit chain model, some

interesting observations appear. Heskett and his coauthors note

that the accomplishments of the organizations they cite did not

happen by chance. Nor did they happen completely by excellent

planning and design alone.

They resulted from extraordinary leadership by a small group of

exceptional people who understood implicitly the relationships

embodied in the service profit chain, who put them to work to cre-

ate organizations capable of detecting and adapting to changing

customer needs, and who have seen to it that cultures have been

FIGURE 11–1 The service-profit chain. Source: Reprinted with permission from Simon and Schuster, New York, 1997.

The service-profit chain

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created in their organizations that will sustain them during future

ups and downs.3

The story of Southwest Airlines has been told many times,

but its lessons bear repeating. Their focus: high value for cus-

tomers needing frequent transportation over relatively short

distances at a cost comparable to the cost of driving their own

car. For these customers, Southwest means high quality, re-

flected in frequent departures and on-time arrivals. High quality

also means first-name recognition by loyal employees who have

worked the ticket counters long enough to be able to recognize

hundreds of frequent flyers by name.4 It is arguably a highly co-

herent organization, clear and focused on its people and those

they serve.

As any jazz musician knows, it takes flexibility and adapt-

ability for improvisation to create beauty. This clearly has be-

come the hallmark of Southwest Airlines’ organizational culture.

In an article in Leader to Leader, a brilliant magazine published

by the Peter F. Drucker Foundation, Herb Kelleher, Southwest’s

maverick founder and CEO, says this about people in the orga-

nization:

What’s the secret to building a great organization? How do you

sustain consistent growth, profits and service in an industry that

can literally change overnight? And how do you build a culture of

commitment and performance when the notion of loyalty—on the

part of customers, employees, and employers—seems like a quaint

anachronism? I can answer basically in two words: be yourself.5

How effective do you feel this approach would be if there

was not a fairly high level of balance and coherence within the

individuals serving the customers? It is impossible to mandate

this kind of attitude. If the organizational culture did not help

the individual feel good about his or her job, resources, au-

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tonomy, sense of family, and sense of balance, how effective

would the efforts really be? If the culture is supportive, then it

still is up to the individual whether or not to be himself or herself.

In high-performing organizations, management recog-

nizes the value of collaboration. Antagonism and unhealthy

competition are the antitheses of the qualities needed by nim-

ble, adaptive organizations in the future.

Management Skill

What management skills are primary in the development of

such adaptive, authentic, dynamic workplaces? We suggest two:

• Building effective teams can be achieved based on the

model of entrained systems.

• Coaching guarantees ongoing renewal and growth of the

coherent organization.

Leaders today have unprecedented levels of responsi-

bility. Not only must they master ever-changing technology,

be aware of workplace policies and laws, and study market

conditions, they also must attend to the needs of their people.

They are asked to be supportive, to appreciate, to provide clear

direction without micro-managing, to delegate authority for

the empowerment of others—all this while balancing their own

home and work priorities. It can be daunting, to say the least.

As a leader’s responsibilities grow, self-management becomes

increasingly important. So does improving communication

and neutralizing incoherence. Diversity in the workplace also

requires attending to the climate managers create. The load

can be overwhelming, yet the potential for personal and pro-

fessional development possible through the development of

heart intelligence, along with a focus on developing teams and

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coaching skills, can springboard any manager into the next level

of efficiency and effectiveness.

A study at Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School

of Management6 found that compassion and building team-

work will be two of the most important characteristics business

leaders will need for success a decade from now. The study in-

volved interviews with executives at Fortune 1000 companies.

By contrast recent MBA graduates in the same study ranked

results orientation much higher and disagreed with their more

seasoned counterparts about the importance of social issues.

“The results may indicate that experience cultivates a broader

definition of corporate responsibility. It would be interesting to

increase customer care

Organizations are learning the value—and fragility—of

customer loyalty. “Service,” not price, and not quality, has become

the new proving ground when competing for and keeping customers.

Many organizations emphasize caring for the customer, but how do you

become a leader in this area? First, you can’t give what you don’t have.

The organization must genuinely care for its employees, giving them

what they need to take care of themselves. Providing them with skills to

attain a new level of mental and emotional management is an essential

aspect of showing care for employees. Second, the individuals within an

organization must demonstrate care for each other. The care you want

the employee to show the customer must be modeled in the day-to-day

operations of the organization. Third, there is a huge difference between

required courtesy and sincere, authentic care. If you can help your em-

ployees develop more caring, heart-based qualities while eliminating

overcare, they will bring great value and authenticity to the process of

consistently demonstrating customer care.

Get

Coherent

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM194


survey the MBA students 20 years from now and see if their po-

sitions have changed.”

We described earlier that entrainment is a natural state of

synchronization seen throughout the biological world—flocks

of birds, schools of fish, the pacemaker cells in our own heart,

all working in a synchronized way, are just a few examples.

We have all experienced entrainment in our social or profes-

sional lives or at least we have admired it from a distance. The

principle here is that complex systems such as teams require

coherent individual parts to attain new levels of coherence as a

whole. As the individual components—team members, become

more self-managed and communication distortion is reduced—

the system entrains. Once entrained, a jump to a new level of

effectiveness is possible. Without entrainment in your system,

energy is wasted. Without coherence between your core values

and actions, there is a lag in your system and the energy of spirit

is blocked from fully manifesting itself.

The same is true organizationally. Teams lacking entrain-

ment often have conflict, withhold critical information, and are

separated from a common vision. Lip service is useless, while

the outcomes of such teams are unmistakable. It is essential to

get at the root of what inhibits teams, what unspoken dynamics

jam frequencies for potential coherence, what resentments keep

the whole system from clicking in to its next level of power and

effectiveness. Perfection is not the goal; consistent improvement

in coherence is.

Love is the force that ignites the spirit and binds teams together.

—PHIL JACKSON, SACRED HOOPS

When teams lack entrainment, there is a gap between what

the head sees and what the heart wants. Without heart intel-

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM195


ligence engaged, the head often will see the myriad of tasks and

details and easily feel overwhelmed. Teams stuck in the mind

lack the compassionate qualities that foster sharing and easing

of each other’s workloads. They see only the burden, the dead-

lines, the pressure. No coherent vision can penetrate the density

of the collective malaise, unless the noise increases to the point a

crack in the facade appears. All

too often these days the open-

ings occur because of pain or

tragedy—sickness or death

of a teammate, colleague, or

even an employee in another

division. The wake-up call can

be stunning in its effects.

Before becoming a client,

one of the world’s largest and

most successful global orga-

nizations saw three suicides

among its executive ranks in

one year. One of the executives

stabbed himself in the heart,

he was in such emotional

pain. Another multinational

recognized it needed to deal

forthrightly with the stress-

coherence issue after two

suicides, one on the shop floor,

rocked its employees. “Going

postal” has become a cynical

cliché to describe the behavior

of any disgruntled employee.

lead with your vulnerability

Old school managers keep

a stiff upper lip, are proud

of being stress athletes, and

model behavior that can lead

others to burnout or breakdown.

Today’s great managers know

that being open about personal

and professional challenges, and

sharing information about your-

self appropriately, magnetizes

people to you. Leading with

vulnerability means openly ac-

knowledging how you’ve worked

through professional issues that

were emotionally challenging,

and admitting issues you have.

It also means being receptive to

the input of others. A balance of

clear direction with sensitivity to

people creates effectiveness.

Get

Coherent

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM196


Transforming Organizational Culture at Delnor-Community Hospital

Diane Ball, R.N., of Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, Il-

linois outside Chicago was looking for a way to help her cardiac

rehab patients deal with stress effectively. Learning about Heart-

Math research at a cardiology conference, she was later trained to

teach patients the stress-reduction techniques. What surprised

her was just how helpful the tools were in helping her deal with

her own stress. She noticed surprising boosts in energy and clari-

ty, and Diane felt compelled to share her experience with hospital

leadership, including Jim Elsner, VP of Health Systems.

Hospital executives attended HeartMath programs and

recognized the potential benefit for staff in reducing stress

and improving communication and care. They hoped patients

would also feel the effect of a more coherent hospital envi-

ronment. The timing was perfect. The previous year, Delnor had

set goals to become a national leader in patient satisfaction, as

well as the first choice for health care delivery in their primary

market. Tom Wright, Delnor’s Chief Operating Officer, was

leading the new corporate initiatives with Craig Livermore,

CEO. These initiatives included the goal of becoming Employer

of Choice in the area and these executives recognized Heart-

Math could provide the “glue” to help the strategic pieces fit to-

gether. The executives soon offered HeartMath programs to the

entire leadership of the hospital and then to the entire employee

workforce, board members and physicians.

By 2003, 60 percent of the workforce had been trained in

the HeartMath Staff Retention and Development Program, and

the program is now part of new employee orientation. Results

have been significant:

• Employee turnover—improved from 26.9% in 2000, to

21% in 2001, to 14.5% in 2002, 14.4% in 2003.

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM197


—Turnover for the HeartMath-trained group was only 5.9%

the first year; after the second year, turnover in this group

was down to 1.4%, and stabilized at 4% for the HeartMath

group in the third year.

—This turnover reduction has saved the hospital more

than $1.3 million in the first two years.

• Improved patient satisfaction from the 73rd percentile to 98th

percentile based on the Parkside Survey national database;

• Ranked #1 in employee satisfaction based on Sperduto

and Associates national database of over 300 health care

organizations.

Delnor was honored with the 2002 Corporate Health and

Productivity Management Award and has become a national

model for how coherently a health care system can operate, and

just how dramatic those results can be.

Tom Wright observes, “HeartMath has given us tools to

make the difference between required courtesy and genuine

care. We have achieved our benchmarks in excellence in patient

satisfaction and employee satisfaction. I believe without Heart-

Math, we could not have reached our potential.”

Appreciation

Of all the building blocks that underlie effective teams, ap-

preciation is one of its cornerstones. Appreciation, as said

earlier, implies an increase in value. Anything that is appre-

ciated increases in value. This is as true for relationships and

the creativity and skills of a team as it is for tangible assets

such as real estate, stock, or the family car. (Tangible goods in

most cases depreciate after purchase, of course, but the rate

of depreciation is significantly slowed if care is applied to the

upkeep of the asset.) Many teams regularly examine the gaps

in their performance to continuously improve. This deficit-

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM198


focused approach clearly can boost performance but at what

human cost? An individual who never feels good enough, whose

performance is never quite to the highest standard, probably

lives in a world of nonstop anxiety. (In a booming economy,

their options to leave look all the more enticing.) Such people

second-guess themselves regularly, so their performance is

marked by stops and starts, rushing and hesitating. There is no

flow to their work; anxiety blocks the pathways to greater co-

herence. Biologically, we know such anxiety equates to noise in

the heart-brain communication system, impairing performance

and obstructing optimal health. While old-school management

theories still insist that encouraging anxiety in employees keeps

them “hungry,” appreciation is a far more efficient modality and

one that enhances every link in the service-profit chain.

For appreciation to have value organizationally, it must

be sincere. Employee of the month awards and special parking

places are well-intentioned efforts to appreciate the individual,

but in many cases inbred cynicism in the workplace neutralizes

the positive effect of such efforts. Many overburdened man-

agers are taught to show appreciation to employees to boost

morale. In one case we recently heard from the U.S. Air Force,

a training officer complained of insincerity on the part of her

supervisor. “Super job!” was the consistent reply from the boss

on every memo or report she delivered to him. Tiring of this lack

of authenticity, she questioned coworkers who reported to the

same supervisor, only to discover everyone’s reports always

were greeted with “Super job!” The lack of sincerity had bred an

emotional virus the supervisor was too aloof to detect. Yet the

intent had been to show appreciation.

When pure sincerity forms within, it is outwardly realized in other people’s hearts. —LAO TZU, 6TH CENTURY B.C.

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM199


If lack of sincerity runs counter to all efforts in appre-

ciation, sincerity multiplies its effectiveness. Sincere appreciation

reduces static in an individual or team and gives a power boost

to all subsequent efforts. Recall a time when you were sincerely

appreciated by a supervisor, coworker, or customer (if this is

difficult to remember, your organizational culture may be in

need of heart). The appreciation you received was energizing,

motivating, and confirming. It still brings a feeling of accom-

plishment if residual doubts

or fatigue linger after a project

is completed. It boosts confi-

dence and frees the spirit to

do more of what was already

worthy of appreciating. Some

old-school managers still

believe appreciation makes

people complacent or egotis-

tical, yet if done from the heart

the opposite occurs. Teams

that sincerely appreciate each

other’s efforts, skills, and di-

versity are far stronger than

those constantly competing

for the spotlight. Many teams

would say they value and ap-

preciate each other, yet in our

experience, sitting down to go

over the assets of each team

member can create an en-

trainment few other activities

could. Highly touted experie-

ntial team-building activities,

even though they can create

activate sincere appreciation

Anything that is appreciated

increases in value. This in-

cludes appreciation of yourself,

your co-workers, your organiza-

tion, your life—you get the point!

For appreciation to have value,

it must be sincere. Sincere ap-

preciation gives a power boost to

individual and team efforts. It is

energizing, motivating, and pro-

motes cohesion. Appreciation

can help shift your perspective

to more balance and keep you in

touch with the big picture and

what’s really important. Find

something to appreciate and

watch how your perspective and

energy shift.

Get

Coherent

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/06/04, 4:03 PM200


shared memories and fun, rarely build the kind of rapport as

does the consistent expression of sincere appreciation borne

out of increasingly authentic conversations. Time after time, we

have seen teams move from mediocre to exceptional when ap-

preciation becomes an operating principle.

Big Picture/Little Picture

Finding something to appreciate during a difficult situation

quickly moves the perspective to the big picture from the little

picture. On hearing of a mistake by someone you supervise,

you have a choice—immediately criticize the individual for a

lack of critical thinking and overdramatize the potential effect,

or appreciate what other strains may have been affecting the

performance and still give the necessary feedback. Seeing the

bigger picture involves understanding the life of this individual,

the stress he or she is under, the long-term viability of the or-

ganization, how well you are feeling at this moment, as well as

the problem that needs addressing. Stuck in the “little picture”

you see only the problem, often magnified beyond reason. Ap-

preciation is a tool to keep your perspectives refreshed and

balanced.

Overachieving?

The concept of the overachiever is an intriguing one when

considering effective teamwork. Whether in sports or busi-

ness, teams we call overachievers invariably are performing

“above their level.” How do they do this? Our view is that the

overachievers are so in sync, so unself-conscious, so en-

trained and balanced, that they achieve a whole new standard

of performance. Appreciation of each other is a hallmark of

overachieving teams. Sometimes, external “lucky” events are

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM201


the catalyst, or it could be a powerful leader whose magnetic

expression of unifying core values inspires the team members

to move past self-limiting beliefs or mind-sets. Once the old

mind-sets are put to rest, the team is primed for a jump into a

surprising level of effectiveness, creativity, and potency. Call-

ing such teams overachievers is inaccurate. These individuals

and teams actually have reached a state of optimized potential,

made possible by the achievement of coherence.

