Embracing the Void

"Something will turn up." - Benjamin Disraeli

Sometimes in my work life I have been faced with voids. The word void here means a big fat "I don't know." In the workplace this can send most people into a panic. Suddenly fear consumes them and they tumble down Maslow's pyramid to the survival mode. I have seen this this panic throw ordinary people into a fight for your life struggle over their position or point of view where they will do anything and say anything to defend their best guess.

What lies underneath the big fat "I don't know," is a small but powerful "I might be wrong." At the core of that "I might be wrong" is a poisonous "I might fail." For many, this is a paralyzing poison. Failure is not an option. Failure is a sign of weakness and in the dog eat dog world of business there is no end of the pain and suffering that can come from being wrong. I exaggerate. But only slightly.

In theatre school and specifically in acting class we were taught to confront this fear of failure. My acting teacher, Ken Brown, used to refer to this as "embracing the void." For an actor this is a very scary place. It is that moment when you have used up all your bits, all your dramatic tricks that you fall back on when you are faced with an unexpected moment. These things happen, and the show must go on. The "void" is the place where you just plain and simple don't know what you will do next.

In these moments, you learn to trust your intuition. You learn to let go of your ego. You become open to new ideas and new possiblities. But before that happens, you must embrace the void. It is chaotic, uncontrolled, and rich in creative inspiration.

In business, teaching, and consulting, I learned to leverage this "embracing the void" thing by realizing that it was okay if I was wrong. I gave myself permission to fail. I also recognized that creative inspiration comes from many places, including other people! By releasing my ownership of my ideas, I discovered that I was surrounded by talent and brilliance. More importantly I realized that I was an equal in that brilliance, not more and not less.

What is sad to watch is a person who's lack of confidence and fear of failure constipates them. Every creative idea they have they must fight for because they are so bunged up, they don't know when they will get another one. Somehow, if someone else manages to come up with something better, that person is now inferior in some way. Sadly too, I have been that person. I have gone through periods of insecurity and fear that have made me fight tooth and nail to protect the precious few good ideas I had.

Part of being able to get past this fear, is the ability to trust. If you are working in a team that is unhealthily competitive or people don't play fair or a manager insists on editing in a brainstorm session, you are likely not going to be able to trust anyone. You won't risk embracing the void. But, if you have a team where there is respect and support. You have a manager who actively follows you, coaches you, and guides you. Taking that leap into the void isn't so scary.

Edison said, "if you want to increase your successes, double your failure rate." Innovation is doing things in novel and new ways. This requires that you throw out your bag of tricks.

Don't worry, something will turn up.

OB