About Time-Life Navigation © (TLN)

Today isn't a linear extrapolation of yesterday and tomorrow won't be a linear extrapolation of today. Tomorrow can't be reached by piling up more todays or just patching today. This non-linear argument is easy to test. More information on this below.

The work referred to as time-life navigation © is not just another add-on to an already busy life. It is the core of long-term self-interest. This is genuinely grasped primarily in distant painful (major life loss) hindsight and maybe only then when it is explained—further explanation is probably needed, but not now.

Over 40,000 (organization independent) hours of work went into the background, terrain exploration, and site production. This work came after my corporate restructuring work (organization crisis: corporate doctor > corporate undertaker) and is a constructive response.

It is to your benefit to take advantage of this work—make your brain go down this road—repeatedly.

Strategic thinking: The time-life navigation that I'm referring to is not a subject or a tactical detail. It encompasses all subjects. It concerns conscious and informed navigation of the roads ahead (see knowledge system view at right). It's not about how to do this or that tactical detail right. It's not about the Martha Stewart trivial maximization pursuit mentality. Ten or twenty years from now how would that matter?

Fundamentally time-life navigation is a matter of shifting attention at the appropriate time—it is the first step and more complex than it might seem at first glance. This involves a work plan for repeatedly laying the appropriate groundwork. The tools provided by this site are the means for creating this work plan. This work plan is essentially a means of forced and focused attention directing in contemplation of an external system (see knowledge system view and common misunderstandings). At times it may amount to just spending some time thinking or exploring. It should provide us with the appropriate vision (both horizon view and peripheral view)

This forward navigation isn't natural—just the reverse. It's not easy, but the only alternatives are undesirable. After a point in our lives, our brains naturally want to look backwards (what we've been exposed to yesterday) rather than forwards (what we haven't been exposed to—nobody has been exposed to the non-linearity of our tomorrows). Our brains want to relate everything back in time—hard to see how it could do otherwise. To not navigate leaves us at the mercy of the "flow of events." Organization crisis stories in the news provide some insight.

Current strategic system: Thoughts, observations, and questions.

The future of society: The work life (career) evolution dimension is not about the choice between doctor, lawyer, or other line of work. It is not about having or finding a job. It concerns the progress from work life entry to top of the "food chain" embedded in the real world of competition, change, real innovation and the other four dimensions. It is not about celebrity but increasing contribution to the unfolding big pictures (in time). It is about making a substantial contribution to meaningful organization evolution over time. This implies multiple organizations and strategic capacity. Part of this capacity is the escape from specific organization and industry dependence while becoming more organization attractive. This implies evolution that is more external situation relevant than insulated, inward "product" focused MBA courses, continuing education or career self-help books. A first step is exposure to a strategic terrain view.

The future of society depends on what we work on and in what sequence plus what we wisely ignore or wisely abandon. Those at the top of the "contribution food chain" set the standard which elevates all of us. Routine jobs and routine work—though necessary—can't create new dimensions of performance.

Chief TLN Officer (CEO?): Every organization needs someone strategically responsible for strategic landscape evolution awareness and constantly demanding that every key person (multi-generationally) seriously work on this forever. The effectiveness of current typical approaches can be seen in the daily news. Conclusion: In the real world of human action the CEO function is subordinate to the TLN (time-life navigation) function. This function is at the core of personal wealth creation. Strategic terrain view

Mental patterns versus the changing social and economic picture

The site focuses on navigating toward unimagined tomorrows while our mental patterns are unavoidably and recurrently rooted in yesterday. This is not a minor technical detail. It is of major strategic significance.

Picture the different worlds of 500, 1000, 1850, 1900, 1920, 1935, 1940, 1945, 1950, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010, 2020, 2050—non-linear, unimagined, disjointed, receding horizons. Major opportunities reside within these unimagined futures. I mentioned the year 500 because there are places on the planet that are essentially stuck there—in developmental terms—and yet connected to us.

If we lived in a static world, there would be no change and the future would be like the past. If we lived in a linear world, then today's world would be a linear extrapolation of yesterday's world. Maybe, we would have nicer caves and better stone axes. In a growing, linear world communities would still be largely isolated from each other.