Underachievers are the opposite. High on talent, rich in

intelligent capacity and potential, they fail to meet expectations

because of some underlying incoherence or imbalance in them

or the environment. Often emotional mismanagement is spoil-

ing the talent and isolating them from teammates. Sometimes,

an inordinate ego-centrism is so off-putting to fellow team

members, the static and distortion becomes deafening, under-

mining coherent effectiveness. Such individuals or teams drop

well below the plateau of their potential, creating a new subpar

standard of disappointment and negative self-worth.

Service Straight from the Heart

The cabin crew of a 747 must be a model of synchronized ac-

tivity. In the competitive world of long-haul international flights,

the care and efficiency given to passengers while onboard the

plane has a powerful influence on a passenger’s future decision

on a carrier. Hong Kong–based Cathay Pacific Airways has long

been considered one of the premier airlines flying in and out

of Asia, winning numerous awards in the process. Seeking to

differentiate itself from other high-quality carriers, a new mar-

keting campaign was launched in 1995, Service Straight from

the Heart. As with all marketing campaigns promising unique,

memorable service, the challenge then became to deliver on

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM202


the promise. Peter Buecking,

then general manager for in-

flight services, recognized that

providing unique customized

service to passengers was key

to differentiating Cathay from

its competitors. But he also

recognized that the capability

of the individuals within the

cabin crew to consistently pro-

vide exceptional service was

related directly to their abil-

ity to reduce stress and keep

work-life priorities in balance.

The strategy was to initially

introduce the IQM technology

to the ground staff for in-flight

services, so the flight crews

would see a model of extra car-

ing and efficient service at the

home base. Through the lead-

ership of David Ling, training

director, nearly 300 staff mem-

bers have gone through the

program and increases in team

entrainment, efficiency, and effectiveness have been significant.

In 1998, the airline received the Air Transport World Passenger

Service Award, the Oscar of the airline industry.

maximize the talents of the people you manage

Exceptional managers

identify the key talents of

each of the people they man-

age and do whatever they can

to design their roles to max-

imize those talents. It’s not

uncommon for managers to fall

into a pattern of focusing on

people’s deficits and blaming

them for not producing enough

or at the desired level. Discover

ways to acknowledge and work

with the assets of the people you

manage. Do your own appre-

ciation list of the key qualities

and talents of each person. Ask

yourself how to maximize those.

Then ask them the same ques-

tions.

Get

Coherent

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM203


Coaching

Great managers and leaders are those who, in spite of their ob-

vious individual talent, intelligence, and creativity, choose to

spread their innate skill and grace, helping others become far

better in their presence. Such people are magnetic and inspiring

because they have chosen to radiate their gifts, instead of inter-

nalize them. We delight in the expansive presence they create.

Their very heart-based coherence, absent as it is of any mean-

ness of spirit, enhances the talents, the capabilities, and the very

processes around them. Business (and politics!) could do with a

lot more of them.

And yet, in an age of such rapid transition and acceleration

of intelligence, the temptations to waver from that coherence

are everywhere. How demoralizing it is, how stung we feel in our

gut, when a hero falls or a human frailty finally is exposed. We

long to believe there is, somewhere or in someone, a coherence

that can rise out of the chaos and the confusion. It brings hope

when we see it in another.

Which brings us back to ourselves. Hope, fulfillment, and

inspiration can be ignited externally for us, but we must stoke

the fire daily. We must recognize the personal inefficiencies, the

unconscious drains in our thoughts, the external and self-judg-

ments. We must be responsible for ourselves and then make the

necessary adjustments so we can explore and unfold our own

heart intelligence and, in relationship with others, continue to

refine the capacities that are our gifts.

Margaret Wheatley, a brilliant author and organizational

theorist, has similar views on how to create coherent leadership

for coherent organizations:

We will need to stop describing tasks and instead facilitate process.

We will need to become savvy about how to build relationships, how

to nurture growing, evolving things. All of us will need better skills in

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM204


listening, communicating, and facilitating groups, because these are

the talents that build strong relationships. It is well known that the

era of the rugged individual has been replaced by the era of the team

player. But this is only the beginning. The quantum world has de-

molished the concept of the unconnected individual. . . . Those who

relate through coercion, or from a disregard for the other person,

create negative energy. Those who are open to others and who see

others in their fullness create positive energy. Love in organizations,

then, is the most potent source of power we have available.7

Most managers and leaders, by the sheer volume of their

life and professional experience, have much to share that can

make any organization far more efficient. Time spent coaching

people in the behaviors, attitudes, and skills known to produce

results is time extremely well spent. And when the race to keep

up with the explosion of new knowledge captures most of our

attention, stepping back to remember the value of deep conver-

sations is essential.

One organization that has operationalized coaching is

Thorlo, a premium manufacturer of sock products, activity-

specific socks for every occasion—walking, hiking, trekking,

running, tennis, basketball, you name it. Their patented designs

and innovative use of textiles have created a fanatically loyal

customer following (us too!). Their sock products are simply so

comfortable, you quickly become spoiled by how good your feet

feel. These are high-priced products, but most customers feel

the value easily exceeds the price. Thorlo also has a fascinating

corporate culture. Located in the heart of North Carolina’s tex-

tile region near Charlotte, the 350-employee company has built

a culture where coaching is practiced actively at all levels of the

organization. Thorlo chairman Jim Throneburg8 recognized

that, to create an enduring company in which core values in-

fused everything, constant coaching would be required. An early

adopter of team processes, Throneburg was quick to see that the

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM205


team could flounder without a

coaching mechanism to en-

sure appropriate knowledge

and wisdom transfer. His was

not a mild commitment: Four

hours each week—10% of the

employees’ paid time—are

spent in team formation,

building coherence around

every aspect of the Thorlo

culture. Each of Thorlo’s 40-

plus teams has rotating coach

facilitators who are “coached”

in performing their role clearly

but without excessive domi-

nation.

Several aspects of Thor-

lo’s culture are striking and

support the observations of

the other authors cited here. A

strong, unwavering set of core

values is at the heart of the

Thorlo culture. People, employees and customers, clearly mat-

ter. Helping employees gain flexibility and adaptability is also

key. Thorlo U., an internal curriculum for personal and profes-

sional development, has been developed, unusual in a company

of less than 500 employees. For all its progressive policies and

people-friendly climate, this company is not without significant

challenges: Key product patents expire in the next few years,

making it all the more essential for the organizational culture

to have heightened innovation, creativity, and resilience. While

the Thorlo model represents a highly structured commitment

seek input on how to create a fun, challenging team environment

The people you manage are

full of ideas that could en-

ergize your team’s overall com-

mitment to the organizational

mission and goals. Regularly

seek their input, to enliven the

team atmosphere. When team

members feel that their contri-

butions are valued, their care

for the team and organization

grows, and the team’s synergy

improves. Encourage, appreci-

ate, and remember to “lighten

up” from time to time.

Get

Coherent

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM206


to a coaching model, the principle of mentoring and guiding

employees into greater coherence will be even more essential as

the pace of business accelerates.

Military Coherence

The military arguably is a model of operational coherence. Pat-

rick L. Townsend and Joan E. Gebhardt, writing in the journal

Leader to Leader, point out the coherence throughout the mil-

itary on its three leadership priorities: “The first is to accomplish

the mission; the second, to take care of personnel; and the third,

to create new leaders.” There must be coherence around each

of these interdependent priorities.9 Incoherence and lack of

focus around any one dramatically weakens the others and the

chance of the mission’s success. Townsend and Gebhardt then

ask some tough questions of their corporate colleagues:

Can the same be said about a civilian organization? Does everyone

share not only the commitment to the mission but the commitment

to their colleagues? Ask most civilians about their second priority at

work and the response is likely to concern personal career enhance-

ment. Military people are not angels; they are as concerned with

their careers as anyone else. They know, however, that advancement

is a by-product of success in meeting leadership priorities, not a goal

in itself.

Increasingly managers and executives are realizing the

very talents that catapulted them to the senior levels of their or-

ganization may not be the ones that keep them there. Also true

is that each new level requires a broader, more global view. We

usually do not “know what we do not know” until we get there.

Most organizations are operating in uncharted territory, and the

challenge to continuously renew oneself is becoming ever more

critical.

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:48 PM207


But who is doing the same for the senior executives

themselves? Often isolated and removed from the day to day op-

erations, no longer doing some of the “roll up your sleeves” jobs

that make business fun, executives find that their perspectives

and attitudes can grow stale and cut off. Increasingly coaches

are being brought in for these executives for the kind of private

mentoring around professional growth and strategies necessary

for renewed vitality. Whether coaching teams in a factory or

coaching an executive whose performance has been found

wanting, coaching is yet another opportunity for the activation

and transfer of heart intelligence, a caring and bottom-line ap-

proach for organizational renewal.

Clearly, effectiveness in teams will be a prerequisite in

the future. Getting hearts and minds in sync will be expected.

With the world marching inexorably toward collaboration and

cooperation, a practical tool for synthesizing the complexity of

the mind with the clarity of the

heart is Mind and Heart Map-

ping.

Heart Mapping®

Mind Mapping was developed

in the 1960s by educators

hoping to synchronize both

hemispheres of the brain into

a coherent whole, leading

to breakthroughs in creativ-

ity and innovation. Mind

Mapping is a highly creative

approach to complex planning

and decision making. To this

well-researched technique,

help your team increase flexibility and agility

Internal coherence is the

foundation of flexible, agile

people. Flexible attitudes build

flexible physiology. Do the best

you can to model flexibility

and agility from the inside out.

Openly discuss with your team

how to help each other be bal-

anced and reduce feelings of

overload and overwhelm. Be

compassionate with each other.

Get

Coherent

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM208


we integrated heart intelligence. Once a traditional Mind Map is

developed, participants Freeze-Frame, reflect on their core val-

ues, and ask themselves how to integrate these values and how

they want to feel during the project they are mapping. A second

map is created, which usually reveals information totally absent

from the Mind Map, which by intention is more tactical and

pragmatic. The combination of the two maps, mind and heart,

creates a compelling, coherent vision of how to proceed. It pro-

vides a practical tool for individuals or teams to get a broader,

more global view of key issues so that the perspectives gener-

ated are strategically sound, not just tactically driven.

Mind Maps normally generate ideas as to what the group

or individual needs to do. The ideas tend to be action oriented,

theoretical, and already known. This is good, so that an indi-

vidual or group producing the Mind Map clearly sees all the

known items as well as links between issues and potential re-

dundancies. In some cases, the ideas generated tend to be either

already done, successfully or unsuccessfully, or too theoretical

to actually drive any concrete changes. Experience suggests that

concentrating solely on the ideas generated in a Mind Map usu-

ally does not produce the significant improvements desired nor

does it keep a focus on the human dynamics and balance of the

team. This is why creating a Heart Map adds more depth to the

process and often uncovers new information.

The Heart Map normally generates a completely different

set of ideas than the Mind Map, as seen in the example that fol-

lows. The ideas tend to be much more to do with how the group

needs to change—the feeling or climate a team is seeking to

achieve—rather than simply what the group needs to do. The

ideas tend to be more people based, pragmatic, and qualitative,

and less theoretical. If the group is to make the significant im-

provements it desires, it needs to address the human qualities

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM209


generated by the Heart Map to enable the good theoretical ideas

generated by the Mind Map to become a sustainable reality.

If the task being mapped is particularly large or complex,

key branches of the maps often require their own maps. In a

group Heart Mapping session, this is accomplished by a sub-

group taking on the task of Heart Mapping that branch. The

final crucial phase of Heart Mapping is creating an action plan

from the two maps. This involves stepping back again from the

maps to consider the timing, resources, and personnel needed

as well as to assign specific timelines. While the entire Heart

Mapping process resembles other planning processes, the em-

phasis on coherent communication and the utilization of heart

intelligence yields much richer information than most tradi-

tional planning methods.

Heart Mapping Improved Teamwork

Chris Sawicki led a European team for a global electronics firm

utilizing the Mind and Heart Mapping tool to enhance their

teamwork skills. Ideas generated by the whole group during the

Mind Map exercise included:

1. Have effective leadership.

2. Establish common goals, identifying targets, timetables,

and sense of urgency.

3. Ensure correct composition and diversity of team

members.

4. Assign specific responsibilities to team members.

5. Pay attention to building teams.

6. Identify resources available to teams.

7. Run meetings better, with attention to schedule and

venue.

8. Improve communication.

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM210


9. Identify key information for sharing.

10. Establish rewards and incentives for all team members.

11. Identify win-win solutions.

12. Be competent, have clarity.

13. Trust team members.

14. Deliver results.

15. Celebrate success and have fun.

Ideas generated by the whole group in a Heart Map (after a

four-minute Freeze-Frame) were

1. Promote friendship and camaraderie.

2. Place higher importance on appreciation and

understanding.

3. Help each other, inter-individual coaching.

4. Promote a sense of togetherness.

5. Learn and evolve together.

6. Promote harmony.

7. Reward openness.

8. Pay attention to “team chemistry.”

9. Celebrate more often and put greater value on a

“positive atmosphere.”

10. Identify and work from the “team’s spirit and soul.”

In this example, there are similarities in the ideas gen-

erated on each map, but there is a qualitative difference. The

Mind Map is more tactical and theoretical; the Heart Map more

collaborative and people driven. The combination of the two

creates a powerful vision for improved teamwork. Six months

later, significant business improvements in the team were being

sustained.

A project team at National Semiconductor used this pro-

cess powerfully as part of a cross-functional team offsite sem-

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM211


inar using IQM tools. Participants came from National and five

other vendor companies working with them on a major global

project. The technical complexity of the project was amplified

by the fact that local standards in several countries had to be

integrated into the plan. The cross-functional team was spread

out on three continents, so meeting times were also a major

challenge. During the seminar, subgroups Heart Mapped key

areas of the project, then reported back to the whole team for

feedback. (All team members had learned Freeze-Frame, intui-

tive listening, and the concepts of appreciation and overcaring

prior to the start of the Heart Mapping session.) In a five hour

session, more than 30 pages of action plans were developed

from the Mind and Heart Maps, a process the team said nor-

mally would have taken several months to complete. As impor-

tant as these tangible outcomes was the fun and efficiency of

the process. Several months later, the team still was marveling

at how much more effectively, and with so much less stress, this

team had been able to perform. The message once again is this:

Create individual and team coherence first and highly efficient

results will follow (see Figure 11–2).

Heart Mapping Applications

The Heart Mapping tool has a variety of powerful applications

because it is fun, surprisingly efficient, and reinforces the need

to step back out of the high speed routine to get a bigger picture.

In a group setting especially, it is essential that the process be

nonjudgmental and founded on the principles of coherent com-

munication. This means encouraging and mapping out all po-

tential ideas, not just those voiced most strongly. It means not

debating any ideas at first because you are building coherence

within the team doing the Heart Mapping. Hearing all perspec-

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM212


tives is critical to creating the most comprehensive and effective

outcome while uncovering creative ideas that otherwise could

have been missed. Also essential is that the facilitator not edit

or show any bias toward any particular theme but merely guide

and draw out all possible ideas.

