Life Needs an Inside and an Outside

Today we focus on Pattern #3 from The Way Life Works: Life Needs an Inside, and an Outside.

One of life’s most important organizing principles is the difference between an inside and an outside. For example:

Baby’s need of a protective barrier-skin
A clam needs its shell
The earth needs its atmosphere
Trees need their bark
At a basic level of life, cells need their membranes.

So what does this principle mean for leaders in organizations?

People show us only their outside selves, their gatekeepers; but to know your people well, you need to get to know their inner feelings and motivations. To do this, you need to spend one on one time with your employees.
As a leader, you must pay equal attention to the internal workings of your organization and the external world: customers, the marketplace, and changes in technology and politics.
You, too, have an inside and an outside. You live not only at work, but in a nuclear family which is imbedded in an extended family and a community.
To live a successful life, you must practice self-awareness, be attentive as a spouse and a parent, and be an involved member of your community.

I am curious: what other implications do you see from the principle “Life Needs an Inside and an Outside?”

This week, be mindful of insides and outsides: notice how this principle applies in nature, in your organization, in your family, and within yourself.
For your information, and an idea of what I will be covering periodically over the next several months, here are the Sixteen Patterns which unite us all: