We ended the article in the April issue of Agency Sales magazine with the question, “How do we activate the energy field and create the alignment within any company or organization that will serve customers in a very different way?”

Let’s start with the answer so that as you read, the explanation will not be perceived as judgmental, incriminating or confrontational to the typical Industrial Age mindset.

The answer: “Stop the war and wage peace.”

The shift from the mechanistic Industrial Age business model to the biological Human Potential business model requires a bifurcated change in focus within the organization.

The mechanistic organization is focused on defeating the competition. The War Rooms plan strategies to dominate the market and be the industry(ial) leader. There is a constant battle between the “silos” within many manufacturers, and this spills over to a “battle” with their customers.

This is also true in many service organizations and cities, and even our nation. What is the “fight” about? The budget. Have you heard about the fight in Congress right now? Why are we fighting at home when we want peace for other countries? If we want world peace, shouldn’t we execute a business model that results in peace?

The biological organization is totally different. While it competes, it is totally different by design. There is no “war” to be won within the biological organization. (I hope your heart is not at war with your lungs and liver and kidneys.) It is also at peace with its customers. It is described as a partnership.

The narcissistic ego of many Industrial Age minds will challenge this orientation with the mantra of “If you can’t stand the heat….” and “When the going gets tough,….” and “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you….” You know these mantras. They are only intended to intimidate people to play the game to exhaustion, and it is suicidal to confront them. (I told you this might be perceived as judgmental and incriminating.)

All the Industrial Age computer companies scoffed at Michael Dell when he started Dell. Listen to what Michael Dell says about the focus of his organization:

“We’re looking to compete not just with computer companies but with the companies that are best at providing a great experience to their customers. The ultimate goal of virtual integration is improving the total customer experience. By developing a kind of “empathic viewpoint” we try to see things exactly as our customers do and in turn can begin to dramatically improve the customer experience.”

The Industrial Age mind would say, “Yeah, BUT…!” to that statement.

We have all been caught up in the “wars” between the “silos” of the mechanistic organizations of the Industrial Age business model. The stark reality today is that it no longer works, yet many companies and rep firms have a deeply imbedded “muscle memory” that is still working it. They will deny that it doesn’t work as they do promise to serve customers, but the “over-promise-under-deliver” scenario plays itself out every day.

The only way to change this “muscle memory” is with a simulation. Our simulation engages executives who really want to change in an eight-hour, hands-on emotional experience that transforms the Industrial Age business model and achieves the new business model of mass customization. The simulation is a “fake-real” experience where the participants themselves are able to stop the war and begin to embrace the biological orientation.

We have all been caught up in the “wars” between the “silos” of the mechanistic organizations of the Industrial Age business model.

During our simulation, the participants simply wanted to help a customer get what she wanted.

They were not constrained by job titles or functional designations. They were not “commanded” to “defeat” anything. They were aligned by the purpose of helping the customer get what he wanted. As you can see, they used their collective intelligence and inherent creative talents to do that. (No, it is not called “teamwork.” That would be the Industrial Age explanation for this behavior.)

Look at the “grown men” in the below picture.

This is a picture of a leader and his entire sales team who wanted to crush the “silo” mentality that was killing his company. He eventually put nearly 500 people through nine simulations, and he participated in every one.

They did not let their egos get in the way of this behavior. The customer needed an innovative product and they had the creative talents to make it for him. Consider the brain power and human potential that is focused on waging peace not war.

When I suggest to some leaders that they engage in our simulation in order to “stop the war” in their siloed organizations, they resist by saying, “Tom, you don’t understand. They are senior leaders. They will not be willing to get down on the floor and engage in ‘child’s play.’” Some ask, “Can you do it in an hour at our strategic planning meeting?”

As a rep, do you wish that every manufacturer that you represent could “get it?” We’ve all been in the rep council meetings and have complained about the “war.” We’ve all heard the promises that “it” will be changed and “it” never does. Be very clear that the “it” is not a person or personality issue. “It” is the Industrial Age business model. We can’t work “it” harder and faster and with more determination and “make it change.”

Where should you start? You must be clear that the “at war” mentality may be built-in to the “muscle memory” of your rep firm. It is likely in your selling approach. If you are programmed to “elevate the pain” of customers to “force them to buy,” you are “at war.” If you are still battling the purchasing agents, you are “at war.” If you are trying to bid jobs and defeat the competitor who has the spec, you are “at war.”

If you’ve been following the saga of my manufacturing friend, we had lunch recently and I showed him these pictures and described how his company could change if everyone engaged in the simulation. He asked, “If they are so ‘warm and fuzzy,’ (the Industrial Age interpretation of these pictures) how do they compete with the Industrial Age “machines?” I said, “They use a totally different energy field. They are highly disciplined. They are strong just like your body if you eat right and exercise every day. They don’t have to work to exhaustion to win the “war” between the “silos” and suffer the defeats of losing jobs.

He said, “You can’t win them all.” I said, “That is the defeatist attitude of the Industrial Age.” I suggested, “We do win them all in the simulation.”

He was silent. The next day he called and said, “Our chairman wants to meet you. He said to tell you he’s exhausted.” I’ll let you know the rest of his story in our next time together. Until then, you can read about his dilemma in our book Leadership and Golf: Creating Organizational Alignment. He nearly killed me over the “gimme putt.”