In our organization, Heart Mapping is used regularly by

teams during product brainstorming sessions. All possible

ideas, customer needs, market issues, pricing considerations,

and so forth are mapped out in creating an initial picture of the

parameters of the product. It is best not to be linear and sequen-

tial at this stage, so you do not stay locked in traditional ways of

thinking about the idea.

It is also an excellent

tool for client development

or enhancing customer satis-

faction as well as to assess the

status of a project. Using Heart

Mapping for setting personal

priorities is particularly pow-

erful. To set priorities for the

month (or any other defined

time period), start by building

a Mind Map of all potential

and urgent tasks to accomplish

during the month. Be as thor-

ough as possible, especially

including those easy-to-avoid

items you are dreading or

that are particularly tricky

and complex. Freeze-Frame

throughout the creation of the

Mind Map to ask yourself what

use heart mapping to prioritize

You have an extremely full

plate of projects, budgeting

responsibilities, individual tasks,

and sensitive people issues.

Each month do a mind map

of all the critical issues within

your current focus. Then, do a

Heart Map to uncover those that

are the most essential for your

growth personally and profes-

sionally, as well as the growth of

your team and those you man-

age. Where appropriate, share

your insights.

Get

Coherent

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM213


FIGURE 11–2 Mind and Heart Maps were generated at the start of the session to give an overview of the entire project. Out of these maps, sub-groups developed more detailed maps and plans (opposite), resulting in numerous plans for the successful implementation of the project. Source: Reprinted by permission from the Institute of HeartMath.

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM214


other items have not been mapped out. Then, once you feel the

map is complete, Freeze-Frame and ask your heart what are the

key priorities, the highest leverage activities that absolutely must

get done. Build a Heart Map from the answers to your questions.

Keep Freeze-Framing to remember this is the time to ensure

that balance is at the core of your activities. This is not the time

to rush back into the details and become paralyzed by the sheer

volume of work you could be doing. Then create an action plan

FIGURE 11–2 continued

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM215


from both maps, letting the core values revealed in your Heart

Map drive the plan.

Heart Mapping represents yet another way to activate your

full intelligence, instead of relying solely on a linear, analytical

approach or responding only to the loudest needs. It opens up

new creative potentials where noise once predominated.

11 CH 11 FCTC.ID 01/05/04, 3:49 PM216

c h a p t e r

1212Creating a Quantum Fu ture

THERE IS A SCIENCE TO BUSI NESS EFFECTIVENESS, AND

there must be heart for that sci ence to have meaning. The tools

presented here have been built not on dogma and rigid prin-

ci ples but on co her ence and the liq uid intelligence of fl ex i bil i ty

and adapt abil i ty. The four dy nam ics of IQM are not rules to fol-

low so much as fre quen cies to bring alive and in te grate uniquely

to your cul ture. The per cep tion of each read er will determine to

a great extent how these ideas and tools come alive in the or ga -

ni za tion.

Critical Mass

By creatively implementing the four dynamics of Inner Qual i ty

Man age ment—Internal Self-Man age ment, Coherent Com mu -

ni ca tion, Boost ing Or ga ni za tion al Climate, Stra te gic Pro cess es

of Renewal—you can cre ate a great er degree of or ga ni za tion al

co her ence. As we have seen at Delnor Hospital, Motorola and

Cathay Pacifi c Airways, once a crit i cal mass of in di vid u als

with in an or ga ni za tion reaches a new lev el of mental and emo-

tion al self-man age ment it will create a coherence mo men tum

that is extremely effective. You still must execute, you still must

listen to and care for your customers, your key part ners and

your peo ple, but your or ga ni za tion will be gin to op er ate with

the competitive ad van tage of great er access to the in tu i tive in-

tel li gence of the heart. As a re sult, the or ga ni za tion will be come

more re sil ient, adapt able, in no va tive, pro duc tive and ef fi cient.

[ 217 ][ 217 ][ 217

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM217


Place a new em pha sis on self-de vel op ment to change the or ga -

ni za tion from one with knowl edge into one with wis dom. Core

values and the or ga ni za tion’s mis sion state ment will take on

new meaning (or require some adjusting). Your peo ple and your

organization have a “heart.” Re viv ing that heart will al low the

or ga ni za tion to achieve coherence even in the midst of cha os.

Creating the Future

Perception rules our world. During our life time, as for many

gen er a tions be fore us, human perceptions of what is in tel li gent

and what is power, and indeed what is time and the nature

of our ful fi ll ment, have undergone radical shifts. As informa-

tion has ex plod ed, the schol ars among us have sought to build

bridg es and see con nec tions between oth er wise dis par ate fi elds

of study. Laws of chaos theory and quan tum physics are dis-

cussed in business schools; biomedical in for ma tion in fl u enc es

our hir ing practices and employee train ing; psy cho log i cal stud-

ies in form our work place designs.

It is also safe to say “we ain’t seen nothing yet.” Every gen-

er a tion looks at its break throughs as startling when com pared

to the past, and ar gu ably the speed of trans for ma tion today is

great er than at any time in hu man history. It is tempting to be-

lieve the latest breakthrough in sight is the fi nal answer. Yet, for

every insight, another far more powerful set of un der stand ings

awaits our intelligent ex ploration. For centuries people were

absolutely con vinced—and their observation con fi rmed—that

the earth was fl at. Later ob ser va tion convinced them the earth

was the center of the uni verse, with the sun ro tat ing around it.

Now expanded lenses of per cep tion at both ends of the spec-

trum—from the Hubble tele scope revealing nev er before seen

worlds to the theoretical view ing of quan tum particles—stretch

the limits of what we can observe and remind us of the power,

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM218

Creating a Quantum Future [ 219 ]

and the limits, of what we perceive. We sug gest here that the

lens of heart in tel li gence pre sents the next fron tier of how to see

and in ter act with life.

Each age of human his to ry has been marked by profound

increases in hu man in tel li gence, but the fl aws and dis tor tion in

human in ter ac tion have kept the impact of much of this intelli-

gence lim it ed. As a planet we have progressed in technology and

in per son al con ve nience, in in for ma tion availability, in trans-

por ta tion, and in a myriad of other ways. Our standard of liv-

ing has improved in many parts of the world, but fun da men tal

social relations remain mired in immaturity and an tag o nism.

Murder is justifi ed by religion, race, nationality, or tribe.

Viewed through the lens of history, nothing we know now

could be seen as fi nal, as the last word, or even as a resting point

for knowl edge. An irony here is that, in the search for mean-

ing, the an swers often get quirk i er and more basic. Quan tum

sci en tists de vel op names for particles like quarks and mesons;

as tron o mers the o rize the ex ist ence of MACHOs—mas sively

accelerating com pact holo ob jects—that emit no light. The

computer world and most or ga ni za tion al cul tures are fi lled

with cheer ful ac ro nyms and new words, or old words with new

meanings. There is a bemusement in much of the dis cov ery go-

ing on to day; a sense that the real answers we have been look-

ing for are at once sim pler and even more iron ic than we would

have imag ined.

Human beings show an impetus for self-or ga niz ing, from

the for ma tion of our iden ti ty to the way we ma nip u late our en-

vi ron ment—how we make our beds, brush our teeth, fi le our pa-

pers, develop stra te gic or va ca tion plans. We at tempt to man age

the present with the future in mind. Left to the mechanicality of

ha bit u at ed mind-sets and emo tion al pro grams from our past,

we usu al ly do an ad e quate job. But, what are we not seeing,

what subtle sig nals of our in tel li gence are we too busy to listen

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM219


to? How are we, unintentionally, tripping ourselves up?

Creativity and in no va tion are central facets of all human

ac tiv i ty. Dar win saw spon ta ne ous genetic mu ta tions that pro-

vid ed adapt abil i ty and com pet i tive advantages and, there fore,

sur viv abil i ty. It has been no ticed that these mu ta tions hap pened

in dis con tin u ous jumps, not a steady pro gres sion of minute

chang es. To a bird, grow ing one extra feather made little dif-

fer ence to fl ying ability; grow ing many would make a sig nifi cant

dif fer ence. In the world of phys ics, elec trons shift or bit al states

in dis con tin u ous jumps, ab sorb ing or emitting en er gy in quan ta

as they do so. The Internet ex ist ed for thirty years before some-

thing ar cane called a brows er cre at ed a dis con tin u ous jump

called the World Wide Web.

Innovation

The shifts in or ga ni za tions can be just as sud den. We be lieve

co her ence is the un der ly ing prin ci ple that will guide quan tum

leaps in future ef fec tive ness.

Out of “no where” a new

organization will be come

prominent. The sus tain able

or ga ni za tions will be those

found ed on un shak able core

values pro vid ing the operat-

ing sys tem for co her ence. As

these or ga ni za tions hit each

new lev el of co her ence, in no -

va tions will occur out of the

self-re new ing cre ativ i ty. When

faced with ad ver si ty, in stead

of over re act ing emo tion al ly

to the chal lenge, they will

AHindu myth has it that the

gods were trying to decide

where to hide the se cret of life.

One god sug gest ed, “Let’s hide

it in the moun tains.” But an-

oth er god said, “No, they’ll look

there.” So one of the gods said,

“Let’s hide it in the sky,” but this

sug ges tion again was met with

“No, they’ll look there.” At which

point the wis est among them

said, “Let’s hide it in the heart;

they’ll nev er look there.”

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM220


or ga nize them selves through

intelligent coherence to deal

with the lo cal con di tions. This

is real in no va tion. The con-

sis tent abil i ty to in no vate will

emerge from the un der ly ing

fl ex i bil i ty and co her ence in

ev ery as pect of the health of

the or ga ni za tion and the in di -

vid u al.

In the past it appeared

leaders could an tag o nize a

person or a sys tem into in no -

vat ing, just as they could use

fear as a mo ti va tor and point

to positive outcomes later on.

But, with the new in tel li gence,

these old meth ods will be seen

as whol ly ineffi cient, energy-

drain ing strategies. Na ture

does not seek chaos; it in tel li -

gent ly or ga niz es to ensure its

sur viv al in spite of the cha os.

Coherence brings energy ef fi -

cien cy to a chaotic world.

Innovation is the spurt,

the discontinuous jump of

in tel li gence, ap plied in a new

way. Innovation is not pat or

stat ic; there is no best way that best way that best

is universal. The Internet is

prov ing that. Local so lu tions

that work are critical, just as,

challenge your as sump tions!

As Albert Einstein said, “The

signifi cant prob lems we

face to day cannot be solved at

the same level of thinking we

were at when we cre at ed them.”

Or ga ni za tions use the same

busi ness prac tic es over and over

again as sum ing that they will

con tin ue to produce the de sired

results. Openness to new ideas

and a sin cere desire for posi-

tive change are more important

than ever. Learn to move beyond

rigid mind-sets, “knowing what

you know,” and learn to be more

adapt able and fl exible. Consider

all options in making strategic

and tactical decisions. Use all

of your available intelligence,

logic, informed intuition, expe-

rience, and compassion, to make

decisions. Engage the pow er of

the heart to elim i nate fear of

change and instead em brace it

with a sense of ex cite ment and

adventure. Move quickly, but

move with balance.

challenge your

Get

Coherent

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM221


on the in di vid u al lev el, being “present” means having full in tel -

li gence avail able to deal with each unique situation.

Quantum Management

Being in the moment—alert, awake, and neutral—will become a

leadership imperative. Living in the past or excessively wor ry ing

about the fu ture wastes en er gy and resources. No or ga ni za tion

can long sur vive liv ing with time warped by history or distorted

by future anxiety.

Popular culture leads us to believe that quantum means quantum means quantum

large. In fact, quantum means an elemental building block, too

small to be ac tu al ly mea sured. Small, even infi nitesimally small,

however, does not mean in sig nifi cant. In fact, the paradox may

be that the smaller you look, the more pow er ful is the poten-

tial effect. Clearly, size is not everything: Massive stars ex plode

into supernova or end up as black holes. Massive companies,

bu reau cra cies, and empires have been forced to get smaller or

crumble. AT&T, Soviet central industrial plan ning, and the Brit-

ish Empire are just a few cel e brat ed examples. Will Microsoft be

next? Will the merger frenzy have its own day of reckoning?

Quantum management implies using full intelligence

to deal ef fec tive ly with each elemental building block—this

mo ment. Or ga ni za tions will be challenged to fi nd lo cal so-

lu tions—now—that work in an era of increasing complexity, now—that work in an era of increasing complexity, now

chaos, and stress. The chal lenge will be to achieve the coher-

ence and in ter nal quiet nec es sary to per ceive the deeper order

em bed ded in what appears to be chaos. Unmanaged emo tion

is expert at turning discomfort into mis ery. Find ing that deeper

or der is a key to adaptability and sur viv abil i ty. Leadership of any

organization must be in volved in the detection, man age ment,

and direction of change with adaptation strat e gies taught at the

in di vid u al level. Key strat e gies will be un cov ered by unfolding

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM222


the in tel li gence and self-organizing potential of people in the

or ga ni za tion. The four dynamics of IQM can provide an evolv-

ing, fl exible road map for intelligently meeting the chal leng es of

adapting to a new future.

Self-Security

Self-security will be a hallmark of the leaders and ex cep tion al

or ga ni za tions of the future. Self-security in an in di vid u al or a

sys tem brings a high ratio of coherence. Leaders or or ga ni z-

a tions with self-se cu ri ty can push pow er and au thor i ty down-

stream and develop cen ters of innovation and ex cel lence at all

levels of the organization.

Sweden’s Skandia, a global fi nancial and insurance ser-

vices fi rm and a key innovator in the drive to value and measure

hu man capital, has es tab lished futures centers to explore new

tech nol o gies central to its future. But, more important, as its

op er a tions, product offerings, and workforce become ever more

diverse and complex, it has created a “heart offi ce” to ensure

that the company’s core values are effectively transmitted. Self-

organization will happen at the local level, but Skandia ensures

that it will unfold in co her ence with the in tel li gence of the core.1

Quantum management involves guiding the evolution of

people and systems in re sponse to change, creating “ge net ic”

ad ap ta tions in dis con tin u ous jumps in the blue print of how the

or ga ni za tion sees it self and how it trans mutes itself to of fer new

capabilities. Quan tum man age ment will en sure that the “small

and in sig nifi cant” will not be ig nored. It will be clear when the

prob lem is that we are mov ing too fast in a men tal or emotional

mode and fail ing to un der stand the sig nifi cance of an event and

not that the in di vid u al or issue is too small to warrant our at ten -

tion. This re quires paying at ten tion—at ten tion that is bal anced, at ten tion—at ten tion that is bal anced, at ten tion

co her ent, and aligned with our core values. Quan tum jumps

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM223


will happen then, allowing an organization to keep and grow its

niche in the economic en vi ron ment while main tain ing mean-

ing. Quan tum management re quires the coherent guid ance of

hu man and sys tem ca pa bil i ty into self-re gen er at ing, up ward ly

spi ral ing pat terns, unfolding in the in di vid u al new layers of

em bed ded DNA po ten tial, while un fold ing new layers of market

po ten tial, hu man potential, and innovation po ten tial. Pulling

out of the grav i ty and density in our selves and our organizations

will be key.