In a growing, linear economy there would be no organization crisis stories and costs would go down forever. In a growing, linear economy the composition of the Dow-Jones Industrials would not change (more correctly there would not be a Dow-Jones, only cave dwellers). If we lived in a predictable world, there would be no surprises. Neither static, linear, or predictable describes reality. Unimagined futures is the appropriate expectation.

Even in times of robust economic growth there are expectational breakdowns. This is the nature of the terrain we inhabit. There is apparently no end (static) position that we will reach in time. The periods of quiet are the calm before the storm.

In addition to different time periods, we as individuals have different life stages at different points in time.

The reality we're challenged to navigate today is a dynamic, global, multi-dimensional, knowledge reality that didn't exist 50 years ago where human interaction, work and working can transcend thousands of miles instantaneously—this has not reached full impact. We are challenged to navigate time, life, life areas, and life stages.

"What in human history could have prepared anyone for this reality?" And yet we are embedded in it and can't control it. This applies to all of us—but in different ways at different times.

We can choose to react or design.

This is not an easy subject—conceptually or emotionally. It is more a capacity than a subject. It is elusive because there aren't permanent answers.

One of the barriers to Time-Life Navigation is the almost unavoidable habit of trying to fit non-linear tomorrows into the familiar mental patterns of today (trying to make automobiles fit a horse and buggy world). Actually today's mental patterns inescapably belong to yesterday—this is explored in greater depth on the site. These mental patterns make it very difficult to grasp time-life navigation and its strategic benefits because our brains want to relate it to the worlds of 1930, 1950, 1980, or 1995 rather than the road ahead.

A dimension of this barrier is the ego defense mechanism that finds reasons why something outside our mental patterns can't be valid because it is outside our mental patterns.

Another barrier is the belief that success is permanent—difficult to find any examples—and then waiting for trouble as a signal for acting differently. At the point of trouble, informed, aggressive, conceptually valid action becomes extremely more difficult—almost impossible. At the point of strategic difficulty recognition (almost always follows a substantial delay), the conceptualizations associated with popular buzz words (management, strategy, marketing, innovation, productivity, profitability, quality, organization, etc.) are not useful because they are almost always conveniently interpreted or perceived internally through yesterday's eyes (rather than in the context of big movies). These issues are frequently revisited on the site and are inherent in Time-Life Navigation. These issues are also part of being informed.

We need a systematic, valid, life-long work approach (in each of the five dimensions) that is in harmony with the disjoints and realities in the changing social and economic picture. Among other things, the work approach requires repeated, systematic looking around and thinking. If conscientiously pursued, it should make a dramatic life difference.

Capacity enhancement

Exploring, engaging, knowing the conceptual time-life terrain enhances navigation capacity. Having command of a conceptually valid tool kit enhances capacity. Tools extend our capabilities.

The capacity to successfully and repeatedly navigate a radically changing world is a core personal and community development resource. Unfortunately this capacity is not permanent. The habit of looking toward the road ahead rather than the road behind is an important capacity, but portions of this capacity are situation specific (this can be seen in organization crisis stories in the news). Mental pattern expansion and re-mapping—toward the road ahead—is necessary.

If this navigation capacity already existed there would be fewer organization crisis, walking dead or life crisis stories in the news. Consider the individual and community "costs" in these situations. These stories are just the tip of the iceberg. Where in the world can evidence of this navigation capacity be seen? When in human history could this have developed and from what origins (cave people, knights of the round table, gangs of New York)? The challenge is not to fix yesterday or expect it to remain fixed—faulty or misguided navigation. One of the challenges is to avoid being blind-sided.

Repeatedly striving to create a conceptually valid work plan enhances capacity.

What? (Time-life navigation terrain tour)

Opportunities: The organization and career evolution dimensions of this site introduce opportunities for major social, economic, and community development across multiple time dimensions.

Words not adequate: In reading this, try to think about the real subject of focus not the words being used. In this case, the words are just placeholders or maybe attention directors. The word "apple" in not a real apple. When we pause and think about a real apple, color, shape, taste, texture, production, distribution, or consumption may come to mind as well as associated images from our past—mom's apple pie. What words in the past would have been adequate for thinking about today? What words in today's vocabulary will be adequate for the multiple intermingled time dimensions in which we live through out our lives? Should this difficulty prevent us from taking action? Can it be just any action? Can it be a repeat of successful action in the past?

