MOST Analysis

Mission Statement

Cultivating Potential carries a theme throughout that each module is “positivity-focused” and “strengths-based.” This first module will introduce the concept of such an approach and its opportunities for personal growth and increased potential.

This module then aims to empower the audience with a clear understanding of what human potential is and what factors can inhibit or elevate one’s actualized potential throughout life. As participants will begin to fully appreciate, every human has an incredible amount of untapped potential within them. Each person also experiences many events, circumstances, and conditioning that limit this expressed potential behind walls of insecurity or fear. Before long, many develop a propensity to settle for results and achievements far beneath what they genuinely want and are capable of attaining.

Fortunately, the forces limiting one’s innate ability begin to dissolve once a study of human potential begins. This in-depth study of human potential introduces many concepts and principles that will be developed fully during later modules. Core concepts for this workshop include self-efficacy, positive affect, happiness setpoint, eudemonic vs. hedonic happiness, overall life satisfaction, illness-wellness continuum, and personal responsibility for outcomes. With this foundation established, participants will chart a course forward that follows a holistic and comprehensive approach that addresses each element of positive psychology’s PERMA model. PERMA, an acronym for Positivity, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Achievement, addresses each avenue for personal growth and wellbeing.

By the end of this module, participants will be confident that they can tap into much more of their innate potential and have a clear vision for how this journey will be accomplished in the coming months. While this module is more about sharing concepts and laying a foundation for growth than it is about the application, participants will have a renewed spirit for growth and future possibilities that is itself an empowering outcome.

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Objectives

01. Define and examine the framework, process, and personal expectations of this course.
02. Understand the human potential model for performance and success.
02. Understand the role of self-efficacy in one’s ability to perform at their highest potential.
03. Improve personal productivity and sense of empowerment at work.
04. Identify opportunities to take greater levels of ownership and responsibility.
05. Identify appropriate responses to get desired results in the organization.
06. Develop a strengthened locus of control at work.
07. Improve each participants foundation for operating at higher levels of innate-potential.
08. Identify the line of division between the indirect and direct spheres of circumstances.
09. Foster a sense of connection with the fellow program participants.
10. Develop a skill for taking responsibility for difficult and troubling situations that arise.

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Strategies

01. Each participant is to set aside time to study the elements of the workshop content.
02. Participants to set aside time to meet as a team to discuss the elements of framing human potential.
03 List the key personnel that will participate in each of the modules.
04. Participant complete the exercises individually and then as a group.
05. Analyze existing responsibilities and consider them in the context of locus of control and direct/indirect sphere events.
06. Participants meet to discuss the overall performance of the organization and identify where there may be lost actualized potential.
07. Seek opportunities to exploit resources within your direct sphere and locus of control
08. Participants should meet to discuss future expectations of the organization once leveraging increased potential individually and as a group.
09. Develop an integration plan for including new commitments born of the Project Study exercise.
10. Determine the estimated time commitment for the participants for each module and analyze the current workload to determine feasibility.

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Tasks

01. Participants to read through the Preliminary Analysis for workshop and complete the
02. Participants to read through the entire workshop and make notes.
03. Schedule a meeting within the next 30 days for the participants to meet and discuss the workshop material.
04. Set a deadline within the next 30 days to take the self-assessment about human potential in your life along with the self-evaluation of self-efficacy.
05. Schedule a meeting in the next 30 days to complete the Responsibility Stems exercise with the group of Participants.
06. Set a deadline within the next 30 days to complete the locus of control analysis.
07. Set a deadline within the next 30 days to perform the analysis for creating or allowing outcomes.
08. Schedule a time in the next 30 days to complete the inventory of broken agreements.
09. Schedule a time in the next 30 days to complete the Project Study with a fellow participant and as a group or with your team.
10. Set a deadline in the next 30 to 60 days to review the results of the Project Study for dealing with difficult and troubling situations.

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Introduction

Appropriately named, the first phase of this program is Laying the Foundation for Unlimited Potential. This phase focuses on developing that foundation for Cultivating Potential. Paramount for this stage is the adoption of the human potential model for productivity and success. Throughout this phase, we delve into understanding the interrelationship between actualized potential, self-efficacy, affect, and mindset. With techniques to capitalize on phase one, participants will begin experiencing improvements in their performance, happiness, productivity, and joy.