Creating Your Plan

Your opportunity now is to maximize the investment you made

in read ing this book and create your own plan to apply the tools

and in sights gained. Where are you headed? What questions

have been stir ring about your per son al balance, your career,

the viability of the organization you work in? A glossary follows,

with defi nitions of the key concepts and tools in this book, but

we briefl y summarize the tools here.

• Internal self-management

—Freeze-Frame

—Asset-defi cit balance sheet

—Neutral

—Managing time and expectations

• Coherent com mu ni ca tion

—Intuitive listening

—Authentic dialogue

—Creating conversations that count

• Boosting the organizational climate

—Distinguishing caring from overcaring

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM224


—Self-care

—Healing the emotional virus

—Heart Lock-In

• Strategic processes of renewal

—Heart Mapping

—Asset-defi cit balance sheet

—Coaching

—Teamwork

—Managing the moment

What are your core values, those qualities and ex pe ri enc es

that make your heart come alive? Consider now your ba sic rou-

tine on a dai ly, week ly, and month ly basis. How much of your

day is spent on the phone, in meetings, plan ning, trav el ing,

re spond ing to voice mail and e-mail? How could your values be-

come more integrated in what you do each day? How would you

feel if they were more integrated? What actions would be differ-

ent? What attitudes would be different? Of all the con cepts and

tools out lined here, which seem eas i est to in te grate into your

sched ule? Which seem chal leng ing, yet the pay-off prob a bly

would be worth it? Create a Mind Map of all the pos si ble ways

you can integrate and apply the tools, re fer ring to the preceding

list. Then cre ate a Heart Map of the high est le ver age activities,

the ones most in sync with your val ues. In clude in these maps

the need to meet with any in di vid u als to resolve confl ict and

build more coherent com mu ni ca tion. Re mem ber, especially, to

focus on developing great er balance and co her ence in you. The

next to last step is to build an action plan of those tools you can

commit to doing. The fi nal step is do ing.

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM225


Presence

Presence is a rare quality in a world of 20-second sound bites,

nonstop stim u la tion, political gridlock, and gnawing anxiety.

What underlies pres ence? Clearly, it is not intellectual prow ess

or Mensa would rule the world. One of the most agonizing ex-

periences is listening to the ramblings of some one disconnected

from ev ery day reality, adrift in a conceptual universe of his or

her own creation. In the world of the performing arts, many

have great tal ent, but few have real presence. Could pres ence be tal ent, but few have real presence. Could pres ence be tal ent

heart-gen er at ed coherence in the world of personal mag net ics?

Peo ple with presence have an ineffable quality about them; they

are “present,” surprisingly attentive, and undistracted. A full-

ness, a centeredness, a wholeness ra di ates from them. We en joy

being “in their presence.” You can build presence. It is the natu-

ral ra di ance of heart se cu ri ty.

Many things can rob peo ple and organizations of pres-

ence:

• Unresolved con fl icts.

• Living apart from the heart’s core values.

• Unmanaged men tal processes that spin out of control.

• Judgment of one self and others.

Presence undoubtedly is more tangible than we know and

prob a bly one day will be measurable, a magnetic “fi eld of pres-

ence.” But, even before science verifi es the existence of pres-

ence, we are con stant ly aware of its ex ist ence in

• The store we frequent be cause of the unmistakable

warmth we feel there.

• The great actors and ac tress es whose movies we never

miss, so sure are we of the consistent presence and cha-

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM226

Creating a Quantum Future [ 227 ][ 227 ][ 227

ris ma they exude.

• The mentor or leader who, just by walking in a room, im-

me di ate ly boosts the dynamic of the environment.

• An airline responding compassionately and openly to a

trag e dy.

We also can see the lack of presence in

• The news anchor who is merely a news reader, adding no

hu man i ty to “today’s top sto ries.”

• The appalling staff meet ing characterized by fre quent in-

ter rup tions, side con ver sa tions, and an tag o nism.

Einstein’s Vul ner a bil i ty

Although it took many years be fore Einstein’s radical the o ries

be came a part of main stream science, he even tu al ly became

rec og nized as the greatest physicist of the 20th century. At the

height of his fame, a Cath o lic priest from the Vatican challenged

a key te net of Einstein’s view of a “steady state” universe. Ein-

stein summarily dismissed the priest, publicly branding his

“mathematics poor.” At that time, it was still believed that we

lived in the only galaxy in the universe, but the star tling pic tures

of the great as tron o mer Hubble began to present a much dif-

fer ent pic ture of the cosmos. The “clouds” that scientists like

Einstein believed to be part of our own gal axy, in fact, were

oth er huge galaxies traveling away from us at un be liev ably high

speed. The beau ty of these im ag es took Einstein’s breath away,

and he publicly apol o gized to the priest, dra mat i cal ly changing

his view of cos mic re al i ty in the pro cess. How many leaders and

visionaries are able to show the same vul ner a bil i ty as Einstein—

to not only publicly admit his mis take, but then to revel in the

new dis cov ery? This vulnerability and open ness to truth was one

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM227


of the great est gifts Einstein gave to the world and lay pow er ful ly

beneath his un der stat ed, slight ly di shev eled pres ence.

In the future, we will seek more and more to do business

with or ga ni za tions where we feel presence. We will want to

work only for lead ers who re spect presence. We will be keen ly

aware of our core de sire to build our own presence, not because

we are egotistical, but because we must become our true selves.

Pres ence will be an es sen tial qual i ty un der stood to de ter mine

ef fec tive ness in wheth er we as people feel wel comed and un-

der stood, in the cli mate of an or ga ni za tion, and in the teams in

which we work. Pres ence gen er ates and in creas es co her ence.

There is a momentum of new intelligence that cannot be

stopped, even though it may appear embryonic and fragile in

the face of so much chaos and pain. Organizations of the future

will have to un cov er and nurture the heart of the organization. It

will not be easy, but it will be essential.

Heart-based or ga ni za tions will en cour age and en hance

the self-de vel op ment and self-man age ment of all their mem-

bers. They will seek to max i mize intelligence, not by ag gra vat ing

peo ple into doing more, but by nurturing, sup port ing, and chal-

leng ing them. They will see the mental, emo tion al, and phys i cal

health of people in the or ga ni za tion as essential to pro duc tiv i ty

and long-term vi a bil i ty and not just an issue for those who lack

har di ness. They will see com mu ni ca tion as the fl ow of living

in for ma tion, which has the power to vitalize and re gen er ate.

They will encourage con ver sa tion and the health and ef fec -

tive ness of all com mu ni ca tion methods, not to invade pri va cy

but to rec og nize information fl ow as nour ish ment itself. They

will un der stand and nurture the cli mate of the or ga ni za tion,

not sim ply because it is good, or nice, or even the right thing

to do; they could not conceive of do ing oth er wise. They will

un der stand that the unbridled ac qui si tion of knowl edge, as

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM228


tan ta liz ing as it may be, is a pale substitute for the sea soned

ma tu ri ty of wis dom. Knowledge without heart is a bur den; wis-

dom re gen er ates. And they will cre ate processes that renew and

re vi tal ize both the individuals and the organization, serv ing the

needs of all. For all this in tel li gent effort, they will be re ward ed

with unheard of break throughs in innovation, cus tom er loy al ty,

and personal ful fi ll ment. They will have moved from chaos to

co her ence.

12 CH 12 FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:11 PM229

References

[ 230 ]

Chapter 1

1. Global Studies, Civilizations of the Past and Present, Revised 1998, Amsco School Publications, Inc., New York, NY

2. Because of HeartMath’s extensive work in the military, we have had many con ver sa tions with military personnel from all four branch es. Several bases, in clud ing McClellan AFB in Sacramento, have in cor -po rat ed IQM pro grams in their train ing curricula.

Chapter 2

1. William A. Tiller, Science and Human Transformation: Subtle En- er gies, In ten tion al i ty and Consciousness (Walnut Creek, CA: Pavior er gies, In ten tion al i ty and Consciousness (Walnut Creek, CA: Pavior er gies, In ten tion al i ty and ConsciousnessPublishing, 1997), p. 196.

2. William A. Tiller, Rollin McCraty, and Mike Atkinson, “Cardiac Co- her ence: A New Noninvasive Measure of Autonomic Nervous Sys tem Order,” Al ter na tive Ther a pies 2, no. 1 (January 1996).Al ter na tive Ther a pies 2, no. 1 (January 1996).Al ter na tive Ther a pies

3. The Institute of HeartMath has conducted numerous case studies with or ga ni za tions applying IQM tools. A summary of several of these studies ap pears in the Appendix.

4. Faith Popcorn and Lys Marigold, Clicking: Sixteen Trends to Future Fit Your Life, Your Work, and Your Business (New York: HarperCollins, Fit Your Life, Your Work, and Your Business (New York: HarperCollins, Fit Your Life, Your Work, and Your Business1996).

5. Alan Watkins, ed., Mind-Body Medicine: A Clinician’s Guide to Psychoneuro immunology (London: Churchill Livingstone, 1997). Psychoneuro immunology (London: Churchill Livingstone, 1997). Psychoneuro immunologyThis is an excellent over view of the emerging fi eld of mind-body med i cine edited by Dr. Alan Watkins. Sev er al references are made in this book to research conducted at the Institute of HeartMath.

6. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 20, 1997.

7. “Taking the Stress Out of Being Stressed Out,” Business Week Health Wire (March 20, 1997).Wire (March 20, 1997).Wire

14 References FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:48 PM230

References [ 231 ]

8. Paul J. Rosch, “Job Stress: America’s Leading Adult Health Problem,” USA Mag a zine (May 1991).USA Mag a zine (May 1991).USA Mag a zine

9. B. L. Seaward, Stress Management (Boston: Jones and Bartlett, Na-Stress Management (Boston: Jones and Bartlett, Na-Stress Management tion al Safe ty Coun cil, 1995).

10. Richard A. Shweder, “America’s Latest Export: A Stressed-Out World,” New York Times (January 25, 1997).New York Times (January 25, 1997).New York Times

11. Cited in Seaward, Stress Management.Stress Management.Stress Management

12. Karen Charlesworth, “Are Managers Under Stress? A Survey of Man- age ment Morale,” Institute of Management [London] (Sep tem ber 1996).

13. Statistics Canada, Carleton University, and the Conference Board of Can a da were the sources for these Canadian statistics.

14. In addition to two Reuters studies cited in Chapter Eight, our work in Asia, es pe cial ly since the collapse of several Asian economies in late 1997, has re vealed a signifi cant level of despair and anxiety in many Asian managers. The collective cultures of many of these countries have left them un pre pared for the pre cip i tous economic downturn in that part of the world.

15. Irene M. Kunii, “Caving Under Pressure,” Time (February 16, 1998).Time (February 16, 1998).Time

16. Sandy Sugawara, “Japan Eases Its Killer Work Ethic,” Washington Post(April 20, 1997).

17. Margaret Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science: Learning about Or ga ni za tion from an Orderly Universe (San Francisco: Berrett-Koe-Or ga ni za tion from an Orderly Universe (San Francisco: Berrett-Koe-Or ga ni za tion from an Orderly Universehler, 1992), p. 8.

18. Robert W. Galvin, The Idea of Ideas (Schaumburg, IL: Motorola Uni-The Idea of Ideas (Schaumburg, IL: Motorola Uni-The Idea of Ideas ver si ty Press, 1991), pp. 109–111.

19. Bob Barrios-Choplin, Rollin McCraty, and Bruce Cryer, “An Inner Qual i ty Ap proach to Reducing Stress and Improving Physical and Emotional Wellbeing at Work,” Stress Medicine 13 (1997), pp. 193–Stress Medicine 13 (1997), pp. 193–Stress Medicine201.

20. “Common Sense About Feeling Tense,” Heart at Work Program, Dal- las, TX: Amer i can Heart Association, 1995.

21. Ibid.

22. Victor Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1970).

23. Several of Doc’s earlier books discuss this theme in great detail. Of par tic u lar in ter est are Self-Empowerment: The Heart Approach to Stress Man age ment and Stress Man age ment and Stress Man age ment Freeze-Frame: One-Minute Stress Man age -ment (both Boul der Creek, CA: Plan e tary Pub li ca tions).

24. Quoted in Joseph Jaworski, Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Lead- er ship (San Fran cisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1996), p. 9. er ship (San Fran cisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1996), p. 9. er ship



Chapter 3

1. Sandra Blakeslee, “Complex and Hidden Brain in Gut Makes Stom- ach aches and Butterfl ies,” The New York Times (January 23, 1996).The New York Times (January 23, 1996).The New York Times

2. Ibid.

3. Called chi or chi or chi qi in the Chinese tradition, and qi in the Chinese tradition, and qi ki in the Japanese tra-ki in the Japanese tra-ki di tion, the source of power is believed to emanate from the solar plexus region. Prac ti tio ners are taught to still the mind and focus at ten tion in that area, so pow er is fo cused and balanced. In our view, this practice really is stilling emo tion al turmoil, there by helping a per son become more coherent. But our re search also indicates the heart supersedes the solar plexus, elec tri cal ly and bio me chan i cal ly.

4. J. A. Armour, “Anatomy and Function of the Intrathoracic Neurons Reg u lat ing the Mammalian Heart,” in I. H. Zucker and J. P. Gilmore, eds., Re fl ex Control of the Circulation (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Re fl ex Control of the Circulation (Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press, Re fl ex Control of the Circulation1991).

5. M. Cantin and J. Genest, “The Heart as an Endocrine Gland,” Clin i cal and In ves ti ga tive Medicine 9, no. 4 (1986), pp. 319–27.and In ves ti ga tive Medicine 9, no. 4 (1986), pp. 319–27.and In ves ti ga tive Medicine

6. Antonio Damasio, Descartes’ Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain (New York: Putnam, 1994).Brain (New York: Putnam, 1994).Brain

7. Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ (New York: Bantam Books, 1995).than IQ (New York: Bantam Books, 1995).than IQ

8. From Joseph Chilton Pearce’s Introduction in Doc Childre’s Teaching Chil dren to Love (Boulder Creek, CA: Planetary Publications, 1996), Chil dren to Love (Boulder Creek, CA: Planetary Publications, 1996), Chil dren to Lovep. 9.

9. Goleman, Emotional Intelligence

10. Karl H. Pribram, Languages of the Brain (New York: Brandon House, 1971).

11. R. McCraty, W. A. Tiller, M. Atkinson, “Head-Heart Entrainment: A Pre-liminary Survey.” Proceedings of the Brain-Mind Applied Neu ro -phys i ol o gy EEG Neurofeedback Meeting, 1996. Key West, Flor i da (pp. 26–30).

12. Rollin McCraty, Bob Barrios-Choplin, and Deborah Rozman, “The Im pact of a New Emotional Self-Management Program on Stress, Emo tions, Heart Rate Vari abil i ty, DHEA and Cortisol,” Integrative Phys i o log i cal and Be hav ior al Sci ence (1998, in press). Also, D. S. Kerr, Phys i o log i cal and Be hav ior al Sci ence (1998, in press). Also, D. S. Kerr, Phys i o log i cal and Be hav ior al Sci enceL. W. Campbell, and M. D. Applegate, “Chron ic Stress-Induced Ac- cel er a tion of Electrophysiologic and Mor pho met ric Biomarkers of Hip poc am pal Aging,” Society of Neu ro science 11, no. 5 (1991), pp. Society of Neu ro science 11, no. 5 (1991), pp. Society of Neu ro science1316–17.