An important site function: This site provides tools for repeatedly supplementing, adjusting, refreshing our radar and mental patterns in multiple dimensions and time periods. This is also an opportunity to add a strategically powerful work approach to our tool kit—an approach that creates new choices. This site doesn't concern itself with small tactical adaptations, fixing or just improving yesterday's world—which is what we predominately experience.

Conscious work approach: It is too easy to let these opportunities for major social, economic, and community development slip off our mental radar. One way to keep this visible is to put it on your to do list—now. Top priority. Set an alarm reminder to work on this. Awareness is not adequate. We need a specific work plan. The tools for creating that work plan are right here! You've picked up the first tool already. Click the following symbol See How below. Ways to test against current efforts.

Changing social and economic picture

Foundational exercise: Imagine for a moment that it is 1960. What linearity could be expected for the years ahead? Would it be prudent to assume that the first decades of the next century would be a linear projection of the current era? Would it be prudent to just keep on keeping on? From our vantage point today, the answer is no—those would be the wrong assumptions.

Why wouldn't there be a similar relation between today and the years ahead? Can we wait until 2009 to prepare for 2010? Can we wait until 2019? What is the strategic impact of linear behavior?

The non-linearity mentioned above is part of the journey explored in the first section of the further elaborations page.

There is a fallacy in the imagination exercise above. In 1960 you couldn't have been reading this html page on a personal computer connected to a .mac server. In 1960 there weren't any personal computers, no .mac servers, or many other things we now assume to permanent fixtures in modern life—soon to be not so modern. In 1960 the previous two sentences would have made absolutely no sense to you at all—no appropriate mental patterns. This inherent lack of a mental foundation with which to make sense is part of our unimagined futures.

We are embedded in a world moving toward unimagined futures ...

We don't have a choice.

In the developed countries we are embedded in a dynamic knowledge system—what people know how to do—where their constituents have many more choices than just fifty years ago. This situation contributes to non-linear "motion"—unimagined futures.

(Food for thought : in the process of doing something new—both to us and or the world—we acquire capabilities that go beyond the current application of these capabilities. This can provide a new launching pad. Also it is these unimagined future that provide significant opportunities because they are free of competitive quagmire)

We are not going to stop this non-linear "motion." It's a waste of energy to try.

The choice we have is how we view it and act.

I choose to view it as an opportunity for an adventure.

An adventure where the idea is to take advantage of the opportunities change puts within our grasp. These opportunities are not on a predetermined time schedule. They come when they come. We have to be prepared. Prepared to see them and prepared to take advantage of them. This is part of time-life navigation ©.

On an adventure the right navigation tools are useful ...

The map symbol and phrase "time-life navigation" summarizes or perceives the symbols and links on the site map page. This site is a resource

This is a system that is comprehensive and customizable: add, remove, or redesign elements.

It provides a starting point or prototype.

Site map symbol implications and perspectives

This site is an opportunity to repeatedly refocus attention to areas that lead to constructive action—to navigate.

How can anyone (now and future generations) work on areas, topics, issues that are off their radar screen(s)? This site offers a systematic way to put constructive ideas on our radar screen—repeatedly. More below ...

Connections to issues in the current news

Terrorism (mental patterns, knowledge economy), identity theft; counterfeit goods and money; delights and dissatisfactions with local services—existing or not; the political hot topic of the day; government budget difficulties; unfunded infrastructure needs (power grid, bridges, roads); un and underemployment; family financial pressures, under-funded pension funds, non-profit organizations facing painful cuts. Kids rebounding to their parents homes. Porno everywhere and the system impact. Fads and crazziness. Examples and see Articles of Interest in each major area. Superimpose on the changing social and economic picture:

All of these issues relate to our time-life navigation interwoven with where and how we expend our efforts.

Connect, Connect, Connect

You might want to use some of the page and topic linking in shaping your mental map of time-life navigation. Links = mental connections.

Time-Life Navigation Foundation Awareness

To fully appreciate the value of systematic time-life navigation you have to be aware of the changing social and economic picture; the time dependent mental patterns possessed by you and others (globally); and the strategic organization and human experience stories reported in the news everyday. It might also be useful to perceive a linear view of organization evolution embedded in a dynamic economy and society.

It's probably a strategic mistake to prematurely swing into action. Having a sound background and strategic overview is an advantage. Also it is usually a strategic mistake to get involved in efforts that we don't intend to fully pursue or that conflict with informed major life design desires . Further elaboration

Directing our efforts toward multiple futures

This site provides a tool kit for directing our efforts toward multiple futures. It attempts to direct our attention to constructive concepts and then from these concepts to daily action.

