Attention

The only thing we come into the world with that is fully ours to invest: our attention.

The way we spend our time and focus our attention translates into who we are and will become.

If you invest time and attention in becoming an expert in something in something, others will seek you out and pay more for your concentrated knowledge and skill.

All forms and flows of currency are conversions of attention and time. We convert time and attention into accounts of money, acknowledgement, self-esteem, honors and social status. Each account has its own basis for exchange and understanding of wealth that bestows healthy and valued life years.

As leaders we need to understand attention is the core asset that drives the failure, success and ultimately the significance of our efforts. What is the relevance of what we’re focused on… and how does it fit into a larger context? Relevance without context is a private entertainment, not a business or purpose-driven organization in service of others. Context without relevance is passing fad – understanding the world around you and reacting to it without core values that sustain and allow an enterprise to thrive over time.

As those of us who are inspired to follow (we all lead and follow in different aspects of our lives), are we putting our trust into relationships that deliver mutual benefit? Do we perceive ways to come together and do something we could not accomplish on our own? Are we giving our attention to something that will pay us twice – in the physical sustenance we need to maintain physical life – and in the abundance we want in our relationships and social life?

Organizations designed to pay people twice will be the dominant form of enterprise as we move forward into a world more dominated by living systems models than mechanical systems models.  Our shared ecosystem will also start to accommodate machine intelligence in addition to human intelligence in a blended smart environment to drive better decisions and deliver more abundance now.