13. McCraty, Barrios-Choplin, Rozman, “The Impact of a New Emotional


References [ 233 ]

Self-Man age ment Program on Stress, Emotions, Heart Rate Vari- abil i ty, DHEA and Cor ti sol,” Integrative Physiological and Be hav ior al Science (1998, in press).Science (1998, in press).Science

14. Goleman, Emotional Intelligence.

15. Rollin McCraty, William A. Tiller, Mike Atkinson, et al., “The Effects of Emo tions on Short Term Power Spectrum Analysis of Heart Rate Vari abil i ty,” Amer i can Jour nal of Cardiology 76, no. 14 (November 15, 1995), pp. 1088–93.

16. S. A. Rosenfeld, Conversations Between Heart and Brain (Rockville, Conversations Between Heart and Brain (Rockville, Conversations Between Heart and BrainMD: Na tion al Institute of Mental Health, 1977).

17. William Tiller, Rollin McCraty, and Mike Atkinson, “Toward Cardiac Co her ence: A New Non-Invasive Measure of Autonomic System Or- der,” Al ter na tive Ther a pies (1996).Al ter na tive Ther a pies (1996).Al ter na tive Ther a pies

18. Rosenfeld, Conversations Between Heart and Brain.

19. McCraty et al., “The Impact of a New Emotional Self-Management Pro gram.”

20. First, Break All the Rules

21. Tiller et al., “Toward Cardiac Coherence.”

22. McCraty et al., “Head-Heart Entrainment: A Preliminary Survey.”

23. Rollin McCraty, Mike Atkinson, and Glen Rein, “Music Enhances the Effect of Positive Emotional States on Salivary IgA and Heart Rate Vari abil i ty,” Stress Med i cine 12 (1996), pp. 167–75. Stress Med i cine 12 (1996), pp. 167–75. Stress Med i cine

24. McCraty et al., “The Impact of a New Emotional Self-Management Pro gram.”

Chapter 4

1. Richard A. Shweder, “America’s Latest Export: A Stressed-Out World,” New York Times (January 25, 1997).New York Times (January 25, 1997).New York Times

2. Cited in ibid.

3. Cited in Jane E. Brody, “The Good News About Growing Old,” Atlanta Jour nal and Constitution (April 14, 1996).Jour nal and Constitution (April 14, 1996).Jour nal and Constitution

4. “Job Stress Affects Arteries,” British Medical Journal 314 (1997), pp. British Medical Journal 314 (1997), pp. British Medical Journal553–57.

5. Ibid., pp. 558–64.

6. Glen Rein, Mike Atkinson, and Rollin McCraty, “The Physiological and Psy cho log i cal Effects of Compassion and Anger,” Journal of Ad- vance ment in Med i cine 8, no. 2 (1995), pp. 87–105. vance ment in Med i cine 8, no. 2 (1995), pp. 87–105. vance ment in Med i cine

7. Sue Shellenbarger, “No, You’re Not Too Tough to Suffer a Bout of Burn out,” Wall Street Journal (June 25, 1997).

8. Cited in a Reuters article, “Emotion, Stress Affect Heart Survival,”



Amer i can Jour nal of Critical Care 6, no. 2 (1997), pp. 116–26. Amer i can Jour nal of Critical Care 6, no. 2 (1997), pp. 116–26. Amer i can Jour nal of Critical Care

9. Brigid Schulte, “To Help Your Heart, Just Take a Chill Pill,” San Jose Mer cu ry News (October 20, 1997). Mer cu ry News (October 20, 1997). Mer cu ry News

10. Cited in an Associated Press report, Circulation (May 1994). The Circulation (May 1994). The Circulationstudy au thors are Ichiro Kawachi, David Sparrow, Pantel Vokonas, and Scott Weiss.

Chapter 5

1. Robert Cooper and Ayman Sawaf, Executive EQ: Emotional In tel -li gence in Lead er ship and Organizations (New York: Grosset/Putnam, li gence in Lead er ship and Organizations (New York: Grosset/Putnam, li gence in Lead er ship and Organizations1997).

2. See the Appendix for more information.

Chapter 6

1. The Institute of HeartMath is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profi t corporation in cor po rat ed in 1991. HeartMath LLC is the new training and con-sulting com pa ny, li cens ing the technology of the institute. HeartMath LLC is a lim it ed liability com pa ny.

2. Lee Evans and Bruce Cryer worked together during the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. We had numerous conversations over several months about the dis ci plines and attitudes that made him a great track star, and those attitudes that kept other superb athletes mediocre.

Chapter 7

1. Robert Cooper and Ayman Sawaf, Executive EQ: Emotional In tel -li gence in Lead er ship and Organizations (New York: Grosset/Putnam, 1997), p. 68.

2. Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls and David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual (Cambridge, The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual (Cambridge, The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as UsualMA: Per seus Books, 2000), p. 179.

3. Ibid., p. 103.

4. Rollin McCraty, Mike Atkinson, Dana Tomasino, and William Tiller, “The Elec tric i ty of Touch: Detection and Measurement of Cardiac En er gy Ex change Be tween People,” in Proceedings of the Fifth Ap pa -la chian Con fer ence on Neurobehavioral Dynamics: Brain and Values(Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum As so ci ates, 1998).

5. Dr. Alan Watkins, who has worked extensively with IQM tools in the United King dom, Europe, and Asia, contributed many of these ideas of encoding and de cod ing.

6. From a conversation with Gerard McMullan, president, No Fear Soft-


References [ 235 ]

ware Ser vic es, Sydney, Australia.

7. Cited in Sarah Cliffe, “Knowledge Management—The Well-Con- nect ed Busi ness,” Harvard Business Review, July-August 1998, p. 17.

8. Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls and David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, p. 159.The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, p. 159.The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual

Chapter 8

1. The Institute for the Future is a not-for-profi t research organization. Rob ert Johansen, its president, also is the author of Global Work: Bridg ing Dis tance, Cul ture and Time, with Mary O’Hara- Devereaux Bridg ing Dis tance, Cul ture and Time, with Mary O’Hara- Devereaux Bridg ing Dis tance, Cul ture and Time(San Francisco, Jossey-Bass, 1994), and (with Rob Swigart) Upsizing the Individual in the Downsized Or ga ni za tion (Reading, MA: Addi-the Individual in the Downsized Or ga ni za tion (Reading, MA: Addi-the Individual in the Downsized Or ga ni za tionson-Wesley, 1996). Contact the fi rm at 2744 Sand Hill Road, Menlo Park, California, 94025-7020, phone at 415-854-6322.

2. Michael Powell, “Are Hu mans Doomed?”, in ter view with Bill Joy in The Wash ing ton Post, April 16, 2000. The Wash ing ton Post, April 16, 2000. The Wash ing ton Post

3. Michael Powell, “Are Hu mans Doomed?”, The Washington Post, April The Washington Post, April The Washington Post16, 2000.

4. “Study Reveals Growing Danger of Information Addiction,” Reuters(De cem ber 10, 1997).

5. Conversation with Technostress authors Michelle M. Weid and Larry Technostress authors Michelle M. Weid and Larry TechnostressD. Rosen, Oc to ber 25, 1997.

6. “Information Fatigue Syndrome,” Reuters (October 25, 1997).

7. Many measurements of technology improvement, such as the all impor tant price-performance ratio of silicon densities/mi cro pro ces sors and data trans mis sion char ac ter is tics of light, show that many core information tech nol o gies are in the early stages of com mer cial ex-ploitation and that sev er al generations are to come be fore we start running up against physical lim its. The implication is that, while we may be awed—and stressed out!—by com put ers and the Internet today, we ain’t seen nothing yet.

8. From conversations with Torrey Byles, an economic analyst and con sult ant spe cial iz ing in Internet commerce and the digital econ- o my, August to De cem ber 1997. Torrey can be reached at Granada Research, P.O. Box 2601, El Granada, Cal i for nia, 94018, phone at 650-726-3002.

9. Cited in David Champion, “Marketing: Technology’s Garden of Par- a dox,” Harvard Business Review (July-August 1998), p. 12.Harvard Business Review (July-August 1998), p. 12.Harvard Business Review

10. Christopher Locke, Rick Levine, Doc Searls and David Weinberger, The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, p. 148.The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, p. 148.The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual



11. Jim Taylor and Watts Wacker, with Howard Means, The 500-Year Del- ta: What Hap pens After What Comes Next (New York: HarperCollins, ta: What Hap pens After What Comes Next (New York: HarperCollins, ta: What Hap pens After What Comes Next1997), p. 115.

12. From a conversation with Torrey Byles.

13. Leif Edvinsson and Michael S. Malone, Intellectual Capital: Realizing Your Com pa ny’s True Value by Finding Its Hidden Brainpower (New York: HarperCollins, 1997), p. 34.

14. From a conversation with Byles.

15. Ibid.

16. Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong’s vision for Singapore 21, as reported in The Straits Times (June 7, 1997). Singapore 21 is a high-level gov-The Straits Times (June 7, 1997). Singapore 21 is a high-level gov-The Straits Times ern ment ini tia tive for helping the country maintain its excellence into the 21st cen tu ry, while en sur ing increasing levels of balance for the people.

Chapter 9

1. Glen Rein, Mike Atkinson, and Rollin McCraty, “The Physiological and Psy cho log i cal Effects of Compassion and Anger,” Journal of Ad- vance ment in Med i cine 8, no. 2 (1995), pp. 87–105. vance ment in Med i cine 8, no. 2 (1995), pp. 87–105. vance ment in Med i cine

2. Jon Gice, “The Relationship Between Job Satisfaction and Workers’ Com pen sa tion Claims,” CPCU Journal 48, no. 3 (September 1995), pp. 178–84.

3. Phil Smith, “Emotional Climate Is More Than Just a Feeling,” The Edge News let ter, Edgecumbe Consulting Group (August 1997). The Edgecumbe Con sult ing Group can be reached at Edgecumbe Hall, Rich mond Hill, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1AT, Unit ed Kingdom, phone at 0117-973-8899.

4. Steven P. Brown and Thomas V. Leigh, “A New Look at Psychological Climate and Its Relationship to Job Involvement, Effort and Per for -mance,” Journal of Ap plied Psychology 81, no. 4 (1996), pp. 358–68.Journal of Ap plied Psychology 81, no. 4 (1996), pp. 358–68.Journal of Ap plied Psychology

5. Ibid., p. 361.

6. Ibid.

7. Reported in article by Ron Winslow, “Underused Skills Raise Risks of De vel op ing Heart Disease,” The Wall Street Journal (July 25, 1997).The Wall Street Journal (July 25, 1997).The Wall Street Journal

8. Contact HeartMath LLC for complete information.

9. David Pendleton, Organizational Coherence Survey Manual, In sti tute Organizational Coherence Survey Manual, In sti tute Organizational Coherence Survey Manualof HeartMath, 14700 West Park Avenue, Boulder Creek, CA, 95006, phone at 831-338-8500.

10. Ibid.


References [ 237 ][ 237 ][ 237

Chapter 10

1. James C. Collins and Jerry Porras, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Vi sion ary Com pa nies (New York: HarperBusiness, 1994), p. xx.Vi sion ary Com pa nies (New York: HarperBusiness, 1994), p. xx.Vi sion ary Com pa nies

2. James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser, Jr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger, The Service-Profi t Chain: How Leading Companies Link Profi t and Growth to Loyalty, Sat is fac tion, and Val ue (New York: The Free Press, 1997).to Loyalty, Sat is fac tion, and Val ue (New York: The Free Press, 1997).to Loyalty, Sat is fac tion, and Val ue

3. Ibid., p. 249.

4. D. C. McClelland and C. Kirshnit, “The Effects of Motivational Arous- al Through Films on Salivary Immunoglobulin A,” Psy cho log i cal Health 2 (1988), pp. 31–52. Health 2 (1988), pp. 31–52. Health

5. Tom Peters, “You Gotta Have Heart,” Canadian Airlines Magazine(Feb ru ary 1994).

6. Carol Montgomery, “The Care-Giving Relationship: Paradoxical and Tran scen dent Aspects,” Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 23, no. 2 Journal of Transpersonal Psychology 23, no. 2 Journal of Transpersonal Psychology(1991).

7. An album of music designed to enhance mental and emotional balance. Doc Childre, Heart Zones, Planetary Publications, 1994.

Chapter 11

1. The event was the 1995 YPO (Young Pres i dent’s Or ga ni za tion) In ter -na tion al Uni ver si ty in Wash ing ton, DC. Bruce Cryer was pre sent ing HeartMath tech nol o gy in sev er al work shops to the CEOs. Ben Zan-der, conductor of the Bos ton Phil har mon ic, was the con duc tor.

2. James L. Heskett, W. Earl Sasser, Jr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger, The Ser vice-Profi t Chain: How Leading Companies Link Profi t and Growth to Loyalty, Sat is fac tion, and Val ue (New York: The Free Press, 1997).to Loyalty, Sat is fac tion, and Val ue (New York: The Free Press, 1997).to Loyalty, Sat is fac tion, and Val ue

3. Ibid., p. 237.

4. Ibid., p. 238.

5. Herb Kelleher, “A Culture of Commitment,” Leader to Leader, no. 4 (Spring 1997), p. 20.

6. “Executive Survey: ‘Compassion’ Is Important for Future Busi-ness Lead ers,” Cornell Chronicle 28, no. 10 (October 24, 1996). Cornell Chronicle 28, no. 10 (October 24, 1996). Cornell ChronicleCornell Uni ver si ty Johnson Grad u ate School of Management. www.gsm.cornell.edu/Newideas/leadershipsurvey2.html.

7. Margaret J. Wheatley, Leadership and the New Science: Learning about Or ga ni za tion from an Orderly Universe (San Francisco: Ber-about Or ga ni za tion from an Orderly Universe (San Francisco: Ber-about Or ga ni za tion from an Orderly Universerett-Koehler, 1992), pp. 38–39.

8. Jim Throneburg, chairman of Thorlo, has attended several Heart-Math pro grams at our facility in California. We also provided train-



ing and con sult ing services to the company at its facilities in North Carolina.

9. Patrick L. Townsend and Joan E. Gebhardt, “The Three Priorities of Lead er ship,” Leader to Leader, no. 4 (Spring 1997), p. 13.

Chapter 12

1. Leif Edvinsson and Michael S. Malone, Intellectual Capital: Realizing Your Com pa ny’s True Value by Finding Its Hidden Brainpower (New Your Com pa ny’s True Value by Finding Its Hidden Brainpower (New Your Com pa ny’s True Value by Finding Its Hidden BrainpowerYork: HarperCollins, 1997), p. 49.