Futures that aren't linear. Futures for which there are no experts. Futures where the experts have to become expert at something else or face obsolescence. Futures no one knows or can know. Futures that are ours and others interconnected with each other in a state of disequilibrium. These are the unimagined futures of our future—if we live long enough—our children's futures and future generations—the changing social and economic picture.

This page and this site is a tool that helps us make these unimagined futures, benefit us and others (Steve Forbes).

In the past, getting to these futures was largely done in and through today—especially through remaining effective.

What could be done today that would provide a path into the multiple futures that lie ahead?

Mental pattern challenge

At the most fundamental level it is our mental patterns that direct our efforts. If these mental patterns are yesterday's products, services, functions, knowledges, technologies, or operational work they will be inadequate for directing efforts toward the present and futures. The more comfortable we are with something the more suspect it should be. Comfort comes from yesterday's mental patterns and it always will.

I'm not saying there is any benefit to having the most up-to-date of the fore mentioned. These are just the supporting characters in reality—a bigger something. See the introductory paragraphs above. We all started at the bottom—as children—and products, services, functions, knowledges, technologies and operational work are the entry point to further development. They are not the destination. If they were the destination, there would be no Changing Social and Economic Picture.

It is all too easy to get trapped in yesterday's supporting characters, but they aren't what customers pay for, what donors give to, or taxpayers willingly support. Also people in the aforementioned roles don't care about professionalism at all. Their prime concern deals with end results, but even these end results aren't permanent.

Two more thoughts in this area. In 1960, hard work and intelligence were often enough to produce a successful work life. At that time the powerful knowledge specialties were just beginning to enter the strategic arena. About that same time organization functions and departments seemed to be adequate. Developments since that time have proven that both of these ideas were mirages. Consider the strategic magnets (digital technology and its existing film customer base) pulling at Kodak and pushing it towards splintering its efforts—not a good thing.

So, having the appropriate mental patterns is the challenge. They can only begin to form through exploration and perception through out our lives—Time-Life Navigation.

Strategic action system—not just something else to read

This site blueprints a time comprehensive, flexible strategic action system. An action system that moves us through time, social and economic development

The symbols represent tools for systematically redirecting attention and scheduling some kind of action in a world that is not static with a brain that is not static.

There is no possible answer here—just a work approach.

The view point of this site is changing social and economic picture. In fact the need for something like this site is implied in the content and time dimension complexity that has emerged in the last quarter century.

The number one thing that we as individuals need is an adequate master action list.

Here's what I'm doing and here's where I think it will take me.
Here's the direction I want to go and here's the action I need to take.
Is where I think I want to go, really where I want to go?
In other words is it informed?

Part of a master action list seems to include a blue print and a strategic work plan for creating a master action list that reflects reality.

So the summary idea is that we need a tool to bridge to gap between where we are and our informed directions, paths, intermediate destinations—where we want to be going.

It's not just what we fundamentally choose to work on but how it is configured in time.

More foundation details

• Our complex and often cruel situation—navigating unimagined futures [ go ]
• To know and not do, is to not yet know [ go ]
• View point: Big picture, big pictures, big movies, other approaches, Drucker foundation [ go ]
• Life directions in complex systems [ go ]
• Strategic direction and Work plan
• From interest to action
• Already got a plan
• Already got a planning process
• Strategic thinking
• Three questions or issues may be lurking in the background [ go ]
• No clouds on the horizon
• Already got a busy life
• Why this site?
• Comprehensive and Integrated [ go ]

Capacity building

Navigating the mental terrain presented on this site is a capacity builder. More terrain. More complex terrain. Navigating the terrain in time. More valid complex mental patterns.

The ability to differentiate between routine news reports and those that unwittingly refer to unimagined futures is a valuable capability. More and more we need to learn to differentiate between data, information, and knowledge—there is a substantial amount of confusion between the three.

Using the site structure as an information or data model

In developing this site I use a computer notebook that has sections and pages for each element. The notebook structure matches the site folder structure. You can see this folder structure by going to my text site map and positioning your mouse over the links in each area. I've tried to design this folder structure so it provides a useful model for an individual's master action list, notes application categories, and hard drive structures.

bobembry