The Path Reveals Itself

In Synchronicity: An Acausal Connecting Principle, Carl Jung defined synchronicity as:

"A meaningful coincidence of two or more events, where something other than the probability of chance is involved."

When we bring this idea to our work or lives, we discover that we can create our own coincidences or synchronicity. "The path reveals itself as we walk."

One of the most visible and palpable examples of synchronicity that I experience in my world is through my writing and work with the Cutter Consortium.

If you're not familiar with Cutter, their mission is to connect people "from every field to create unparalleled collective intelligence so you can transform what's possible."

Cutter brings tremendous value, insight, and leadership to some of the most urgent and challenging issues of our times. Interestingly, the editorial topics always seem to show up at the right time and are framed to allow me to see my work in a new way and more strategically.

My first encounter and experience with Cutter occurred in 2012. At the time, I was working with a consultant who I had met and interviewed through my work at 5 Minutes to Process Improvement Success. Hillel Glazer, CEO at Entinex, was the consultant, and in 2012, he was assigned as guest editor for an upcoming journal on "Agile CMMI: Why Isn't This Conversation Dead Yet?"

While I didn't have any real experience bringing together Agile and CMMI, I had relevant insight and perspective to share. By this time, I had interviewed over 20 Agile, Lean, and CMMI experts, and when I asked each person to share their best improvement strategy, it was never about Agile, Lean, or CMMI... and never about bringing the two together!

So how important was it really to explore this topic in-depth in light of the surprising insights I was learning from my interviews?

In a flash, it occurred to me that this conversation wasn't worth having. It was time to move on. While others focused on bringing the Agile and CMMI domains together, I wrote, "The Agile CMMI Conversation Is a Dead End: How Are Agile, CMMI, and Lean Working Out for Most Organizations?"

Every article I've written for Cutter has occurred in a similar manner through synchronicity. See Figure 1.

Reimagining Teams in Tumultuous Times

I wasn't even aware of the call for papers in my most recent article published with Cutter this month. One of the editors at Cutter contacted me to ask if I might have something to share on Reimagining Teams in Tumultuous Times. My initial response was no, but I said I would think it over. That night, I awakened with this idea:

The ideal team member of the 21st century is a leader of one — themselves. Capable of leading themselves and others in every interaction they have with another team member regardless of location or circumstances.

The article was published this week. Read it online at Cutter or download the PDF here.

It's time to move forward with synchronicity. There is an underlying intelligence in the universe that will guide us forward if we allow it.

— Bill

P. S. You can register right here for our next workshop: SpaceB Workshop on The Inner Journey, April 6, 2022.