Glossary

amygdala The key subcortical brain center that coordinates amygdala The key subcortical brain center that coordinates amygdalabe hav ior al, neu ral, immunological, and hormonal responses

to en vi ron men tal threats. It also serves as the storehouse

of emo tion al memory within the brain. Its function is to

compare in com ing signals from the environment with stored

emotional memories. In this way, the amygdala makes

in stantaneous de ci sions about the threat level of incoming

sensory in for ma tion. Due to its extensive connections to the

hypothalamus and other autonomic nervous system centers,

the amygdala is able to activate the autonomic nervous system

and emo tion al responses before the higher brain centers

receive the sen so ry information.

appreciation An active emotional state in which one has clear

per cep tion or recognition of the quality or magnitude of

that to be thankful for. Ap pre ci a tion also leads to improved

phys i o log i cal balance, as measured in cardiovascular and

immune system function.

asset-defi cit balance sheet An IQM tool for evaluating the asset-defi cit balance sheet An IQM tool for evaluating the asset-defi cit balance sheetassets and defi cits of any project, pending decision, employee

per for mance, or for a wide variety of other uses. In conjunction

with Freeze-Frame, the asset-defi cit balance sheet can yield

sur pris ing insights and clar i ty on personal and professional

is sues.

[ 239 ]

Note: Freeze-Frame, Inner Quality Management (IQM), Heart Lock-in, Heart Map- ping and HeartMath are registered trademarks of the Institute of HeartMath.

15 Glossary FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:54 PM239


autonomic nervous system The portion of the nervous

system that reg u lates most of the body’s involuntary

functions, in clud ing mean heart rate, the movements

of the gas trointes ti nal tract, and the se cre tions of many

glands. Consisting of two branches (the sym pa thet ic and

para sym pa thet ic), the au to nom ic nervous system reg u lates

over 90% of the body’s func tions. The heart, brain, im mune,

hormonal, respiratory, and di ges tive systems are all con nect ed

by this network of nerves.

balance Stability, equilibrium, or the even distribution of weight balance Stability, equilibrium, or the even distribution of weight balanceon each side of a vertical axis. The term also used to denote

mental or emotional stability.

baroreceptor system Nerve receptors within the heart and

ar ter ies that are sensitive to pressure changes and transmit

neu ral in for ma tion to the brain to help regulate short-term

blood pressure. The neu ral signals sent via the baroreceptor

system have numerous ef fects on the brain and are able to

alter per cep tion in the higher brain centers.

cardiac coherence A mode of cardiac function in which the

heart’s rhyth mic and electrical output is highly ordered.

HeartMath research has shown that positive emotions such

as love, care, and appreciation in crease the co her ence in the

heart’s rhythmic beating patterns. Dur ing states of cardiac

co her ence, brain wave patterns have been shown to entrain

with heart rate variability patterns, nervous system balance

and immune func tion are en hanced, and the body functions

with in creased har mo ny and effi ciency.

cardiovascular system The system in the human body

con sti tut ing the heart and the blood vessels.

caring This is an inner attitude or feeling of true service, with caring This is an inner attitude or feeling of true service, with caring


Glossary [ 241 ]

no agen da or attachment to the outcome. Sincere caring is

re ju ve nat ing for both the giv er and receiver.

cell The smallest structural unit of an organism that is capable

of in de pen dent functioning. A complex unit of protoplasm

usu al ly with a nu cleus, cytoplasm, and an enclosing

membrane.

cellular Containing or consisting of cells. cellular Containing or consisting of cells. cellular

cerebral cortex The most highly developed area of the brain, cerebral cortex The most highly developed area of the brain, cerebral cortexwhich gov erns all higher order human capabilities such as

lan guage, cre ativ i ty, and prob lem solving. The cortex, like

other brain centers, con tin ues to develop new neural circuits or

net works throughout life.

chaos Great disorder or confusion; incoherence. Comes from the

Greek word khaos, meaning unformed matter. The dis or dered khaos, meaning unformed matter. The dis or dered khaos

state held to have existed before the ordered universe.

coherence Logical connectedness, internal order, or harmony

among the components of a system. The term also can refer

to the tendency toward increased order in the informational

con tent of a system or in the in for ma tion fl ow between systems.

In physics, two or more wave forms that are phase-locked

to geth er so that their energy is con struc tive are de scribed as

co her ent. Coherence also can be at trib ut ed to a single wave

form, in which case it denotes an ordered or constructive

dis tri bu tion of power content. Recently, the scientifi c interest

in coherence in living sys tems has been growing. When a

sys tem is coherent, virtually no energy is wasted because of the

in ter nal synchronization among the parts. In or ga ni za tions,

in creased coherence enables the emergence of new levels of

cre ativ i ty, co op er a tion, productivity, and quality on all levels.



coherent communication Communication between in di vid u als

that is seam less, focused, and free of inner mind static. The co-

herent shar ing of information is a key to business ef fec tive ness

and a pri ma ry way to re duce stress. Coherent com mu ni ca tion

is Dynamic 2 of inner quality man age ment and involves

achieving understanding fi rst, listening nonjudgmentally, lis-

ten ing for the essence, and au then tic dialogue.

cortical inhibition A desynchronization or reduction of cortical

ac tiv i ty, be lieved to result from the erratic heart rhythms and

resulting neural sig nals transmitted from the heart to the brain

during stress and negative emotional states. This condition can

manifest in less ef fi cient decision-making capability, lead ing

to poor or shortsighted decisions, ineffective or impulsive

communication, and reduced phys i cal coordination.

cortisol A hormone produced by the adrenal glands during

stress ful sit u a tions, commonly known as the stress hormone.

Excessive cor ti sol, while an essential hormone, has many

harm ful effects on the body and can de stroy brain cells in the

hippocampus, a region of the brain associated with learn ing

and memory.

DHEA An essential hormone produced by the adrenal DHEA An essential hormone produced by the adrenal DHEAglands known as the vitality hormone because of its hormone because of its hormone

antiaging prop er ties. As the body’s nat u ral antagonist of the

glucocorticoid hor mones, such as cortisol, DHEA re vers es

many of the un fa vor able physiological effects of ex ces sive

stress. It is the pre cur sor of the sex hormones estrogen and

tes t oster one; and its var ied functions include stimulating the

im mune system, low er ing cho les ter ol levels, and promoting

bone and muscle deposition. Low DHEA levels have been

reported in patients with many major dis eas es.


Glossary [ 243 ]

DNA A complex molecule, found in every cell of the body, that DNA A complex molecule, found in every cell of the body, that DNAcarries the genetic information or blueprint determining

in di vid u al he red i tary char ac ter is tics. An essential component

of all living matter, DNA is a nucleic acid consisting of two long

chains of nucleotides twisted into a double helix and is the

ma jor constituent of chro mo somes.

electromagnetic signal In physics, the term is used to describe

a wave prop a gat ed through space or matter by the oscillating

elec tric and mag net ic fi eld generated by an oscillating electric

charge. In the hu man body, the heart is the most powerful

source of electromagnetic energy.

emotion A strong feeling. Any of various complex reactions

with both men tal and physical manifestations, as love, joy,

sorrow, or anger. Emo tion al energy is neutral, attaching itself

to pos i tive or negative thoughts to create emotions.

emotional virus A metaphorical term used to describe the result

of emo tion al mismanagement within an organization. This

vi rus thrives in the gap between our expectations and the

reality we per ceive. The internal im balances created by an

emotional virus per pet u ate ongoing distortion and obstacles

until re solved. This con cept is part of Dynamic 3, boosting the

or ga ni za tion al climate.

entrainment A phenomenon seen throughout nature, whereby entrainment A phenomenon seen throughout nature, whereby entrainmentsys tems or organisms exhibiting periodic behavior will fall into

sync and oscillate at the same frequency and phase. A common

example of this phenomenon is the synchronization of two

or more pendulum clocks placed near each oth er. In human

be ings, the entrainment of different oscillating biological

systems to the primary frequency of the heart rhythms often

is observed during positive emotional states. This state



represents a highly effi cient mode of bodily function and is

associated with height ened clarity, buoy an cy, and inner peace.

Entrained teams are those that operate with a higher degree of

synchronization, ef fi cien cy, and coherent communication.

epinephrine An adrenal hormone that stimulates the heart,

in creas es mus cu lar strength and endurance, constricts the

blood vessels, and raises blood pressure. Also known as

adren a line.

Freeze-Frame A key tool used in Dynamic 1, internal self-

man age ment, that consists of consciously disengaging one’s

mental and emotional reactions to either external or internal

events. The cen ter of attention then is shifted from the mind

and emotions to the physical area around the heart while focus

is on a positive emotion such as love or ap pre ci a tion. This tool

is designed to re lease and prevent stress through stop ping

ineffi cient reactions in the mo ment to provide a window of

op por tu ni ty for new, in tu i tive perspectives. Freeze-Frame has

nu mer ous applications for creative thinking, innovation, and

planning, as well as improving overall health and well-being.

frequency The number of times any action, occurrence, or event frequency The number of times any action, occurrence, or event frequencyis re peated in a given period. In physics, it is the number of

pe ri od ic os cil la tions, vi bra tions, or waves per unit of time,

usually expressed in cy cles per second. Human intelligence

operates with in a large band width of frequencies.

heart A hollow, muscular organ in vertebrates that keeps the heart A hollow, muscular organ in vertebrates that keeps the heartblood in cir cu la tion throughout the body by means of its

rhyth mic con trac tions and re lax ations. It is the body’s central

and most powerful en er gy generator and rhythmic oscillator;

a complex, self-organized in for ma tion pro cess ing system with

its own functional “little brain” that continually trans mits


Glossary [ 245 ]

neu ral, hormonal, rhythmic, and pressure messages to the

brain.

heart-brain entrainment A state in which very low frequency heart-brain entrainment A state in which very low frequency heart-brain entrainmentbrain waves and heart rhythms are frequency locked

(en trained). This phe nom e non has been associated with

sig nifi cant shifts in per cep tion and heightened intuitive

awareness.

heart intelligence A term coined to express the concept of the

heart as an intelligent system with the power to bring both the

emotional and mental systems into balance and coherence.

heart rate variability (HRV) The normally occurring beat-to-

beat chang es in heart rate. Analysis of HRV is an important

tool used to assess the func tion and balance of the autonomic

ner vous system. HRV is con sid ered a key indicator of aging

and cardiac and overall health.

hologram A three-dimensional image made of light, created

by an in ter fer ence pattern of two interacting laser beams

re cord ed on pho to graph ic fi lm. Holo means complete or total. Holo means complete or total. Holo

Gram means a writing, drawing, or record of the image. Gram means a writing, drawing, or record of the image. Gram

holographic principle A unique property of a hologram is that

ev ery por tion of the image contains all the information necessary

to produce the whole. The holographic principle that “every

part con tains the whole” is mirrored in the cellular structure of

the hu man body, whereby every cell contains the in for ma tion

necessary to create a duplicate of the entire organism.

hormonal system A hormone is a substance produced by living

cells that circulates in the body fl uids and produces a specifi c

effect on the activity of cells remote from its point of origin.

The hormonal sys tem is made up of the many hormones

that act and interact through out the body to reg u late many



met a bol ic functions, and the cells, organs, and tissues that

man u fac ture them.

immune system The integrated bodily system of organs,

tissues, cells, and cell products, such as antibodies, that

differentiates “self” from “nonself” within our body and

neutralizes po ten tial ly pathogenic or gan isms or sub stanc es

that cause disease. The organizational “im mune system” is

built on the core val ues known to enhance personal fulfi llment

and well-being, elim i nat ing the emotional viruses that can

permeate and de stroy the effectiveness and coherence of the

or ga ni za tion.

insight The faculty of seeing into inner character or underlying insight The faculty of seeing into inner character or underlying insighttruth and ap prehending the true nature of a thing; a clear

un der stand ing or aware ness.

internal coherence A deep state of internal self-management

in which one is generating increased order and harmony

in the physical, men tal, and emotional systems. In this

state, the car dio vas cu lar, im mune, hormonal, and nervous

systems func tion with heightened ef fi cien cy. States of in ter nal

coherence are associated with reduced emotional reactivity,

greater men tal clarity, creativity, adaptability, and fl exibility.

internal self-management Dynamic 1 of inner quality internal self-management Dynamic 1 of inner quality internal self-managementman age ment, the active process of reducing and neutralizing

one’s au to mat ic men tal and emotional reactions to events or

sit u a tions, instead of being their un wit ting victim.

intuition Intelligence and understanding that bypasses the

log i cal, lin ear cognitive processes. The faculty of direct

knowing as if by in stinct, with out conscious reasoning. Pure,

untaught, in fer en tial knowl edge with a keen and quick insight;

common sense.


Glossary [ 247 ][ 247 ][ 247

intuitive intelligence A type of intelligence distinct from

cog ni tive pro cess es, which derives from the consistent use

and ap pli ca tion of one’s in tu ition. Research is showing that

the hu man capacity to meet life’s chal leng es with fl uidity

and grace is based not on knowledge, logic, or reason alone

but also in cludes the ability to make intuitive decisions.

HeartMath re search suggests that, with training and prac tice,

human be ings can develop a high level of operational intuitive

intelligence.

intuitive listening A means of communicating that involves intuitive listening A means of communicating that involves intuitive listeningdeep ly lis ten ing to the other person while maintaining a neutral

and emo tion al ly balanced inner attitude. This communication

technique enables us more readily to understand the essence

of a conversation and often to perceive additional levels of

subtlety within the information being communicated.

limbic system A group of cortical and subcortical brain struc tures

in volved in emotional processing and certain aspects of

memory. These structures include the hypothalamus,

thal a mus, hip poc am pus, and amygdala, among others.

nervous system The system of cells, tissues, and organs that

co or di nates and regulates the body’s responses to internal and

external stim u li. In ver te brates, the nervous system is made up

of the brain and spinal cord, nerves, ganglia, and nerve centers

in receptor and effector organs.

neural circuits Neural pathways consisting of interconnected

neurons in the brain and body through which specifi c

in for ma tion is pro cessed. Re search has shown that many of

these neural connections develop in early childhood, based

on our experiences and the type of stimulation we re ceive.

Likewise, even later in life, different neural cir cuits can either



be re in forced or atrophy, depending on how fre quent ly we

use them. Specifi c circuits form and are reinforced through

repeated be hav ior, and in this way both physical and

emo tion al responses can become “hardwired” and automatic

in our sys tem.

neuron Any of the cells that make up the nervous system,

con sist ing of a nucleated cell body with one or more dendrites

and a single axon. Neu rons are the fundamental structural and

func tion al units of ner vous tissue.

neutral In physics, having a net electric charge of zero. With

ref er ence to machinery, it means a position in which a set of

gears is dis en gaged. In human beings, it is a state in which we

have consciously disengaged from our automatic mental and

emo tion al reactions to a situation or issue in order to gain a

wider perspective.

organizational incoherence A state resulting from accumulated

in ter nal noise, turmoil, pressure, and confl ict among

the in di vid u als that make up an organization. This state

is char ac ter ized by distorted per cep tion, high levels of

emotional re ac tiv i ty, and decreased ef fi cien cy, cooperation,

and pro duc tiv i ty.

overcaring The result of caring taken to an ineffi cient extreme overcaring The result of caring taken to an ineffi cient extreme overcaringand cross ing the line into anxiety and worry. Overcaring is

one of the great est in hib i tors of personal and organizational

re sil ience. It has become so natural that people often do

not know they are ex pe ri enc ing it, because it pos tures itself

as caring. As individuals learn to identify and plug the leaks

in their own per son al systems caused by overcaring, they

stop draining en er gy and effectiveness, personally and

organizationally.


