In the mid-80s, when Jack Welch launched GE x10 he said: I would love to have a management team that really understood the cvsx10=bvs equation. Its the value-added role in the management process.
At that time GE was a USD35 billion manufacturer of everything from locomotives to light bulbs. By the time Jack left in 2001 GE market value had maximised to USD484 billion making it the most valuable company in the world.
Today, the most valuable company in the world is Google. In February 2013, WIRED Magazines Steven Levy interviewed Larry Page of Google and wrote:
Larry Page lives by the gospel of 10x. Most companies would be happy to improve a product by 10 percent. Not the CEO and cofounder of Google. The way Page sees it, a 10 percent improvement means that youre basically doing the same thing as everybody else. Thats why Page expects his employees to create products and services that are 10 times better than the competition.
MICHAEL HEWITT-GLEESON designed GE x10 for Jack Welch and is acknowledged as the father of x10 thinking. He is the author of The x10 Memeplex: Multiply Your Business By Ten! (Prentice Hall, 2000). Michael talks about x10 thinking here …
The obvious requirement is to escape.We can never see clearly when we are surrounded by the “cloud” of the situation.I see that pressing that escape button is the most important part of the lesson for me.
If you are not born this way (ie bvs, glass half full), work hard to change and to recognise the advantages this style of thinking can have on success within and beyond the workplace. It is also important to not let the constraints of saying ‘yes’ to endless requests compromise your ability to maintain your ‘BVS’. With increasing demands through IT it is very important not to get compromised to insignificance and use your abilities to ‘BVS’ (No do not handball it all!!).
While it is always valuable to look for alternative ways to handle any particular situation and be willing to do things differently, we do also need to be prepared to accept that sometimes, the current way actually is the best, or is at least as good as any of the other options we come up with.
The process of examination of alternatives and the thinking behind that, is the valuable lesson, not necessarily the end-point.
We need to train our minds to look at other alternatives to better the situation. I think we get comfortable and don’t look at what could be better. CVS to BVS can be powerful to train your mind to look at better alternatives to the present position.
It will take practise to remember to stop and pause for the cvs to BVS contemplation. I have tried it a few times but the habit is not entrenched – yet
It makes sense that in order to look for a better view point there needs to be a perceptial shift to an acceptance that the current view point can be left behind (escaped)
E and S are often seen as luxuries in the fast modern world. In the workplace, one of the best ways to move from CVS to BVS is to consider the options in a group. Ten people will come up with ten different ideas, and if we are all open to valuing the view points of others I think we always gain a BVS by doing this- even if it just accomodating small things that are important to some of the team which we as individuals or leaders may not of thought of. CVS2BVS can apply to the small things that make a team happy and productive as well as the big ideas.
by escaping from the current situation you able to formulate the best response allowing effective communication even in heated situations
The obvious requirement is to escape.We can never see clearly when we are surrounded by the “cloud” of the situation.I see that pressing that escape button is the most important part of the lesson for me.
If you are not born this way (ie bvs, glass half full), work hard to change and to recognise the advantages this style of thinking can have on success within and beyond the workplace. It is also important to not let the constraints of saying ‘yes’ to endless requests compromise your ability to maintain your ‘BVS’. With increasing demands through IT it is very important not to get compromised to insignificance and use your abilities to ‘BVS’ (No do not handball it all!!).
While it is always valuable to look for alternative ways to handle any particular situation and be willing to do things differently, we do also need to be prepared to accept that sometimes, the current way actually is the best, or is at least as good as any of the other options we come up with.
The process of examination of alternatives and the thinking behind that, is the valuable lesson, not necessarily the end-point.
We need to train our minds to look at other alternatives to better the situation. I think we get comfortable and don’t look at what could be better. CVS to BVS can be powerful to train your mind to look at better alternatives to the present position.
It will take practise to remember to stop and pause for the cvs to BVS contemplation. I have tried it a few times but the habit is not entrenched – yet
It makes sense that in order to look for a better view point there needs to be a perceptial shift to an acceptance that the current view point can be left behind (escaped)
E and S are often seen as luxuries in the fast modern world. In the workplace, one of the best ways to move from CVS to BVS is to consider the options in a group. Ten people will come up with ten different ideas, and if we are all open to valuing the view points of others I think we always gain a BVS by doing this- even if it just accomodating small things that are important to some of the team which we as individuals or leaders may not of thought of. CVS2BVS can apply to the small things that make a team happy and productive as well as the big ideas.
It is clear that you cannot move forward without thinking differently than you have done.
Positive changes results from alternative thinking.
There is always a better way – we just have to train ourselves to look for it.