Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business [1 ed.] 9781869225254, 9781869225032

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THE VIRTUOSA

Here is a way to embrace the philosophy and practice of becoming a virtuous organisation and giving a dazzling performance. The book helps you to define where you are in your current experience of your organisation, and how you can shift things within yourself and around you. This is more than an adaptive or compliance process. It is about necessary, compelling and radical change and the authors show how it can, and has been done: Seeing the need. Arriving at the right values. Aligning individual and organisation values Determining appropriate behaviour indicators. Entrenching the values so that they become spontaneously lived virtues

The mind-set, methods and techniques used during the process are important in each of these steps, especially the last where precious few have succeeded. Virtues drawn from the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci, and which span all cultures and generations, illustrate what is possible. Terrence Gargiulo, MMHS. President of MAKINGSTORIES: Are you open to a renaissance of hope? What does it mean to soar in the sacred space of an Organisational geometry that frees its citizens to discern fields of dreams? The authors have crafted a dynamic tapestry of stories, poetry, images and metaphors to recalibrate our compasses. We are invited to emancipate ourselves from irrelevant and irreverent myths of business. Be well advised this is not another rabbit hole of management jargon. The authors have mixed an alchemical elixir of reflective propositions to transform our thoughts into motions and take us from the realm of possible to actual. This is a call to action and none of us living in today’s world have the luxury to ignore it. Virtuosa is a contribution of heart and soul that will not leave you unchanged. I urge you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace this book’s set of tools to initiate the important work that lies ahead for all of us…to reclaim the integration of each precious moment to something greater than our self. Peter Christie, MBA lecturer The authors coherently, influentially and comprehensively confirm the growing realisation that the business of business is much more than business. Through invoking historical and biographical accounts, entertaining anecdotes and other stories, and a detailed case study, the book outlines powerful concepts and principles promoting sustainable enterprise of the future. The book should be prescribed reading for all MBA students. Dave Snowden, Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Cognitive Edge Pte Ltd: This book is a powerful presentation of some of the issues associated with organisations and society and the failure of conventional methods to tackle them. It presents a model of human behaviour and interaction which is aspirational in nature.

THE VIRTUOSA

ORGANISATION The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

By GRAHAM WILLIAMS • DORIAN HAARHOFF • PETER FOX

• • • • •

THE VIRTUOSA

This is a book about people in organisations developing love for themselves, others, communities and nature. It offers an opportunity to see afresh, to envisage courageously and to position yourself differently. To bring hearts, minds and wills to bear on the world around us. The life we live inside our organisations influences every other part of our lives.

ORGANISATION

ORGANISATION

Paul Smith, Key Note Speaker, Author of Lead with a Story: We spend most of our waking hours invested in an activity called ‘work’ that we accept as necessarily selfish–out to enrich ourselves and shareholders at the expense of consumers, society, and the planet. We satisfy our guilt by promising ourselves that we’ll feed our souls, support charitable causes, and save the environment in our spare time, whenever we find some. But what if there was another way? What if you could make the world a better place while you were at work? Read this book and you can.

ISBN: 978-1-86922-503-2

By GRAHAM WILLIAMS • DORIAN HAARHOFF • PETER FOX

The Virtuosa Organisation

ENDORSEMENTS Terrence Gargiulo, MMHS. President of MAKINGSTORIES.net and author of The Strategic Use of Stories in Organisational Communications & Learning. Are you open to a renaissance of hope? What does it mean to soar in the sacred space of an Organisational geometry that frees its citizens to discern fields of dreams? The authors have crafted a dynamic tapestry of stories, poetry, images and metaphors to recalibrate our compasses. We are invited to emancipate ourselves from irrelevant and irreverent myths of business. Be well advised this is not another rabbit hole of management jargon. The authors have mixed an alchemical elixir of reflective propositions to transform our thoughts into motions and take us from the realm of possible to actual. This is a call to action and none of us living in today’s world have the luxury to ignore it. Virtuosa is a contribution of heart and soul that will not leave you unchanged. I urge you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace this book’s set of tools to initiate the important work that lies ahead for all of us…to reclaim the integration of each precious moment to something greater than our self. Peter Christie, aka Big Chief Talking Bull, strategic storyteller and part-time MBA lecturer at Wits Business School and other business schools in South Africa and abroad. The Virtuosa Organisation makes a splendid, sparkling contribution to revising the organisational agenda. The authors coherently, influentially and comprehensively confirm the growing realisation that the business of business is much more than business. Through invoking historical and biographical accounts, entertaining anecdotes and other stories, and a detailed case study, the book outlines powerful concepts and principles promoting sustainable enterprise of the future. One which is more human, more creative and innovative, more virtuously rising circularly towards prosperity. The book should be prescribed reading for all MBA students. John de Gruchy, Emeritus Professor in Christian Studies, University of Cape Town. I had no idea what to expect when opening The Virtuosa Organisation, no clarity on whether to endorse it or not, or what I might say to commend it if I did. I am delighted by what I found, wholeheartedly recommend it, and hope that it gets a wide readership. Why, you may ask. The reason is simple. There is an urgent need for every organisation, every business, every NGO, to think far beyond the boxes of the past and to pursue goals that will help transform the world in which we live, and contribute significantly to human, social and environmental well-being. We don’t only need to add value to what we are doing; we need to pursue and embody those virtues that make this goal possible. And we need to do this urgently. I believe this book read thoughtfully and taken seriously, can help make this possible. Paul Smith, Key Note Speaker, Author of Lead with a Story: A Guide to Crafting Business Narratives that Capture, Convince, and Inspire. We spend most of our waking hours invested in an activity called ‘work’ that we accept as necessarily selfish – out to enrich ourselves and shareholders at the expense of consumers, society, and the planet. We satisfy our guilt by promising ourselves that we’ll feed our souls, support charitable causes, and save the environment in our spare time, whenever we find some. But what if there was another way? What if you could make the world a better place while you were at work? Read this book and you can. Dave Snowden, Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Cognitive Edge Pte Ltd. This book is a powerful presentation of some of the issues associated with organisations and society and the failure of conventional methods to tackle them. It presents a

model of human behaviour and interaction which is aspirational in nature. It represents a useful starting point on a journey to change and transformation. Keith Coats, Founding Partner and Director of Storytelling at Tomorrow Today. It is said that one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover; that is well said. However a good way to judge a book is to browse through the references to determine from what soil it has grown. A quick exploration of The Virtuosa Organisation references will tell you all you need to know about this significant contribution to story. It is more than a ‘good read’ – it is travel guide and companion for one’s journey. This is a wonderful book. A marvellous collection of wisdom and practical advice. Marc Feitelberg, Founder of the South African College of Applied Psychology, Corporate Leadership Facilitator, Clinical Psychologist. Working on “values” in organisations has in recent years become a dehydrated exercise in ticking the box. This book inspires the reader to pour life back into this crucial area. It brings values to life by providing practical tools for the business leader who wants to create a sustainable organisation. Dr Gerhard van Rensburg, Leadership Coach, Owner New Era Leadership. The Virtuosa Organistion is a major contribution to the process of transforming work organisations from merely economic entities to communities of real people wanting to experience meaning and spiritual upliftment as they work. The authors of this book succeed in advancing the discourse about transformation in organisations to deeper and more fundamental aspects of human life. As long as the efforts of leaders undervalue the richness and fullness of the human spirit by, for instance, labelling employees as human capital or resources, the real transformational potential of the organisations will remain repressed. This is a book that speaks to the heart of organisations, challenging them to become centres of virtue not only for their own sake, but for the sake of a better society. Hermann Fischer, Business Psychologist, Geneva, Switzerland. Organisations, as with people, have unique life stories to tell. For those perceptive enough to pick up on both the bold and the nuanced ... Graham’s book provides an insightful perspective on the implications of the above for leaders – from both a personal as well as a professional perspective. Graham Rowe, Scientist, Co-founder of Sancreed, a chronic disease, precision care provider. Technological change means that more and more knowledge workers (not to mention entire businesses and industries) are being gutted and cast aside as software eats the world. Our role as business leaders is to develop robust, visiondriven teams that thrive under these turbulent and constantly shifting conditions. The Virtuosa Organisation offers a powerful, applicable framework for bringing our most human qualities to the fore, and building the foundation for the more authentic, more responsive and more dynamic organisation of the future. Deon Viljoen, Director of Operations at Southern Sun Resorts, a division of Tsogo Sun. In Graham’s new book, The Virtuosa Organisation, he and his co-authors tackle what I think is one of the most challenging issues for modern organisations: corporate culture. Most leaders ignore this issue or shy away from it because it is so challenging and effectively out of their control. It also presupposes that there is engagement and alignment within and around the organisation, not easy issues to grapple with. Migrating from values to virtues is definitely the way to go. An insightful and well-presented read for all business leaders. I for one cannot wait for it to be released.

John Griffin, Director, High Chem East Africa Ltd. Fun to read, very digestible and encourages reflection on business from a refreshingly different viewpoint. The congruence of the thinking and the breadth of the approach is totally engaging. Johann Maree, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, University of Cape Town. I wholeheartedly endorse this book aimed at promoting business that advocates and lives virtues, not only vision and values. Subjects on the development of virtues that really resonated with me: cultivating awareness by means of deeper mindfulness, in praise of emptiness, and experiencing leadership healing and growth. In short, the book calls for the practice of love in business. Such businesses can indeed play a leading role in building a better society. Prof Rev Jerry Pillay, General Secretary of the Uniting Presbyterian Church of Southern Africa. This book provides a very serious and timely discussion of a really significant matter in our fast-changing world. A world in which values and virtues are not given the appropriate measure of necessity they deserve. In many areas of society there is a conscious attempt to side-line a focus on values, and we are daily seeing how this is negatively impacting on our people and communities. We see this in the violence in schools and in unethical business endeavours to make money. In stressing the “virtuous cycle” the authors show how values undergird and shape every aspect of human life and activity. We cannot simply wish them away or hope that we will function well without them. Without values and virtues we lose sight of who we are, what God has purposed us for on earth, and the need to value, respect and appreciate the other (person). This book not only convinces regarding the need for values and virtues in the business sector, but succeeds in going beyond this by establishing that values and virtues are indeed the essence of life and living. It is the way God longs for us to be and to live! It is my pleasure and joy to endorse this book and to recommend it to all those who have a desire to live good, purposefully integrated, and virtues-driven lives! Elma Pollard, eco-consultant and owner and editor of The Green Times. I’m delighted to endorse The Virtuosa Organisation. My mission is to inform, educate and enlighten the business community and wider public on all aspects of crafting an integrated, responsible and sustainable environment–within which all species, humans and business can thrive. Such passion for being virtuous comes from within, and The Virtuosa Organisation not only ignites the spark, it also shows the way and the benefits.

The Virtuosa Organisation The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

by Graham Williams, Dorian Haarhoff and Peter Fox

2015

Copyright © Knowres Publishing and Graham Williams, Dorian Haarhoff and Peter Fox All reasonable steps have been taken to ensure that the contents of this work do not, directly or indirectly, infringe any existing copyright of any third person and, further, that all quotations or extracts taken from any other publication or work have been appropriately acknowledged and referenced. The publisher, editors and printers take no responsibility for any copyright infringement committed by an author of this work. Copyright subsists in this work. No part of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written consent of the publisher or the author. While the publisher, editors and printers have taken all reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy of the contents of this work, they take no responsibility for any loss or damage suffered by any person as a result of that person relying on the information contained in this work. First published in 2015 ISBN: 978-1-86922-503-2 eISBN: 978-1-86922-525-4 (PDF ebook) Published by Knowres Publishing (Pty) Ltd P O Box 3954 Randburg 2125 Republic of South Africa Tel: (011) 706-6009 Fax: (011) 706 1127 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.kr.co.za Printed and bound: Mega Digital (Pty) Ltd. Parow Industria, Cape Town Ebook typesetting, layout and design: Porat Jacobson: [email protected] Printed layout: Cia Joubert, [email protected] Cover design: Marlene de Villiers, [email protected] Proofreading: The Translation Workbench, [email protected] Project management: Cia Joubert, [email protected] Index created with: TExtract, www.Texyz.com

Contents Author Statement................................................................................ iii PREFACE..............................................................................................iv Chapter 1 : The Dark Side of Leadership..............................................2 Chapter 2: The Ripening of the Olive: A New Metaphor for Responsible Capitalism...................................................................11 Chapter 3 : Moving from Values to Virtues – Living with Purpose, Meaning and Flow. A Concept Whose Time Has Come................................................................................................23 Chapter 4 : How Do Organisations Become Virtuous?......................37 Chapter 5 : Talent to Order.................................................................49 Chapter 6 : Paradoxically Nothing is Impossible, Outside is Inside, the Secular is Sacred...........................................55 Exercise 1 : For Individuals – Choosing and Prioritising Values.......61 Exercise 2 : For Individuals – How are You Living Your Personal Values?..............................................................................................64 Exercise 3 : Are We a Congruent Organisation?................................65 Exercise 4 : Questions For Organisational Leaders...........................66 Chapter 7 : The Life, Thoughts and Works of Leonardo Da Vinci...........................................................................69 Chapter 8 : The Da Vinci Code for Business: Values to Virtues (da Vinci as a Non-threatening, Illustrative Model).......................87 Chapter 9 : A Case Study: Developing the G-Wiz Organisational and Individual Values and Virtues........................97 Appendix 1 : Gym Wizards: Our Organisational Values.................111 Appendix 2 : Behaviour Indicators Related to the Organisational Value Make Their Day (“Making Your Day, Makes Our Day!”) .........................................................................112 Exercise 5 : Using Anecdote Circles to Find Out What Shape Your Business is In.........................................................................113 Chapter 10 : An Introduction to Deeper Mindfulness for Better Work Performance..............................................................115 Chapter 11: The Story of Amazing Labyrinths.................................123 Chapter 12 : Blind Spots....................................................................127 Exercise 6 : Personal Mindfulness Checklist.....................................131 Exercise 7: Do We Have Organisational Blind-spots?......................135 Chapter 13 : A Mindset for Making the Most of the Mundane........137 Chapter 14 : Writing as Healing, and The Practice of Journaling.......................................................................................141 Chapter 15 : Effective Communicating and Relating Behaviours...147 Chapter 16: In Praise of Emptiness...................................................155 Exercise 8 : Journaling.......................................................................157 i

Exercise 9 : Relating Behaviours in Our Organisation.....................157 Chapter 17 : The Question Is............................................................159 Chapter 18 : Wonder.........................................................................165 Chapter 19 : How the Chain Reaction of Imagination, Story and Innovation Works for Us.........................................................169 Chapter 20 : Performance Through Innovation – a Model That Works....................................................................175 Chapter 21: Eight Archetypes to Live By: Moulding the Character in Our Life Story...........................................................181 Chapter 22 : Story and The Unconscious:.........................................191 Chapter 23 : Going to Fun from Monday to Friday..........................195 Exercise 10 : Workplace Dynamics....................................................199 Exercise 11 : What Shadow-Side Factors Should We Be Aware of in Our Organisation?.....................................................199 Chapter 24 : Rinpoche People...........................................................201 Chapter 25 : The Da Vinci Virtue of Corporalita: Integration of Body, Mind and Spirit................................................................205 Chapter 26 : Story of The Hero’s Journey.........................................213 Exercise 12 : Three Me’s and the Alice Factor: an Exercise Around Diminishing and Expanding Realities.............................218 Exercise 13 : From Global Leadership Institute – 22 July 2013........224 Exercise 14: The Hero Within: A Meditation....................................225 Exercise 15 : How Integrated are We as an Organisation?................227 Chapter 27: Being in the Love Zone..................................................231 Chapter 28 : Fear Conquers Love......................................................241 Chapter 29 : I Am Different, Don’t Hold That Against Me.............249 Chapter 30 : Listening with the Ear in the Chest..............................257 Chapter 31 : What Happened to Good Old-fashioned Manners?....261 Exercise 16 : The seeds of love...........................................................264 Exercise 17 : When Was the Last Time You Displayed One of These Loving Behaviours?.........................................................265 Exercise 18 : Ethical Behaviour.........................................................268 Chapter 32 :The Ukulungisa Challenge..............................................271 Exercise 19 : Imagine.........................................................................278 Exercise 20 : Putting Balance into the Balanced Scorecard..............281 Exercise 21 : Readiness for the Journey.............................................284 List of Exercises.................................................................................287 List of Stories, Poems, Anecdotes.....................................................288 Bibliography......................................................................................293 List of Illustrations (in the order in which they appear)..................302 Authors..............................................................................................305 Index..................................................................................................306 ii

Author Statement The world can be a scary place. Large challenges face the planet, its resources and its people. And these challenges are inter-linked. “Humankind has not woven the web of life. We are but one thread within it. Whatever we do to the web, we do to ourselves. All things are bound together. All things connect”– Chief Seattle, Duwamish Tribe We believe in the actualisation of individuals and the potentiality of organisations to make a difference – not by wishful abundance thinking nor an outdated notion of profitmaximisation – but by opening up to the disciplined, practical application of habitreversal, and adopting of behaviours that support the formation of virtues: virtues that lead to transformation. Virtues like fun, compassion, being aware, self-examination, achieving balance curiosity, and, are practical and worthwhile, and have scientifically proven practical outcomes. Outcomes that benefit individuals and organisations. Nature, human relationships, science and the arts offer much to support this transformation. Paradoxically, there is a sacred component to this secular endeavour that cannot be ignored. Every individual has a Mother Teresa and a Hitler living inside them. Every organisation has the potential for good and bad practices. Our commentary is in part experiential, even autobiographical. The organisations that we use to illustrate points that we make are neither good nor bad. Our intent is not to label them. Numerous others could have been used. The aims of The Virtuosa Organisation are to: • Provide context for the journey to becoming a virtuous organisation. • Acknowledge the complexities of the issues and difficulties of the challenge set before businesses. • Justify the need for doing what is different and better. • Introduce a concept that cuts through endless academic debate around the many philosophical stances and countless influencing factors. • Offer models, reflections, exercises, tools, techniques, and straightforward and proven guidelines for the transformation journey. • Encourage aware and concerned leaders to undertake the journey we advocate, and aspire to the broad expected outcomes mentioned in exercise 19. “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication” (Leonardo da Vinci)

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PREFACE “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but not every man’s greed.” Mahatma Gandhi There was a famine in the animal kingdom. Ijapa the tortoise was finding that food was hard to come by. He heard that all the birds in the forest were preparing for the great annual bird feast in the sky. Since the feast took place in the sky, only the birds could attend. Ijapa the tortoise went to every bird and borrowed a feather making up one excuse or the other. He glued all these feathers to his back. He was a most colorful bird.  On the day of the feast, Ijapa the tortoise flew with the other birds. The other birds could not recognise this strange colorful bird and asked him who he was. He said his name was All of us. When it was time for the feast, all the food was laid out on a table. Ijapa the tortoise asked, “Who does this food belong to?” and the birds answered “All of us.” Ijapa the tortoise said, “That is me,” so he ate all the food while the birds had none. The birds were so angry that they grabbed All of us. His feathers fell off until the tortoise was revealed. To punish him, the birds left him in the sky. Tortoise begged the birds to give a message to his wife. He asked his wife to lay out as many mattresses as she could find so he could have a soft landing. The birds who were still angry asked his wife to bring out all the furniture in the house.  Ijapa jumped from the sky. Instead of landing on a mattress, he fell onto the wood furniture. His shell broke into many pieces. His wife collected these pieces and glued them together. That is why the tortoise does not have a smooth shell. What values should we as business leaders draw from history? As a starting point we could do an in-depth examination of theories and constructs of values and virtues down the ages from: • Classical antiquity: Plato, Aristotle, Seneca, Aquinas. • Religion: Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Taoism. • Ancient traditions: Samurai, Confucius, Arthurian Knights, First Nations, African Ubuntu. • Philosophers: Descartes, Kant, Hume, Nietzsche, Grotius, Benjamin Franklin, MacIntyre, Anscombe, Foot. • Psychology: Peterson & Seligman, Fromm, Jung. We could add categories: community, cultural, social, personal, organisational, economic, functional, shared values. We could distinguish between terminal values and end-state or goal values such as selfesteem such as, independence, and instrumental values, those that enable the reaching of the goals like courtesy and ambition.

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We could look at how broad societal and workplace values and related behaviours have changed over the years. Pupils at Eton, during Shakespeare’s time, when tobacco was first introduced to the UK, faced a beating if they failed to use their tobacco. Tobacco was considered to be a good treatment for disease, disorders and plague.1 The ancient virtue of justice in the western world may have morphed into hand it over to the lawyers. Prudence may now mean to many: cover your back, don’t get involved, avoid risk. In the workplace we have moved away from militaristic, mechanistic, puritan business models to models where participation, quality of life, respect and dignity carry more value. More than before, employees now expect their workplace to have strong, higher-level dimensions: the values of community, attachment, creation of something important and worthwhile which feed their basic human needs. We could examine the way in which different individual values may receive different emphasis at different stages in our lives, or as a result of significant experiences. Without dismissing the guidelines and cues contained within such categorisations and analyses, we prefer an approach that is accessible, direct, and practical. Not lost in academic discussions, but relevant for today’s emerging world of work, different generations and cultures. More specifically: relevant to the individual organisation that is doing the work. In the same way that a single penetrating question like: ‘Will you be recommending us to others?’ trumps a lengthy customer satisfaction survey. So we believe that the question to be asked here is: ‘What are the values we wish to live by in order to make a real difference in our world?’ We believe that it’s more productive to simply start working with them as they are unearthed, expressed and agreed in the individual organisation.

Context Context is vital. We are living on the edge in a fragile, even broken world of increasing tensions – political, ecological, religious fundamentalist, social, financial and economic – which all feed off each other, and erode trust and confidence, and erode values. Natural disasters, war, food and water shortages, extreme poverty, protesting communities, and jittery markets. Volatile events that can quickly escalate into crises. We’re surrounded by accidents waiting to happen within our businesses and in the outside world we operate in. Malcolm Gladwell eloquently showed how both positive and negative developments are subject to a process which may well lead to a critical mass which he calls a ‘tipping point, which then suddenly takes off, erupts and goes viral.2 Pick up any daily newspaper, and you’re likely to read extracts like these:

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Cape Times Thursday September, 19th 2013 3 ‘TAWDRINESS AND VENALITY OF MUCH OF OUR PRESENT POLITICAL SCENE IS UNDENIABLE’ Religious leaders lash out at corruption Michelle Jones Religious leaders have come out strongly against government corruption, criticising leaders for putting their own selfish desires ahead of the needs of those who voted them into power ... …Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism and Buddhism, attended a meeting ... …Peter Storey, former Bishop of the Methodist Church of South Africa, delivered the hard-hitting keynote address … Mpho Tutu, who heads her parents Desmond and Leah Tutu’s Legacy Foundation, responded. Storey said …South Africa’s new flag had ‘already gathered numerous grubby stains due to the actions of a democratically-elected government.’ He pointed to a number of choices which had affected the lives of millions, including: The Arms deal AIDS denialism An Education Department which produced new lost generations. “Looming over all of these, of course, is the most intractable issue of them all: poverty and joblessness, exacerbated by the pandemic crime wave visited upon private citizens in townships and suburbs, and the looting of the public purse through corruption.” Storey said the official response had been troubling. “We wait in vain for just one word of inspiration, direction and leadership, to address these crises, but government invests its energies in protecting itself from exposure.” ... Tutu said ... “we have witnessed many of the very politicians whom we believed could virtually walk on water sinking in the quick-sand of personal aggrandisement and greed. Many South Africans continue to live miserable lives; infants die preventable deaths due to poor sanitation – no women or children are safe from the scourge of sexual predation that seems to have beset us” ... [email protected]

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In the same newspaper on the same day (as in any newspaper or TV news broadcast on any day) there are a number of similar reports, including a revelation by the deputy ministerial Public Works that since 2009 the department “has racked up R3,65 billion in irregular spending,” which included a dubious lease contract involving Nedbank.4 The government in South Africa now employs more staff than the private sector. We have more people on the state payroll than the US, which has a population six times the size of ours and a GDP some 45 times bigger than ours. We all know what this fast-growing, non-value-adding employment means in terms of the tax burden, private sector strangling, productivity indices and total authoritarian control.5 We do have a public protector in Advocate Thuli Madonsela who displays courage, perseverance and integrity in investigating dubious practices. Sadly, there is increasing tension between her department’s constitutionally enshrined operational independence and many in government and parliament who wish to employ more government oversight. She refers to this as the arrogance of ‘incumbency.’6 New responses, new approaches, new resources are imperative. These responses need to be guided by virtuous leadership. The basic thesis of this book is that a shift to being virtuous is essential to surviving and thriving. Doing virtues-driven business requires an honest and transparent orientation, and a spiritual awareness. An awareness that takes us deeper, past our narrow self-interest, and the maximum profit motive. And goes beyond the complacency of but we’re doing the right things in terms of social and environmental responsibility and sustainability. How has the values thing developed in the corporate world? A look at recent organisation development history shows that in the early 1990s vision was all the rage in business. Lynch & Kordis drew attention to why future-oriented thinking was good7. Senge et al led thinking in the mid-1990s about co-creating a vision for the organisation.8 By the end of that decade the focus had shifted from compelling visions to the necessity for organisational values. Moss Kantor, a leading management thinker, said “the vision thing is giving way to the values thing in the lexicon of business leaders.” 9 Then followed a period when the emphasis was on linking values to vision, developing value propositions, relationship-marketing and learning organisations. Things haven’t changed much since then other than on the technology front. Many leaders are still inclined to say, Been there, done that, got the T-shirt. We’re largely stuck in the same place. Yes, a number of organisations have invested in non-profit areas. They have employed consultants, and done good things. They believe that they can do good and do well. However, our contention is that by and large the required urgency, depth and, most of all, application, has been insufficient for the times we face. We also contend that people, planet and profit goals are not mutually exclusive, but can be mutually supportive, and strongly inter-connected. There is potential to go beyond doing good and well. By this we don’t mean do more good and less well. We mean going beyond compliance thresholds (minima by definition), and becoming immersed in behaving virtuously, attracting and nurturing virtuous talent, putting things right in the wider world and, thriving in a new way. A field of study still in its infancy is the notion of developing virtuous organisations. This means considerably more than simply being good, doing the right thing, and having the correct ethical guidelines. “In sum, virtuousness in organisations refers to the process and practices that support and manifest the display of virtuous behaviour. In vii

virtuous organisations, employees collectively behave in ways that are consistent with the best of the human condition and the highest aspirations of human kind.” 10 This notion is still, to a large extent, in the realm of academic debate, and little has happened so far in the real-life business arena. How we think about and view things, how we feel and how we act impacts far more widely than we realise. Our conscious and unconscious choices can have indifferent, toxic or health-giving effects on the societies, communities, markets and environments in which we operate. Some things that hamper progress are:

Innovation

People-Centered

Teamwork

Accountability

Service

Excellence

Respect

Integrity

COMPARATIVE SAMPLE OF ORGANISATIONAL • Workplace cultures and dynamics. VALUES ON WEBSITES Still too often these are more akin to machines, the military and, psychic prisons. They stem from pressure to produce profits in the short run, coupled with old-style commandand-control management practices. When values are espoused they are not delivered. The claiming of values seems to be, all too often, more about good PR, and not about attracting and keeping the right talent, or providing meaning and making a difference. They stem also from government and wider societal practices that become ingrained. • Mouthing values that look good on paper but don’t positively affect behaviour can have a negative effect – leading to a stifling and neurotic culture, depressed productivity and ineffectiveness in organisations. Some leaders don’t see that fixing this requires much more than staff wellness programmes or the like. Sticking plaster is applied when drastic surgery is required. • There is a same-ness, a routine-ness about values that are expressed by different organisations. Many of these are the minimum, or threshold, values that anyone in business should have anyway. There is nothing to distinguish such an organisation from any of the others. Instead, questions of credibility are raised. It’s as if the base question for them has been: ‘In terms of political correctness, what are the appropriate and correct values we should post?” instead of “What values characterise who we wish to be?’ The latter facilitates positive forward movement.

Notes on Comparative sample of organisational values on websites table, refer to previous page:

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• The black circles indicate where a value is stated. • In some instances different words are used to describe an almost identical or very similar value (e.g. integrity/honesty/fairness, teamwork/Ubuntu/collaboration, service/responsiveness/reliability). • A value held by only one organisation may be excluded from the list (e.g. Anglo lists safety as a value). • The table is not intended to be comprehensive, but indicative. • If all public and private organisations lived the values they claim, we’d live in a wonderful world! Sadly this is not the case. The visions of this representative sample of organisations are equally uninspiring. They are certainly not compelling. Many of these companies have no published explicit vision statement. Instead one finds stuff about compliance, codes of ethics, codes of conduct, objectives, business principles, corporate social investment and sustainability reports. It’s about what we should do. It could be about what should we be ideally. Others are narrowly focused on being the best, leading in their particular market. Could it be that the power of compelling visions is being ignored and that the importance of values is being missed? If so, the transition into becoming virtues-led is even more daunting.

So what now? Many businesses are still not sure about why they should make the move from vision to values to virtues. (V2V2V) Surely news of corruption, fraud, tender collusion, bribery, tax evasion, excessive executive pay and pay-outs, failures and disasters from the worlds of oil, banking and financial services, construction, mining, arms trading, government and other sectors puts pressure on organisations to go beyond lip-service and become virtuous? Instead the separate silo mentality of escaping the consequences of what happens when things go wrong, and then blaming outside forces, is a form of immaturity. Too often there is avoidance, cover-up and denial. In late 2013 The Economist Intelligence Unit released a survey report. The report points to unethical practices in the 80s and 90s in the financial services industry, leading up to the financial crises we’ve become all too aware of. These practices included profit-chasing which “led to extreme risktaking, selling derivative products they did not understand and many clients did not need, and lending to people who could not afford the repayments.” Responses from the industry are disquieting, to say the least. They are full of complacency, lip service, blind spots and indifference. Financial Services leaders talk about strengthened formal codes of conduct, raising awareness, introducing incentives. Scarily, executives struggle to appreciate the benefits of ethical behaviour, believing that career advancement would be retarded, and also that their firms would become less competitive! Ethical conduct might still not be an entirely natural fit with financial services. Deep-seated cultural impediments seem to be here to stay for a long while yet. 11

ix

It is damage control and risk management that is fraudulent and hostile to true community formation. When values are posted in the public view and not behaved, then the purity of motive of the organisation must be questioned. Purity of motive before embarking on the virtuosa journey is key. Wrong motive defeats the point: own best interests, brand appeal, we’d better do this, and me-too-ism. Above all the process we advocate is designed to bring healing to organisations so that they reach and contribute to the society they work in; create what they want to be and see. A better place for all. The spiritual value of Do unto others as you would have them do unto you comes into play here. We are accountable to each other in more ways than we know. This book explores the technology of how values can shift gear into lived virtues, enabling participation rather than repetitive complaint; learning and growing rather than resisting and obstructing and encouraging rather than blaming and withdrawing. We have included a number of exercises, and each chapter is designed to aid reflection on a particular aspect of the values to virtues journey. Key competencies and associated behaviours that give effect to how virtues are displayed at leadership and other levels are also introduced and discussed. This book is an opportunity to see afresh, to envisage courageously and to position yourself differently. The life we live inside our organisations influences every other part of our lives. What follows is not a cover-all blueprint for becoming a virtuosa organisation, but does address the philosophy and practice in a way that will take you a long way down that road. It will help you to define where you are in your current experience of your organisation, and how you can shift things within yourself and around you. You will be empowered to envisage and participate in different outcomes. This is more than an adaptive process. It is about radical change. In this book we show how it can, and has been done. • • • • •

Seeing the need. Arriving at the right values. Aligning individual and organisation values/virtues. Determining appropriate behaviour indicators. Entrenching the values so that they become spontaneously lived virtues.

The mind-set, methods and techniques used during the process are important in each of these steps, especially the last where precious few have succeeded. There is no quick-fix. Our process involves looking within and without. Business does some aspects of the looking without part well: conducting scenario planning, analysing market trends, deriving competitive edges and ascertaining consumer needs. There is also limited looking within at the same time in order to do strengths/ weaknesses/opportunity/threats analyses, ascertain competency levels, undertake staff morale surveys ... We hope that the deeper looking within that we advocate will not be resisted on the grounds that introversion of this kind is not appropriate.

x

• The world is crying out for direction. • We need 20/20 virtuous leaders whose egos are not as large as the skyscrapers they work from or as long as their Board room tables. • Too long has business neglected its full leadership role in building a better society. Business organisations do have the means to lead the way for the rest of society. In South Africa the vice-ridden Hydra of government continues to grow alarmingly in size and menace – a fast-approaching tipping point. The private sector must act, even though it sometimes feels like a David and Goliath situation where the forces to be opposed look to be invincible and overwhelming.

• There are too many cases of disconnect between espoused and displayed values. • Employees need meaning in their lives. • It’s time for virtues (especially the displayed virtue of love for people and planet) to be a powerful driver of the way that business is conducted. Our approach to becoming a virtuosa organisation offers African ukulungisa, “A chance to put things right, restore order, aspire to higher things” at the organisation, department, team and individual levels. To rewrite the organisation’s story. We hope that this book contributes not only to raising consciousness, but provides a practical way forward for many organisations in many sectors and places. Borrowed from the discipline of economics, a negative vicious circle is a downward spiral. Each spiral has a knock-on, reinforcing effect. When a tipping point is reached, then the spiraling speeds up dramatically. For example, in business a cumbersome, inefficient business process that is allowed to persist can frustrate employees, lower their motivation, reduce service performance impact on rewards received which in turn further decreases motivation, hampers a willingness to learn and make improvements, impacts on overall competence levels, reduces customer satisfaction, causes employee disbelief in the organisation’s vision, results in work-to-rule and inevitably leads to lower profitability. An example of a virtuous circle, following the introduction of a values to virtues initiative, would be to engender excitement within an atmosphere of trust. People embrace the mission as well as the process. They begin to find satisfaction and meaning in their work. This then leads to calls for competency development, impacts

xi

positively on customer and other stakeholder relationships, results in an inflow of positive endorsements and enhances the organisation’s reputation. In turn, this strengthens staff commitment and engagement and attracts new talent. People spontaneously go the extra mile. The end-result is a changed culture. And improved profitability. The virtuosa organisation is one that chooses a virtuous circle, gives a dazzling performance. A way of caring for the soul of the business, and for the society it serves. If values don’t play out as virtues, then what’s the point? We’ve written this book as our contribution to a movement towards virtuous circles in organisations. At the time of writing and following, soon after the Eurozone crisis, the USA fiscal instability and a hovering debt problem have ramifications for the world; a potential trigger for widespread economic, political and social challenges and a resultant danger of businesses doing anything to survive with accompanying lapses into vicious cycles. The schematic, or story, of the book is: STAGE ONE - Looking at the problem

VICIOUS CYCLE Failing Failing leadership leadership

Uninspiring visions and values

Avoidance, denial of responsibility Dysfunctional organisations

Poised tipping points

World of fragility, tension, crises

STAGE TWO - Changing direction Go beyond ‘do good’ and ‘do well’

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STAGE THREE : Reversing the cycle Look without and within

VIRTUOUS CYCLE

Ukulungisa: put things right

Go on a values to virtues journey Engage virtuous talent

Become a virtuous organisation

We have faith that there are many out there who will identify with the need for radical action, resonate with this reframed story of a new way of doing business, rise to the challenges that have been set, move beyond current thinking constraints, become heroes and undertake the journey to becoming virtuous. As a leader you could be asking yourself: Who do I wish to become?, How do I wish to be remembered?, What should my organisation become? On Virtue Virtue is near thee, and with gentle hand Would now embrace thee, hovers o’er thine head. Fain would the heaven-born soul with her converse, Then seek, then court her for her promised bliss. Phillis Wheatley (African-American poet 1753-1784)

Our use of story, poetry,anecdote, metaphor and images? Artists, poets, musicians and story tellers are taking their place alongside business thought-leaders and organisations that are leading the way. They shouldn’t be seen as separate, parallel phenomena to corporate life. If they are seen as something distinctly other than what takes up the time and energy of the working lives of employees at their daily assignments, then the creative right brain function is excluded. (Our book is entitled The Virtuosa Organisation. Why not The Virtuoso Organisation? Because the more right brain, feminine component of the right brain/left brain team is still neglected by business). We use the Leonardo da Vinci story and values, not as the only right way, but as an illustrative, non-threatening and practical virtue–set. We have made liberal use of story, poetry, anecdote, metaphor and image in order to make the material more accessible, and to add another dimension to engage and stimulate the reader. xiii

• STORY. “For well over 100,000 years before written language, humans communicated all key information, histories, beliefs, and attitudes through oral storytelling and archived, stored/remembered all of that information in story form in human memory. 100,000 years of relying on story architecture as our primary storage and communication system has evolutionarily rewired human brains. We are all now born hardwired to think, to make sense, and to understand through story structure and by using specific story elements.”12 Nigel Nicholson of the London Business School refers to us possessing a fiction impulse. “Narrative intelligence is ill defined and unfamiliar to many. Through my graduate research, I came to understand it as our innate ability to analyse, learn from and remember information and experiences as stories.”13 • POETRY. Another way of paying attention, listening and observing the world. “I believe that poetry is a primal impulse within us all. I believe we are all capable of it and, furthermore, that a small, often ignored corner of us yearns to try it.”14 The words, omissions and rhythms of poetry speak to the unconscious. • IMAGES. Richard Maidwell of the Catholic Redemptorist Community in Cape Town points out that, since prehistoric times, images have been at the forefront of our human experience. Images dominate our lives. They suggest to us how to think, how to behave, even how to feel – overtly and covertly. In fact we can’t imagine a world without images. “Images enable us to go beyond ourselves, access our spiritual nature and express ideas and concepts beyond verbal language and intellect. The oldest evidence of our evolving human intellect are images.”He cites Mithen who in his treatise on cave paintings, wrote: ..”.this art was a part of modern human ecological adaptation to their environment. The art functioned to extend human memory, to hold concepts which are difficult for human minds to grasp and to instigate creative thinking about the solution of environmental and social problems.”15 However much art changed in the following centuries this fundamental concept remained almost unchanged. “If the poet says that he can inflame men with love ... the painter has the power to do the same … in that he can place in front of the lover the true likeness of one who is beloved, often making him kiss and speak to it.” (da Vinci). And of course, the image evolved into symbolic written language, and then into writing. • METAPHOR. Friend, author and business consultant Ralph Windle points out that “Metaphor is not merely a decorative element in literature, but fundamental to the very way we think and act.”16 These mechanisms often combine to transcend the words that they support. An example: The powerful bridge metaphor and images, and the Leonardo Bridge Project story can help to promote the crossing of some of the many barriers between societies, people, and between business, the arts and the sciences.

xiv

The Leonardo Bridge Project – the story is told in Chapters 7 and 8 “Leonardo da Vinci presents the world with a quintessential model of the fully utilised human mind: a person who develops all their capacities to an equal level of mastery, to produce work of the highest order of artistic and intellectual quality. He was inventor, artist, architect, naturalist, scientist and engineer. He could make mesmerising drawings of flowing water or meticulously braided hair. Yet he was also playful, a great tease, whimsical, loved to sing, delighted in the company of friends and was a masterful host. Leonardo da Vinci’s endless curiosity and capacity for serious play presents a model for the modern person in this time of rapid change, constant uncertainty and mounting individual, civic, environmental and political pressures. Leonardo da Vinci is an icon of possibility for our generation as we continue to reinvent our civilisation.”17

References 1. Bryson, Bill Shakespeare Atlas Books, London 2008 2. Gladwell, Malcolm The Tipping Point: how little things can make a big difference Little, Brown & Company 2000 3. Jones, Michelle Religious Leaders Lash Out at Corruption Cape Times Thursday 19th September, 2013 Pg 3 4. Sapa R3,65bn in irregular Public Works spending Cape Time Thursday 19th September, 2013 Pg 1 5. Mulholland, Stephen An Orgy of Jobs for Bureaucratic Pals Business Times 8th September, 2013 6. Segar, Sue Woman in Search of the Truth Noseweek September 2013 7. Lynch, Dudley & Kordis, Paul L. Strategy of the Dolphin: scoring a win in a chaotic world Fawcett Colombine 1990 8. Senge, Peter M; Roberts, Charlotte; Ross, Richard B.;Smith, Bryan J, & Kleiner, Art The Fifth Discipline Field Book: strategies for building a learning organisation A Currency Book published by Doubleday NY 1994 9. Moss Kantor, Rosabeth On the Frontiers of Management A Harvard Business Review Book 1997, p.273 10. Horne, Amanda Virtuous Organisations http://positivepsychologynews.com/news/ amanda-horne/2012080323377 August, 2012 11. A crisis of culture: valuing ethics and knowledge in financial services The Economist Intelligence Unit, sponsored by the CFA 2013 12. Haven, Kendall Testing, One, Two: how do I know they’re listening? © Kendall Haven 2011 Halo and Noose Articles Archive 13. Withers, Denise Using Story to Solve Social Problems http://www.ssireview.org/blog/entry/ using_story_to_solve_social_problems September 2013 14. Fry, Stephen The Ode Less Travelled: unlocking the poet within Arrow Books London 2007 15. Mithen, Steven J Thoughtful Foragers: A study of prehistoric decision making Cambridge University Press 1990 16. Windle, Ralph http://ralphwindle.com/ 17. The Leonardo Bridge Project: Summary Document

Illustration by Tony Grogan David and Goliath xv

After reading this book, you will be able to: • Recognise hidden dark side leadership in yourself and others • Conduct business process analyses to uncover environmental and social impacts • Determine and prioritise personal and organisational values • Use behaviour indicators to instil virtuous habits • Use gamification to reinforce virtuous behaviours • Use Anecdote Circles to align organisation members with a virtuous value-set • Develop a talent-attraction-and-nurturing policy and processes • Practice a deeper mindfulness that has concrete organisational benefits • Install a take personal responsibility culture • Introduce an effective communication and relating style (including during times of stress, change and transition) • Apply the innovation skills of questioning, listening, imagining and having fun • Apply a group model for performance-through-innovation • Carry out necessary interior work, making use of archetypal cues • Conquer fears that lead to workplace and individual dysfunction, and introduce the practice of love into workplaces • Appreciate links between business, art, science and narrative • Get ready for a values to virtues journey

xvi

Introduction to Section 1 We live in a broken world where corruption, deception, manipulation and evasion are the order of the day in the corporate and political worlds. Where might this downward spiral lead? Old-style capitalism seems to have failed. All over the cry is being heard for authentic, compassionate leadership, responsible capitalism, impact-investments, and organisations that go beyond lip-service and consistently display the values that they espouse. A cry for organisations that have adopted, embraced and truly serve the triple – bottom – line. Such organisations attract and retain talented members who then find meaning and satisfaction in their work, and at their places of work. This aids their evolution to becoming virtues-driven leaders in the marketplaces, communities and ecology they serve. Yet there are more cynics than advocates. In the chapters that follow we walk you through what has been happening in the corporate world, and how an organisation can become virtuous. How organisations can offer society hope for the future, see through the murkiness and reach clarity. It is self-evident that virtuous leadership is needed. The leader’s behaviours usually become embedded in culture. Dark-side leadership spawns a numbing and a fragmentation of conscience. However, given a virtuous leadership aspiration, there are processes and techniques that may fruitfully be learned and adopted in the organisation’s quest to become virtuous. We introduce a four-step process for moving from vision, to identifying organisational values, to making these explicit and reinforcing them so that they become virtues. Tips offered to ensure that the process is successful include clearly defining the concepts involved, thinking strategically, allowing the process to overcome builtin conditioning, beliefs, stereotyping and prejudice, ensuring visibility, techniques to reinforce them, and accepting that this is a work in progress.

The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

Chapter 1 : The Dark Side of Leadership “A fish rots from the head.” (Old proverb) Someone once said ‘In a septic tank, as in a big corporation, the biggest turds float to the top.’ During times when we hold leadership reins, we have to be aware of lapsing into behaviours that compromise our own values and damage others. Remember that Dr Jekyll was also Mr Hyde. And we all have feet of clay.

A personal story I was involved with a local operations company of one of the world’s top multi-national petroleum entities using one of the world’s top consulting firms in order to undertake massive re-engineering. The consultants introduced tactics designed to manipulate fast change and compliance in order to force through the change at a frenetic pace. ‘Take a jerk to lunch’ was one tactic. Another was to demonise and make outcasts of any with influence who were not with it. Still another was the deliberate withholding of information so that few could see the bigger picture. An HR manager proudly said: ‘Throughout this entire process we had only one suicide.’ London Head Office was impressed to the extent that the consulting group soon found itself doing the same work in Thailand, Brazil, and other OpCos. Presumably more successes were claimed. But as LinkedIn connection, neurologist John Barbuto rightly asks: “What is the rest of the story?” Culture in the local OpCo at the time was about agreement, avoiding conflict and, sharing successes but not failures. Fertile ground was laid to increase fear and self- preservation factors by using the tactics in question; no doubt exacerbated by the stress accompanying such massive change. What transpired was a culture of inauthenticity, gamesmanship, the cloaking of real feelings, suppression of issues and the creation of a reality that disempowered. At its root, in a word, anti human. Years after completion of the exercise, some of these tactics were still embedded in the culture. The OpCo never fully recovered. Although the reengineering project was hailed as a huge local success on the basis of costs to be saved, these costs were never fully realised. Sadly such leadership behaviour so easily leads to lasting negative damage to the organisation and to its members with untold story being a tragedy.

2

Chapter 1 : The Dark Side of Leadership

Long term damage to organisations and their members can be horrific There is always a good chance that the power-holder’s personality characteristics, by a process of osmosis, become part of the organisation’s culture. This is the true danger of dark leadership. When cultural norms, habits, responses and behaviour become second nature, individuals are no longer consciously aware that they are behaving in a dysfunctional way, or that they are responsible for their own behaviour. Group pathology is absorbed by and entrenched in individuals. Scott Peck explains that group leaders in all times and places have routinely bolstered group cohesiveness by whipping up the group’s hatred for foreigners, or the enemy; the outsider. In his book ‘People of the Lie’1, he relays the My Lai incident in South Vietnam in 1968, where members of the United States Army killed 500 to 600 unarmed villagers. Years later, he was appointed by the Army Surgeon General as chairman of a committee given the task of making recommendations about undertaking psychological research to understand and help prevent such incidents in future. The committee’s recommendations were rejected for fear of embarrassing the status quo. The organisation, the US Army, protected itself. Scott Peck explains lucidly that group pathology was at play even though each killing was an individual act. He points out that different levels, as well as different departments within a hierarchy, can experience a fragmentation of conscience, especially under conditions of stress. This fragmentation of conscience may be motivated by fear and self-preservation and can result in • avoiding taking responsibility for what the wider organisation is doing • blaming other departments, or overall policies, or management for what is happening This happens when people are conditioned by group-thinking; a frightening possibility. In telling the IBM story in his book Big Blues, Paul Carrol cites the case of Don Estridge.2 He was a rebel; a non-conformist in dress, personality and management style, who ushered IBM into the new technology personal computer market in the early 1980s. IBM at the time believed that the market was far too small to be of any interest to them. Don Estridge’s committed development team of 13 worked against the clock. Against incredible odds, their unprecedented counterculture approach yielded amazing results. They delivered US$1-billion in the first year. However, Estridge’s sudden success, with its accompanying visibility and publicity bred enmity among other IBM executives. Their inability to embrace diversity evolved into a fierce jealousy that guaranteed Estridge would eventually fall. He lost favour and was effectively side-lined and, overpowered by the bureaucracy, before his untimely death.

3

The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

In a 5 year period to 2007, BP were charged with no less than 760 safety violations, and were found to be grossly negligent in a number of instances. When the Gulf of Mexico disaster inevitably occurred, “numerous investigations would place the blame for the explosion on BP’s cutting of costs, inattention to safety and overly aggressive attitude toward extracting oil from difficult-to-reach reserves.” BP continued its arrogant tradition of “say a lot, do little.” Psychologist Irving Janis describes this sort of groupthink: “When certain conditions are present … groups quickly reach consensus decisions with amazing disregard for obvious warning signs that they are on the wrong track. Extremely cohesive groups, oriented around a strong leader, will ignore or punish dissenting opinions.”3 It seems that forced conformity, fragmentation of conscience, and diffused responsibility were all at play here. I’ve recently consulted to an organisation where people avoided offering constructive criticism and, steered away from potential conflict for fear of rocking the boat. Their conformity and diffusion of responsibility were, in effect, defence-mechanisms. Staff worked-to-rule. This cultural impediment was fed by stress resulting from high workloads and deadline pressures. The possibility of such organisational illness should not be underestimated. Babiak and Hare have contributed to studies of the corporate psychopathic phenomena4 and their work is well explained on the YouTube: I Am Fishhead - Are Corporate Leaders Psychopaths? (2011)4 In South Africa we are experiencing low-growth economic times. S.A.’s performance in terms of corruption, crime, job creation, alleviation of poverty, care for the environment, hampering of private enterprise, quality of education (the World Economic Forum recently placed South Africa 132 out of 144) – must give rise to alarm about the leaders we have chosen, our own acceptance of things and prospects for the future. Add to this a substantial measure of bureaucracy and compliance mechanisms, and any constructive partnership between public and private sectors becomes severely threatened.

Unsavoury leadership characteristics Tyrants often come across as good guys and reach the top. They appear charming and charismatic on the outside, but emotionally blunted and dead inside. “…one may smile, and smile, and be a villain.” 5 (Shakespeare: Hamlet 1.5. 108). There is as yet no effective way to screen the mental health of such leaders as they assume power, manipulate, intimidate and, ruthlessly achieve self-serving outcomes. Manfred Kets de Vries has explored the dark side of leadership. He assessed personality types and traits, character disorders and drag-down behaviours.6 The main characteristics displayed by unsavoury leaders are: • • • • • • •

4

Paranoid Obsessive-compulsive Histrionic Dependent Depressive Antisocial Sadistic

Chapter 1 : The Dark Side of Leadership

• Masochistic • Passive-aggressive In the parable of Stripe and Yellow, two caterpillars are climbing the caterpillar pillar: “Stripe avoided Yellow as much as possible, but one day there she was, blocking the only way up. Well, I guess it’s you or me, he said, and stepped squarely on her head.”7 In my view, a combination of the following is particularly dangerous: • NARCISSISTIC. • This leader has a need to be admired. Self-love, self-interest and gain is the goal bar any cost. They have an uncanny ability to manipulate and abuse others. • MACHIAVELLIAN. • This leader will play a game of deception, subterfuge, manipulation, cunning and duplicity in order to achieve personal goals. • SOCIOPATHIC. • The leader is also manipulative, beguiling, convincing, unloving, has no emotional attachment, no conscience, no moral compass with regard right and wrong, and neither principals nor values.

Hidden in the shadows even when in the limelight Is he a lamb? His skin is surely lent him, For he’s inclin’d as is the ravenous wolves. Who cannot steal a shape that means deceit? 5 (Shakespeare: King Henry VI, Part 2 3.1.77-79) It’s easy with hindsight to label a Hitler, a Gadaffi, a Barings Bank or an Exxon or BP CEO. How can you identify this villain when you’re immersed in everyday work? Like Aesop’s proverbial wolf in sheep’s clothing, you can easily be snared by the charm of a narcissistic, Machiavellian or sociopathic boss. However, it’s also naïve to suggest that there is always a direct link between toxic leadership and dysfunctional organisations. The traits of problematic leaders are largely hidden and come in many guises.

Masters at acting the part, they deceive all as they rise to the top. Their flawed personalities and character-deficits are hidden from view whether they succeed or fail against the organisation’s measure of succes).

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

What should we do? How to deal with this is a huge change challenge for individuals and organisations.

People and organisations tend to become trapped in their own limited thinking and behaviours. Like Plato’s Cave – a situation where we are shackled and face only the back wall of the cave and are able to see only the shadows of the fire that blazes outside, but not the fire itself. We have only an illusion, a limited internal reality. Morgan refers to this using the metaphor of a ‘psychic prison.’ He suggests that “In thinking about an organization this way, we are thus alerted to the pathologies that may accompany our (own) ways of thinking.”8 Blindly following authority, including dysfunctional leaders caught in their own psychic prisons, perhaps even hero-worshipping them thus reinforcing their pathologies and our own illusions is clearly foolish. Many self-help books promote self-interest at the expense of others and this is also something to watch out for. An example: President Bill Clinton is on record as saying “telling purposeful stories is the best way to persuade, motivate, and convince who you want to do what you need.”9 Be aware also that your boss and other leaders may be allowing their dark side to dominate. “All hoods make not monks”5 (Shakespeare: King Henry VIII 3.1.23). Maybe a little occupy movement in the office will at least moderate the behaviours. Share your story with others. Sometimes it’s a straight choice: comply or say goodbye. Sometimes you can begin to bring healing by speaking up. The watchword is courage. On a personal level, awareness is usually the starting-point. Driven by a MacBeth-like vaulting ambition we could ask whether we ourselves are developing behaviours we should be concerned about. Sometimes it’s a subtle thing that creeps up on us unnoticed as we become more and more immersed in the prevailing culture. During times of high stress, perhaps with professional help, we could uncover the root causes of our drivers and, begin to bring healing to ourselves and the organisation we work for. Develop your emotional and social intelligence. Healthy social engagement and emotional attachment are in many ways the opposite of the unsavoury narcissistic, Machiavellian, sociopathic characteristics outlined above.

6

Chapter 1 : The Dark Side of Leadership

We all have dark and light sides to our psyches–the dark or shadow side usually being hidden, unknown and denied. Johnson refers to our shadow side as “that dumping ground for all those characteristics of our personality that we disown.”10 The process of balancing and lightening our dark side in order to reach en-lighten-ment, or self-actualisation challenges us all. This is a huge subject on its own. Another story continued in Chapter 25. Suffice to say for now that the development of meaningful virtues in individuals and organisations assumes the highest importance.11 Choose to recognise and follow good (virtuous) leaders. Sigmund Freud the founder of psychoanalysis; “another person’s narcissism has a great attraction for those who have renounced part of their own...” 12 and Professor of Business Psychology at University College, London, Dr Tomas Chamorro-Preuzic, argues that followers mistake confidence for competence, and that “their love for the leader is a disguised form of selflove, or a substitute for their inability to love themselves.”13 They project. Something to be aware of when choosing who to follow. And be encouraged, “Virtue is not left to stand alone. He who practices it will have neighbors.” (Confucius)

Good leaders – the light side Kahlil Gibran reminds us, “Work is love made visible” Extensive libraries of leadership studies exist. These are based on traits, processes, competencies, style and, or performance, servant leadership and, results-based leadership; emotionally intelligent, charismatic leaders; Transformational, Quantum Leap, Situational, Attributional, Adaptive, Fast-forward leadership. Ubuntu, follower – centric leadership. In essence, good leaders get things done because they: • forge genuinely close relationships, display a loving side • are humble • consistently act in congruence with their values to such an extent that they have become virtues • focus on both task and relationship (empathy) • are mindful and observant, self-aware, open, flexible • respect and nurture diversity • are able to reframe complex issues During an interview Leena Nair, Unilever Director, when asked, “What does the leader of 2020 look like?” put it beautifully: “The leader of 2020 will be a person who is authentic – someone who is willing to share their strengths, weaknesses and vulnerabilities. They will be more inclusive, and more collaborative in the way they lead and manage. They will be more engaging and they will know how to get the best out of everyone around them. Words like listening will be even more important. One leader alone will not have the answers to the complex world we live in and the changes which are taking place. They will reach out to their teams to create the answers.”14 In short, they live by head, heart and hands.15 (See exercise 15)

7

The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

The heart aspect is assuming more and more importance. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu has said, referring to the Ubuntu social values system: “A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he has a self-assurance that comes from knowing that he belongs in a greater whole.” Without explicitly using the words values-based, Daniel Goleman of Emotional Intelligence fame, describes ethical leaders as those who understand themselves, are able to connect, help people find meaning and do the right thing. They are able to give a view of the bigger picture, articulate vision and tell their story authentically and effectively: “If you think about the long run, are transparent about it, and your message is in synch with your vision and intention, it’s very hard to be unethical.”16 Under such leadership, organisations have a far better chance of being responsive and innovative, externally oriented triple bottom line, and caring. Their values-set provides perspective, and becomes a guiding framework for sound short-term decisions. It’s more about who we are, than what we do. LEADERSHIP BY BEING

manifesting in

DOING

ENGAGE THE SHADOW

Personal clarity. Authenticity

ACHIEVE BALANCE

People, planet, profits Abundance and scarcity Masculine and feminine Positivity and prudence

INTEGRATION

Body, mind and spirit health Living by spirit rather than letter

AWARENESS

Calm, mindful understanding Self-control, social/emotional intelligence. Blind spots

LOVE

Practice of subsidiarity Listening. Growing potential Fostering engagement Harnessing diversity Overcoming fears

CURIOSITY

Questioning. Fun and wonder Inside and outside the box thinking

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY

Motivational follow up, nurturing Visual metaphor/story communication No naming and blaming

This seems to be far from current reality. To take just one example, well known management consultant and author Ken Blanchard reports seeing research showing that: 8

Chapter 1 : The Dark Side of Leadership

• a mere 20% of employees trust their organisations • only 11% see congruency between what their management say and what they do. His own subsequent research showed, inter alia, that: • • • •

68% were hampered by rumour and gossip 47% reported hidden agendas, secrecy, lack of transparency 34% were exposed to lies and dishonesty 58% regretted trying to collaborate and share openly.17 True leaders Are hardly known to their followers. Next after them are the leaders The people know and admire; After them those they fear; After them, those they despise. To give no trust is to get no trust. When the work’s done right, With no fuss or boasting, Ordinary people say, ‘Oh, we did it.’ Lao-Tzu (6th century BC)

H.G.Wells echoes Lao-Tzu: “Leaders should lead as far as they can and then vanish. Their ashes should not choke the fire they have lit.” In a sense, as Kahlil Gibran says, “Work is love made visible.” 18

Author’s thank you: Anja van Kralingen of the Applied Jung Institute ([email protected]) was instrumental in helping with both the flow and logic of this chapter.

References Peck, M. Scott People of the Lie Arrow Publishers London 1990 Carroll, Paul Big Blues: the unmasking of IBM Weidenfeld & Nicholson London 1994 Sachs, Jonah Winning the Story Wars Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, Mass. 2012 Babiak, Paul & Hare, Robert Snakes in Suits: when psychopaths go to work Harper Collins Publishers NY 2007 and https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Jx q7hiHi1cE&goback=%2Egde_4122540_member_225862306#%21 5. Whitney, John.O. & Packer, Tina Power Plays: Shakespeare’s lessons in leadership and management Simon & Schuster 2000 6. Kets de Vries, Manfred, F. R The Leadership Mystique: a user’s manual for the human enterprise Financial Times Prentice Hall Pearson Education 2001 7. Paulus, Trina Hope for the Flowers Paulist Press NY 1972 8. Morgan, Gareth Images of Organisation Sage Publications 1986 9. Guber, Peter Tell to Win Profile Books Great Britain 2011 10. Johnson, Robert A. Owning Your Shadow HarperSanfrancisco 1991 11. Williams, Graham Moving from Values to Virtues, How do Organisations Become Virtuous and Being in the Love Zone Member’s Archive: http://www.haloandnoose.com 12. Freud, Sigmund, Ed. Dickson, Albert On Metapsychology–The Theory of Psychoanalysis: “Beyond the Pleasure Principle”, “Ego and the Id” and Other Works (Penguin Freud Library 1991 1. 2. 3. 4.

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13. Chamorro-Premuzic, Dr Tomas Why Do So Many Incompetent Men Become Leaders? http:// blogs.hbr.org/cs/2013/08/why_do_so_many_incompetent_men.html August 2013 14. Nair, Leena The Changing Face of the Leader Management July 31, 2013–See more at: http://managementsa.co.za/the-changing-face-of-the-leader/#sthash.WcFPSCw4.dpuf 15. Williams, Graham Learning Reflections for 3H Leaders Centre-ing Services 2000 16. Goleman, Daniel Multiple Intelligences for Ethical Leadership http://www.linkedin.com/ today/post/article/20130819204323-117825785-multiple-intelligences-for-ethicalleadership August, 2013 17. Blanchard, Ken An Issue of Trust http://www.trainingzone.co.uk/feature/soft-skills/issuetrust/185104 August 2013 18. Gibran, Kahlil The Prophet Alfred Knopf NY 1923

Illustrations by Tony Grogan Command Chairman Diverse Group Leadership communication

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Chapter 2 : The Ripening of The Olive: A New Metaphor for Responsible Capitalism “Virtue never has been as respectable as money.” (Mark Twain)

“Our world is filled with archetypal imagery, powerful symbols that reflect the deepest layers of our personality…..Primarily unconscious, these inner forces shape our behaviours, attitudes and beliefs.” (Robert A. Johnson) “Metaphor is not merely a decorative element in literature, but fundamental to the very way we think and act.” (Ralph Windle) A metaphor is a bridge between two situations or objects which at first glance seem not to be related, but actually have something in common. They abound in business: a wily old fox, slave driver, pick low hanging fruit, hitting targets, drowning in paperwork, a psychic prison. We’d like to introduce a new business metaphor: the ripening of the olive. A metaphor that informs the way business can feel, think and act. Metaphors, or vivid mind-pictures, carry meaning effortlessly and powerfully. As Johnson points out, metaphors, are embodied cognition. They are deeply embedded in our thinking. They help us to make sense of and get closer to what may not be immediately understandable. A metaphor is no mere ornament of language. We live by metaphors.1 Ralph Windle points out that “we draw on metaphorical language to achieve understanding of sensory experiences.”2 11

The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

Emotional language is metaphorical And as Zoltán Kövecses, Professor of Linguistics, Cambridge, says3: “Emotional language is largely metaphorical in English, and in all probabilities in other languages as well.” Metaphors have been around for a long time. The 24th century BC Sumerian civilisation is said to have introduced the first literary imagery, and their writings and poetry are full of metaphor.4

Of course we choose our metaphors from what is known to us, so metaphors don’t necessarily travel seamlessly across cultures, religions and societies: as ancient Greek philosopher Xenophanes put it, ‘If horses had gods, they would depict the gods as horses.’ In all religions metaphors (and metaphor stories or parables) are widely used. The Buddhist lion, for example, conveys the regal-ness, strength and power of the person and his teachings. The Dalai Lama talks about how important metaphors are … the rainbow as a sign of auspiciousness and good fortune, and also the illusory nature of everything … in the Tibetan Buddhist context.5 In the Judeo-Christian tradition we immediately think of the mustard tree (Kingdom of Heaven), shepherd, rock of ages, father, king, mother (beginning of life, its nurture, and its fulfilment), cloud (symbol of the unknowable). The Sufi mystic Rumi’s works are full of metaphors. Early in the early 1980s Sally McFague started a hot debate with her books on metaphorical theology.1 The late Steve de Gruchy produced a fascinating and stimulating paper6 that “propose a theological engagement with a metaphor that could transcend the duality between the green environmental agenda of sustainable development or growth, and the brown poverty agenda that has disabled development discourse for the past twenty years.” 12

Chapter 2 : The Ripening of the Olive: A New Metaphor for Responsible Capitalism

Enter the humble olive He went on to say, “The mix of green and brown suggests an olive agenda; which in turn provides a remarkably rich metaphor–the olive–that holds together that which religious and political discourse rends apart: earth, land, climate, labour, time, family, food, nutrition, health, hunger, poverty, power and violence. Given the absurdly high levels of poverty in South Africa, and throughout the globe, and given the dehumanisation that poverty entails, the brown agenda needs no further legitimation.” Fundamental issues addressed by the green agenda “also strike at the heart of social regeneration, for they are precisely concerned with the sustainability of society into the next generation.”

