4 Paradigms

1. A model or theory used to explain some aspect of the world.

2. A set of beliefs about how the world operates.

3. Beliefs control our actions – knowledge does not.

4. Beliefs affect our perceptions of the world.

5.  Acting on beliefs requires faith.

6. Beliefs are neither true nor false.

7. Beliefs are either useful or not useful.

8. A paradigm is like a map.  Do you have a useful map?

4 The Power of Paradigms

1. We do not want to be wrong in our choice of paradigms.

2. We seek supporting evidence.

3.  We avoid refuting evidence.

4.  We attend to supporting evidence.

5.  We ignore refuting evidence.

6. We interpret neutral evidence to support our paradigms.

7. We act in ways to make our paradigms come true.

8.  “Believing is seeing.”

4 Paradigm Shifts

1.  Thomas Kuhn – Joe Barker.

2.  Paradigm shifts are revolutionary, not evolutionary.

3. Paradigm shifts cause major upheavals.

4. Paradigm shifts are not always for the best.

5. Paradigm shifts bring everyone back to zero.

6.  Knowledge, beliefs and actions that were useful under a previous paradigm are counterproductive when operating under the new paradigm.

4 Two Useful Beliefs Concerning Change

1.  “Change is inevitable.” There is no security in life, there are only opportunities
    – Douglas Mac Arthur.

2. “Change includes opportunity as well as danger. ”Every time something changes, someone loses, but someone also wins.

4 The Psychology of Risk Taking

1. The fear of regret.

2. We often fail to take action because we fear we will regret our action.

3.  In reality, we regret more the things we did not do rather than the things we did do.

4. We feel worse when we make dumb moves than when we fail to make the smart one.

5.  Losing money feels twice as bad as making money feels good.

6. If you make $1 in the stock market, you are likely to increase your spending by 3 cents.

7. If you lose $1 in the stock market you are likely to reduce your spending by 6 cents.

8. The seed of failure is in every success.  You become successful by taking risks.  The more successful you are the more risk averse you become.

QUESTIONNAIRE

1.      Do you believe we are experiencing a normal business and economic cycle or do you believe we are experiencing a major paradigm shift? 

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What factors do you see that support your belief? 

a.       __________________________________________________________

b.      __________________________________________________________

c.       __________________________________________________________

d.      __________________________________________________________

e.       __________________________________________________________

2.      What changes do you see occurring that you think will have a revolutionary effect on the way business will be conducted in the future. 

a.       __________________________________________________________

b.      __________________________________________________________

c.       __________________________________________________________

d.      __________________________________________________________

3.      Would you rather run a business during normal business cycles or during a major paradigm shift? Explain. 

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

4.      Do you believe it is better to be optimistic or realistic? Explain. 

________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________

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5.      Are there any areas in your business where you really need to fold’em? Describe: 

a.       __________________________________________________________

b.      __________________________________________________________

c.       __________________________________________________________

6.      If you truly believed that change is inevitable, how would you change the way you think and act? 

a.       __________________________________________________________

b.      __________________________________________________________

c.       __________________________________________________________