My favorite imagery ties into the Totem, a personal item that each dream warrior identified in the real world in order to ground themselves to reality in the dream world. In Cobb’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) case, it was a spinning top. If ever he became confused as to whether he was in reality or fantasy, he would spin the top and wait for it to stop spinning. If it didn’t stop, he knew he was in a dream.
Each warrior’s Totem was personal and confidential. As stated by several characters:
Arthur: So, a totem. It’s a small object, potentially heavy, something you can have on you all the time…
Ariadne: What, like a coin?
Arthur: No, it has to be more unique than that, like – this is a loaded die.
[Ariadne reaches out to take the die]
Arthur: . Nah, I can’t let you touch it, that would defeat the purpose. See only I know the balance and weight of this particular loaded die. That way when you look at your totem, you know beyond a doubt you’re not in someone else’s dream.
Ariadne state’s later, after she’s created her item that the Totem is an elegant means to ground oneself in reality.
I remember hearing a story about famed basketball coach John Wooden concerning his religious beliefs. When asked why he didn’t discuss the topic more in public he responded that he wanted to live it more than speak it – which he did. Then he added that he carried an item in his pocket to remind him at all times of the example he wanted to provide others regarding his faith. The item was a small metal cross with sharp edges. When, as coach, he was tempted to erupt in response to a bad call in a game he would reach into his pocket and grasp the cross as hard as possible. As the sharp edges of his “Totem” pressed against his fingers the great coach would remember the example he wanted to display on the court; then he would take a deep breath. He rarely if ever lost his temper on or off the court.
Companies today need their own personalized Totems. I’ve described the insidious nature of No Man’s Land in previous posts; the inevitable transition companies experience during the second stage of corporate growth. It’s a time of confusion and critical decisions. Even after a company is successful in accessing the right information, both from a corporate alignment perspective as well as competitive benchmarking; and even after they identify the 3-5 must do key performance indicators, it’s easy to slip into the dream world of “delusional growth” and forget that the No Man’s Land chasm is either coming fast or upon them.
That’s why I recommend that my clients review a one-page company snapshot either monthly or quarterly that benchmarks key metric and KPI performance. Something like this:
With a “Totem” like this, CEOs can control company delusion and embrace the facts of their performance. I’d show you my company’s totem, but then I don’t want to lose my sense of reality in my own dream 🙂
ECONOMY HEROES 