Spinning new stories around an image de Gruchy called on us to blend the green agenda with the brown agenda. This is not an either/or but rather a both/and situation. He sees that our possibilities for love, health and regeneration are rooted in stories, pictures and symbols. “A metaphorical theology – as the name would suggest–raises up one significant event, image or symbol as a defining metaphor around which the stories of life are spun.” The rich olive metaphor suggests an integration of two agendas, an earthy fruitfulness, the olive tree as symbolising life itself, an olive branch as a symbol of peace and harmony, and oil as a symbol of anointing–an aspect of spiritual wellbeing.

There is no doubt that organisations can both hurt and heal the situations in which they operate – along their entire supply-chain. So in theory, the people, planet, profit initiative (a term coined by John Elkington in 1995 to describe the social, environmental and economic responsibilities of businesses, for sustainability) moves a step beyond the olive agenda. But in practice the highly complex questions of short-term reward for the business in question, extreme difficulty of equitable measuring, and the enormous task of serving the:

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

• people in the corporation (by means of fair, safe, low-stress and environmentally sound human resource practises), people outside of but linked to the corporation (suppliers of inputs such as raw materials, and contracted services – and their fair and non-exploitive resource practises), and in wider society (upliftment with regard to health, education, development opportunities) • planet–by means of using renewable energy sources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, not depleting natural resources, detoxifying, reducing and disposing of waste, producing green-friendly product, and applying this also to suppliers and contractors • profit-motive (consisting of base-line traditional accounting) but also computing the costs and benefits of the corporation’s environmental and social impacts on the society in which it operates, has resulted in much confusion, a measure of resistance, disparate legislation and compliance controls, many disagreements on the way forward – at both the country and organisation levels. This is not a new discussion. In describing the Sumerian society of 4000 years ago (where the ancient olive existed) Kramer notes that it “professed such ideals as justice, equity and compassion, but abounded in injustice, inequality and oppression; materialistic and short-sighted, it unbalanced the ecology essential to its economy.”4

Economics as if people mattered Ripening the olive is easier said than done. Schumacher’s call for “economics as if people (and their environment) mattered” is anything but simple to implement. Some of the main arguments around the issue are:

Critics doubt that a people, planet, profit agenda can work: • The concept is impractical. Investment in new technologies, wealth creation and progress will be hampered by diverting monies to causes. • Countries swamped by poverty issues are unlikely to pay enough attention to environmental issues. Like the Maslow hierarchy of an individual’s needs, if basic physical needs are unmet, there will be no advancement in terms of meeting higher needs. • Self-interest will always trump the common interest, at country and corporate levels, and gains always override sacrifices. • Organisations tend to pay lip service and indulge in white-washing to generate positive public relations. In a political context, it amounts to an appeal to the left wing. • For the greater good organisations need to maintain a focus on their core competencies in order to ensue longer-term survival. Thus the Red Cross, Doctors Without Borders should pursue their brown agenda, Greenpeace, Oxfam their green agenda, and business their black agenda (black being a colour that denotes authority and power) – and each do what they do best. • You can’t merge socialist, environmentalist and capitalist ideals. 14

Chapter 2 : The Ripening of the Olive: A New Metaphor for Responsible Capitalism

Advocates say that old capitalism has failed: • The current capitalist system, characterised by an obsession with growth and consumption, is failing at many levels, and is ill-fitted to cope with the global social, environmental and economic challenges that have emerged. • Adopting a people, planet and profit approach yields greater staff satisfaction, because people see meaning in the 3P values that are espoused, and this contributes to their contentment and happiness needs. Wellbeing is not synonymous with wealth • It stimulates awareness, intent, innovation. • A 3P approach expands existing and creates new markets – for example in ecotourism, education, making new products out of waste materials (lacquered and painted coke bottle bottoms as jewellery containers), and new markets through new products (heat-retaining, insulating cooking bags that save money, reduce fossil-fuel consumption, use less water, promote food sales). • Legislation, stakeholder lobbying and initiatives by other corporations will force your hand anyway – so why not get ahead of the game? • Failure to act decisively will see a continuous vicious circle of diminishing resources, global climate effects, increasing poverty and the backlash of crime and unrest. We can’t leave it to governments. Corporate self–reform is needed.

South Africa is at the bottom of the pile in environmental and social performance In a 2012 Environmental Performance Index ranking, South Africa was one of the bottom 5 countries in the world.7 And according to a Global Reputation Institute survey South Africans are losing confidence in private sector leadership, as they are no longer playing a visible socio-economic role.8

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

So if we as businesses wish to adopt an olive agenda, how do we begin to ripen the olive? Where do we start? “Our task must be to free ourselves by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature and its beauty.” (Einstein)

The carbon footprint of the pencil Perhaps a first step is to form a work group and develop ideas around people, planet and profit options and impacts along the entire business chain, from sourcing to disposal. An exercise like this, with our metaphor in mind, can help businesses to reframe limiting beliefs and attitudes as new possibilities emerge. As a simplified example let’s use the humble pencil – an object dear to the hearts of story practitioners and writers. Component parts are made and transported all around the globe. Environmental and social impacts can be significant. Pencils are widely used. The history of pencils shows that the first graphite pencil was probably invented in the 16th century, the very first eraser attachment appeared in the 19th century. The pencil has been around for a long time.

PENCIL BUSINESS CHAIN PEOPLE, PLANET & PROFIT CONSIDERATIONS Eco impact, job creation, cost, profit, resources consumed, pollution and contamination PENCIL COMPONENT PARTS

casing

16

core

eraser

ferrule

design variation

finished product

Chapter 2 : The Ripening of the Olive: A New Metaphor for Responsible Capitalism

BUSINESS BUSINESSPROCESSES PROCESSES&&THEIR THEIRCARBON CARBONFOOTPRINT FOOTPRINTS HARVEST Sustainable forestry? Recycled paper, extruded plastic, herbicides Non-toxic graphite, clay (mining), wax Natural or synthetic rubber, vinyl (refining), flora & fauna Metal (mining), plastic (refining), glue (natural or synthetic) MANUFACTURE Plant resin production, water/energy consumption & waste, emmissions, paint coating Graphite plastic extruded, kiln fired, china clay, wax Sulphur solvents, air & water pollution, odour (ammonia for latex preservation) Glue, plastic Hollow or attached eraser, eraser caps Mechanised or labour-intensive PACKAGING Proximity to suppliers & markets, modes of transport Materials & process MARKETING Commodification, regulation, competition, price, quality Customer intimacy needs DISPOSAL Landfill, incineration (shavings & stubs) Latex allergies, metal waste Recyclable?

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

The process is challenging to say the least! It’s useful to use thinking processes such as those set out in Chapter 20. There are tensions and trade-offs along the entire business chain, and some tough push-pull decisions to make. Think of the laptop computer. Richard Branson says that the average laptop weighs about 10 lbs and requires 40,000 pounds to produce, when one computes the extraction, mining, refining, transport and disposal components involved.9 A brochure at my local Spur restaurant points out that the ingredients of a Spur burger require 1700 lites of water in the making.

Idea-development framework But cooperation, even collaboration across the green, brown, (olive) and black agendas or domains, is possible with synergistic outcomes. Corporates can take the initiative and begin to turn a vicious cycle into a virtuous cycle, and, Build bridges instead of burning bridges. An exercise like this allows business to take 80/20 decisions – investing energy, time, money and emotion in those areas where the effort: outcome ratio is best. This ideadevelopment framework may be applied not only to products, but also to services, processes and infrastructures. As part of this exercise corporations may want to: • make use of game designer Jane McGonigal’s transformational game products (World Without Oil, Superstruct, Evoke). Have a look at her Ted talk.10 She argues most convincingly that gamification has potential for the transference of breakthrough engagement, novel solutions and outstanding achievement–from virtual reality to the real world. Players develop self–belief, optimism, motivation, and a tighter social fabric, whilst experiencing blissful productivity, even awe (in the zone) and a sense of epic meaning/mission. Jane believes that we can make the future that we imagine. • consider the power of story to raise consciousness and shift attitudes. Frédérick Back’s short 1978 animated allegory set to Stravinsky captures green theology (the impacts of anthropocentricity and greed) beautifully.11 The author of The Storytelling Animal argues in a recent article that the emerging science of story shows that fiction is dominated by the theme of social justice and increases empathy and pro-social behaviour. “Psychologists Mar and Keith Oatley tested the idea that entering fiction’s simulated social worlds enhances our ability to connect with actual human beings.” It does. Psychologist Dan Johnson went further and found that it leads to actual helping behaviour. Fiction acts as a social glue and plays a major role in defining group identity and in reinforcing values.12 • expose more of their people to training in lateral thinking. We show below a few examples of how radical, innovative thinking enables the triple-bottom-line. (Chapters 19 and 20 deal with improving performance through innovation). It’s about being resourceful. “Able to act effectively or imaginatively, especially in difficult situations. It is also closely connected to the words ingenious, ingenuity and inventiveness. All words of which, describe the power of creative imagination, a characteristic that defines our very human experience. It is the ability to use our hands and mind together and is something that no other creature has. We all have this innate skill that is built into our very psyche.”13  • start conversations with social and environmental activist groups and government, perhaps broadening horizons and raising consciousness and learning through joint business: community activities–including observation and anecdote circles–

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Chapter 2 : The Ripening of the Olive: A New Metaphor for Responsible Capitalism

with reciprocal benefits.14 Visit a shanty town. Go swimming with dolphins. Build metaphorical bridges.

Sowing seeds for a healthy future Interestingly, Acuiser, Peru, have a bio pencil project to mass produce pencils using a natural collagenous, seaweedbased compound that is farm grown.15 Invented by Hernan J. Garrido-Lecca Luis Antonio Camuzzo Rojas, no chemicals are used in the Bio Pencil production, no natural resources are consumed or harmed. Their pencils are sharpened normally. The cost and price compares favourably with wooden pencils. Their pencil casing contains and protects seeds (vegetable, fruit, plants, shrubs, endangered flora species) and can be planted at the end of the pencil’s life.

The Bio Pencil

When these seeds are put into the ground their casing acts as a fertiliser. There are a number of other inspiring examples. Take what Mayor Jaime Lerner achieved in Curitiba, Brazil. He creatively reinvented the city for people, planet profit sustainability: • They built parks instead of canals to reduce flooding. Sheep are used to mow the lawns, and the wool is used to fund children’s programmes. • They revamped waste disposal and re-cycling, gave people living in slums bus tokens, bags of groceries and transit passes in return for bags of trash, and also paid off-season fishermen for garbage collected. The Curitiba rate of garbage separation – at 70% – is the highest in the world. These and other initiatives have saved Curitiba many millions. Their average income per person went from less than the Brazilian average in the 1970s to 66% higher than the Brazilian average in a few decades.16 Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammed Yunus (Grameen Bank) made access to money easy for more than 100 million people; people without any assets as security and previously unable to break out of their cycle of poverty. He utilised as guarantees peer support and teamwork. A new sort of Bank. A new sort of capitalism. Social business. He says that “a tiny little business can become a huge force to solve global problems.” Yunus and Grameen have had their fair share of detractors and difficulties, yet the principle of what he did remains sound.17 There are many examples where a difference can be made, many examples of initiatives at grass-roots level where business could become involved. Just one is the conversion of waste materials into musical instruments. This short video on http://www.trueactivist. com is well worth watching.18 It prompts thinking about what might be done in other areas of waste: food dumped by supermarkets, clothing rendered obsolete by fashion trends, energy, water, etc. The Global Peter Drucker Forum is a growing grouping of business people attracted by the idea of responsible capitalism. “It is management’s responsibility to make whatever is genuinely in the public good become the enterprise’s own self-interest.” Peter Drucker, 1954

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So ripening of the olive is all about self-interest being ultimately served by otherinterest, informing the way that we think and act, and seeing new possibilities. Over time, responsible capitalism could adopt a people, planet and profit balanced scorecard that looks something like this:

At the centre is vision and values. Values that translate into virtues. And who knows, down the road it may be possible for businesses to become more deeply involved outside of their own direct areas of impact: areas such as the financial, justice, social, environmental and employment sectors opportunity gaps between legals and extralegals. And to grow the still-infant, impact-investment movement: investments that generate positive people, planet and profit returns, investments that do well and do good.19 “Perhaps the biggest challenge for the 21st century is how to build a sustainable society.”20 Can we draw a line, sharpen our pencils, write a new story – and begin to bring the olive to full ripeness? Can we move beyond responsible capitalism, beyond doing good and doing well which is the thrust of Richard Branson’s book? 9 That’s laudable but simply not enough.

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Chapter 2 : The Ripening of the Olive: A New Metaphor for Responsible Capitalism

A Story about wellbeing: One day a business executive asked a poor fisherman how long it had taken to land his small catch. “Not long. A few hours.” “Why didn’t you fish for a longer time?’ Said the fisherman, “Well you see, I play with my kids, stroll along the beach with my wife, play my guitar and sing with my friends in the tavern. I have caught enough for my needs.” The business executive said, “But if you fished for longer you could sell lots of fish, invest the proceeds in a better boat. Over time you could acquire more boats, eventually start your own processing factory and cannery. Become rich. The sky’s the limit!” The fisherman then asked, “How long would that take?” “Maybe 15 to 20 years” replied the business executive.” “And then?” “Well, you sell your company, retire, move to a little coastal fishing village, enjoy great times with your wife, children and fiends.” The fisherman smiled, “But that’s what I’m doing right now!” Author unknown

References 1. McFague, Sallie Metaphorical Theology: Models of God in Religious Language Philadelphia, Fortress, 1982 2. http://www.creativevaluenetwork.com/arts-science/on-minding-your-metaphors/ 3. Kovecses, Zoltan Metaphor and Emotion Press Syndicate of the University of Cambridge UK, 2000 4. Kramer, Samuel Noah History Begins at Sumer University of Pennsylvania Press Philadelphia 1981 5. Ed Kiely, Robert The Good Heart: His Holiness the Dalai Lama explores the heart of Christianity – and of humanity Rider, 1996 6. de Gruchy, Steve An Olive Agenda: First thoughts on a metaphorical theology of development UKZN http://acen.anglicancommunion.org/resources/docs/DeGruchy_An_Olive_Agenda. pdf 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_Performance_Index 8. Cape Times Business Times Thursday 10th May, 2012 9. Branson, Richard Screw Business as Usual Portfolio/Penguin 2011 10. http://getideas.org/getinsight/the-universal-language-of-story/ 11. Tout Rien http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bv0alj6SIGI 12. Gottschall, Jonathan Why fiction is good for you http://articles.boston.com/2012-04-29/ ideas/31417849_1_fiction-morality-happy-endings 13. Herridge, Lewis The importance of resourcefulness to our spiritual future http://www. odysseymagazine.co.za/index.php/articles/spirit/653-the-importance-of-resourcefulnessto-our-spiritual-future.html

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14. Mirvis, Philip (Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship) Executive Development Through Consciousness-Raising Experiences Academy of Management Learning & Education, 2008, Vol. 7, No. 2, 173–188. 15. http://www.scribd.com/NeotexIndustrial/d/57969378-BioPencil-An-Introduction 16. http://www.citiesforpeople.net/cities/curitiba.html 17. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_Yunus 18. True Activist: The Landfill Harmonic. Watch The First 54 Seconds. That’s All I Ask. You’ll Be Hooked After That, I Swear. http://www.trueactivist.com/gab_gallery/watch-the-first-54seconds-thats-all-i-ask-youll-be-hooked-after-that-i-swear/October 13, 2013 19. http://www.thegiin.com 20. Szekely, Francisco Prof & Strebel, Heidi Sustainability is actually good news IMD Business School Ezine April 2012

Illustration The Bio-Pencil http://www.scribd.com/doc/57969378/BioPencil-An-Introduction

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Chapter 3 : Moving from Values to Virtues – Living with Purpose, Meaning and Flow. A Concept Whose Time Has Come “Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” (Khalil Gibran) “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” (Winston Churchill)

Outline This is a mind-map of the key arguments in this chapter: GAP problem There is a tension a gap between what is espoused and what is behaved, lived

Typically corporate values are boring and limited

MOTIVATION problem Extrinsic motivation usually leads to discontent

When values become virtues, great things happen to people, to culture, to outcomes: Made visual, supported by stories and teaching, the gap is closed

Shared meaningful values, aligned with intrinsic motivation, are readily adopted

With intrinsic motivation there is an exhilirating flow, a stimulating experience

A story Once in an old medieval city there were three bricklayers hard at work on the same building. A man walking past asked each of them what they were doing. The first man answered gruffly, “I’m laying bricks.” The second man replied, “I’m building a wall.” The third man looking up answered enthusiastically “I’m building a Cathedral.” In business speak we use the word in a variety of ways: a valued customer, adding value a value proposition offering value for money, a valuable contribution and of course

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

in the statement core values. Through the deep and consistent application of values throughout the organisation we can bring about a better world, a more compassionate society, and more rewarding business. Yet we often take the word for granted and don’t spend enough time thinking about it or how it applies to us or the organisation. We fail to spontaneously live our espoused values. In our eBook Story Matters @ Work we looked at the process of using shared values to move organisations forward. This chapter further unpacks the issue.1

Values and motivation In his recent book Drive, the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us2, Daniel Pink, author of the bestselling A Whole New Mind, examines motivation. Drawing on research, he debunks external rewards such as money – what he calls the carrot-andstick approach. The secret to motivation is connected to our deeper values – a deeper need to direct our own lives, to learn and create new things, and to do better by ourselves and our world. He considers three elements of true motivation—autonomy, mastery and purpose. Pink tells the story of a number of soon-to-graduate students from the University of Rochester. Researchers asked a sample about their life goals and followed them up in their careers to see how they were doing. Some students had “extrinsic aspirations” (profit goals–wealth, fame) while others had “intrinsic aspirations” (purpose goalsimprove their lives, learn, and grow). These were the findings: The people who had purpose goals and felt they were attaining them, reported higher levels of satisfaction and subjective well-being than when they were in college, and quite low levels of anxiety and depression. That’s probably no surprise. They’d set a personally meaningful goal and felt they were reaching it. In that situation most of us would likely feel pretty good too. But the results for people with profit goals were more complicated. Those who said they were attaining their goals—accumulating wealth and winning acclaim—reported levels of satisfaction, self-esteem and positive effects no higher than when they were students. In other words, they’d reached their goals, but it didn’t make them any happier. What’s more, graduates with profit goals showed increases in anxiety, depression, and other negative indicators again, even though they were attaining their goals. Failing to understand this conundrum that satisfaction depends not merely on having goals, but on having the right goals can lead sensible people down self-destructive paths. If people chase profit goals, reach those goals, and still don’t feel any better about their lives, additional responses are to increase the size and scope of the goals, seek more money or greater outside validation. (Pages 142-143) Pink quotes Mihaly Csikszentmihályi: “One cannot lead a life that is truly excellent without feeling that one belongs to something greater and more permanent than oneself.” Richard Danzig, U.S. Secretary of the Navy, talking about explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, said, “The values of leadership he provides are eternal. They’re derived from the nature of human character and involve making bold ventures and bringing out the best in human beings.”3

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Csikzentmihályi focused on that satisfying, exhilarating feeling of creative accomplishment and heightened functioning which he called being in the flow zone as opposed to the drone zone or panic zone.4 And McGonigal’s research on optimal human experience has led her to four main categories of intrinsic motivational goals5: • Being immersed in satisfying work. • Having the experience or hope of being successful, significant, optimistic. • Bonding. Having strong social connections including at work, to the human brain, social pain is as real as physical pain and the breaking of a bond or a rejection causes social pain. • Finding meaning, being part of something larger than ourselves. Finding meaning in and for our lives is an ancient quest: “Meaningless, meaningless says the Teacher. Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless. What does man gain from all his labour at which he toils under the sun?” Ecclesiastes 1:2-3 Margaret Wheatley tells of her work with organisations in dire straits, due to restructuring, pending closure–where the future looked bleak. Yet, a few employees continued to perform and be creative. They weren’t in denial. Rather, they found transcendent meaning in their work. “They wanted to hold onto motivation and direction in the midst of turbulence, and the only way they could do this was by investing the current situation with meaning. Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning, points out very clearly that meaning saved lives in the concentration camps of Germany.”6

The great gap Between the idea And the reality Between the motion And the act Falls the Shadow (T.S.Eliot) We often find within a company that there is a gap between the values as expressed, and how people behave. Most companies recognise the importance of values and identify, display and espouse those values. Many have sophisticated compliance and governance policies and procedures. That’s the easy part. Very few succeed with the hard part–having all employees live them spontaneously so that the organisation becomes known for those values. Perhaps this is because the profit-motive and maximising of shareholder returns are still so deeply embedded in business culture. “Business corporations are perhaps the most influential organisations in society and have long been recognized as important contributors to the common good. Society grants corporations unique privileges in order to harness their great capacities to serve its needs. Yet the current narrative of the business corporation tells a different story; corporations have the sole purpose of maximising profits for shareholders.”7 Part of the contradiction of being a human being is that we express one sentiment yet do the opposite.

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

Anglo American CEO Cynthia Carroll is reported to have said in her outgoing address, after mentioning the Brazilian Minas Rio iron-ore project fiasco: “There will have to be much more – and less ambiguous – communication with shareholders.”8 Yet an article on their web site states “our six core values help our business operate efficiently, effectively and transparently.”9 Ironically, a South African trade union commended her at this time for publicly admitting that the mine’s environmental history left much to be desired. Consider the gap between the United Nations’ espoused value of integrity and their refusal to consider compensation to the thousands who died in the cholera outbreak in Haiti where compelling evidence showed the most probable source of the outbreak was at one of their peace-keeping missions. Instead, they invoked their legal immunity. In Chapter 1 we mentioned a 5 year period to 2007, when BP was charged with no less than 760 safety violations, and found to be grossly negligent in a number of instances. When the Gulf of Mexico disaster inevitably occurred, “numerous investigations would place the blame for the explosion on BP’s cutting of costs, inattention to safety, and overly aggressive attitude toward extracting oil from difficult-to-reach reserves.” The direct opposite of some of their espoused values about caring for the environment and their people.10 Shoprite, the largest retailer in Africa, reported in July 2013 that they would be celebrating Mandela’s legacy by providing resources and mobilising staff to assist needy organisations, and in August they reported strong profit growth. (www.shopriteholdings.co.za). In September it was found by the Mozambican National Inspectorate of Economic Activities that Shoprite, who espouse the highest levels of corporate governance and compliance, had been selling and using, in the preparation of foods to be sold foodstuffs that were past their expiry dates. It was also reported that there is evidence of altering/extending expiry dates on the packaging at their Maputo stores.11 The word Nestlé means small nest in German, with connotations of comfort, protection and nurture. There have been reports that Nestlé is using deep underground local water supplies in Pakistan, as they do elsewhere to produce their mineral-enriched bottled water. This is profitably sold in Europe and the USA. The product is “a jewel in our portfolio” according to John Harris, head of Nestlé Waters. 12 And poverty-stricken Pakistanis are seeing their wells run dry, their children contract diseases from dirty water, and large tracts of land made uninhabitable. Nestlé also acknowledged that they had made patent applications for a compound that can be extracted from the fennel flower to help treat or prevent food allergies. 3000 years ago, the fennel flower was placed in the tomb of Egyptian King Tutankhamun. It has been widely used for centuries for health and medicinal purposes. This seems like yet another case of big corporate grabbing something for its own selfish profit motive. 13 In his message introducing The Nestlé Management and Leadership Principles the CEO exhorts all staff to “take pride in adhering to the company’s values and implement them with conviction and enthusiasm”, the People

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Chapter 3 : Moving from Values to Virtues

Inspired Company section talks about “Personal relations based on trust and mutual respect. This implies a commitment to align actions with words”, and Leading The Nestlé Way describes a leader or manager who “Understands the external impact of our operations and, as a result, proactively seeks to engage and partner with the community, authorities, shareholders and other stakeholders.” 14 We might pay lip service to people being important to the organisation our people are our biggest asset, but our practice, if driven only by a single bottom-line, denies this. Yet when challenged we insist that people are important to the company. A CEO might publicly express that she values debate, yet in meetings she stifles debate. Our values are what we do, how we behave, not what we say we do. It’s the case of the old parishioner response to the hypocritical preacher, Your actions are so loud that I can’t hear what you are saying. The gap that we speak of opens up when there is tension between the stated values and what actually happens; a disconnect. Espoused values are not congruent with behaviours. This disconnect occurs when: • Leaders succumb to pressure to show good results at any cost, are arrogant and get away with malpractice without internal sanction • Staff are pressured by circumstances or the promise of quick reward to cheat, steal and take short cuts • The organisation doesn’t perceive a reality outside of itself, refer to Plato’s Cave story later on in this chapter, for example when new societal values emerge but are not recognised by the organisation • Different people of different generations or cultures within the organisation interpret the same values differently, and there is no sound way of merging these different viewpoints • Leaders simply have not grasped the importance of moving beyond but weve done the vision and values thing If they occur, the shock of these disconnects can have huge ramifications on the credibility of the organisation, the authenticity of leaders, the trust, respect, confidence and loyalty of staff and customers. It’s worse than discovering that an original painting or antique that you have is actually a fake. Conversely, when fully and consistently lived, values become the glue that hold the organisation together through thick and thin.

Enter stories If all roads lead to Rome, then discussions such as this lead inevitably to stories. All stories are mirrors reflecting the concerns we bring to them. In this case the subject of values. Read this story in the light of this discussion: The House that Josias Built An accomplished carpenter, Josias, wanted to retire. He was getting on in years. He wanted to enjoy time left to him, sitting in the sun watching his grandchildren play. His employer asked him to build one last house as a personal favor. Josias reluctantly agreed but his heart was no longer in his work. He work was shoddy, done in a hurry and he used cheap materials. 27

The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

When Josias had completed the task, the builder came to inspect the house. The former boss shook his head then handed over the house key to Josias saying , “This house is my parting gift to you.” When we use this story, the bricklayer one and Daniel Pink’s story in discussions, the sorts of issues and questions that are raised, and which trigger stimulating conversations, are: • Management says what the values are going to be, and then impose them on us. It’s a case of comply or say goodbye. A case of what Ralph Windle refers to as “tensions between the corporate and the fuller life”. • Quite frankly, they’re boring. Everyone else has them too – the same old, same old: integrity, transparency, accountability, teamwork and so on. But management feel that they are what we should be projecting to the outside world for public relations reasons. It’s simply rhetoric. These values are what we call suitcase words. They need to be unpacked and allowed to air before they get properly considered by staff. And all too often they are what we refer to as threshold values–the minimum. What is expected anyway? • We have been given a whole bunch of values. How do we decide which ones to adopt and what are the priorities?

Some tips for successfully using a value-set to good effect, going on a values to virtues journey, being one of the elements of a virtuous cycle as described in the Preface are: Tip 1: Clearly explain the concepts and linkages to all staff, a belief is what is true, a value is what is important about how people and organisations behave, and the way they’re connected is. Be clear about the imperative of being a value-driven organisation, and how this translates into building and maintaining a reputation and being a successful long-term organisation. And if a vision is what we want to be and a mission is what we want to achieve, then shared values are how we are going to be and behave in order to get there, all pulling in the same direction in the same way.

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Chapter 3 : Moving from Values to Virtues

Tip 2: Follow a sound process that staff share. Identify, allow lively debate, prioritise, define, agree associated behaviours here story and metaphor also have a role to play. Globalisation, increasing mobility and diversification of the workplace make this a challenging activity. A prescribed set of values laid down by management is unlikely to work. There is an option to build them into the staff assessment process, but the focus should be on reward far more than on compliance. A four-step value-profiling approach is fully written up in Story Matters @ Work.1 In brief, the steps are to: 1

After becoming aware of the need to change, start with a clear, measurable vision in which the values are inherent, and the passion for what you want to be is explicit

2

Identify and enunciate the agreed organisational values or the guiding principles. Anyone can arrive at a set of values (even criminal gangs have them). The trick is to arrive at the RIGHT values in the right way. It’s easier said than done, as the following apparent contradictions show:



Team recognition

Individual recognition

Merit selection

Affirmative quotas

Culture of disclosure and sharing

Right to privacy

Pay for performance

Pay on position and seniority

Absolute integrity

Business pragmatism

Balanced lifestyle

Total work ethic

Servant leadership and subsidiarity

Firm management control

Customer primacy

Profit motive

But the discussions which should involve everyone that apparent contradictions lead to, are relevant, enlightening, and bring clarity and understanding. It’s usually a question of and rather than or. So your organisation’s unique value set may encompass ancient and modern, Euro-centricity and Afro-centricity, East and West, older and younger generations, and so on.

The Ubuntu way has much merit in this process. The Ubuntu concept, experience and practice of umntu ngumntu ngabanye abantu (expressed in Zulu) recognises that people are people through other people where the community good holds sway, and where personal transformation takes place in a caring, compassionate, respectful, participative community context. Archbishop Desmond Tutu is on record as saying, “You might have much of the world’s riches, and you might hold a portion of authority, but if you have no Ubuntu, you do

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

not amount to much.” Applying Ubuntu allows people to move beyond their conditioned beliefs and values, stereotyping and prejudices to finding common ground.

After the values have been agreed, which is often far less time consuming than expected, add the expected behaviour norms that are required to display the values in action. These behaviours, when adopted by all and lived fully and consistently, allow other people to see your passion, and the meaning you find in and at the work that you love. Values supported by clear, comprehensive behaviour indicators also obviate potential for differences in understanding, interpretation and expectation. For each value, formulate a statement of what outcomes can be expected when everyone behaves the values fully. Expected outcomes are future directed and in this sense visionary. People tend to rally around a vision element when it is meaningful to them. Sometimes outcomes can be arrived at even before all the values and attached behaviour indicators are agreed – and used as the trigger to formulating the latter.

3

Make the values visible and transparent, instil them, ensure that they are practiced and become, concretised, lived. Here is where special skill is needed for success. It’s about a lot more than putting posters on walls!

4

Reinforce the values, attitudes and behaviours resulting from the exercise using appropriate communication, reward and recognition mechanisms, role-modelling and coaching, mentoring, counselling and behaviour modification techniques. We have found that the collection, spread and discussion of stories related to each of the values is a good means of reinforcement. A number of examples are offered in Story Matters @ Work.1



So that the values are inculcated, become character virtues.



The process embeds the values in the organisation’s culture and shapes conduct which leads to converting them from values to virtues. This is the most important and most challenging part of the process, and is fleshed out in subsequent chapters, including the next, Chapter 4.

Tip 3: In following this shared values process, think outside of the box. Go beyond mere threshold values, even though those are important of course. Get outside perspectives. Look at the inherent possibilities and proven benefits of some new or re-emerging, differentiating values such as having fun, promoting wonderment, adopting a labyrinth attitude, and being mindful. Highly successful online shoe retailer, Zappos.com is among a new generation of organisations that have supported workplace spirituality. Their focus is on having the right organisation culture. They have recognized that people have a mind and soul and seek to find meaning and purpose in their work.

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Chapter 3 : Moving from Values to Virtues

The 10 core values that define the culture that they expect their people to fit are a little different to most: Deliver WOW Through Service, Embrace and Drive Change, Create Fun and A Little Weirdness, Be Adventurous, Creative, and Open-Minded, Pursue Growth and Learning, Build Open and Honest Relationships With Communication, Build a Positive Team and Family Spirit, Do More With Less, Be Passionate and Determined and Be Humble. 15 Zappos have built on the culture-philosophy work done by Pike’s Fish Place, Seattle – the Fish! cornerstones of Being Present, Playing, Choosing a right attitude, Making someone’s day.16 This work had a big impact in the corporate world but very few corporates since have incorporated similar values. Sachs lists nine possible brand-defining values based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: justice, perfection, richness, wholeness, truth, uniqueness, simplicity, beauty, and playfulness.10 It’s interesting to note his view that values are also human needs. In an ever more turbulent business world that is subject to unpredictable shock events, the building of resilience operational and emotional and agility speed and deftness of response may also represent emerging values. Picture a dark underground cave with its entrance facing a blazing fire. Inside, the people cannot move – they are chained so that they face the rear cave wall. The fire throws light and shadows onto that wall. The prisoners think this is their only reality. The fire outside, and the world beyond, represents a greater, more complex reality that they are not aware of. This metaphor from Plato’s Republic serves as an illustration that even in the best organisations, their members can become “trapped by constructions of reality that, at best, give but an imperfect grasp of the world…. They become trapped by favoured ways of thinking.”17 “Mohini was a regal white tiger who lived for many years at the Washington, D.C. National Zoo. For most of those years her home was in the old lion house – a typical twelve by twelve foot cage with iron bars and a cement floor. Mohini spent her days pacing restlessly back and forth in her cramped quarters. Eventually biologists and staff worked together to create a natural habitat for her. Covering several acres, it had hills, trees, a pond and a variety of vegetation. With excitement and anticipation they released Mohini into her new and expansive environment. But it was too late. The tiger immediately sought refuge in a corner of the compound, where she lived for the remainder of her life. Mohini paced and paced in that corner until an area twelve by twelve feet was worn bare of grass.”18 “The greatest obstacle to discovering the shape of the Earth, the continents and the ocean was not ignorance but the illusion of knowledge.” – Boorstin Remember to keep your list of values as short as possible. It is useful to separate core values, those that really resonate, that distinguish you from the run of the mill and the rest.

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

Core values, inherent values and threshold values Core values are simple, concrete, meaningful and realisable: Unique to a specific organisation, few in number, and thus manageable. Inherent in the core values are underlying, supporting values – a sub set if you like – that are naturally drawn upon in carrying out the core values, and appear in the behaviour indicators describing the core values. Threshold values are not unimportant, and may be viewed as minimum standards. But they have limitations in that they lose their meaning as they become over-used and are too often not adhered to. They do not distinguish the organisation from others in any way and tend to be phrased in abstract corporate-speak. Tip 4: Make the values and expected behaviours visible, clear and, interesting to staff, suppliers and customers. “If you can form a relationship with your customers based on shared values, that is the strongest bond you can form.” – Ben Cohen, founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.15 With G-Wiz we used a simple but powerful business game as the main means to stimulate the living of the organisational values so that they became habitual employee virtues. The game is about employees living their values, and feeds the intrinsic motivational needs of social connection, success, purpose and satisfaction. It is not about forcing compliance, but personal benefit and growth; a behaviour forming mechanism. Story again comes into play. “Resorting to narratives is the way in which we have learned to cope with our world of enormously complex phenomena.”19 Tip 5: Accept that the exercise is a work in progress, and that what the values are and how they apply and are lived out is subject to continual improvement and on-going conversations. There is always a new story to learn from. Know also that you are embarking on a serious programme, and that the chosen values will be tested. Virtue-ethics, since the time of Plato, Socrates and Aristotle, are seldom applied purely and consistently in the world of big business. Situations arise on a daily basis where values are tested, and found to be wanting. Here are a few instances: In a past life with an international petroleum and chemicals company I was employed in the automotive retail department. During a storm a service station canopy collapsed, injuring a motorcyclist. I, then fairly junior member of staff, was called by the chairman who was discussing the incident with our head of legal. The advice he was considering was to admit no liability, do nothing, say nothing. He asked for my opinion and, perhaps having the fearlessness of youth and scant knowledge of the legal system, I opined that we should show concern, arrange a visit to the motorcyclist in hospital and, offer whatever assistance we could. The chairman listened and followed my advice. No legal action ever resulted. The head of legal, for the rest of my career, considered me to be an upstart, even a personal enemy.

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Chapter 3 : Moving from Values to Virtues

On another occasion there was a boardroom discussion about the use of DDT and Dieldrin pesticides in our region and other areas for spraying agricultural crops in order to combat and control tsetse flies sleeping sickness and the transmission of diseases and mosquitoes malaria. In this case the same company, different Chairman cut short the discussion of possible alternative control measures, or possible withdrawal of products. In his mind the trade-off between controlling and limiting the spread of those diseases and the product side-effects on cancer, diabetes, neurotoxicity, male fertility, long lasting soil and water contamination and, threat to bird and wildlife was a no-brainer. Our products were profitable, effective and, doing more good than harm. It was either/or, locked-in thinking. And everyone agreed. It is interesting that Zanzibar suffered from tetse fly problems for many years until a non-chemical sterile insect technique caused them to disappear completely in a matter of months.20 •

•

•

•

•

•

A close friend recently resigned as the spiritual director of a wellknown hospice because of severe and growing tensions between the big-business objectives, values and mind-set of the management team and those of his relatively lowly placed department, where compassion counselling and caring for patients and families are paramount. For example these staff are housed in small, unventilated offices. Another close friend diagnosed with a major depressive disorder, and declared by her employer, psychologist and psychiatrists as unfit to continue her work as a financial services adviser, has had her claim turned down by her own-income-protector insurer on the basis of their rather dubious assessment process, loaded in their favour. It’s a bit like refusing compensation for a pianist who loses a hand, on the basis that he still enjoys residual capacity. In South Africa “the IoD Institute of Directors under Khoza and King, not to mention Nedbank and Grant Thornton, risks becoming a symbol of exactly the sort of lack of accountability it supposedly opposes.”21 Siemens Global web site espouses being responsible: committed to ethical and responsible actions. In 2008 the US Justice Department found that under the Forensic Corrupt Practices Act, “Siemens paid more than US$1,4 billion in bribes to government officials in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, to secure contracts.”22 The US military includes integrity as one of its values and “The US military is developing software that will let it secretly manipulate social media sites by using fake online personas to influence internet conversations and spread pro-American propaganda.”23 Notwithstanding the wonderful principles and values enshrined in the South African Constitution, scandals with attendant cover-ups and investigation delays abound at all levels of society. A current 33

The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

example is the spending of over R200 million of public money on security upgrades for President Zuma’s private residence. Stephen Grootes refers to this as a typical scandal.24 There are ways in which society contrives to support such behaviours. In many instances in grievance and entitlement cultures, rights are demanded and responsibility is avoided. Attempts are made supported by legal rather than moral thinking to avoid blame or place it elsewhere. Thus for example it is common practice to deny any wrongdoing when involved in a motor vehicle accident, irrespective of what actually happened, as any lawyer will tell you. The same thing applies to tax avoidance possibilities. In parts of the USA, direct food donations to homeless shelters have been banned. Whatever the intention behind such actions, the effect is to curtail generosity.25 In South Africa jobs were reserved for whites under the apartheid regime. Nowadays, under a new government, the reverse applies under the guise of righting past wrongs. Merit and fairness continue to take a back seat, and two wrongs haven’t made anything right. We also have a new Consumer Protection Act with the admirable intent of preventing doubtful practices and shifting the paradigm from let the buyer beware to let the supplier beware. Recently the sealer used on my koi pond leaked, and flaked off. The sealer supplier blamed the contractor for poor application, and the contractor who applied the sealer, blamed the supplier for poor product. I was caught squarely in the middle and had to employ and pay for a new contractor to do the job properly. I was certainly not valued as a customer. Legislative compliance simply does not work if dishonourable people are able to find loopholes. There is lots of empty talk about moral regeneration – not much action. The values espoused by an organisation will be tested, and it takes courage and determination to abide by them. Once we fall short, the credibility of our entire valueset comes under pressure.

Here is an example of community building through values: Paewai Mullins Shearing, Mavis and Koro Mullins’ business in Dannevirke near Palmerston North, New Zealand, have 40 permanent and about 100 casual staff who in season come from as far afield as Norway and Wales. It’s a highly competitive, tough business. Business hazards are sheep illness, worker injuries and fatigue. Customer relationships and delivery are critical. They have won numerous awards for the way their business is run, all based on a set of four Maori values: Whanaungatanga = family belonging Manaakitanga = inclusion and equal importance Matauranga = encouragement of ongoing learning Tino rangatirotanga = self- responsibility/self-determination.26

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Chapter 3 : Moving from Values to Virtues

From values to virtues – the key We can learn from the great religions. Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and Muslims all have traditions of perfecting values and making of them character virtues: mindfulness, compassion, generosity, patience, wisdom, inclusivity and humility, and inculcating the virtues through meditation, teaching and practice. Values are important bases for action, and eventually we become our values. We move from vicious to virtuous; from an ever-tightening noose to an ever-brightening halo. Self-actualisation. The most desired outcome is that agreed values become part of the organisation’s DNA because they are spontaneously lived – fully and consistently. They become virtues. In the chapters that follow we pay special attention to this aspect of inculcating organisational values. Story aids in spread of values: “Buddhist fables, fairy tales, anecdotes, adventure stories and pious legends were very important as instructive narratives.....and made their way, stage by stage, across Asia Minor, Greece, and Rome to modern Italy, Germany, England and France.”27 When embedded, lived values drive business performance and success and prevent harmful disconnects. They are the hidden components of the business scorecard.

Back to stories Stories offer a safe way of introducing, encouraging and growing values to virtues, as they work at the subtle level of intrinsic change rather than extrinsic admonishing. We can integrate a story and allow it to change us. “The stories told about an organisation act to reinforce or deny a company’s vision, values and way of doing business. They send strong messages to the listeners and readers of stories, both internal and external.”28 There is an emotional buy-in as we learn through imitation and story-sharing. As the poet Tennyson’s character, Ulysses says in the poem of that name “I am a part of all that I have met.” There is a kind of osmosis that can happen in an organisation where one person inspires another through the quality of their lived experience, to live out personal and professional values, and collective consciousness is raised. As Vaclav Havel, poet, playwright, last President of Czechoslovakia and first president of the Czech Republic, has said: “If the world is to change for the better, it must have a change in human consciousness.” Then we are on our way to becoming virtuous. “The most precious treasure is virtue.” (Buddha)

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References 1. Williams, Graham and Haarhoff, Dorian Story Matters @ Work http://www.haloandnoose.com 2. Pink, Daniel, Drive, the Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us Canongate, NY 2009 3. Morrell, Margot & Caparell, Stephanie Shackleton’s Way Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London 2001 4. Czikzentmihályi, Mihály Ph.D. Beyond Boredom and Anxiety: experiencing flow in work and play Jossey-Bass, San Francisco 1975 5. McGonigal, Jane Reality is Broken Jonathan Cape, London 2011 6. Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership and the New Science Berrett-koehler Publishers Inc. 1994 7. Aspen Institute The Purpose of the Corporation http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/ business-society/purpose-of-corporation#sthash.k9mTqtZU.dpuf 8. Die Burger Sake 24 17th February 2013:”Carroll erken sy dink diep na oor foute by Minas Rio” 9. Working at Anglo American. Living our values http://www.angloamerican.com/careers/ working/leading-mining-company/living-our-values 10. Sachs, Jonah Winning the Story Wars Harvard Business Review Press, Boston, Mass. 2012 11. Shoprite Cape Times Business Report 10th September, 2013 12. Poisoning The Well? Nestlé Accused Of Exploiting Water Supplies For Bottled Brands http:// www.worldcrunch.com/poisoning-well-nestl-accused-exploiting-water-supplies-bottledbrands/business-finance/poisoning-the-well-nestl-accused-of-exploiting-water-suppliesfor-bottled-brands/c2s4503/ 13. Hammond, Edward Food Giant Nestlé claims to have invented stomach soothing use of habbat al-bakarah (Nigella sativa) Third World Briefing Paper number 5, Nagoya Protocol ICNP-22 – 6 July 2012, New Delhi. http://www.cbd.int/abs/side-events/icnp2/twn-icnp2no5-Nestle-Nigella.pdf 14. The Nestlé Management and Leadership Principles http://www.nestle.com/asset-library/ documents/library/documents/people/management-leadership-principles-en.pdf 15. Leonardi, Bobbie Zappos.Com Core Values (citing Rosenbaum 2010), retrieved from http:// www.studymode.com/essays/Zappos-Com-Core-Values-921812.html 16. Lundin, Stephen.C Ph.D., Paul, Harry & Christensen, John Fish! Hodder & Stoughton 2000 17. Morgan, Gareth Images of Organization Sage Publications 1986 18. Brach, Tara Radical Acceptance Bantam Books, 2003 19. Denning, Stephen The Springboard Butterworth Neinemann 2001 20. Boyd, Drew & Goldenberg, Jacob Inside the Box Profile Books Great Britain 2013 21. Rose, Rob Transparency for Others, but not us The Last Word column Sunday Times Business Times September 22nd, 2013 22. Xulu, Lindo & Marais, Jana BEE deal ‘not forced’ on Gold Fields Sunday Times Business Times 22nd September. 2013 23. Fielding, Nick & Cobain Ian Revealed: US spy operation that manipulates social media The UK Guardian March 17, 2011 24. Grootes, Stephen Nkandla: a typical South African scandal The Daily Maverick http://www. dailymaverick.co.za/article/2013-06-27-nkandla-a-typical-sa-scandal/June 2013 25. http://dailycaller.com/2013/07/19/bloomberg-strikes-again-nyc-bans-food-donations-tothe-homeless/#ixzz2dFTiZO8n15. 26. Bateman, Peter Living Their Values SafeGuard Magazine. NZ. May/June 2008 27. Gruber, Elmar R & Kersten, Hoger The Original Jesus Element 1995 28. Stanford, Naomi Organisation Culture: getting it right The Economist in association with Profile Books 2010

Illustrations by Tony Grogan Ox Wagons Hairdresser 36

Chapter 4 : How Do Organisations Become Virtuous? Anansi’s six sons rescue their father who falls into a river and is swallowed by a fish. The first son, See Trouble, detects that his father is in danger. Then Road Builder leads his brothers to their father. River Drinker sucks up the river while Game Skinner splits open the fish. When a falcon takes Anansi into the sky, Stone Thrower knocks his father out of the falcon’s claws. The last son, Cushion, provides his father with a soft fall. Anansi rewards his six sons with the gift of the moon.

A potted history of recent business evolution In the early 1990s vision was all the rage in business. Lynch & Kordis drew attention to why future-oriented thinking was good1, Senge et al led thinking in the mid-1990s about co-creating a vision for the organisation.2 By the end of that decade the focus shifted to organisational values. Moss Kantor, also a leading management thinker, said “the vision thing is giving way to the values thing in the lexicon of business leaders.”3 Then followed a period when emphasis was on linking values to vision, developing value propositions, relationship-marketing and learning organisations. Many leaders are now inclined to say, ‘Been there, done that, got the T-shirt, what’s next?’

Vision, values and virtues We need to be careful not to think in a linear way. It’s more of an egg and chicken thing. VISION

VALUES

VIRTUES

It still holds true that Without a vision the people perish (Prov 28:18). Compelling visions have undeniable power. “They reach deep into a well of human potentiality and present us with the not-yet-born.”4 Dr Martin Luther King’s familiar and inspiring speech, given nearly 50 years ago, “painted the picture of a new, more just and loving society scarcely imagined by the American people at that time.” It is still remembered. There is no reason to discard ‘the vision thing.’ “When a campaign or project ends, it’s natural to ask, ‘What’s next?’” but “Visioning is a never ending process. It involves continual motion and evolution.” 5. Also, visions do not actually precede values, although this may have been the traditional order in which organisations have proceeded. Indeed, “Visions themselves are based on deep values.”4 Martin Luther King’s visionary speech was based on values.

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

And values in isolation don’t make sense. They inform the development of virtues: “Today we speak about values and how it is important to ‘have them’, as if they were beads on a string or marbles in a pouch. But these stories speak to morality and virtues not as something to be possessed, but as the central part of human nature, not as something to have but something to be, the most important thing to be.”6 What we see to be important we might strive to take on board as virtues, and as we become more virtuous we might in turn take on board new values, and refine our vision. Vision, values, virtues are dynamically interlinked. Together they mould our organisational culture and guide and inform our relationships, strategies and decision-making.

An emerging area of interest Business is at a crossroads. Thoughts from Professor Deon Rossouw, CEO of the Ethics Institute of South Africa: “ … it is now widely believed that businesses tend to act entirely in their own self-interest, with scant regard for wider concerns …. more regulation isn’t the solution … The banking crisis triggered a wave of new regulation around the world. Regulation was seen as the panacea for the woes of the financial system. However, we have already seen this approach fail …. The only way to make banks and other businesses act more responsibly is by building a corporate culture founded on ethical values … Changing a corporate culture is not likely to be quick but, as I have suggested, it is really the only way for a company to change its DNA.”7 A field of study still in its infancy is the notion of developing virtuous organisations, where virtues are an integral part of the collective.

Is this a Utopian ideal, a well-meaning pipe-dream? Academics have been examining the ethics, values and virtues posited by Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas and David Hume.8 The work and theories of Stephen Covey, Elizabeth Moss Kantor, Peter Drucker, Norman Vincent Peale and others have also been studied. A general belief seems to be that because virtues or transcendent states can be found not only in individuals, but also in families – they can be found also in certain communities and organisations. In organisations they can manifest as a zeitgeist, a motivating spirit or climate in which business is transacted. Their indicators might include the tolerance for difference, generosity of spirit and the level of respectful and humorous exchange in conversation as well as a capacity to do serious work in a light and unstressed way.

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Chapter 4 : How Do Organisations Become Virtuous?

One or two studies claim to have found business organisations that display such virtues– and found statistical correlations between the presence of these virtues and business health, resilience, performance and profitability.9 A recent IMD article lists the virtues leaders should possess as wisdom, courage, temperance, transcendence, justice and humanity.10 Stumbling blocks to the movement so far include: • the dearth of research • the difficulty in determining the motives (for example self-interest, personal success) lying behind the adoption of the virtues10. Peter Buffett, son of Warren Bufett has this to say: “As more lives and communities are destroyed by the system that creates vast amounts of wealth for the few, the more heroic it sounds to “give back.” It’s what I would call “conscience laundering” — feeling better about accumulating more than any one person could possibly need to live on by sprinkling a little around as an act of charity.”11 • How to consistently measure the impact of the virtues where suggested measures are weak; absenteeism, degree of staff involvement in decisions, work/life balance condition, staff access to and knowledge of the organisation, organisation structure and so on.12 These measures are all subject to other factors as well. • The perception of leadership who may feel threatened and out of control. • Organisations dismissing the opportunity on the basis that “We’ve already done the vision and values thing.” • The limited research to date is largely silent on how to infuse virtues. • Government mal-administration, corruption, failure of education, social upliftment and service delivery programmes; the issues preventing true public-private partnerships, the impact of crime, increasing bureaucracy, falling productivity and poor economic times–may all have added up to business concentrating on surviving and taking their eye off the vision, values, virtues ball. • Companies large, medium-sized and small, who are driven by greed. • Espoused values thrown out of the window during times of crisis and stress. We know of a company in the throes of downsizing. Secrecy abounds. Many staff are like rabbits caught in the headlights, fearful of their future, and not sure if the axe is going to fall or not, or if their redundancy letter is on its way. And the company espouses honesty, integrity, transparency and team-work.

For businesses to consider: • Intuitively, the exercise of being virtue-based makes sense but the practise is far easier said than done • Moreover, organisations could major on those virtues that they most wish to have embedded in their culture and organisational personality and that differentiate them as an entity • At some level the cultivation and expression of chosen and identified virtues is a spiritual process because it is accessed from our altruistic deeper selves • Virtues imposed and policed go against the grain. A top-down as well as bottom-up process is required if freedom of expression, good inter-personal relationships, and democracy are considered virtuous.

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

• Virtues need to be supported by competence if business is to survive and thrive • In different situations and businesses, it may be that certain virtues need to be emphasised at different times. In this context, virtues–and the values that give rise to them–are paradoxically eternal and transitory. Perhaps we should recognise that virtues arise out of beliefs (what is true) and values (what is important) and start from that basis. In this connection we should be asking at the organisational level: • Do we have the right values in place for our organisation at this time? • Have we kept pace with new, emerging societal values? • Are our values the glue that holds the organisation together; do they serve as a platform for our people to form habits, develop character virtues and bond with like-minded colleagues. Do they define our culture, inform all of our processes and move us forward? • How are we spoken about by competitors, opponents and the friends of our organisation? Does the outside world – customers, stakeholders, suppliers – see an attractive, authentic, engaging, consistent display of our values that acts as a valueproposition magnet that draws them closer to us? • Do our espoused values distinguish us as being different to, and better than our competitors in the way we conduct our business? (An even better question may be: Can we avoid the tendency to compare ourselves against others and simply go ahead and develop our own best practice? Change the preposition and you change everything. What, for instance, is the difference between ‘We want to be the best in the world’ as opposed to ‘We want to be the best for the world?’) • Have we protected ourselves from the risk of disconnect between our stated values and actual events and behaviours that in turn could lead to loss of reputation and credibility, even in times of high stress? • Is there an opportunity in this climate of uncertainty, economic pressure, government competence-deficit and so on, for us to intervene independently, and make a significant contribution by embracing a values to virtues approach? • Are we ready to challenge conventional notions of corporate purpose and corporate responsibility? • Do we have mechanisms in place to ensure that our values are accepted by, and not prone to, misinterpretation by different cultures, generations, religious persuasions and gender both within and outside of the organisation?

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Chapter 4 : How Do Organisations Become Virtuous?

HIGHEST VALUE by population size Asian group cohesion African Hispanic Arabic N. American European

interpersonal relationships

individual success and happiness

Other (Various sources)

THE WAY AGE-GROUPS SEE THE WORLD Veterans/ Silent Generation 1922-1943

Baby Boomers

Generation X

1943-1960

1960-1980

Millennials/ Generation Y 1980-2000

OUTLOOK

practical

optimistic

sceptical

hopeful

WORK ETHIC

dedicated

driven

balanced

determined

AUTHORITY

respectful

love/hate

unimpressed polite

LEADERSHIP

hierarchy

consensus

competence pull together

personal gratification politically incorrect

reluctant to commit

personal RELATIONSHIP sacrifice TURNOFFS

vulgarity

KEY VALUE

compassion creativity

inclusive

cliché, hype promiscuity reward

teamwork

Differences certainly exist.14 Difference can be harnessed to enrich the quality of organisational community life and should not be used to categorise or put people into boxes, but rather as a start-point to arriving at mutually agreed virtues, and moving forward together. Refer Chapter 29 (I am different – don’t hold that against me).

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

At St. Luke’s Hospice the task of compassionately caring for a dying person helped the team transcend their own religious preferences and rituals in a way that was right and useful to the patient. Virtuousness manifested itself across cultural and religious divides. It took precedence over adherence to individual beliefs and practices. The result was the creation of an interesting, original, mysterious and powerful human unity. This spurred a deeper motivation to serve, and stimulated learning in the field. Most importantly, we should not get lost in explorations of all of the philosophical thinking, influencing factors and connections between vision, values and virtues. They are numerous. The potential for falling into the trap of endless academic debate about influences and connections is real. The waters can quickly become muddied. Best to simply cut to the chase and do what’s needed for your specific organisation. history

community

VALUES

situation

culture

context

age group

VISION

VIRTUES

beliefs

person behaviours

motives

ethics character

Principles to bear in mind • Clarity. This results from a practical, logical and intuitive approach (an apparent paradox), and an inclusive process, as the organisation journeys from values to virtues, following a natural on-going evolution. In doing this we reap the benefits of organisational health, harmony and performance. • Perseverance. Too many stop their journey half-way and their evolution is interrupted. • Discarding command and control habits. Some organisations come up with a set of values, and then attempt to impose them as part of a mechanised compliance/ appraisal procedure. All the laws, rules, regulations and ethical principles in the world will not guarantee virtuous behaviour.

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Chapter 4 : How Do Organisations Become Virtuous?

Beware minimum standards and getting people to comply with them. Here’s the thing: Set a speed limit and many will drive slightly above it. In rugby and soccer, players try and get as close to the offside line as possible without crossing it. Set a minimum standard of competence and many students aim just to reach it in order to pass and be declared competent. When it comes to competence in an area where you wish to be differentiated, then go for mastery. In customer service delivery, for example, minimum competence standards don’t cut it with most customers. This is especially true with virtues. The selection of behaviour indicators, provision of deep training and other means of inculcating the habits and behaviours, reinforced in practice and by cultural norms, is what is called for to develop desired attitudes, dispositions and character traits. Take a virtue such as practicing love. This cannot be a half-way thing, enforced, nor selective in application. It has to be full, consistent, unconditional and spontaneous. • Work both top-down and bottom-up. If necessary, start small. Our corporate virtues development interventions can happen at the individual, team, department and organisation levels. At every level it is about sharing purpose, accountability for results and competencies – based on the habitual living of shared values.

Addressing what needs to go and what needs to be enhanced Our approach aims at uncovering habits that need to be changed and that work against being virtuous. This applies at both the individual and organisational level where habit–reversal is required. It also aims at forming new habits through living the behaviours related to the values; habit–formation. We use a combination of anecdote circles, counselling, coaching, mentoring, gamification, reward mechanisms, story, metaphor elicitation, training and the steering of transition to reverse, modify, establish and entrench virtuous behaviours and provide an illustrative flavour of training and workshop content related to a da Vinci model where each virtue requires habitformation: SENSAZIONE (cultivate awareness): the practice of moving from mindlessness to deeper mindfulness, journaling, labyrinths CURIOSITÀ (seek the truth): applying left and right brain thinking, the chain reaction of imagination, story and innovation, navigating crises with wonder, questioning competence, using metaphor SFUMATO (engage the shadow): exploring the dark side of leadership and authentic leadership, invoking archetypes for lightening DIMOSTRAZIONE (take responsibility): leveraging team dynamics and roles ARTE/SCIÈNZA (balance the masculine and feminine principles): invoking archetypes for balance

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

CORPORALITA (integrate body, mind and spirit): applying systemic thinking to body, mind and spirit stress. Taking account of Integral Theory (Chapter 25) CONNESSIONE (practice love): emotional and social intelligence and connection, wabi sabi, personal story at work, deep listening, responding to and creating love moments that arise in business The da Vinci model is not a prescribed set of universal virtues to be adopted by all. It is merely illustrative. We also devote time to raising consciousness and helping people become aware of hidden vices that work against the virtues they are attempting to develop. The thing is we all have our fair share of human frailty, we all have feet of clay. Sometimes we do things deliberately, sometimes unconsciously.15 Think of how we protect ourselves, look after our self-interest or behave according to societal or organisational norms when we: • Exaggerate some stories that we tell – the size of the fish we’ve caught or the snake we saw, the golf score we achieved, our role in a successful campaign. • Make our condition sound worse than it really is when phoning the office to report that we’ll be off ill, away from work the next day. • Tell a white lie and give an untrue excuse to avoid attending a function ‘Something has cropped up, I hope you’ll understand,’ or explaining a decision ‘I voted for you but she had more support … or, You didn’t get the job but you were on the short-list’. • Rationalise a failed sales attempt or workshop ‘Our meeting was sabotaged, our opposition offered a ridiculously low price, or someone got to them, turned them against the proposal … or, I don’t think they were ready to embrace the concept … or, they just don’t understand’. • Justify saying no by blaming something outside of ourselves ‘We can’t offer that service because it’s outside of policy – or the system doesn’t allow us to do that … or, if we do this for you we’ll be setting a precedent or, we’ve already exceeded our budget, sorry.’ • Do nothing while hoping and believing that somehow the problem will go away What Ariely calls wishful blindness.15 • Act badly when a family member has died and we believe we are entitled to our fair portion of the will. • Take the standard lawyers advice and deny all blame when we’ve been involved in a car accident. • Avoid involvement or do the minimum when something unpleasant has to happen. • Fail to take responsibility for our thinking, feeling and acting. When in London after being sent there on a working assignment by my company, and upon seeing destitute, homeless people living rough under bridges and using cardboard for warmth on cold nights, I felt enormous compassion for them. Then it hit me that they were mainly white people and I’d never felt that degree of compassion for people of colour in my own country. • If we work at a shopping mall, office or retail outlet where management and staff arrive early, do we take the best, most convenient parking spaces? Customers are not afforded this courtesy. They get second best and this at institutions where value service speaks about the customer is king.

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Chapter 4 : How Do Organisations Become Virtuous?

Part of the trouble is that we see shortcomings in others more readily than we do in ourselves. This is one reason why there is considerable merit in open, 360° appraisals, as opposed to the traditional boss: subordinate application. In our struggles to become virtuous at the individual and group levels we can learn from the New York anti-crime broken window policy: take care of the little things as well as the bigger things, because unattended little things lead inevitably to bigger things.

Some concluding thoughts • In wider society today we face big issues like climate change, poverty, unemployment and lack of proper education. We see blatant self-interest in the form of corruption, nepotism, xenophobia and discrimination. In our corporations and work institutions we can take responsibility and actively display care and compassion and influence relationships at every level so that virtues that are health-creating and life-affirming, becoming daily current influences on behaviour and character. Be a virtuous force that goes far beyond lip-service and PR for self-interest purposes. • Staff are cynical about hollow claims that our people are our biggest asset. Talent is attracted to firms that are better and different, display virtues and offer meaning at and in work. The levels of trust, supportiveness and pride that develop then raise the bar without the need for heavy compliance mechanisms. Effective service delivery from the inside-out reinforces the brand. There are observable and immediate outcomes. A virtuous cycle comes into play and becomes a positively disruptive force. Elsewhere we show a connection between beliefs (what is true), values (what is important), virtues (true character and meaning) – and intrinsic employee motivation; the needs for meaning, satisfaction, social connection and the hope or experience of success. • At the individual level the embodying of virtues is about becoming fully human, about actualisation, and about having a virtuous character. At the organisation level the embodiment of virtues is about becoming a brand that consistently behaves virtuously in the marketplace and society of which it is part. The socialvalues concept of Ubuntu, “I am because we are; we are because I am,” is one way in which individual and organisational values and virtues intersect. Humanity, dignity, community harmony, respect, compassion and, love your neighbour, all come into play. • In an age where emotional connection is being increasingly viewed as a key leadership attribute, there is a need to nurture employees and be authentic to customers. Moving from values to virtues is becoming an imperative. As the Sioux proverb goes, “The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives.” • Those familiar with the balanced scorecard16 and service profit chain17 models, introduced to business in the late 1990s, will know that more and more research is supporting a business model that follows this simple cause and effect logic: Executed properly the right vision and values … … inform and infuse the right internal effectiveness and efficiency … … which in turn lead to the right employee satisfaction, engagement, behaviours … … which lead to the right customer satisfaction, engagement, loyalty … … which in turn leads to sustained shareholder value.

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

shareholder value

customer value

VISION, VALUES

employee value

internal business efficiency

We later present an alternative paradigm model that builds on this (Exercise 20). What ultimately endures is captured for us by George Herbert: Virtue Sweet day, so cool, so calm, so bright, The bridal of the earth and sky; The dew shall weep thy fall to-night, For thou must die. Sweet rose, whose hue angry and brave Bids the rash gazer wipe his eye; Thy root is ever in its grave, And thou must die. Sweet spring, full of sweet days and roses, A box where sweets compacted lie; My music shows ye have your closes, And all must die. Only a sweet and virtuous soul, Like season’d timber, never gives; But though the whole world turn to coal, Then chiefly lives.

References 1. Lynch, Dudley & Kordis, Paul L. Strategy of the Dolphin: scoring a win in a chaotic world Fawcett Colombine 1990 2. Senge, Peter M; Roberts, Charlotte; Ross, Richard B.;Smith, Bryan J, & Kleiner, Art The Fifth Discipline Field Book: strategies for building a learning organization A Currency Book published by Doubleday NY 1994

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Chapter 4 : How Do Organisations Become Virtuous?

3. Moss Kantor, Rosabeth On the Frontiers of Management A Harvard Business Review Book 1997, p.273 4. Zohar, Danah & Marshall, Ian Spiritual Capital Bloomsbury 2004 5. Parker Marjorie Creating Shared Vision Dialog International Ltd.1990 6. Bennett, William The Book of Virtues: a treasury of great moral stories Simon & Schuster, NY 1993 7. Rossouw, Deon Prof. The Changing Ethics of Business: knowledge is power Leadership Weekly September 2nd, 2013 (Formerly Leadership Intelligence Bulletin) 8. Moberg, Dennis J. Aristotle, Aquinas and Hume, The Big Five and Organizational Virtue. Business Ethics Quarterly v. 9 no2 (Apr. 1999) p. 245-72 http://web.sau.edu/ RichardsRandyL/business_ethics_filing_cabinet_big_five_and_organizational_virtue.htm 9. Cameron, Kim; Bright, David; Worline, Monica; Kanov, Jason; casa, Arran; Kachorek, Lauren; Whetten, David Organisation Virtues: Implications for Performance A Symposium for the Academy of Management http://www.bus.umich.edu/positive/POS-Teaching-andLearning/Virtues.ppt 10. Mazutis, Daina D and Marchand, Donald A Leadership and Character Insights@IMD Number 28 2013 11. Bowden, Peter Virtue Ethics, Aristotle and organisational behaviour http://w3.unisa.edu. au/hawkeinstitute/gig/aapae05/documents/bowden-virtue.pdf Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics 12th Annual Conference 28–30 September 2005, Adelaide 12. Buffett, Peter The Charitable-Industrial Complex http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/27/ opinion/the-charitable-industrial-complex.html?src=me&ref=general&_r=1& July 2013 13. Stacey, Julie The Virtuous Organisation: Living Excellence http://www.humancapitalreview. org/content/default.asp?Article_ID=224 14. Derived from Bridging the Generation Gap © Laurel and Associates, Ltd. 2005, The Way They See The World drawn from Generations at Work, by Ron Zemke, Claire Raines, and Bob Filipczak Amacom 2000) 15. Ariely, Dan The Honest Truth About Dishonesty: How We Lie to Everyone–Especially Ourselves Harper Collins Publishers 2012 16. Kaplan, Robert S & Norton, David P. The Balanced Scorecard: translating strategy into action Harvard Business School Press 1996 17. Heskett, James L; Sasser, W. Earle Jr & Schlesinger The Service Profit Chain: how leading companies link profit and growth to loyalty, satisfaction and value The Free Press, a division of Simon & Schuster, Inc. New York 1997

Illustration by Tony Grogan Service 2

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Chapter 5 : Talent to Order

The myth of Leda & the Swan (Zeus)

Creating superior people Two James Patterson novels tap into the possibilities of biotechnology and tell a story about unethical outlaw MIT scientists who genetically engineer six winged birdchildren. They have massive depth of chest, large hearts, air sacs, wings, and the females are oviparous (give birth by laying eggs).1 The novels bring to mind Da Vinci’s Leda and the Swan painting. Aldous Huxley imagined in Brave New World a society where the state manufactures different human classes, each designed to perform specific roles in a re-engineered society in a fast-paced world of the future.2 Talent to order.

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

Moving from fiction to fact, the seeds of the eugenic idea (coined by Francis Galton, Darwin’s cousin in 1885 in Hereditary Talent and Character) was about using hereditary strengths to build a superior race. “If a twentieth part of the cost and pains were spent on measures for the improvement of the human race that is spent on the improvement of the breed of horses and cattle, what a galaxy of genius might we not create!” As we know, this notion was adopted by Hitler, to the extent of establishing baby factories where men inseminated women all chosen for their Aryan features. The babies were then brought up by the state as perfect specimens.

The talent management challenge Recently it was reported that the world’s first genetically modified humans were born. “Geneticists fear that one day this method could be used to create new races of humans with extra, desired characteristics such as strength or high intelligence.”3 As businesses look to the future and anticipate changing societies, marketplaces life cycles, the nature of competition, innovation advances, an increasingly cyber world – and their impacts on the way we work, live and communicate–and the attendant need for talented staff and leadership to engage with that future; it faces the challenges of finding, developing, fast-tracking and retaining ‘fit for purpose’ talent. An organisation only succeeds if it is made up of the right people. The challenge is to find, attract, nurture and retain the right people. “We have entered into a war for talent as a result of a startling talent shortage, which was once in abundance ... Access to information has shifted power to the employee because it allows them to be just as knowledgeable as the employer in less time for less money ... And as employees become more knowledgeable about their personal worth and companies, they alter their firm-specific benefits and their ability to move freely between companies increases .... Our employees used to be a bit dependent on us, but now they are free to fly.4

Components of the talent challenge In the absence of eugenic solutions, organisations need to find ways to engineer their talent requirements. They need to: • • • • • • • • •

50

Know exactly what talent they need in future. Close the gap between talent demand and supply. Identify and attract fit for purpose staff. Ensure that these talented people are in the right places at the right times within the organisation. Build their capacities (leadership and technical skills), and stretch their learning. Give them wings to fly within the organisation. Allow them to flock together. Develop trust, honesty and loyalty so that they stay with the organisation. Maintain the loyalty and performance of those other staff who are not set aside as being part of the talent management programme.

Chapter 5 : Talent to Order

Key principles of a non-conventional approach There is no magic, eugenic wand to wave. Without purporting to know all the answers for your particular organisation culture and situation, we strongly advocate: • Be attractive. Start first with building a virtuous organisation – an organisation that attracts the talent that you need and offers an intrinsic motivational environment. One where your talented people can find meaning, positive social connections, satisfaction in and at work and a chance of, or experience of success. Your value proposition is being a virtuous organisation.5 When consistently displayed this builds respect and trust for your organisation–a key to gaining and retaining talent. This way your talent comes looking for you. • In searching for and identifying potential talent, think big. Large local South African firms with a .co.za web address may be better off with a .com address. The point is to cast your net as widely as possible. Another way of doing this is to identify talent that resides in ex-employees. da Vinci produced some of his best work towards the end of his life. Some retired employees will have gained skills and knowledge, resilience and wisdom and cemented their values during the course of their careers. The competition for talent is a bit like customer service where the right comparisons are with best practice across the board–not just within your industry or with your immediate competitors. • Make staff selections based primarily on below-theICEBERG COMPETENCY surface components of the MODEL I competency iceberg.6 Skills, knowledge, experience and Skills even qualifications can be Knowledge gained and trained. The correct virtues and motives, if absent, cannot be compensated Attitudes for by any amount of skill and Values and Virtues knowledge. Look first for Self-concept what lies beneath the surface Traits – the deeper competencies. Motives This is the match you need. These are the people who will make the difference. People whose behaviours are internally guided by the right values, motives, attitudes and character traits. They have the potential to be future leaders. • In adopting this approach, you avoid the dark side trap – individuals who are extremely talented and perform well but turn out to be wolves in sheeps’ clothing. Those who ultimately cause dysfunction, discontent, damage and a toxic environment.7 (Refer Chapter 1) It also helps to cut through diversity blockages when your selection person/panel differs from your potential talent pool Diversity is the subject of Chapter 29. • Nurture instead of manage and control. Working with talented individuals to get the best out of them and for them requires a consultative approach. They need to be engaged by your organisation, engaged in and at their work. Today’s workforce is 51

The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

•

•

• •

52

becoming more relational, more creative. Have regular chats to check in on how the value proposition is working, their unique perspective of the organisation as a whole, what is hampering or helping their performance, that their home-social-work is in balance, that they are fully on board, what their desires and suggestions are for their next assignment, their development needs ... Ask them ‘If you were writing a story about your life here with us, where would you be in the plot, theme and chapter of your book?’ We think this makes sense in the context of people joining organisations and leaving managers. Adopt a flexible approach to how you contract with them. We have moved beyond the lifetime employment paradigm to more of a psycho-social contract basis. Also adopt a flexible approach to their job and assignment content, to performance feedback and appraisal. Be less formal. It’s a journey more than a rigid set of plans, actions, and timings to be followed. Of course agreed outcomes remain important, but appraisals also need to take account of how the desired outcomes were reached. Be open and clear. “Individuals whose performance is critical to the business should know just how highly they are valued. The most straightforward way of doing this is by informing them explicitly of their importance, which can cause difficulties for those not categorised this way, but does offer the merit of clarity… Talented people of the type that a company wishes to retain have two primary desires: first that their capabilities are fully utilised in doing critical work, and second, that they have bosses who show them how to extend their capabilities so they can take on even more responsibility.”8 They also need regular, valid and constructive feedback on what they can do, and need, in order to improve their performance. In your training programmes teach principles, values and virtues. This gives your employees the framework needed to be successful leaders and helps to develop their adaptive capacity and decision-making acumen, In times of major organisational change, for example where downsizing occurs, it has been found that both stayers and leavers go through trauma, loss and uncertainty and both deserve care.9 A similar concern is present when talent management programmes take place. Staff on the programme need to tread patiently, assertively and without arrogance. Staff who are not part of the programme may question their worth and their future. They may perceive unfairness, resent the chosen few. withhold information and resist contact with them. Mechanisms should be in place to counter these dynamics. A Chinese water bearer had two large pots, suspended at either end of a yoke, or pole, borne on his shoulders. One pot was perfect. The other had a crack in it. So after walking from the nearby stream to the cottage, the water bearer had one full pot and a half-empty pot. The perfect pot was very proud and the imperfect pot miserable and ashamed because it accomplished so little. This went on for a long time. At last the damaged pot spoke to the water bearer: “I’m sad. I try my best but I’m not good enough.” The water bearer replied: “Haven’t you noticed that there are beautiful flowers only on your side of the path between the stream and the cottage? That’s because I’ve always known about your flaw, and I planted seeds only on your side of the path. Every day you water them for me, and I’m able each day to enjoy the wonderful sight of vibrant, wonderful flowers. Because of

Chapter 5 : Talent to Order

who you are, because of your uniqueness and character, you alone can bring this very special gift.” The stakes are high. “Companies that outperform their peers at talent management also return significantly more value to their shareholders – around 22 percent more than the industry average.” 10

References 1. Patterson James When the Wind Blows & The Safe House Headline Book Publishing 2003 2. Huxley, Aldous Brave New World Harper Collins 1946 3. Hanlon, Michael World’s first GM babies born Daily Mail, USA July2013 http://www. dailymail.co.uk/news/article-43767/Worlds-GM-babies-born.html#ixzz2Tvvu0QLl 4. Black, Stewart Prof. The fall of employer and the rise of employee power June, 2013 http:// www.imd.org/news/employee-power.cfm?MRK_CMPG_SOURCE=webletter-issue613&utm_source=DM&utm_medium=em&utm_campaign=webletter-issue6-13 5. http://www.haloandnoose.com Member’s Article Archive: From Values to Virtues: living with purpose, meaning and flow–A concept whose time has come; How Do Organisations Become Virtuous, Paradoxically Nothing is Impossible, Outside is Inside, the Secular is Sacred, and Being in the Love Zone 6. Derived from: Spencer,Lyle M. Jr. & Spencer, Signe M. Competence At Work: Models For Superior Performance John Wiley & Sons Inc., New York, 1993 7. http://www.haloandnoose.com Member’s Archive: The Dark side of Leadership 8. Bottger, Preston Prof & Barsoux Jean-Louis, Senior Research Fellow How Loyal are Your Employees? : understanding the keys to retaining talent (an excerpt from Leading in the Top Team) http://www.imd.org/research/challenges/how-loyal-are-your-employees-prestonbottger-jean-louis-barsoux.cfm?MRK_CMPG_SOURCE=webletter-issue6-13&utm_ source=DM&utm_medium=em&utm_campaign=webletter-issue6-13 May,2013 9. Williams, Graham Revelling in Transition Centre-ing Services 1997 10. Shlomo, Ben-Hur, Prof. & Kinley, Nik Creating Talent Intelligence; citing Axelrod, E.L., Handfield-Jones, H., & Welsh, T. (2001). The War for Talent, Part Two. The McKinsey Quarterly. 2, 9-11. Huselid, M.A (1995). The Impact of Human Resource Management Practices on Turnover, Productivity, and Corporate Financial Performance. Academy of Management Journal. 38(3), 635-872. Combs, J., Liu, Y., Hall, A. & Ketchen, D. (2006). How Much Do High-Performance Work Practices Matter? A Meta-Analysis of Their Effects on Organizational Performance. Personnel Psychology. 59, 501-528. https://www.imd.org/ research/challenges/TC054-13-creating-talent-intelligence-shlomo-ben-hur.cfm?MRK_ CMPG_SOURCE=webletter-issue8-13&utm_source=DM&utm_medium=em&utm_ campaign=webletter-issue8-13

Illustration Leda and the Swan Illustration by Cesare da Sesto after a lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci, Wilton House, Salisbury http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leda_and_ the_Swan_1505-1510.jpg

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Chapter 6 : Paradoxically Nothing is Impossible, Outside is Inside, the Secular is Sacred “The great lesson is that the sacred is in the ordinary, that it is to be found in one’s daily life, in one’s neighbours, friends and family, in one’s backyard” (Abraham Maslow, 1908-1970) A King orders his soldiers to erect a gallows at the city gates. He instructs them, “When someone approaches, ask them where they are going. If they tell the truth, you let them in to the city. If they’re lying you hang them.” Nasrudin approaches and they ask him “Where are you going?” Nasrudin replies “I’m going to be hanged.”

The murky clarity of paradox Paradox was used elegantly and efficiently in Jesus’s teaching and verbal expression. Many other ancient spiritual teachers in the west and the east have also used paradox to frame and highlight deeply discerned truth. It is a means of subtly insinuating the truth so it dawns upon human consciousness quietly and obliquely. In an active story telling style it was used to unsettle the mind with potential contradiction, puzzlement, ambiguity, inconsistency, enigma and even absurdity. The mind gets knocked off its centre into disequilibrium. If the tensions are creatively held and the opposites are allowed to be in a dialogue without pre-judgement, then slowly and surely new insights and wisdom will emerge. The result is clarity, peace, balance and enlightenment. Jesus’s style was to make you think for yourself rather than providing readymade answers. Truth is arrived at, not served on a platter. How does paradox address life’s riddles? We know what the riddles are—darkness parades as light; there is the gap between the rich and the poor; the ruthless exploitation of the weak and the poor; the victory of the ignorant and ruthless over the wise and cautious; the triumph of evil over good. The riddles don’t go away, but we have an access point to address them as we seek higher ground above the resentments and violence of greed and injustice. We are given the possibility to frame things differently and to get “out of our minds to discover something that thought itself cannot think” (Kierkegaard). Paradox is a frequently used tool not only in spiritual wisdom but often in philosophy: Heraclitus, Meister Eckhart, Hegel, Kierkegaard, Nietzsche and C.K. Chesterton are some of those fluent in this medium. Kierkegaard says that the thinker without paradox is like the lover without passion. “The ultimate paradox of thought is this: to want to discover something that thought itself cannot think.” Paradox, like a good story, is a container of wisdom and has a key place in bringing understanding and insight by provoking contemplation and offering layered interpretations. Zen is full of paradox. “A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another tiger was waiting to eat him. Only the vine sustained him.

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Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away at the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the vine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!”1

Moving from the murky to the clear T.S Eliot wrote “Between the idea and the reality, between the motion and the act falls the shadow.” The shadow is the place of hard work, of setbacks, of struggle, of loss of hope, failure of love and disillusionment. Things are not clear, things are not easily understood, things are not obvious at this stage. Yet some fermentation and transformative process is under way. It’s often here that we are pulled in two directions at the same time. It’s a time of potential confusion and lack of clarity. It’s necessary to remain calm and quiet and observant. At the Krut Art Gallery in Cape Town I visited an exhibition on trees and bought an etching of a stone pine tree by Christopher Swift. It is a finely textured work of light and shadow. The print is called Chaos inspired by a paragraph from Tolle’s New Earth that describes the harmonious cycle of life and decay in a forest scene.

Chaos by Chris Swift

The stone pine is not indigenous to South Africa, but imported from Europe 250 years ago. It takes up a lot of water, and can be seen as an invasive species that displaces the fragile and diverse natural flora. Today the future of this alien vegetation is still to be decided. In Swift’s view the etching depicts western industry and encroachment and the tree is symbolic of the way the white settler population was brought into South Africa. Some would link it to the white African debate. Do we judge the tree’s impact on its environment as a form of decay, as something wrong and unsightly, something chaotic? Or do we, as does nature, find interconnection, a constant state of flux, order in the

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chaos, a possibility of harmonious integration? A kind of paradox. Belonging yet feeling a stranger, poor yet rich, disabled yet mobile, silenced yet eloquent, judged yet free, losing ourselves to find ourselves, “sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart” (Ecclesiastes 7:3). The disconnect is in the outer expression not being sourced from an interior state. My face may reflect sadness but inside of me is a new joy that informs my thoughts and shapes my responses in speech and action. Outside is inside. Better an end of the thing than its beginning. Getting a diagnosis of bad health can also be worse in the beginning than at the end of that process in death or healing. At the beginning there is doubt and fear and anxiety—at the end there is relinquishment and release and peace. A story A Samaritan woman is looked down upon by the disciples. Jesus makes her his focus as he engages her fully. She asks a question: “How do you a Jew ask of me a Samaritan woman a drink?” Then she asks a theological question: “Are you greater than Jacob who gave us this well?” He goes on to teach her about living water and worship in Spirit—past the boundaries and limitations of the narrow delimitations of the theology of the day. (John 4:7-29) He breaks through taboo and limiting belief. Points to the utter reality that is the spiritual dimension. A similar story appears in the Buddhist Divyvadana (217): The holy man Ananda, one of the Buddha’s disciples, approaches the lowestcaste Matangi girl Prakriti at a well, and asks for water. She is taken aback, but he says to her, “My sister, I am not asking about your caste or your family; I am asking whether you can give me some water to drink.”2 In John’s gospel with the woman caught in adultery – Jesus doesn’t focus on morality but points to the mystical and cosmological levels of religion where one is able, as Rohr says, to align oneself with the greater sacred story of Jesus’ attention to the issues of power, prestige and possessions. Here the concern is pride and injustice, hypocrisy and spiritual blindness. Jesus addresses the sense of shame and inferiority that the woman at Jacob’s well and the woman caught in adultery experience (John 8). The body is where we carry this sense of diminishment. Look past all this –otherwise you strain out gnats and swallow camels! The narrow issues of morality must not take ascendency over the priority of these other aspects of Kingdom focus. How do we get to secure for our bodies the possibility of spirit animating and enlivening them? Rohr says you need mystery and paradox and things that don’t work in order to develop your right brain. Such a movement then sees the ego freed by the experience of transcendence. The mind is the great controlling tower, comparing, computing, judging, and labelling everything. Real religion teaches you how to get out of the head. Rohr says it’s when we come to the edge of our own resources that we can collapse into the larger truer self–the authentic self. The route is often through despair, abandonment, failure and humiliation. In the recovered alcoholics I know, I have observed the power of this process of descent and transformation.

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Universal personal virtues The universal personal values that we arrive at through engaging the pathways of paradox, and that point us towards living authentically and developing our creative and spiritual potential, or becoming virtuous, include (from Leonardo da Vinci – who loved riddles incidentally): cultivating awareness, Sseeking the truth, engaging shadow, taking responsibility, balancing the masculine with the feminine principles, integrating body, mind and spirit, and practicing love and compassion.

Da Vinci self portrait in old age

These values are expanded and explained in more detail in the next chapters.

Organisational virtues In organisations virtues can manifest as a zeitgeist, a motivating spirit or climate in which business is transacted. Indicators might include the tolerance for difference, curiosity, generosity of spirit and the level of respectful and humorous exchange in conversation. And a capacity to do serious work in a light and unstressed way. All too often business organisations express higher values, but fail to live them enthusiastically in practice. The original meaning of enthusiasm was infused with the presence of the divine. The story they tell does not ring true. The outside is not the inside. The expressed values fail to become lived virtues. There is a disconnect which can have disastrous consequences.3 Is the virtuous business organisation a paradox? Is this an impossible quest for the elusive, transformational Holy Grail? Does investment in care for the planet and for its people reduce profitability? Perhaps paradoxically, nothing is impossible. Maybe the secular is sacred? We choose to believe that at least a start can be made in the right direction by focusing first on the right values, then converting them to virtues through a sound, energising process.

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End thoughts The Cosmic Impulse creates and maintains and directs and informs every living thing. Ultimately, love alone makes me remember. It is love alone that makes me aware. Of all species, we humans alone inhabit the cognitive arena. We search for meaning, wisdom and connection – in and out of the workplace. The medium of paradox is crucial in providing space and insight into how to position ourselves in the face of life’s riddles. Our response to paradox and sense-making needs to be at both the head and the heart levels. Business life is full of ambiguity, ethical dilemmas, conflicting interests, riddles and crises. In this age of increasing uncertainty, organisations that are adept at spotting opportunities and moving quickly to act on them, will perform well. The Chinese character for crisis is a form of paradox, meaning dangerous + opportunity.

Paradox is inherent in Chapter 2 (Ripening the Olive), where the seemingly mutual exclusivity of people, planet and profit goals can be translated into mutually supporting goals. It is inherent in Chapter 20 (Performance Through Innovation) where the approaches of lateral thinking, systematic inventive thinking and metaphor elicitation all draw on paradox in some way. For example in areas of apparent contradiction, and the subtraction of essential product components. Sometimes we need to think inside of the box in order to think outside of the box. It is inherent in Chapter 23 (Fun) where we look at fun as a necessary component of the serious, innovative workplace. We come to wisdom and enlightenment slowly after the encrustations of ego and quick easy assertions fall away, individually, and in groups. Then we drink the (non-physical) Living Water. To drink of the Living Water is to have a libation that is not recycled sewage or chlorinated past what is appropriate. It is to drink from a spring whose PH is perfect. And even if the calcium and magnesium still needs to be infused it is pure and sweet enough for safe drinking. To receive such water in social and working situations is to access understanding and insight, to be animated to creative ways of engagement and dialogue in the work place, and to graduate to a higher level of mature and spiritual consciousness that has filtered out fear and anxiety and ignorance. Engaging the shadow (Section 7) is “a willingness to embrace ambiguity, paradox and uncertainty.”4

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References 1. 2. 3. 4.

http://www.ashidakim.com/zenkoans/18aparable.html Gruber, Elmar R & Kersten, Holger The Original Jesus Element 1995 Gelb, Michael J. Da Vinci Decoded Delacorte Press NY 2004 WikiHow http://www.wikihow.com/Think-Like-Leonardo-Da-Vinci

Illustrations Chaos by Chris Swift (provided by the artist) Possible Self Portrait in Old Age – da Vinci http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Possible_Self-Portrait_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci.jpg

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EXERCISE 1 : For individuals – choosing and prioritising values “Nothing can dim the light which shines from within.” (Maya Angelou)

Big fish values: The old marlin steps in to take the hook in order to save another fish from the fisherman who had earlier caught the love of his life. As he dies, is pulled ever closer to the boat, his friends are with him. A parasitic remora (or marlin-sucker). A Jamaican-speaking dolphin. With each ever-diminishing circle he is called to let go of a core life-value. At one point he asks: “Then tell me dolphin. How do I let go of life, truly let go?” “Just like you splash down after a jump, mon.” “But there’s no choice in that. Gravity pulls me down.” “Den let de sky pull you up.”1

Love Life Clarity Freedom Honour Trust Faith Beauty Humour Adventure

1. What are your own core values relating to purpose, people, possessions, position and power? 2. Do your personal and communal values reflect a search for something higher, or are you pulled back down to lesser things? Caroline Myss points out that the word gravity comes from the root gravis, meaning serious, weighted.2 Does acceptance of life’s currents brings contentment? Does our quest for deeper meaning (halo) get held back by what we’re hooked on (noose)? 3. Do you swim in your own current? How have your beliefs and values been modified over time? Do we start out with adventure and fun and slowly lose this as we mature, replaced by higher values? Do we place more value on clarity (wisdom), life and love as we age?

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Studdert Kennedy was an army chaplain who bucked the incompetent bureaucracy that resulted in so many unnecessary First World War casualties. He refused to give safe, cosy, sermons behind the lines, and chose instead to spend his time with the common soldiers in horrific conditions in the trenches, not preaching, but just being with them; coming alongside them in their need. He’d often hand out a Woodbine cigarette, and became known as Woodbine Willy. Years later when he died, his simple funeral was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. A single packet of Woodbines was placed on top of the coffin. A gesture that would not be quite as acceptable today perhaps, but in its time, a demonstration of the appeal of relating at the basic human level, being civil, serving others, being a role model through action, ignoring the establishment in order to do the right thing, staying true to his values. After the war, he continued to give away all his possessions and earnings, while campaigning for the eradication of poverty through a change of values. One of his poems: Waste of Muscle, waste of Brain, Waste of Patience, waste of Pain, Waste of Manhood, waste of Health, Waste of Beauty, waste of Wealth, Waste of Blood, and waste of Tears, Waste of Youth’s most precious years, Waste of ways the Saints have trod, Waste of Glory, waste of God,– War! 4. Do your values line up with those of the organisation you work for? Perhaps one of the ‘big fish’ of the corporate world? Sometimes the values organisations express are limited by what they believe others think they should be, or by compliance values that are easier to systematise integrity, transparency, accountability than others compassion, service, fun, curiosity. As you look within and reflect, there are some resources you can access, including www. mindswithintegrity.com which offers a personal value determination process covering home, career, family, lifestyle…., and https://drdemartini.com/value_determination who pose a set of questions about your behaviours, thoughts, interests, ideals and dreams in order to assist you to flesh out your personal values. But most of all consider how your upbringing, experiences, exposure to the media, reading of books on achieving success and abundance, the society that you live in - may have contributed to your value selection. There are ways in which we may be unconsciously primed to mindlessly adopt certain values, which then inform our behaviours. Daniel Kahneman, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, tells of work done by psychologist Kathleen Vohs, including experiments where some participants were directly and subtly primed to think money: “Moneyprimed people become more independent than they would be without the associative trigger …. Money-primed people are also more selfish: they were much less willing to spend time helping another student who pretended to be confused about an experimental task. When an experimenter clumsily dropped a bunch of pencils on the floor, the participants with money (unconsciously) on their mind picked up fewer pencils … Money-primed undergraduates also showed a greater preference for being alone.” They created more

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distance between themselves and others. “Her experiments are profound—her findings suggest that living in a culture that surrounds us with reminders of money may shape our behaviour and our attitudes in ways that we do not know about and of which we may not be proud.”4

References 1. 2. 3. 4.

Nussbaum, Jay Blue Road to Atlantis Bantam Books 2002 Myss, Caroline Defy Gravity HayHouse 2009 Target, George Words that have Moved the World Bishopsgate Press London 1987 Kahneman, Daniel Thinking, fast and slow Farrar, Straus and Giroux NY 2011

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EXERCISE 2 : For individuals – how are you living your personal values? 1. What does it mean to be fully human, to live in the flow zone? 2. Which values are important to me, but have become jaded? 3. In each case, what can I do specifically to regain my ability to live fully – shift from noose to halo? 4. Going deeper: what can I do to internalise my own chosen values, make of them habits, character traits, move from values to virtues? 5. On your own, or in a group conduct an active imagination exercise. Imagine that you are at your own funeral, inside your coffin but able to hear and see what is going on around you. Your mind picture should be small, monochrome. Think about who is attending – family, friends, work colleagues, former bosses, employees who reported to you………ask, ‘what are they saying about the life that I lived, the values I exhibited, the way I interacted with others, dealt with various situations……….’ Now enlarge and colour this picture, imagine happy conversations, imagine what you would want the attendees to be saying, and how you would wish to be remembered. Promise yourself that this image-ining will be the reality to come, as you resolve to make it happen. 6. Reflect on these value-laden extracts from The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran1: You work that you may keep pace with the earth and the soul of the earth. When you work you are a flute through whose heart the whispering of the hours turns to music. Which of you would be a reed, dumb and silent, when all else sings together in unison? And to love life through labour is to be intimate with life’s innermost secret. It is to change all things you fashion with a breath of your own spirit. Work is love made visible. To what extent do you feel this in your workplace? What are the things that you can do to make visible love in and at your work?

Reference 1. Gibran, Kahlil The Prophet William Heinemann, distributed by Pan Books Ltd. London 1980

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EXERCISE 3 : Are we a congruent organisation? BELIEFS What we hold to be true VISION Who we want to be VALUES What we see as important ETHICS What is right or wrong VIRTUES What our character is

Beliefs, vision, values, ethics and virtues, and many other factors guide our behaviours, and are interlinked. Remember that in the context of developing a virtuous organisation that it’s more about what we want to be which precedes what we have to do. Using the above definitions, discuss: 1. Is our organisation vision clear, meaningful, inspiring, and compelling? 2. Are our values implicit in our vision statement? 3. What are we doing to use our values as a platform for developing habitual virtues that make a difference? 4. Is there congruency between our vision, values and the virtues we strive towards? 5. What mechanisms or times of reflection do we have in place to have leadership considerations of the congruency between our vision, values, practice of virtues in daily business life? 6. Are we prone to water-down our formation of virtues as a result of societal, government and internal pressures (corporate purpose and corporate responsibility guidelines that stop well short of what is really required)?

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EXERCISE 4 : Questions For Organisational Leaders 1. Do we have the right values in place for our organisation, at this time? YES /NO /NOT SURE 2. Have we kept pace with new, emerging societal values? YES /NO /NOT SURE 3. Are our values the glue that holds the organisation together; serve as a platform for our people to form habits, develop character virtues, and bond with like-minded colleagues; define our culture, move us forward? YES /NO /NOT SURE 4. How are we spoken about by competitors, opponents and the friends of our organisation? Does the outside world – customers, stakeholders, suppliers – see an attractive, authentic, engaging, consistent display of our values that acts as a valueproposition magnet that draws them closer to us? YES /NO /NOT SURE 5. Do our espoused values distinguish us as being different to, and better than our competitors in the way we conduct our business? An even better question may be: Can we avoid the tendency to compare ourselves against others and simply go ahead and develop our own best practice? YES /NO /NOT SURE 6. Have we protected ourselves from the risk of disconnect between our stated values and actual events and behaviours that might occur that in turn could lead to loss of reputation, credibility. Even in times of high stress? YES /NO /NOT SURE 7. Do we have mechanisms in place to ensure that our values are accepted by and not prone to misinterpretation by different cultures, generations, religious persuasions, genders–both within and outside of the organisation? YES /NO /NOT SURE 8. Is there an opportunity in this climate of uncertainty, economic pressure, government competence-deficit and so on, for us to intervene independently, and make a significant contribution by embracing a values to virtues approach? YES /NO /NOT SURE 9. Are we ready to challenge conventional notions of corporate purpose and corporate responsibility? YES /NO /NOT SURE At a personal level, read and reflect on these value-statements from the world’s richest businessman, Warren Buffett:

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When his own father was dying in 1964, he had himself removed from the will to increase the share left to his two sisters. He felt that the amount – $180,000 – would be pretty easy for him to earn himself. And so it turned out. Influenced by one of Dale Carnegie’s rules of behaviour, he practiced ‘Don’t criticise, condemn, or complain.’ “Basically, when you get to my age, you’ll measure your success in life by how many of the people you want to love you actually do love you. If you get to my age in life and nobody thinks well of you, I don’t care how big your bank balance is, your life is a disaster’.”1 “Take the high road. It’s far less crowded.” “We celebrate wealth only when it’s been fairly won and wisely used.” “The best defense in a tough economy is to add the most you can to society. Your money can be inflated away but your knowledge and talent cannot.” “Lose money and I will forgive you, but lose even a shred of reputation and I will be ruthless.”2 “Honesty is a very expensive gift. Don’t expect it from cheap people. I insist on a lot of time being spent, almost every day, to just sit and think.” “It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you’ll do things differently.”3

References 1. Lasson, Sally Ann Warren Buffet: The secret of the billionaire’s success The Independent Wed Sept 25th 2013 http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/warrenbuffet-the-secret-of-the-billionaires-success-1622649.html 2. Dinsmore, Scott 12 Life Lessons from Warren Buffett to Being a More Compassionate Writer Sept 2013 http://writetodone.com/12-life-lessons-from-warren-buffett-to-being-a-morecompassionate-writer/ 3. Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/756.Warren_Buffett

NOTE: The exercises we offer are simply aids to your thinking. Leadership groups in corporations have used individual chapters in this book to stimulate reflection, and effectively developed their own exercises.

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Introduction to Section 2 Moving forward with hope demands that we don’t get bogged down in academic discussion, so we’ve selected a non-threatening, illustrative virtues model to demonstrate what is possible. A model that has no narrow religious source offers an entertaining and enlightening mirror to reflect upon. A model that has practical relevance for both individuals and organisations. A model that encourages the convergence of art, science and business. A convergence between business, society and the environment. We believe that for our purposes the Leonardo da Vinci virtues model meets these criteria. Developed by Michael J. Gelb1 as he intensively studied his life and works, the model has been used and adapted in various ways by a number of people in a number of fields.2, 3 An examination of his life and works (artist, scientist, businessman, moral philosopher), his frailties, difficulties, artistic and scientific genius and legacy, enables easy engagement. (Popularisation of da Vinci mysteries and ideas in recent novels adds to the interest, and facilitates this engagement). Looking at the virtues he displayed – aided by images of his work– is a rich and challenging source for leaders, organisations and their members.

References 1. Gelb, Michael J Da Vinci Decoded: discovering the spiritual secrets of Leonardo’s seven principles Delacorte Press Ny 2004 2. Corner, Olgar http://myquantumgenius.com/about-quantum-genius/theseven-da-vinci-principles/# 3. Fisk, Peter http://www.slideshare.net/geniusworks/innovation-byleonardo-da-vinci

Chapter 7 : The Life, Thoughts and Works of Leonardo Da Vinci “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” (Leonardo da Vinci)

A statue of Leonardo (1452 – 1519), outside the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. By Luigi Pampaloni

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Which century did you say? Leonardo da Vinci was fascinated by the flight of birds, and the possibility of manned flight: “A bird is a machine working according to mathematical laws. It lies within the power of man to reproduce this machine with all its motions, but not with as much power … such a machine constructed by man lacks only the spirit of the bird, and this spirit must be counterfeited by the spirit of man.”

Design for a flying machine

In June 2000, nearly six centuries after Leonardo designed his parachute, English skydiver Adrian Nicholas used a replica parachute and jumped from 10, 000 feet over the Kruger National Park. After falling (or floating) for 7, 000 feet he switched to a normal parachute only because Leonardo’s design was not collapsible.

Parachute Codex Atlanticus, folio 1058

Leonardo also designed an automated robot that looked like a knight in armour descibed. NASA scientist Mark Rosheim calls it “the first known example in the story of civilisation of the programmable analogue computer.” 70

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Leonardo’s Robot Photo by Erik Möller

In 1501, Leonardo da Vinci designed a bridge to span the Golden Horn inlet between present-day Istanbul and Pera, Turkey. The project was proposed to Sultan Bejazet II but never undertaken.

Codex housed in the Biblioteque Institute Paris

A pedestrian bridge to this design was finally realized in Oslo, Norway by acclaimed Norwegian artist Vebjørn Sand. From a tiny drawing done more than 500 years previously was born the first ever civil engineering project based on a Leonardo da Vinci design. On October 31, 2001 it was dedicated and unveiled by Norway’s, Queen Sonja. A timelessly beautiful structure. A powerful metaphorical image of crossing barriers and divides, forging connections, gaining access, peace-making and mediation.

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The Leonardo Bridge Project, Inc. 2 The Leonardo Bridge Project, Inc., a non-profit public art project, with status through the Allied Arts Foundation, promoted construction of the Oslo bridge. Vebjørn Sand’s artistic intention for the project is to build reinterpretations of the eloquent design in local materials in collaboration with local artisans and architects in communities throughout the world, creating a global network of public footbridges symbolising our shared human destiny. Their hope is the global project will inspire the best in human creative endeavour across cultural, political and ethnic lines. It is a rare opportunity to bring public art, science, civil engineering and architecture together to create permanent, functional and unique footbridges that will both enhance the beauty of public space for local communities and extend those communities into a shared network of Earth’s human community: Our goal for building the bridge on every continent is what we call citizen diplomacy through art. After five years of concerted effort, design work has now begun on the footbridge to be built in Istanbul, Turkey, across the Golden Horn (Halik) where Da Vinci originally intended the project. The Istanbul Leonardo Bridge will span 240 meters as Leonardo envisaged. The materials will combine Leonardo’s granite with modern, environmentally sustainable building materials expressing the powerful, timeless beauty of the bridge’s ingenious geometry. Turkey is where east meets west physically, so what more apt a location? The project has also had a global educational impact. Vebjørn Sand has built four bridges in ice, two of which were intended to melt. In 2007, the Ice Bridge was a featured part of “ANTARCTICA: On Thin Ice” at United Nations headquarters in New York. This bridge, a sister to the permanent installation in Antarctica (see photo below), was intended to melt to dramatise the fragile condition of the Earth’s ice cover. In 2009, Vebjørn Sand built the ice bridge in Greenland and later that year built another ice bridge sculpture which was part of the COP15 Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Information provided by Melinda Iverson, International Projects Producer http://www.leonardobridgeproject.org email: [email protected]

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Oslo Bridge (top) and Antartica Bridge (bottom)

Who was this man? According to biographer Vasari, “In the normal course of events many men and women are born with various remarkable qualities and talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvelously endowed by heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men far behind... Everyone acknowledged that this was true of Leonardo da Vinci, an artist of outstanding physical beauty who displayed infinite grace in everything he did and who cultivated his genius so brilliantly that all problems he studied were solved with ease. He possessed great strength and dexterity; he was a man of regal spirit and tremendous breadth of mind... Leonardo’s disposition was so lovable that he commanded everyone’s affection …his magnificent presence brought comfort to the most troubled soul.” Leonardo was not formally nor highly educated. He was predominantly self-taught, and proud of this because of the independence and clarity of thinking that it brought him. His interests and competencies spanned both science and the arts. His scientific observations nature, astronomy, mathematics, alchemy included music and he composed, wrote lyrics, played the lyre masterfully and believed that music should accompany work. He undertook meticulous dissection of corpses in order to understand anatomy. He explored long-sightedness and proposed contact lenses, created experiments with machines for flying, for generating power from water and for besieging cities. Geometry, architecture, civil and mechanical engineering, hydro-dynamics, creative

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writing, sculpturing, geology, cartography, invention (concentrated solar power, a calculator, helicopter), and painting. He explored the mysteries of creation. The famous note reading ‘the sun does not move’ has been taken as an inspired astronomical insight pre-dating Copernicus by 30 years.

The Babe in the Womb Royal Collection Trust /© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013

In addition to scholarly works he also read popular literature of the time for pleasure and relaxation. He enjoyed riddles and jokes, and had a sense of humour: “A painter was asked why he produced such beautiful figures and such ugly children. His reply: I make my paintings by day and my children by night.” This product of the European awakening (Renaissance) also exhibited a number of human frailties. He dabbled in many things, restlessly moving on to new challenges, seemealy battling with closure and left many commissions unfinished. He developed a reputation for unreliability and was not always in control of his temper. It may be that some of the psychological baggage he carried caused him to seek evasion or escape. (Perhaps symbolised by his flying machines?). It seems probable that Leonardo was homosexual.

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Life passages Born illegitimately in a farmhouse on the fringes of Vinci, he developed a love for the countryside, simplicity and nature – animals, insects, and in particular birds. Throughout his life he loved walking or horse riding in solitude. Leonardo had issues of abandonment. The first few years of his life were spent with his peasant mother. When his father died, of 10 sons and two daughters, Leonardo alone was left nothing. At age fourteen his upper-middle-class father had him apprenticed to sculptor Verrocchio, who ran an important studio in Florence. When shown the young Leonardo’s drawings, he was amazed at how extraordinary they were. Florence was controlled by the Medici family, and was known as the cradle of the Renaissance. A sort of Silicon Valley effect, a magnet for artists of all sorts, Leonardo later set up his own studio and business there.

da Vinci’s studio replicated

He experienced tight financial times, buying grain and wine on credit, doing odd jobs and being paid in firewood. The Adoration of the Magi was an unfinished early Florentine work. Note the Christchild hand giving a divine blessing, and the intensity of the Virgin’s loving gaze, the energy that radiates from the centre, and the tumultuous background–destruction of the pagan world:

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Adoration of the Magi, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

In 1482 Leonardo left for Milan, an even bigger city perhaps under a cloud – leaving behind unfinished commissions and a reputation for living a controversial lifestyle. In Milan he was employed by Ludovico Sforza, the regent ruler and one of the Nuevo Riche, as a musician. He lived there for close on 20 years until the French invasion, when he left for Venice before returning to Florence. He worked on The Virgin of the Rocks throughout the bubonic plague that racked Milan quite soon after his arrival.

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The Virgin of the Rocks, Musée du Louvre, Paris

It was the first time that such a setting was chosen, caves being traditionally an entrance to the underworld. Leonardo relates looking into a dark cave trying to make out what was within “when suddenly there arose in me two things, fear and desire – fear of that dark threatening cave (the unknown, a desert place); desire to see if there was some marvellous thing within (curiosity).” There is no Joseph father figure in the picture. The Virgin umbrellas Christ and St John intimately. The mother’s hand shelters and protects, the angel points, the Christ-child blesses; a symphony of hands. In the gloom of the cave is a mystical light. Above the

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Virgin’s head is a manger straw; below Christ’s foot cyclamen with heart-shaped flowers, an emblem of love and devotion. Above his knee is primrose, an emblem of virtue. The acanthus plant below St. John was considered a symbol of the resurrection. In the rock cornices are St.John’s wort – the small dots of red on yellow petals, representing spilled blood. The foreground scene is calm, serene, joyous; the jagged rocks behind dark and menacing. The painting captures the spiritual within the secular. While in Milan, da Vinci was asked to make a huge statue as a monument for Prince Ludovico’s father, the Sforzo Horse. Which became yet another unfinished project.

The Sforzo Horse, The Royal Library, Windsor Castle The Royal Collection Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013

To celebrate Duke Gaeazzo’s wedding to Isabella of Aragon, Leonardo designed a theatre set “The hall was draped with festoons of evergreen foliage, the walls covered with silk. On one side was a sloping stage 40 feet long, covered in carpets, and below it a lower stage for the musicians. On the other side was the ‘paradise’ itself, veiled behind a silk curtain until the moment of revelation. ….. made in the shape of a half egg, which on the inner part was all covered with gold, with a very great number of lights, as many as stars, and with certain

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niches where stood all the 7 planets according to their degree, high and low. Around the top edge of this hemisphere were the 12 signs of the zodiac, with certain lights behind glass, which made a gallant and beautiful spectacle.” Leonardo may well have had an intimate relationship with a woman called Cremona. It seems likely that she was a courtesan, a prostitute, with braided hair (associated with prostitutes). Refer to the Leda and the Swan painting. A short spell in Venice was followed by a return to Florence, where Michelangelo is the young, new rising star. There was no love lost between them. One of da Vinci’s commissions at this time was to produce a depiction of Florentine military valour defeating invading Milanese troops. Copies of this lost work exist. The scene captures contortion, commotion, grimness, gore, power and fury.

Battle of Anghiari detail (lost work) Copy attributed to Peter Paul Rubens Musée du Louvre

Leonardo was again based in Milan, before 7 years later leaving for Rome where he was once more employed by the Medici family. In Milan the garden he planned for himself as guest of the Governor Charles d’Amboise, was a wonderful Arabian Nights Garden of sweet-smelling orange and lemon trees, and a bower covered over with a fine copper net to keep it full of songbirds, and a babbling brook with its grassy banks cut frequently so that the clearness of the water may be seen upon its shingly bed. Leda and the Swan depicts the twins hatched by Leda after being impregnated by Jupiter in the guise of a swan. Da Vinci’s own abandonment and escape issues seem present in this painting, as do the intersection of the divine and the secular.

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Leonardo’s Leda and the Swan (see larger image in chapter 5)

The sketch for the painting Virgin and Child with St Anne and the Infant St. John. The group is sitting near a stream on a hot day. Again there is no father figure. The gazes and emotions are palpable; a meditation on motherhood.

Virgin and Child with St Anne and the Infant St. John © The National Gallery, London NG6337

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The Last Supper–Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan

The Last Supper. The most reproduced religious painting of all time. He would arrive early, climb up onto the scaffolding, and set to work. Sometimes he stayed there from dawn to sunset, never once laying down his brush, forgetting to eat and drink. At other times he would go for two, three or four days without touching his brush, but spending several hours a day in front of the work. Ignoring linear convention, Leonardo’s figures are in motion, emotional, telling a story. The sub-groups of figures form waves. There is attentiveness and wonder as Christ speaks. Also shock, confusion, resignation and guilt. Rome, then considerably smaller than Milan, is da Vinci’s next stopping point. He stayed at the Pope’s country home, and it may be that the Pope commissioned the St. John the Baptist painting. In 1516, near the end of his life, da Vinci went to France as court painter to King Francis 1. The King regarded him fondly and gave him the chateau of Clos Lucé as his home. One report is that King Francis held Leonardo’s head as he died. Some of Leonardo’s drawings are probably a parody of himself as a renaissance man depicting a low-self-concept. Although he began painting it in Florence, it may be that the final work on the Mona Lisa was done here in France. It was also unfinished.

Heads of an Old Man and a Youth

In the Mona Lisa there is mystery and a depiction of distance, in his words “a perspective of loss.” It is said to be a portrait of Florentine housewife Lisa Gherardini, fashionably

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dressed, softened by motherhood, but a certain agelessness behind her secret or contented smile; a mood painting. It is arguably the world’s most famous painting.

Mona Lisa, Musée du Louvre, Paris

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St John the Baptist, Musée du Louvre, Paris

Said to be Leonardo’s last painting, completed 2-3 years before he died at age 67. The painting is in sfumato (smoky) style. Here we see the subtleties of shadow and light. St. John the Baptist emerges out of the darkness, pointing to heaven, a cross in his other hand. The hair is braided, the smile seems enigmatic, both sexy and saintly. To view the complete works of Leonardo da Vinci go to: http://www.leonardoda-vinci. org/the-complete-works.html

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Virtues To review a life is to consider the imprint it makes; the legacy it leaves. The after fragrance of Leonardo’s life was in its time an antidote to the authoritarian controls of church and state. He showed the nobility of the human spirit in a sublime way through a life that was full of struggle and difficulty. He soared above the very institutions and instincts that defined people’s lives at that time. Thank goodness he wasn’t burned at the stake. The genius of Leonardo seems to grow exponentially as the years pass. Genetics, emotional and spiritual intelligence, sheer inventiveness and creative intellect, unrestrained cognitive interconnection and genius all seem to have conspired in something quite unique in Leonardo. He gave true substance to the fact that anything is possible! Leonardo’s life showed an alchemy of various influences, bestowed gifts and a prophetic intuitive intelligence that left a profound legacy. Seeing the whole from the parts is crucial, but understanding what some of those parts may be is also crucial. Gelb has suggested seven virtues that emerge from Leonardo’s life and works.3 In the next chapter we examine and explore the qualities and motivations that may have contributed to this alchemy. His virtues. These are all elements and aspects we can work with too. Maybe Spirit will fire and direct us into unchartered waters too?

References 1. This article has drawn on extensive web and literary research within which Charles Nicholl’s wonderful biography Leonardo da Vinci: the flights of the mind, Allen Lane, Penguin 2004, stands out as a truly scholarly and comprehensive work and is highly recommended reading. 2. The Leonardo Bridge Project: Summary Document 3. Gelb, Michael J Da Vinci Decoded: discovering the spiritual secrets of Leonardo’s seven principles Delacorte Press NY 2004 is acknowledged for his fine categorisation and explanation of the da Vinci virtues, especially at the individual level 4. http://www.forbes.com/sites/davidewalt/2012/11/27/30-great-moments-in-the-history-ofrobots/

Illustrations Statue of Leonardo da Vinci outside Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy–by Luigi Pampaloni http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci01.jpg A design for a flying machine, (c. 1488) Institut de France, Paris http://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Design_for_a_Flying_Machine.jpg Parachute Codex Atlanticus, folio 1058. The original drawing is kept in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9F%D0%B0%D 1%80%D0%B0%D1%88%D1%8E%D1%82.jpg Knight Photo by Erik Möller http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LeonardoRobot3.jpg Bridge Codex Biblioteque Institute Paris http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Leonardo_Bridge.jpg Oslo Bridge designed by Vebjørn Sand Photo by Terje Johansen, Studio S

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Antarctica Bridge designed by Vebjørn Sand Photo by Nils Lund http://www.alliedartsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/m-Oslo-Leonardo-Bridge.jpg The Babe in the Womb The Royal Library, Windsor Castle Royal Collection Trust /© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013 http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/eGallery/object.asp ?searchText=babe&x=0&y=0&object=919102r&row=0 Da Vinci’s studio http://jazarah.net/euro-rscg-london-creates-3d-virtual-tour-app-ofleonardo-da-vincis-studio-for-credit-suisse-in-partnership-with-the-national-gallery/ (http://www.havasworldwide.co.uk) Adoration of the Magi, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence http://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Adorazione_dei_Magi_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg The Virgin of the Rocks Musée du Louvre, Paris http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Virgin_of_the_Rocks.jpg The Sforzo Horse The Royal Library, Windsor Castle Royal Collection Trust /© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Study_of_horse.jpg Battle of Anghiari detail (lost work) Copy attributed to Peter Paul Rubens Musée du Louvre http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Paul_Ruben’s_copy_of_the_ lost_Battle_of_Anghiari.jpg Leda and the Swan by Cesare da Sesto, Wilton House, Salisbury http://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cesare_Da_Sesto_-_Leda_and_the_Swan_-_WGA04682.jpg http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leda_and_the_Swan_1505-1510.jpg The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist (The Leonardo Cartoon) © The National Gallery, London NG6337 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virgin_and_ Child_with_St_Anne_and_St_John_the_Baptist The Last Supper Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan http://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:DaVinci_LastSupper_high_res_2_nowatmrk.jpg Heads of an Old Man and Youth http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_ da_vinci,_Heads_of_an_old_man_and_a_youth.jpg Mona Lisa Musée du Louvre, Paris http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mona_ Lisa,_by_Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg St John the Baptist Musée du Louvre, Paris http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_ John_the_baptist_-_Leonardo_Da_Vinci.jpg

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Chapter 8 : The Da Vinci Code for Business: Values to Virtues (da Vinci as a non-threatening, illustrative model)

“I teach you the Superman. Man is something to be surpassed.” (Friedrich Nietzsche ‘Thus Spake Zarathustra’)

The Da Vinci values Michael J. Gelb1 draws on the great man’s life works and values to point towards living authentically and developing our creative and spiritual potential: • • • • • • •

Sensazione Curiosità Sfumato Dimostrazione Arte/Sciènza Corporalita Connessione

In answer to an interview question, Gelb has responded: “The spiritual path involves alignment with a sense of something greater than the ego, something that gives meaning and purpose to life beyond just survival and self-aggrandizement. Ultimately, this broader perspective brings out the best in managers/leaders.” 2 We highly recommend Gelb’s works. Our further thoughts on these values, and making of them virtues at the individual and community levels, are not intended to be prescriptive of a set of universal values that transcend cultures, generations and businesses. They are illustrative. Going deeper still:

Sensazione: cultivate awareness Sensazione: the continual refinement of the senses, especially sight, as the means to enliven experience.3 Being mindfully engaged in the present moment. The average person according to Leonardo “looks without seeing, listens without hearing, touches without feeling, eats without tasting, moves without physical awareness, inhales without awareness of odour or fragrance, and talks without thinking.” He advocates “Observe people carefully in the streets, and in the piazza, and in the fields…” Da Vinci had the habit of wandering in nature on his own – his senses alert, his mind free and open. “True knowledge of the shape of any body is arrived at by seeing it from different aspects. Thus to express the true shape of any limb of a man … I will observe the aforesaid rule, making 4 demonstrations for the 4 sides of each limb. And for the bones I will make 5, cutting them in half and showing the hollow of each of them, of which one is full of marrow, and the other spongy or empty or solid.”

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With sharp awareness comes wonderment, and there is no doubt that Leonardo lived mindfully in the present moment and had an almost child-like wonderment. He was never without a note book and journal. He painted to the accompaniment of music or readings of fine works. He took time for self-observation and reflection, even when working on a painting or project. He also refers to inner awareness of self: “the five senses are the ministers of the soul.” A tenet of the Jewish religion is that every single moment is filled with God and thus sufficient just as it is. Thus every breath is a prayer. As is every heartbeat, every taste, every movement, every sound, every laugh. Oftentimes deeper mindfulness eludes us because we are too caught up by the strangling noose of past baggage, busyness, mindless activity or future concerns. Use nature, movement, music, images, poetry, mundane moments (washing the dishes, making a phone call) Author of Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore, has this to say: “When people talk about finding meaning in life, they imply that they can figure things out and set them right. But meaning that makes life worth living may be nothing more than a moment’s realisation, a sensation, such as the touch of your baby’s skin …” 4

Curiosità: seek the truth Curiosità has been defined as an insatiably curious approach to life and unrelenting quest for continuous learning.3 We are born with wonder, curiosity, a need to explore and discover, understand, learn and seek the truth. We can learn from nature as well as from books, the internet and people. Clearly da Vinci had a restlessly enquiring mind: “Which tendon causes the motion of the eye, so that the motion of one eye moves the other. Of frowning. Of raising and lowering the eyebrows. Of closing and opening the eyes. Of flaring the nostrils. Of opening the lips with the teeth shut. Of pouting with the lips. Of laughing. Of astonishment.” “Describe the beginning of man, and what causes it within the womb, and why a child of 8 months cannot survive. What sneezing is. What yawning is. Falling sickness. Spasm. Paralysis, shivering with cold, sweating, hunger, sleep, thirst, lust…” He sought the truth in all of his endeavours, sought the truth about himself, sought secrets of the human soul. “I roamed the countryside searching for answers to things I did not understand. Why shells existed on the tops of mountains along with imprints of coral and plants and seaweed usually found in the sea. Why the thunder lasts for a longer time than that which causes it and why immediately on its creation the lightning becomes visible to the eye while thunder requires time to travel. How the various circles of water form around the spot which has been struck by a stone and why a bird sustains itself in the air. These questions and other strange phenomena engaged my thought throughout my life.” “…human ingenuity….will never devise an invention more beautiful, more simple, more direct than does nature; because in her inventions nothing is lacking, and nothing is superfluous.” Da Vinci’s own seeking as described by Charles Nicholl: “His habit of

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inquisitiveness is even expressed in a little scribal tic, found on scores of manuscript pages: when he wanted to try out a new pen-nib, he habitually doodled the word dimmi – ‘Tell me’”5. He also promoted taking time to silently look and listen within.

Study of Flowers, Accademia, Venice

“Anyone who conducts an argument by appealing to authority is not using his intelligence; he is just using his memory.” (da Vinci)

Sfumato: engage the shadow Sfumato is from the Latin root fumus – smoky, hazy, unclear. Emerging from darkness to light. Jung: “That which we do not bring to consciousness appears in our lives as fate.” Meeting our shadow side leads to greater self-acceptance, managing negative emotions as they surface, healing relationships. Understanding your archetypal make-up, dark and light sides, and potential. Embracing our shadow side means dealing with the uncomfortable, the uncertain, the ambiguous and paradox as we move towards greater enlightenment. In the St. John painting the Baptist emerges from darkness. da Vinci explored his own shadow side.

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Leonardo’s St John the Baptist (see previous chapter for larger image)

Interestingly, the Christian cross is a symbol of becoming whole, attaining equilibrium. It has both dark and light connotations. It is “a double see saw with the two axis crossing at the centre. It provides the framework for balancing right and left and also the high and the low.”6

Dimostrazione: take responsibility Dimostrazione: “a commitment to test knowledge through experience, persistence, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.”3 A preparedness to question authority at work, socially conventional wisdom, the opinions and teaching of others and to think and act for yourself; To challenge your own limiting beliefs; To do unto others as you would have them do unto you; To look at your stories and reactions from more than one perspective and reframe where needed; Where naming and blaming may surface and hidden blessings be missed; To take responsibility for your own well-being, vision, values, behaviours, attitudes and responses; Be the change you wish to see. Viktor Frankl: “Everything can be taken from a man, but one thing: the last of human freedoms – to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” Leonardo: “Fix your course to a star and you can navigate through the storm.” Da Vinci took responsibility for his own education, his own learning and development, his own business. He never blindly accepted current wisdom and instead formed his own world-view and opinions from first-hand observation and independent thinking. He wrote notes to himself: “I shall continue”, “Obstacles do not bend me” ….. In a sense he preceded the currently popular positive psychology. He escaped the demons that plagued him by facing them.

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Arte/scienza: balance the masculine and feminine principles Arte/scienza: has been defined as “the development of the balance between science and art, logic and imagination.”3 It is the marriage of science and art within and it goes further. Jung referred to the mysteriumconiunctionis, the need for harmony and synergy between masculine and feminine energy; The need to balance the male side and female side within ourselves. Hard and soft, left brain and right brain, logic and imagination/ intuition/emotion, yin and yang, doing and being. Leonardo Da Vinci beautifully captures the paradoxes in his Allegory of Pleasure and Pain.

Allegory of Pleasure and Pain c.1480 Pencil Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford

Leonardo showed intense interest in both science and art, masculine and feminine; “The seed of the mother has the power in the embryo equally with that of the father.” In today’s parlance we would say that he fully utilised both his left brain and right brain potential.6

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Corporalità: integrate body, mind and spirit Corporalità: wholeness. Psalm 139:14 says “We are fearfully (awesomely) and wonderfully made.” Think cell regeneration. Think neural pathways. Think heart-energy and our capacity for emotions, love, imagination. Gemara Shabbat “The body is like clothing for the soul.” Leonardo: “Our body is subject to heaven.” And apply systemic thinking to body, mind and soul. Linkages in the whole person are physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. Our stress responses illustrate this interconnectedness or integration. The word healing comes from the root hal, meaning making whole.

Vitruvian Man, Study of Proportions, from Vitruvius’s De Architectura Galleria dell’Accademia in Venezia (Venice), Italy.

Thomas Moore talked about “one of Plato’s expressions for care of the soul, technetoubiou, the craft of life. Care of the souls requires craft (techne) – skill, attention and art. To live

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with a high degree of artfulness means to attend to the small things that keep the soul engaged in whatever we are doing, and it is the very heart of soul-making.”7 The natural harmonies and divine proportions of Vitruvian Man hint strongly at this integration and wholeness. The illustration was for a work to be called The Divine Proportion. Leonardo said, “If you want to see how a person’s soul’s inhabits his body, look at how his body treats its daily abode; if the latter is disordered, so the body will be kept in a disordered and confused way by the soul.” And he saw healing this way: “medicine is the restoration of discordant elements.” Leda and the Swan speaks to us of integrating the divine with the ordinary. Leonardo: “Observe the flame of a candle and consider its beauty. Blink your eye and look at it again. What you see now was not there before, and what was there before is not here now. Who is it who rekindles this flame which is always dying?”

Connessione: practice love Encyclopedia of Religion: “Love is the single most potent force in the universe, a cosmic impulse that creates, maintains, directs, informs … every living thing.” Christian charity, Buddhist compassion, Islam purification. Think about all the poems and songs about love. “The love of anything is the fruit of our knowledge of it, and grows as our knowledge deepens … Love alone makes me remember, it is only love that makes me aware.” (da Vinci) It is said of Leonardo “He took an especial delight in animals of all sorts, which he treated with wonderful love and patience.”5 Remember Paul Tillich: “Listening is an act of love.” And love the enemies within. Tommasso Masini said of Leonardo: “He would not kill a flea for any reason whatever, he preferred to dress in linen so as not to wear something dead.” Vasari: “When he was passing places where they sold birds, he would often take them out of their cages with his hand, and having paid whatever price was asked by the vendor, he would let them fly away into the air, giving them back their lost liberty.” One of Leonardo’s own song lines: “Only love makes me remember, it alone fires me up.” He described love as the most powerful force in the universe, and had as a motto ‘Love conquers all.’ He loved people and planet: “We may say that the earth has a spirit of growth, and that its flesh is the soil, its bones are the successive strata of rock, its cartilage is the tufa, its blood the veins of its waters. The lake of the blood that lies around the heart is the ocean. Its breathing is by the increase and decrease of the blood in its pulses, and even so in the earth is the ebb and flow of the sea.” On love waiting to be released, from the lyrics of Amanda McBoom’s The Rose: I say love, it is a flower, And you its only seed. Just remember in the winter Far beneath the bitter snows Lies the seed that with the sun’s love In the spring becomes the rose. 93

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Corporate virtues development We stress that the da Vinci virtues should not be seen as a prescribed set of universal values to be applied across the board. We believe that they avoid many of the control bias of western and Euro-centric models as they are applied to operations, people and nature. They also embrace certain aspects of eastern, ancient and Afro-centric models for example, their approach to spirituality, the environment, community and personal transformation. The da Vinci virtues and attributes of human personality are examples of the transcendent possibilities of human corporate life. A new way of being; a radically new way of conducting business. They respect and value the creative and imaginative mastery of the human spirit, of deep inner needs. They require courage to implement. We have found in a corporate context that people readily engage with da Vinci’s life story and journey, and with the world of science and art that he brings to life. They become absorbed with the stories, his thinking, and with the images and the responses they evoke. They also effortlessly make the transition of his virtues to the application in their own work and social lives. And in the process other possible virtues are tabled and considered. This happens at the individual, team, departmental and organisational levels. In our corporate interactions we use a combination of story, metaphor elicitation, counselling, coaching, mentoring, gamification, reward mechanisms, training and a process for steering transition successfully in order to assist the transition of the da Vinci virtues to corporate life. The watchwords are participative identification and development of the virtues, and here we favour the Ubuntu approach. The interventions assist people to think outside of the box and re-calibrate their thinking, feeling and acting in their workplace to examine ways of finding significance and making a difference, to find possibilities of belonging and participating at a deeper level and to rewrite their business scripts. To move towards harmony and flow in their work and play community. With humility. A da Vinci proverb provides perspective: “if you had a body worthy of your virtue’he wrote, you would be too big for this world.” This is both a compliment, and especially for an artist set on making colossal figures a warning. In order to be of any practical and worldly use, virtue has to be housed in a body of normal size. A giant body, despite having immense power, would not necessarily be a precision instrument, nor indeed at the heart of things. Rather it would be lifted far above the throng, marginalised in splendid isolation. There would thus be less scope for the practice of public virtues.8 An apt reflection for businesses in the physical sense, and leaders in the metaphorical sense? The rest of this book looks at these da Vinci virtues and their development in detail.

