The Bus is Dead. It's Time for a Starship.

 "Metaphors have a way of holding the most truth in the least space."
Orson Scott Card

Metaphors are powerful agents in the human psyche. They can inhibit change or ignite it. Metaphors instantly bypass our left-brain logic to make a direct connection with our right-brain creative powers in a way that ordinary language doesn't.

A new metaphor can create new meaning and open the possibility for a new reality - all by painting over an old picture with a brand new image that gives us an entirely new perspective.

These are the tools of deep transformation, and at CEO², our Accelerated Transformational Technology^TM is accessed through the power of myth and metaphor.

So let's look at one of the most popular metaphors in the business world. For decades the metaphorical business vehicle has been “the bus.”

Here's the meaning we see behind the bus metaphor: 

• There's only one driver   
• Everybody else is just a passenger
• Driver creates a command and control environment
• The driver doubles as navigator, with only the most basic navigational gauges
• The bus travels predictable roads, making predetermined stops
• If the driver’s lost, everyone’s lost  
• Driver turns a blind eye to back-of-the-bus behavior
• Passengers are anonymous - regularly picked up and dropped off   
• Passengers have to find their own way to an open seat  
• Passengers are expected to passively sit through the ride   
• Passengers have a limited, individual viewpoint   
• Idle passengers are prone to complaining
• Driver and passengers react to external circumstances
• The bus runs on fossil fuels, requiring frequent pit stops   
• Somebody’s routinely thrown under it   

We think it’s time to ditch this outdated transport metaphor for one better-suited to the opportunities and challenges facing today's CEOs and workforces. Our metaphor of choice for extraordinary enterprises is a Sleek, Futuristic Starship.

Here's the meaning this metaphor instantly conveys:

• Shared leadership
• Staffed by the Crew
• Support and empower environment
• Celebrated crew members beamed aboard for long-term voyages
• Crew is custom-stationed by purpose and passion
• Engaged crew is expected to stand, move around, actively participating
• Multiple navigators use multiple state-of-the-art navigational devices
• Everybody's responsible for helping the ship stay on course
• Everyone has access to the expansive shared viewpoint of the bridge
• Crew creates and reacts from inner resources
• Charts its own unique course
• Renewable energy source that is self-sustaining
• Transparency means there's no place to hide
• Open environment encourages innovation
• Teams routinely transported to new opportunities

Quite the contrast, isn't it? So, which image do you want deeply embedded within your organization's psyche? Which would you rather lead? Which is a better ride? We thought so. Us too. Ready to captain a starship? Read on for what our clients have to say about their CEO² experience in their own words.