Glossary [ 249 ]

parasympathetic The branch of the autonomic nervous

system that slows or relaxes bodily functions. This part of

the nervous system is analogous to the brakes in a car. Many

known dis eas es and disorders are associated with diminished

para sym pa thet ic function.

perception The act or faculty of apprehending by means of

the sens es; the way in which an individual views a situation

or event. How we per ceive an event or an issue underlies

how we think, feel, and react to that event or is sue. Our level

of aware ness determines our initial per cep tion of an event

and our abil i ty to extract meaning from the avail able data.

Re search is show ing that when the mind’s logic and intellect are

har mo ni ous ly in te grat ed with the heart’s intuitive intelligence,

our per cep tion of situations can change signifi cantly, offering

wider per spec tives and new possibilities.

quantum theory A mathematical theory that describes quantum theory A mathematical theory that describes quantum theorythe be hav ior of phys i cal systems. It is particularly useful

in studying the energetic char ac ter is tics of matter at the

subatomic level. One of the key prin ci ples of quantum theory

is that we are not merely observing reality but par tic i pat ing in

the way we create our reality.

solar plexus The large network of nerves located in the area

of the bel ly just below the sternum, named for the raylike

pat terns of its nerve fi bers. This neural network is distributed

through out the tissue lining the esophagus, stomach, small

in tes tine, and colon, some times called the enteric nervous

system or system or system gut brain.

stress Pressure, strain, or a sense of inner turmoil resulting from

our per cep tions and reactions to events or conditions. A state

of negative emo tion al arousal, usually associated with feelings

of discomfort or anxiety that we attribute to our circumstances

or situation.



sympathetic The branch of the autonomic nervous system that sympathetic The branch of the autonomic nervous system that sympatheticspeeds up bodi ly functions, preparing us for mobilization

and ac tion. The fi ght or fl ight response to stress activates the

sym pa thet ic nervous system and causes the contraction of

blood ves sels and a rise in heart rate and many other bodily

responses. This part of the nervous system is anal o gous to the

gas pedal in a car.

time shift Used here to describe the time saved when we are time shift Used here to describe the time saved when we are time shiftable to dis en gage from an ineffi cient mental or emotional

re ac tion and make a more effi cient choice. Time shifting stops

a chain-link re ac tion of time and en er gy waste and catapults

peo ple into a new do main of time management, where there is

greater energy effi ciency and fulfi llment.


Selected Reading

Autry, James A. Love and Profi t: The Art of Caring Leadership.

New York: Wil l iam Morrow and Company, 1991.

Block, Peter. Stewardship: Choosing Service over Self-Interest. Stewardship: Choosing Service over Self-Interest. Stewardship: Choosing Service over Self-Interest

San Fran cisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 1993.

Carter, Louis (editor). The Change Champion's Fieldguide: Strat-

egies and Tools for Leading Change in Your Organization. Bos-

ton, MA: Best Practice Publications, 2003.

Childre, Doc. Overcoming Emotional Chaos. San Diego, CA: Jo-

dere Group, Inc., 2002.

Childre, Doc. Transforming Anger. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Transforming Anger. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Transforming Anger

Press, 2003.

Childre, Doc. Freeze-Frame: One-Minute Stress Management. Freeze-Frame: One-Minute Stress Management. Freeze-Frame: One-Minute Stress Management

Boul der Creek, CA: Planetary Publications, 1994; Revised edi-

tion, 1998.

Childre, Doc, and Howard Martin. The HeartMath Solution. San

Fran cisco, CA: HarperSanFrancisco, 1999.

Collins, James C., and Jerry I. Porras. Built to Last: Successful

Hab its of Vi sion ary Companies. New York: HarperBusiness,

1994.

Collins, James C. Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the

Leap and Others Don't. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.Leap and Others Don't. New York: HarperCollins, 2001.Leap and Others Don't

[ 251 ]

16 Selected reading FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 1:55 PM251


Conner, Daryl R. Managing at the Speed of Change: How Resilient

Man ag ers Suc ceed and Prosper Where Others Fail. New York:

Villard Books, 1993.

Cooper, Robert, and Ayman Sawaf. Executive EQ: Emotional

In tel li gence in Leadership and Organizations. New York:

Grosset/Putnam, 1997.

Cooper, Robert. The Other 90%. Three Rivers Press, 2002.

Covey, Stephen R. The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People:

Pow er ful Lessons in Personal Change. New York: Simon and

Schuster, 1989.

Cryer, Bruce, Rollin McCraty, and Doc Childre. "Pull the Plug on

Stress." Boston, MA: Harvard Business Review, July 2003.Harvard Business Review, July 2003.Harvard Business Review

DePree, Max. Leadership Is an Art. New York: Dell, 1989.Leadership Is an Art. New York: Dell, 1989.Leadership Is an Art

DePree, Max. Leadership Jazz. New York: Dell, 1992.

Edvinsson, Leif, and Michael S. Malone. Intellectual Capital:

Re al iz ing Your Company’s True Value by Finding Its Hidden

Brainpower. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. Brainpower. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. Brainpower

Frankl, Victor. Man’s Search for Meaning. New York: Simon and Man’s Search for Meaning. New York: Simon and Man’s Search for Meaning

Schuster, 1970.

Frost, Peter. Toxic Emotions at Work: How Compassionate Man-

agers Handle Pain and Confl ict. Boston, MA: Harvard Business agers Handle Pain and Confl ict. Boston, MA: Harvard Business agers Handle Pain and Confl ict

School Press, 2003.

Galvin, Robert W. The Idea of Ideas. Schaumburg, IL: Motorola

Uni ver si ty Press, 1991.

Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can

Make a Big Difference. Boston, MA: Back Bay Books, 2002.


Selected Reading [ 253 ]

Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter

More than IQ. New York: Bantam Books, 1995.

Goleman, Daniel. Primal Leadership: Realizing the Power of

Emotional Intelligence. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School

Publishing, 2002.

Heifetz, Ronald. Leadership on the Line. Boston, MA: Harvard

Business School Press, 2002.

Helgesen, Sally. The Web of Inclusion. New York: Doubleday,

1995.

Heskett, James L., W. Earl Sasser, Jr., and Leonard A. Schlesinger.

The Ser vice-Profi t Chain: How Leading Companies Link Profi t

and Growth to Loyalty, Satisfaction, and Value. New York: The

Free Press, 1997.

Hesselbein, Frances, Marshall Goldsmith, and Richard Beckhard.

The Leader of the Future. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.

Jaworski, Joseph. Synchronicity: The Inner Path of Leadership.

San Fran cisco: Berrett-Koehler, 1996.

Johansen, Robert, and Rob Swigart. Upsizing the Individual in the

Downsized Or ganization: Managing in the Wake of Reengineer-

ing, Glo bal iza tion, and Over whelm ing Technological Change.

Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing, 1996.

Land, George, and Beth Jarman. Breakpoint and Beyond: Mas-

ter ing the Future Today. New York: HarperBusiness, 1992.

Locke, Christopher, and Rick Levine. The Cluetrain Manifesto.

Perseus Publishing, 2001.

O'Reilly, Charles A., and Jeffrey Pfeffer. Hidden Value: How Great

Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary Peo-

ple. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2000.



Osborne, David, and Ted Gaebler. Reinventing Government: How

the En tre pre neur ial Spirit Is Transforming the Public Sector. Spirit Is Transforming the Public Sector. Spirit Is Transforming the Public Sector

New York: Penguin Books, 1993.

O’Shea, James, and Charles Madigan. Dangerous Company: The

Con sult ing Pow er hous es and the Businesses They Save and

Ruin. New York: Random House, 1997.

Pearce, Joseph Chilton. The Biology of Transcendence: A Blueprint

of the Human Spirit. Inner Traditions, 2002.of the Human Spirit. Inner Traditions, 2002.of the Human Spirit

Peters, Tom. The Pursuit of Wow: Every Person’s Guide to Topsy-

Turvy Times. New York: Vintage Books, 1994.

Rechtschaffen, Stephan. Time Shifting: Creating More Time to

En joy Your Life. New York: Doubleday, 1997.

Schultz, Howard, and Dori Jones Yang. Pour Your Heart into It:

How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time. New York:

Hyperion, 1997.

Srivastva, Suresh, David L. Cooperrider, and Associates. Ap-

pre cia tive Man age ment and Leadership: The Power of Positive

Thought and Ac tion in Or ga ni za tions. San Francisco: Jossey-

Bass, 1990.

Taylor, Jim, and Watts Wacker, with Howard Means. The 500 Year

Delta: What Happens After What Comes Next. New York: Harp-Delta: What Happens After What Comes Next. New York: Harp-Delta: What Happens After What Comes Next

erCollins, 1997.

Tiller, William A. Science and Human Transformation: Subtle

En er gies, In ten tion al i ty En er gies, In ten tion al i ty En er gies, In ten tion al i t and Consciousness. Walnut Creek, CA:

Pavior Pub lish ing, 1997.

Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership and the New Science: Learning

about Or ga ni za tion from an Orderly Universe. San Francisco:

Berrett-Koehler, 1992.


Index

[ 255 ]

500-Year Delta, The, 128

adaptability, of organizations, 167

amygdaladescription of, 39

Appreciation, of teams, 198-199Armour, J. A., Dr., 32Asset-defi cit balance sheet, 78Authentic communication, 101-

103Autonomic nervous system

divisions of, 41stress and, 40

Balancedescription of, 97examples of, 97

Body language, 105Brain

desynchronization of, 46fi rst, 36functions of, based on anato-

my, 36-37second, 37third, 38

Brown and Leigh study, of orga-nizational cimate, 156

Burnout, 64, 155

Capitalhuman, 121-122intellectual, 131

Cardiac coherencedefi nition of, 11

Careequation for, 170organizational benefi ts of, 171sincere, 172-173

Caregivers, 173-174Cathay Pacifi c Airways, 202-203Challenger, 103change

in organization, 15Climate, of organization

boosting of, 141defi nition of, 154ignoring of, 158productivity and, relationship

between, 156climate, of organization

description of, 4Cluetrain Manifesto, The, 102,

104, 120, 127Coaching, operationalized, 204-

205Coherence

benefi ts of, 11biomedical measurement of, 11business success and, 34cardiac

17 Index FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:44 PM255


defi nition of, 11daily experience with, 10-11effect of negative thoughts on,

10effect of perception on, 23entrainment and, 195military, 207-208progressive nature of, 12scientifi c example of, 9

Coherent communicationdescription of, 101elements of, 99principles of, 3, 6

Common senseas form of intuition, 54description of, 54

Communicationauthentic

barriers to, 109-110by body language, 105description of, 101elements of, 101requirements for, 104voice mail, 138

Computersproductivity effects, 130

Cooper, Robert Ph.D., xiiiCore Values

as organizational foundation, 165-166

Core valuesas intelligence, 166description of, 165types of, 165

Cortical Inhibition, 46Cortisol, release of, effect of

stress on, 41Creativity, 152, 208, 220

Damasio, Antonio, 32

Decoding, 109Delnor-Community Hospital,

197-198, 217DHEA

description of, 43maladaptation effects on, 61-62

DNA, 29

E-mailorganizational incoherence-

from, 123reading strategies for, 136

Effi ciencyeffect of listening on, 116energy, from Freeze-Frame, 76

Einstein, Albert, 221, 227-228Emotional hijacking, 39Emotional Intelligence, 33Emotional intelligence

biological origins of, 36-37defi nition of, 33

Emotional Virushow to spot, 153-154

Emotional virusdescription of, 146-147elimination of, 146-149globalization of, 151individuals responsible for, 149strengthening of organizational

immune system to p, 151symptoms of, 154

Emotionsbusiness success and, 35coherence of, 49drain of, 65function of, 33heart and, relationship be-

tween, 64-65immune health and, 63reciprocity, 48

17 Index FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:44 PM256

Index [ 257 ][ 257 ][ 257

second brain processing of, 37Encoding, 109Energy

drain sourcesdescription of, 83judgmental, 94-96unmet expectations, 89

effi cient use of, 76Entrainment

coherence and, 195concept of, fi gure, 13defi nition of, 13examples of, 13for teamwork success, 195

Executive EQ, xiiiExpectations

reality and, 90sales, 91-93unmet

destructive effects of, 89energy expenditure for, 91

First, Break All The Rules, 49Frankl, Victor, 23Freeze-Frame

description of, 68-69effect on information, 135-136elements of, 72energy effi ciency from, 76-77for overcaring, 178for reducing expectations, 94heart intelligence, 71reasons why it works, 71steps, 69

Freeze-Framer, 140Frequency

defi nition of, 51Frost, Robert, 101

Goleman, Daniel, 33

Gut brain, 31

Healtheffect of genetics on, 62productivity and, relationship

between, 21-22stress and, 22

Heartcommunication with brain,

44-45entrainment of, 13intrinsic nervous system in, 32stress effects on, 64survival of, 64

HeartMathfounding of, 2-3heart intelligence defi nition, 52

Heart intelligencedefi nition of, 52description of, 46for discriminating signifi cance

of events, 168-170Freeze-Frame access to, 71information technology and,

127-129listening to, 102

Heart Lock-In, 181-182Heart Mapping

applications, 212-213description of, 208-210teamwork improvements using,

210Heskett, James, 189Human capital, 130-133

Illness, in workplace, 158Immune system

emotions and, 63or organization, strengthening

17 Index FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:44 PM257


to prevent emotiona, 151Incoherence, organizational

consequences of, 35e-mail and, 123effect on individual coherence,

47Incoherence, organizational

causes of, 93Information

sharing of, intuitive intelli-gence effects on, 134

value-added, 135Information overload phenom-

enon, 124Information technology

future of, 136-139heart intelligent response to,

126-127Inner Quality Management

development of, 3dynamics of, 3stress reduction, 198-199

Innovation, 112, 208, 220Intellectual capital, 131-132Intelligence

computing developments and similarities between, 28

distributed, 31distribution in human system, 2frequencies of, 51intuitive, 52-55mental, 52neural pathways of, 29values as, 166

Internal self-managementcase study of, 79-82principles of, 5well-being improvements,

79-80Internet, 136, 139

Internet time, 135Intuition

common sense as form of, 54compassion and, 52heart and, relationship be-

tween, 32Intuitive intelligence

description of, 52-53information sharing enhance-

ments using, 134signifi cance of events and, 169

Intuitive listeningdescription of, 110-111elements of, 113example of, 113organizational applications,