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References 1. Gelb, Michael J Da Vinci Decoded:discovering the spiritual secrets of Leonardo’s seven principles Delacorte Press NY 2004 2. A Conversation with Michael Gelb, author of Da Vinci Decoded http://michaelgelb.com/ articles/a-conversation-with-michael-gelb-author-of-da-vinci-decoded/ 3. WikiHow http://www.wikihow.com/Think-Like-Leonardo-Da-Vinci 4. Moore, Thomas Original Self Perennial 2000) 5. Nicholl, Charles Leonardo da Vinci: the flights of the mind Allen Lane/Penguin 2004 6. Johnson, Robert A Owning Your Shadow HarperSanfrancisco 1991 7. Moore, Thomas Care of the Soul Piatkus 1992 8. Hall, James Michelangelo and the Reinvention of the Human Body Chatto & Windus London 2005

Illustrations Study of Flowers Accademia, Venice http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Flower_study_-_WGA12851.jpg St John the Baptist, Musée du Louvre, Paris http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:St_John_the_baptist_-_Leonardo_Da_Vinci.jpg Public Domain Allegory of Pleasure and Pain, c. 1480 Pencil Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andr36.jpg Public Domain Vitruvian Man, Study of Proportions, from Vitruvius’s De Architectura. The original drawing is owned by the Galleria dell’Accademia in Venezia (Venice), Italy. http:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci-_Vitruvian_Man.JPG (http:// www.italica.rai.it/principali/argomenti/arte/leonardo/proports.htm)

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Introduction to Section 3 It’s time to look at a case study, its intent, some surprise findings and realised outcomes, the process followed and the techniques employed. An approach to becoming virtuous which applies at the company, department and team levels. It can and has been done. The G-Wiz case study may be viewed as a market research of one. But the principles adopted are universal, and the lessons learned can be adapted and transplanted to organisations of all shapes and sizes if the leader is convicted of going this route. Our work with other organisations is less advanced and those case studies will be published in due course. We wanted to share our thoughts and experience as soon as possible given the challenges faced by businesses and the opportunity to make a difference.

Chapter 9 : A Case Study: Developing the G-Wiz Organisational and Individual Values and Virtues The organisation: themain character in the story G-Wiz (Gymnastics Wizards) is a Cape Town organisation that has for more than 15 years been serving communities, parents and children with the finest, scientifically researched gymnastics training and ways of developing stronger, fitter, smarter kids. They have served over 25,000 children at 25 schools. Every child receives individual attention to maximise their physical, emotional, social and cognitive development. Through their G-Wiz Business Academy, the organisation also offers training and coaching to gymnastic businesses around the world.

The organisational problem: the story so far Rapid growth has taken G-Wiz to the point where there was pressure to: • install professional systems, processes and procedures • maintain safety, customer service, teaching and induction protocols • spread responsibility and accountability, relieving the founder of an impossible workload The challenge was that these growth pains had to be alleviated without the organisation losing its vibrancy, quality coaching, cultural dynamics and the personal touch. G-Wiz was on the cusp of either decreasing quality of delivery, or a new life of on-going success. They were at a crossroad. What would be their future story?

The intervention and outcome they wanted: becoming values-driven Intuitively, the founder of G-Wiz, Tania Williams, knew that the move to new systems, processes and procedures was the relatively easy part of the change challenge. She was convinced that the only way to go – to retain and gain clients was to establish a truly values-driven organisation and to continue to deliver personal service, quality teaching, and continuous learning within a fun, family environment no matter what the pressures. The Halo and Noose was called in as facilitators of this change. The new adventure could begin.

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Constraints we needed to work with and obstacles to overcome on the journey Cost is always a factor, especially in times of economic slow-growth or no-growth. Although G-Wiz has been growing, their transition to a larger organisation has required substantial spend on new systems and processes, and on the training of not-yet-fully productive staff. Because of rapid growth and changes, they were also stretched in terms of having staff available to assist in the design and implementation of an organisational values-driven approach. Many organisations have a vision of what/who they’re going to be, and have or develop a set of values that determine how they behave and who/what they are. They see potential in values. But a library of stories exists where what is said is quite different from what is done. The values do not translate into a culture defined by the virtues exhibited; a major constraint to performance. There are things that can go wrong on this sort of journey. Often the trouble is that the chosen and stated values are predictable, boring, imposed and confusing. Managers and staff don’t really know the difference between ethics, values and virtues. Nor do they understand the link to intrinsic motivation and engagement. An organisation may go through a process of identifying, enunciating, and incorporating values into staff appraisals. What can go wrong is that:

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• The right organisational values that ensure engagement and motivation are missed • The appraisal mechanism becomes more about compliance than about voluntary, spontaneous engagement, self-control and due reward. Forced values do not become habits, norms or individually embodied character virtues which are desired state, far beyond mere organisational and individual alignment. • The more important process of inculcating the values to the extent that they are lived voluntarily and spontaneously (become virtues), especially in times of high stress, doesn’t happen. We found initially that certain individuals had a tendency to lapse into academic, intellectual left-brain debate about classical antiquity and religious values and virtues. They needed to see that the individual and collective values and virtues that they selected had to relate directly to what G-Wiz as an organisation was about. What they wanted to become for the benefit of their internal and client community. Note: As it turned out, their chosen virtues have their roots in the Leonardo da Vinci values of practicing love and being curious, and the Ubuntu value of creating group cohesion and harmony. Their four core values are undergirded by other da Vinci values such as cultivating awareness and taking responsibility. But this is the subject of other chapters.

The intervention design: planning the organisational values journey G-Wiz recognised that talented people wish to work in organisations where: • They identify with and experience the values and virtues cherished by and lived by the organisation. • The lived values and virtues are better than and different to those of alternative employers giving them an opportunity to engage fully. One can find historical, cross-cultural, religious, philosophical and psychological development of individual and group virtues, and strong clues to the ways in which authentic living may be achieved. We also delved into the latest findings and practices in business and into the nature of intrinsic motivation. We looked at the beginnings of the emergence of the virtuous organisation. We thought long and hard about how to design a process that was cost-effective, meaningful, smooth, engaging and would yield not only a set of organisational and individual values, but a strong drive to live them, and convert them to virtues. This is how the intervention proceeded:

What we did We kicked off with a two-day, off-site workshop for key players, senior managers and coaches. Using experiential and interactive methods, together we examined: • The existing state and phase that the organisation was in, and their desired state. This included facilitating an anecdote circle to elicit feelings and thinking. • The nature of people at work including personal visions, beliefs, values, virtues and motivation.

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INDIVIDUAL HAPPINESS “Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from our own actions”. Dalai Lama

“…the satisfying, exhilarating feeling of creative accomplishment and heightened functioning”. Czíkszentmihályi

THE NATURE OF MOTIVATION Extrinsic Rewards Money Possessions Status Power Praise Intrinsic Rewards Satisfying Provides social connection Is meaningful (larger than ourselves) Experience or hope of being successful

• What it means to be values/virtues-driven; identifying, prioritising and making the core values explicit. • What change journeys entail, and what participation will be required on the common road ahead. Here we noted Chris Jones’s sentiment “Flow opens the floodgates of possibility, so to speak. We can move around barriers, choose new channels to follow, and adjust to the environment as needed.” We used The River Set. This is a flexible tool, enabling work from a single card depicting a section of a river to continuums of cards with different continuums representing the complete river: past and future, real and imagined. The River Set is produced by Gali Salpeter an Israeli storyteller, drama and narrative therapist.1

Following this workshop the G-Wiz staff worked with us at identifying a set of core driving values that characterised their desired culture. For each chosen value, they generated a list of behaviour indicators; actions that indicate clearly when the value is being displayed.

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They avoided typical, boring values espoused by most private and public organisations which ought to be in place anyway if you like, a threshold values. They also confined themselves to just 4 core values. Inherent in these values, and the behaviour indicators relating to them, are, of course, other values. For example, their Team/Family Spirit value contains the sub-value of collaboration; belonging.

IN HER EN T IN COR E VALU E S

Mindful Compassionate Diligent

Mentee learning Curiosity

Wonder Creativity Innovation

Collaboration Ubuntu Uniqueness

T YPIC AL CORPOR ATE TH RE S HOL D VALU E S Service Accountability Reliability

Empowerment

Innovation

Teamwork Transparency Integrity Respect Justice

Appendix 1 is a statement of the values, or credo, or value-proposition produced by G-Wiz. Appendix 2 gives the behaviour indicators associated with their Make Their Day value. A few weeks after the first workshop we were in a position to run the second workshop on how to implement their values, and begin to convert them to virtues. During the time in-between workshops we searched for ways to combine performance, motivation, reward factors in a way that required minimum effort and cost, and yielded maximum

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impact. The solution? A game. This key way forward element was not compliancebased. Instead it relied on its ability to engage and invoke voluntary participation. The intention of the game was to create a climate where participants build behaviours into habits, and habits into character virtues; virtues that project what G-Wiz is all about. The game was designed to incorporate the intrinsic motivational elements of social connection, finding meaning in something bigger than oneself, having the experience or hope of success, and providing satisfaction. It consists of appreciation cards that are handed out by participants when they catch someone doing something right, and internal records of attendance, payments, class growth, indemnities, email and other endorsements received, as well as information from regular customer feedback surveys that were introduced.

How the game works A virtuoso (male) or virtuosa (female) is a person who is honoured for displaying dazzling skill, living the values fully and consistently. The word comes from the same Latin root as virtue, virtuous. The G-Wiz Virtuoso Performer Game rewards those who best display the G-Wiz values in action. In the GYM WIZARDS G-Wiz context, the award is A Vi r t u o so Per fo rma nce their version of recognition for excellence, achievement and heroic effort. Each participant gives and receives appreciation cards based on what they are seen to do in terms of living the values. Points are also allocated from various internal records. This giving and receiving is collaborative behaviour, and brings into play the principles of the well-known Johari Window3:

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x

To :

Fro m :

Kenny

Janis

Date :

Tues 18 June ‘13

I noticed how you took time to talk to Mrs Smith about Jimmy’s weight problem, gave her some good advice, put her mind at rest and made her feel much better!

Chapter 9 : Case Study: Developing the G-Wiz Organisational and Individual Values and Virtues

On games History Games have been around for ages. Herodotus (The Histories) tells how the Lydians, during a time of great scarcity and famine, occupied the people for 18 years with game play. They invented the ball, knucklebones and dice. (The casting of lots by Roman soldiers for Christ’s garments is preceded by many mentions in the Old Testament. Lots may have been sticks of various lengths, flat stones, coins or dice). Chess was played in 5th century India Card games first appeared in 9th century China and Snakes & Ladders in 16th century India. Forms of soccer began in the 2nd century BC, tennis in the 12th, cricket in the 9th, and rugby in the 19th century. Evolution In more recent times board games like the American game, Monopoly, the ultimate capitalist game, Cluedo and An Evening of Murder (detective), and electronic games for computers, TV, video arcades have made their appearance. Pilot training and flight simulation of reality, business games (I recall attending a 6-week course in The Hague in the early 1980’s, where the participants had to master both the upstream and downstream activities of petroleum companies, and compete to see who could make the highest profit. This was before the triple-bottom-line became popular, but they probably still play it!) By the age of 21 the average young American has spent somewhere between 2 and 3000 hours reading books – and more than 10,000 hours playing computer and video games. This ratio of formal to informal education is set to continue growing quickly. Gamification has made some impressive contributions in fields such as education and training, the environment, medicine, the military and business. Dynamics Games have in common some rules; a goal ie: a problem to solve or a level to achieve, a forward looking sense of purpose, instant feedback on how you’re doing and voluntary participation. During the game players may become totally focused, feel fully alive (energetic, enthusiastic, empowered or in the zone). They are self-directed, able to fail safely or achieve partial success, learn and try again. “Gameplay is the direct emotional opposite of depression.”2 A desired state. Most modern, electronic game play is based on intrinsic motivation.

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REVEALING & RECEIVING Johari’s Window

unknown to others

known to others

known to self

open

unknown to self

ASK

blind

TELL

hidden

unknown

Contestants strive to become virtuoso performers by reaching the highest level on each of the values during a certain time period. Mystery gifts are awarded as participants reach each level on each value.

GYM WIZARDS

G a me Poin t s

VIRTUOSO 500 (level 3) Getting there 300 (level 2) A way to go 150 (level 1)

Big points are awarded for certain activities critical to G-Wiz performance, for example:

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Recruiting a new coach [who actually gets hired] 20 90% of fees paid by third week of term 15 Helping a peer improve their performance [outside regular class time] 15 80% retention term to term10 Class numbers grow over the term by 10%10 Gets 75% of their kids to compete in G-Wiz competitions8

GYM WIZARDS

S p re a d s h e ets MONTH April ‘12

Kenny

20

5

100

30

Anne

70

80

35

20

Thabiso

70

25

40

10

Karin

25

25

20

30

July ‘12

20

5

100

30

Aug ‘12

70

35

80

20

Sep ‘12

40

25

40

90

Total

130

65

220

140

EMPLOYEE

Kenny

When the required virtuoso level is reached, ie:, that is the top level on all values, the participant is awarded a leather jacket that can be worn with pride, or an alternative gift of their choice that also carries the G-Wiz virtuoso performer logo. They have ‘bragging rights.’ 105

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The game is not based on compliance, and emphasises encouragement and reward. Like playing snakes and ladders, but without the snakes. It is a behaviour modification mechanism. At the second organisational values workshop again experiential and interactive, we covered • The G-Wiz Virtuoso Game motivational elements, rules and how it works. • JoHari Window principles (using the award-winning Canadian Know Me game). • Maintaining the virtues under stress conditions and utilising techniques for selfstress management. • Further developing scoring spread-sheets and mechanisms, cascading the game to all, entrenching the values so that they become virtues, and projecting the most favourable brand message, that is, making the values visible to the public. There was no resistance to the proposal. Instead, the enthusiasm and commitment was overwhelming. (“Let’s make it happen” was the sentiment).

What has happened? Arriving at a new place. The end and beginning of the journey Our intervention process mirrored the new G-Wiz organisational values/virtues of: • • • •

making their day building the family spirit new learning fun.

The Virtuoso Performer game provided the means to move from values to virtues, and has proved to be an elegant solution to this challenge. There is a new dynamic in the organisation. G-Wiz has become virtues–driven and behaviour-based. Although mainly collaborative, there is a competitive aspect in the main, individuals competing against themselves to improve their own best practice. They now have a total quality system that works, unity of purpose and shared responsibility; essential elements at this stage of their organisational life. The leader now has space to nurture new leaders within the organisation and manage her talent. No longer does she have to stand in as a coach, for example. She says: “Contingent on a set of values, I now lead with those foremost in mind. The operation has become selfregulating/peer driven.” As the values have become virtues, so has the organisations culture become clearly defined. The 4 core values have become a statement of ‘how we do things around here.’ They have also come to be a value proposition for customers. Stories, endorsements and testimonies started flowing in. A coach helped a parent involved in a road accident, took charge and sorted everything out and then travelled 40 kms to deliver the child’s school bag, which had been left in the vehicle, so that next day’s schooling would go smoothly. Innovations to processes and supporting technologies are happening. New software to generate attendance records and invoices – fed by Excel time-sheets, have been installed. A forthcoming web portal for parents is being developed, as is a profit-

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sharing scheme. A request by one school to supply a gym achievement badge to be worn on school blazers, is being implemented. An internal salsa dance programme has been organised as a family-building programme and a bookkeeper has embarked on an advanced accounting course. Writing of blog contributions by staff has happened spontaneously. Performances against the values are readily highlighted by the behaviour indicators, and staff are volunteering their own perceived weaknesses. Training to support the values and provide solutions to identified skill-shortages, including giving powerful presentations on how to innovate, time and energy management, assertive communication, business writing, story capturing and telling and aspects of leadership has been commissioned. G-Wiz goes from strength to strength. They grew by 53% year-on-year 2012 to 2013. Exceptions have been: a coach from a previously communist country with a resistance to self-reporting of her own achievements which might perhaps be a result of cultural upbringing; another staff member who is in the wrong head space while facing an impending divorce and battling with severe financial pressures, is not ready to participate fully. These needs are being addressed on an individual basis. The leader is getting to know each team member at a deeper level, and spends freed-up time on mentoring and counselling, encouraging those who lag behind in earning gamepoints.

End-thoughts People respond to a leadership that provides nurture and meaning. Meaning comes from: • satisfaction in and at work • the hope and experience of success • a strong social connection to those who share beliefs and values, and a sense of belonging • being part of something bigger than themselves, gaining a larger perspective of self, through learning and exploration. These are key intrinsic motivational elements. They mirror some of the elements of sacred psychology, a process quickened by sacred practices, laughter and mindfulness; a process involving the whole person –physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. Margaret Wheatley: “I became aware of the call of meaning in our organisational lives when I worked with a number of incoherent companies that had been tipped into chaos by reorganisations or leveraged buyouts. They had lost any purpose beyond the basic struggle to survive. Yet under these circumstances, I saw some employees who continued to work hard and contribute to the organisation even when the organisation could offer them nothing, not even the promise of a job in future. Most employees had, more predictably, checked out psychologically, just putting in their time, waiting for the inevitable. But others stayed creative and focused on creating new services, even with the great uncertainty of the future. This puzzled me greatly.

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I assumed at first they were simply denying reality. But when I talked to these employees, it became evident that something else much more important was going on. They were staying creative, making sense out of non-sense, because they had taken time to create a meaning for their work, one that transcended present organisational circumstances. They wanted to hold onto motivation and direction in the midst of turbulence, and the only way they could do this was by investing the current situation with meaning. Frankl, in Man’s Search for Meaning, points out very clearly that meaning saved lives in the concentration camps of Germany.”4 True leaders let go of a reliance on hierarchy, control, rules and forced compliance mechanisms. Instead they provide direction and are clear about how to get there. This how is well-served by being values-based, and by setting in place mechanisms to assist in converting the values to character virtues; by role-modelling the virtues. Virtues that become the glue that holds the organisation together through thick and thin. Strong trust emerges, which prevents disconnect. The means to the end have changed and the end becomes more certain. If these values and virtues are shared, dearly held, rolemodelled and become character virtues embedded in the culture, then leaders can, to a large extent, move away from sweating the other stuff. Their leadership power is moved away from being authority-based, and their influence, emotional connection to their staff and motivational power increases. Virtues or transcendent states can be found not only in individuals, but also in families, and can be developed in communities and organisations. In organizations they could possibly manifest as a zeitgeist, a motivating spirit or climate in which business is transacted. Their indicators might include the tolerance for difference, display of love, generosity of spirit and the level of respectful and humorous exchange in conversation, and a capacity to do serious work in a light and unstressed way. The social Ubuntu concept of I am because we are; we are because I am, an example of where individual and organisational virtues intersect comes into play. Has G-Wizz become a virtuous organisation? By focusing on a few critical core values and introducing mechanisms to facilitate their transition from values to virtues, they are well on the way. The end may still be a way off, but a solid beginning has been made, and the quest is laudable. Anyone can arrive at a set of values, even criminal gangs have them. The trick is to: • • • •

arrive at the right values in the right way attach to them simple behaviour indicators that can be behaved by all reward people for living them provide an environment in which people can support each other as these values become imbedded as character virtues • nurture the transition journey. Two important principles underlying the G-Wiz values to virtues transition are:5 1. Organisations change when their members change. Socio-emotional issues should be properly addressed together with the technical issues. Leader and follower attitudes and behaviours together determine successful outcomes.

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INDIVIDUAL GROWTH Open & understanding Participating fully Correcting weaknesses Exploring ‘motivational fit

ORGANISATION JOURNEY Attitude / behaviour responses to share and align vision Values Virtuous behaviours Objectives

Bold consistent communication Exhibit new behaviours, address pathologies Create learning organisation, develop people

change challenge personal response

response to change imperative

coping behaviours, goal setting

evaluate capability versus challenge

relating, conflict-handling styles

process-question approach to vision, endings, chaos, new beinnings

realisation of personal work vision

realisation of personal work vision

2. Open, transparent, clear and frequent two-way communication throughout the transition process is essential. This applies also to external customer, stakeholder and supplier communications. The journey becomes participative, not imposed and therefore a collective process:

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MEMBER’S PARTICIPATION Open, clear presenting of views, feelings Avoid indirect ineffective relay of messages, responses Initiate dialogue rather than expressions of complaint

ORGANISATION JOURNEY Attitude / behaviour responses to achieve ongoing, constructive, synergistic debate

prepare to hear beyond palatable, acceptable ready to risk open, honest feedback

Continuous, open messages with behaviours to match Accept, encourage informal channels Clear, full expression of all realities

decide goals: inform, educate, facilitate, promote dialogue establish feedback channels for open, safe talk

willing to initiate dialogue, use process questioning

optimum media mix-content, style level

full participation without resistance

“open-door” responsibility

References 1. Salpeter, Gali. The River Guide Book. www.storyandtherapy.com 2011 2. McGonigal, Jane. Reality is Broken. Jonathan Cape London 2011 3. Luft, Joseph Group Processes: An Introduction to Group Dynamics. Third Edition. Copyright © 1984 by Joseph Luft. Reprinted with permission from Mayfield Publishing Company. 4. Wheatley, Margaret J. Leadership and the New Science. Berrett-koehler Publishers Inc. 1994 5. Williams, Graham. Revelling in Transition Centre-ing Services, Cape Town 1997 6. G-Wiz web site: http://www.gymwizards.co.za 7. G-Wiz Business Academy web site: http://g-wizbusinessacademy.com

Illustration Pony Express Illustration by Tony Grogan

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Appendix 1 : Gym Wizards: Our Organisational Values Join the Gym Wizards family on a journey filled with laughter, loads of fun and a rich learning environment.  As a team filled with diversity we are aware that you are all unique, and will take care in acknowledging the whole person.  We Pride ourselves in being there for you and in serving from the heart. 1. Make Their Day – I will aim to make someone’s day every day- whether it is a customer, parent, school teacher or fellow staff member. I know that taking time to talk and listen to customers before and after class, teaching enthusiastically, boosting children’s self- esteem and preparing for my lessons will help me make my customer’s day! I know that being mindful of where my customer’s and fellow staff members are at, will help me to remember important events, celebrate successes and know when to be compassionate or say a kind word of support during challenging times. This will make their day. 2. Keep Learning – I will be willing to learn from my mistakes.  I will always be striving to learn, grow, and master so that I can help my fellow staff members and customers learn, grow and master as well.  I will look for educational opportunities to improve myself at every turn and will attend workshops for improvement. I will use the Gym Wizards library of resources and attend and observe my peers’ lessons to learn from them. I will never forget that I can always learn from the children. 3. Develop a Positive Team and Family Spirit – I am willing to do whatever it takes to stay together and achieve team goals.  I will focus on cooperation and always come to a resolution. I am flexible in my work and willing to change if what I am doing is not working. I will ask for help when I need it and be compassionate to others who ask me. I will take care to put the welbeing of the whole person first and I will show empathy and support during tough times. I will know my responsibilities and how important it is to stick to them, as we are all interdependent and rely on each other. I know my role within the greater G-Wiz Team. I will spend time outside of work to get to know and befriend my fellow team mates. I will remember important days and show condolences or celebrations/ congratulations. I will help staff and gymnasts feel that this is their second home. 4. Create Fun – I will view life as a journey to be enjoyed and appreciated.  By having a sense of wonder, I will help to create an atmosphere of fun and happiness so that all those around me enjoy it as well. I will treat serious matters appropriately and lightly. Through a fun culture, I will help students put failures into perspective. I will look forward to and enjoy being in work and at work.

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Appendix 2 : Behaviour Indicators Related to the Organisational Value: Make their day – Making your day makes our day The behaviour indicators • Talks to parents before and after class, meet and greet, gives feedback and info. • Takes time to talk and listens carefully to staff, kids and parents. • Is aware of where the child is at and mindful of their physical, social, emotional and intellectual state • Adjusts lesson according to individual children – does not teach as a group. • Maintains firm but kind and fair discipline. • Uses fun games to start, fun new warm ups and fun ending activities • Teaches enthusiastically and energetically. • Gives great demonstrations and teaching. • Reinforces and builds confidence, positive reinforcement uses positive feedback sandwich when teaching. • Is vigilant about safety. • Always uses three stations on the way back. • Uses all the equipment available to them. • Clearly defines the objective of the lesson to the kids at the start of lesson. • Knows that the star skill report is a gift to each child and parent accuracy. • Has a friendly attitude. • Acknowledges good things done by kids–verbally/cards/notes/high fives/show move. • Knows children’s names. • Knows the procedures and policies – [makeup, payment, cancellation, registration]– so able to be flexible to a certain extent [customer satisfaction]. • Finds solutions – takes initiative [makes Tania’s day!]. • Birthday cards given to kids. • Takes pictures and videos for Facebook/website. • Gives gifts to school staff that help G-Wiz [e.g secretary, caretaker]. Extra Game Points are obtained for • An endorsement/testimony by a parent – email, note or verbal. Outcomes when these Make Their Day behaviours are always fully displayed by all: • Increased customer retention. • Continuous marketing through word of mouth. • Motivated and dedicated gymnasts & parents.

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EXERCISE 5 : Using anecdote circles to find out what shape your business is in Since we first gazed at the sun and moon, man has imputed meaning to circles. Inner circles and the family circle, punk imagery, the Buddhist wheel of life, eternity rings, the Celtic cross, the Taoist yin-yang, a Hindu mandala, prayer circles, halos and nooses. In circles we see infinity, cycles, a container, the eternal, unity. And over the ages we have gathered in circles to make sense of life: Knights of the Round Table, Shaka Zulu and talking about battles around a fire, the early French salons, café table conversations. Anecdote Circles, pioneered and developed by Cognitive Edge Pte Ltd, are arguably the best means for businesses to unearth experiences, memories, feelings, personal stories and values around a common theme, a concern to the organisation, a challenge, or an issue. They trump traditional interviews and surveys, allowing access to root causes, and making sense of complex situations. An excellent book on the subject is The Ultimate Guide to Anecdote Circles by Anecdote.1 Here you will find much of what you need to know about selecting and inviting participants, crafting the questions, managing the physical space and equipment, breaking the ice, facilitating the process, debriefing and actioning. Use anecdote circles to find out where your people are at in terms of your attractiveness to staff and clients, congruency of stated and perceived values and virtues and success at embracing a people-planet-profit approach. You may wish to employ questions along these lines to explore a virtues theme: 1. “Think about and tell of an incident in your time with us when you have felt proud or disillusioned.” 2. “What metaphor would you use to describe how our company/division/department lives the organisation’s values?” Staff of clients we have worked with have come up with: chameleon – because we change to suit the circumstances and never hold true to one thing; the Titanic – because it’s always business as usual here even though there are lots of warning signs; prison – our hands are tied by rules, regulations, policies and we’re just numbers not people; orchestra – we make good music together with everyone knowing just how they fit in; we’re living in Plato’s Cave, out of touch with the real world out there; silos between our departments work against us: we should learn about mutually beneficial partnerships from clown fish who are protected by the poisonous sea anemone and in turn bring and attract food to the sea anemone. They are continuously and fruitfully engaged with each other. We’re a dying tree. If we thought of ourselves as a tree needing to be continuously watered and cared for in order to grow, we’d produce much more good fruit. 3. “If you were the CEO what would be the 3 top virtues you’d like us to adopt, and what led you to your choice?”

Reference 1. http://www.scribd.com/doc/8946645/Ultimate-Guide-to-anecdote-circles

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Introduction to Section 4 Integral to the G-Wiz intervention were techniques aimed at positively reinforcing new, positive behaviours. There was no real need for any major habit-reversal, although this is not always the case. We have all formed more habits than we are aware of. At the individual level they may be procrastination, overspending, communication-style or tactics applied at meetings. At the organisation level they may be how we make joint decisions internal communication preferences. In an organisation I worked for many simply could not address a meeting without having the security of their PowerPoint slides, and various aspects of ‘this is how we do things around here.’ The more ingrained these habitual behaviours are, the harder they are to change. The danger is that they happen subconsciously, become mindless, routine, automatic, repetitive and conditioned responses. The good news is that new, virtuous behaviours can be developed and internalised at the personal and organisational levels. In the following sections we look at each da Vinci virtue (an internalised way of living and behaving) and its potential application at individual and organisational levels. It’s a truism that organisations don’t change unless individual members change. We move now into the first da Vinci virtue for organisations and their members to reflect upon: Mindfulness. Mindfulness is at the heart of pioneering work in the area of engaging the future by being grounded in the present, and informs the work of business and management thought-leaders like Senge, Jawolski and others. Mindfulness for leaders and staff members has become recognised as a key skill, a trait, a state for the future. In this section we provide a model to develop the competence and habit of deeper mindfulness that is clear and practical. We suggest ways of overcoming constraints to its practice, and ways to augment deeper mindfulness, embodied cognition, right brain and left brain teamwork through lifestyle, meditation, labyrinth walking and spotting and addressing blind-spots. We show the shifts that take place when it is brought to bear, how improved performance results and how virtuous circles are established. Mindfulness, observation and awareness are the start-points for most major endeavours, changes, improvements, behaviour modifications and habit formations. Our focused thinking, reflecting, repetitive behaviour is one means to develop new neurological pathways and establish virtues. Mindful awareness needs to be cultivated. Also, our social media driven world can be addictive. It requires a response in the form of a pausing, a listening, a quietening, an interior accessing. Most importantly it requires a taking notice of all the obvious and less obvious between the lines signals in the immediate environment. The intention of this section is to go beyond simply accessing the present moment during meditation, although there is much value in this. The intention is to go deeper by showing how consistently disciplined and objective observation, identification and working with sensations, feelings, thoughts and drives enables us to discern ways of positively steering our thinking, speaking, behaving and being; ways of grounding and sustaining positive attitudes, beliefs and virtues. Cultivating awareness is often the first step to developing other virtues such as taking responsibility, innovation, engaging the shadow and practicing compassion and love.

Chapter 10 : An Introduction to Deeper Mindfulness for Better Work Performance Context The world of business is increasingly becoming a world of busyness. Frenetic activity, the constant chasing of deadlines and more and more challenges from more and more sources, for many it’s what the Red Queen told Alice: “It takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place. If you want to get somewhere else, you must run at least twice as fast as that!” Scientists are showing that when our brains are occupied with digital interactions, for example cell phones, we prevent natural memory and learning from functioning. Umair Haque suggests that we need to make time to break away from ‘doing’ and to reflect more. He observes that “the most…….breakthroughs, that re-imagine, reinvent, and re-conceive a product, a company, a market, an industry, or perhaps even an entire economy rarely come from ……..busier and busier work. Rather, in the outperformers that I’ve spent time with and studied, breakthroughs demand systematic, structured periods for reflection — to ruminate on, synthesize, and integrate fragments of questions, answers, and thoughts about what’s not good enough, what’s just plain awful, and how it could be made radically better”1.

Trouble is, too few know how to practice, let alone introduce a culture of reflection. But as modern neuroscience and the ancient art of mindfulness continue to merge and be adopted by business, it is becoming clear that mindfulness is closely related to reflection 115

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and carries much benefit for business. Indeed, the introduction of mindfulness practice leads smoothly to a culture of reflection. This article offers a start-point to the development of personal mindfulness.

Mindfulness In one of their offices in Johannesburg, Deliotte have created a Zen Zone room. Green bamboo wallpaper creates a sense of being surrounded by the forest. The minimalist room with black frames and off-white shaded lighting and arrangements of stones encourages stepping out of business into silence so that you can step back with solutions. Mindfulness can be described as “... the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.’2 This quote is from Jon Kabat-Zinn who has pioneered the use of mindfulness in the medical world. His research shows that mindfulness has positive effects on the immune system, cell health and our biology, and lights up the narrative network in our prefrontal lobes. Dr Daniel Siegel, expert on Mindsight and Interpersonal Neurobiology, describes mindfulness as “the practice of attending to the richness of our current experiences; having a focused presence.”3 There has been a recent plea to introduce the concept of scientific mindfulness to international business research: “The road ahead: scientific mindfulness. Because of the complexity and magnitude of international business questions, researchers must engage in scientific mindfulness to generate relevant ideas, themes and responses. This means taking a thoughtful approach that is holistic, contextual and cross-disciplinary; it is an approach that transcends the boundaries of traditional disciplines and features depth and breadth of idea generation.”4 Some of the leading advocates have been Peter Senge of The Learning Organisation fame, Joseph Jaworski known for his work on inner dimensions of leadership, synchronicity, and Otto Scharmer originator of Theory U: becoming aware in new ways, letting go and letting come, co-creating the emerging future by prototyping .5 Practicing mindfulness allows us to be present and in touch with ourselves, develop a real sense of belonging and improve our alertness in all that we do, all the time; better performance through a better way of working.

Being present For every present moment, whether we are in nature, having an important conversation, thinking, doing an activity, hearing our inner voice or conducting business, the quality of our reactions, responses, contributions and living can be enhanced through being more aware, more mindful. Some synonyms for mindful are: watchful, aware, heedful, alert and attentive. Use whichever word works best for you. A tenet of the Jewish religion is that every single moment is filled with God and thus sufficient just as it is. Thus every breath is a prayer. As is every heartbeat, every taste, every movement, every sound, and every laugh. A young girl approaches her father and asks, “Is it true that when we are asleep, we can wake up?”

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Her father assures her, “Of course it is true.” “Then,” says the girl, “it must also be true that when we are awake we can wake up more.” The new psychological field of MBCT (mindfulness-based cognitive therapy) draws on ancient Buddhist practice to be present, and pay attention non-judgmentally to one’s thoughts in order to move from mindless, ‘programmed’ reaction to mindful responsiveness.

Overcoming constraints to mindfulness Oftentimes deeper mindfulness eludes us because we are too caught up by the strangling noose of past baggage, busyness or future concerns. An educated man sought the simplicity of Zen awareness. He visited a Master for help. The Master poured his visitor’s cup full, and then kept on pouring. The man watched aghast as the Master kept on pouring and the tea continued to overflow onto the table, off the table onto the floor. And the pouring continued. At last the exasperated visitor cried out “Stop. No more! The cup cannot hold any more.” “Just like this cup” said the Master “You are so full of your own worries and analyses, that you cannot achieve awareness. First you must empty your cup.”

Deeper mindfulness of the basics Each of the 9 Ms covered by our personal mindfulness model and checklist, which appears at the end of this section (Exercise 6), can, with practice, be taken below the surface to deeper levels. Think of an iceberg.

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ICEBERG MODEL II

MEALS Good nutrition feeds body and mind

‘gobble and go’

prepare and eat at leisure with friends, family fully contemplating and appreciating habitual awareness

Fast food

Slow Quiet Mystical

• FAST: the gobble-and-go Big Mac style meals taken on the run: Mindless • SLOW: taking time during the preparation and eating of pleasurable, companionable sharing, French or Italian style. Good, healthy nutrition tastefully served feeds the body and the mind. Actually our traditional braais (barbecues) can sometimes fit this category • QUIET: before, during and after a meal we drink water, contemplate the food source, the miracle of growth, labourers in far flung fields, the miracle of modern day transport, sensory pleasures of colour, smell, taste (sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami), texture, temperature and even sound (hearing food sizzling on the grill or being crunched or sucked while eating). We marvel at the body’s design and digestive processes and are aware of the privilege of eating as well as we do • MYSTICAL: an even deeper, habitual awareness of the goodness and rightness of eating and drinking well. Engaging all of our senses and infusing every single present moment with importance, beauty, harmony, calm and simplicity. Like a Japanese tea ceremony. A reminder of the interconnectedness of all things. Serious wine-tasters can show us the way. When tasting they contemplate the history, geography and culture of the grape, use sight to assess viscosity, colour and purity, as well as smell, touch, taste, and even the sound of wine being poured. Doing a simple thing, they live in the present moment. Here’s a way to reach a deeper level of mindful eating: Close your eyes to cut out external visual input and raise your ability to imagine creatively. Breath deeply through your nose. This raises your level of conscious awareness, induces calm and serenity. Listening attentively to the fading sound of a ringing Tibetan bell will also enhance your awareness of the present moment. Imagine the taste and texture of the food you’re about to eat. When you open your eyes you can focus on the food in front of you. You will experience increased pleasure when now eating the food mindfully.

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Another example: ICEBERG MODELIII

MEDITATION Living in the present moment by detaching the mind from the past or the future

somewhat robotic, even socially unintelligent, not in touch

Unaware

body and senses, walking, sitting, eating, thinking, feelings

Mindful of Self

non-judgemental, forgiving heart, compassion, loving-kindness to others Mindful of other, place, space true appreciation of the processes of living, a habitual awareness, being open to intuition, synchronicity

Mystical Mediation

Take breathing meditation. Eyes closed preferably if alone, because this aids the shift to an expanded level of consciousness in the present moment. It’s a bit like entering into day-dreaming. If we’re talking to someone, controlled, deep breathing impacts on our voice quality and on our emotional state. It helps to induce calm within when we are nervous, for example just prior to launching into a speech or presentation, or when we become upset during a conversation. “All I need is the air that I breath .....” (The Hollies) Prana, the Sanskrit word for breath, also means life. From birth to death we breathe. When aroused, scared, in panic, anxious or ill, then our pattern, depth and pace of breathing changes. A basic meditation is to connect with the breath after becoming comfortable and bringing our awareness into the present moment. As we focus on our breathing, we notice the movement in our chest and the diaphragm stimulating stomach, liver and pancreas, the contracting and relaxing of our abdominal muscles, the passage of air as we inhale (oxygenating the blood) and exhale (expelling carbon dioxide and impurities – we may notice that our outgoing breath is warmer). The practice tones up respiration and circulation, renews body tissues, calms us. We become in touch with an aspect of our inner beauty. We can use it to connect to others. A Buddhist meditation, tonglen, for example, is an active imaginative exercise in which you breathe in another’s suffering and then breathe out loving-kindness.

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Breathe and you know that you are alive. Breathe and you know that all is helping you. Breathe and you know that you are the world. Breathe and you know that the flower is breathing too. Breathe for yourself and you breathe for the world. Breathe in compassion and breathe out joy. Breathe and be one with the air that you breathe. Breathe and be one with the river that flows. Breathe and be one with the earth that you tread. Breathe and be one with the fire that glows. Breathe and you break the thought of birth and death. Breathe and you see that impermanence is life. Breathe for your joy to be steady and calm. Breathe for your sorrow to flow away. Breathe to renew every cell in your blood. Breathe to renew the depths of consciousness. Breathe and you dwell in the here and now. Breathe and all you touch is new and real. 6 So too can we use other forms of meditation: sitting, witnessing our thoughts, sensing our feelings, doing self-guided active-imagination meditations, even walking. We can walk busily to get from A to B, or mindfully begin to sense the pressure on our feet, the movement of our limbs, distribution of body weight, ponder the mechanics of the body and be aware of what we encounter on our walk. Respond to calming visual stimuli. At a deeper level we can walk with an appreciation of the needs of the environment and others who may cross our path. And at an even deeper level of consciousness we have a sense that we “Kiss the earth with your feet…” (Tich Nhat Hanh). It is a good discipline to set aside time each day for meditation, and at a deeper level the practice becomes embodied in all that we do. Some distinguish between formal and informal meditation – a distinction that analyses, categorises, gives control but doesn’t add much value, and implies that the formal can never be transcended. We can use the formal to build up conditioned responses so that we can call up the required state as and when necessary. Meditating on a thought, an idea, an issue or a challenge in a calm, focused, nonjudgmental manner, allowing different perspectives to emerge is in fact what reflection is all about. As people deepen their practice, a measured, more effective response other than mere busyness sets in. The levels of being that we speak of are about becoming, rather than doing/achieving; about developing more mindful mindfulness. “When we get lost in our stories, we lose touch with our actual experience.”7 The Dalai Lama points out that the Tibetan term for meditation – gom – means “to become familiar with” a particular practice, for example feeling compassion, using the head (analysis and contemplation) followed by single-pointed meditation in order to absorb, internalise and inculcate that which is now believed (heart), then practise and reinforce it consistently (hands).8 The process involves preparation of the place (quiet, peaceful, perhaps the lighting of candles), posture (relaxed, comfortable) and focus in order to enter into the stable, alert meditative state where a calm abiding happens, leading towards an insight on the path to attaining the object/virtue/practice.

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In similar vein, Henri Nouwen records what he “gradually learned to see” after gazing for many weeks at a Rublev icon. He talks about icons being “A holy place to enter and stay within.” a place of healing as the gaze becomes a prayer.9

Benefits of mindfulness to business Emerging research is showing that mindfulness has numerous and wide-ranging benefits for the working person, and for organisations. We believe that this is especially relevant in an age of social media and cell phone distractions. Mindfulness practice improves creativity and productivity, results in less stress and in better interactions between people in the workplace. The important diagram below illustrates that as we bring mindfulness to bear (objects), subtle yet definite shifts take place. There is movement from focus to awareness and personal change resulting in workplace effectiveness improvement, higher motivation and better performance, and the trigger of a virtuous circle of ongoing improvement:

SCOPE OF MINDFULNESS Typically these results lead to a virtuous cycle of higher motivation, performance and continual improvement Objects

Shifts

Improved Results

Everything Thoughts Sensations Feelings Other people Problems Environment

Areas of brain activity Awareness level Degree of focus Acceptance Empathy Curiosity Flexibility Openness Perceptions State of being

Productivity Creativity Client service Relationships Health Decreased stress EQ and SQ Pride in achievement

The practice is especially useful when preparing for organisational transitions, as regular mindfulness practice leads to the development of a hardy, robust personality10, better able to cope with the stress of change–some attributes being empathy, adaptability, positivity, higher self-esteem, assertiveness and an inner locus of control.

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References 1. Haque, Umair Making Room for Reflection is a Strategic Imperative http://blogs.hbr. org/2010/11/reflection_items_not_action_it.html 2. Kabat-Zinn, Jon Full Catastrophe Living Piatkus 2003 3. Odyssey Magazine Mindfulness in Relationship http://www.odysseymagazine.co.za/index. php/articles/34-general/654-mindfulness-in-relationship.html mindfulness in relationship September 2013 4. Jonsen, Karsten & Maznevski, Martha What’s the Future for International Business Research: introducing the concept of scientific mindfulness 2010/09/15 http://imd.ch/research/ challenges/TC063-10.cfm?MRK_CMPG_SOURCE=webletter-sep-10 5. Scharmer, Otto Theory U: leading from the future as it emerges Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc San Francisco 2009 6. Reprinted from Breathe! You Are Alive: Sutra on the Full Awareness of Breathing (1988, 2008) by Thich Nhat Hanh with permission of Parallax Press, Berkeley, California, www. parallax.org 7. Brach, Tara Radical Acceptance Bantam Books, 2003 8. His Holiness the Dalai Lama The Good Heart Ed Robert Kiely, Rider 1996 9. Nouwen, Henri Behold the Beauty of the Lord: praying with icons Ava Maria Press 1987 10. Zimbler, Alan, and Associates Course Notes Johannesburg 1992

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Chapter 11 : The Story of Amazing Labyrinths “Ask not what the image means, ask what it wants” (James Hillman, Jungian analyst)

Labyrinth at the Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, Natal: http://www.brcixopo.co.za

A labyrinth is not a maze Labyrinths and mazes are different. A maze is a puzzle to be solved. It has twists, turns, dead ends. We might find ourselves stuck in a corner, unsure of which way to go and feeling insecure and hemmed in; a left brain task that requires us to use our intellect to find the right path into and out of the maze. It can be fun. It can be scary. A labyrinth has only one path. The way in is also the way out. There are no traps and tricks. It is impossible to get lost. There is safety. Certainty. Flow. You journey inward to the centre, then out again. A right brain task requiring you to enter with calmness, expecting an enlightening experience. A maze is about full stops. A labyrinth is about commas. “And for those who think of putting a period to life, I try to sell a comma.” “A comma?” asked Julio. “Yes, a comma. One small comma, so they can continue to write their story.” 1 Daniel Pink, citing episcopal priest Lauren Artress: “We live in such a left brain world… and here’s this whole other world that we must integrate in order to meet the challenges of the next century.” When people walk into a labyrinth they “shift consciousness from the linear to the non-linear” and bring to the surface “the deep, intuitive, pattern part of ourselves.” 2 The purpose is the journey itself. Labyrinths are a bit like Celtic circles, mandalas, Tibetan tankas, Holy circles; a reminder of the wholeness of life. The Sanskrit word for mandala is a combination of circle, container, essence. Labyrinths first appeared in pre-historic times, over 4000 years ago. although the Gobleke Tepe, recently discovered in South East Turkey, is a huge construction that covers 25 acres, and consists of more than 20 stone circles in a labyrinthine design. It was built 11, 000 years ago–that’s about 6000 years before we began writing. They have been found to be present in ancient Greece, Native American culture, medieval Europe, 5th century Egypt, 10th century Sweden, and 18th century Nepal. They are being increasingly established at churches, old age homes, hospices, retreat centres and even schools. Why not business organisations?

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Apparently Carl Jung drew a mandala every morning to maintain a sense of balance and proportion.

Why labyrinths? At one level, walking a labyrinth is useful when you have a problem to solve or a concept to formulate. Studies of what is known as embodied cognition show that physical and mental energy and activity are highly connected. Physical movement strengthens our brain’s executive functions. According to University of Illinois psychology professor Alejandro Lleras, “body motion can affect higher order thought, the complex thinking needed to solve complicated problems…” 3 Walking increases blood circulation and the oxygen and glucose that reach your brain. The soles of one’s feet make of walking an acupressure session that stimulates the brain. Also, while walking a labyrinth we are exposed to what our five physical senses encounter along the pathways, unconsciously responding to visual-spatial metaphors that help us to frame things and solve problems. At another level they are therapeutic. Labyrinths combine the imagery of circles and spirals. They form a clear path. A safe, sacred space. A metaphor for engaging with our own journey, becoming centred, and then moving out slowly but surely into the world. They are an ancient assist to relaxation, reflection and mindful meditation. Calming and comforting, bringing clarity. Getting through the journey involves the laborious and repetitive task of one foot ahead of the other one at a time? You are walking in a northerly, then easterly and then southerly and then westerly direction –at each turn looking at a different outlook and view and noticing different sounds and perspectives. Maybe flowers that release their perfume as you brush against them, the sound made by your own footsteps, an awareness of your own breathing as you go into a contemplative state. Walking among the turnings, you lose track of direction and of the outside world, and your restless mind becomes quiet. “Walking the labyrinth is a spiritual discipline that invites us to trust the path, to surrender to the many turns our lives take, and to walk through the confusion, the fear, the anger and grief that we cannot avoid experiencing as we live our earthly lives.” (Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress) “Walking the labyrinth gives people a chance to connect with a quiet space within themselves. Labyrinth walks allow people to touch something deep within, to achieve a sense of relaxation and introspection they can’t normally get.” (Neal Harris) “Your life is a sacred journey. You are on the path...exactly where you are meant to be.” (Caroline Adams) “Life moves in circles, not directly. The earth moves around the sun. The sun moves around some greater sun. Galaxies move, the whole universe moves, in rounds. Seasons move in a round. Childhood, youth, old age, move in a round. The whole of life is circular.” 4 Buddha’s first sermon was known as ‘Turning the Wheel’ Consider the Whirling Dervishes: “By using the body as an axis, they seek to transform through dance and music their own chemistry. The dance itself represents the harmonious turning of the cosmos in which the dancer finds stillness at the heart of movement.” 5 The

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word dervish means a doorway, from the material to the spiritual. A doorway to love and compassion. As is a labyrinth.

Advice and application My first experience of a labyrinth was walking it at a hospice. We used the sealed files of deceased patients as we laid the files out in the concentric circles on the grass and walked slowly around the narrow pathways towards the centre and then re traced our steps and walked out the way we had come in. I reflected on my mortality and living a life that counted and a life that made a difference. How I could choose the story I wished to live. The secret is to be conscious of how you walk – stooped, heavy shouldered, poised, slowly? Aware of feeling the grass underneath your toes and feet? Engaged with your symbolic journey? The inward journey is towards becoming centred. The outward journey is a going out into the world. A labyrinth may be large or small. Laid out on a lawn or within a cathedral. Finger labyrinths may be very appropriate for bedbound patients. And we find them in nature.

“Furthermore, we have not even to risk the adventure alone; for the heroes of all time have the one before us, the labyrinth is fully known; we have only to follow the thread of the hero-path. And where we had thought to find an abomination, we shall find a god; where we had thought to slay another, we shall slay ourselves; where we had thought to travel outward, we shall come to the center of our own existence; where we had thought to be alone, we shall be with all the world.” 6 “We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time.” (T.S. Eliot “Little Gidding” quartet) Find and use a labyrinth close to where you live or work. Paradoxically a break from work adds to the quantity and quality of your outputs.

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Walking the Labyrinth you walk ahead in this ring of bricks set in the garden. twilight ushers us. we pass each other in silent procession, along lanes that weave away, toward, within, without. now along the rim, now as close to the hub as lover’s breath. we move around the whorl of the earth’s thumb and the shape of the brain. I stop at each intestine turn to absorb all curls in tree and sky, bird’s curve, lizard’s circle. so I lose my way as in a maze. do not know in or out. I recall your feet passing the outer onion skin. I follow to find you sitting in six petals on a stone at the centre of the rose. (Dorian Haarhoff)

References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Cury, Augusto The Dreamseller Simon & Schuster 2011 Pink, Daniel A Whole New Mind Marshall Cavendish Business 2008 http://news.illinois.edu/news/09/0512movement.html Osho The Man Who Loved Seagulls St Martin’s Griffin 2009 Marshall, Peter The Philosopher’s Stone Pan Books 2001 Campbell, Joseph The Hero with a Thousand Faces Bollingen Series Princeton University Press NY 1972

Illustrations Labyrinth at the Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, Natal http://www.brcixopo.co.za Labyrinth flower http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/sunflower-vector—-05_558338.htm

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Chapter 12 : Blind Spots “Oh would some power the gift give us, To see ourselves as others see us” (Robbie Burns)

Incomplete vision A chief, who lived in the wilds, visited a guru who told him to see God in all beings. He returned to his village, which was in panic. There was a wild elephant rampaging in the nearby forest, smashing down the trees. “We fear it will break down our huts and trample us to death” they cried. “I will go and speak to the elephant. For God is in all beings . God is also in the elephant.” “No Chief, that is to too dangerous,” they pleaded. The chief ignored their pleas and went to confront the elephant. The elephant saw him coming and attacked, trumpeting and hurling him up into the nearest tree. Battered and bruised, the chief returned to his guru and accused him, “You said I’m to see God in all beings.” “Yes, that is so.” “Look what happened to me.” He told the story. The guru asked, “Why did you not see God in the wisdom of your villagers?” When you come across the expression blind spot what do you think about? The image that comes to mind is of a driver looking into the wing mirror. Apart from the message that ‘objects might be closer than they appear, there is also the car moving in the driverside lane slightly out of the range of our field of vision. Craning the neck sometimes solves this challenge. As human beings we do not have a 360° view of ourselves. We cannot even see our faces or the way others see them or read our expressions the way others read them. “No one can see life totally. As there is a blind spot in the retina of the human eye, there is also in the soul a blind side which you are not able to see.”1 We do indeed need grace to hear other people’s versions of our attitudes and behaviour. Yet at the same time we need to see our own view of ourselves as legitimate – a delicate balance. A friend once told me that if he saw himself the way his sister saw him, he would jump off the bridge. Often in relationships the image the other person has of me and the one I hold are too far apart.

Divorce courts and workplaces are often riddled with this disparity Telling other people, invited or not invited, how you see them is an art that needs tact, timing and understanding if the message is going to be heard. If we are too strident we could easily build up resistance, especially if our comments are viewed as unsolicited criticism. Human nature is a constant puzzle. We are contrary beings. Quite often we don’t accept a comment about our behaviour from a family member while the very next day when

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an outsider says the exact same thing we respond “You have a point. I can be like that. I’ll work on it”

Holding up the story mirror Which brings us to stories. Which could well be the power that the Burns’ quote invokes. Stories can challenge us in such a way that even if told publicly, nobody else in the audience knows what the story is telling us about our attitudes, blocks, behaviour and assumptions. But the story knows. Stories that open up our blind spots often involve an analogy told at some remove from the actual circumstances. They speak metaphorically and symbolically to our conscience and therefore have the potential to shift our behaviour–as we do not wish to be like or identified with the tyrant, misfit or wimp in the story. Another version of the story told in chapter 2: The Mexican Fisherman The businessman was at the pier of a coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The businessman complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.” The businessman then asked why he didn’t stay out longer and catch more fish? The Mexican said he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of your time? The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos.” The businessman scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman, you would sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this village and move to Mexico City, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise.” The Mexican fisherman asked, “But señor, how long will this all take?” To which the businessman replied, “15-20 years.” “But what then, señor?” The businessman laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you sell your company stock to the public and become rich. You would make millions.” “Millions, señor? Then what?” The businessman said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”

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This story challenge works inwardly and connects to our own motivation to want to change. The story allows us to see in a safe way the impact of a particular behaviour on those around us. It takes out the personal and shows us the principle. This enables us to move back from the principle to the person.

Blind spots affect the whole person We are physical, emotional, intellectual, social, spiritual beings, subject to blind spots in each area. Achieving awareness and gaining insight is part of the process of becoming freed up to be our authentic selves. Chapter 21: “ight Archetypes to Live By deals with how we can come to grips with our shadow side, our masculine and feminine sides, and develop our humanity through the soul-work of balancing and lightening. Also, the practice of journaling can be useful–see Chapter 14: “Mirror, Lens and Window: keeping a journal.” Increasing self-awareness means coming to grips with our entrenched world views – other gender, ethnicities, thinking styles, cultures, religions, situations facing the business, perhaps modifying or even reframing these world views in the light of new understanding, and adapting our approaches or solutions accordingly. The faster the world changes, and the more turbulent, the greater becomes the need for this adaptability. The Johari (Joe Luft and Harry Ingham) Window2 is a model of giving and receiving feedback and disclosure in order to open the window to our understanding of self and others. Asking and telling. Sharing stories. Learning about how others see us. Every aspect of how we think, feel and behave in different circumstances and situations and to different challenges and people. It can be quite deep. At all levels “there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don’t know we don’t know.” Donald Rumsfeld, US Defence Secretary, 2001 – 2006. REVEALING & RECEIVING Johari’s Window

unknown to others

known to others

known to self

open

unknown to self

ASK

blind

TELL

hidden

unknown

Perhaps what is worse for our growth and development than a blind spot is deliberate blockage or denial. Yet, others may still see through our defences, for example: “Any decrease in the size of the eyes, whether through squinting or pupillary constriction, is a 129

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form of subconscious blocking behaviour. And all blocking behaviours are indicative of concern, dislike, disagreement, or the perception of a potential threat.”3 Sometimes I think that we see and know too much. Information and communication technologies give us instant access to news and events from around the world. Through TV and other media we see many more traumas and disasters than we would see inside of our relatively small world. In real time. It may be that in this way our perceptions of crises and potential crises are heightened, which can distort our reality of our own smaller world and situation. Another form of blind spot. Which brings us back to the Robbie Burns’ quotation that prefaces this newsletter. Here is the Scottish version: O, wad some Power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us! It wad frae monie a blunder free us, An’ foolish notion. What airs in dress an’ gait wad lea’e us The rest of the verse, roughly translated, reads: “it would free many from a blunder and foolish notion... What airs in dress and gait would leave us.”

Organisations have blind spots too One area is the incongruency between espoused values and practiced behaviours. Another is not seeing a wider reality outside of one’s own organisation (The Plato’s Cave condition). We believe that the seven da Vinci virtues work together to eliminate blind spots. When a tipping point happens and something outside of our control is triggered, how the organisation reacts and responds is of course crucial. When awareness and curiosity is built into the culture, understanding is more likely. There is a willingness to take responsibility, find and grasp the opportunities that often accompany crisis. Knowing ourselves through seeking balance and engaging the shadow leads to recognition that what has worked in the past in different circumstances may be the very seeds of failure in the new circumstances. We are open to adapt and respond with greater agility. Add the practice of love, and the virtuous organisation sees what is required outside of itself by the society and environment impacted by the crisis.

References 1. O’Donohue, John Anam Cara : a book of celtic wisdom Harper Collins NY 1997, quoted by Myss, Caroline Sacred Contracts Harmony Books NY 2001 2. Luft, Joseph Group Processes: an introduction to group dynamics (3rd edition) Mayfield Publishing Company 1984 3. Navarro, Joe What Every BODY is Saying: an ex FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People Harper Collins NY 2008

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EXERCISE 6 : Personal Mindfulness Checklist A missionary in colonial Africa was hurrying between villages, a team of locals carried his belongings on their heads. At one point in the journey, at a signal from the head porter, the group put down their loads and sat under a tree. Nothing the missionary could say could get them to move. After some time, the leader nodded to the men. They all picked up their burdens and carried on. The missionary asked the leader, “What was that about?” The head porter responded, “We were travelling so fast that we left our spirits behind. We were waiting for them to catch up.” The checklist below is based on our 9 Ms change/stress model, and the levels of deeper mindfulness that we teach. The Ms individually and collectively feed our physical, mental, social, emotional and spiritual sides – which in turn are interconnected. They promote balanced and stress-free living and greater work effectiveness. As pointed out in Chapter 10, meditation is a process towards attaining a virtue. This is particularly important in the context of developing virtuous leaders and virtuosa organisations. The other 8 M’s are also, in their own right, forms of meditation. You may wish to do the checklist by annotating next to each item: U–Unaware O–Often mindful F–Fully and constantly mindful P–Possessing a mystic, imbedded awareness We may jump out of these levels, or states, quite frequently. The process is not a simple linear one. But over time we do make progress and become more consistent. Completing the checklist mindfully will provide you with a good platform for increasing your awareness, without striving, in your daily living and in the workplace. Start by working first on your ‘U’s

Physical 1. MEALS. (i) Healthy eating habits – regular meals, good food u

o

f

p

Good nutrition literally feeds the body and the mind. (ii) Sufficient water intake u

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Nearly 80% of the human body consists of water. Water transports nutrients and oxygen into cells, helps with metabolism, absorption and detoxifying, moisturizes joints and

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the air in our lungs, regulates body temperature, prevents dehydration. Constant and adequate replenishment and feeding is essential to proper body functioning. 2. MOVEMENT. Biodanza, drumming, gym exercise, walking, yoga, surfing, Swimming (maybe even with dolphins) u

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Bodily fitness and mental health go together, condition us physically, promote relaxation. Physical and thought movement are related, reacting to connected areas of the brain. Want to solve a problem? Leave the board room table and go for a walk. Spending time in nature is also good. 3. MASSAGE. Massage, spa, reflexology u

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With touch and vibration, endorphins (natural pain killers) are released–with skin, muscle tone, circulation and calming benefits. In addition to external varieties of massage, “humming massages the body from the inside out” (Don Campbell, The Mozart Effect 1)

Emotional 4. MUSIC. Listening free of distraction u

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Music parallels life rhythms. Beethoven: “Music is the electric soil in which the spirit lives, breathes and creates.” Apollo was the god of both medicine and music. Language learning comes more easily through song than the spoken word. Music is an integral part of our life-beat. Art is also a channel for expression and perception. From the Mozart Effect by Don Campbell: “What is this magical medium that moves, enchants, energizes and heals us? ... In monasteries in Brittany, monks play music to the animals in their care and have found that cows serenaded with Mozart give more milk ... In Washington State, immigration department officials play Mozart and Baroque music during English classes for new arrivals from Cambodia, Laos and other Asian countries and report that it speeds up their learning ... At St Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, patients in critical care units listen to classical music. ‘half an hour of music produced the same effect as ten milligrams of Valium’, Dr. Raymond Bahr, director of the coronary care unit, reports ...’ He also points out that the word placebo, before it became secularized and distorted, “signified the power of listening to sacred music, which healed mind, body and spirit.” There is a proven link between early music instruction and our cognitive growth in mathematics, memory and spatial-temporal reasoning. “Music is the meat of all who love, music uplifts the soul to realms above.” (Rumi) 5. MOTIVATION Fulfilling aims and goals (Or overcoming: “I’ll be happy when…….”) u

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Appropriately passionate about something/Aligned with Your ‘motivational fingerprint’/ Serve for the right reasons?

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Are you in touch with that which gives rise to positive purpose, energy, thinking patterns?

Spiritual 6. MEDITATION Do you meditate regularly/continuously. Are you aware, whatever you are doing. Live in the present moment? u

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Can be related to visualisation and music. Prana, the Sanskrit word for breath also means life. Brain states are from beta to alpha, theta, delta. Lower states (good sleep, meditation) reduce anxiety, blood pressure and raise creativity. Diaphragmatic breathing oxygenates and instills a calm, serene mind. Meditation is usually different to thinking. As regards thinking, we typically fail to use much of our brain capacity, but on the other hand we need to realize that the brain is like a computer black box in the sense that we have only limited knowledge and experience at any one time – much more can enter. Awareness of limiting beliefs should allow an approach of ‘and’ rather than ‘or/but.’ 7. MEANING. Have you found the essential meaning for your life? u

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Bridging mental and emotional well being is having a good SQ (spiritual intelligence). We need to learn to be” live more in the flow zone.

Social 8. MIRTH. (i) Do you laugh a lot (exercise your smile muscles?) u

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(ii) Is your job fun? (If not, in what ways can you make it fun?) u

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Usually in a relaxed social setting, laughter beneficially effects the inner lining of our arteries, boosts blood flow (circulation) by 20 percent (stress decreases blood flow by 35 percent), reduces stress hormones, tones muscles, improves breathing capacity. Two minutes of belly laughter is said to be the aerobic equivalent of ten minutes on an exercise machine. Out of the groove punch lines of jokes stimulate the same areas of the brain as are used for lateral thinking. A recent Harvard finding is that humour is the number one coping mechanism. Nursery school children laugh between 300 and 400 times a day, adults 17 times. When laughing we are fully in the present moment. Do you have enough fun?

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Intellectual 9. MENTAL STIMULATION (i) Read interesting books, do puzzles, play word games? u

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This slows the effects of ageing. Lifelong learners and those that embrace change live longer. It’s all about awareness, interest, improving IQ and being more alive. Thinking is the best way to train our brain. A lack of brain stimulation may cause brain shrinkage. Intellectual conversations will promote the efficiency of the brain. (ii) Do you have a circle of supportive friends who share your values, and who you can converse with at a deep level? u

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EXERCISE 7 : Do we have organisational blind-spots? 1. Are we sufficiently aware of the benefits that the wide-spread practice of mindfulness in terms of creativity, service levels, productivity, emotional and social intelligence? 2. Can we utilise narrative, anecdote and metaphor to foster both mindfulness and imagination? 3. Do we as a leadership team regularly take time away from the daily grind and pressures for deep reflection? 4. How often do we get trusted outside views on areas where we may have developed organisational blind-spots for example: the jargon we use, creeping arrogance, elitism in the way we do things around here. 5. Have we become blinded to how things really are, and mindlessly accept conventional notions of corporate purpose and corporate responsibility? 6. How do we respond to situations that we haven’t faced before? “In spite of all similarities, every living situation has, like a new-born, a new face, that has never been before and will never come again. It demands of you a reaction that cannot be prepared beforehand. It demands nothing of what is past. It demands presence, responsibility; it demands you.” (Martin Buber)

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Introduction to Section 5 As we develop deeper mindfulness – both at the individual and organisation level – so the challenge to take responsibility (another da Vinci virtue) arises. Responsibility for our own affairs and growth, our environment, work performance, attitudes, relationships, reframing of our stories and the taking of opportunities. We hold up a mirror for you to look at how you view things, how you relate and reflect. We suggest ways of grappling with the inner and the outer transformations required in the virtuous organisation, of embracing the less obvious and the mundane in order to transition from chaos to calm. These are personal development practices for modern leaders and their organisations.

Chapter 13 : A Mindset for Making the Most of the Mundane “For the meaning of life differs from man to man, from day to day and from hour to hour. What matters, therefore, is not the meaning of life in general but rather the specific meaning of a person’s life at a given moment.” (Viktor Frankl)

21st century life Before enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. After enlightenment, chop wood, carry water. Too often we find ourselves living frenetic lives, overwhelmed by the demands of others. Even by our own demands and strivings for extrinsic power, possessions, financial success and social recognition as we focus on what we see as being of paramount importance. This vulnerability is fuelled by snake-oil sales persons and their irresistible elixirs of life: how to make a million dollars in twelve months, how to apply the law of attraction, twelve steps to happiness, how to release your inner magic; positive psychology gone wrong. And we remain unhappy with our lot. The simple pleasures of life are relegated to the when I find time drawer of our minds. Picture the modern family at dinner time. Gobble-and-go meals not only take place at McDonalds, KFC and Burger King but have moved into our homes. Ipads, Ipods, cell phones and TV provide ample distraction. Conversation and connection, sharing is absent. In answer to a question following a talk, about what should be done to improve the fabric of society, management guru and social commentator, Charles Handy, wisely replied after a long consideration: “re-introduce the family meal.” Maybe Confucius was right when he said “The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home.” Perhaps the situation will worsen as more people work from home, and no longer travel to a different place of work. We seem to be losing our capacity for simple joys. These are increasingly perceived to be mundane interruptions and inconveniences. My dictionary defines mundane as being dull, routine and worldly, not spiritual. The implication is that the mundane is unimportant.

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Developing a mind-set in order to make the most of the mundane Author of Care of the Soul, Thomas Moore echoes Viktor Frankl’s quote at the start of this chapter. He has this to say: “When people talk about finding meaning in life, they imply that they can figure things out and set them right. But meaning that makes life worth living may be nothing more than a moment’s realisation, a sensation, such as the touch of your baby’s skin …” 1 He brings to mind: • The Louis Armstrong hit of yesteryear “I see trees of green, red roses too, I see em bloom, for me and for you. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. I see skies of blue, clouds of white. Bright blessed days, dark sacred nights. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world. The colors of a rainbow, so pretty in the sky, Are also on the faces of people going by. I see friends shaking hands, sayin ‘how do you do.’ They’re really sayin ‘I love you.’ I hear babies cry. I watch them grow. They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know. And I think to myself, what a wonderful world.” 2 • The effortless reflection and state of being that happens while walking a labyrinth. • Wabi Sabi – seeing beauty in imperfection. • Mindfully savouring and enjoying a glass of wine. • Taking time to reflect and sharpen the saw. • Remembering and listening to a dream, gazing at an icon. • Washing dishes after a communal meal at the Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo while still in noble silence. • Doing a spot of writing and capturing thoughts. • Listening to Neil Diamond’s “Hell Yeah” while cocooned in a car in standstill traffic. • Reading a good detective yarn (a microcosm of wider life and the search to discover, solve, overcome?) • Having a long bath with candles and essential oils. Moore talking about “one of Plato’s expressions for care of the soul, techne tou biou, the craft of life: Care of the souls requires craft (techne) – skill, attention and art. To live with a high degree of artfulness means to attend to the small things that keep the soul engaged in whatever we are doing, and it is the very heart of soul-making.” 3 A state of heightened awareness. It’s in the mind. It’s in the body. And it’s in the senses. And the soul.

The kinesthetic body – make sense? The word kinesthetic comes from Kinema–meaning motion, and Ethesia–meaning sensing. Mind, body, senses come together when we’re most truly alive. “All her senses were alert. She listened for sounds of breathing or small scufflings; looked to see if there were any tell-tale signs of recent habitation; smelled the air for the distinctive odours of carnivorous animals, or fresh scat, or gamey meat, opening her mouth to allow her taste buds to catch the scent; let her bare skin detect any sense of warmth that

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might come from the cave (touch), and allowed intuition to guide her as she noiselessly approached the opening (movement). She stayed close to the wall, crept up on the dark hole, and looked in.”4 Moore sees a “……….certain quality of existence, a divine layer of meaning made accessible through sensations.”1 A long time ago in the village of Ipetumodu, there lived a poor woman . This woman was so poor that she did not have any soup for her eba. (The eba is a starchy paste made from cassava flour and it is rather unappetising to eat all by itself.) Across the street from this poor woman lived another woman who cooked egusi soup every day. One day, as the poor woman was sitting down to her only meal for the entire day, a small bowl of eba, the aroma from her neighbors cooking wafted down through her window. She took her bowl of eba and headed over to her neighbor who was busy stirring a big pot of egusi soup. “Please, may I have a little soup for my eba”, the poor woman asked. The woman stirring the egusi soup looked up to see her raggedy-looking neighbor and replied, “If you can’t make your own egusi soup, then you don’t deserve to have any.” The poor woman went back to her own hut and sat outside her doorsteps where she could smell the aroma from her neighbour’s egusi. She scooped some eba with her hands and inhaled a big dose of egusi soup aroma while she swallowed the lump of eba. The egusi woman, saw this and got angry. She ran out and yelled, “Stop eating the aroma from my soup!” But the poor woman kept on inhaling the aroma from the egusi soup. The egusi woman took her case to the oba, the king of their village. “This woman steals the aroma from my egusi to eat her eba. She must be punished,” the egusi woman told the oba. The oba agreed that the poor woman should be punished for stealing soup aroma and he ordered the egusi woman to carry out the punishment. “She stole your aroma therefore you shall flog her shadow,” the oba told the egusi woman. “You shall flog her shadow forty times” and she was given the big stick to carry out her justice.  The egusi woman, wielding her big stick to beat the poor woman’s shadow felt foolish. She felt so foolish that she asked the poor woman for forgiveness and offered to give her real egusi soup from that day on. So remember that the best things in life are free, and take time out from your busy life to find meaning in the everyday things, the simple things, the small things, the mundane, at home, socially and at work. Use as a mantra the Viktor Frankl insight that began this chapter. Reframe how you might be approaching what you currently view as mundane. Go further. Actively find unexpected richness in your existence. Rumi:

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“In every gathering, in any chance meeting On the street, there is a shine, an elegance …” 5 Michel Quoist, extracts from “The Bald Head”: “For an hour it was before my eyes, During the whole lecture…. Polished, shining …. The lecture bored me; I had time to think … You said it in your gospel; ‘Not one hair of your head falls without my permission’…” 6 At work, we have a choice. We can be sapped of energy by the mundane. Or we can find ways to be energised. Zapped. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “The beyond is not what is infinitely remote, but what is nearest at hand.”

References 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Moore, Thomas Original Self Perennial 2000 Songwriters: Dietz, Howard, Schwartz, Arthur: What a Wonderful World Moore, Thomas Care of the Soul Piatkus 1992 Aurel, Jean The Valley of the Horses Simon & Schuster NY 1982 Barks, Coleman Rumi the Book of Love HarperSan Francisco 2003 Quoist, Michel Prayers of Life Gill & MacMillan Dublin 1963

Illustration by Tony Grogan Washing dishes

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Chapter 14 : Writing as Healing, and The Practice of Journaling “I started writing when I was about nine because I wasn’t able to talk. It was my way of keeping in touch I guess.” (Maya Angelou) “How can I know what I think until I see what I say.” (W. H. Auden)

Writing as healing Writing and trauma In Muir Woods near San Francisco there is a plaque at a giant redwood tree. The plaque carries information about burls or knobbly mounds on the bark. “Growing, dividing and re-dividing at a pace faster than the rest of the tree, burl tissues are would-be-sprouts awaiting the trauma of fire or other damage to the tree before elongating.” This process is a metaphor for writing. It seems that for the writer creativity is a significant way of dealing with trauma. In a sense all writing can be seen as healing. Some kinds of writing (personal journal keeping) might be more helpful in dealing with different kinds of crises. In other instances an empathetic audience in a reading circle can provide a context for dealing with pain. The quotation at the beginning of this section comes from Maya Angelou.1 She was raped as a child and didn’t speak for a few years she used text to recreate meaning for her life. Sylvia Plath in her Journals wrote “Fury jams the gullet and spreads poison, but as soon as I start to write, dissipates, flows out into the figure of the letters; writing as therapy?” In trauma counselling writing as a deliberate exercise a while after the event, which allows the victims to view the event from outside of themselves. Writing courses and healing There is another powerful story about a man, David Jim Moffett, who joined a writing group in the States. At the first session he wrote “I have just escaped from an insane asylum.” He told a story of alcohol and drug abuse in which “Egyptian hieroglyphics danced on my bedroom wall.”2 He recounted how once he was beaten up by sailors and thrown into a river. He climbed out “of the black river into a blacker night” and staggered to a hospital door where the nurse said “We’re closed for the night.” Three years later David Moffett spoke about how writing, not formal therapy had healed him. “I spent $14 000 in that recovery programme and never did I deal with the real issues involved until I got in this class and wrote about them.” Narrative therapy The connection between writing and healing is an ancient one. There is a Chinese text dating from the year 300AD which speaks to the healing possibilities that arrive though writing

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He makes barren twigs put forth luxuriant foliage as they sway, or by endless waves he traces to the remote fountainhead Like mist and rain, it permeates and nourishes And manifests all the powers of transformation in which gods and spirits share. 3 William Stafford: I have woven a parachute out of everything broken, my scars are my shield: and I jump, daylight or dark into any country Healing can take many years. As C.S Lewis suggests, the process of writing is connected to the process of sorrow, the process of healing.4 Reframing the story for healing Bonnie Friedman tells a story about a writing tutor at a famous school. In response to her manuscript the teacher said, “Every writer has a book they do not publish. This will be yours.”5 For months the depressed Friedman took this comment as a put down. The tutor had indicated she was no good and wouldn’t make it as a writer. She adopted this limiting belief, until a friend suggested to her that there was another way of reading or interpreting the tutor’s comment. “Every Writer... .” The tutor was affirming her as a writer with potential, but that this particular manuscript, which clearly showed her potential, wouldn’t get published. Quite a different story.

Mirror, lens and window: keeping a journal “Some record only what has happened to them; but others record how they happened to the universe.”–Henry David Thoreau An emotional and mythological map The word journal comes from Old French, day. It is a daily encounter with yourself. Journal echoes the word journey, and so you become a traveller of inner and outer regions, writing in your travelogue, your daily pages. The invitation is to record and keep a memory of what is being transacted in the now. When you choose to keep a journal, you link yourself to those who have gone before. You become part of a tradition. For centuries, human beings have kept journals. In tenth century Japan, for example, people kept a pillow book which was placed in the drawer of a wooden pillow. There are many famous prison journals coming out of our century. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, who died in a death camp during a war, kept a journal. So did the South African writer, Breyten Breytenbach, who was also imprisoned for his beliefs. Young Anne Frank did so in Nazi–controlled Holland and has provided for history a particular lens of the triumph and nobility of a human soul. Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom similarly records a story of courage, resistance and faith against all odds. Keeping a journal for its own sake, with you as the prime audience, is a significant act of writing. A private journal, recording a spiritual, professional or emotional journey, can also exist alongside our public stories. A journal maps a personal and professional life. It is not exactly a diary with daily entries, though some writers have produced diaries (prison diaries, for example) which

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are more like journals in that they deal with emotional time. The journal provides the inner emotional landscape where we meet our hidden selves, where we deal with demons and celebrate spirits. Here are some of the dictionary meanings for journal: • A personal record of occurrences, experiences and reflections kept on a regular basis; a diary. • An official record of daily proceedings, as of a legislative body. • Nautical: a ship’s log. • An accounting book of original entry in a double-entry system, listing all transactions and indicating the accounts • A periodical presenting articles on a particular subject; a medical journal. A journal is both a mirror and a window at the same time – rather like a pane of glass in a shop window. It reflects both what is inside but also what is in the street (like the Roman god, Janus, with two faces, placed at the entrance to the house. One face looked into the interior and the other into the street). The lens of a camera suggests different ways of focusing and seeing – magnifying, zooming, wide-angle, portrait, landscape. In the mid-sixties, a psychologist, Ira Progoff, developed an Intensive Journal Process: Progoff takes the image of many underground wells all connected to a deep subterranean stream as a metaphor for our lives. These journal workshops have been used with striking results counselling adolescents, in continuing education programmes, in job training for disadvantaged people, and in mental health. Many writers have used journals in relation to their work. Apart from dealing with inner emotions, a journal can also be a place of artistic creation, for delighting ourselves with the poems or stories that are intended for our eyes only. I may decide to stop at first copy or rewrite while keeping the text private. Or I may get it published. Henry David Thoreau’s Walden is an American example. You might like to try keeping a private journal or a writer’s notebook as companion to your teaching texts. In a journal we find quotations, thoughts, memories, experiences, plans, insights, creative writing, dreams, expectations and experiments. It can be used for: • • • •

self-reflective writing – a companion to the self process writing – rough drafts of work assignments problem solving – personal and professional issues recording dreams – both in the sense of the inner nightly dramas and future hopes that honour the powers of the imagination to set in motion a desired outcome inspirational quotations to keep alive your passion for vocation • observations about practice and about group dynamics • feeding other genres – reports, proposals, poetry, fiction.

Personal Rituals At a workshop, a woman, Schweta (born in India but schooled in Zambia) shared that whenever she was struggling with her life, her mother, Sri, wisely suggested she retire to her room and write about it.4 To process an emotion in your head is one thing, but to write about it entirely another. Journals record where we have been. Virginia Woolf talks of the “I now meeting the I then” in re- reading.

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In Yosemite, a nature park in California, an original home of the Native American Ahwahanee people, I saw a circular structure – a Native American Sweat lodge. Here a fire was lit and while in a kind of dry sauna, you meditated, dreamed or saw visions. The sweat house was used for ceremonial purification before dancing and hunting. The journal is a writer’s sacred circle, her sweat lodge. Journals invoke a ritual place, a circle of safety. Writing towards a Deeper Identity : Who are You? There is the story of the young man who returned from the city. A village elder called him over to sit on a rock with him. The elder asked the young man, “Who are you?” Each time the young man gave a surface answer – name, age, son of chief, student, soccer player – the sage repeated the question. The young man eventually fell silent. Then the sage spoke, “You are the wind in these trees, the cry of that bird, the rock beneath us.” This echoes the poet, Rilke, who wrote much about identity: I am circling around God, around the ancient tower, and I have been circling for a thousand years, and I still don’t know if I am a falcon, or a storm, or a great song. Creating the Future In the story, Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carol, there is a famous exchange between two characters: Alice: Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here? The Cat: That depends a good deal on where you want to get to Alice: I don’t much care where. The Cat: Then it doesn’t much matter which way you go. You can also use a journal to set intention for the future – to create a work and life plan for yourself. Journal writing can be compared to building a bridge. Leading to where you want to be. Working through difficulties in life “Writing about personally experienced stressors or traumatic events has been associated with improvements in mental and physical health in numerous investigations. For example, writing about stressful or traumatic events has been related to decreased stress and depression, fewer illness-related visits to physicians, and positive changes in immune function. A recent meta-analysis of the effects of written disclosure found that writing about stressful or traumatic events is related to improvements in self-reported health, psychological well-being, physiological functioning, and general functioning. Moreover, the positive effects of written disclosure appear to be equivalent to or greater than the effects produced by other psychosocial interventions.”6 Here is a poem based on a true story about how parents used their daughter’s journal as a map:

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The Way of Grief she scribbled bits of Europe in folio, in the ring-binder her parents had given her. daily she wove her spider thread round pencil sketches and ticket stubs stamped with train dates and opera stalls. she shaped impressions of a gallery, a climb up a hill to reaches of snow, market women and temple ruins. the widow’s pension with an enamel water jug and a turret above a canal and her week of waitering at Carlo’s Cafe filled four pages. scripting her way south she recorded a procession of the Last Supper Christ through candle streets. she was hardly home when out of the African blue blood cells sang her requiem. matching dates and places and pension addresses, her parents embraced the journey through the underworld. they sat in the out-of-season opera house, rode the metro to her disembarking and spoke to the widow and Carlo of the water-side cafe. taking her hours as guide they shod their feet in journal leaves. and walked the pages of her days. Dorian Haarhoff Embrace journaling, whatever your role, especially if you’re a leader. “We write to taste life twice, in the moment and in retrospect”(Anais Nin)

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References 1. Angelou, Maya I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings Oxford University Press, USA 1998 2. Brand, Alice and Graves, Richard (Eds.) Presence of Mind: writing and the domain beyond the cognitive Boynton Cook, Heinemann 1994 3. Lu Ji’s Wen Fu (based on a translation by Shih-Hsiang Chen, 1952, modified after consulting a translation by Sam Hamill, 1991. Writer: David from Seeraa International. http://www.seeraa.com/china-literature/wenfu.html 4. Haarhoff, Dorian The Writer’s Voice Zebra Press 1998 5. Friedman, Bonnie Writing Past Dark: envy, fear and other dilemnas in the writer’s life Harper Perennial 1994 6. Ullrich, Philp M. M.A. and Lutgendorf, Susan K. Ph.D. Journaling About Stressful Events: effects of cognitive processing and emotional expression. http://link.springer.com/ article/10.1207/S15324796ABM2403_10#

Chapter 15 : Effective Communicating and Relating Behaviours I was angry with my friend;  I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe:  I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I waterd it in fears, Night & morning with my tears:  And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles. And it grew both day and night.  Till it bore an apple bright.  And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine. And into my garden stole,  When the night had veild the pole;  In the morning glad I see;  My foe outstretched beneath the tree. William Blake: A Poison Tree In expressing themselves to others, people range emotionally from warm and responsive to aggressive, hostile, cold and unapproachable.

COMMUNICATING & RELATING MODEL

Strong/ Proactive Openly Aggressive

Effective/ Assertive

Passively Aggressive

Submissive/ Compliant

TASK Orientation

Weak/ Reactive

Cold/ Unapproachable

PEOPLE/ EMOTIONAL Orientation

Warm/ Approachable

People approach tasks and deal with situations in different ways at different times. Sometimes we act weak, negative, critical, reactive, complaining, manipulative, indecisive we employ avoidance tactics, blame others, believe ourselves to be the victim. At other times we behave strongly, proactively, surely, face situations and tasks directly and squarely, working through to solution or completion. Lefton, Buzotta and Sherberg developed a model that helps to explain these behaviour shifts according to a simple matrix1: Their model allows us to categorise four behaviour and communication types:

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• • • •

openly aggressive passively aggressive submissive/compliant effective. .

OPENLY AGGRESSIVE behaviours are powerful and dominant, resolving situations and managing tasks competently, but with very little empathy or concern for other people. Openly aggressive behaviour is results driven, trying to win at all costs. ‘Do it my way or else!’ (I’m OK–You’re not OK) PASSIVELY AGGRESSIVE behaviours are unsociable, poor at relationships and at dealing with problems. Passively aggressive behaviour is an attempt to avoid losing by adopting ‘safety-first’ tactics–by sulking, by blaming other people or ‘the system’ for a personal failure to behave appropriately. ‘I have to follow orders’, ‘It’s not my fault!’ (I’m not OK, you’re not OK) SUBMISSIVE/COMPLIANT behaviour comes over as warm and friendly, but is not effective at handling problems and tasks. Submissive/compliant behaviour makes promises, but does not deliver. It tries not to lose by pleasing and appeasing others. ‘Trust me, like me, I’ll do what 1 can for you.’ (I’m not OK, you’re OK) EFFECTIVE behaviour is all too rare. Being effective is not being forward, pushy, selforientated. Being effective is interacting and being able to respond, tackling task and relationship issues positively, proactively and constructively. We value our significance and our self-worth far too seldom, and far too seldom do we show that we are willing and able to manage problems, tasks, feelings and relationships in a non-judgmental, accepting, definite, listening, understanding way, being both self- and other- orientated. Effective behaviour means being ‘win-win’ people. Effectiveness is about getting on with the job and getting on with people. It’s about bringing out the best in ourselves and bringing out in others the best that they can be. It’s about influencing constructively and helping to create an atmosphere of trust and participation, being flexible and open to new perspectives and new thinking, articulating clearly and honestly one’s goals, 148

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expectations, reasoning, fears, excitement. It’s about building togetherness, about shared effort and achievement. (I’m OK, you’re OK.) One way of picturing the dynamics of the model is to think in terms of ego-boundaries:

Vigorous defence of own boundaries, even if this means attacking others

Appropriate merging of, and extension of ego boundary, with others

Hiding within and protecting own boundaries

In trying to strengthen own boundaries, threaten the boundaries of others

The good news is that most people have the necessary innate characteristics and can learn to be honest and open when communicating. They can learn to value their own feelings and opinions, to be confident and responsive, to take responsibility for their own actions and reactions, and approach tasks and problems decisively and effectively. In short, they are capable of displaying both positive attitudes and positive behaviours. And the right sort of behaviour, consistently displayed, triggers the same sort of behaviour from others. It is a behaviour model, not a personality-type model.

Communicating and relating behaviours under change circumstances When change or instability occurs in our lives, then our internal frame of reference at that time will determine how we respond. There are three basic ways of resisting change: • being openly aggressive • passively aggressive • submissive/compliant Effectiveness relating means quickly getting around to accepting the inevitable and making the most of it. There is at least some truth to Abraham. Lincoln’s adage that ‘most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be.

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STRONG / PROACTIVE Clings to familiar past, fears future unpredictability, strives for control. “I’ll carry on just as before” “I’ll stop them making a mistake” “Why fix what isn’t broken?” “Changes aren’t needed around here. I’ll fight tooth and nail”

Embraces and supports the new. “I can contribute, be positive, learn, grow, make a difference” “It’s silly to fight a losing battle” “I can be tolerant, get active, utilise positive stress, benefit from this”

COLD / UNAPPROACHABLE

WARM / APPROACHABLE

Gets even by punishing the person or company responsible for the change “If I keep a low profile, this will go away” “I’m upset. Management doesn’t care about us. This’ll be bad for my careeer”” “This wasn’t my idea” “It’s their fault. I can’t make a difference”

Hopes that the change effort will stall and stop. “This problem will go away if we smooth things over and revert to where we were” “I empathise but can’t help to steer this” “I’ll carry on being nice to everyone and then maybe I’ll be okay”

WEAK / REACTIVE

(*From Employee Handbook for Organizational Change by Price Pritchett and Ron Pound2) Being constructive in managing our own behaviour, and facilitating positive communication and relating behaviours in others is a prime requirement in business. This is particularly true during periods of organisational upheaval. It is relatively easy to identify what behaviour is being manifest in any given situation–overt dominance and hostility, passive aggression, friendly but ineffective task handling, or positive and constructive behaviour in respect of both task and relationship. It is not as easy, however, to conduct interactions in each case which result in win-win situations. What is required is understanding and practice in: • determining peoples’ underlying needs • finding ways of motivating people and collaborating by meeting those needs • applying rules of engagement which facilitate practical and positive outcomes A closer look at these behavioural dynamics:

When the other person is displaying openly aggressive behaviour: Needs: To feel significant, important, recognised. Aggressive behaviour often masks insecurity, low self-esteem. Motivation: Will buy in to what works, what makes them look good, what allows for a measure of independence, what provides status, esteem and power, and gives respect and influence.

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Rules of engagement: Avoid threatening their power. Be clear and firm but avoid arguing. Avoid surprises. Allow them to take the credit. Spell out personal benefits. Don’t get manipulated by logic and fixed position-taking. Manage interruptions assertively. Use open, not closed questioning. Summarise when necessary. Ask for commitment. Hostile - dominant behaviour comes from those trying to assume control, force a viewpoint, overwhelm. A strong, reasonable approach is respected. When the other person is being passively aggressive: Needs: Typical play-it-safe behaviour often hides a lack of self-worth, loneliness, fear of rejection, risk-aversion and fear of change. Motivation: Assurance of safety, security, stability and predictability surrounding the tasks to be performed. A dislike of being pressured, being pushed into taking responsibility. A liking for clear parameters. Rules of engagement: Patience. Use of pauses, reflections. Watch out for reluctant agreements and work out low-risk, progressive plans. Avoid confrontation. Table their views. Reassure. Use firm but gentle approach. Passive aggression can be destructive– opting out, sowing seeds of discontent, bearing grudges. People manifesting these signs should be drawn into involvement. When the other person is being submissive-compliant: Needs: Acceptance. Feelings of inferiority, often stressed and unfocused. In this mode people diminish themselves by their own behaviour. Motivation: Involve them in ways that allow for socialisation and fitting in. At the same time have very specific–and if possible popular–tasks, actions, deadlines. Regularly praise and encourage. Rules of engagement: Ask specific closed questions. Raise negatives that need to be faced. Control meandering talk- Stick to the point of the discussion. Do not accept premature agreement. Maintain focus. Demonstrate acceptance. Offer to assist with implementation. Use strong voice and body language. There is a great destructive potential in always being too positive, in having a dislike for facing harsh reality, putting far too much store on social and not performance aspects. This can contaminate our hard-thinking processes. People in this mode should be warmly but firmly engaged. When the other person is being truly effective: Needs: Mature relating, empathy, transparency, real responsibility, challenge and scope to be creative. Motivation: Respond to honest, complete information, do not believe in quick-fixes or imposed blueprints, enjoy interdependence and opportunities for self-fulfilment and personal growth Rules of engagement: Be collaborative, focused. Emphasise their contribution and value. Be direct, candid. Explore alternatives freely. The communication and relating behaviours of others can only be positively engaged from a position of effective behaviour. This is a mind-set, a heart-set, which doesn’t come easily. Its development requires constant review and practice. Situational role-plays are helpful for practice purposes.

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Two insights may occur during these role-plays: • conducting effective communications and interactions is tough work, and energy– draining. It requires perseverance. • we are all apt to switch between different relating modes during interactions, even though we may generally exhibit one dominant style. Each of the quadrants of the model is in fact a continuum on each of the axes. For example, a person being passive-aggressive when confronted, may jump into open defiance. A person in submissive-compliant mode, when pressed for a specific commitment to a task or deadline, may suddenly exhibit passive – aggressive behaviour. A person displaying dominant-hostile behaviour, when thwarted, may attempt passive-aggression (sulky, begrudging, angry). These switches often precede a breakthrough to effective communicating between people and should not be viewed as communication failures, but rather as communication lessons. The communicating and relating methods advocated here as appropriate for most communication interactions, are an essential element of a successful organisational transition. Their practice goes a long way to obviating avoiding, naming and blaming, making excuses, telling ‘white lies’ and other undesirable habits that can subtly creep into organisational cultures. They are characteristic of the virtuous organisation.

A link with mindfulness Daniel Siegel’s “research work has demonstrated that mindful practices have significant positive effects on our interpersonal relationships….The pre-frontal cortex is where neurons are activated and when our secure love grows, the prefrontal fibres in our brains extend to other parts of the brain. This process is called prefrontal integration and has been proved scientifically to be the foundation of wellbeing and happiness in people. Hence we know that strong relationships, filled with empathy, resilience and attunement are effectively grown from the pre-frontal cortex of the brain. Interestingly, it is also this part of the brain that is activated through mindfulness …. when we learn to be in attuned adult relationships, we physically start to rewire our brains to create more joy in our lives.”3 In other words, communication is enhanced by mindful, relaxed awareness. If we enter a conversation preceded by invoking a state of relaxed awareness this helps. We can do this as explained in Chapter 10. Perhaps call to mind a person, place or event that brought to us a moment of great satisfaction, feeling truly alive. Without being aware of it a ‘Mona Lisa’ smile might appear on your face. When speaking use a few, simple words. As reading comprehension is affected by the level of difficulty of the writing (or fog index based on factors such as the average number of words per sentence, and the average number of syllables per word), so is verbal comprehension. The fewer and shorter the words we use, the better is our communication received and remembered. In any event, listeners read more into our body language, voice tone, pitch and pace than they read into our actual words. And deliberately use a relaxed tone of voice.

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This sort of communication introduces intimacy, acceptance, trust. On the lighter side: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fuDDqU6n4o Reflect on this story about relating to others: Nasrudin went to a Turkish bath. As he was poorly dressed the attendant gave him only a scrap of soap and an threadbare towel. When he left, Nasrudin gave the man a gold coin. The following week Nasrudin appeared again. This time, of course, he was looked after like a king. After being massaged, perfumed and treated with the utmost deference, he left the bath, handing the attendant a copper coin. “I don’t understand” said the attendant. “This,” said Nasrudin, “is for last time. The gold coin was for this week.” And this one: One day the Queen, walking in the winter garden, saved a gnome who had fallen though the ice into the palace pond. In return for saving his life the creature gave the Queen a frosted glass box with a hole big enough for a hand to fit through. The gnome advised, “You can take out of this box whatever you desire. But always remember to put something in first.” This worked well for a number of years. Then one night, a thief watching through the window, saw the queen take out an emerald ring from the box. He had not seen her put in a pair of gloves first. Shortly after this the Queen left for a distant land. The thief broke into the palace with two of his cronies. They began to take gold and gems out of the glass box as fast as they could. The thieves competed to see who has the biggest pile. They carried on all night until the glass box overheated, cracked and shattered. The Queen returned to find the bodies of three thieves buried under a mountain of gold and glass shards. She took the broken pieces and began to reassemble the glass gift. But this time she made it round and arranged the segments in mosaic shapes so that the globe resembled a map of the world. Above the hole she placed a notice in emerald lettering, “If from this globe you receive, first a gift be sure to leave.”

References 1. Lefton, R- E., Buzzotta, V. R~ & Sherberg, M. (1980) Improving Productivity Through People Skills. Ballinger Publishing Company: Massachusetts 2. Pritchett, P and Pond, R Employee Handbook for Organisational Change Pritchett Publishing Co Texas 1990 3. Odyssey Magazine Mindfulness in Relationship http://www.odysseymagazine.co.za/index. php/articles/34-general/654-mindfulness-in-relationship.html September 2013

This chapter is derived from Revelling in Transition by Graham Williams 1997

Illustration by Tony Grogan Communication styles

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Chapter 16 : In Praise of Emptiness “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” (Genesis 1:2)

“Nothingness” The creation myths of many lands and cultures tell how the world was created out of nothing. Traditionally we think of chaos as anarchy and the opposite or enemy of creativity. In his study of organisational transitions, William Bridges refers to a three-stage process: endings, neutral zone, new beginnings. The neutral zone or chaos period bridges old and new, “is a time when a necessary orientation and redefinition is taking place” and a time of great creativity.1 According to Genesis God created the order of the world out of formlessness. An Apache myth echoes this theme. In the beginning nothing existed — no earth, no sky, no sun, no moon, only darkness was everywhere. Suddenly from the darkness a thin disc emerged, suspended in mid-air. One side was yellow and the other side white. A bearded man, Creator, the One Who Lives Above sat inside the disc. When he looked into the endless darkness, light appeared above. He looked down and it became a sea of light. To the east, he created yellow streaks of dawn. Here is part of Doris Lessing’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech Jan 2008 “Have you found a space, that empty space, which should surround you when you write? Into that space, which is like a form of listening, of attention, will come the words.” There is a Cape based NGO that spends one week every month reflecting on their practice. You can’t get hold of them during that week. They are highly successful and much of their success is born in this incubation time. Rumi the Persian mystic who lived some 800 years ago knew this: I’ve said before that every craftsman searches for what’s not there to practice his craft. A builder looks for the rotten hole where the roof caved in. A water-carrier picks the empty pot. A carpenter stops at the house with no door. Workers rush toward some hint of emptiness, which they then start to fill. Their hope, though, is for emptiness, so don’t think you must avoid it. It contains what you need! Dear soul, if you were not friends with the vast nothing inside, why would you always be casting your net into it, and waiting so patiently? This invisible ocean has given you such abundance, but still you call it “death”, that which provides you sustenance and work. 155

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Reflection Reflection helps our creativity by taking us out of the grooves of our usual tensions, influences and boundaries of thought. It raises us above daily pursuits, and stimulates awareness and thought about the bigger picture. When we grant ourselves time at work for this kind of reflection – an empty space of inner listening and imagining we open up to new possibilities. We’re able to appreciate the story we’ve been living. Here is another paragraph from Lessing’s Nobel speech: “The storyteller is deep inside every one of us. The story-maker is always with us. Let us suppose our world is ravaged by war, by the horrors that we all of us easily imagine. Let us suppose floods wash through our cities, the seas rise. But the storyteller will be there, for it is our imaginations which shape us, keep us, create us– for good and for ill. It is our stories that will recreate us, when we are torn, hurt, even destroyed. It is the storyteller, the dream-maker, the myth-maker, that is our phoenix, that represents us at our best, and at our most creative.” The empty space Lessing calls for is perhaps that pause between breathing…the no– breath, that expanding moment when we fall down the rabbit hole into our story. A slowing down of linear time so we can slip though that gap into the field that Rumi writes of where company, client and customer gather… “Out beyond ideas of right doing and wrong doing there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” It’s a movement from confusion and chaos to a calm centred-ness, from maze to labyrinth. Consider the long annual migration of the Monarch butterfly between the central highlands of Mexico and parts of Canada and the USA, one of the great wonders of the natural world. Each year there are 4 generations, the first three have an average life span of about 5 weeks, but the fourth generation goes on a journey that lasts a lot longer, and lives considerably longer. Consider emptiness, waiting, creativity, rebirth and metamorphosis elements as you watch Incredible Journey of Monarch Butterflies on YouTube. Danaus plexippus, their scientific name, means “sleepy transformation.”2 Creativity out of nothingness. Rolling Stone Keith Richards: “So we’re the song factory. We start to think like songwriters, and once you get that habit, it stays with you all your life. It motors along in your subconscious, in the way you listen…The radar is on whether you know it or not. You cannot switch it off…” 3 Reflection brings awareness, clarity, mind-shifts, allows you to re-prioritise, refocus. You may want to contemplate how you can better spend your time on developing your virtues for example practicing love, balancing and lightening the soul, giving vent to curiosity, exploring, learning. You may also wish to reflect, as a leader, on organisational issues of growth, talent management, innovation areas needed, on where you need to take responsibility.

References 1. Bridges, William Managing Transitions Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., Inc. New York 1992 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdfIuVcwcQs and http://harunyahya.com/en/Guncel_ Yorumlar/15644/The_journey_of_the_monarch_butterfly 3. Richards, Keith Life Back Bay Books 2010 © Mindless Records, LLC

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EXERCISE 8 Journaling Try these exercises as journal entries 1. 2. 3. 4.

Brainstorm around the idea of a journal and its uses. How will you use it? Who are you? Why are you doing the work you are doing? Write a page of random jottings to do with what happens to you when you write. Suspend thinking and write rapidly without pause for ten minutes knowing that no one will ever read what you have written. Then burn it. Now write to record your feelings about this exercise. 5. Write a journal entry entitled, “Myself at work and play in five years’ time.”

EXERCISE 9 Relating Behaviours in Our Organisation 1. Are staff trained in effective communicating and relating behaviours? 2. When presentations are given, do they engage audiences fully, invite contribution, convey insights? 3. Are crucial conversations conducted in a manner that satisfies all parties?

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Introduction to Section 6 The need for innovation to not only survive but also thrive in today’s world – again as individuals and organisations – is what makes the next da Vinci value so attractive. Curiosity – savvy questioning, attentive listening, having the transcendental perspective of wonderment, fun, and harnessing diversity are drivers of innovation which are now explored. Like mindfulness and imagination, these too are states of being, cultural components for the leading business organisation. We also offer a framework and process for innovations – both large and small – that can take place in teams and at the individual level. Ways of escaping from ‘locked-in’ thinking, and moving from panic to possibility.

Chapter 17 : The Question Is... “It is not the answer that enlightens but the question.” (Eugéne Ionesco, playwright and poet)

Why ask questions? Questions lead to answers. Questions allow us to construct an intelligible world. Without questions, lawyers, philosophers, inventors, scientists, coaches, trainers, knowledge management developers, management consultants, theologians, market researchers, journalists, police investigators and employment interviewers would be lost. Without questions, crucial conversations stall, curiosity goes unsatisfied and learning dries up. Veils covering the unknown are not lifted. With only pre-decided answers and no questions, the salesperson fails to understand and connect, and loses out. The boss who makes too many statements, or asks rhetorical questions to which he already knows the answers fails to ignite engagement, participation, curiosity or to connect emotionally. Without questions the psychologist or narrative therapist cannot open up new possibilities for their clients, the doctor cannot diagnose. Without questions in a safe environment, where curiosity is valued, innovative companies lose their competitive edge. Through questions we can achieve focus, widen our perspectives, deepen and accelerate our learning, solve problems and stimulate good conversations. Questions enable the quest. The quest for data, information, knowledge, understanding and wisdom. It’s good that Newton asked “Why did the apple fall?”, Archimedes asked “Why does my bath water rise when I get in?”, de Vinci asked “Could man fly?.” Da Vinci was described by Kenneth Clark as ‘the most relentlessly curious man in history.’ An example: ‘The moon is dense;anything dense is heavy: what is the nature of the moon?’1 Curiosità (seek the truth) is identified as one of his key virtues.2 As a picture can be worth a 1000 words, so too can a good question be worth a 1000 answers. Help to lead from chaos to order. Fly like an arrow straight to the heart of the matter. There was once a small boy who loved banging his drum all day and every day. He refused to be quiet, no matter what anyone else said or did. Various people were called in to do something, to find the answer to this disruption, to solve the problem. The first told the boy that he would surely, if he continued to make so much noise, perforate his eardrums. The second told him that drum beating was a sacred activity and should be reserved only for special occasions. The third offered the villagers plugs for their ears. Someone gave the boy a book to read. Another suggested meditation exercises. Yet another offered more harmonious musical instruments. Nothing worked. Eventually a wise old woman asked of the boy, “I wonder what is inside the drum?” (Idris Shah)

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Text books are full of information about closed and open-ended questions. They cover leading and rhetorical questions, process questions – prompting, clarifying, probing, establishing, trapping, challenging, reflective and provocative questions. Multiplechoice questions and enquiring “What if?” questions. They offer critique questions such as the “Who says?” and “So what?” combination. Questions that reframe thinking, that surface alternatives. It’s also good to escape from too much business reading, and to read simply for enjoyment. I find as much wisdom, and often learn incidentally, by reading novels. Ed McBain’s 87th Precinct mysteries, for example are great for studying probing questioning and loop-back techniques. Asking the right questions is key. In the Hans Christian Andersen story, a child is the only one to ask what needed to be asked: “Why isn’t the emperor wearing any clothes?” When disciple Malunkyaputta, worried that so much had yet to be explained by the Buddha, and desperately needing answers, he posed these and other questions: “Is the soul different to the body? Do the enlightened live after death? Is the world eternal or not?” The Buddha answered: “I have never said that if you lived a religious life you would understand these things. It is like a man, wounded by a poisoned arrow, who says to those who want to heal him: ‘No. This arrow must not be removed until I know who wounded me, what his name is, where he comes from, and what kind of bow he used, how was the arrow made?’ Surely this man would die before he received his answers. Whatever answers I give to the questions that you have posed Malunkyaputta, there is still suffering, old age, death – and these things we can transcend, and their explanation is useful. Your questions are not useful.” Malunkyaputta applauded the Buddha’s answers. Einstein said something along these lines–that if he were about to die and had only 1 hour to figure out how to save his life, he would spend the first 55 minutes of that hour

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searching for the “right question.” Once he had formulated the question, then finding the answer would take only 5 minutes. For now, just three thoughts:

In the workplace The Japanese 5 Whys? technique of delving deeper in order to uncover the root cause, isworth adopting. We could reverse Benjamin Franklin as a fun way of illustrating this: the kingdom was lost (Why?) for want of the war the war was lost (Why?) for want of a battle the battle was lost (Why?) for want of an army an army was lost (Why?) for want of a rider a rider was lost (Why?) for want of a horse a horse was lost (Why?) for want of a shoe a shoe was lost (Why?) For want of a nail Cognitive Kinetics3 goes beyond mind-mapping, and we use it to generate innovation within groups. To a large extent, a successful outcome depends on the strength and flow of the questions used to initiate new thinking. The Appreciative Inquiry approach, which can also tap into narrative, resonates with the Ionesco quote at the beginning of this article. Instead of asking questions such as ‘What is the problem?’, ‘What is wrong’; the approach is to focus on the positive to tap into solutions: “What is good about what we are doing?’, ‘Can we foresee ways in which this can work better?.’.. The same applies to Anecdote Circles. Belasco4: “Too many of us still believe that it is our responsibility to provide answers......”

Within relationships The Johari Window 5 (developed by Joe Luft and Harry Ingham and referred to in chapters 9 and 12) is a nice way for people to learn about each other. A window is progressively opened by each person both telling and asking. Receiving and revealing what is known to self/not known to self, known to others/not known to others. It addresses facts, feelings and underlying beliefs.

Growing yourself When spotting one of your own limiting beliefs (“I’m not good at….”, “I can’t……”), a timely intervention along the lines of “Why do I believe this? and “What if it’s not true?” can move you from awareness to a positive change. When indignant, angry, disillusioned, try switching from “How could she do this to me, say that about me?” to “What can I take from this that has value?” I’ve noticed people who wear an armband to help them confront troublesome situations: “What would Jesus do?” Sometimes you can reverse a question. Instead of “Why do we die?” you can ask, “What would life be like if we did not die?”

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There are many teachers and advisers selling water by the river. Quiet times alone in reflection and meditation will often allow you to sate your thirst at the same river, gain answers that no one else can give to you.

How should questions be asked? Egyptian writer and Nobel Prize winner for Literature, Naguib Mahfouz, once said: “You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers. You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.” Advice to heed. The right question can be asked in the wrong way. How often have you been asked “How are you doing?” and know that it is being asked by rote, as part of a standard greeting? When asked with real interest and concern, it becomes a different question. And if you emphasise different words in that four-word question, for example “How are YOU doing?” it projects yet other nuances. At a presentation, are questions sometimes intended to impress, or convey that the person posing the question disagrees with the speaker? Or are they asked with an open mind, a genuine intent to learn? In dialogues, and questions within dialogues, there is an exchange of words (facts) and also expressions, body language, voice tone, pitch, speaking pace (feelings). It is not the actual wording of a question nor reply, but the other elements which are more important. Ask in a way that shows that you are fully engaged and present, have a genuine interest and are looking for a positive outcome. Ask after a connection has been made and trust established.

Questions and listening are natural bedfellows So when you’re asked a question listen between the lines for facts and feelings. Respect the other’s question. Once you’ve asked a question, jump into listening mode. Do this also when a colleague, family member or friend is sharing their thinking. Listen attentively without interfering, without jumping in with answers or questions. This undermines the others ability to do their own thinking, come to their own conclusions. The value of pauses and silences cannot be overstated. A non-verbalised, implied question and interest, conveyed by an encouraging facial expression, eye contact, a raised eyebrow or incline of the head – will often do the trick. You may of course ask a question like: “What else comes to mind?” so that the others’ thinking flow continues. It is estimated that the unconscious mind accounts for 95% of all cognition, and neuro-linguistic practitioners point out that what we hear and say is influenced 55% by outward appearances and body language, 38% by voice quality and only 7% by the actual words used. A great deal of what we hear takes place at the unconscious level. Yet there are things we can do to consciously improve our listening abilities. Attentive listening means listening for content, emotions, assumptions, beliefs and intent. Sometimes after careful listening you can show the other an uncovered limiting belief, blockage or assumption by asking questions such as: ”If you could…? or “If you were to...?”

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Silence and pause can often be appropriate. Buddha responded with noble silence when asked certain questions to do with life after death, whether the world was eternal... questions that are unanswerable but whose contemplations are of value. We do have the right to remain silent sometimes. We can honour others by being silent. Nancy Kline has lots more to say on this.6 Paul Tillich, the theologian, says that “Listening is an act of love.” And remember that story telling invites listening and questions, and carries answers– not simply “What happens next?” but also “What does this mean for me?” Here is a story to ponder: I have answered the questions People approach the new young rabbi in the community with their questions. They come one by one. Why did my child die? Why did my wife run away? Why is there so much hatred and anger in the world? Where can I find work? The rabbi is not able answer these questions so he approaches his teacher, the great rabbi who says. “I will come and answer the questions.” There is a great buzz in the community. On the Saturday morning the synagogue is full of people. The great rabbi arrives. He bows to the Torah, the holy book. Then he bows to the people. He sits down and says, “Ask your questions.” He listens intensely to the first person’s question and then says, “I won’t answer the questions now. I will wait until everybody has asked their questions.” People look at each other in amazement. How will he remember all the questions from so many people? One by one people ask their questions. When everybody has spoken there is silence. The rabbi begins to rock his body backwards and forwards and begins hum a niggun (a chant to induce a prayerful attitude). The people wonder what the great rabbi is up to and then they begin to hum as well. Then the rabbi stands up and begins to dance. The people begin to dance too. After the humming and the dancing the great rabbi faces the people. There is silence. He bows to them. Then he bows to the Torah. He says, “I have answered your questions” and he leaves. So the question is: Are our questions sometimes self-serving, to boost our egos and show that we know it all or are they used to empower others and to foster creative inquiry? Perhaps we could add to the first verse of Rudyard Kipling’s I keep six honest serving-men (They taught me all I knew); Their names are What and Why and When And How and Where and Who. They serve me because I serve them (Show how little I know).

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References 1. Nicholl, Charles Leonardo Da Vinci: the flights of the mind Allen Lane/Penguin 2004 2. Gelb, Michael J. Da Vinci Decoded Delacorte Press 2004 3. Cybernovation Technologies and Industries Ltd Users Manual: Thinking with Hexagons 1990 4. Belasco, James A Teaching the Elephant to Dance Hutchinson Business Books London 1990 5. Luft, Joseph Group Processes: An Introduction to Group Dynamics Third Edition Copyright © 1984 by Joseph Luft. 6. Kline, Nancy Time to Think Cassell Illustrated, UK. 1999

Illustration by Tony Grogan Boy and Drum

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Chapter 18 : Wonder When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. (William Wordsworth) My late father-in law, Grandpa Bob, always peppered his conversations with words like marvellous, astonishing, and wonderful. He displayed a mindful, child-like wonderment. It sometimes seems that this is somewhat lacking in the world we live in. Jeffrey Davis says that “Wonder is experiencing something anew”, and suggests and explains that “navigating crises with wonder may be a story for our times.” “A wondrous mind-set can help people plunged into crisis navigate turbulence with more possibility than panic.”1 We’ve long held that one element of a successful story is emotion, including that of wonder; and the 4W story pattern that we teach (Womb-Wound-Wander-Wonder) has as its 4th W: Wonder. “Out of the dross of pain, loss and setback comes the gold of strength, value and reward.”2

Wonder is a transcendental perspective A habit of the mind. Mindfulness and wonder go hand in hand, as indicated in the Wordsworth quote at the start of this chapter. Being aware of the pleasantness of a cool breeze on a summer’s day, the changing light as the sun sets and rises, the feel of grass underneath bare feet, the sound of lapping waves, the beauty of a flickering candle or a spring flower, the soulful sound of a lone saxophone–are all present moments that can set off your sense of wonderment. An understanding, experience and appreciation of the mystical, mysterious and magical in things. I see trees of green........ red roses too I see em bloom..... for me and for you And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world. I see skies of blue..... clouds of white Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world. The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky Are also on the faces.....of people ..going by I see friends shaking hands.....sayin.. how do you do They’re really sayin......i love you. I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow They’ll learn much more.....than I’ll never know And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world 3

Wonder triggers curiosity Cultivate a da Vinci-like wonder at the vastness of space, the intricacies of the human body and our senses, the possibilities and reach of the world wide web, how an opportunity suddenly emerges, how a complex plan suddenly comes together, at the ingenuity of people faced with a seemingly intractable problem, at the power of nature. 165

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University of California neuroscientist, V.S.Ramachandran, points out, a piece of the brain “the size of a grain of sand would contain 100 000 neurons, two million axons and one billion synapses, all talking to each other.”4 If our three-pound brains contain a billion synapses, with maybe a 100 trillion interconnections between them, and include mirror neurons enabling us to mimic, imitate and empathise with others, these are galaxy numbers. How about this: “The sophisticated song mechanisms of birds leaves scientists speechless. Nightingales can have a repertoire of 300 songs stored in their brains! They will often sing 70 songs before they repeat the repertoire again with perfect accuracy and pitch (and without a tuning fork!). Some birds can perform antiphonal singing where two birds sing alternate notes in a song. This requires knowledge of the duet by both partners and split second timing in the execution of the duet.”5 “To be surprised, to wonder, is to begin to understand” (Spanish philosopher Ortega y Gasset) “All great scientists are inspired by the subtlety and beauty of the natural world that they are seeking to understand. Each new subatomic particle, every unexpected astronomical object, produces delight and wonderment. In constructing their theories, physicists are frequently guided by ... concepts of elegance in the belief that the universe is intrinsically beautiful. Time and again this artistic taste has proved to be a fruitful guiding principle and led directly to new discoveries, even when at first sight they appear to contradict the observational facts.” Physicist Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics. “The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed” (Albert Einstein).

Wonder is healthy “One of the most important emotional foundations underlying the experience of optimum mental health is the capacity for experiencing wonder and awe. Early in the last century, William James explored trait distinctions between the healthy minded versus the sick soul in his classic psychology of religion work. His descriptions of healthy minded individuals were consistent with high experiences of wonder and awe… Long before psychology was a recognised discipline, Rene Descartes, in his Passions of the Soul, placed wonder as the first of all passions, before desire, hate, love, sadness and joy. He saw wonder as primary to other emotions because it is a surprise of the soul that occurs prior to comparison and judgment of the experience; also it has no opposite emotion.”6 So: “Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them” (Marcus Aurelius) and “Light the candles of your five senses from the fire that is in your heart” (Rumi) Now. “It’s always eye-opening to hear the dying say that they just want to see the stars one more time, or to gaze out on the ocean … Don’t wait for one last look at the ocean, the sky, the stars, or a loved one. Go look now.”7

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Four angels witnessed the creation of the world. The first asked the Divine “How do you do this?” That one became a scientist. The second angel asked “What is it for?” That one became the philosopher. The third angel asked “What is this costing you?” That one became the economist. The fourth angel applauded. That angel became the mystic.

References 1. Davis, Jeffrey Something Startling This Way Comes: Navigating crises with wonder may be the story of our time. Published on October 29, 2012 by Jeffrey Davis, M.A. in Tracking Wonder and in Psychology Today http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/trackingwonder/201210/something-startling-way-comes 2. Williams, G and Haarhoff, D The Halo and the Noose Graysonian Press 2009 3. Songwriters: Dietz, Howards, Schwartz, Arthur What a Wonderful World 4. Ramachandran, Vilayanur: The neurons that shaped civilization. http://www.ted.com/talks/ vs_ramachandran_the_neurons_that_shaped_civilization.html 5. Sing With the Birds Challenge Newspaper No. 62 Published by Challenge Literature Fellowship in partnership with Multi-Ministeries South Africa 6. Angell, Granville © 8/2006 The Importance of Wonder and Awe http://www.transitionscounseling.com/The%20Importance%20of%20Wonder%20and%20Awe%20-%20Part%20I. htm 7. Kϋbler-Ross, Elisabeth & Kessler, David Life Lessons: how our mortality can teach us about life and living Simon & Schuster, UK 2001

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Chapter 19 : How The Chain Reaction of Imagination, Story and Innovation Works for Us “Imagination (is) the sacred vessel of the infinite, the emancipator of the bound human mind.” (William Blake) “The primary IMAGINATION I hold to be the living Power and prime Agent of all human Perception, and as a repetition in the finite mind of the eternal act of creation in the infinite I am.” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge: Biographia Literaria)

Innovation is not always plain sailing There are times when we become locked in and are unable to get out of a particular groove; we can neither imagine new possibilities, nor generate or accept new ideas and innovations. When Marco Polo returned from China and told of the use of paper money, that paradigm or mental concept was simply too foreign for his own people: only metal money could be real and have value – a mindset that endured well into the next century. Consider your PC keyboard. Read the first six letters to the left in the top row. QWERTY. Does this ring a bell? This layout was designed in 1873 to slow typing down, because early mechanisms jammed easily. More than 100 years later we use the same keyboard layout. Car indicator lights were installed by manufacturers only long after flashing light technology was available. Bicycle chains only became a reality long after drive-chain technology was employed in the manufacture of bicycles. At organisational and personal levels too, we lock in beliefs and perceptions about ourselves and others, that limit our development and growth. Frank Whittle’s radically different concept was to introduce an aeroplane with no piston engine and no propeller. Sucked-in air was used in order to produce thrust. He did this, by all accounts, against enormous odds and strong bureaucracy, with no financial or other support. Indeed, some considered him to be just plain crazy.

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Hence Swami Vivekananda’s statement rings true: “Each work has to pass through these stages — ridicule, opposition and then acceptance. Those who think ahead of their time are sure to be misunderstood.” And there is usually lots of hard thinking and hard work involved. “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.”– (Thomas A. Edison)

But innovation is now seen by many businesses as the way ahead In a low growth economy, many companies see innovation as key to organisational growth. Surviving and thriving through continuous and rapid, even rhythmical innovation is viewed as the way to stay in the game and take the lead. Innovation of processes, products, services and technology. Innovation is appearing more often as a core value for many organisations. Daniel Pink says “the future belongs to a very different kind of person… These people – artists, inventors, designers, storytellers, caregivers, consolers, big picture thinkers – will now reap society’s richest rewards and share its greatest joys.”1 Something new, something different, something that adds perceived value. Hence liquid soap, diet soft-drink, disposable nappies, scented petrolatum, biodegradable chain lubricant, 3M’s not-so-adhesive adhesive and PostIt notes.

Continuous Improvement of the Motor Car Through Innovation: 1910s Carburettor, side valves, drum brakes, cross-ply tyres 1940s Hydraulic brakes, overdrive 1950s/60s Servo-assisted brakes, overhead camshafts, alloy cylinder heads, disc brakes 1970s Semi-electric transmission, automatic transmission, fuel injection, radial ply tyres, front wheel drive 1980s Anti-lock brake systems, turbo charging, electric microprocessor engine management, multi-valve engines, four wheel drive 1990s Electronically controlled suspension, ceramic engine parts More recently we’ve seen driver and passenger on-board conveniences such as global positioning systems, ergonomic design, and hybrid and alternative fuel choice. Perhaps the driverless car lies ahead… Since its inception, 3M has been a company that has innovation as part of its DNA. One of their mantras is ‘the chain reaction of innovation’, where an innovation in one product or application is transferred to another, then another. Something that succeeds in one environment is lifted and used to solve a problem in another. A solution in one area often leads to new applications and solutions in others. Developing a new compression system to treat a painful venous leg ulcers, their inspiration came from the functional properties of giraffe skin.

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The Story of 3M’s insulate Birds are vulnerable to oil spills and contamination, and it’s interesting that the molecular structure of their feathers is very similar to a reptile’s scales. The very first bird, probably evolved from a reptile, experienced a chain reaction of benefits: • An escape from predators through flight. Contour feathers shape their wings. • Down feathers provided thermal insulation against water and cold temperatures by trapping heat • Feathers are light and allowed for easy, comfortable travel to warmer climes • Feathers gave warmth to nesting young • Their colouring allowed for camouflage when flying, and attracting mates • Feathers protect by blocking UV rays • The feathers of cormorants soak up water, helps to reduce buoyancy and thereby allows them to swim submerged Insulate is made of super resilient, absorbent fibres and was first used for industrial purposes. Its’ incredible absorbency made it ideal for use in cleaning up oil spills, helping to protect our environment. 3M engineers noticed that during oil spill clean-ups, volunteers wrapped Insulate around their shoulders to stay warm. That led to another application, and another… a chain reaction of benefits for humans. Insulate has in many ways, become a human substitute for feathers – a sort of ecological intelligence in action: • Provides an escape from some of the effects of environmental pollution. • Thermal insulation against water and cold temperatures is provided by trapping heat, which has resulted in a range of cold weather outerwear, hats, gloves and footwear. • This outerwear is light and allows us easy, comfortable travel. • Insulate gives warmth to our nesting – draperies and bedding applications have followed. • Insulate is fashionable. • Insulate protects by blocking UV rays.

There are many ways of innovating Innovations may be radical, disruptive and introduce a step changes. They may be vertical and incremental, one innovation building on or leading to another. Innovation may be horizontal, spreading across disciplines, products, technologies. When nuclei collide there is a nuclear reaction which triggers another leading to a continuing, exponential number of reactions. It’s much more than simply a linear snowball or domino effect. So too with some innovations. There is one thing common to all innovations. It is preceded by imagination.

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Imagination precedes innovation The capacity of imagination allows us to have insight into something new, and come up with a creative solution or advance that is different and better. The Latin innovare means to bring what is new; an idea put into practice. Elias Howe, inventor of the sewing machine needle, was struggling with design – how to incorporate a needle in his machine. (In the conventional needle, the point and the eye are at opposite ends). In a dream he was being chased by savages carrying spears. He noticed that at the head of the spears there were eyes. He woke with the machine needle design. Jay Walker refers to imagination as the fuel that drives innovation, saying: “…if you’re not thinking about imagination, I guarantee you’re not going to have meaningful innovation.”2 He gives a fascinating example of “an imaginative leap changed the world”: London, 1665, was the last great year of the plague. The king was getting tired of people claiming they were dead and not paying their taxes, so the English came up with a great idea: You needed a certificate to die. Then somebody said, “Each week, why don’t we write down all the reasons people died this week, and we’ll issue that as a weekly summary for the king.” Here’s what happens next: They see a pattern in the data—and nobody had ever seen a pattern in data before. They had seen patterns in your palm. They had seen patterns in the sky. But this was patterns in the data. Then they realise, people aren’t dying because God is killing them. They’re dying because there’s some kind of statistical probability projection going on. So, from this one book, three industries—statistics, life insurance and public health—are born.

And story is a driver of imagination When Joan of Arc was on trial for her life, one of her accusers asked, “These voices of God you say you hear. Is this not just your imagination?” Joan replied, “How else would God speak but though the imagination?” We have long preached that story and imagination are bedfellows. They belong together. Imagination produces stories. Stories evoke imagination. We devote a whole chapter to this in Story Matters @ Work. 3 Emily Evans refers to a talk by Bran Ferrin at a Technology Frontiers event4: “When he looked for unifying characteristics in the great inventions of history, he observed that “every time something came along that did a better job of story-telling… it fundamentally changed the course of civilisation and was permanent.” That resonates with a presentation we posted on our web site two years ago.5 The message: We long for connectivity.

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In the beginning we walked to get to a different place, meet up with someone else, share stories and connect. Then those who could afford it used the innovations of wheels and harnessed energy to meet up and get around so they could tell their stories. We created forward movement using our legs not to walk but to cycle, and drive-chain technology made it easier. The advent of the internal combustion engine led to movement powered by a new energy, the motorised bike. And of course, the car. Faster travel and more connectivity came with air travel and jet propulsion ushered in safe, fast, long distance travel for many. Every year, 700 million or more of us fly to another country, this new, mobile community of travellers and story-sharers being smaller only than China and India. And then came the relatively recent, life-changing, world-shrinking technologies that we now take for granted: the internet, personal computing, television, cell phones, a convergence of information and communication technologies. They allow us to travel immediately to where news is breaking, events are unfolding and stories are being told. We can connect virtually with anyone, anywhere and share our experiences and memories, our stories, and stimulate our imaginations. Connectivity without proximity. Perhaps we are coming out of the information age and moving into the story age. From paper to movies to TV and video cassettes, DVD, Internet downloads. From vinyl to cassette tapes to CD to Internet downloads. Together this constitutes an enormous, growing variety of visual effects, background music apps, story containers that convey information, knowledge and wisdom. We can tell our stories to a bigger and growing audience faster and at virtually no cost. In the same article referred to above, Evans goes on to say “Adrian (Hon) and Michael (Bove) agree that future stories will be more immersive, as technology becomes better at blending fiction with the real world around us. For example, tracking technology makes it possible to create personalised smart tales that are tailored to the listener’s immediate environment. Michael predicts that in the future story-telling technologies will be designed to recede so the audience is only conscious of the tale, not the technology that’s communicating it.” Imagination is used to construct stories and is triggered by story. Imagination precedes innovation. Innovation that spurs better storytelling possibilities leads to changes in how we connect, how knowledge and wisdom is spread, how we behave in society, how the world ticks.

References 1. Pink, Daniel A Whole New Mind: why right-brainers will rule the future Riverhead Books NY 2005 2. Walker, Jay The Power of Imagination: the fuel that drives innovation. http://online.wsj.com/ article/SB10001424127887323549204578315882921881920.html 3. Williams, Graham & Haarhoff, Dorian Story Matters @ Work http://www.haloandnoose. com eBook 4. Evans, Emily Stories of the Future: The impact of technological innovation on stories March, 2013 http://www.management-thinking.org/content/stories-future#ixzz2N1VcjgYP 5. Williams, Graham & Haarhoff, Dorian The Chain Reaction of Human Travel and Connectivity: a conversation-starter Multi-Media Section of http://www.haloandnoose.com

Illustration by Tony Grogan Da Vinci at work

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Chapter 20 : Performance Through Innovation – a Model that Works “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.” (Charles Darwin) “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” (Steve Jobs)

Two underlying principles When the word innovation is mentioned we tend to think about major, disruptive innovations like the life-changing, world-shrinking technologies that happened around the mid–20th Century: the internet, personal computing, television, cell phones, the convergence of information and communication technologies. And we think about pioneering inventors such as Frank Whittle and his radically different concept of jet propulsion–an aero plane with no piston engine, no propeller! (Sucked-in air was used in order to produce thrust). But in fact innovation is, in the first place, less about individual light bulb moments, and more about group dynamics and co-intelligence. Secondly, innovation is about small incremental improvements or changes that make a big difference in the marketplace. Think about the evolution of soap for example (soap-on-a-rope, liquid soap, scented soap, cleansing agent and beauty treatment). The message is everyone in an organisation can and should be involved in innovation. A MODEL OF INNOVATION from Noose to Halo 1 FACTORS PROMOTING CREATIVITY fun, laughter jumping out of ‘lock-in’ imagination diversity mindful reflection curiosity

2

LEVERAGING

PROCESSING IDEAS creative synergy insights, raw ideas group techniques for cognitive movement

FUNNELLING

INNOVATION product, service, business, process, technology 4

EXECUTING

SELECTION, TESTING useful thoughts, impact assessment, piloting 3

Here is an outline of a modern model for corporate innovation that can help organisations to escape the trap of being ordinary, and instead to light up all aspects of how they work, become different and better keep ahead of the game.

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The key factors or values, promoting creativity Jumping Out of the Groove. The Latin innovare means to bring what is new, an idea put into practice. When we become locked in and are unable to get out of a particular groove, we cannot imagine new possibilities and can neither generate nor accept new ideas and innovations. The stirring examples of organisations that have made huge differences to the triple-bottom-line in Chapter 2 were all based on jumping out of the groove. Curiosity. One of science’s most important discoveries about fear is that it’s physical and neurological symptoms differ only slightly from those of curiosity. Fears of failure and insecurity can be driven out by the stronger driver: inquisitiveness. This leads to freedom, exploration, discovery, improvement as we find ourselves “wandering around in unknown territory, in a search connections where there seem to be none.”1 Fun. Laughter is good for our well-being. Twelve hours after a bout of prolonged laughter the effects can still be detected in the blood stream (vascular flow and oxygenation). Laughter reduces stress, relaxes and calms us, counters negative thought patterns and introduces a state conducive to creativity. Incidentally, humour and creativity are neurologically similar. We laugh because of a joke’s unexpected, incongruent punch line – a shifted frame of reference. Groups that have fun are more relaxed and more creative. Diversity. Diversity of perspectives, roles, intelligences, thinking styles and focus, views, approaches and cultures significantly stimulates creativity and originality in a group. Implicit in the idea of diversity is teamwork. Thought leaders are currently shifting the emphasis from individual to group in their creative endeavours.2 Steven Johnson believes that collaboration is at the heart of innovation.3 Bart Becht of the highly successful and profitable Reckitt Benckiser group (merger of Reckitt & Coleman and Benckiser) which relies heavily on innovation, says: “…we also work in groups all the time…so team spirit is also very much part of our culture…” 4 Mindful reflection. Osho makes the point that mindfully living in the present moment better allows us to be imaginative – to explore the new, the novel, a world of possibilities because we are not then tethered to the past.5 Newton was mindful when he observed an apple falling and discovered gravity. Archimedes observed his bath water rising as he got in, and Eureka, fathomed displacement. Being in a relaxed state of heightened awareness, as explained in Chapter 10, also increases our ability to imagine creatively. Imagination. Richard Tarnas points out a relatively new development in man’s thinking. He is referring to that dynamic mental capacity known as imagination. Imagination is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts in our minds when they are not perceived through any of our senses. This allows us to see hidden truth in myths and archetypal meaning, and make conscious our place in the universe, indeed – broaden our concept of and understanding of reality. We do this naturally when we dream and active imagination in a wakened state is possible.6 Creative imagination is simply the experiencing of a new reality which hasn’t yet happened. We have the ability to move beyond where we are now. Two dying men who share a hospital ward, become friends. One of them is inside the room near the door, while the other’s bed is positioneed at the

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window. Each day the man at the window describes in great detail to his companion what is taking place outside. He tells of many things: a lake, swans, flowers, people, the weather, cloud patterns, changing seasons. And his friend loves and lives these commentaries. Then there comes a time when the man at the window dies. His companion asks to be moved to the window bed. When he looks out of the window, there is only a stark, unpainted, ugly, brick wall. These key factors cannot work in isolation, but as part of a synergistic whole. Osho eloquently sets out the deep connections between what he terms the 3 C’s: Consciousness (being), compassion (feeling) and creativity (action), and says “Once pathology disappears, everybody becomes a creator. Let it be understood as deeply as possible: only ill people are destructive. The people who are healthy are creative. Creativity is a fragrance of real health. When a person is really healthy and whole, creativity comes naturally to him, the urge to create arises.” His final chapter is entitled “The Ultimate Creativity, The Meaning of your Life.”5 (See Chapter 25: Integrating Body, Mind and Spirit)

What tools and techniques can be used to infuse these elements into our work environments? Atmosphere. The processing of creative ideas happens best in an unpressured, calm space, perhaps away from normal business activity, deadlines and interruptions. A space where there is freedom and fun. Campbell suggests that music enlarges neural pathways (as does thought-meditation) and stimulates learning and creativity, so background Mozart can be helpful.7 Teaching techniques and methods. Some training may be needed to provide knowledge, understanding and confidence in utilising the key factors leading to creativity. For example, training in Edward de Bono’s proven techniques and tools. It was he who first coined the term ‘lateral thinking.’ De Bono focuses on changing perception (shifting of a frame of reference) by means such as provocation, random stimulation, metaphor, word association and parallel (cooperative, non-argumentative) thinking.8 Perhaps training in facing paradox and apparent ambiguity. (F. Scott Fitzgerald: “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” In the early 1990s I conceived for a client a set of five techniques to assist in clean sheet business process redesign, by guiding systematic thinking. We called it SPEAR, an acronym for separating, paralleling, eliminating, automating and rearranging activities that formed part of the business process.9 It is applied, for example, in business process redesign laboratories, where the participants are free of routine work obligations and other distractions. Interestingly, a number of blue-chip companies are adopting a set of five systematic thinking business innovation techniques which resonate with SPEAR: subtraction, division, multiplication, task unification, attribute dependency.10 The authors advocate their Systematic Inventive Thinking, or closed world thinking (thinking inside-the-box), different to the de Bono outside-the-box approach (Indeed

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de Bono doesn’t get a mention in the book). We believe that it’s a question of and rather than or. Also powerful is the development of the Japanese Gemba attitude – going to or being in the place where it all happens. It’s a bit like the success of Jeffery Deaver’s brilliant quadriplegic criminologist whose first move is always to send his assistant Amelia Sachs to walk the grid at the scene of the crime. The related incremental-improvement technique of Genchi Genbutsu, which, for example may entail standing inside a chalked circle (say on the factory floor, or retail shop space, or contact centre) for a time and simply observing. Consider how this deliberate activity can bring together the various factors that promote creativity mindfulness, curiosity, fun, divergent thinking, imagination. In addition, listening to customer stories and metaphors and using stories to inspire and motivate the group to respond using radically different thinking as advocated by Steve Jobs.11 We’ve used metaphor to stimulate lateral thinking. For example, in refining the sales leads-generation, prospecting and selling process of a prominent financial services provider, the metaphor of bass fishing was used. In the case study in Chapter 9 a river metaphor informed the development of creative solutions to obstacles lying in wait. Nature abounds with metaphor. Da Vinci had the habit of wandering in nature on his own – his senses alert, his mind free and open. It doesn’t take much to make connections between his amazing powers of innovation and his love for nature: Bee ... Helicopter Tortoise ... Tank Fish ... Scuba diver Bird ... Aeroplane Spider ... Parachute Frog ... Swimming flipper Underlying all of these approaches to thinking differently is Einstein’s adage that you cannot solve a problem with the same mind-set that created it. Fostering Group Synergy. de Bono’s six-hats method is also a metaphorical way of enabling a group to look at a situation jointly from six different vantage points: information gathering, feelings and intuitions, critique, values and benefits uncovering, generating or brainstorming and filtering productive ideas and possibilities, and keeping perspective by focusing on content and process.12 Refer Chapter 23 : Fun We love Cognitive Kinetics.13 This is the visible, graphic capturing of clusters of ideas and connections between these clusters, in order to form and reframe shared mental models that emerge during the process – say with the use of hexagonal on a magnetic board. It thus goes far beyond typical brainstorming and mind-mapping – the Kinetics aspect being a reference to getting the mind – instead of staying in one place – to moving around the subject, challenge, or an object of scrutiny–in order to gain different perspectives, a new overview, and an opportunity to re-map it according to new insights. In the same way as we gain perspective and overview by viewing a building from all angles, above, below, within. Groups should involve customers and suppliers. And this re-mapping applies to stories too, we interpret them differently on different days for we are not standing in the same place. Of course innovations in business apply to every aspect – products, services, processes

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and enabling technologies, communications and cross-departmental teams work best. Innovation within silos is an unnecessary limitation. Different departments share processes and accountability, and each has creative talent. Innovation is not something allocated exclusively to a specialist department, but organisation-wide.

Selection, testing All of the generated ideas need to go through a funneling process, a process of selecting, testing and prioritisation. This may entail making an assessment of their probable value to the organisation and its objectives, and piloting them to prove their validity in practice.

Innovation outcomes Once piloting is completed, with any needed adjustments made, the innovation can be rolled out. These may be a product, a service, a business process or a technological innovation. Roll out could follow the principles outlined by Malcolm Gladwell, namely using connectors, mavens and salesmen, and taking account of stickiness and content.14 Based on my experiences with organisations, my firm contention is that innovation is for everyone, and that with a relatively small amount of attention to training and process needs, a culture of innovation can be triggered.

References Zeldin, Theodore An Intimate History of Humanity Vintage London 1998 Leonard, Dorothy and Swap, Walter When Sparks Fly HBSP Boston 1999 Johnson, Steven Where good ideas come from Penguin 2010 Naomi Stanford Organisation Culture: getting it right The Economist in association with Profile Books Ltd 2010 5. Osho Creativity – unleashing the forces within. St Martin’s Griffin New York 1992 6. Tarnas, Richard Passion of the Western Mind Pimlico 1991 7. Campbell, Don The Mozart Effect Hodder & Stoughton London 1997 8. De Bono, Edward How to have a beautiful mind Vermilion London 2004, and de Bono’s Thinking Course BBC Books London ©MICA Management Resources 1994 9. Williams, Graham Secrets of Top Class Business Process Design http://www.haloandnoose. com/story-telling-articles.asp?id=18 10. Boyd, Drew & Goldenberg, Jacob INSIDE THE BOX: why the best business innovations are right in front of you Profile Books Ltd Great Britain 2013 11. Gallo, Carmine The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs McGraw-Hill 2011 12. de Bono, Edward (1985). Six Thinking Hats: An Essential Approach to Business Management. Little, Brown, & Company 13. Cybernovation Technologies and Industries Ltd Users Manual: Thinking with Hexagons 1990 14. Gladwell, Malcolm The Tipping Point: how little things can make a big difference Little, Brown & Company USA 2002

1. 2. 3. 4.

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Introduction to Section 7 Taking responsibility for facing our shadow side and exploring the da Vinci virtue of balancing–balancing the masculine and feminine, right brain and left brain, to innovate in our own lives and reframe our stories positively, is the subject of the following chapters. It is especially relevant for virtuous leaders. We look at tapping into the archetypes and stories of our collective unconscious, introducing fun into our serious workplaces in order to derive the benefits of engagement, creativity, well-being and positive energy. It is another move from murkiness to clarity; to wholeness and health. To paying attention to maintaining a virtuous state.

Chapter 21: Eight Archetypes to Live by: Moulding the Character in Our Life Story “Men go to see mountains and valleys, but pass themselves by.” (St. Augustine) “Most of the shadows of this life are caused by our standing in our own sunshine.” (Ralph Waldo Emerson)

About archetypes Psychology is full of fancy, confusing words, even when the concepts and ideas being discussed are simple. So we’ve tried to keep this article simple because the idea is important. Carl Jung coined the word archetype from the Greek archetypos–first of its kind. He believed that humans have a collective unconscious – a distant memory common to all people irrespective of their gender, language, country, culture. This memory includes the archetypes. The collective, shared unconscious consists of “deposits of the constantly repeated experiences of humanity... a kind of readiness to reproduce over and over again the same or similar mythical ideas...” 1 From such a shared memory, concepts such as the hero and heroine arrive in human life. Archetypes transcend time, place and culture. Archetypes can be viewed as aids to explaining and understanding our own and other people’s nature and behaviours. They are innate, imprinted drivers within each of us and our self-development role is to filter, appropriate and steer those already-present drivers to best effect. They make themselves known sometimes subtly and sometimes overtly at the level of instinct. We may identify clearly with one of the archetypes and then later in our lives need the balancing characteristics of the others to enrich our characters and lives.

An alphabet of archetypes Masilo’s Adventures by Bob Leshoai2 is an African fairy tale with certain Jack and the Beanstalk parallels. Young Masilo leaves the poverty of the village and sets out to find what is at the end of the rainbow. En route he carries an old woman across three different rivers and she rewards him with three stones to use when he is in trouble. At the end of the rainbow he finds a cave lined with gold. He encounters the Ogre and his wife. 181

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The Ogre wishes to eat him, but Mrs. Giant helps him escape. Running away, he’s able to use the three stones to create three obstacles between him and the pursuing giant – a huge tree, a mountain, and a river. The Giant chops down the tree, digs through the mountain, but drowns in the river. Masilo returns to the village in triumph and the villagers fetch Mrs. Giant who brings with her the wealth of the cave. In this story we have a hero, an old magical woman, a malevolent giant and his benevolent wife. These are archetypal figures. Here is a list of some of these energies that inhabit human beings: addict; advocate; alchemist; angel; artist; athlete; avenger; bully; beggar; child; clown; companion; crone; detective; engineer; father; femme-fatal; fool; gambler; gardener; god; goddess; guide; healer; hedonist; hero/ ine; judge; king; knight; leader; lover; martyr; magician; mother; mystic; networker; mentor; mediator; messiah; miser; monk/nun; nymph; perfectionist; pioneer; pirate; priest/ess; prince/ss; prostitute; queen; rebel; rescuer; scribe; seeker; servant; slave; story-teller; student; thinker; thief; trickster; traveller; vampire; victim; virgin; warrior As you run your eye across this list, you might become aware of certain Greek or Roman gods, mythical figures, literary characters, historical persons, newspaper celebrities, entertainers, film stars, co-workers and people you meet in your private life. Names might come to mind – Aphrodite, King Arthur, Midas, Macbeth, Nasrudin, Florence Nightingale, Elvis Presley, Joe in customer service, the beggar on the street corner. Each archetype has a dark side and a light side – so for example, the king can be a tyrannical ruler or a servant of his people, the mother can be a smotherer or a nurturer. Each archetype may be comprised of sub-types, so for example, the child may be an orphan, a wounded or neglected child, or playful and happy. In this chapter we look briefly at four archetypes for man and four for woman in general terms, although men have a female side to them, and vice versa; Yin and Yang. The male within us needs to develop a combination of king, warrior, magician, lover and the female within needs to be goddess, nymph, mother and crone. The warrior in us achieves actualisation when he lays down his sword, the nymph actualises when love of power is surpassed by the power of love. And so on. In a sense king and goddess encompass the other archetypes.

Archetypal evolution All men and women can be viewed, according to Robert A.Johnson’s work3, as undergoing an evolutionary process during their lifetime: from simple to complex to enlightened. ENTRANCE/BIRTH Breaking of waters We take our place on the stage Released into breath (Graham Williams)

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SIMPLE Living and accepting without insight, in fact, inoculated by lack of insight. Salt of the earth, untainted, having great faith in the outer world and an unquestioning inner belief system. Unnaturally positive, able only to see only the present and not appreciate the richness of the past nor alternative, self – determined futures. A simple, one-dimensional archetype. (Don Quixote, Muhammed Ali) COMPLEX Neurotic or character disordered, anxious with archetypes still unbalanced [Hamlet, the modern high-flying executive, Marilyn Monroe, Peter Pan, Demeter]. Living with past baggage or hoping for the good old days to return, or always striving for a better future because of discontent with the present, and never living in the present mindfully. Our shadow side is still largely hidden and unknown to us. Johnson refers to our shadow side as “that dumping ground for all those characteristics of our personality that we disown.”4 ENLIGHTENED Having experienced despair, a dark night of the soul, or futility ,or that there is actually nothing at the top (as so eloquently explained in the parable Hope for the Flowers5) but knowing at a deep level that there is connection, forgiveness, meaning, redemption, non-permanence, an expansion of consciousness, an everyman story. In this stage the holding in delicate balance of paradox and contradiction is the resonance of a mature inner integration or actualisation. You live with polarity. Open and compassionate to those who are other, or more accurately realising that no one is other. Also simple, but now through insight, experience and understanding – thus profound. A hero who has completed the heroic journey cycle and become predominantly servant-king or gracious goddess. Archetypal makeup in balance. Dark side and Light side in equilibrium. Never really a completed state, but a capacity to, from time to time, break out of complexity and enjoy the contentment of simply belonging to something wider and deeper than self. (King Arthur, Sophia, Zorba, Faust) EXIT/DEATH Degeneration Darkness comes and light beckons Spiritual wedding (Graham Williams) Edinger points out that the line in the Psalm “I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” refers to “the whole human organism – body and psyche.”6 Each of the following archetypes contribute to our living, surviving, and growing to becoming fully human. We find them all around us in popular culture, on T-shirts, posters, wall paper, and in internet blogs and cell phone screens. Primitive characteristics and dominant virtues may be briefly:

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NYMPH • Seductive, playful, in the present moment with feeling.

MOTHER • Sacrificial protection, soul consciousness, care and nurture, pointing the way, creativity.

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CRONE • Competing with other women to obtain and keep their mate, ensure gene continuity. • Gaining corporate and/or social power to achieve desired outcomes – for self, mate, children. • Maintaining a right relationship tension with partner and manipulating positively for self and mutual interest. • Steering children into most desired self – development paths. • Wise, experienced, observant, intuitive.

GODDESS • Compassion and love, like Quan Yin, the female Buddha. • Visionary, inspirational. Show the goal of life, like Lakshimi the Hindu goddess – create and maintain wealth of all sorts, including the spiritual.

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LOVER • Human connection and belonging. Appreciating and seeing value and worth in the other. Being compassionate. Energy devoted to cherishing and ‘completing’ the other. • Showing great passion for an object, art, subject, concept, vision, living.

WARRIOR • Actively and bravely striving against great odds in order to ensure the achievement of value-based conditions, questing after and defending truth. • Being the protector of what has been gained by the other archetypes such as lover, crone, wizard.

WIZARD • Wisdom, rationality and understanding, which is far beyond knowledge, and aimed at smoothing the way for others, even alchemically. Mentor.

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KING • Growing others, serving, being the loving father of all (persons, ecology …). King and priest have become separated but this was not always so, and the King is a source of blessing and anointing. The King’s sovereignty will simultaneously pertain to the outer and inner worlds, consciously realised. 6

Dynamics Along the journey of life, from simple to complex to enlightened, we look without and within, uncover our true self, and find our perfect mate (or perhaps more to the point, understanding the psyche of our mate). We do this through: • balancing: so for example, a woman may lose balance and become out of touch with her womanly sensuality and seductiveness through being in a boring dull, routine relationship; or become too powerful and career driven; she might fall into overactive and unbalanced feminism, or into an all-embracing focus on mothering • lightening: a powerful man-king may feed his tyrant dark side to the extent that he loses touch with his serving, wise side (something seen in psychopathic business leaders); or an overprotective mother may fail to liberate her children, or a magician/trickster may use cunning and deviousness to manipulate instead of to solve problems and respond positively to change challenges. Embracing our shadow side means dealing with the uncomfortable, the uncertain, the ambiguous. Often during times of high stress we react and behave differently to our normal behaviour. What is normally hidden comes to the surface – for example being oversensitive to criticism, overeating or resorting to alcohol or drugs, withdrawing, expressing negative emotions towards others, procrastinating (which for example may be, at a deep level, our inner protector shielding us because that part of us fears that we may fail at what we need to do). Understanding the self-concept, insecurity and unmet needs leading to such behaviours is a good first step towards greater wholeness. Balancing and lightening the shadow side and countering these dynamics requires delving into the unconscious. Balancing and lightening requires allowing the unconscious to find voice and expression. The hidden and seemingly lost parts of oneself are discovered and integrated without resistance. There is authenticity. Don

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Quixote may not have been a total bumbling idiot when he tilted against windmills, but rather a true warrior waiting to be released because his chosen reality on the inside is what infused his life with adventure, fun and questing. Rohr talks about “the split of the acceptable self from the unacceptable self. We use the terms persona for our presented and preferred self-image, and shadow is our denied and rejected self-image. The separate self is the problem, whereas most religions and most people make the shadow self the problem. This leads to denying, pretending, and projecting instead of real transformation. What humans usually do is identify with an idealised image of ourselves. What’s going to work in my group? What’s going to sell in America and in my culture? We identify with whatever our group says is admirable and superior.” 7 Johnson points out that “to make light is to make shadow; one cannot exist without the other ... The balance of light and dark is ultimately possible.”4 And Jung referred to the mysterium coniunctionis, the need for harmony and synergy between masculine and feminine energy, the need to balance the male side and female side within ourselves. Hard and soft, left brain and right brain, logic and imagination/ intuition/emotion, yin and yang, doing and being. Leonardo Da Vinci beautifully captures the paradoxes in his Allegory of Pleasure and Pain.

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Masculine and feminine energy Acknowledging and working with both the male and female within us brings to our lives a new, synergistic level of order. Interacting with the other sex: • King and goddess, although desired, dominant archetypes may clash. Developing deeper understanding and preventing harmful clashes of this nature calls for one or both to call upon another archetype – for example invoking crone wisdom or wizard magic. • Lover could over-woo and attend, thus feeding the goddess power that tips her from assertiveness to aggression and control. To maintain equilibrium the goddess could utilise nymph or the lover could utilise king. It’s good to access and make use of these mind-pictures as we interact. Romantic love contains an element of projection. Both might say: “We would have something better between us if you would look at me rather than at your image of me.” “Power without love becomes brutal; love without power is insipid and weak. Yet when two people get close to each other, there is generally an explosion in their lives. Most of the recrimination between quarreling lovers or spouses involves the collision of power and love.” 4 The realm of sacred psychology includes gaining a larger perspective of the self, a potential beyond self through, for example, meditation, exploration of archetypal reality, finding purpose and meaningful social connection and undergoing transformation. It is a process involving the whole person–physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual. By using the archetypes in this article as touch-points, we can begin to enter that realm. At different life stages or states, different archetypes may dominate and we see ourselves and our world through different lenses – think of the progression childlover-warrior-king-elder. Balancing and lightening is hard, earnest work. A process. Rumi said: “As the hard shell of the walnut has to be broken in order to free the sweet kernel, which in turn must be crushed to release the fragrant oil which is the innermost heart of the nut, so the human has to be stripped of the hard shell of his lower or conditioned qualities in order to develop the deeper and nobler ones.”8 But it is worth it, and we are aided by power beyond us. Rumi again: “Not only the thirsty seeks the water, But the water seeks the thirsty as well.”9 It’s a balancing of strengths and weaknesses (or limitations). Well known management guru Peter Drucker says “the effective executive makes strengths productive”10. Balancing and lightening does that, but also makes weaknesses productive. After becoming aware, identifying, acknowledging a dark aspect of self, we can work at transforming it and in the process grow compassion for self and others. “I find comfort in it, in the idea of a pattern, of a narrative of my life, like a photograph in a dark room, a story that slowly emerges and affirms the good I have always wanted to see in myself. It sustains me, this story.”11 Interestingly, the Christian cross is a symbol of becoming whole, attaining equilibrium. It has both dark and light connotations. It is “a double see saw with the two axis crossing at the centre. It provides the framework for balancing right and left and also the high and the low.” 4

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References 1. Jung, Carl. Psychological Reflections, Pantheon Books, NY, 1953 2. Leshoai, Bob. “Masilo’s Adventures” Stephen Gray, ed., Modern South African Stories, Donker, Johannesburg 1983 3. Johnson, Robert A Transformation HarperSanFrancisco 1991 4. Johnson, Robert A. Owning Your Shadow HarperSanfrancisco 1991 5. Paulus, Trina Hope for the Flowers Paulist Press 1972 6. Edinger, Edward F. The Sacred Psyche Inner City Books, Toronto 2004 7. Rohr, Richard Daily Meditations Newsletter: The Fourth Split. Meditation 35 of 53 https:// cac.org/ 8. Houston, Jean Ph.D. citing Rumi in The Search for the Beloved Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam NY 1987 9. Rumi Mathnavi Translated by R.A.Nicholson George Allen & Urwin London 1950 10. Drucker, Peter F The effective executive: the definitive guide to getting the right things done Harper Business Essentials 2002 11. Hosseini, Khaled And the Mountains Echoed Bloomsbury 2013

Illustrations Marilyn Monroe http://hdwallpaper.freehdw.com/hdw001/marilyn_monroe-wide.jpg Source: http://www.hdwallpapers.in/marilyn_monroe-wallpapers.html Mother Mary and Jesus The 12th century “Theotokos of Vladimir” icon http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimirskaya.jpg Public Domain Crone by OCAL Free download from http://www.clker.com/clipart-old-witch.html Aphrodite by Botticelli http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sandro_Botticelli_-_ La_nascita_di_Venere_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg Public Domain Couple at Sunset   ID:201308262300 Author Jl. Figueroa http://en.free-photos.gatag. net/2013/08/26/230000.html  Public Domain Spiderman by Bill Richards (Hart, MI, USA) http://www.easy drawings-and-sketches. com Wizard by Bill Richards (Hart, MI, USA) http://www.easy-drawings-and-sketches.com/ drawing-of-wizard.html King. http://egypt.customcards.biz/credits.html ‘Images from WP Clipart and in the public domain’ (http://www.clker.com) Masculine and Feminine energy. Leonardo da Vinci, “Allegory of Pleasure and Pain” c. 1480 Pencil Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford http://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Andr36.jpg Public Domain

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Chapter 22: Story and the Unconscious “The shortest distance between truth and a human being is a story.” (Anthony De Mello)

Preamble The nature of consciousness and the concept of the unconscious is not easily (cannot be?) understood, and defies explanation. Yet we believe it to be real, and offer our own limited understanding:

Deep wells of meaning Imagine a number of wells filled with water. These wells represent the personal unconscious. Deep in the earth these wells draw from a common aquifer that feeds them all. This underground source represents the collective unconscious.

The individual psyche Each and every one of us has a personal unconscious. Freud pointed out that the unconscious part of the psyche exerts the decisive influence on our perception, cognition and on our behaviour. “The personal unconscious contains our repressed thoughts, forgotten experiences, undeveloped ideas – all the memories that our consciousness become too crowded to keep track of.”1 In the personal unconscious dreams are stored as stories of the psyche a collection of once–conscious thoughts and experiences, now suppressed, forgotten or unwanted. Bringing them to our awareness in dreams is the psyche’s way of regulating and balancing the personality. It is like a huge below-the-surface store of knowledge. If our dream images are mythic figures or powerful symbolic images then they are coming from what Jung termed the collective unconscious.

The collective unconscious The image of an iceberg comes to mind where the bulk of the iceberg is below the surface. The collective unconscious “is Jung’s most original concept, consisting of the memories and behaviour patterns inherited from past generations. Jung believed that just as the human body is the product of a million years of evolution, so over the centuries the human mind has developed thought forms of collective memories of experiences that have been common to humankind since pre-historic times. He called these thought forms archetypes. The archetypes are not in themselves mental images, but they give rise to certain typical mental images or mythical representations, for example mother, hero.”1 So our hidden memories are collected and organised by the collective unconscious, usually in myth, metaphor and archetypal patterns or motifs. Stories. And these patterns are always present and universal. They are shared by all mankind. That is why different cultures who have had no contact come up with variants of the same story.

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We all tap into the collective unconscious Jung described the collective unconscious as the “inherited potentialities of human imagination.”2 “The collective unconscious holds stored impulses, emotions and symbols that do not come only from personal history (Singer, 1990). Jung believed that people could connect with and experience feelings and perspectives from other cultures and previous periods of history. For example people could dream of a spiritual symbol from another culture that they had never studied or read about. Or artists could portray images and symbols which they had never encountered in their own culture.”3 And when we dream we tap into the collective unconscious. Likewise stories have this cross-culture impact and connection. Nigel Nicholson points out that we find meaning in stories and narratives, not data. He says we are hardwired in evolutionary terms – and possess a fiction impulse. This is a survival technique in which we construct narrative in order to make sense of things.4 Psychoanalyst and storyteller, Clarissa Pinkola Estés reminds us that “Story is far older than the art and science of psychology, and will always be the elder in the equation no matter how much time passes.” “Stories enable us to understand the need for and the ways to raise a submerged archetype.”5 Through story we plumb the depths, fathom hidden memories, apprehend, get in touch with the submerged and learn to know our souls. Stories and myths provide understanding and healing. When we tap into this huge aquifer or storehouse and access archetypal meaning, we make conscious our place in the universe, form mental images, sensations and concepts in our minds when they are not perceived through any of our senses.This allows us to see hidden truth. To connect to the wisdom of all that has gone before and all that others share. Kathy Hansen: “Science tells us that stories actually change the way we think and the way we act.” 6

How does this happen? Naturally. And we can enhance our ability to tap into the collective unconscious, and understand and connect to ourselves and others at a deeper level, using mindfulness and imagination. Mindfulness is the practice of being always centred in the present moment, being able to observe what is happening to ourselves internally, around us, and in our interactions with others. When we are properly mindful, we become tuned in and begin to transcend our conditionings, paradigms, fears and defense mechanisms, and we are able to see and open up to new possibilities, and listen to and engage more attentively and deeply. Imagination is the mental capacity to see hidden truth in myths and archetypal meaning, broadening our concept of reality. Jung wrote: “it is only when the human mind actively brings forth from within itself the full powers of disciplined imagination and archetypal insight that the deeper reality of the world emerges.”2 And mindfulness and imagination go with story like horse and cart.

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Imagine the possibilities when we all do this! Small wonder that when we are in story mode we are engaged, we suspend disbelief and gain insight – and we are using both the right and left hemispheres of or brain. When we are busy with story – awake or asleep – our whole brain is being used. Neuro anatomist Dr Jill Bolte Taylor points out that the left mind: categorises, organises, judges, senses, weaves stories, fills gaps and what if ’s, constructs alternative scenarios, is focused on logical thinking and detail. It is the seat of language and reasoning, and feeds our solid identity as individuals. The right mind sees the big picture, reads body language for clues and cues, is the seat of our emotional states, feelings and empathy, perceives, houses our intuition. It allows us to flow indistinctly from the rest of the universe. 7 Story plumbs the depths of those deep wells and goes directly to our unconscious. And when we tap into the collective unconscious mindfully, unleash our imaginative powers, share our stories, are open to synchronicity, what can limit us? A.C.Grayling: “Throughout human history story-telling has been a central means of informing people about possibilities beyond their personal sphere, and inviting them to understand the possibilities better.” 8 With this sort of connection and understanding we are able to move forward together on many fronts. John Lennon: “Imagine all the people living for today. Imagine all the people sharing all the world”

Business applications We believe that it is within the grasp of modern organisations to operate from an inner place and employ the use of listening, observing, sensing, presence (mindfulness) and then move into imaginative and deft action. And we believe that story is one catalyst for doing this, for dipping into the wells. When we pay attention we begin to see how the world is connected. How things relate. When we are conditioned to imagine new possibilities then strangling nooses become liberating halos. We are able to drink from the deep waters in the collective and personal well. Whether the challenge is to face the huge tasks of today (the environment, social change, connecting to employees, customers, stakeholders), to improve efficiency and effectiveness via knowledge management, develop charisma and skills, steer transition successfully, innovate and adapt – using story cleverly makes a lot of sense. “When we have made an experience into a story we have transformed it—made sense of it, transmuted experience, domesticated the chaos.” 9

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References 1. Morris, Charles G Psychology: An introduction Prentice Hall 1973 2. Tarnas, Richard Passion of the Western Mind Pimlico 1991 3. Louw, D.A and Edwards, D.J.A Psychology 2nd Ed Heinemann Higher and Further Education 1997 4. Nicholson, Nigel Managing the Human Animal Texere London, New York 2000 5. Estés, Clarissa Pinkola Women Who Run With The Wolves Rider 1992 6. Hansen, Kathy More on Strategy as Story: stories as an important conduit in creating new organizational mindsets http://www.astoriedcareer.com 24/10/2010 7. Bolte-Taylor, Gill My Stroke of Insight Viking Books 2008 8. Grayling, A.C The Heart of Things Orion Books London 2005 9. Okri, Ben Birds of Heaven Phoenix, San Francisco 1996

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Chapter 23 : Going to Fun from Monday to Friday “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living.” (Dr Seuss)

Preamble In this book we’ve advocated the development of mindfulness and imagination, two characteristics developed by story, in the virtuous organisation. We’ve exhorted you to recapture the art of wonderment and to approach work and life as a labyrinth flow rather than a constricting, puzzling maze. I recently listened again to a Neil Diamond song, Slow It Down: Greed speed where does it lead you Wanna succeed and youre thinking you need to But are you really sure It’s a lot to endure But I got me a cure Slow it down Slow it down yeah Slow it down take your time And you’ll find your time has a meaning Writing in his notes to the Home Before Dark album he shares, “Right now I’m relieved to shed the introspective, isolated person I’ve been for the past year and eager to take on my other identity: extroverted, fun-loving and open to life.” Our watchwords for the years ahead for business, which promise to be stressful, pressured and serious; are slow down and lighten up. Have fun, especially in the work place.

Direct personal benefits of having fun Nursery school children laugh between 300 and 400 times a day, adults 17 times. When laughing we are fully in the present moment.

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Laughter beneficially effects the inner lining of our arteries, boosts blood flow (circulation) by 20% (Stress decreases blood flow by 35%), reduces stress hormones, tones muscles, improves breathing capacity. 2 minutes of belly laughter is the aerobic equivalent of 10 minutes on an exercise machine. Perceived time is far below actual elapsed time when we’re having fun. According to Wikipedia on this subject of fun activities, “Information is initially received in the hippocampus, the site of long-term memory, where the brain attempts to match the new information with recognisable patterns stored in long-term memory. When it is unable to do this, the brain releases dopamine, a chemical which stimulates the amygdala, the site of emotion, and creates a pleasurable feeling that is associated with the new memory. In other words, fun is created by stimulating the brain with novelty.” A recent Harvard finding is that humour is the number one coping mechanism. Laughter has physical, social, mental and emotional benefits. “When laughter is shared, it binds people together and increases happiness and intimacy.”1 “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.”2

Link to creativity Fun is linked to creativity. Out of the groove punch lines of jokes stimulate the same areas of the brain as are used for lateral thinking. They shift frames of reference. Joel Achenbach in his Washington Post column Why Things Are, considering why humour is funny, writes, “the comic effect is usually the result of a conflict between overlapping but incompatible frames of reference.” Humour is about incongruity; the unexpected.3 Mrs Levy to Mrs Cohen from the fish stall in the market: ‘Mrs Cohen Oy, oy, see vot a big haddock I’ve got.’ And Mrs Cohen replied, ‘Hev a hesperin Mrs Levy, here’s a hesperin. Hit’s a hentidote.4 Understanding of Jewish accent, alertness and culture may be needed to be understood in order to get the joke. Laura Klos Sokol: “These days in Poland, along with controllers who ask to see tickets on the tram, priests are asking to see crucifixes.”5 People who understand the frame of reference, that is, who are aware of the intrusion of the Polish church into everyday life, appreciate the joke. Creative or lateral thinking is also about shifting frames of reference. There is a strong connection between humour and creativity (A link between ha-ha and aha!). Edward de Bono, .”..humour is the most significant behaviour of the human mind, creativity is based on the same process as humour. The time sequence of experience sets up certain patterns of perception, certain ways of looking at things. There are side patterns but we cannot get access to them. If suddenly we do get access to the side pattern, then we have either humour or creativity.”6 Creative thinking means jumping out of patterned thinking and using free-ranging, unconventional, different thinking to produce something new and unexpected. The essence of creativity is about playing with ideas, having fun. De Bono has developed six thinking perspectives for group problem solving and innovation. He proposes six coloured thinking hats, each colour representing a thinking dimension.7 So a group may move from blue hat (agreeing on modus operandi), to red hat (emotional and intuitive), yellow (harmony and logical identification of benefits), 196

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green (provocative, exploratory), white (facts), black (logical reasons for caution, conservatism) and blue (agreeing on the way forward). Each hat is a metaphor for a thinking direction. Together they introduce diversity to the thinking process. Our normal or predominant thinking approach tends to be left-brained, and the de Bono method brings the left and right brain team into play. In many an organisation the boss tends to be a discerning, even negative black hat thinker. (Prove it to me.) When hats are worn (not just imagined) an element of fun is introduced. “Play is not just an activity; it’s a state of mind that brings new energy to the tasks at hand and sparks creative solutions.”8 Dorothy Leonard, Professor of Business Administration and Director of Research at Harvard Business School, and Walter Swap Professor of Psychology and Dean of the Colleges at Tufts University near Boston, confirm that creative groups “indulge in a lot of playground behaviour.”9 “The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves.” (Carl Jung)

Proven workplace benefits Research shows that fun–not the frivolous variety, but deep enjoyment–decreases absenteeism, increases productivity, boosts creativity, innovation and continuous improvement. Daniel Goleman says, “Among the main biological changes in happiness is the increased activity in a brain centre that inhibits negative feelings and fosters an increase in available energy.”10 Fun is a vital sign of a purposeful, committed, high-performance team–a team characterised by an ethic of work and fun, invigorating and productive, focused and excited. “Not insignificantly, high-performance teams seem to have a betterdeveloped sense of humour and more fun.” 11 Employees who are paralysed by uncertainty or anxiety cannot be expected to be engaged, creative, passionate about performance, or work at maintaining a motivating workplace. Conversely as the authors of Fish! and Fish! Tales point out, it’s only common sense that people prefer a workplace characterised by smiles rather than frowns, where business is taken seriously but people keep perspective and don’t take themselves seriously. So a culture of fun reduces frustration, increases employee satisfaction and facilitates retention and engagement of employees. “It is the light-hearted feeling you release inside people when they are enthused, committed and free of fear.”12 In even the most serious organisations, the use of fun has its rightful place. For example, in a hospice for the dying it’s good when patients can laugh wholeheartedly when recalling memories. When staff can alleviate the burden of their work with humour, or shared fun activities being taken to a pottery studio in a forest and spending the day working with clay, laughing with each other, going ten-pin bowling, attending a laughter workshop which have reduced tensions, released worries and cares, and brought a sense of peace and perspective. Researchers at Roehampton University in the UK are making headway with applying ballet to improving the balance, stability, posture, muscle agility and movement of Parkinson’s Disease patients. Fun is part of the healing process. In our case study (Chapter 9) we mentioned the use of ‘gamification’ as part of the change process to becoming virtuous. Games are fun.

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“Life is more fun if you play games.” Roald Dahl (My Uncle Oswald) Paradoxically, fun is serious work. Humour brings perspective during times of crises. Having fun does not mean that people are not seriously committed to high performance. We are not talking about silly, offensive practical jokes, demeaning impersonations, making fun of others, using inappropriate jokes during presentations. We are not only talking about fun events as the only attempt to introduce the fun component. We are talking about an atmosphere, a spirit of fun as part of the culture. A move from heavy, oppressive control to a relaxed, light-hearted climate. For example, if service providers are expected to smile spontaneously and authentically when engaging with customers, then surely that must come from the inside out?

Some actions to consider • • • •

Start with yourself. Slow down, loosen up, have fun. Make time to celebrate successes. Teach lateral thinking, a competence which can be quickly learned. Think about ways to encourage more fun and enjoyment into your workplace, an energy that zaps rather than saps.

So let’s lighten up, go to work and go to fun. Fun belongs in virtuous organisations. “I’m glad we had the times together just to laugh and sing a song, seems like we just got started and then before you know it, the times we had together were gone” – Dr Seuss

References 1. Laughter is the Best Medicine Authors: Melinda Smith, M.A., Gina Kemp, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D. 2. Proverbs 17:22 Bible, Authorised Version 3. © 1999 The Washington Post. 4. Lionel Blue Bolts From the Blue Coronet Books, Hodder & Stoughton, London 1986 5. Laura Klos Sokol Shortcuts to Poland IPS. Ipswyclawnictwo, Warsaw 1996 6. Edward de Bono Sur/Petition HarperCollins Publishers Ltd 1992 7. de Bono, Edward Six Thinking Hats: An Essential Approach to Business Management. Little, Brown, & Company 1985 8. Tales Lundin, Stephen C Ph.D., Christensen, John & Paul, Harry with Strand, Philip Fish! Hodder & Stoughton 2002 9. Leonard, Dorothy & Swap, Walter When Sparks Fly: igniting creativity in groups HBS Press Boston Massachusetts 1999 10. Daniel Goleman Emotional Intelligence Bantam Books, New York, 1995 11. John R. Katzenbach and Douglas K. Smith The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High Performance Organisation Harvard Business School Press, 1993 12. Stephen C. Lundin, PhD John Christensen and Harry Paul Fish! Hodder & Stoughton 2002

Illustration by Tony Grogan Banana skin

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EXERCISE 10 : Workplace dynamics According to a recent Gallup study covering 142 countries, “Sixty-three percent of the world’s employees are disengaged from their work. Twenty-four percent are not only disengaged, but spreading dissatisfaction to co-workers.”1 In your workplace: 1. Do leaders see the links between fun and creativity and fun and motivation? Do people engage in fun activities? 2. Is the working environment conducive to creativity and innovation? What factors are missing? What steps should you and your organisation be taking? Are people taught lateral thinking and questioning skills? 3. Are there situations and office dynamics where people are experiencing vicious circles, virtuous circles? What needs to be corrected or reversed? Which nooses can be shifted to halos? What strengths can be built upon? 4. Do people go beyond assigned roles and tasks when taking responsibility – that is for their errors, relationships, accountability for team dynamics?

Reference Piombino, Kristin Study: 13 percent of employees worldwide are engaged at work. http://www. ragan.com/Main/Articles/47412.aspx October 11, 2013

EXERCISE 11 : What shadow-side factors should we be aware of in our organisation? 1. Are we predominantly left-brained in our style, culture, operations, or have we developed right-brain capacity? 2. Do we tend to favour certain genders, ethnic groups or ages when it comes to hiring and promoting? 3. Are leadership behaviours and role-modelling consistently and fully congruent with the organisation’s values? 4. Are times of major change and high stress, when non-characteristic individual behaviours manifest, used to encourage personal growth? 5. When facing a crisis or need for urgent innovation – when things become serious, are we still able to inject humour and preserve the fun aspects of our work lives?

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Introduction to Section 8 The virtues covered in the previous sections and the following are not stand alone. Rather they are a cluster of virtues to be integrated. This integrating of virtues goes hand in hand with the da Vinci virtue of integrating body, mind and spirit. The whole person or organisational persona/brand. Individuals and organisations can move from fragmented and disintegrated, to integrated wholeness. All have potential to become other-oriented by transcending past baggage and limiting beliefs. This involves a heroic journey or process, which is explained. It is about reframing our stories, about integrating of love of self, love of people, love of adventure.

Chapter 24 : Rinpoche People In my home is a resurrection plant. It has the habit of reviving after seeming to be dead (see inset picture). After placing the ‘dead’ brown plant in a shallow bowl of water, little by little it comes alive, echoing George Herbert’s: “Who would have thought my shriveled heart could have recovered greenness?”

Resurrection plant We all die in certain areas of our lives from time to time, as events, disappointments and failures beset us. Move from halo to noose. Sometimes the following diagram, offered in Story Matters @ Work1, can be helpful. Imagine yourself as a ball: The outer shiny surface is how we present ourselves to the outside world. Our persons. Facades. The masks we wear

Inside is the dung gathered through bad experiences and conditioning. Incidents that have lowered our self-esteem, built up prejudices and baggage, resulted in limiting beliefs, and influence who we think we are

Who we really are. The innate, pure, authentic, precious jewel

The shiny outer skin is an illusion. Our ego-self is formed over time by a complicated and powerful mind-mechanism designed to protect us from suffering and harm and to keep us safe. So the ego-self develops to the point where we have a false idea of who we really are. 201

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Clearly, over time we collect and store that which distorts our self-image, self-worth and security and influences how we relate to others and our red-flag responses to criticism. So we adopt defense mechanisms; ways of presenting ourselves to make ourselves more acceptable and hide what we don’t like about ourselves. We hide our fears and develop limiting beliefs. We even resort, sometimes unnecessarily, to cosmetic surgery. We bury our true selves and allow darker parts of our psyche to take over, sub-personalities if you like. The good news is that we can again come alive in those dead areas. One way is to balance and lighten our personalities, a process covered in Chapter 21 which dealt with archetypes. We move from noose to halo. We can become who we were born to be, our original, untainted factory-settings’ see the truth in the Psalmists’ insight: “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.’ Which is why we like the Buddhist title: Rinpoche. It means precious jewel. And as we become more secure in our own real self and latent potential, we can focus more on others. This is what Viktor Frankl refers to in his Logotherapy2 as self-transcendence. Whereas in the concentration camps most descended into being animals struggling to survive, a few would comfort others, give away their last piece of bread because they hung on to their basic values and self-belief. Self-transcendence is obtaining meaning outside of selfishness –another person who is waiting for you, that book still to be written, joining a worthy cause. It is becoming who we should be, and living in the present moment. Billy Kennedy, the Spiritual Director at Temenos in Macgregor near Cape Town, has built an inter-faith retreat centre around a beautiful garden. It is based on his understanding of the Old Testament Song of Songs reference to the Beloved. In this the Garden of the Beloved people are able to experience slow time and quiet time, enjoy fragrances, solitude and a sense of viewing themselves as beloved. Stories of encounters with self, others and what is higher, are commonplace. We told this story in Chapter 5: A Chinese water bearer had two large pots, suspended at either end of a yoke or pole born on his shoulders. One pot was perfect. The other had a crack in it. So after walking from the nearby stream to the cottage, the water bearer had one full pot and a half-empty pot. The perfect pot was very proud and the imperfect pot miserable and ashamed because it accomplished so little. This went on for a long time. At last the damaged pot spoke to the water bearer: “I’m sad. I try my best but I’m not good enough.” The water bearer replied: “Haven’t you noticed that there are beautiful flowers only on your side of the path between the stream and the cottage? That’s because I’ve always known about your flaw, and I planted seeds only on your side of the path. Every day you water them for me, and I’m able each day to enjoy the wonderful sight of vibrant, wonderful flowers. Because of who you are, because of your uniqueness and character, you alone can bring this very special gift.” We welcome you to take on this story. Some thoughts for you to contemplate along the way: 202

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• We search outside of ourselves and chase after ways to improve – self-help gurus, the law of abundance, achieving success, becoming rich. But usually it’s an inside job that we need to do. • Our search for meaning can also be misdirected. Often meaning is found in being. It’s not so much what we do and achieve but more about who we are. In this book there is much on being: appreciating the mundane, practicing love, cultivating wonder and awareness, having fun, being civil. • A diamond, our real, authentic self, cannot be diminished, cannot be made more perfect. So we work on what is already there. We don’t have to attend expensive courses on becoming an authentic leader, or a better person. • To have more come out of your life, more has to come out of you.

References 1. Williams, Graham & Haarhoff, Dorian Story Matters @ Work eBook: http://www. haloandnoose.com 2. Frankl, Viktor Man’s Search for Meaning Washington Square Press Simon & Schuster NY 1963

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Chapter 25 : The Da Vinci Virtue of Corporalita: Integration of Body, Mind and Spirit “You could travel from your inner man into your outer man. By a journey of that sort this becomes a place where you find gold” (Rumi)

Whole person, continuously evolving The Psalmist said, “We are fearfully (awesomely) and wonderfully made.” (139:14). We like the Buddhist title Rinpoche, meaning a precious jewel. For when one considers our intricate physical, intellectual, emotional, social and spiritual aspects, surely this is the case. Leonardo Da Vinci said that “Our body is subject to heaven”, and his Vitruvian man symbolises this wholeness, completeness, integration. Integral means comprehensive, whole, and balanced. And the word healing comes from the root hal, meaning making whole. That’s the way we are meant to be. In the drawing the circle can represent the sacred dimension and the square the elements which energise us – fire, water, wind, earth.

Vitruvian Man

In many ways this virtue encapsulates Da Vinci’s other virtues. The whole person is mindful, congruent in their thinking, feeling and behaving, thinks for themselves, knows themselves, relates to others with understanding and empathy, shows love; takes

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responsibility for being the change that they wish to see, has a humble attitude towards their power, possessions, performance and the planet. There is still so much more that we simply do not know about the connections between matter, energies, mind and spirit. This should not deter us from seeking and living to the utmost our own truth, way and life.

But we are prone to disintegration and fragmentation Over time we tend to collect through our learning, happenings, experiences and conditionings, societal pressures that which distorts our true selves, gets in the way of our integration, self -concept, of how we relate to others, our core identity, how we respond to criticism, our sense of self-worth. And we develop an outward persona that protects us from the laboratory of soul making and growth. A laboratory that contains the challenges of vulnerability, authentic interaction, the unmasking and unpeeling of false identities, failure. We battle to hold things together. Sometimes even fall apart. Become less than whole. Broken. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again Have you noticed that a mood, resentment, stress, distraction are accompanied by changes in body posture, facial expression, energy levels and outlook. Our body, mind, spirit are inextricably linked: Imagine yourself in a stressful workplace situation with tight deadlines and where you suffer continuous eye strain due to poor lighting or a computer screen with inadequate anti-glare and anti–radiation filtering. This leads to headaches, causing lower tolerance to stress, failure to concentrate and complete tasks on time. This results in you becoming irritable, which in turn triggers relationship conflict. This may be exacerbated by a command-and-control boss. Over time your confidence takes a knock. Or you work in a highly competitive sales environment where salary is 100% commission. It’s cut-throat, there is no harmony or collaboration and unethical practices by colleagues in order to get the business abound and the bad guys win. You can’t dissociate yourself from this and become anxious, depressed, lose focus and meaning, lose your appetite and sense of fun, even question your faith. Causes of such stress, the symptoms experienced and the antidotes to alleviate them are in each case physiological, psychological and socio-political as shown on the chart below. They also touch on the spiritual dimension.

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STRESS LINKAGES SYMPTOMS Psychological

Physiological

Loss of focus Irritability Apathy Depression Emotional tension

Headaches Fatigue Apathy Reduced well-being

Social Aggression Withdrawal Loss of emotional connection

TRIGGERS Psychological

Physiological

Boredom Lack of purpose Neurotic anxiety Personality clashes Conflict Bad self-talk

Sensory overload Poor ergonomics Irresponsible personal habits

Social Work overwhelm Office politics Group exclusivity Values mismatch Dysfunctional group Poor leadership

ALLEVIATION RESPONSES Psychological

Physiological

Cognitive behaviour change (coping mechanisms) Nurture fun, wonder Good self-talk Reframe situation

Healthy exercise, activities Good lifestyle habits Meditation relaxation response

Social Support group Assertive expression of feelings

We live in a world of change, overwhelming, busyness and stress. In such a world it is easy to lose touch with who we are, and to lose perspective; not see the bigger picture beyond ourselves, or who we could be. “In moments of stress, anxiety and other intense harmful mind states that we experience within our lives, it can be difficult to keep our focus on positive personal development.” 1

Achieving integration In many ways it’s easier to fragment and self-destruct than it is to move towards wholeness. We are so often unsure of who we are, how we belong, how we are seen. Sometimes we are so tied to our material world that we become estranged from our inner core, and even those who love us. On our death-beds the release of our Spirit is weighed down and blocked by fears, and by attachments to memories and expectations. We deny ourselves the transmuting and transforming experience of death. Yet some of those attachments can be helpful in allowing and welcoming release into the dying process. We are located in soulful bodies and an experience that comforts and is familiar in soul’s memory can also help. A dying hospital patient wanted to be booked into a hotel, have a bubble bath and

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champagne, and a special meal of prawns. The doctor allowed it realizing that the patient may die there or on the way there. She had a wonderful time and came back to die peacefully the next day. The good news is that the linkages of body, mind and spirit referred to above are not only negative. They work in reverse as well. For example, because of the neuroplasticity of our brains, we can edit, reframe and change our life stories by altering, growing new neurons, connections and pathways, get out of insecure-attachments, override limiting beliefs, develop compassion. We can literally rewire our brains over time. Change slowly but surely to who we need to become. Put the pieces together again. “Out of the clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity.” (Albert Einstein)

How do we do this? Dietrich Bonhoeffer has said, “The beyond is not what is infinitely remote, but what is nearest at hand.” Thomas Moore speaks about the person as the centre sphere in relation to the world, soul, body and spirit. In the medical world spirit is seen as tucked into mind. Soul is often ignored. Soul is the focus of our humanity and individuality, our emotions, memories, fears and desires. The soul connects to those things that that make us secure and give us a sense of belonging: home, family, love, place, friends and work. Soul is deep down and close to experience, known in passions and feelings, and revealed in physical expression and even illness. The integration and understanding of soul elements in the human personality will often assist healing towards wholeness if acknowledged and factored in. To see these aspects of human nature as separate silos is a nullifying of any movement to healing.2 So here are a few pointers and contributions, some of which may work for you, some of which may be worth introducing into your organisation’s training and development programmes:

Develop the virtue of cultivating awareness Osho points out clearly that mindfulness, awareness and being fully awake, hold great potential for us:3 “Many illnesses, one prescription: You have tried not to be angry, you have decided so many times, but still it happens. You have tried not to be greedy,(to be patient with difficult patients, family, customers, to control your impulse spending, to balance your living, care for your health, manage your time and stress, be assertive but again and again you fall into the trap. You have tried all sorts of things to change yourself, but nothing seems ever to happen. You remain the same. And here I am saying that there is a simple key – awareness. You cannot believe it. How can awareness, just awareness, help when nothing else has been of help? Keys are always very small; keys are not big things. A small key can open a big lock. (For all of these things) the medicine will remain the same: wake up! It is not going to be different: the prescription is going to be the same. You can call it awareness, you can call it witnessing (or observing, being mindful), you can call it remembering, you can call it meditation – these are different names for the same medicine.”

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So we need to cultivate self-awareness and beyond-self-awareness in all that we do. Be fully mindful, more observant, and less thrown by events and stressors. Be aware of our own shortcomings, baggage, areas where we can learn and improve. Also of areas where we need to affirm ourselves: “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection”– (Gautama Buddha). Be aware of other’s needs. Be aware of the need to be integrated as we journey on in life. In chapter 10 of this book “Deeper Mindfulness for Better Work Performance” we covered our 9M lifestyle model that embraces the whole person: meals, movement, massage, music, motivation, meditation, meaning, mirth and mental stimulation. In that chapter we also set out the organisational benefits that flow from a more mindful working culture. These are clues to more balanced, integrated living in the moment. Meditation Body and mind clutter, our instinctive reactions, emotions and behaviours can be overcome, and emotional and social intelligence, recognising right-brain feelings and integrating them with left-brain logic can be built through meditation practice. We can positively alter our life story. For example, a basic meditation is to connect with the breath after becoming comfortable and bringing our awareness into the present moment. It has a physical component as we focus on our breathing. We notice the movement in our chest and diaphragm, stimulating stomach, liver, pancreas, the contracting and relaxing of our abdominal muscles, the passage of air as we inhale, oxygenating the blood and exhale, expelling carbon dioxide and impurities – we may notice that our outgoing breath is warmer. The practice tones up respiration and circulation, renews body tissues, calms us. We become in touch with an aspect of our inner beauty. We can use times of meditation to connect to others (emotional and social). A Tibetan Buddhist meditation, tonglen, for example, is an active imaginative exercise in which you breathe in another’s suffering and then breathe out loving-kindness. (spiritual). “You can let your garden grow, but weeds and flowers will grow together, it will be messy and out of control. Or you can tend to your garden and choose which plants you want to cultivate and how you want it to look. It is the same with your mind. You can reorganise it and cultivate an approach that works for you, not against you.” (Anja van Kralingen of the Applied Jung Institute: [email protected]) Journaling The word journal comes from the Old French, day. It is a daily encounter with yourself. Journal echoes the word journey, and so you become a traveller of inner and outer regions, writing in your travelogue. Journals are helpful in working through difficulties in life, setting intention for the future, providing perspective. Perspective, how we see things, and learn to see them differently, is key. Brother Bruno was highly irritated by the croaking of bullfrogs when he was trying to pray. But one night he gave attention to their singing, stopped resisting, and found that they enriched the night. “With that discovery Bruno’s heart became harmonious with the universe, and for the first time in his life he understood what it meant to pray.”4 Counselling Integrative psychotherapy and counselling brings to bear different approaches in order to make for a cohesive personality, harmonising the emotional, cognitive, behavioural, 209

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and physiological aspects of the individual. There is potential here, and in coaching and mentoring, for a healing synthesis of body, mind and soul evolution. Decide what provides you with a higher purpose and gives meaning to your life. Osho refers to meaning as the ultimate creativity. For him being, feeling and acting are totally inter-connected. “Millions of people are living meaningless lives because of this utterly stupid idea that meaning has to be discovered. As if it’s already there, all you need to do is just pull the curtain, and behold! Meaning is there. It is not like that.” He insists that meaning comes through getting involved, participating fully in life – the mundane and the exceptional. “If you want to know what dance is, don’t go and see a dancer – learn dancing, be a dancer. If you want to know anything, participate.”5 Can we evolve a higher mind response as we have seen in Mandela, Ghandi, Mother Theresa that elevates us past offense, hatred, resentment and injustice to levels of awareness and superior being? In these cases this created the space and possibility for global healing beyond their own wholeness. Perhaps it’s not our mortality that is the enemy. Perhaps it’s our fear to live, to risk, to adventure, to fail? Perhaps we need something that speaks from a higher place to get us going. In 1888 a man’s brother, called Ludwig, died. A French journalist erroneously inserted the wrong name in the newspaper obituary. So Alfred, the surviving brother, came to read his own obituary. The journalist had dubbed him as the merchant of death for he had, among other enterprises, made his millions in arms and had invented dynamite. Concerned that he would be remembered purely for acts of destruction, he donated much of his fortune. His name is now attached to a series of prizes. His name? Alfred Nobel. Being inspired literally means being in the spirit. “The spirit of our work refers to two ideas: firstly, that who we are in essence is spirit and that there are no limits to our creative ability; and secondly, it is the attitude and state of mind with which we work and manifest our inner spirit that are crucial – not just what we do.” 6

Integrating the seven da Vinci virtues Da Vinci strived always for a holistic, inclusive understanding of everything he examined, and viewed man as a microcosm, a mirror of the wider world. American philosopher Ken Wilber has given us Integral Theory. “Integral theory weaves together the significant insights from all the major human disciplines of knowledge, including the natural and social sciences as well as the arts and humanities.”7 In this sense, we have a continuation of the da Vinci approach. It involves looking at something from different viewpoints or dimensions from the individual perspective inside experience and outside behaviour and the collective (inside cultural and outside social). It involves looking at both depth and complexity. We don’t believe that the Wilbur dimensions are necessarily the best to use, nor do we agree with some of his statements and conclusions – but do like his ideas of the whole person and inter-disciplinary approach. If you wish to look at Wilbur’s thinking in detail, read Integral Life Practice8 and go to www.integralresearchcenter.org.

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Each of the virtues can be practiced individually. We can develop and display love and compassion. We get become lost in curiosity, discovery and innovation. We can move our powers of observation and awareness to higher levels. We can reflect, question, examine and engage our shadow side. Take responsibility for every aspect of our lives and being. Work at achieving balance. And values also work together. Think of a situation where you have been, or you perceive that you have been, wronged by another person; put down, insulted, by-passed, humiliated, abused. The integration could work like this:

You are wronged

This affects body, mind, spirit - you feel angry, resentful, aggrieved

awareness

Return wrongdoing with compassion and forgiveness

curiosity

practice love INTEGRATION

engage the shadow

achieve balance

Suppress ‘natural’ urges - e.g. a macho need for revenge

Control your immediate, natural response

take responsibility

Understand the other. Understand own ‘buttons pushed’

Being aware of what is happening allows you to identify your bodily reactions and feelings, enabling you to exercise control and choose how you will respond. Applying curiosity to why you experienced your initial reaction can lead to discovery of ingrained, primitive reactions perhaps introduced at an early stage in your life. An opportunity to engage the shadow side. A sincere attempt at understanding where the other is coming from and what may be driving their behaviour is also healthy – not condoning what they have done but understanding why. You can now take responsibility for the event and it’s underlying causes. A part of this may be achieving balance in your response and make-up. Would your response-action have shown an imbalance in being overly masculine or feminine? This enables you to formulate and carry out a response that is based on practicing love – sometimes tough love – in order that the wrongdoing is met with compassion and forgiveness. At that point you’ve mobilised and integrated all of the virtues to stop a vicious cycle, continue the relationship in a positive, assertive manner. With time and repetition, such considered responses can become automatic.

