Haegwan Kim (HK); Today I’m going to talk with Cecily Sommers, who is the founder of the Push Institute. Thank you so much for your time.
Cecily Sommers (CS); It’s a pleasure to be with you.
HK; Let me start by asking why did you found the Push Institute at first?
CS; Well, it may have some relevance to the purpose of your interview, which is that it’s really about helping people be more successful. So, in my world, which is the business world, it seemed to me that success is grounded in two central questions, who are you and where are you going. And I was very aware that the processes for answering those questions effectively were missing from conventional business training and practices, such as getting at the heart of what an organisation is really about. People talk about mission statements, or they talk about what the market needs, or they talk about a brand. But what’s really needed is a way to articulate the unique passion that drives the individual or organization, and that’s hard for any of us to answer. It takes, I think, a very keen process to plumb the depth of what is that individual voice and purpose that defines the strategy overall. So, that’s the front end. Then the back end is, once purpose is articulated, is to explore the context for it to play out in. For that we really have to understand how the world works — and how change works in particular — and what the best opportunities are for inventing a future that reflects your purpose. Ultimately, that’s what strategy is all about: to invent a future that leaves your particular imprint; your contribution of what it is that you want to do, and create, and give, and provide. If we know what future we want to create, we can determine what it’s going to take to make it happen.
HK; Can I ask what the meaning of Push means? and why you emphasize this?
CS; Push refers to the people, ideas, technology and general forces of change, on the one hand, and the capacity each of us has to push the future in new directions ourselves, on the other.
HK; You mentioned in the website, that not many companies are understanding how to manage the future, what do you mean by this?
CS; I think at the primary scope of strategy is really understand what the future holds and how to manage it for a greater success. I have created a model and have seen this evidenced again and again, that change is motivated by four principle forces. They are resources, technology, demographics and governance. I maintain that if we really understand that these are the central forces that create change in any society at any time, then we can entertain the potentials in each of these “force fields” and their implications for government, business, and society. — So, managing the future is about understanding how change works and how it intersects with your agenda of your particular interests and investments, that’s probably a better answer.
HK; Looking at five years, ten years, or even 20 years from now, can you tell me your big picture of the world, how it’s gonna change?
CS; I will answer it this way: it’s as much about managing what doesn’t change as what does. There are two things that don’t change over time, the four forces of change and human nature. If we learn to navigate what doesn’t change well, we’ll be in a much better position to anticipate plausible outcomes for the next 5-10-20 years. The only thing that really changes are the conditions in which we live, how the needs of society will be satisfied, and the condition of the human experience.
HK; As you’re a woman, I want to ask this question. Have you ever had any difficulty to promote yourself?
CS; No, I don’t feel that it has been an obstacle for me. My experience has been very positive. I’ve learned that if you show up with good thinking and good ideas and demonstrate why people should care and what it means for them, that you have an audience
HK; Do you think more and more women will rise their roles in business?
CS; Yes, I do. I think we’re in a particular time in which the needs and contributions of women are increasingly being championed… We see this with regard to economic development, for instance, where micro finance is really focused very much on investing in women. It’s clear that there’s enormous benefit to the social fabric, to education, employment, economics, governance, when women are included and empowered.
HK; Of course you believe that women can do business and show same, or better performance, right?
CS; Yes, I do, absolutely. For me it’s the thinking and people skills that win the day, and I don’t think that that is gender based. I think both men and women can be effective leaders.
HK; As my research is on the law of success, I want to ask you your definition of success?
CS; For me it’s a broad sense of living a very rich life Richness comes from a balance of challenges and rewards, it comes from continuous learning, from commitment and risk, and from sharing it with others. Simply put, it’s all about exercising your capacity to make it up, then make it happen.
HK; That’s really inspiring. Can I ask your advice to achieve success in a general sense?
CS; You’ve got to be curious about what’s going on in the world, in general, and curious yourself as well. In my view, curiosity drives success.
HK; Interesting point.
CS; And then I think what follows that is a sense of faith. Faith in yourself — that you know you can go after something and that no matter how it works out you’ll still land on your feet; that you can always make another decision and another choice; that the way forward is about recovering from stumbles as much as it is achievement. Lastly, success is about courage. I really encourage people to recognise that courage is not something that some people have and some people don’t, but that it lives in each of us
HK; So, everyone has?
CS; Right. You don’t have to wait to become a courageous person to take action. In fact, courage grows by practising it. It’ll never work if you think that someday you’ll be more courageous; it comes from just continually moving forward in small, incremental steps.
HK; Thank you so much for your inspiring advice.
Haegwan Kim is a writer who was born in Osaka, Japan in 1989 and grew up near Tokyo where went to a Korean school for 12 years.