117-119

Jackson, Phil, 195Judgmentalness

causes for, 94

Kelleher, Herb, 192

laser, 9

Leadership and the New Science,19

Listeningintuitive, 110-113

levels of, 110-111to heart intelligence, 108

Maladaptationdescription of, 58-59hormonal, 61-62to stress, 58-59

Managementkey skills for, 193-195

17 Index FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:44 PM258

Index [ 259 ]

overcaring by, 179quantum, 222service-profi t chain approach,

189-190Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 173McClellan, David, 171Medulla, 56Memory

amygdala's role in, 39automaticity of, 57

Mergers, 172Military coherence, 207Mind Mapping, 208-210

National Semiconductor, 211-212, 214-215Neutral

benefi ts of, 74defi nition of, 72for negative reactions, 76importance of, 74workplace use of, 73

Organizational coherencecase study of, 20-21effect of individual coherence

on, 12measurement of, 12survey to assess

description of, 159-164Organizational incoherence

causes of, 93consequences of, 35e-mail and, 123

Organizationsadaptability of, 167changes in, 15composition of, 5intuitive listening application

to, 117-119Overachieving, 201Overcare

defi nition of, 174draining effects of, 174-175effect on effectiveness, 177examples of, 174Freeze-Frame for, 178identifi cation of, 175-178in management style, 179self-care for reducing, 180

Perceptionamygdala's role in, 39effect on coherence, 23effect on stress-related emo-

tions, 39or organization climate and

productivity, relation, 156-157

Personal and Organizational Quality Assessment (POQA), 133-134

Peters, Tom, 173Presence, 226Productivity

effect of computers on, 130effect of organizational change

on, 15health and, relationship be-

tween, 20-21organizational climate and,

relationship between, 156

Quantum management, 222-223

Ratios, 92-94Renewal

service-profi t chain, 189-190

17 Index FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:44 PM259


Renewal, of organizationprinciples of, 8

Sacred Hoops, 195Schlesinger, Leonard A., 189Self-care

balanced, 180coherence and, 180-181descripton of, 180

Self-security, 223Service-profi t chain, 189-192Service-Profi t Chain, The, 167Signifi cance, of events, 168-170Sincerity, 172-173, 200Skandia, 223Southwest Airlines, 87, 192Strasser, W. Earl, Jr., 189Strategy, 188Stress

annual costs associated with, 16cortisol release and, 41effect on cortical brain regions,

46globalization of, 16-18health and, 22in workplace, 16maladaptation to, 58-59physiological effects of, 61-62prevention of, 75word origin of, 59

Teamsappreciation of, 198-199overachieving of, 201-202

Technologydata increases, 122-123growths in, 121-122informatin quality increases

from, 128-129

Thorlo, 205-207Time

convenience, 88management of, 83-86problem resolution after expen-

diture, 85-86unmanageable state of, 89wizards in use of, 87

Time shift, 84-85Tone of voice, 105Tzu, Lao, 199

Underachievers, 202

Value-added information, 135Virus, emotional

description of, 146-147eliminations of, 149globalization, 151how to spot, 153-154methods of attacking, 144strengthening of organizational

immune system to p, 151symptoms of, 154

Voice-mail, 138Vulnerability, 227-228

Web, 104, 114, 220Wheatley, Margaret, 19, 204-205

17 Index FCTC.ID 1/5/04, 12:44 PM260

Building a High Performance Organization

HEARTMATH IS THE WORLD’S LEADER IN HELPING ORGANIZA-tions build coherent, dynamic organizations that achieve success on three levels: top line, bottom line, and people line. Featured in the Harvard Business Review, our innovative Inner Quality Management Harvard Business Review, our innovative Inner Quality Management Harvard Business Review(IQM)® framework is the basis for the fi rst scientifi cally-validated suite of high-impact business programs to help leadership teams, sales or-ganizations, customer service groups, and all functional levels achieve breakthrough, sustainable results. IQM is our process for helping peo-ple in organizations rapidly develop coherence while reducing stress, which in turn, drives the new behaviors that create organizational excellence.

HeartMath focuses in three critical areas: leadership, sales growth, and service excellence. The Power of Coherent Leadership uses HeartMath’s The Power of Coherent Leadership uses HeartMath’s The Power of Coherent Leadershipsolutions to help executives increase their balance, impact and infl u-ence as leaders, thus enabling them to achieve key strategic objectives and drive organizational results. The High Performance Executive is a The High Performance Executive is a The High Performance Executivepersonal training and health assessment program designed to increase the executive’s business effectiveness, health, and well-being. Execu-tive Training is a private, focused program for executives to learn the tive Training is a private, focused program for executives to learn the tive TrainingHeartMath tools in a 1-on-1 setting that fi ts their schedule. The Power to Maximize Sales Performance is designed for sales professionals to Maximize Sales Performance is designed for sales professionals to Maximize Sales Performanceto grow the sales pipeline and shorten sales cycles through unique methods designed to leverage and enhance the sales professional’s emotional balance, resilience and relationship skills. The Power of Co-herent Customer Service is an eight step plan for turning a call center, herent Customer Service is an eight step plan for turning a call center, herent Customer Servicetech support, or customer service operation into a profi t center while reducing stress on agents and improving metrics such as customer satisfaction, absenteeism, health care costs, and retention. And Heart-Math's fl agship Power to Change Performance has been proven on four Power to Change Performance has been proven on four Power to Change Performancecontinents to reduce stress while boosting morale.

HeartMath’s programs are a powerful blend of scientifi cally research tools with practical application. Our blended learning approach fea-tures: leading-edge research, interactive exercises, multimedia educa-tion, practical tools that can be applied immediately, hands-on inter-active software, multi-contact format and psychometric assessment and KPI measures.

For more information on HeartMath’s programs call (800) 450-9111 (001-831-338-8700 outside North America) or visit our web site at www.heartmath.com

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HeartMath Products For You and Your Or ga ni za tion

Freeze-Framer®Freeze-Framer®Freeze-FramerTHE FREEZE-FRAMER IS A UNIQUE, INTERACTIVE LEARNING SYS-tem with patented heart monitor. This software-based program allows you to see and learn how to control your heart rhythms to assist you in increasing coherence, health and performance. This breakthrough technology has a dynamic positive effect on stress levels, mental clar-ity, creativity and insight -- all key factors in determining performance. HeartMath’s Freeze-Framer won TMC Labs’ 2003 Innovation Award.

From Chaos to Coherence: The Power to Change Per for -mance Mul ti me dia Learn ing Pro gramThrough a media-rich, entertaining and highly educational format, the From Chaos to Coherence multimedia learning program introduces you to Inner Quality Management (IQM), HeartMath’s solution to help individuals and organizations become more effective, coherent, and productive. While viewing nearly two hours of fl ash-enhanced video, and reading and doing interactive exercises, you will gain a compre-hensive understanding of Inner Quality Management, the science that underlies it and how it can immediately help you become more pro-ductive and effective. You’ll also receive quick, practical tips for gaining personal, team and organizational effectiveness using the IQM model. This CD-ROM offers practical tools, profound insight, andcommon sense intelligence that will allow you and your organization to respond powerfully to change, crisis, and challenge. We know you will enjoy this unique and impactful learning experience!

Call for a free catalog of our complete product line at:800-450-9111 (001-831-338-8700 outside North America).

Write us at: HeartMath,14700 West Park Avenue, Boulder Creek, CA 95006. Or visit the HeartMath on-line store at:www.heartmath.com/store/index.html

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HeartMath Research and Ed u ca tion

THE INSTITUTE OF HEARTMATH (IHM) IS A NONPROFIT RE SEARCH and education organization that’s chang ing our un der stand ing of emotions, intelligence, and the role of the heart.

IHM offers a comprehensive range of tools, techniques, and learn ing programs for use in ed u ca tion al and classroom set tings:

• Resiliency programs designed for teachers and principals seek ing quantifi able im prove ments in organizational cul ture.

• TestEdge™ programs for improving academic performance and test scores while reducing test anxiety.

• The Emotional Security Tool Kit for Children and Teens to in crease emotional maturity while teaching youth how to re duce anger, worry and anxiety. Includes Cut-Thru Tech niques adapted for chil-dren ages 2-18, available for free at www.heartmath.org.

For details about the Institute of HeartMath research in i ti a tives and education programs, as well as endowment in quir ies, please contact: Katherine Floriano, Executive Director, at 831-338-8500; [email protected]; www.heartmath.org.


Acknowledgments

DOC ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED THE INSTITUTE TO BRING

together the fi elds of sci ence, health, psychology, and busi ness.

It grew very quick ly; so in 1998, we launched HeartMath LLC

to provide train ing and consulting services glo bal ly in all the

mar kets for mer ly served by the institute. In 1999 HeartMath

merged with Planetary Publications, a pub lish er of books, CDs,

CD-ROMs, and interactive software. The In sti tute con tin ues as a

lead ing-edge not-for-profi t re search or ga ni za tion. Many peo ple

with in these two or ga ni za tions, as well as clients and col leagues,

played key roles in helping bring this book into ex ist ence. Sara

Paddison’s editing help was cen tral to the book’s co her ence.

Rollin McCraty was an in valu able re search advisor, and Tom

Beckman has scoured the Internet and World Wide Web for the

last several years in search of data related to the is sues of work-

place pro duc tiv i ty, health care, stress, and cor po rate ef fi cien cy.

A spe cial thanks to Dr. Karl Pribram and Dr. Lee Lipsenthal for

their con tri bu tions to the chap ter on hu man in tel li gence. Tricia

Hoffman, Christiana Bramlet, Jen ni fer Barr, Dana Tomasino,

and Veronica Yousoofi an added tre men dous ly to this research

ef fort, while Bran di Barchi and Sherye Woodley were es sen tial

in keeping the pieces or ga nized and clear. Kathryn McArthur

and JJ McCraty were in valu able in book design and layout,

and Jo seph Sundram’s per spec tive was a tre men dous asset to

the fi nal chap ter, as was Sibyl Cryer’s through out the process.

Thanks also to Dan Drabek for his excellent cover design. As

ex ec u tive vice president of HeartMath LLC, Deborah Rozman

helped guide every phase of HeartMath’s development. Howard

Martin, executive vice pres i dent and chief creativity offi cer, also

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made many valu able con tri bu tions to this work as well as as sis -

tance and di rec tion in the entire pub li ca tion pro cess. Euphrasia

Carroll and Dan Bish op’s work in helping create the CD-ROM

based on the book’s fi rst edition, infl uenced the creation of this

new edition.

We also want to thank our British partners, Chris Sawicki

and Lynn Adamson of Hunter-Kane Ltd.; Wendy Parker; Rob ert

Cooper, author of Ex ec u tive EQ; Vivian Wright of Hewlett-Pack-

ard; Torrey Byles of Granada Re search; Cassandra Pulig of Sil-

i con Graph ics; Peter Buecking of One World Alliance; Jim War-

ren of the War ren Fi nan cial Group; and Wolfgang Hultner of

Mandarin Ori en tal Hotels, all of whom of fered en cour age ment

and valued in put.

Enjoy!



Doc Childre

IN 1991 DOC FOUNDED THE INSTITUTE OF HEARTMATH

(IHM), a non profi t re search and training organization dedicated

to re search ing the role of the heart in the human system, and

putting the heart back into social systems. He as sem bled a

talented team of research scientists, pro fes sion al educators,

and businesspeople who care deeply about the stress es people

face today. HeartMath tools help people systematically learn

how to utilize “heart in tel li gence” for greater health, well-being,

improved com mu ni ca tion skills, and job satisfaction.

Doc consults to presidents and leaders in organizations in

how to cre ate profound shifts in decision-making effectiveness,

time use, and pro duc tiv i ty, while dramatically enhancing

per son al balance and well-be ing. HeartMath provides

individuals and organizations with prac ti cal, sci en tifi cal ly-

validated tech nol o gy that Doc developed to release stress in the

mo ment and fi nd inner peace of mind and new hope. In 1998

IHM li censed its training and business consulting activities to

HeartMath LLC, of which Doc is chairman.

The HeartMath system has been featured in USA Today,

US News & World Report, CNN, NBC’s “Today Show,” “CBS

This Morn ing,” Psy chol o gy Today, Industry Week, Army Times,

New York Times, Los Angeles Times, San Fran cisco Chronicle,

Truckers’ USA, and numerous other pub li ca tions that span many

facets of society.

Doc is the author of several other books that explore

ap pli ca tions of the HeartMath system:

• The How to Book of Teen Self-Discovery (approved as a

text book in California)

• Freeze-Frame: One-Minute Stress Management


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• Teaching Children to Love: Raising Balanced Kids in

Un bal anced Times

• The HeartMath Solution

• Overcoming Emotional Chaos

• Transforming Anger

Doc is also an acclaimed composer whose concept of

“de sign er music” became internationally recognized through his

fi rst album, Heart Zones. His second album, Speed of Balance,

is de scribed as “a mu si cal adventure for emo tion al and mental

re gen er a tion.” Quiet Joy is his latest release.Quiet Joy is his latest release.Quiet Joy

Doc founded Quantum Intech, Inc. in 2001, to develop

and license technology to enhance health, performance and

emotional balance. www.quantumintech.com.



Bruce Cryer

BRUCE BRINGS MORE THAN 25 YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN

business man age ment, human per for mance training, and

organizational change to the position of Pres i dent and Chief

Executive Offi cer for HeartMath LLC. Bruce helped launch

the In sti tute of HeartMath and is the key architect of the In ner

Qual i ty Man age ment (IQM) programs.

Bruce successfully guided HeartMath programs into

the glo bal cor po rate arena, with projects at McKinsey, Dupont,

Motorola, Hewlett-Packard, CIBC (Canadian Imperial Bank of

Commerce), Shell, LifeScan (a Johnson & Johnson company),

Liz Claiborne, and Cathay Pa cifi c Airways. He has also trained

train ers who de liv er HeartMath programs in For tune 500

companies, health care organizations, the U.S. military, and

public and pri vate sector or ga ni za tions in Canada, Eu rope, and

Asia.

Bruce has edited more than 25 books on human per for mance,

stress re duction, and education. For eight years, Bruce served as

Vice Pres i dent for a biotech company, where his broad-based,

senior-level ex pe ri ence was in the areas of marketing, train ing,

distribution, project planning, logistics, and implementation.

Bruce is on the faculty of the Stanford Executive Program,

has lec tured at the Stanford Sloan Program, the University of

California at Ber ke ley Haas Busi ness School, the Santa Clara

University Leavey School of Busi ness, the Wharton Club,

and the Nanyang Poly tech nic Uni ver si ty School of Business

Management in Singapore. His views on developing a more

co her ent, effective workforce have been pre sent ed to audiences

such as the Federation of American Hospitals, Young President’s

Organization (YPO), The Executive Com mit tee (TEC), Lessons in

Leadership Distinguished Speaker Series, several conferences


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on emotional intelligence and systems thinking, and the Society

for Organizational Learning. He has also been interviewed in

or written for such pub li ca tions as Harvard Busi ness Review,

Business 2.0, New York Times, Christian Science Mon i tor,

Computerworld, CIO, Customer Service Professional, At Work,

Entrepreneur Magazine, Advance, and Ex ec u tive Excellence. He

has been a guest on hundreds of television and radio pro grams

na tion wide.


from chaos to coherence

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