Winning Without Competing?

“Physical Thinking” for 21^st Century Organisations and Leaders

From the *Dojo to the Boardroom, what is physical thinking?  

If modern individuals/organisations want to improve their effectiveness and efficiency and thereby prosper in the future, they will need to learn, change and adapt in ways they have not done before. 

If organisations wish to change, then their people must change. Old and established mental models need to be challenged and in many cases be replaced. Changing ingrained mindsets is rarely achieved by rational debate, the mind clings onto what it knows like a drowning man to a floating log. The reason that many organisational re-engineering attempts do not succeed, as intended, is that organisational change does not happen without personal change.

Physical thinking attempts to draw on the inherent wisdom of the body to capitalise on an ‘un’ or little used intelligence. This approach is a different view of learning and development that can transform how individuals and organisations approach the day to day challenges that they face.

Winning Without Competing draws on the principles found in the martial art of Aikido. The word Ai–ki–do essentially means method or way (do) for the co-ordination or harmony (ai) of essential energy or spirit (ki). *Dojo: A place where we discipline ourselves and improve ourselves to be a better person.

Through the practice of the principles of aikido the individual becomes a fully co-ordinated entity of mind/body/spirit, able to face challenges with calm, balance and poise, acting with relaxed focus, fluidity, grace and power, with the highest of ethical values.

What works for the individual also works for the organisation. If the mission of the company (spirit), the strategy (mind) and its people (body) are all working in balanced co-ordinated way, then efficient and elegant responses to situations can take place.

Cultivating the discipline and openness to learning that is inherent in the aikido dojo, into the modern boardroom is not as ‘off the wall’ as it sounds. The mastery aimed for in the dojo is not that of defeating ones opponent or attacker, rather the mastery of the self.

Modern business managers and leaders are no different, to be an efficient, effective and elegant leader of others, one must fully realise the true extent of their own ‘self’. How many of us live lives of disconnected pieces: manager and parent, professional self and private self, work and play, analyst and artist, head and heart?

Physical Thinking aims to provide a model for integration where people can bring all of themselves to their work, people who can manage and parent as one and the same person, who think with their hearts and feel with their minds.

The learning environment created in Winning Without Competing is used to examine what it means to “learn in our bodies” it challenges the cultural myth that “learning occurs in our heads”. Until we challenge that belief our capacities for deep learning are severely limited.

This course does not preach this message, it offers a concise and well tested series of physical exercises to start on reintegrating the mind and body, by focussing on the most common challenges that all professionals face in today’s workplaces. Not only is this approach effective in challenging old mental models, it is fun to do!  

The course can be adapted to address many specific individual and organisational issues. However, these module points below will be used to create the model for learning and development of each individual client group: 

• Discovering our unused intelligence – What is the intelligence we’re not using that can help us change the way we’re thinking about our most pressing challenges?

• Shifting from stress to balance – How do you manage job stress and change the ways of thinking that contribute to it?

• Establishing trust in uncertain times – How do we create trust and support on the job when everything keeps changing?

• Respecting one another’s limits – How do we establish mutual respect for diverse needs in the workplace?

• Acting on your vision – How do we find personal intent and shared vision in the distraction of day to day work challenges?

• Transforming impasses in thinking – How do you deal with either or thinking?

• Moving beyond command and control – How do we get more effective results using fewer resources?

• Acting systemically – How do we learn to perceive the whole instead of just thinking about how we can survive individually?

This type of approach to learning and development has been established in the USA and has been used and endorsed by companies such as Hewlett Packard, Shell and Chrysler to name a few.

The course will be facilitated by Mark Freeman.  

Mark Freeman Biography 

Mark Freeman works as a trainer, personal development coach and facilitator for clients in both the private and public sectors.

Mark as developed and delivered high impact training programmes for clients that include BMW, Unigate Dairies, AIT Group, Halifax, London Underground, The Prince’s Trust,

Mark specialises in sales, customer service, conflict management, team building, stress management, assertiveness, improving performance, confidence and motivation.

He is a Master Practitioner of NLP and a 4^th Dan Ki Aikido instructor and has successfully combined his skill in these disciplines to produce training events that are unique, enjoyable and enlightening.

Testimonials

Comments from AIT, BMW, Halifax, Unigate Dairies, Selfridges, Bax, Global Metronet. 

“Incredibly useful and practical tools for all levels of management” C.H.

“I really enjoyed the practical exercises (physical and mental) that illustrated the theories being presented, which reinforced the key messages through out, that and Mark’s relaxed and confident presentation style” H.M.

“The use of physical demonstrations was highly effective in increasing understanding of new concepts and improving retention (I have a higher retention of this course than any other I have ever attended)”. C.S.

“A strong point of the course was the provision of techniques to raise one’s awareness of others needs and value systems within the workplace and the ability of the course content and delivery to challenge traditional ways of thinking”. A.F.

“This was one of the most revealing courses that I have ever attended; the whole approach, which challenged existing beliefs, set up a new understanding of dealing with conflict situations”. I.B.

“Taking Aikido and using it to demonstrate this topic – very relevant. Very practical, good balance of talk / exercise. I learnt a lot and applied it straight away today!” J.R

Winning Without Competing Course Dates 2009