The Science of Surprises (con.)

The willingness to embrace surprises is found in your belief that you don't have all the answers. It is fostered by a lack of ego that enables your natural curiosity to wonder what's going on and what it could lead to. It only happens when you are freed from the belief that the plan is all important, that you must accomplish not only what you have set out to, but you must accomplish it in the way that you planned to. Too often, we let the pert chart run the project, when it should be serving it. This attitude does not lead to a willingness to embrace surprises.

This willingness becomes easier as you learn to trust your intuition, as your curiosity uncovers unknown potentials, and as you become sensitive to the cues in your environment that are hinting at the possibilities you haven't even considered.

5) Use of centering techniques for relaxation and heightened awareness.

Much of what I have been talking about depends upon a healthy relationship with your subconscious mind, that part of you that serves you in so many ways. It warns you, through intuition, that something is happening of which you need to be aware. And it protects your ego so that you won't be surprised by learning that your perception of reality is not the truth. I had an interesting experience once that demonstrated the power of my subconscious to let me see only what I believed to be true.

I was the Store Operations Manager for a Mervyn's in Mountain View, California and occasionally on Sundays I was the acting store manager. When I had this duty, I took it upon myself to do one final tour of the store just before opening. I did this for two reasons; first I wanted to say hello to everyone and let them know I appreciated their coming in to work on a Sunday, and second, I wanted to check my coverage, see where I might have some extra help, if I ran into trouble elsewhere.

The Mountain View store had an unusual layout in that the Boys/Toys and Domestics Departments were off on a separate wing, while the rest of the department's were fairly well centralized. As I was getting ready to, "take the long jaunt," I ran into the Domestics saleswoman and she let me know that she was all alone today and would need break coverage. Since I knew that the Boys/Toys Department had only one person, I decided not to take the jaunt until a little later, so I started walking back to my office. I quickly realized that there was another reason to visit the department, say hello and thanks tothe person there. So I turned around and walked over to Boys/Toys.

As I walked into the department I saw Jane standing at the register folding t-shirts. I walked up to her and said, "Good morning, Jane, I see you're all alone in the department this morning."

And that was when it happened.

There was kind of a roar in my ears and a black curtain descended over my vision.

Through the roar I heard a woman's voice saying, "Mr. Fregger, I'm here too!"

As the voice spoke, the curtain rose and I could see Betty standing there talking to me, standing right next to Jane. I swear that she wasn't there a moment before, but there she was now. What a shocking experience! I quickly made a joke of the situation and went on my way.

What happened is obvious to me now. I knew when I walked into the department that there was only one person on duty. My eyes saw the other person clearly; after all, my eyes are a tool that takes in light wave data and then sends the information to my brain. My sub-conscious gets the data first and then decides whether or not to transmit it to my conscious mind. This decision to transmit or not is dependent on lots of things: how important it is, how interesting it is, and whether or not it supports my current belief system. This is critical to understand. As leaders you have to make judgments which result in decisions, continuously. You depend upon having the information needed to make the best decisions. However, if you have a judgment that a member of your team is not reliable, there is a strong chance that you will only notice behavior that supports this belief; vice versa, if you believe that a member of your team is exceptional, you will only notice behavior that supports this. It should be obvious that this proclivity is potentially dangerous in both instances.

You can minimize this natural tendency, and get a firmer grip on reality by using techniques that relax and center you. These practices will heighten your awareness and help you develop a healthy relationship with your subconscious mind. Additionally, that healthy relationship with your subconscious mind will enhance your intuitive powers, your cue sensitivity skills, and your creativity which is often needed when you are faced with unexpected surprises. I use both meditation and self-hypnosis to accomplish this end...others use exercise, quiet contemplation, etc. What matters is that you take your subconscious seriously, realizing that it is an invaluable partner in your quest to get things done, accomplish the impossible and other difficult things.

Brad Fregger
June 26, 2000
Copyright 2000, Brad Fregger