About “Flex, Adapt, Respond”

The purpose of The Sphere and the SMT (Spherical Modeling Tool) is to help us flex, adapt and respond positively to the changes in our lives and our world. Together they provide a new way to make sense of what is happening, see why it is happening and understand what we can do to influence what will happen.

Sphere-common emergents are the three essential qualities or characteristics we find in all dynamic systems: flexibility, adaptability and response-ability.

The degree to which we are able to flex, adapt and respond to the changing conditions in which we live determines whether we live lives of clarity or confusion, stagnation or growth.

The Sphere guides us toward better judgments and better decisions. It lets us see what shape we are in at any given moment and where changes are needed. As we learn to see The Sphere, we grow more flexible, adaptable and responsive. We better understand the natural forces that shape our lives and organizations.

Sphere-common emergents — flexibility, adaptability and response-ability — are essential to the survival of any system. As individuals and as organizations we flex to avoid breaking, adapt to avoid extinction and respond to changing conditions to avoid collapse. Whether we are talking about teams, companies, individuals or families, the better we flex, adapt and respond, the better we cope with changes in the speed, obstacles and conditions of life.

The ability to flex, adapt and respond emerges in each of us in direct relation to our spherical integrity.

In our personal spheres and organizational spheres we all require flexibility, adaptability and response-ability. While we may be aware of the importance of these qualities, we may not be at all aware that flexibility, adaptability and responsibility emerge from the characteristics and field dynamics of our spheres.

As we develop an increasingly spherical perspective, as we nurture and increase the internodal and intranodal relationships within our spheres of activity, as we intensify our tensegral connections to other spheres, we naturally become more flexible, adaptable and responsive. Out of a healthy and well-integrated sphere come the qualities we need for robust and productive lives and organizations.

We are all trees in the wind. The storms and pressures of life relentlessly test our flexibility.

Flexibility, adaptability and responsiveness emerge from the harmonic blending of field energies.

Q: What do you mean when you say we tend toward spherical integrity? A: As we will see in the next chapter, through the process of field interaction, spheres seek interconnection with complementary spheres. The intent of each is to form a more flexible, adaptable and responsive sphere.

When we lead lives of robust spherical integrity, we roll, flex and bounce.

The people who manage, direct and work in spherical organizations do not succeed in their efforts by focusing on the parts of the business. They unfocus. They learn to see their organizations in terms of interconnections and interrelationships. They flex, adapt and respond appropriately.

The instant we begin to see The Sphere our world expands. We become more aware, creative and attractive. We grow more flexible, adaptable and responsive. We understand that, although we cannot control life, our spheres of influence are unlimited.