The height of a building is limited by the strength of its foundation, so too is the height of one’s potential success and achievement in life. The first part of building that foundation for growth is believing that growth is possible and accepting that full ownership of one’s life is the surest path to reaching one’s full potential. This level of ownership requires each individual to accept complete responsibility for the outcomes in their life. For many, stress and a heartfelt desire to do well can force them into a reactionary or survival mindset where attention tends toward external threats beyond their control. This external focus is disempowering and promotes fears or feelings of being overwhelmed. Establishing a foundation for reaching one’s highest potential demands taking personal responsibility for one’s thoughts and behaviors. With this acceptance of responsibility comes increased self-esteem and a sense of control. Phase One is a significant step towards participants cultivating their full potential; this stage of the program instills that everything a person needs to achieve their ambitions is within their control. Their goals are attainable with their capacity to grow.

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We recognize that the world is rapidly changing, both in terms of broad, global patterns that drive business and in terms of the more immediate space that surrounds our daily lives. The options available to us to meet our needs and pursue our goals are evolving swiftly and often unpredictably, mirroring the exponential pace of development in the underlying technologies. In some ways, this enriches and empowers us more than ever before; in other ways, the trend can be disconcerting. This is one of the 21st century’s paradoxes: The world changes quickly, but our basic human needs do not. We are struggling to keep up with the world we have created and continue to create in some fundamental ways. It’s a period of high—and rising—stress.

We can already sense the tension: the sense of limitless options (for some) and the awareness of limited time (for most); the feeling of having just missed something and the fear of missing more; the thrill of seeing a 3D-printed car and the unease of wondering which jobs will remain for us in the age of intelligent machines; the hyper-connection and loss of connection; the expectation of on-demand everything and the appeal of slow, bespoke, handmade.

One of the most significant changes we are witnessing is the shortening of time spans, which is owing in large part to exponential technology advancements combined with the immediate dissemination of ideas and information across a linked world. What used to take decades now takes years; what used to take years now takes months; months to weeks, etc. This transition is upsetting traditional firms and business models in the institutional context, but it has also spawned a new set of enterprises and business models that are better suited to the faster (and growing) pace.

This transformation is also affecting us as individuals. An education for our parents lasted a career. It could now last 5–10 years. With the rapid rate of change, the ability to “know” a fixed store of knowledge is becoming less relevant and legitimate, while other qualities such as creativity, empathy, and the ability to understand context are becoming more vital. Our pupils will be required to take lifetime learning seriously and upgrade their abilities on a regular basis. They will very certainly change fields of study and employment several times during their lifetimes. We, too, will need to develop new habits and competencies that are tailored to the times, just as institutions.

People have turned to certain old, and very old, practices in the face of the challenges of a new, modern environment. There is a rising movement built around mindfulness, meditation, gratitude, and digital detox—all as antidotes to increased stress, as seen by events like the Wisdom 2.0 conference. The wellness industry is booming, with increasing demand for existing methods as well as the development of new practices and fresh takes on old ones. Yoga has never been required to perform so many tasks for so many people. According to a recent survey, the number of people practicing yoga in the United States has surged by about 80% since 2012, with practitioners paying more than $16 billion on training each year.

Meanwhile, spending on meditation-related products and services was slightly under $1 billion in 2015, excluding mindfulness apps. In the United States, the workplace wellness sector is worth more than $40 billion. Health and wellness, well-being, mental health, professional development, career advancement, and even community service intersect as the borders between various sectors and portions of our lives blur in the drive to understand ourselves holistically and so govern our lives.

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Individual pliability in an unpredictably changing world

When we try to build new habits around our work and life, balance, notably work-life balance, frequently appears to be the aim, however difficult. We’re told that our lives, including our working lives, will be long—longer than previous generations’ — and that we’ll need to maintain our bodies, minds, and relationships throughout that time. We use balance to accomplish this. Is balance, however, the sole or even the best goal? When we are unhappy, we tend to notice large imbalances and believe that restoring equilibrium is the solution. However, in terms of our professions and objectives, as well as the ways we evaluate ourselves and find meaning, development or impact may be just as important as balance for many of us.

What is the goal if balance isn’t the goal? Personal practices for times of exponential change tend to be divided into two camps: those who speed up and those who slow down, not so much at odds as detached, each camp blind to the relevance of the other. On one hand, there are techniques for increasing speed: doing more, getting more, improving, growing quicker, and stronger. The answers are out there, digital tools put them all within reach, and the only question is, what’s stopping you? In this camp, we identify passions, get into a flow state, and hack everything, Tim Ferriss style; the only question is, what’s stopping you? Mindfulness, meditation, and digital detox are examples of practices for slowing down. If you can tune out the noise long enough to listen, you’ll find the ans