There is a conference room on top of a mountain in Huntley, New Zealand. It’s not really a mountain. It’s more like a big hill. It’s isolated. That is part of its beauty. It’s the kind of place you go to when you don’t want to be distracted. It’s the kind of place you go for an off-site to get clarity on your direction and future.
It’s 2005 and I’m sitting in that conference room on top of the mountain. I have already spent four days in a boot camp style course. I am learning the Theory of Constraints Thinking Process. I have three more days to go. It’s intense. I haven’t thought this deeply about anything before.
The Theory of Constraints Thinking Process consists of integrated problem-solving tools. These tools use cause-and-effect logic to generate breakthrough solutions. It helps you to identify, challenge and replace assumptions about how things are – hence the breakthrough. It is often referred to as a form of systems thinking.
As part of the boot camp we were required to bring a high value problem to work on. I was the Human Resources Manager for the sponsoring company. I decided to work on getting the right people in the right place at the right time. I had been working my way methodically through the thinking process when it happened…
I had an epiphany. I could use this Thinking Process to go much deeper.
The Birth of an Integrated Approach
From my years of studying psychology and education, I knew that mindset is a significant cause of behaviour and motivation. Working in employment law, human resources, and organisational development across multiple sectors taught me a valuable lesson. The type of mindset and behaviour adopted by people significantly impacts organisational performance. It can lead to team dysfunction and cause individual failure.
If I could use this Thinking Process to examine and change my own beliefs, I could change my behaviour. And if I could change my behaviour, surely I could change my results.
Little did I know that I was starting on a path. Almost two decades later, this path led to me traveling around the world. I now work as an international coach and consultant.
What This Series Will Explore
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing a powerful synthesis of transformational frameworks. I’ve developed and refined these over 20 years. I have been helping individuals, teams, and organisations resolve their most challenging conflicts and unlock their potential.
We’ll explore:
- Gregory Bateson’s foundational work on double binds and systems thinking
- Neuro-Linguistic Programming and how Bandler and Grinder translated Bateson’s insights into practical tools
- Tony Robbins’ Six Human Needs framework and how it reveals our internal motivational conflicts
- Eliyahu Goldratt’s Evaporating Cloud technique for resolving seemingly irreconcilable conflicts
- The Human Synergistics Circumplex and how it measures our coping strategies
- The Security-Satisfaction Axis that underlies our deepest psychological struggles
- The Self-Aware Transformation Loop – my integrated model for creating lasting change
What makes this approach unique is not the individual components. Although they are brilliant, it is how they interconnect to create a comprehensive system. This system helps in understanding and resolving the conflicts that keep us stuck.
Why This Matters
We live in a world of increasing complexity and seemingly irreconcilable conflicts—both within ourselves and in our organisations. Traditional approaches often ask us to compromise or prioritise one need over another. This leaves us perpetually unsatisfied. We end up switching between extremes.
The integrated approach I’ll share doesn’t ask you to compromise. Instead, it guides you in “evaporating” conflicts. You do this by challenging the underlying assumptions that make them appear irreconcilable initially.
Over these last 20 years, I’ve developed my mindset. I’ve changed my behaviour. I’ve continually improved my personal results. Along the way, I’ve helped thousands of people, hundreds of teams, and many organisations improve their results as well.
My hope is that this series will help you do the same.
Join me next week. We will explore Gregory Bateson’s revolutionary insights. We will also see how these insights form the foundation for this integrated approach to transformation.
This post is the introduction to the “Rising Above the Clouds” series. It explores how integrating powerful frameworks from systems thinking, NLP, human needs psychology, and conflict resolution can help individuals. These frameworks also assist organisations in achieving breakthrough transformation.