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References 1. Lenda, Paul 10 Ways to Shift Your Consciousness http://www.odysseymagazine.co.za/index. php/articles/spirit/651-10-ways-to-shift-your-consciousness.html September 2013 2. Moore, Thomas Care of the Soul in Medicine: Healing Guidance for Patients, Families, and the People Who Care for Them Hay House Publishers 2010 3. Osho Awareness–the key to living in balance St Martin’s Press, USA. 2000 4. de Mello, Anthony The Prayer of the Frog Gujarat Sahitya, Prakash Anand, India 1988 5. Osho Creativity: unleashing the forces within St Martin’s Press, USA 1999 6. Williams, Nick The work we were born to do Element 1990 7. Esbjörn-Hargens, Sean An Overview of Integral Theory: An All-Inclusive Framework for the 21st Century Integral Institute–Resource Paper No. 1 http://integrallife.com/node/37539 March, 2009 8. Wilber, Ken, Patten, Terry, Leonard, Adam, & Morelli, Marco Integral life practice: A 21st-century blueprint for physicalhealth, emotional balance, mental clarity,and spiritual awakening. Random House/Integral Books NY 2008 9. The Integral Research Center www.integralresearchcenter.org

Illustrations Vitruvian Man, Study of proportions, from Vitruvius’s De Architectura. http://www. wpclipart.com/art/Paintings/DaVinci/Da_Vinci__VitruvianMan.jpg.html A public domain image The original drawing is owned by the Galleria dell’Accademia in Venezia (Venice), Italy: http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/argomenti/arte/leonardo/proports.htm

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Chapter 26 : Story of The Hero’s Journey “A hero ventures forth from the world of common day into a region of supernatural wonder: fabulous forces are …encountered and a decisive victory… won: the hero comes back from this mysterious adventure with the power to bestow boons on his fellow man.” (Joseph Campbell)

Here is a West African folk tale: Anansi, the spider, wanted to buy the Sky God’s stories. One task he was set was to catch Onini, the python. Guided by his wife, he took a creeper to Onini’s tree. Anansi muttered in the hearing of the python, “This creeper is longer than the python.” The curious python came down the tree to listen. Anansi got it to lie down next to the creeper so they could measure the two lengths. When the python lay down straight, next to the creeper, Anise tied up Onini using the creeper. Anansi took the python to the sky God who declared, “No more shall we call them stories of the Sky God, but we shall call them spider stories.” As individuals or in groups, our lives, life stages and passages, transitions and events are all journeys. Journeys in which we are the heroes and sheroes, the authors.

Map and territory We sometimes hear the expression that the map is not the territory. The path or route is very different to what is experienced en route. This is true yet maps certainly have their uses. Metaphoric maps which mark out our interior journeys are equally useful. So we talk of the road of life or the hero’s journey. Such journey maps place our individual path in the context of archetypal psychological journeys that mythical heroes of every culture have undertaken throughout the ages. In the work life such journey maps also apply as guiding metaphors. Sages and crones remind us that it makes wise work sense to be aware of and attend to such myths.

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Volumes have been written on the hero’s journey. Many films deal with its themes. For example, George Lucas based Star Wars on the great mythologist Joseph Campbell’s research. This article briefly considers the hero myth.

The fairy tales and myths Fairy Tales were originally meant for adults. They come from deep within us, from the unconscious. Their structure reveals something about our human journey in time and space. Like myths, such stories offer us signposts – a map of the territory and models of the courageous woman or man who has set off on the adventure. Buddha, St Teresa, Abraham, Mohammed, Christ are examples. The Buddha leaves the protected life he knows in the palace after observing an old person, a sick man, and a corpse. He sets out on a spiritual quest to discover the nature of suffering in the human world. You might know of historical leaders and inspiring figures such as Abraham Lincoln or Helen Keller who merit the title hero, or unsung heroe, in your office. Scholars such as Campbell, who was influenced by Jung, have found repeated patterns in different cultures–hence the title of one of his books The Hero with a Thousand Faces1.

There must be something else So many stories at home and work begin with someone becoming bored with the status quo and the stirring of a desire. “There must be something else to life.” So the person sets out on a new path like the knights of old who entered the forest at a place where no one had entered before. If you have followed the work story of successful entrepreneurs you might find a familiar ring to this story. If we deny this call through fear or lethargy, we can stagnate. Who was it that said we fear the loss of the known more than we fear the unknown? The Biblical Jonah (whether you read his story as parable, allegorical, mythological or historical) is an example of one who was disobedient and refused his call, was swallowed by the whale, and learned lessons through physical, mental and spiritual chastisements. He didn’t escape his destiny. So the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Like David Copperfield, Dickens’ young hero, we might ponder “Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show.”

Stages of the journey There are different ways of mapping the hero’s journey. Three stages are: departure, initiation, and return. So the hero sets out into the unknown. In this unfamiliar world she/he faces many tasks, challenges and trials, either alone or aided by an unexpected source, human or super-human. These dangers require courage, fortitude, vigilance (being awake) and ethical response. We are in a world of fairly rigid rules regarding how we conduct our lives or our businesses, often with little room for exploration or deviation. But on our heroes 214

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journeys we have moved into the unknown. There are challenges on the journey out and the journey home. If you commit to the quest, often a guide appears. In Greek mythology, for example, Ariadne gives Theseus a ball of thread and a sword before he enters the maze to fight the Minotaur. Once the hero has encountered the mysteries of life and has died or let go of the old ways of seeing reality (she/he has been through a transformation) she/he might return to bring the wisdom, teachings or blessings of understanding that have come back to those who stayed at home. Perhaps that is why we go to conferences or workshops so that we can return with gifts for our work community in the form of insights and new ways of doing and being in business. We share a new guiding story.

Questions after the quest We are left with questions. How do we integrate and apply the wisdom gained? How do we retain the vision amidst the mundane? How do we live in and be master of two worlds – the one where normal rules apply, and the one that we can learn to continue to visualise and create as we journey on? How do we live the values we’ve learned about?

The hero at work William Bridges uses psychological insights from the story of Moses leading his people to the promised land to illustrate the process of organisational transition journeys – endings, the neutral zone and new beginnings2, which stages mirror the departure, initiation, return stages of the heroes journey. The people of Israel were the hero. Organisations can be heroic too in facing and steering through major transition. Swedish psychologist and writer Claes Janssen’s theory The Four Rooms of Change (being the psychological stages of contentment, followed ruptured contentment, confusion and renewal) also parallels the hero’s journey.3 And Scharmer’s Theory U also follows a process of letting go and letting come as project teams mindfully enter into a way of embracing an emerging future.4 Joseph Jaworski bravely tells of his personal hero’s journey in his marvelous book Synchronicity, and also tells how his American Leadership Forum programme was designed to be a transformative hero’s journey.5 A lovely quote from Caroline Myss: “…human nature has this fundamental design: we are made to pursue the mythic course of one’s own lives, to seek out and follow our own greatest quests.”6 Journeys long and short, organisational and personal, abound in work life. As do heroes. Personal and organisational transformations tend to follow the typical story pattern: Elizabeth Kubler Ross describes the stages of personal transition following a traumatic event as: immobilisation (shock), denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. 7

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We teach a story pattern that involves four stages. This is an ancient Motif. This story illustrates this pattern or movement 8: A pot stood on a shelf in the museum. Many came to admire it. The woman who worked there took special care of this pot. She dusted it carefully and arranged it so the light from the window fell on it. (First stage – the womb). One day somebody left the window open and a gust of wind knocked the pot off the shelf. The pot lay in a thousand pieces. When the woman came to work the next day, she put her face in her hands and grieved for the broken pot. (Second stage – the wound). Then piece-by-piece she began to reassemble it. The woman glued pieces together and searched in the cracks between the floorboards. Those pieces she could not find, she measured and made. (Third stage – the wandering, or the work). When she had glued the last piece, she stood back to gaze at her handiwork. Then she placed the pot back on the shelf. Despite its cracks many came to admire it. (Fourth stage – the wonder). Often journeys begin when we are moved by happenings out of the womb of comfort and contentment to stage two. “Darkness, failure, relapse, death, and woundedness are our primary teachers, rather than ideas or doctrines.”9 CYCLIC PATTERNS OF ORGANISATION AND INDIVIDUAL CHANGE AND TRANSITION Story pattern

Cambell’s hero’s journey

Claes Jansen’s four rooms of change Bridge’s transition model Kubler-Ross personal change process

Womb Community Contentment Vision Personal stability

Wonder Home-coming Ruptured contentment Endings Immobilisation / denial

Wander or work Initiation Confusion Creative chaos Anger, bargaining, depression

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We could add another process to show the movement from values to virtues: Stage 1: cognitive determination of chosen core values Stage 2: setbacks as mistakes are made, behaviours are not congruent with the values Stage 3: the formation of habits through practice, and a chain reaction reinforcement Stage 4: arrival at being virtuous A worthwhile quest. “Virtue is our true wealth and the true reward of its possessor; it cannot be lost, it never deserts us until life leaves us.” Da Vinci

References 1. Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Novato, California: New World Library, 2008 2. Bridges, William Managing Transitions Addison Wesley Publishing Co., Inc. New York 1992 3. Janssen, Claes F The Four Rooms of Change www.claesjanssen.com 4. Scharmer, Otto Theory U Berrett-Koehler Publishers Inc. San Francisco 2009 5. Jaworski, Joseph Synchronicity: the inner path of leadership Berrett-Koehler Publishers San Francisco 1998 6. Myss, Caroline Defy Gravity Hay House Inc 2009 7. Kϋbler-Ross, Elisabeth On Death and Dying MacMillan Publishing Co Inc. New York 1969 8. Williams, Graham & Haarhoff, Dorian The Halo and the Noose Graysonian Press 2009 9. Rohr, Richard Daily Meditation number 16 of 51 Sixth Theme: The path of descent is the path of transformation. 4th October, 2013 http://myemail.constantcontact.com/RichardRohr-s-Meditation—The-Gospel-of-Prosperity.html?soid=1103098668616&aid=2ytU6UU C8ZQ

Illustration by Tony Grogan Hydra

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EXERCISE 12 : Three Me’s and the Alice Factor: an exercise around diminishing and expanding realities Round the neck of the bottle was a paper label, with the words `DRINK ME’ beautifully printed on it in large letters. What a curious feeling!’ said Alice; `I must be shutting up like a telescope.’ …And so it was indeed: she was now only ten inches high…. Soon her eye fell on a little glass box that was lying under the table: she opened it, and found in it a very small cake, on which the words `EAT ME’ were beautifully marked in currants. `Well, I’ll eat it,’ said Alice

Alice in wonkland Have you ever felt like Alice in Wonderland who slips through the rabbit hole and finds the bottle labeled ‘drink me’? She shrinks then expands. One minute she cannot reach the table, the next she gobbles the cake and becomes a giantess. Consider this story in relation Alice’s experiences:

World views An anthropologist, stalking through the forest in India, comes across an ancient sage dancing in a clearing. He stops and watches from behind a tree. The old woman strokes a tree then bathes herself in moonlight. Unable to contain his curiosity, the anthropologist steps from his cover, and with a puzzled look on his brow, asks, “Pardon me, old woman, but what are you doing alone in the forest?” With an even more puzzled look, the sage replies, “Pardon me young man, what makes you think I’m alone?” This story depicts an anthropologist with a diminished world view as compared to the old peasant woman who has an expansive view of life. This offers yet another interpretation of our halo and the noose theme. Whatever diminishes, restricts, chokes the life out of us becomes the noose around our necks. Conversely what expands, opens and offers us new life and new eyes, places the halo above our heads.

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The three me’s exercise 1. What kind of story are you living? Here is an exercise that touches on both your personal and professional life that you can try out. Draw the outline of a human figure that represents you – a kind of gingerbread figure – about 10cms high. Now draw another larger figure outline around that one, about 15cms high. Finally draw an even larger version of the same figure around the other two, about 20cms high. The middle figure represents you. The smaller inside figure represents whatever diminishes you, takes away your power and dissipates your energy. The pygmy you. The larger outside figure represents what ever expands you, creates your power and adds to your energy. The giant you. 2. Make an inventory of what experiences, situations, beliefs and actions diminish or expand you. Here are a few of the themes you might like to consider. What situations allow these states of mind, heart, body and spirit to arrive and take up residence in you?

THE PYGMY SELF

THE GIANT SELF

Anxiety and fear

Lightness

Heaviness

Acceptance

Being overwhelmed

Living in the present moment

Excesses in business

Lightening of the heart

Lost control

Forgiveness

Staying in your head

Seeing the bigger picture

Taking things personally

Open to the next surprise

Judging self and others

Awareness

Resisting change

Humour

Lack of awareness

Relaxed responses

Stress

3. What is missing from this list? What values are inherent in the list?

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4. How do the following two stories impact on your size? The Rainmaker There was a long drought in a village. The people summoned a rainmaker from the mountains. He arrived and asked for a hut so he could be apart. For days the villagers did not see him. Then the clouds built up and the rain came. When the rainmaker emerged from the hut, the villagers asked him, “How did you make rain?” “I did not make rain. Your village has been in a state of disharmony. This affected me when I arrived. So I retired to the hut and centred myself. That is when the rain came.” Pauses and Pace A young lion club is thrown into a fenced enclosure where there are other lions. He shakes himself off and begins to wander around curiously. He comes across groups of lions engaged in some activity and asks them, “What are you doing?” One group is pushing around a stone. “We are the soccer players,” they tell him. Another group of four is sitting with small stones in their paws and a pile of stones in the middle of the circle. “We are the poker players,” they say. Then the lion cub comes across an old lioness gazing out into space. “And what are you doing?” the cub asks. Without shifting her gaze the lioness responds, “I am studying the nature of the fence.” When you are living the outer ‘gingerbread’ figure, you are overlapping with somebody else’s outer ‘gingerbread’ one. In other words, you are connected to and in community with them. Consider how William Blake’s words apply to this question of dimension. He who binds to himself a joy does the winged life destroy; but he who kisses the joy as it flies lives in eternity’s sun rise. William Blake This exercise was developed out of an exercise introduced to us by Dr Bruce Copley, whose unique presentations at major international business conferences and seminars throughout the world, consistently achieve the highest speaker ratings. He transforms boring conventional messages and topics into vibrant & captivating learning adventures. See www.aahalearning.com Reflection and sharing around a short, simple story or image can lead to long and deep conversations and discovery. Now that you’ve got the idea, you may wish to continue the exercise:

Part 2: Who am I and how do I fit in? Our focus has been on how our self is diminished or enlarged. Consider for a moment the Buddhist notion of non self or the illusion of self (from the Sanskrit anātman). Letting go of I, me, my, mine is then not a means to protect the imaginary self, but to

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acknowledge an ever-changing, non-permanent, non-separate self. “By following both his scientific curiosity and his heart, Neurobiologist, Dr Daniel Siegel began to question one of the most fundamental assumptions about human psychology and even biology: that we are an individual, separate self. Dr Siegel discovered that our concept of ‘I’ turns out to be more accurately a ‘we’—encompassing not only our own senses, brain, and awareness, but also—surprisingly enough—the world itself, including everyone around us that we interact with and merge with in every moment of our lives.”1 From this perspective, what would you change or reinforce in the 3 ME’s exercise that you have done? What would be your reactions now?

Entire of itself, Every man is a piece of the continent, A part of the main. (John Donne)

Part 3: The congruent inner and outer me Now view the 3Me’s picture of gingerbread men in a way that they represent you, your inner person and your outer persona. “You could travel from your inner man into your outer man. By a journey of that sort this becomes a place where you find gold” (Rumi). Leonardo da Vinci’s Vitruvian perfectly proportioned man symbolises wholeness, completeness, and integration of body, mind and spirit. (Integral means comprehensive, whole, and balanced). The circle depicts a holy space and the square the four elements of fire, earth, water and air. It seems that we are all prone to disintegration and fragmentation. Over time we tend to collect through our learning, happenings, experiences, conditionings, societal pressures that which distorts our true selves, gets in the way of our integration, self -concept, of how we relate to others, our core identity, how we respond to criticism, our sense of self – worth.

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We develop an outward persona that protects us from the laboratory of soul making and growth. A laboratory that contains the challenges of vulnerability, authentic interaction, the unmasking and unpeeling of false identities, failure. We battle to hold things together. Sometimes even fall apart. Become less than whole. Broken. Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men Couldn’t put Humpty together again Have you noticed that a mood, resentment, stress, distraction is accompanied by changes in body posture, facial expression, energy levels and outlook. Our body, mind, spirit is inextricably linked. In many ways it’s easier to fragment and self-destruct than it is to move towards wholeness. We are so often unsure of who we are, how we belong, how we are seen. Sometimes we are so tied to our material world that we become estranged from our inner core, and even those who love us. The good news is that these linkages of body, mind and spirit are not only negative. They work in reverse as well. For example, because of the neuroplasticity of our brains, we can edit, reframe and change our life stories by altering, growing new neurons, connections and pathways, get out of insecure-attachments, override limiting beliefs, develop compassion. We can literally rewire our brains over time. Change slowly but surely to who we need to become. Put the pieces together again. “Out of the clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty, lies opportunity” (Albert Einstein). In what ways can you find harmony between body, mind and spirit – move from disintegration to integration? What practices are important to you in this endeavour?

Part 4: Time-lining to overcome limiting beliefs Consider stories in your past that have formed the person you are today, and the story you desire to be telling in future. Let the inner gingerbread man represents the past, the middle figure the present and the outer figure the future. Are there ways in which you are stuck in the past? What future do you see? Our brains don’t really relate to artificial tick tock time. Conjure up a picture from the past of an incident that hurt you and influenced how you see things, hampered or prevented your wholeness as a person. See the incident in grey colour, acknowledge and relive your reactions, difficulties, trauma, guilt, anger. Now jump to the future and see, in bright technicolour, how you would like to react to and handle the same incident with the same people. Bring those feelings and thoughts right into the present moment and anchor them in your being. Be assured that this reframed way of believing, responding and acting will be the way you move forward. There is a richness and freedom in allowing our thinking and feeling to traverse different perceptions, realities and notions of who we are and wish to be. In the process we are able to find clarity, reframe our stories. Not only at the individual but also at the group and organisation levels. Which leads us onto this next exercise:

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Part 5: Our brand reputation and impact Reflecting on the same diagram, think about your organisation as a brand, a persona. This exercise is not limited to the brand, but may be adapted to address office politics, team dynamics, inter-departmental cooperation and a number of other business issues.

And discuss: 1. What are the things that happen internally in our organisation and in terms of our reputation that reduce our effectiveness, limit our abilities, reduce our capacity to fully engage staff and make us less than we can be? 2. What are the things that internally or externally allow us to come alive, get in the flow zone, make a positive and significant difference, boost morale and motivation and find meaning in what we do and how we do things? 3. What things have happened in the past to hurt our Brand, rock our confidence, reduce trust and make us cynical. How can we envisage a new future and a different way of behaving now, that will get us back on track? 4. How do we together close the gaps or disconnects between our current reality and desired future in the living of our values, conducting of our business processes, communicating and relating internally and with customers and suppliers, retelling our organisational story?

Reference 1. http://www.soundstrue.com/weeklywisdom/?source=tami-simon&p=1873&category=PP& version=full

NOTE: Each of the five 3 Me’s exercises are stand-alone. They need not be sequential, nor does every one need to be done, depending on the specific situation or circumstances being addressed

Illustrations by Tony Grogan Alice and the Cheshire cat Island

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EXERCISE 13 : from Global Leadership Institute – 22 July 2013 “The only Zen you find on the tops of mountains is the Zen you bring up there.” (Robert Pirsig) This couldn’t be more true. The sunset, the mountain, the cool running stream do not enable you to dream—you enable you to dream! It’s not nature, after all, that makes the decision to open up your mind to your dreams. 1. Even in the middle of a bustling city surrounded by people, you can close your eyes and walk to the top of a mountain, watch the sunset or hear the sound of the ocean. 2. Imagine you are stuck in a traffic jam and your watch an elderly man step off a bus and meander along the street with his cane. You start to ruminate on what his life is like and are soon reconnected with your deeper values and envisioning what’s important to you. 3. Take a long walk this week and let your mind drift for a while. Then think about what you would do if you received two messages on the same day: first, you have inherited millions of dollars and never need to work another day in your life; second, you have a terminal illness and have only a few more years to live. What would you do with your time? This mental exercise will help you focus your mind on what you most deeply value. Reflect on this question, and use the answers to take a disarmingly honest look at how you are spending your time. http://www.leadglobal.org/home/contact/ A traveller in an eastern land came to the foot of a mountain. A large sign read, “If you want to see the greatest Buddha in the world, climb this mountain.” The traveller climbed and climbed and finally reached the summit. He looked around but could see no statue. Eventually after searching for an hour he came across a small plague. Bending down the traveller read: If you can’t see the greatest Buddha in the world, you had better go down and climb the mountain again.” Exercise Derived from “Anthony Silard’s Weekly Smile, It’s Monday message, available free at www.smileitsmonday.com

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EXERCISE 14 : The Hero Within: a meditation Sit comfortably. Be aware of your body. Where is it sore or discomforted? Draw your attention to that part and then let go that attention. Where it rests quietly and at peace welcome that sensation. Notice your jaw. Is there tension or tightness? Loosen the jaw . Feel your weight on the chair or floor. Close your eyes. (Shutting out external visual inputs raises you consciousness level). Now become aware of your breathing. Is it shallow or deep? Breathe deeply through your nose and fill your abdomen. Hold the breath momentarily and then let it go. Exhale through the mouth. Repeat this three times. This gets you into a sort of day-dreaming state. You are more relaxed, serene, consciously aware and in the present moment. In your imagination go to a favourite place in nature. A place where you can truly be yourself? Notice your surroundings; sounds, textures, colours, atmosphere. Slowly explore your surrounds. What do you experience and what captures your attention? Welcome the people who are with you in this place; the mentors, teachers, friends who have added value and spirit and joy to your life. Receive them gently and warmly. Let them sit with you. Look into their eyes. What do you feel about your life right now? What is working well? What is uncomfortable? What dreams are unfulfilled and what goals remain unrealised? Are there feelings of disappointment, entrapment, fear? Notice what arises and let it be with you. Silently name these things? Then, in this your favourite place, release these things like butterflies into the air. Now turn your attention and gaze towards yourself? How are you relating to yourself? Kindly, with humour and lightness and laughter, or with intensity, strong expectations, critical analysis? Do these interactions release or limit your soul? Now become aware of how others relate to you. Controlling? Playful? Serious? Scattered? Disloyal? Prone to drama? Unable to easily love or be trusted? Courageous? Restless? Ambitious? Compassionate? In the journey and meandering path of your life, where have you now arrived? What signposts beckon you from your favourite place? What landmarks root you and give you a sense of safety? If your Life is a book, what chapter are you writing now? Are there themes that repeat themselves? A quest for love? Belonging? Self-improvement? What mythical archetypes or imprints of possibility can you access and harness for your journey at this point? In the same way that the mentors sat with you now the archetypes are welcomed. The Orphan-inviting you in your suffering, victimisation, betrayal to face the unfairness, pain and loneliness of life head-on, moving forward with courage.

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The Warrior maybe awakening you to enter the battle zone so that you can overcome the internal enemies, doubts, frustrations, blockages to your growth. As you do this you enter the flow zone and the joy and dance of life The Wanderer helping you in the face of misunderstanding and restrictions and a need to prove your worth. Providing the capacity to embrace what lies ahead, making a needed break with the past or present and opening up new frontiers of growth for the mind and the soul. The Altruist helping you go beyond the quest for power and possessions and activating within you the greater good, generosity and stimulating random acts of kindness that are release within you. Encouraging forgiveness and love. The Innocent returning you to child-like joy, spontaneity and playfulness–overcoming feelings of boredom and jadedness. Helping you recover lost treasures. The Magician, Crone or Sage, helping you to reclaim lost power, wisdom and facilitating within you transformation and change. Finally, The Mother supporting the nurturing and helping that these archetypes have effected within you. Comforting and holding close. Allowing you to feel loved. Extend compassion to yourself as you engage with all these encounters and allow them to settle within you. Slowly, when you are ready, come back into the room and be present to the others around you. Loosely based on The Hero Within Carol Pearson Harper Collins, San Francisco 1998.

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EXERCISE 15 : How integrated are we as an organisation? WHERE: Head – strategising, innovating, mindfulness Heart – relationships, partnering, intuiting, motivating, harnessing diversity Hands – achieving, work practices and tasks growing others, getting results In the old days thinking was the prerogative of leadership, workers did the work and middle management was the glue that held to top and bottom together. Have you moved your organisation? Fro m t h i s

To t h i s

TR A D IT IO N A L MANAG E M E N T S T Y L E

3 H LEADERSHIP ST YLE

Head

Head

Heart

Heart

Hands

Hands Lower

M i d d le

To p

Lowe r

Middle

Top

If you conducted the following survey now, what would the answers given by your staff be? (The 25 questions multiplied by 4 give you a % effectiveness rating) 1. We all see clearly where we are going and how we are going to get there, guided by an attractive set of values. 2. Overview and task-related information, both the good and bad news, are shared regularly and widely. It is credible, timely and relevant. The part we are expected to play is also always clear. Feedback is welcomed and we report mistakes rather than filtering upwards. 3. Free and open discussion takes place about delicate issues on an adult-to-adult basis. 4. Our focus is on relating and achieving well together, whatever that takes. Cumbersome and bureaucratic constraints, roles and rules do not burden us. The emphasis is on creativity, and our conformance or compliance results spontaneously. 5. Leaders take a demonstrable interest in our personal wellbeing, and confidentiality is respected. They also take a genuine interest in the work that we are doing. 6. Each of us is allowed to lead when the situation calls for it (an innovation, an initiative, a special project, a focused meeting or a customer need) and we feel more and more willing and able to do this. 7. We are fully involved in the scenario context, forming strategies and plans, setting targets and deadlines, discussing values, deciding on measures, improving business processes as a team, which often includes customers and individually.

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8. We are trusted to get the job done, and take initiatives independently knowing that support and counsel is always available. This makes us feel important, worthwhile and secure. 9. Confidence is shown in our contribution so that we often participate in meetings not directly related to what we’re doing, where we’re listened to, our views and feelings acknowledged. We do not have a meetings-for-the-sake-of-meetings culture, and the meetings are always focused, well conducted, and often quite short. 10. Important decisions and their rationale are quickly and fully communicated, keeping everyone in the picture. 11. When there is a crisis or work overload in a particular area, especially where customer service levels are or may be impacted, whoever is available and able to contribute is involved, including customers. There is urgency but not panic. Stress is managed by sharing and supporting during the event, and by calm debriefing and learning once the crisis is over. 12. There is no doubt that people matter in this organisation. We feel valued, inspired and a part of something worthwhile. 13. We enjoy going to work, learning and growing, yet never feel that work intrudes negatively on personal time. We are challenged and stretched, but not abused, in this area. 14. We know how to take responsibility and are given responsibility. We are allowed to get on with it without interference and usually succeed. 15. We feel like winners but are not arrogant enough to think that we’ve already arrived. 16. Training and development is shared equally and we strive for personal growth beyond our current jobs. The workplace environment (and we’re all involved) stresses mentoring, coaching and counselling. We all know our strengths, challenges and opportunities for development. 17. People really work together, often across departments and processes, instilling a real feeling of ownership, which is reinforced by agreed and shared performance measures. These measures are congruent with overall organisation indices of importance. 18. We understand the challenges of the future and feel good about our ability to cope. We have become quite transition–resilient. 19. Feedback about our team and individual performance and expectations is freely discussed – good and bad – on a regular basis. Our performance and potential assessments are carried out on a 360-degree basis. This is never judgmental and, wherever possible, anchored to performance measures. We feel fully engaged – stretched but capable. 20. There is a genuine ethic of serving each other, having lots of fun, and encouraging one another. We have sense of community. We are serious about the work we do, and standards are high. 21. Conflict is prevented or resolved not by sweeping it under the carpet, but by facing it honestly, fairly and with civility. We have become skilled in accommodating differences in personality type, thought profiles and behaviour patterns – across the boundaries of age, sex, race, culture and belief. 22. In performing our jobs, as much attention is given to relationships as to task, and we are enabled by good resources in the form of slick business processes and reliable technology and information. 228

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23. Our boast is that we will always strive to find ways of saying yes to customers. Not no or yes, but ..., and do not blame others or the system for not being able to say yes. And our customers appreciate that and don’t try to take advantage. 24. We share failures, celebrate successes together, and all share in the overall business results. 25. There is an ethic of continual improvement and we push each other to achieve new heights. In all senses, we think of ourselves as leaders, not followers.

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Introduction to Section 9 We’ve saved the most important virtue for last. Practicing love. Ultimately, especially in the corporate world, this is what it is all about. The transformational power of love in the workplace has been ignored, made taboo, side-lined or watered down for far too long. All too often our expression of love in the workplace is stifled by stereotyping, prejudice, stress, unnecessary conflict, faulty ethics, protective mechanisms and covered up by business-speak – mainly rooted in fear. We offer a framework for introducing this value successfully, and suggest behaviours that may be adopted, including the art of attentive listening, appreciating the richness of diversity and behaving with civility in order to create a virtuous circle. Love is the spur to successfully developing virtuosity.

Chapter 27 : Being in the Love Zone “Love is from the infinite, and will remain until eternity”(Shahram Shiva) “If you have love in your life it can make up for a great many things you lack. If you don’t have it, no matter what else there is, it’s not enough” (Ann Landers) “Some day, after we have mastered the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love. Then for the second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire” (Teilhard de Chardin)

An ignored force in the corporate world One of the flights of the mind I’ve had for some time is the notion that the word love will at last enter the vocabulary of the hardnosed business world. No longer with it be taboo. Sure, we might talk about loving the work that we do, or being fond of some of the people we interact with in the world of work, or perhaps I loved the way you clinched that deal, but that’s about as far as it goes. In this context love is being authentic, not wily; being transparent and not Machiavellian; being the wearing of your heart on your sleeve rather than holding your cards close to your chest; trusting in the success that comes from setting a standard; being an example rather than outwitting an opponent; a readiness to show vulnerability. It is also about being human and realizing that the only currency that makes for sound business relationships is a capacity to discern motives that are borne of love. It is about having a code or language that is based on respect, validation and seeing the other. Love and other virtues are rooted in spirituality. The whole person is physical, intellectual, social, emotional and spiritual. Failing to recognise the existence of love in the workplace is failing to address the whole person, be they employee, customer, supplier, or stakeholder. The good news is that people are awakening to the possibility of virtuous organisations. There are stirrings. Should the highest of the virtues be excluded from the conversation? Why can’t it be recognised in the corporate world, that “love is the single most potent force in the universe, a cosmic impulse that creates, maintains, directs, informs … every living thing.”1 In the words of poet Dylan Thomas “the force that through the green fuse drives the flower,” without some manager asking, what is the business case for this?” June Singer, a giant in the world of analytical psychology, has this to say2: “In our concerns with counting and weighing and measuring, with precise descriptions and careful evaluation, we sometimes fail to recognise or give credit to values that do not fit these criteria. Or, when we do recognise that such values exist, we split them off from the consciousness of the marketplace and relegate them to the categories of religion or the arts.” Too often we do our work in places where the love of power, in many forms is more important than the power of love. It’s one of those cases where you have to be the change you wish to see. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better. It’s not” – Dr Seuss (The Lorax) 

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Being human, we do respond to love Soon after the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, I wrote: “The event may have signalled major shifts in a number of areas. Psychologists: Freudians analysing compulsions, drives and fears; Jungians pointing out how archetypal stories find their way into people’s hearts; sociologists, communicators, legislators have all analysed and had their say. What seems to emerge from this, the biggest-ever globally shared event, is that ordinary people all over the world: • long to relate at the simple, real, basic, human level. They are attracted to perceived generosity, transparency and honesty. Love • believe that every person has the right to choose what they, do, without interference or domination • wish that civility was more greatly valued and practised in society • are fed up with establishment bureaucracy and constraints • are touched by the value of serving others • want to break out of the cycle of victimisation of which they believe they are a part • look for aspirational role models. It seems to me that Diana, Princess of Wales, loving, lovable and real–has recently made visible and re-awakened feelings, beliefs and values that are strongly held all over the world.”3 Similarly, Desmond Tutu, by his humour and humanity points to a higher scale of values and interactions. And makes himself easy to love. So too, of course, did the life and death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta. And little-known, but as significant: Studdert Kennedy (introduced in Exercise 1) was an army chaplain who bucked the incompetent bureaucracy that resulted in so many unnecessary First World War casualties. He refused to give safe, cosy, sermons behind the lines, and chose instead to spend his time with the common soldiers in horrific conditions in the trenches, not preaching, but just being with them; coming alongside them in their need. He’d often hand out a Woodbine cigarette, and became known as Woodbine Willy. Years later when he died, his simple funeral was attended by hundreds of thousands of people. A single packet of Woodbines was placed on top of the coffin.4 Sharing a cigarette is a gesture that would not be quite as acceptable today perhaps, but in that context was part of a demonstration of the appeal of relating at the basic human level, being civil, serving others, being a role model through action, ignoring the establishment in order to do the right thing, showing love, staying true to his values. The most precious gift that he gave was that of being present for the other person in their time of confusion, fear, existential loneliness. After the war, Kennedy continued to give away all his possessions and earnings, while campaigning for the eradication of poverty through a change of values.

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Love is transormational The songwriters got it right: Love hurts and Love changes everything: (“Love, love changes everything, How you live and how you die. Love will turn your world around.”)5 Love that changes things is intentional, may be sacrificial in some way, is given freely and without attached conditions. Alas, our value-exchange economy extends to love. There are many stories of love making a huge difference in the lives of people in prisons, on battlefields, in concentration camps, in classrooms and hospitals. Stories of family love, powerful friendships characterised by love, devotion of animals to people, Hollywood love of the sexual attraction variety. But few about transformational love in workplaces.

Love touches us powerfully Anyone who has been in love knows this. Rumi, 13th century poet, Sufi mystic and founder of the Whirling Dervishes, saw love as a fundamental creative force. In his love for the Dervish Shamsoddin Tabriz he discovered a transformational love for the Divine, a communion with the infinite. His was a religion of intoxicated love, spiritual transformation which resulted when one broke free from the bondage of self and one’s heart opened. “Falling in love took me away from academia and reading the Koran so much.” He believed that our true natures need to be rediscovered. Then we can transcend normal, accepted behaviours – such as those so often evident in today’s stifling workplaces – and reach our true potential. “Not knowing his own self, man has come from a high estate and fallen into lowliness. He has sold himself cheaply; he was satin yet he has sown himself onto a tattered cloak …. If you could only see your own beauty – for you are greater than the sun! Why are you withered and shrivelled in this prison of dust?”6 As Jean Houston puts it, “To explore the life of Rumi is to explore a path of illumination through love.”6 Rumi’s experience is echoed by St Teresa of Avila: ”When he pulled it (the spear) out I felt that he took them with it, and left me utterly consumed by the great love of God. The pain was so severe that it made me utter several moans. The sweetness caused by this intense pain is so extreme that one cannot possibly wish it to cease, nor is one’s soul content with anything but God. This is not a physical but a spiritual pain, though the body has some share in it—even a considerable share.”

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8

Napoleon Vier

Our own experience may be of lesser intensity, of course.

Love at work If an employee is suddenly bereaved because a family member suicides or dies, compassionate engagement and respect, and quickly organising and facilitating leave arrangements is crucial. A recognition of pain and loss is all that is needed, and implicit is the permission given for someone to be able to grieve. Grief is not an illness but a natural process that helps create equilibrium again. A client whose daughter had committed suicide once told me that her manager said, two weeks after the death of her daughter, ‘It is time you were over this now.’ Translated this means ‘You are not productive – stop wasting office time’. Another employee was dying and the company insisted she have pay deducted after her sick pay was used up. By contrast I know of a law firm whose partner had a son die suddenly. They gave her paid leave for three months because they valued her as a partner. They allowed her time to grieve. Yet another employee ‘s experience was to get a terminal diagnosis and then to be paid her full salary until she died nine months later. This kind of heart response earns the respect of other employees as managers act in a way where love does not care about the policy, or precedent set in terms of others expecting the same. It comes down to behaviours. If we believe that love has value, is important, then we can show it by adopting these behaviour indicators:

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• Listening. Taking the time to listen attentively to a colleague who is feeling down without filtering, analysing, judging, suggesting solutions. “Listening is an act of love.” (Paul Tillich) • Leaving a handwritten note on someone’s desk when they’ve done a good job. • Anonymously commending someone for recognition and reward. • Stepping in when another is overburdened or overwhelmed, even at an inconvenient time. Being motivated by the ideal of helping others or serving some higher cause forms part of what Zohar and Marshall term spiritual intelligence.7 • Seeking to understand someone who is different to yourself which leads to appreciation, respect, rapport, empathy, unconditional acceptance. • Seeing the person behind the issue (be this absenteeism, grievance …) so that the outcome may still involve discipline, but be accompanied by counselling. • Conversing assertively, not defensively nor aggressively – letting your no be no, and your yes be yes. • Learning to practice compassion across divides in increasingly diverse organisations. • Recognising, in the Japanese wabi sabi way, beauty in imperfection. • Lending a hand by helping to clean up after an event like an in-house conference. • Being considerate and allowing others time to think for themselves, draw on their own resources without undermining that ability. Nancy Kline argues well for this.8 • Volunteering for mundane tasks without putting your self-interest first. • Never betraying a confidence. • Being patient with a slower learner. • Not holding a grudge against someone who wronged you a long time ago. • Not making an ostentatious show of claiming credit for a job well done – even if this is true. Being humble doesn’t mean hiding away your talents and abilities, nor letting them fall into disuse. • Speaking out when a group is gossiping about a colleague, and not opting out and staying uninvolved. • Refraining from inflicting any form of verbal pain on another. Never showing disdain. Never saying anything that diminishes another or stabs them in the back. • Putting an end to negative dynamics such as naming and blaming when something has gone wrong. • Remembering and honouring events that are important to the other, showing that you care – a birthday, an anniversary … • Reining yourself in when you find yourself exaggerating, using white lies, making excuses (‘I’ve been too busy to look at your proposal … to meet with you’). • Taking responsibility for how you think, feel and act. Be even-tempered. • Taking time out to reflect on the things that you are grateful for. Also, reflecting on the things that scare you, that prevent you from demonstrating love in the workplace (See next chapter). • In times of crisis, putting in the extra effort needed to maintain the virtues – for example if and when redundancies are unavoidable, coming up with alleviating schemes like job-sharing, reduced work hours, and above all communicating frequently and assertively.

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• Refusing to become part of a drama triangle, pointing the person who has approached you about a third party to that third party directly. • Smiling (from within, not as a customer-service-rule!). “Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” (Mother Teresa) • Not being envious, but rather, being pleased at another’s success. • When giving a speech or presentation or telling a story–not trying to impress but rather to express; not attempting to manipulate – rather to share, allow a space for the receipt of insight by the listeners. • As a leader, relinquishing over-control, letting go and honouring subordinates with the power to make decisions, solve problems. The principle of subsidiarity.9 Subsidiarity was first enunciated by Pope Leo XIII. The principle of subsidiarity holds that it is an injustice, a grave evil and a disturbance of right order for a large and higher organisation to arrogate to itself functions which can be performed efficiently by smaller and lower bodies. To steal people’s decisions is wrong. Subsidiarity means giving away power. The Concise Dictionary of Theology10 describes subsidiarity as, from the Latin meaning assistance, a principle consistently endorsed by the social teaching of the Church according to which decisions and activities that naturally belong to a lower level should not be taken to a higher level. Although applied mainly to situations such as the relationship between rich and poor nations, or between state, regional and local powers within a country, the principle is also relevant to organisations and the behaviour of groups and individuals within organisations. There are a 1000 more ways of practicing random acts of kindness. The list above is merely a sample. ‘A random act of kindness is a selfless act performed by a person or people wishing to either assist or cheer up an individual person or people. The phrase may have been coined by Anne Herbert, who says that she wrote Practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty on a place mat at a Sausalito restaurant in 1982 or 1983.’11 Caroline Myss refers to them being invisible acts of power. 12 We believe that they are non-random, non-intrusive and contagious acts of love, and their spread results in an integration of conscience – the opposite of what was referred to as a fragmentation of conscience in Chapter 1. The tendency in business is to undervalue or even ignore the practicing of virtues, and instead adopt a watered-down, token addressing of issues. Instead of love we have emotional intelligence training (as useful as that is), limited corporate social and environmental responsibility programmes (instead of fully living meaningful virtues), employee motivation surveys and initiatives (instead of providing real purpose and meaning). And caring, loving behaviours can move from inside–out to the wider society: addressing poverty, environmental degradation, educational lacks.

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“The now fashionable EQ (Emotional Intelligence) refers to our ability to deal with emotions and feelings in others, and ourselves, which is the basis of all human relationships …... In conventional psychological terms this may well be so, but however accurately it describes our emotional skills, isn’t it just another way of describing what I prefer to call “Dharma at Work” and the benefits of its practical application?” 13 “Great leadership, at West Point and everywhere, has a lot to do with love. Not romantic love or unconditional love but that caring, passionate drive that binds teams together to accomplish goals greater than any individual among them could imagine.”14

Start (or end) with love for self But first, we must break down our defences against love. Often because we are wounded in love we close off against love. We become prickly, offended, hurt and angry. We become difficult to love. We then stay in downward circles that disconnect us from ourselves and others. Searching for and drawing meaning from outside of our selves, from our power, position or possessions, is an invitation to disillusionment. Possessing a deep inner knowledge that we are important, worthy and secure as a result of who we really are – loving ourselves, allows us to maintain perspective, remain congruent and consistent, and be resilient during times of uncertainty.15 Even when we receive the love that we crave, love without condition, we may still not love ourselves. That has to come from within. Along the journey of life, as we do our soul work, we uncover our true self, become more authentic, overcome limitations and limiting beliefs, become more able to show compassion to others and ourselves, find balance and engage with our shadow side. We begin to love ourselves from within. (See Chapter 21). A part of this moving forward is to forgive ourselves – for what we have committed or omitted. Something we did, or failed to do. We often find ourselves, and the love of self, in the depths. In the hard, deprived times we gain fresh perspectives and understanding. The story of the woman at Jacob’s well is told in Chapter 6.

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When that is done, we become other-oriented. Able to apply the unforgettable watchwords handed down to Lettice by her mother: “Enlarge! Enliven! Enlighten!” 16

Giving love to others is a way of giving love to ourselves It is now fairly widely accepted that we are able to alter our brain states so that we take on board lasting traits and virtues. We can become far more adept at doing this and physically change our neural structures by consciously activating a desired state of body and mind. If we see value in this, work at retaining, reinforcing and intensifying such states – then they become permanently imprinted in our brains. How do we do this? By meditating, playing the right mind-tapes repeatedly, noticing and enlarging moments when the right/desired state is invoked in us: this may be, for example, another’s response to our compassion in the form of a smile, a statement of appreciation, their acceptance of our forgiveness, a heartfelt thank you when we have spontaneously taken on a mundane task like washing the dishes to relieve someone else of the task … Each time we notice and intensify these states, we further embed a virtue. We utilise this feedback as a means to being and to get pleasure out of displaying a virtue such as love. In this way we are both giving and receiving the benefits of practicing love. The integration of virtues as a habitual response to lack of love, as explained at the end of Chapter 25, is another behaviour-regulation means that we can adopt in order to give and receive love.

Love is the highest virtue “Love, that thing we have great difficulty even describing, is the only truly real and lasting experience of life. It is the opposite of fear, the essence of relationships, the core of creativity, the grace of power, an intricate part of who we are.”17 Love is the highest virtue. It umbrellas all other virtues. It has a key place in the virtuous organisation. Being in the love zone is exhilarating. (It even trumps being in the flow zone: “I discovered a new unity with nature. I had found a new source of power and beauty, a source I never dreamed existed” – Roger Bannister, the first man to run a mile in less than 4 minutes). A world view that has made room for, or predicated on love, is much needed in our hard-nosed corporate world. “A gift of love is not an expenditure without return, but an expenditure without a controlled, manipulated, or contracted return.” (Professor James H. Olthuis, Relational Psychotherapist). Two poems for your reflection: Rationality says it is nonsense Love says it is what it is Reckoning says it is doom Fear says it is nothing but sorrow Insight says It is hopeless Love says

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it is what it is Pride says it is ridiculous Caution says it is reckless Experience says it is impossible Love says it is what it is Austrian Poet, Erich Fried I know the way you can get I know the way you can get When you have not had a drink of Love: Your face hardens, Your sweet muscles cramp. Children become concerned About a strange look that appears in your eyes Which even begins to worry your own mirror And nose. Squirrels and birds sense your sadness And call an important conference in a tall tree. They decide which secret code to chant To help your mind and soul. Even angels fear that brand of madness That arrays itself against the world And throws sharp stones and spears into The innocent And into one’s self. O I know the way you can get If you have not been drinking Love: You might rip apart Every sentence your friends and teachers say, Looking for hidden clauses. You might weigh every word on a scale Like a dead fish. You might pull out a ruler to measure From every angle in your darkness The beautiful dimensions of a heart you once Trusted. I know the way you can get If you have not had a drink from Love’s Hands. That is why all the Great Ones speak of The vital need To keep remembering God, So you will come to know and see Him As being so Playful And Wanting, Just Wanting to help. That is why Hafiz says: Bring your cup near me. For I am a Sweet Old Vagabond With an Infinite Leaking Barrel Of Light and Laughter and Truth

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That the Beloved has tied to my back. Dear one, Indeed, please bring your heart near me. For all I care about Is quenching your thirst for freedom! All a Sane man can ever care about Is giving Love! Hafiz (14th century Persian mystic and poet) It is said that love drives out fear. We believe that the converse also holds true. We can become hostage to all manner of fears and anxieties, and this applies too in the business world. In the next chapter we explore this particular subject in more depth.

References 1. Encyclopedia of Religion 2. Singer, June The Power of Love to transform our lives and our world Nicolas-Hays, Inc. Maine 2000 3. Williams, Graham Centre-ing Customer Satisfaction Centre-ing Service, cape Town 2000 4. Target, George Words that have Moved the World Bishopsgate Press, London 1987 5. Morgan, Dennis; Clime, Simon and Fisher, Rob Love Changes Everything Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, EMI Music Publishing 6. Houston, Jean Ph.D The Search for the Beloved Jeremy P.Tarcher/Putnam NY 1987 7. Zohar, Danah & Marshall, Ian Spiritual Capital: wealth we can live by Bloomsbury 2004 8. Kline, Nancy Time to Think Ward Lock, Cassell Illustrated London 1999 9. Handy, Charles The Age of Unreason Harvard Business School Press, Boston, Massachusetts, 1989 10. The Concise Dictionary of Theology -O’Collins & Farrugia Harper Collins, London, 1991 11. Wikipedia Random Act of Kindness http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_act_of_ kindness 12. Myss, Caroline Invisible Acts of Power’ Free Press NY 2004 13. Chanchaochai, Danai Dharma Moments Nicholas Brealey Publishing 2006 14. Murphy, Bill Jr. Lessons From West Point: Leadership Is Love http://www.inc.com/ bill-murphy-jr/leadership-is-about-love-and-other-lessons-from-west-point. html?goback=%2Egde_39683_member_263184337 15. Johnson, Robert A. Owning Your Shadow HarperSanfrancisco 1991 16. Shaffer, Peter Lettice and Lovage Andre Deutsch, London 1998 17. Kϋbler-Ross, Elisabeth & Kessler, David Life Lessons: how our morality can teach us about life and living Simon & Schuster UK 2000

Illustrations The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (1645-52) Cornaro Chapel, Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome. Photo by Napoleon Vier From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teresabernini.JPG Oil Spill illustration by Tony Grogan

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Chapter 28 : Fear Conquers Love “I cannot claim to be anything more than a fool when it comes to love … personal love has always carried the signature of something beyond itself … I can only imagine that must always be so, for how can an ego love anything other than its own needs and desires?” (Roger Housden)1 “As selfishness and complaint pervert the mind, so love with its joy clears and sharpens the vision” (Helen Keller)

Negative Oorganisational dynamics: fear at work I once did some work for a government department. There was an atmosphere of cover your back, naming and blaming, hiding behind rules and regulations, lack of trust, implied or direct threats (comply or say goodbye and step up or step out). This sort of environment results in an inauthentic way of being, which affects communication, planning, the work ethic and personal well-being. In the department people used information as power. Leadership lost all credibility. Of course, low morale, high frustration and cynicism and, were poor performance was the inevitable result. A toxic environment where no love was lost between management and staff. Mistrust and gossip and speculation became the currency of engagement. Here people learned to keep their opinions, feelings and ideas to themselves for fear of their mention being career limiting in both one-on-one interactions and meetings. Many, over time, became conditioned to behave in undesirable ways in accord with these workplace norms in order to survive because they saw no other way out. And of course this had ripple effects on their wellbeing and family life. A vicious cycle. One where fear conquered any possibility of the better way: love. Inter-departmental interactions were no better: silos were difficult to cross, a we and them mentality prevailed, process delays and errors crept in between departments, and clients suffered. This sort of vicious cycle may be heightened during times of major organisational change, conflict or stress for example, high workloads, tight deadlines, interdepartmental friction. One way of being alert to fears that exist in the workplace is by identifying the relating and communicating behaviours being displayed. Openly aggressive, dominant communication often hides fears of not being seen to be important, insecurity, having low self-esteem exposed, losing power, being challenged. Passive aggressive, withdrawing behaviour may mask fear of rejection, fear of risk or change, fear of losing control. Submissive-compliant behaviour may indicate fear of not being socially accepted.2 Essentially, these organisational behaviours and dynamics are rooted in individual fear.

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The bases for fear at the individual level In love and life we lose and gain, yet tend to expect only gain. That’s the human condition. We put on protective armour against the fear of disapproval, conflict, of loss, attachment, being hurt, judged, humiliated, punished, exposed, made vulnerable, isolated, rejected, made uncomfortable, criticised – especially in public having our aspirations and cravings blocked, often unconsciously. This protective armour may be our demeanour, prejudice, withdrawal, arrogance, indifference, aggression, cynicism, greed. In interactions with others we may try to get in first to initiate and steer, so that this protection comes into play. Again, often at an unconscious level. We also fear change, and sometimes we fear success (as much as we do failure). We are riddled with fears of all shapes and sizes. And nearly all the time they are not about what has happened but what we imagine may happen. Yet they are powerful drivers. Usually our fears stem from and are conditioned during early childhood, or traumatic experience. In early childhood our brains are growing phenomenally quickly, so that our experiences “have a disproportionate impact on the shaping of our neural systems, with lifelong consequences.”3 This may, for example, cause us to form insecure-attachment behaviours, surprisingly common. When we perceive a danger or threat our sympathetic nervous system is activated by the brain – a primitive fright, flight or fight response.

On the other hand our parasympathetic nervous system is that which steers us into a relaxation response, an accepting response.

This danger may be any one of the fears mentioned above, and our automatic, conditioned responses are triggered. In a sense we become addicted to them, which narrows our responses, understanding and potential to grow. And these fears conquer the possibility of the practice of love in the workplace. 242

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We are wired to respond in certain ways and it’s crucial to have insight into, and take responsibility for those responses. We can end up blaming our external circumstances without owning to our own interior saboteurs. (Refer to Chapter 10 on Deeper Mindfulness, and single-pointed meditation in particular.) We can re-wire our brains and move away from negative, limiting, addictive, habitual responses and towards the attainment of virtues.

What are our options? A Samurai warrior rampages through a village killing people with his sword. He arrives at the temple and sees a monk scrubbing the floor. The monk does not respond to his presence so brandishing his sword, he shouts, “Do you not know that you are in the presence of one who could run you through without blinking and eye?” The monk rises and turning to him responds, “Do you not know that you are in the presence of one who could be run through without blinking and eye?” The Samurai warrior bows to the monk, sheaths his sword and leaves. Deep-seated fear limits, paralyses, renders us incapable of taking right action. We become stuck in fright. Or our trepidations, nervousness, anxieties and fears can be a stimulus for raised consciousness, a trigger to make a choice, and act. Our options are: • Flight. Run away from the challenge and let it get worse. We can run away by losing ourselves in busyness, pretending the challenge doesn’t exist, employing defence mechanisms such as repression or rationalisation to ignore them. We can justify our behaviours. This way we cultivate our resentments and fears. They become more and more ingrained in our thoughts, emotions, and actions. We become more and more insecure. More and more stressed. More and more toxic. • Fight. Face it – get to be aware of, acknowledge and face our fears, attend to our internal demons and shadow side, challenge our limiting beliefs about our ability to change, and be determined to conquer our fears through love. “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” – Anais Nin To reinforce what was said in the previous chapter, luckily for us our brains are malleable. They have what is called neuroplasticity. It’s possible to overcome our conditioning and literally rewire our brains, alter and develop new connections and neural pathways using “2,500 year-old mind-training techniques that are more precise than a neurosurgeon’s blade.”3 We can begin to turn from vicious to virtuous at the personal level by: • Having the right mind-set. A determination to follow the path of love. To press the stop button on our persecutory interior monologues. • Adopting techniques and practices like mindfulness meditation to increase our awareness, help forge personal change. Consciously adopting relaxation responses. Proper sleep is an underrated activity. During good sleep we revitalise essential physiological functioning, process events of the day. Aggression, moodiness, anxiety and stress tends to increase when we get insufficient sleep.

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• Improving our emotional and social intelligence, learning to form habits that allow us to develop awareness, understanding, insight into our own and other’s emotional states so that we’re able to empathise, walk in their shoes, feel with them. The German word einfuhlung (feeling-into) says it all. A key aim here is to listen and observe rather than to speak too quickly. • Making the first loving move. A show of appreciation, a lunch invite, sharing a personal story … and a preparedness to be vulnerable. Daniel Goleman on avoiding being adversarial: “Proactive bonding is a mind-set. You actively look for the common goal between yourself and the other person or team.” • Learning to forgive. There is harm in non-forgiveness and benefit in forgiving. Becoming aware, making a deliberate choice takes us beyond anger and resentment. (“To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you”–author Lewis B. Smedes). • This is the equation: Less sense of self-importance, less fragility of self concept + more understanding of and compassion for the other = less chance of a real or perceived wrong wounding so deeply. Then forgiveness comes more easily. In other words, a different perspective of self + a different perspective of the other = easier to forgive. Forgiveness is a choice that releases pent up anger and resentment, which is harmful and not our natural state To illustrate the vicious to virtuous shift using a simple example: On a consulting assignment in Poland, Jim, the expatriate sales manager was dominated by the local, all-powerful finance manager. He felt intimidated by him and feared him without understanding why. At gatherings the latter would walk up to the group that Jim was in and subtly but effectively take over Jim’s space. Without being aware of what he was doing, Jim would inch back, allowing the domination. I suggested to Jim, having observed this drama, that next time he should be aware, resist stepping back, face his fear and instead inch forward. He did this and from then on the relationship was normalised. A small adjustment, but a big change. Our bodies are the instrument we use in more subtle and unconscious ways than we realize. A more extreme example of conquering fear, anger, revengefulness head-on is the story of 15 year old Malala Yousafzai: From the town of Mingora in the rural Swat Valley in the North of Pakistan near Afghanistan, lands where women are very much second class citizens, last year 244

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she was shot in the head with a Colt 45 by the Taliban. They stopped the school bus taking her home, with the specific intent of assassinating her. The reason for daring to speak up for education for women, in the face of a strict form of Islamic Sharia law which forbids women’s education. She was close to death, evacuated to the Queen Mary Hospital in Birmingham, England, had extensive surgery to rebuild her skull, and recovered her eyesight and hearing. The Taliban have stated that if they get another chance to kill her, they will do so. In an address at the United Nations, Malala said, “They thought that the bullet would silence us, but they failed. The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in life, except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, courage and fervour was born.”5 Malala has urged President Obama to stop using remote-controlled drones in Pakistan and Afghanistan, because of innocent civilians being killed. Interestingly, drone pilot Brandon Bryant is on record as saying that drones should not be seen as an antiseptic, bloodless form of warfare that minimises collateral damage – saying “This is not a video game. It’s real.” She has for years been an advocate for inter-faith dialogue and harmony and was the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize nominee. Johnson echoes the Housden quote that heads this article: “Love behaves like a separate being in the psyche, acting from within and enabling us to look beyond ourselves at our fellow human beings – people who can be valued and cherished, rather than used.”6 Ultimately the transcending of our fears, anxieties and selfishness come down to developing virtues of compassion and love (tough love when necessary). “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:18) Introducing her ground-breaking book, June Singer says: ”My purpose in writing this book is to point out that although we may feel we are caught in a struggle between the power of love and the love of power, we are not locked into that struggle. The key to the way out is our recognition that the power of love can make us all winners, but the love of power is bound to make losers of us all. The choice is ours and the prize is surely worth the price.”7

Positive organisation dynamics – love at work To shift from vicious to virtuous in an organisational context requires an absolute determination “to use our lives to dissolve the indifference, aggression and grasping that separate us from one another.”8 Enlightened leadership is needed. Also needed is a new contract of trust within oneself, to trust that I have sufficient knowledge. I am worthy of respect and acknowledgement. I carry that assurance quietly and confidently. I don’t have to slam doors or insist on a hearing. A shift from the toxicity of inadequacy, mistrust, frustration, imprisonment to the deliberate nurturing of respect, appreciation, allowing all to belong and feel valued. From noose to halo. Where love conquers fear, and fear doesn’t conquer love.

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In our work with organisations that wish to strive to become virtuous, we don’t get too lost in academic debate about the applicability of historical virtues from classical antiquity or religion, but focus on what is needed for this organisation’s purpose and being at this time. We have found that people find the Leonardo virtues-set to be interesting and nonthreatening. They can safely discuss his frailties, failures, fears, successes and his virtue of practicing love (a word they don’t shy away from), and how this could relate to their workplace. da Vinci’s virtue-set neatly spans both left brain and right brain orientations. It’s actually a spiritual process of accessing the higher mind and heart states of being. States that enable us to take ourselves less seriously, and not to be reactive and defensive. It’s about seeing the bigger picture and not relating everything through our own narrow and blurred lens and filters. Unlike love, fear, anger and resentment are not sustainable without harming us at some point.

A challenge Dominique Lapierre relates an incident when he offered a contribution to Mother Theresa’s work: “’Mother, I know that what we have brought is only a drop in the ocean of need …’” Her Reply: “’But if that drop were not in the ocean, the ocean would miss it. And it is God who has sent you’, she interrupted me with amused gentleness.”9 It’s a change from me to we. A mindful choice to not withhold love. Especially in the workplace. That’s the challenge. That’s when love drives out fear. Such love honours freedom of will and response, invites the release of anxieties and worries, experiences a greater unconditional love for the other person from the personal experience that one is loved more than can be imagined. Such love is the basis of our self-confidence, assurance, self-worth and significance. It’s about seeing the person within and the person with potential beyond, both ourselves and others, a reframing of who the person is. And in the workplace this virtuous approach is what should undergird all of our diversity management, customer satisfaction, emotional and social intelligence training, team-building, our social responsibility and environmental policies, our staff engagement endeavours. A reframing of the organisation’s story. Albert Einstein: “A human being is a part of the whole called by us ‘the universe’, a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings, as something separate from the rest – a kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening the circle of understanding and compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.” Perhaps, as Rumi says: “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

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Once there was a huge duck pond. Many different ducks lived there. Right up to the surface of the water was a grid of fences, so each group of ducks had their own space. Each group had its own colour, behaviours, beliefs. The Sufi ducks spent their time whirling and twirling. Islam ducks had regular honks to remind them it was prayer time, and every now and then some would glide over to a designated sacred place in their section of the pond. Buddhist ducks spent a lot of time hovering in transcendent state above the water. The chosen Jewish ducks seemed to be somewhat aloof. The Atheist ducks were a non-conformist bunch, and most of them spent time on their own, thinking. Christian ducks were a very mixed group, some made a lot of commotion, flapping and squawking. Others were totally immersed under the water. Still others had the practice of sprinkling each other with water. And the Hindu ducks were unrestrained, with some of them having shaven heads. Each group feared the other groups because they were different. Treated them with suspicion, indifference, and distanced themselves as much as they could. The different groups hardly ever spoke to each other, and when they did, they disagreed. One day there was a sudden and heavy outpouring of love in the form of rain. The pond waters rose. Above the level of the fences. Soon there were no barriers between the different groups. They became one big, happy flock. Mingled and swam together.

References 1. Housden, Roger Ten Poems to Open your Heart Hodder & Stoughton Great Britain 2003 2. Williams, Graham Revelling in Transition Centre-ing Services 1997 3. Lucas, Marsha, PhD citing Louis Cozolino, PhD in Rewire your Brain for Love: creating vibrant relationships using the science of mindfulness Hay House Inc 2012 4. Goleman, Daniel Resist the “Us vs. Them” Mindset, quoting IMD professor George Kohlrieser in his video series Leadership: A Master Class  http://www.linkedin.com/today/ post/article/20130808160702-117825785-resist-the-us-vs-them-mindset 5. Schoolgirl Malala Defies Taliban At UN Sky News Report http://news.sky.com/ story/1114714/schoolgirl-malala-defies-taliban-at-un 19th October, 2013 6. Johnson, Robert A. in his Introduction to A Lover: embracing the passionate heart. Archetypes of the Collective Unconscious Volume 4 Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam NY 2002 7. Singer, June The Power of Love: to transform our lives and our world Nicolas-Hays, Inc Maine 2000 8. Chödrön, Pema The Places That Scare You Element London 2003 9. Lapierre Dominique A Thousand Suns Simon and Schuster UK 1999

Illustrations by Tony Grogan Panic Calm

Other illustrations Photo of Malala Yousafzai http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Malala_Yousafzai_ at_UNGA,_25_Sep_2013-crop.jpg 247

Chapter 29 : I Am Different, Don’t Hold That Against Me If you think you can grasp me, think again. my story flows in more than one direction a delta springing from the riverbed with its five fingers spread Adrienne Rich

Seeing the different other in a negative light Steve Denning tells of vehement opposition from a cognitive scientist to his proposal to apply story in certain circumstances. He was accused of moving away from analytical thinking, and likely to “drag the human race back to the dark ages of myth and fable from which science has only recently rescued us.” 1 People don’t always see eye to eye. Our own stereotyping, perceptions, prejudices and bias filters mean that we sometimes see others with jaundiced eyes, often at the unconscious level. These filters influence how we relate to others from different (and linked) cultures, ethnicities, religions, belief systems, social classes, genders, sexual preferences, ages, personalities, education levels, language, lifestyles, thinking styles, physical and mental abilities, areas of special giftedness, roles... “…we every one of us have our peculiar den, which refracts and corrupts the light of nature, because of the differences of impressions as they happen in a mind prejudiced or prepossessed.” (Francis Bacon) “Successful collaboration between stakeholders starts with what social psychologists call perspective taking: the ability to see the world through someone else’s eyes”2 and avoiding what Nigerian novelist Chimamanda Adichie calls ‘The danger of a single story.’3 Around every story, there are stories that are not being told.

More diversity Countries, workplaces and market places are becoming more diverse and more connected. This represents a stumbling block or opportunity, performance may be strangled or unleashed, a halo or a noose. Professional human capital management and the unleashing of latent potential is vital to the success of any organisation, and how we attract, include, engage and harness diversity can be a real strength or a weakness.

