A NEW AGE ALREADY?

News Flash!! The Age of Context has just taken over.

That was quick! I have barely had time to take in the Age of Information.

But I'm glad. I've been a keen spruiker of Context for the last 2 decades. In fact, the first two of my Rules for Communication that Works are:

1. Say what is.
2. Put it where it is – in other words, put it in the Context in which you want to be understood.

So here goes....

Context is defined as "the quality of the space containing the circumstances that form the setting for an event, a course of action, a statement, or an idea. Context gives rise to the terms in which  something can be more fully appreciated".

For me, the true value of this definition resides in the final two words: more fully appreciated.

In a world where we are constantly overloaded with information, how does one sift out what's relevant to us, important or urgent, and know why? How do we make sense of the madness of people not keeping their commitments, or suddenly changing course, or acting “out-of-character”? There is certainly a lot going on around us that just doesn't make sense from our point of view, but it must make sense to somebody.  So I find myself wondering "Am I missing something here?"

 

Maybe the information age has already propelled us into another age. In fact, Reid Hoffman recently referred to this current time as The Networked Age. I think this is much closer to what's really going on; we aren't just mining and stockpiling raw data, we're creating opportunities and technologies to share it. But I do not believe that “Networking” paints the entire picture. After all, there are far more people who DON"T share what I read and write than those who do. What processes of selection are going on? Is Context one of them?

I hope that we have now evolved also into an Era of Context, with context itself, or more appropriately, the background and insights that context provides, being the most valuable resource available to us.

Why am I so wedded to the importance of Context?

As I highlighted above, whichever particular context we're in at the time frames our personal perception and understanding of circumstances and events that may be common to many of us. Context sets a more complete picture. But that doesn't mean that my picture  is the same as yours. We look at everything shared from different points of view. 

And things that are so in one context may no longer be so in another. For example, there's a ruthless law that says if I lean out too far off the top of a high building, I will fall, and that may kill me. True -- here on earth, but out in space it's not true. What about the universal law of "An eye for an eye - etc". It makes sense. Isn't that how the universe works? But when mankind gets hold of it, it seems to cause more problems than it solves. There's something else going on that makes a difference. Context.

When the picture is obscured or confused, our collective understanding is warped and responses can be hard to harness. The current Australian government is learning this the hard way, so much so that their Budget measures are in danger of not being legislated. They didn't set up a credible context beforehand: they dropped a bunch of surprises into a context that was no longer relevant, and are now copping chaotic resistance. Ideological reformers and right-fighters have never been good at understanding either the laws or the realities of Context.

Only when information is understood can it be acted upon, as appropriately as the level of understanding allows. Big data, open data, social media, weblogs, tweets and "likes" are all part of a perceptible realisation of how our every move is shaped and powered by Context. Marketers spend their every waking moment figuring how to manipulate Context so that we will buy whatever it is they want us to consume with as little scrutiny and resistance as possible.

In our personal lives, the image that we see in our selfies, the back-story that surrounds that image, and the circumstances in which our selfies are going to see the light of day, can in fact give an aware person some insight into how we can perform more effectively in line with the way we want our various selves to be viewed in the light of what's going on. Almost every waking moment we are answering an unspoken question: "How do I want to be, and be seen by another, in this situation?"

We also need to understand the effect of Context on our behaviour, and consequently on the deeds of others. For instance, we may think we know what our core values are and in what order they rank in importance to us. But that "knowing" is incomplete and misleading until those things have been tested by challenging circumstances. The Law of Duality ensures that whatever positions we take on issues, we also hold the polar opposite positions, but we lie about them and pin them on other people to wear for us -- until -- it becomes expedient for us to switch sides. We flip-flop/backflip continually. Listen to your own self-talk......

For example, I once prided myself that I can be trusted – “Barrie is a loyal bloke; you can rely on him. His word's good.” Unfortunately I was mistaken about that. I hadn't realised that the wringer of living had drawn me into selling out on my core values in certain circumstances with certain people. Part of getting to know myself was getting through the trauma of realising that there are times when I should NOT be trusted, and to know what those circumstances, conditions or contexts are so that, when next faced with them I can warn those close to me that there's seismic activity in the air and the building may wobble. It was a life-changing moment for me when I finally raked up the courage to admit I was not to be trusted to my closest friend, Colin Hayes. His answer -- "Yes, I know that. Anything else?"Oddly, having declared my weak spots, I found that I could trust someone so committed to his own growth (me), and that was enough. Freed of denial, I was suddenly able to act appropriately and responsibly, contrarily and inexplicably, and still be trustworthy, and not have to prove it. It seems to be the unacknowledged and hidden stuff that brings us down, with ourselves and with others.

I think it's fair to say that we, regardless of who we are, want to understand the journey we're on, and how to arrange pieces of the puzzle we've been given, to make a whole that we can live with. And our best chance to achieve this comes through insights driven by context. If we want to understand more, we simply change our context for a while, and see what shows up from standing on other points of view. It always does. Conscious Context creating works.

Let me tell you a story ---

One late afternoon on a crowded commuter train, 3 young kids were running amok, yelling and tussling and barging into other passengers, much to their general annoyance. The father, however, was sitting, head down, apparently neither noticing nor caring about his children's disruptive behaviour. Finally one of the other passengers could stand it no longer. Angrily she said “Sir, your children are creating a nuisance. Will you please control them a bit better!?” The rest of the carriage murmured their agreement.

The father looked up suddenly. His eyes were red-rimmed with tears. “I'm so sorry”, he said quietly. “We've just come from the hospital. Their mother died earlier this afternoon. I guess they just don't know how to handle it. I don't.”

The atmosphere in a the carriage changed instantly – from one of annoyance to one of compassion.

The second scenario (the father's) highlights for you the power of context to drive and shape insight. When the context is changed, behaviour, attitudes and consequences transform. Contexts coalesce into Cultures. Whether that happens by chance or on purpose is up to you. Truly great communicators and leaders are powerful Context Creators and assume responsibility for creating, defining and communicating contexts and cultures. Contexts and cultures, in turn, attract the people and resources required. This mysterious process happens all by itself. Strong, clearly defined, coherent contexts tend to attract strong, committed people. Random, chaotic or poorly defined contexts attract a rabble of also-rans, troublemakers and idiots.

Whichever context we are in at any given moment gives us a frame of reference for what we see, how we see it, what happens next, which in turn determines our attitudes, our behaviour, which in turn modifies and reinforces our frame of reference, and Context. But when something, or someone changes the Context, everything transforms, including our attitudes, responses and behaviour. The circumstances themselves may not alter, but we experience and respond to them differently and our world transforms as a result. That's why I advocate changing your point of view as often as you change your underwear, and for pretty much the same reasons.

The Era of Context I dearly hope we are now entering will be about becoming aware of the existence and power of Contexts to help us sift, sort and make sense of the glut of information, comment, opinion and kerfuffle that now is constantly being churned out. Instead of being overwhelmed by it all and looking for “saviours” like Noah to deliver us from the deluge, we can apply our own developing awareness to work out for ourselves how to navigate the flood of resources and thereby achieve our own objectives.

I think we're learning a skill that has never been called upon before in the cultural history of mankind -- how to handle Abundance.

I offer Context as one way to tackle the challenge. Context driven insight will power our decision making in the years to come. It’s up to you to make sure that you cultivate and take advantage of this available capability. Know and widen the scope and number of your Contexts. Jump from one to another as often as you can. Leap to the other side of your desk or counter. See things from more than one perspective. Open your mind and heart, and think and feel for yourself.

Your freedom, and perhaps even your survival, is at stake.