chronos and kairos
Greek mythology, thinking about the idea of time in the present. It noted two kinds of present time: Chronos and Kairos.
Chronos time is the familiar linear, horizontal, clock-measured, calendar time. The present time was personified as Kairos, the god of opportunity, a man with wings on his shoulders and heels…
Kairos time is opportunity time. It is when meaning inserts itself as a significant “moment” in the midst of our daily lives. Kairos time does not respect the constraints of Chronos time. If Chronos time is horizontal and sequential, Kairos time is vertical and non-sequential (Eberle 2003:55-56).
These ideas are put to use when leaders respect the fallacy of projecting the current situation forward in a simple linear way. They recognize the importance of discerning the vertical Kairos moments in which opportunity, meaning and sense-making live.