There are plenty of difficult obstacles in your path. Don’t allow yourself to become one of them. – Ralph Marston
I’ve just watched Jonah Hill’s “Stutz” again on Netflix, and it made me reflect on my consulting practice.
Stutz is a film by Jonah Hill about his therapist, Dr. Phil Stutz, and his unconventional approach to therapy, in particular using small drawings on index cards as tools, to help his clients address their problems.
A Stutz drawing is a tool that helps you take an action that moves you from a current negative state to a new, positive state.
We use these tools to help us understand what we do and what we should do next.
One of the tools is Part X – which teaches you to recognize an inner saboteur that tries to stop you moving forward.
These are the objections, the blocks that prevent you from making progress.
Could this Part X also explain obstacles faced when working in organizations?
Such obstacles include not being given the full picture, being pointed the wrong way, or not getting relevant information.
Obstacles slow progress and can stop it entirely – people give up and decide to work the system rather than improve it.
Perhaps we have to see past the blocking Part Xs and find a way through.
One way to do this is learn how to see the big picture and how the blockers you face fit into the larger organizational dynamic.
And then think about what action you can take next.
We should expect to encounter obstacles and wrong turns – we may need to tackle them or go back and try a different path.
We may be wrong, but we will be moving forward, in the direction we think is right.
The trick is to keep moving.
Cheers,
Karthik Suresh
Handcrafted insight 