Manila, 1 September 2021 — Why to question your linear thinking.

“The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity.” – Alan Watts

Story

It happened in the 2nd century B.C. A philosopher called Huainan recorded a story about a farmer. It became part of the classic known as the Huainanzi or the work of the Master of Huainan. The story appears in the chapter called In the World of Man and is often recalled by people in East Asia to show that situations that seem unfortunate can have good outcomes unexpectedly. Just like, in English, it is said that dark clouds can have a ‘silver lining’ and that an apparent misfortune can turn out to be a ‘blessing in disguise.’ 

In the 20th century, the Story of the Chinese Farmer spread across the world, thanks to Alan Watts, a writer and speaker known for introducing the philosophies of Asia to international audiences. The story starts with how a farmer lost his horse, a prized possession that was essential to his family’s livelihood. The tale then gathers pace when the farmer answered “Maybe” as his neighbors lamented sympathetically that this was a misfortune. To find out how the story ends, listen here or click below. I enjoy listening to Watts as he recites the story in his inimitable style, and hope you will like it too.

As interesting and entertaining as this very short story is, the lesson I want to share with you is a deeper one. By showing how the beliefs of the farmer’s neighbors were in fact unreliable, the story can challenge our deeply held assumptions about change happening in a linear process between cause and effect. “The whole process of nature is an integrated process of immense complexity,” says Watts. That, I believe, is an important and potentially unsettling lesson for leaders who are keen to see results from their attempts to influence positive changes in their workplace and in the world at large. What does the farmer’s “Maybe” teach us today?

Challenge

Scientists and policymakers have a word for complex problems in which the results are often not what we expect. They call them wicked problems, presumably because solving them is neither linear, technical, or straightforward. Welcome to our 21st-century world! Many of the world’s best scientists and philosophers have, in fact, always known this to be true, that we live in a complex world. We fool ourselves by thinking otherwise. Interestingly, in the story, the farmer is the only one who understands this, because he has learned that nature (the Way things happen) is infinitely more complex than we think or can fathom.

From a perspective of leadership research, we know that solving complex problems points to the use of specific approaches, including what is called adaptive or enabling leadership. In fact, a lot of my coaching work also uses these methods, as we keep discovering how complex we are as human beings. Taking inspiration from the farmer in the story, and my own experiences, I would like to share three challenges with you for dealing with complex problems. These are, as Watts put it, central to dealing with nature, and by that I mean everything that happens around, and inside, ourselves.

The first challenge is to respect complexity. The Power of Maybe lies in keeping an open mind and welcoming new information and a range of different, alternative options. Nobel Laureate Elinor Ostrom famously wrote that respecting complexity comes before finding solutions. I would say that it is an essential mindset for leaders. The second challenge is to keep working proactively on being prepared and investing in your activities, just like the farmer would have done with his work, and to do so with a growth mindset that values learning from experiences. The third challenge is often the most difficult, I found. It is to mentally and emotionally detach from the outcome of your work. The farmer’s example inspires us to hold results lightly, whatever they may be, instead of clutching on to them with strong emotions. Maybe your expectation came true, and maybe it did not. What matters is your mindset and what you do next.

Question

For leaders, when we practice an influencing strategy to bring about a desired result, or help our organization adapt to change, it’s essential to keep in mind that the best-laid plans are still just that, plans. Reality (which early Chinese philosophers called Dao or the Way) is infinitely more complex.

That’s why leaders learn to smile each time they hear the farmer in the story say “Maybe.” They know that there are many perspectives to be taken on reality. And they know that while we invest our effort with a good plan and preparations (Yang), we should let go of our attachment (beliefs) about the outcome and instead practice being receptive (Yin) to reality as it evolves. That’s expressed in that simple word Maybe. Have you noticed how our plans are almost always based on linear thinking, which in turn are empowered by linear beliefs about cause and effect? 

Leaders who embark on change and innovation, however, must be prepared to embrace unexpected outcomes. They accept the challenge to disrupt the status quo, to turn the linear thinking process upside down, to see if it can also work in reverse, or if a cyclical spiral process will work better. My question for you this week is this. Where do you need to challenge your assumptions (beliefs) about how change will happen in your workplace or project, or in your personal career plans? Where can you follow the example of the farmer in the story and say “Maybe” — with a smile — when it comes to your plans for change, while remaining fully invested and committed to working for change?