Midrash In the Jewish tradition, there is the idea of Midrash. Midrash involves fleshing out a story we only have the barest details for – the bones of the story. Re-telling a story, filling in the gaps in order to expand, putting oneself into another character and supplying details that are not recorded. This allows for different interpretations of meaning and personal revelations and insights. Often a different picture brings deeper understanding of what extra value the other might be able to bring the company. Midrash allows us to think outside of the confining frame of a preferred story and adapt better.

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In 1944 the mother of the poet, Yevtushenko, travelled from Siberia to Moscow, where she witnessed a procession of 20,000 German prisoners of war marching through the streets. The generals strutted at their head, oozing contempt, determined to show that they still considered themselves superior. “The bastards smell of perfume” someone shouted. The crowd yelled its hatred. The women waved their clenched fists in anger, and the police had great difficulty in holding them back. But when the Russians saw how pitifully thin and ragged the ordinary German soldiers were, dirty, battered and completely miserable, many of them hobbling on crutches, the street became silent. Suddenly an elderly woman broke through the cordon and held out a crust of bread to one of the soldiers. Then from every side, other women copied her, giving food, cigarettes, whatever they had with them. The soldiers were no longer enemies. They were people.4 First Bite did the snake offer Eve the fruit from his mouth? or did she pick it, as the creature curled around the stem, reaching a hand heavenward cradling it in her palm, then the downward tug? or did the crop drop to the lightest touch? was she in love with colour, edengreen, sungold, rose as the flush of her throat? did Eve ask its blessing, before her teeth pierced the skin and the crunch crisped the garden, her saliva rising like sap to mingle the pulp on her tongue? did she watch the pectin browning the core, and as she counted pips, say A is for Apple, in this alphabet of tastes? and did blossoms ring her hair the day she tasted God in the first bite? Dorian Haarhoff

Midrash exercies bring benefits Midrash exercises have been instrumental in building teamwork, removing silos between departments, improving acceptance and rapport between people, promoting collaboration, resolving differences, and of course in the provision of better service and boosting productivity. 250

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They lead to mutually beneficial respect, trust and collaboration and not only bridge, but produce gain out of differences. Clown fish are protected by the poisonous sea anemone and in turn bring and attract food to the sea anemone. Totally different yet continuously and fruitfully engaged with each other. A machine gunner and ammunition–belt feeder together in a trench facing a common enemy: they may not like each other but they are totally interdependent. Another example from TomorrowToday–World of Work Newsletter Feb 2013: In southern Brazil you can witness a remarkable sight: wild bottlenose dolphins helping men catch fish by driving mullet schools towards a line of fisherman. They then slap their heads and tails against the water to indicate when the fishermen should throw their nets. The remarkable thing about this is that the men have not trained or domesticated the dolphins. Actually, according to research, these Laguna dolphins trained themselves. Or more specifically, they have understood the value of collaboration with the human fish hunters: the fish that escape the nets become easy pickings for the hungry dolphins, who have learned to wait for that reward. The behaviours seem to be being passed down from one generation of dolphins to the next, just as the fishermen pass their skills to their own children. Visit http://www.tomorrowtoday.co.za They do great work In South Africa, the rainbow nation, equal employment and affirmative action legislation have forced compliance with the development of more diverse workforces, and businesses often pay lip service to harnessing diversity. Benefits happen when people become aware of the potential of midrash and embrace diversity.

Social scientist Andrë Laurant, now Emeritus Professor of Organisational Behaviour at INSEAD. “He offers useful guidelines which harness cultural diversity and show decision makers around the world how differences can become a source of synergy and competitive advantage when they are recognised, understood and appreciated.”5 He has discovered a fascinating phenomenon. In brief: the best teams rely on the difference and uniqueness of their members to create something better than can be produced by a mono-cultural team. But people who fear difference and put their energy into seeing differences negatively produce little of note.

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GROUP PERFORMANCE high

MULTICULTURAL GROUPS: energy put into respecting and appreciating differences and multiple viewpoints

average

MONOCULTURAL GROUPS: energy put into conforming

low

MULTICULTURAL GROUPS: energy put into conflict about differences

Concerted effort to bridge the productivity gap between best and worst is a critical challenge. It requires recognition that potentially diverse group wisdom is greater than individual wisdom; team solutions, innovation and output is greater than individual output; collectives are more secure and powerful than individuals; adaption and adoption of change smoother. Diversity is a positive must. Every member must feel that they belong, share accountability and can contribute. That they are accepted, valued, respected and trusted by the other members. Mother Theresa: “The biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis, but rather the feeling of not belonging.” Failure to appreciate and harness the richness, power and value of difference can cause barriers, threats, irritation, friction and destructive behaviour and promote a limiting culture of conformity. The midrash exercises that we conduct for individuals and groups also involve metaphor elicitation and anecdote circles, and address barriers to and benefits of harnessing diversity. “It struck me as I listened to those two men that a truer nomination for our species than Homo sapiens might be Homo narrans, the storytelling person. What differentiates us from animals is the fact that we can listen to other people’s dreams, fears, joys, sorrows, desires and defeats — and they in turn can listen to ours.” (Author Henning Mankell) I note the obvious differences between each sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.6 Of course, this approach applies outside of obvious differences as well.

Other people’s stories: moving from the threat of difference to the power of difference Lindsey Groenewald, while studying for a Masters degree at Columbus State University 252

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shared a paper7 she prepared for an assignment on cultural appreciation in the USA, and how cultural heritage impacts on individual identity. She chose the Muslim community.

Cartoon by Malcolm Evans

As part of her background reading she explored the experiences of others as recorded in: • Black Like Me by Texan journalist John Howard Griffin8, published in 1961. Griffin, a white man, darkened his skin, assumed the identity of a black man, spent 6 weeks hitchhiking and traveling on Greyhound buses through the deep south and experienced first hand the stereotyping and prejudice facing black people. • Jane Elliott’s diversity experiment started with grade school children in her native Iowa. Immediately after the death of Martin Luther King she split her class into blue-eyed and brown-eyed, gave and withheld privileges and treated one group as superior. In an amazingly short space of time she created a racial divide and observed how learning performance of the inferior group declined. When the groups were switched, the same result occurred. Two video documentaries, The Eye of the Storm (1970) – recorded this experiment, and A Class Divided (1985) – a follow up with the original class years later to see the extent to which new values that she had instilled, still remained.9 Lindsey found that “The consequences of a few unjust acts by Middle Eastern Muslims have been imposed on the Muslim culture and especially on Muslim communities in the USA. They have faced stereotyping and prejudice and been subjected to discrimination, hate crimes, denial of religious accommodation, job termination, verbal abuse, unequal treatment, denied employment and access to public facilities…” She refers to a reliable source quoting no less than 700 recorded discriminatory acts in a period of one year following 9/11. But more importantly, Lindsey went beyond academic research and underwent experiential learning, for example visiting a mosque prayer service. One of her conclusions is that “learning to respect the reality of others while being aware of our own is a big step towards cultural competency.”

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Lindsey outside Mosque

In an increasingly diverse world, and the world of business, this is an important lesson for us. Where are we along the separation integration continuum? How does one achieve assimilation while still allowing groups and individuals to preserve their unique cultural, societal, religious and ethnic identities? How do we make the move from entrenched positions to tolerance, to appreciation of the other, to the building of trust and friendship and in the process reinforce our own identities, beliefs and values? In our deliberation and reflection, we could consider: • A lovely Shona proverb recounted by Lovemore Mbigi and Jenny Maree10: chra chimive hachitswane inda (A thumb working on its own is worthless. It has to work collectively with the other fingers to get strength and be able to achieve). • Novelist Chimamanda Adichie’s message about The danger of a single story3 : http:// www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=D9Ihs241zeg • The Catholic Vatican document The Dignitatia Humanae which states that every person has dignity and a conscience and a freedom to seek the truth in their own way, without judgment from others. Buddha consistently said that his path was not the only path to enlightenment, and that every being must find his own path. His teachings, he noted, were meant only to be guides, and he encouraged all to investigate for him or herself the truth of what he said, rather than merely taking his word for it. The Dalai Lama: “…if you were to ask me what the best religion is for me personally. My answer would be Buddhism, without any hesitation. But that does not mean that Buddhism is best for everyone – certainly not. I would like to further emphasise …that all religions have great potential…..to develop a good heart.”11 Diversity has many dimensions of course: culture, religion, language, gender, ethnic group, thinking style, age, personality type, education level, socio-economic status, competencies ... A balloon seller, a wise older man, fascinated his buyers both adults and children by releasing different coloured balloons: red, green, yellow, pink and blue and as they went up into the sky people were attracted to him. That meant good business for him.

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A poor little boy watched enviously. He could not afford the pleasure of buying a balloon. A sudden thought struck him, and very hesitatingly he approached the balloon vendor. “Sir” he asked, “can a black balloon also go up into the sky as high as all the others?” The vendor pulled a black balloon out of his bag, inflated it and set it free. To the amazement and cheers of the boy, the black balloon too soared sky high. Said the vendor: “Remember that there is nothing in the colour that makes these balloons go up in the sky. It’s the gas that I fill them with that takes them to such heights.” Saying this he pulled out yet another black balloon, inflated it with the gas to make it ready for it’s flight, attached a long string and presented it to the boy. “This is a gift from me for asking such an intelligent question.” How often is our vision coloured?

References 1. Denning, Stephen The Springboard: how storytelling ignites action in knowledge-era organizations Butterworth Heinemann 2001 2. Audia, Pino G. Train Your People to Take Others’ Perspectives. http://hbr.org/2012/11/ train-your-people-to-take-others-perspectives/ar/1?referral=00056&cm_mmc=hbd-_syndication-_-HBSExecEd-_-2010&spMailingID=4481538&spUserID=MjQxOTA0NzY3O TMS1&spJobID=132714011&spReportId=MTMyNzE0MDExS0 3. Adichie, Chimamanda The danger of a single story. http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=D9Ihs241zeg 4. Zeldin, Theodore, An Intimate History of Humanity Vintage 1994 5. Laurent, Andre http://www.speakers.co.uk/our-speakers/profile/andre_laurent 6. Angelou, Maya “Human Family”, in Simpkinson, Charles and Anne, Sacred Stories, Harper, San Fransisco, 1993. 7. Groenewald, Lindsey Understanding Muslims and the Religion of Islam Columbus State University 2012 8. Griffin, John Howard Black Like Me Penguin 1962 9. Elliott, Jane The Eye of The Storm and A Class Divided 10. Mbigi, Lovemore & Maree, Jenny Ubuntu: The Spirit of African Transformation Management Knowledge Resources, Randburg, 1995 http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/ frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html 11. The Dalai Lama A Simple Path Thorsons. 2000

Illustrations Playground illustration by Tony Grogan Cruel Male-Dominated Culture Evans, Malcolm cartoon (2011). http://www. evanscartoons.com/index.php

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Chapter 30 : Listening With the Ear in the Chest “The branches of your intelligence grow new leaves in the wind of listening.” (Rumi) “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” (Ernest Hemingway)

Listening but not hearing Perhaps over the years since Socrates developed dialogue, Madame Rambouillet organised conversation in salons, and the heighday of Samuel (Doctor) Johnson, the art of conversation and listening has declined. Perhaps this current age of electronic interactions will see further decline. And perhaps this is happening when most needed, when the cry is for better communication – not least of all in the business world. In our work with organisations we are often called upon to apply story-listening in many areas including anecdote circle research, carrying out successful crucial conversations, eliciting marketing metaphors, harnessing diversity and improving customer service responsiveness. At the leadership level, Gareth Morgan relates listening to the shaping of culture and management of meaning: “He or she spends time listening, summarizing, integrating, and guiding what is being said……the leader in effect wields a form of symbolic power that exerts a decisive influence on how people perceive their realities and hence the way they act.” 1 Without mindful, tuned-in listening, we fail to gather needed information, knowledge and wisdom. We don’t detect the timely warning, are denied the therapy of soothing music or well-earned encouragement, miss the feelings and intent of the other, and don’t convey that we respect and care for them and their opinions.

Listening blockages In the office, socially or at home we find a number of blockages to attentive listening. Sometimes there are factors within. It seems that our attention-spans and retention spans are declining. Under the pressures of time and deadlines, and an overwhelming number of messages, we overlook listening opportunities. We may lack the necessary discipline and lapse into pretend listening, selective listening, glassy-eyed (bored) listening, red flag listening (where a word or phrase will push a button, trigger emotion in ourselves, skew our understanding and interpretation), or opportunistic listening (waiting for the right moment to jump in with our own viewpoints). Sometimes, if we are too intent on listening for content, intent, personality, learning style, conflict responses, strengths, thinking styles, intelligences, facts – we may in fact hear only that part of what is being said that we are on the lookout to hear. These listening filters can become an occupational hazard for managers, coaches, counsellors, negotiators and sales persons. Our focus on being too cerebral, too analytical, becomes our enemy. Too much of what we really need to hear is filtered out by our own intellect.

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And if we’re not aware of these blockages, rest assured, the other person is. Part of being an attentive listener is to be aware of both our own listening strengths and deficits and judge these accurately. When another feels unheard and offers us that feedback, it’s time to take stock. St Francis of Assisi wisely counselled about seeking to understand before seeking to be understood.

Overcoming blockages and improving our listening skills It is estimated that the unconscious mind accounts for 95% of all cognition, and Neuro-linguistic practitioners point out that what we hear and say is influenced 55% by outward appearances and body language, 38% by voice quality and only 7% by the actual words used. A great deal of what we hear takes place at the unconscious level: When listening to a story, not only are the language processing parts in our brain activated, but also parts that we use when experiencing the events of the story. We don’t distinguish between imagination and reality. The sensory cortex is aroused when a metaphor is heard. The brains of storyteller and listener are synchronised during the story, mirror neurons play a role in building rapport and empathy. Thus, just simply listening is powerful in its own right. And there are things we can do to consciously improve our listening abilities. As a Lifeline telephone counsellor I learned that listening carefully and attentively aids us in asking those questions that will help the speaker become more aware of and gain insight into their own thinking and feelings, blind spots, self-defeating attitudes and limiting beliefs that hold them back and put them into crisis mode. This unconscious, patterned thinking–entrenched through experiences and situations–tends to pop out during conversation. (“I’m not good at ...”, “I go blank when asked ...” “I’m not a nice person ...”, “If I don’t ... then ... “). At the same time we need to be aware that adopting this (advisory) role can subtly change the dynamic between speaker and listener. The listener has assumed a parent role.2 It’s also possible that the assumption of such a role can act as a mask, to avoid equal sharing and an unwillingness to show vulnerability, and fudge the purity of our listening. I try to remember that I am listening to only one story at a time. Every person consists of many facets, many stories. There are no single-story people. And every story invites us into a contained world with the other. As Denning puts it, when we listen we: ”…help invent this virtual world, along with the story line provided by the narrator. Listening to a story is thus not simply an issue of registering the imprint of the storyteller’s words. The storyteller’s words are the stimulus for the creation of this virtual world, but it is the readers whose participation conjures it up... I find the practice of participating in storytelling natural, enjoyable and relaxing. Most important, it is energising. Filling in the gaps in a story generates, rather than depletes, energy. I have more energy at the end than when I begin.”3 Nancy Kline4 advocates deliberate, attentive listening without interruption at any time, to convey respect and appreciation for the other, but mainly to refrain from guiding them to a solution–and effectively undermining their ability to think and

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resolve things for themselves. We sometimes use her approach in workshops and find a widespread recognition of the absence of deep listening competence, a new appreciation of the value of silence and pause, and a new grasp of the importance of listening.

Concluding thoughts We could delve much further into deep-seated higher/lower, left/right brain conditioning and entrenched personal survival needs, which determine to quite a large extent what we hear, and how we interpret that. Suffice to say that listening is a complex not simple activity. Ultimately it comes right down to respect and appreciation of the other person. Rumi talked of ‘listening with the ear in the chest’ and Paul Tillich, the theologian, said that the first duty of love is to listen.5 GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt has said that “humble listening” is among the top four characteristics in leaders. In every office you hear the threads of love and joy and fear and guilt, the cries for celebration and reassurance, and somehow you know that connecting those threads is what you’re supposed to do and business takes care of itself 6 The art and skill of listening is a strategic tool. One that we can use to great effect. Management Consultant guru Tom Peters is on record as saying, “The single most significant strategic strength that an organisation can have ... is a commitment to strategic listening.”7 Echoed by Bernie Ferrari, author of Power Listening; “Listening is the most critical business skill of all. The difference between great and mediocre business leaders is the ability to listen.” We all want great experiences and one of these is having strong social connections. To the human brain, social pain – through the breaking of a bond, or a rejection–is as real as physical pain. Listening creates bonds. I recall a friend who, when I checked out if I had told her a particular story, responded, “Maybe, but tell me again. I might hear something I didn’t hear before.”

References Morgan, Gareth Images of Organization Sage Publications 1986 Berne, Eric MD Games People Play Penguin Books 1964 (reissued 2010) Denning, Stephen The Springboard Butterworth-Heinemann 2001 Kline, Nancy Time to Think: listening to ignite the human mind Cassell 1999 Tillich, Paul. The Courage to Be, Yale University Press, New Haven, 2000 Autry, James The Heart Aroused, Poetry and the Preservation of Soul in Corporate America, Doubleday, 1994, quoting “Threads” by David Whyte. 7. Peters, Tom Leadership Thoughts http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwB7NAvKPeo 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

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Chapter 31 : What Happened to Good Old-fashioned Manners? A civil engineer friend once lamented ‘I wish civil engineering was more civil!’ A joke but with an undertone of truth that applies to all businesses. The individually focussed culture in which we live often encourages a selfish, self-serving and self -absorbed style which makes true social interaction problematic and often conflicted. There are of course a number of other underlying, psychological reasons for such behaviour. What’s important is that it is about behaviour. And behaviours can be controlled, managed and modified. Matt Ridley proposes that politeness, civility, good manners and kindness are part of a basic biological instinct, driven by dependence on each other for various reciprocal exchanges, and conditioned by enlightened self-interest. This latter sentiment of giving in order to receive is a somewhat cynical concept, but the idea of inherent civility strikes a chord.1 The great 19th century French sociologist Alexis de Tocqueville: “The importance of manners is a common truth to which study and experience incessantly direct our attention. It may be regarded as a central point in the range of human observation.”2 Etiquette is defined in my dictionary as conventional rules of personal behaviour in polite society. It’s easy to spot discourteous, in fact emotionally unintelligent behaviours such as ghetto blasters on maximum volume in a public space, the practice of tailgating by far too many drivers, queue jumping and the like. But perhaps we’ve become conditioned to tolerating the more subtle impolite, rude, bad etiquette: mobile phone texting while in conversation with another, posting someone’s wedding or other photos on FaceBook without their prior permission. In workplaces, a few examples are: • • • •

‘I know I agreed to meet with you but have to postpone.’ ‘Sorry to interrupt, but.’ A letter or email that you receive is clearly a standard, pre-written response. ‘Your request has been declined by management because it is not within policy/is a precedent/cannot be accommodated in our system/is out of budget.’ • ‘This is how we are going to proceed’ instead of ‘How do you think we should proceed?’ • ‘I know I promised but I’ve been too busy to look at what you sent.’ • ‘I know you’re in a meeting, but I just have a quick question to ask.’ Except in exceptional, intense, pressured circumstances or genuine emergencies, these responses and excuses are code for ‘You/your time/your work/your views/your feelings/ your requests are not as important as mine.’ Once Hodja (a learned person) bought Nasrudin some material, took it to a tailor and said, “Measure me and make me a shirt out of this material as soon as possible.” The tailor measured him and said, “I am very busy, but your shirt will be ready on Friday, Inşallah (if God wills).”

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Hodja returned on Friday but the tailor said, “I’m sorry but your shirt is not finished. Come back on Monday and, Inşallah, it will be ready.” Hodja came again on Monday but it still wasn’t ready. “Try again on Thursday and, Inşallah, it will then be ready”, said the tailor. To which an exasperated Nasrudin asked, “How long will it take if you leave Inşallah out of it?” 3

Sometimes it is not so much what is done, but how it’s done: when you feel that your valid complaint is being received as an irritation, rather than being thanked for drawing a shortcoming to someone’s attention. When you feel like a criminal, not a customer going through a security check at airports and certain stores. When all incoming cell phone calls are given priority by the other person over the conversation you are having. Or simply by omission: your calls and emails are not returned. These behaviours have become so prevalent that they are the new norm. Should we have more books on rules of etiquette, courtesy, politeness? “By age sixteen, Washington had copied out by hand, 110 Rules of Civility & Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation. They are based on a set of rules composed by French Jesuits in 1595 …. Quaint and perhaps largely out of date, they include: 1st Every action done in company ought to be with some sign of respect to those that are present 89th Speak not evil of the absent for it is unjust 110th Labour to keep alive in your breast that little spark of celestial fire called conscience.”4 No, we don’t need more rules and compliance. It’s about an attitude and behaviour closed loop. A right attitude results in the right behaviours, and right behaviours beget a right attitude. The point is we are, every one of us, important enough to be recognised, acknowledged and treated with civility. Habitually.

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Civility, attentive listening, appreciation of the richness of diversity and the overcoming of fears are all platforms for, and components of the practice of love in the workplace.

References 1. Ridley, Matt The New Age of Discovery Time Special Issue Summer 1997-1978 (Los Angeles Times Syndicate International) 2. Stone, John and Mennell, Stephen (Eds) Alexis de Tocqueville, on democracy, revolution and society University of Chicago Press 1980 3. Turkyish Tourism Authority 202 Jokes of Nasreddin Hodja Orient Publishing Service Ltd Istanbul 4. Foundations Magazine George Washington’s Rules of Civility and Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation http://www.foundationsmag.com/civility.html

Illustration by Tony Grogan Nasrudin

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EXERCISE 16 : The seeds of love Reflect on the images and metaphors in this poem by philosopher, poet and mystic Raïssa Maritain, a Russian Jew who converted to Roman Catholicism. What does it say to you about your own business situation, and the possibilities of introducing love? The poem is introduced by Roman Catholic priest Ron Rolheiser: “Now, in 1936 when she wrote this poem, she was witnessing the ascent of Adolph Hitler and Nazism in Europe, was hearing first-hand of the accounts of Jews, some of whom were personal friends, being killed in Europe, especially in Poland, and she felt herself, a Jew, threatened and was acquiring the necessary papers to flee France for the United States. Her world was crumbling, her friends were dying, and she was scurrying for her personal safety. Evil was on the ascent and all the trusted political and social powers seemed to be either crushed by it or acquiescing to it. Within that crushing context, she wrote this poem.”1 Meditation Darkness from below, darkness from the heights; Beneath the Archangel’s black wing The divine plan unfolds. Infinite paradox of the creation: Eternity is being built with time, And good-imperishable- with evil’s assistance. Mankind trudges along toward justice Through the lazy curves of iniquity, Today’s error is at the service Of truth to come; The bit of good, Seemingly powerless to vanquish The misfortune of days, Keeps on being the seed Of Love’s everlasting tree.2

References 1. Rolheiser, Ron The Slow, Imperceptible March of Goodness September 2013 http://www. ronrolheiser.com/ 2. Maritain, Raïssa Meditation http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/arts/al0052.html

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EXERCISE 17 : When was the last time you displayed one of these loving behaviours? 1. Listening. Taking the time to listen attentively to a colleague who is feeling down. Without filtering, analysing, judging, suggesting solutions. “Listening is an act of love.” (Paul Tillich) 2. Leaving a handwritten note on someone’s desk when they’ve done a good job 3. Anonymously commending someone for recognition and reward 4. Stepping in when another is overburdened or overwhelmed, even at an inconvenient time. Being motivated by the ideal of helping others or serving some higher cause forms part of what Zohar and Marshall term ‘spiritual intelligence.’ 5. Seeking to understand someone who is different to yourself – which leads to appreciation, respect, rapport, empathy, unconditional acceptance 6. Seeing the person behind the issue (be this absenteeism, a grievance procedure …) so that the outcome may still involve punishment, but be accompanied by counselling 7. Learning to practice compassion across divides in increasingly diverse organisations 8. Recognising, in the Japanese ‘wabi sabi’ way, beauty in imperfection 9. Lending a hand by helping to clean up after an event like an in-house conference 10. Being considerate and allowing others time to think for themselves (during conversations), draw on their own resources without undermining that ability. Nancy Kline argues well for this. 11. Volunteering for mundane tasks without putting your self-interest first 12. Always speaking and conversing assertively – not aggressively or defensively – letting your no be no and your yes be yes 13. Never betraying a confidence 14. Being patient with a slower learner 15. Not holding a grudge against someone who wronged you a long time ago 16. Not making an ostentatious show of claiming credit for a job well done – even if this is true. Being humble doesn’t mean hiding away your talents and abilities, nor letting them fall into disuse. 17. Refusing to become part of a drama triangle, pointing the person, who has approached you about a third party, to that third party directly 18. Not being envious, but rather, being pleased at another’s success 19. Never saying anything that diminishes another, ‘stabs them in the back’ 20. Speaking out when a group is gossiping about a colleague, and not opting out and staying uninvolved 21. Refraining from inflicting any form of ‘verbal pain’ on another. Never showing disdain. 22. Putting an end to negative dynamics such as naming and blaming, when something has gone wrong 23. Remembering and honouring events that are important to the other, showing that you care – a birthday, anniversary …

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24. Reining yourself in when you find yourself exaggerating, using ‘white lies’, making excuses (‘I’ve been too busy to look at your proposal …. to meet with you’) 25. Taking responsibility for how you think, feel and act. Being even-tempered. 26. Taking time out to reflect on the things that you are grateful for. Also, reflecting on the things that scare you, that prevent you from demonstrating love in the workplace 27. Respect the other’s importance by avoiding discourteous, impolite behaviours (including the care you take in drafting emails, text messages) 28. In times of crisis, putting in the extra effort needed to maintain the virtues – for example if and when redundancies are unavoidable, coming up with alleviating schemes like job-sharing, reduced work hours, and above all communicating frequently and assertively 29. Smiling. “Every time you smile at someone it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.” (Mother Teresa) 30. When giving a speech or presentation, telling a story–not trying to impress but rather to express; not attempting to manipulate – rather to share, allow a space for the receipt of insight by the listeners 31. As a leader, relinquishing over-control, letting go and honouring subordinates with the power to make decisions, solve problems. (The principle of subsidiarity). What are other ways you can show love in your workplace? Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself. Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is sufficient unto love. Kahlil Gibran In 2008 Karen Armstrong called for a Charter for Compassion, which has taken off. It has been translated into over 30 languages. Can you envisage the charter posted on an office wall or in your entrance foyer?1

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The Charter for Compassion The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect. It is also necessary in both public and private life to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion. We therefore call upon all men and women to restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate ~ to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures ~ to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity ~ to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings—even those regarded as enemies. We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarised world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensable to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

Reference 1. http://charterforcompassion.org/

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EXERCISE 18 : Ethical Behaviour We speak often of the huge amount of wisdom that may be contained in a small story. Here is an example: A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. “Look after him”, he said, “and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have” (Luke 10:30–35). Known as the Good Samaritan, now a metaphor for exceptional helpers, perhaps the archetypal story that Jesus once told should be known as the Normal, Everyday Samaritan? Thoughts to ponder/reflect upon: • Neighbourliness transcends race, background, circumstances, competitors – Samaritans and Jews were inveterate enemies, despising each other. Samaritans were considered to be half-breeds and their evidence carried no weight in Jewish courts. • What personal risk is inherent in helping who no one else will help? Risk of being ambushed, contracting AIDS, becoming unclean. Priests in this situation would become unclean if they touched a dead body. • How do ethics apply in difficult circumstances? The Jericho road was the notorious Way of Blood. In business do we do what is right for the business even if this means compromising ethics – whether oil spills, negotiations in countries where bribery is rife, admitting legal liability to a customer when in the wrong, turning a blind eye (crossing to the other side)? • How much of ourselves do we invest in the need of someone else? Oil, wine, silver coins were of high value. Emotional empathy is also an investment. Giving up the donkey increased the Samaritan’s risk, discomfort, vulnerability. Paying the innkeeper a contingency in advance necessitated illogical trust, and pre-empted embarrassment to the wounded man if he faced expenses he could not meet. Helping the man meant delaying a perhaps important journey, empathising, coming to where the other person is, acting, staying there as long as is needed, ensuring their well-being, going beyond, following up. To what extent do business interactions and social programmes embrace all of this? • How does this story relate to the story of the servant in debt in Matthew 18:2334 which speaks of a you owe me mentality, and what connection is there with neighbourliness when this is in a context of our dealings with debtors, relationships, past favours granted, other entitlements? • At an allegorical level, what does being a neighbour mean in terms of the spiritual approach to someone experiencing a dark night of the soul wounding, or being aware of damage to the environment? 268

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• When it comes to ethics is it more about character than rational reasoning? Were it the latter, the priest and Levite probably acted reasonably given their context and situation (Kant’s approach), and the Samaritan may have acted unreasonably, from the heart (Hume). Aristotelians may question where the purposes of happiness, pleasure, honour or knowledge were achieved for the Samaritan. Our own approach throughout this book shares much in common with MacIntyre’s central ideas on virtue ethics (flexible, contextual, based on character, from within, compassionate), but unlike him, we do not advocate a return to Aristotle’s specified intellectual and moral virtues, nor underlying motive, nor a doctrine of the mean between an excess or deficient display of a virtue. What do you think? • Jesus taught by using parables “With many such parables he would give them his message ... He never spoke to them except in parables ...” – Mark 4:27. Parables always contain paradox and ambiguity. They tease and surprise without trying to convince, and allow you to form your own insights. How do you think the da Vinci virtues of cultivating awareness, seeking the truth, taking responsibility and practicing love kicked in for the Samaritan, and how might they kick in for you during everyday business situations?

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Introduction to section 10 We’ve looked at the need for a move in the corporate world to undertake the values to virtues journey. For leaders to see the bigger picture, look outwards and inwards, and birth a new way, a new reality. Virtues lie at the core of every core, support and enabling business process. We’ve shown that the destination is possible, at the company, division, department, team levels, and that it requires courage and determination. We’ve offered a process, approach and techniques to guide the journey; pointed to competencies and behaviours that give effect to virtues and made a plea for virtues to inform decision-making, innovation, culture-formation, talent engagement and leader selection. We’ve used Leonardo da Vinci’s values to illustrate the type of virtueset that leaders and their organisations can examine on the path to selecting and inculcating their own chosen virtues-set, trigger virtuous circles and become a virtuosa performer. The next and final chapter is our wrap up, an exhortation to accept the challenge, make the move.

Chapter 32 : The Ukulungisa Challenge “Who would have thought my shriveled heart could have recovered greenness?” (George Herbert) “What, if not transformation, is our deepest purpose?” (Rainer Maria Rilke) “The important thing in life is to have a great aim and to possess the aptitude and the perseverance to attain it” (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe) A boy lived with and his mother, Heart’s Sorrow, in a remote place. One day as he was playing, five knights rode by. Their shining armour dazzled the boy. He told his mother he was leaving to join them. Heart’s Sorrow told her son that his father had been a knight killed in battle. Heart’s Sorrow blessed her son. She gave him a homespun garment, advised him to ‘respect fair damsels’, and not ask too many questions. The young man enjoyed many adventures, ending up at King Arthur’s court. The other knights ridiculed him. In Arthur’s court there was a maiden who had not laughed for many years. People believed that when the best knight in the world appeared, she would burst into laughter. When she saw the young man in his tunic, she burst into laughter. King Arthur knighted him on the spot. He became Sir Parsifal. In a battle with the Red Knight, Parsifal managed to kill him and took his armour and rode away. Parsifal encountered an older man, Gournamond, who told him to find the Grail Castle and ask the question: “Whom does the grail serve?” After many knightly adventures he found the Fisher King in a boat fishing on a lake. The Fisher King invited him to his castle. The Fisher King had a deep wound in his thigh and the land lay desolate. During the banquet three maidens entered. One carried the lance that pierced Christ’s side, the second the plate from the Last Supper the third the Holy Grail. Parsifal did not ask the question “Whom does the Grail serve?” Instead he followed his mother’s advice not to ask questions. He fell asleep and in the morning the castle had disappeared. Parsifal rode on, encountering maidens in distress. He came to understand that his earlier behaviour was partly responsible for their plight. Parsifal lifted sieges, protected the poor, slayed many dragons. King Arthur sent knights to find him as he had become famous. Back at the court an old hag recited his failures, the main one being that he’d not asked the right question at the Fisher King’s court. Parsifal spent twenty difficult years searching for the Grail Castle until one Good Friday he met a hermit who showed him the way. The Fisher King was still wounded in the thigh. The same maidens appeared. Parsifal finally asked the question: “Whom does the Grail serve?” The Fisher King was healed, and land became fertile once more.

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An honest examination Ukulungisa is an African concept, essentially meaning a chance to put things right, restore order, aspire to higher things. The journey towards becoming a virtuosa organisation involves accepting as a start-point that the business may be stuck in a we’ve done the vision and values thing paradigm. The two-headed Roman God Janus, God of beginnings and transitions, looked towards both the exterior and the interior at the same time.

Janus, Roman God of Beginnings and Transitions

The virtuosa journey requires taking a good look outside at the wider world you live in and seeing the bigger picture, becoming aware of what society needs, how business can be a light in the dark, and your readiness to assume a leadership role. In South Africa the frightening growth of the public sector (already larger than the private sector) and increasing maladministration, corruption and fraud threaten our society at many levels. The journey also involves taking a good look inside, finding blind-spots, facing up to motives, attitudes and behaviours that you intuitively know have missed the mark, have fallen short–and becoming aware of what needs to be done. One day Nasrudin lost his gold ring in his garden and searched and searched but could not find it. At dusk he went inside his house, telling his neighbour that he was going to continue his search. The neighbour asked” but if you lost your ring outside, what is the point of looking for it inside?” Nasrudin replied “Because there is more light there.” It involves creating the future you wish to see and be. Taking responsibility for making a difference that matters. Reframing your worldview, and in line with the sub title of our book – reframing the life story of your organisation. “At the spiritual level, reframing can be seen as bringing something new into the world or something new into yourself.”1

Caring for the soul of business If we understand that the human person is a finely attuned integration of mind, body, soul and spirit, in balance with the world, then getting this right is crucial. The inspiration of this book is to create a new soulfulness in the work place. A climate where personal growth and development happens easily, flows. Body is soul and soul is body. Soul is concerned about those things (as Thomas Moore says2) that make us secure. That give us a sense of belonging, acceptance, being loved at home and at work. Soul comes alive in community and prefers attachment. Spirit prefers solitude and detachment. What is deep down and close to experience either moves us in a transformative 272

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way, or keeps us in thrall to negative forces that diminish the human spirit and soul. Avoidance of responsibility, ignorance of hidden drives and a compulsive lower nature drives dog eat dog, survival of the fittest, cover your back behaviour. We are blinded and imprisoned, emotionally and spiritually degraded. “We went beyond where we should have gone” sings Jack Johnson (Sleep Through the Static). Spiritual reframing and recovery must be passionately desired and pursued. Otherwise we are left with merely a cognitive exercise on paper.

A heroic hourney Becoming a virtuosa organisation is a heroic journey involving many challenges, including the truth of what and how you communicate, the honesty and vulnerability that informs how you relate and what values are chosen in your organisation; selecting a virtues-set that transcends generation, gender, ethnic and other differences, and gives your organisation its unique, authentic persona. It involves wrestling with paradoxes, riddles, complexity. Facing flaws and frailties. Going to the places that scare you. Being a David facing Goliath. It calls for moving into a nurturing and engaging mode in order that these values become virtues – and not by trying to force compliance. It is a journey whose destination is beyond doing good and doing well. It calls for a break with the conventional wisdom driving today’s business organisations. It calls for a recognition that organisations and their cultures only change when their members change. Along the way there will be hiccups, stalling, derailment – as in any change journey – ranging from irritation to serious disruption, to major disaster and disconnect. It requires determination, being true to the quest. We all have feet of clay and will stumble and trip from time to time. Here it becomes important to acknowledge the shortcomings transparently and honestly, and to fix them authentically in order to retain the credibility of your organisation and your brand. And throughout the journey open, two-way formal and informal communication is a prerequisite. And perseverance. “Business as usual will begin to muffle the sound of the inside voice, justifications will be believed, and the compassionate heart will become a few degrees colder.”3 In today’s rapid and vast web and social media communication, reputation management has taken on a new dimension. Any damage to reputation impacts on perceptions of your brand: your persona, identity, uniqueness. Think about your brand at a personal level for a moment or two: how would you feel and react if someone lied to you, if someone tarnished your reputation, if someone spread bad stories about you, if someone criticized you? It becomes a question of accepting what is true, confronting what is untrue. One of the outcomes in the G-Wiz case study (Chapter 9) was the spontaneous advent of many more positive client endorsements. This is really helpful in terms of both internal motivation, and external messaging in order to counter negatives. These positives trigger and are in turn driven by internal motivation to go the extra mile, promote the virtues, catalysing a virtuous cycle. The broad steps or milestones along the journey are: • Identifying and enunciating the agreed organisational values to be shared, virtues to be developed, after critically examining your current value-set. • Attaching behaviour indicators to each of the chosen values.

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• Making these values visible and transparent, simple to grasp and to concretise. • Reinforcing the values, attitudes and behaviours, and converting them to virtues. The thing about being virtues-driven is that nothing short of a holistic view of the business will suffice. There is little point in having separate Brand Management, Talent Acquisition and Retention, Customer Relations, Employee Development, Social Responsibility and Greening the Environment programmes and Coaching initiatives–unless they are all seen to be connected and undergirded by the same virtues. Ring true. The virtuosa organization operates according to a systemic view of the business. SYSTEMIC VIEW OF YOUR BUSINESS

Plan

Extract CORE PROCESSES

Manufacture

Finance

Transport Sell

VIRTUES DRIVEN

Service

Lead

SUPPORT PROCESSES

Develop people External relating

Enabling systems

Relate Competence

ENABLING PROCESSES

When the virtues are fully and consistently lived throughout the organisation good things happen. (Refer to some of the examples in Chapter 2). In a virtues-driven organisation: • Extraction, manufacturing and transportation processes show genuine concern for the environment and population, constantly seeking innovative ways to ripen the olive. • Marketing, sales and service avoid manipulation and preying on anxieties such as ageing, health, beauty, status; and then offering a panacea. What Jonah Sachs terms inadequacy marketing.4 Instead of behaving like the snake-oil salesmen of yore, with their elixirs of life, virtuous marketers are truthful. They empower, encourage and appeal higher values. Sales staff forge emotional connections with customers by being real, vulnerable, honest. All employees show an internalised motivation to serve. • Financial affairs are conducted transparently and ethically, Planning is focused on the triple-bottom-line and there is a looking beyond, looking without and looking within to uncover blind-spots. • External relations are characterised by acknowledgement of liability, full disclosure, the absence of cover-ups when things go wrong, respect for and truthful engagement with the public on social media and elsewhere.

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• Employees are nurtured with love throughout their relationship with the organisation – in a climate where they may find satisfaction and meaning, be recognised, developed (competence and confidence). • Leaders practice self-examination, reflection, concern for the environment and society, role-model virtuous behaviours. It’s a journey from overt and covert dysfunction to dynamic, passionate, healthy virtue. From noose to halo. To a place where fun, curiosity and personal growth are lived on a daily basis, where people find meaning, motivation and satisfaction. New talent and custom is attracted to you. This has been the G-Wiz experience. Their values to virtues process has spawned increased learning, better systems, improved relationships, deeper engagement, a new culture. But most of all it means transcending the taboo in business of the soft virtue of love, and instead demonstrating love in its many guises both inside and outside of the organisation. Being ready for that to happen: The old grey-haired caterpillar is in conversation with Yellow: “‘Tell me, sir, what is a butterfly?’ ‘It’s what you are meant to become. It flies with beautiful wings and joins the earth to heaven. It drinks only nectar from the flowers and carries the seeds of love from one flower to another’... ’How does one become a butterfly?’ she asked pensively. ‘You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar’... “ 5 A systemic view of the values to virtues approach underlines the imperative to arrive at the right values and to adopt a right way of infusing them throughout the organisation so that they become spontaneously lived virtues.

There is a job to be done I’ve never liked the military metaphor for business. Yet the extreme conditions of war do serve to exaggerate virtues and vices and bring out the worst and the best in people. 29 year old Pearl Witherington was a British Special Operations Executive (SOE). A special agent, parachuted into Nazi occupied France during the second World War, and rose to command a 3,500-strong band of French Resistance fighters. A deprived and dangerous existence. A few days after the Normandy landing, “We were attacked by 2,000 Germans on the 11th June at 8 o’clock in the morning and the small maquis, comprising approximately 40 men, badly armed and untrained, put up a terrific fight with the neighbouring communist maquis which numbered approximately 100 men.” The battle raged for 14 hours and the Germans lost 86, she recorded, and the maquis 24 “including civilians, who were shot, and the injured, who were finished off.” She herself fled to a cornfield until the Germans left the area. “I had been awfully hot in the blazing sun and frightened.”6 She would ultimately preside over the surrender of 18,000 German troops.7 Pauline was recommended for Military Cross but as a woman was not eligible, and was later offered a civilian MBE. This she turned this down because 275

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she had “done nothing remotely civil. There was a job to be done.” Her story has been captured by Kathryn J. Atwood.8 The business world lives in extreme times, and there is a job to be done – with courage and with determination. In 1856 when cattle were an economic necessity and every beast loved by their owners, Xhosa prophetess Nongqawuse foresaw a great cattle-killing and an end to cultivation. During the next year the vast majority of owners slaughtered their herds and numerous cornfields were destroyed. Many died of starvation. Others were made homeless. The long resistance to colonial expansion was broken and most of the Xhosa land was given away. Reasons put forward for the fulfilment of the prophecy have been a: • maliciously orchestrated plot by Cape government • conspiracy to stir up a war by Xhosa chiefs • traditional purification rite on a huge scale • superstitious fear of divine punishment manifested in the defiling and contamination of what is held dear, and correcting this in order to earn redemption • response to repeated military losses – a way to approach the endtime and deprive colonials of gains • response to a widespread cattle lung-sickness – the only way to stop its spread in a humane manner, and preserve what was possible • combination of reasons. Chief Ndumiso Bhotomane, the distinguished oral historian, said in 1968 in an interview conducted by Professor Harold Scheub in the Kentani District, “At times the cattle die. At times you expect to have good maize, but you don’t get maize. Yes, sometimes you break a bone. You are being told about something, but you are stubborn. You are repeatedly told to do certain things, but you don’t do them. That is why your thing is broken. The process of putting it right again is called ukulungisa.”9 At a time where the planet, its people and resources are being severely threatened by the ravages of environmental degradation, lack of care and compassion for the poor, unnecessary wars – often in the name of economic gain – what do we do in order to ukulungisa? The world needs nothing less than a virtuosa performance from business. A dazzling, magnetic display of mastery – not just technical but also emotional and spiritual. Soul deep. The late Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead band, is reported to have said “It’s no longer good enough to be the best of the best. You need to be the only people who do what you do.” Virtuosity “appears wherever mastery of technical difficulties is so complete that its possessor can perform feats beyond those demanded by the tasks or problems to which his skill is ordinarily applied.” 10 A few weeks ago I attended the last ever South African performance by Australian concert pianist David Helfgott, in the Cape Town City Hall. Prior to the event I re-watched the

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DVD of the movie Shine, a fictionalised account of his life. Born of Polish-Jewish parents, Helfgott is schizoaffective – he has lifelong mood and thought disorders. His music is sometimes criticised by aficionados. And maybe at this performance it was not technically perfect. If not, there was certainly beauty in its imperfection. Wabi Sabi. The concert was an emotional experience, his connection with the audience palpable. He was given a standing ovation, and there were three encores. It seemed to me that his mental condition, life story and performance all merged to become a virtuoso event. The movie title is apt. This is a story of the triumph of the human spirit. I was inspired to believe that whatever our own history, flaws, existing levels of competence – individual or corporate–virtuosa performances are possible. The ukulungisa challenge offers you and your organisation a chance to take the high ground, care for the soul of your business, and leave a lasting legacy. As a leader, ask yourself: ‘Who do I wish to become?’ ‘What organisation do we wish to build?’ ‘How would I like people to remember me and my organisation?’ Your answers to these questions can begin a process of transformation, putting things right – at both the personal and organisational levels. The spiritual path is a dying of the old self, transforming heart and mind, releasing love. The da Vinci virtues of seeking truth, becoming aware, engaging the shadow side, finding balance, integrating body, mind and spirit, taking responsibility and practicing love, inform the journey. We leave you with the word Ultreya. It is an ancient Spanish word used by pilgrims to encourage each other as they journeyed, and meant “go forward with courage.” So set your compass towards Virtue.

References 1. Zohar, Danah & Marshall, Ian Spiritual Capital Bloomsbury 2004 2. Moore, Thomas Care of the Soul in Medicine: Healing Guidance for Patients, Families, and the People Who Care for Them Hay House Publishers 2010 3. Lawrence, Ida The Fall Inside http://www.odysseymagazine.co.za/index.php/articles/ relationships/652-the-fall-inside.html September 2013 4. Sachs Jonah Winning the story wars Harvard Business School Press Boston Massachusetts 2012 5. Paulus, Trina Hope for the Flowers Paulist Press 1972 6. http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2008/apr/01/nationalarchives.secondworldwar Code 7. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Witherington 8. Witherington Cornioley, Pearl and Atwood, Kathryn J. Code Name Pauline: Memoirs of a World War II Special Agent Chicago Review Press Inc. Illinois © 2013 by Kathryn J. Atwood 9. Peires, J.B. The Central Beliefs of the Xhosa Cattle-Killing Journal of African History, 28 pp. 43-63 1987 Great Britain. http://eprints.ru.ac.za/1317/1/Cattle-killing.pdf 10. Pichel, Irving In Defense of Virtuosity University of California Press http://www.jstor.org/dis cover/10.2307/1209845?uid=2129&uid=2&uid=70&uid=48&sid=21102606905377

Illustrations Janus, Roman God of Beginnings and Transitions. http://i.ebayimg.com/t/JANUSAnonymous-Roman-Republican-Silver-Didrachm-Rome-225-BC-/00/s/ODAzWDgz Ng==/$T2eC16RHJG8E9nyfnUUhBQSC52)M8w~~60_35.JPG 277

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EXERCISE 19 : Imagine You may say I’m a dreamer But I’m not the only one I hope someday you’ll join us And the world will be as one ‘Imagine’, by John Lennon (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRhq-yO1KN8) Paradoxically, in the business context soft is harder. As a result of reading and reflecting on this book: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Has your consciousness been raised? Does the virtuosa concept resonate at a deep level? Can you envisage your organisation becoming virtuous? Have some seeds been sown about how to go about this? Are you ready to undertake the journey? Will you embrace the personal development challenges raised: communicating and relating behaviours, a labyrinth mind-set, journaling, making the most of the mundane, mindfulness, reflection, re-examining and reframing personal values, role-modelling, your manner of questioning, learning to wonder, attuned listening, courtesy and manners, practicing love in the workplace? 7. Reflecting on da Vinci’s bridge (Chapter 7) as a metaphor, what bridges can you set out to cross in terms of relationship bonds, prejudices, employer/employee interactions, connection with nature, the rich/poor divide? What bridges need to be burned? Or is this entire concept and its implementation a bridge too far?

Da Vinci bridge, Oslo. Photo by Terje Johansen

8. Having worked through in previous chapters the challenges and opportunities facing business, the process that needs to be applied to go beyond doing good and doing well, the means to determining virtues and behaviours to be adopted, and the models, methods and techniques for instilling them, examine the following set of broad, expected outcomes which result from installing the seven da Vinci Virtues. There is overlap as sometimes an outcome is arrived at via a combination of virtues. These outcomes represent a statement of potential for your organisation, in sum offering greater meaning, higher motivation, better performance, and improved results.

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Cultivate Awareness • Leaders and members develop broader perspectives and deeper understanding. • There is an increase in idea-generation. • There is increased resilience to externally-triggered turmoil and change, and reactions and responses are calm and measured. • Members live healthier and more contented lives. Take Responsibility • Members are more reflective, more other-oriented. Naming and blaming is not a part of the culture. • There is greater willingness to learn. • Team dynamics, decision making and problem solving are enhanced due to greater awareness, growing confidence and competence, and more considered communicating and relating behaviours. • Responses to situations and challenges are more agile and sure. • Intrinsic motivation kicks in and people are more engaged, satisfied and purposeful. Seek the Truth • People find meaning in what they do. • Ambiguity and complexity is handled better. • Wonder and curiosity develops, leading to higher creativity. • Innovative solutions are found (processes, product, initiatives) especially during turbulent and challenging times. Engage the Shadow/Balance Masculine and Feminine Principles • Working groups and individuals move away from being dysfunctional. • There is a fun, open, inclusive atmosphere. • Members and leaders are seen to be well rounded and authentic. • Positive stress is better utilised and negative stress better managed. • Individuals develop self-understanding and self-worth. Practice Love • Barriers caused by fear are removed. • Empathy, compassion, civility and emotional connection, internally and externally is released. • New customers and talent is attracted, and the existing retained. • In good and bad times, people find meaning, motivation, satisfaction and cohesion in and at work. • The atmosphere is honest, friendly, inclusive and diversity appreciated. Integrate Body, Mind and Soul • There is greater hardiness to change and transition. • Concern for people, planet and profits is palpable. • Stress is reduced, resilience and well-being increases. • Conflict is prevented, tackled, resolved more positively. • Leadership is seen to be authentic.

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• Talent is attracted to the organisation. • The organisation’s reputation is enhanced. It is perceived to be a leader, to be admired, trusted, respected and consulted. Individual behaviours as well as organisational outcomes are measurable. How strong is your desire for such a dazzling performance?

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Exercise 20 : Putting Balance into the Balanced Scorecard “mmmmm wouldn’t it be loverly” (Lerner & Loewe, My Fair Lady)

Profit the goal The good news is that business seems to be slowly adopting do good and do well thinking. Richard Branson and Al Gore have called for a return to values. The bad news is that there are just too many disconnects between stated values and actual practices. The do good and do well slogan is useful for public relations purposes based on selective activities designed to bring maximum publicity. The reality is that the chase is after money, money, money. Shareholder value. BBC Business Editor Robert Preston, wrote soon after the latest Barclays banking exposé, “A picture was painted of an industry whose instinct is to bend or break the rules, when there’s money to be made and no-one’s looking.”1 It’s scary that at the upcoming World Economic Forum at Davos, the largest constituency after government is the Financial Services Industry who are prominent when it comes to paying for the event and setting the agenda. A large number of business organisations use, as their route to this goal the Kaplan and Norton business economic model – the Balanced Scorecard2 – introduced in Chapter 4 and designed to add shareholder value.

What if? What if the destination and the journey were different? Here is an alternative balanced scorecard for you to contemplate: contribution

public impact

VIRTUES

employee maturity

workplace humanisation

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Workplace humanisation What if workplaces were free of all fear and dysfunction, within departments and between silos? What if desired behaviour was spontaneous with no need for heavy compliance mechanisms. Imagine if business systems, processes and technology took account of the human factor as well as of wider society and the environment. Gareth Morgan reports a story related by the 4th Century BC. Chinese sage Chuang-Tzu3:

Traveller Tzu-gung encounters an old man struggling ineffectively to irrigate his vegetable garden. Tzu-gung said, “There is a way whereby you can irrigate a hundred ditches in one day, and whereby you can do much with little effort. You take a wooden lever, weighted at the back and light in front. In this way you can bring up water so quickly that it just gushes out. This is called a draw-well.” Anger showed in the old man’s face, and he said, “I have heard my teacher say that whoever uses machines does all his work like a machine. He who does his work like a machine grows a heart like a machine, and he who carries the heart of a machine in his breast loses his simplicity. He who has lost his simplicity becomes unsure in the striving of his soul, which does not agree with honest sense. It is not that I do not know of such things; I am ashamed to use them.” Employee Maturity What if leader and employee behaviour became positively modified, where satisfaction, meaning and social connection (intrinsic motivation) thrived? Diversity of talent was fully harnessed. Upsizing took place – allowing more to work albeit shorter hours, and work from home. Fears of disapproval, vulnerability, isolation, criticism, career blocks and a host of others and associated protective mechanisms were replaced by love? Traditionally a taboo word in workplaces. Authenticity and engagement become the watchwords.

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Public Impact What if the public was invited to measure not only their own level of customer satisfaction but also how they viewed the organisation’s impact in terms of alleviating poverty, caring for the environment, making constructive investments, and standing up against abuses and corruption, especially if structured questionnaires were not the main method? Contribution What if businesses drastically improved their job-creation/concrete assets: financial assets ratio and put money to better use? What if they adopted a sustainable profitfeathering rather than profit-maximisation paradigm and aligned executive pay more equitably with worker pay. What if business were properly measured on their triplebottom-line achievements. Virtues It all starts, at the heart of the business. What if the business moved past it’s time to return to values, and we believe in doing good and doing well and was instead driven by meaningful, consistently behaved virtues, and performed on the basis of ever-expanding virtuous cycles?

Considerations It may be that this what if exercise will be considered by some hardnosed business people to be pie-in-the-sky, naive and Utopian. Even anti-capitalist, anti-growth and anti-technology. If so, they miss the point. The purpose of introducing the alternative balanced scorecard is to encourage fresh thinking. Yes, emotional and way-out thinking. To challenge narrow and limiting beliefs about why business exists, what it does, and how it behaves. To reinforce the centrality of virtues. Going through the exercise yields much important conversation, and results in unexpected insights about colleagues and the business, deeper social connection, a conversational sharing of thoughts about values and desired virtues, and practical actions that can be taken – which all builds group cohesiveness. And an inspiring view of the business. There is a crack in everything That’s how the light gets in Leonard Cohen, The Anthem

References 1.Preston, Robert Five to 10 Years to be Trusted Again. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/ correspondents/robertpeston/ 2. Kaplan, Robert S & Norton, David P. The Balanced Scorecard: translating strategy into action. Harvard Business School Press 1996 3. Morgan, Gareth. Images of Organization Sage Publications 1986

Illustration by Tony Grogan Irrigating the garden

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EXERCISE 21 : Readiness for the journey You have been offered insights and how to’s in these areas: • Recognising hidden dark side leadership in self and others. • Conducting business process analyses to determine environmental and social impacts. • Determining and prioritising personal and organisational values. • Using behaviour indicators to instil virtuous habits. • Using gamification to reinforce virtuous behaviours. • Using anecdote circles to align the organisation with a virtuous value-set. • Developing talent-attraction and nurturing policy and processes. • Practicing deeper mindfulness to obtain concrete organisational benefits. • Spreading the practice of taking personal responsibility. • Introducing effective communication and relating styles especially applicable during times of change and transition. • Applying the innovation skills of imagination, questioning, listening and having fun. • Applying a model for performance through group innovation. • Carrying out interior work using archetypes. • Conquering fears that lead to dysfunction, and introducing the practice of love into workplaces. • Appreciating the links between business, art, science and narrative. • Getting ready for a values to virtues journey. The answers to the following questions will indicate your readiness for the journey: 1. Have you decided to lead your organisation on a values-to-virtues journey? Are you fully on board with the imperative for your business to take the lead, and do you fully understand the nature of the change you wish to embark upon? 2. Is your motive clear? (“As the flower, when plucked for enjoyment, begins to wither, so does virtue practiced for reward begins to vanish.” Ivan Panin) 3. Do you have a clear change imperative to communicate?’ 4. Do your people have the hardiness required to complete the change? 5. Does your organisation’s capacity to respond exceed the size of the challenges that will be faced? 6. Are you able to tap into the right experience and resources needed for the journey? 7. Do you have in mind the influential stakeholders, opinion-leaders, change champions that you will need? 8. Have you prepared a formal and informal communication plan to take you through the journey? 9. Are you prepared to develop the art of the long view. Take a longer term view of your business and not be solely driven by quarterly and annual results, pressures and crises, but see a meaningful values-set as a guiding framework for short-term decisions, and conceive of a legacy that will accrue by adopting a much longer term horizon?

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10. Are you passionate about this mission? (“For in truth, great love is born of great knowledge of the thing loved” – da Vinci.) What would you like to leave as a treasure for the future to find – including your friends and family? 11. Have you extracted from this book thoughts on what virtues, competencies and behaviours need to be encouraged in order to augment your drive to becoming a virtuosa organisation: ripening the olive, innovation, talent nurturing, fun, diversity, love? 12. Do you have a clear idea of what needs to be discarded or left behind? 13. Have you taken account that different people will be in different places and different stages of readiness? Reflect on this poem and what it says, not only about a workshop, but also about the organisational journey process: Let us say I am here because of you and you are here because of me. (Nasrudin) We’ve arranged the chairs In café style, six to a table. When we begin the story only half of the people are here though all the workshop seats have bodies sitting in them. One’s still traveling on the crowded train. A mother still burps her child, fevered on her hip. Another slumps with a black cloud boss problem. The man at the back table yawns like a hippo trapped in a falling high rise dream. One mutters “I don’t have time for this.” We tell of Nasrudin riding his donkey down an open road when he spies men on their donkeys, trotting towards him. He fears they are thieves come to do him harm in a rush of silence the other half of each participant shows up. You can see the sudden arrival in their eyes and the way their bodies lean in to the tale in the curious shape of the question mark what will happen next? By the time Nasrudin dismounts and climbs over a cemetery wall, tumbling into an open grave, the workshoppers are riding with him on the donkeys their ancestors inspanned to pull carts down dust roads in trying times with belongings bundled high above them. As they listen, what’s deep inside climbs out of the hole under the floor boards of the venue and sits at the table.

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For the other donkey men turn out to be neighbours who ask Nasrudin, “why are you hiding in an open grave?” By the time we share Nasrudin’s response, people are sipping the narrative rich as a cuppachino, with a heart motif in the foam. Froth and muffin crumbs line their lips. Now they sit relaxed at this roadside inn connecting story to story, each to each, while the donkeys, grazing green grass, bray in unison, exchanging wisdom for work and well–being. Dorian Haarhoff Putting things right and becoming a virtuosa performer is illustrated by the painting Justiça by Brazilian artist Alexander Moreira ([email protected]). This soluble coffee and white tempera depiction of Lady Justice calls to mind what is honourable, fair, well-reasoned, balanced and just (right), a seeking of the truth and a taking of responsibility. The absence of the usually prominent sword conveys a gentle and strong rather than an overt power, the aim being restoration and harmony. “Hate evil, love good; maintain justice in the courts” of business. (Amos 5:15)

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List of Exercises 1: For individuals – choosing and prioritising your values 2: For individuals – how well are you living your values? 3: Are our vision, values and virtues congruent? 4: Questions organisational leaders should be asking continuously 5: Anecdote circles: what shape are you in? 6: A personal deeper mindfulness checklist 7: Do we have organisational blind-spots? 8: Keeping a journal 9: Assess the relating behaviours exhibited in your organisation 10: Workplace dynamics. In your workplace where do you stand with respect to fun, creativity, vicious and virtuous circles? 11: In our organisation, what shadow side factors should we be aware of? 12: Three Me’s and the Alice Factor: an exercise around diminishing and expanding realities 13: Instant Zen (from Global Leadership Institute – 22 July 2013) 14: The Hero Within reflection 15: Are we an integrated organisation? 16: Seeds of love 17: When was the last time you displayed one of these loving behaviours? 18: An ethical behaviour challenge 19: Imagine 20: A new balanced scorecard? 21: Where to now? Are we ready? Each chapter of the book lends itself easily to being a topic for a leadership/team reflection and discussion.

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List of Stories, Poems, Anecdotes Preface Ijapa the tortoise On virtue (Phillis Wheatley)

Chapter 1: The dark side of leadership Management consultant’s tactics My Lai incident Paul Carol’s PC project BP and the Gulf of Mexico True Leaders (Lao-Tzu)

Chapter 2: Ripening the olive Bio Pencil Jaime Lerner, Curitiba, Brazil Muhammed Yunus (Grameen Bank) The business executive and the poor fisherman

Chapter 3: Moving from values to virtues The cathedral University of Rochester graduates The great gap (T.S.Eliot) Anglo United Nations BP Shoprite The house that Josias built Plato’s cave Mohini the white tiger The damaged canopy DDT The hospice The insurance company Institute of directors Siemens US Military NKandla Paewai Mullins Shearing

Chapter 4: How do organisations become virtuous? Anansi’s sons St Luke’s Hospice carers Virtue (George Herbert)

Chapter 5: Talent to order The Chinese water bearer

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Chapter 6: Paradoxically, nothing is impossible Gallows at the city gates Fleeing the tiger Chris Swift’s chaos The woman at the well Exercise 1: Choosing and prioritising your personal values The big fish Woodbine Willy Waste of muscle (Studdert Kennedy) Money-primed Exercise 2: How well are you living your values and desired virtues Love made visible (Khalil Gibran)

Chapter 7: da Vinci: his life, works and virtues Skydiver Adrian Nicholas

Chapter 9: G-Wiz case study About games Meaning at work (Margaret Wheatley)

Chapter 10: Deeper mindfulness De Loitte’s offices Can we wake up more? The overflowing cup Breathe (Tich Nhat Hanh)

Chapter 11: Labyrinths Walking the labyrinth (Dorian Haarhoff)

Chapter 12: Blind-spots God in the elephant The Mexican fisherman Seeing ourselves as others see us (Robbie Burns) Exercise 6: Deeper mindfulness – a self-check The missionary and the head porter Monasteries, immigration department, critical care patients

Chapter 13: Making the mundane meaningful Charles Handy and family meals Alert senses (Jean Aurel) Egusi soup The bald head (Michel Quoist)

Chapter 14: Writing as healing, and keeping a journal David Moffatt Healing possibilities (from Lu Ji’s Wen Fu) I have woven (William Stafford)

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Bonnie Friedman Who are you? Alice (Lewis Carol) The way of grief (Dorian Haarhoff)

Chapter 15: Effective communicating and relating behaviours The poison tree (William Blake) The Turkish bath The queen, the gnome and the thief

Chapter 16: In praise of emptiness Apache creation myth Emptiness (Rumi) Doris Lessing’s Nobel prize speech Monarch butterflies

Chapter 17: The question is … The boy and the drum Buddha and Malunkyaputta The kingdom was lost … (Benjamin Franklin) I have answered the questions I keep six honest serving men (Kipling)

Chapter 18: Wonder Golden daffodils (William Wordsworth) What a wonderful world (Dietz, Howards, Schwartz, Arthur) Nightingales Four angels

Chapter 19: Chain reaction of innovation 3M’s Insulate The sewing machine needle Death certificates Joan of Arc

Chapter 20: Performance through innovation Two dying men

Chapter 21:Eight Archetypes to live by Masilo’s Adventures (Bob Leshoai) Entrance/Birth (Graham Williams) Exit/ Death (Graham Williams)

Chapter 23: Going to fun from Monday to Friday Slow it down (Neil Diamond) Mrs Levy and Mrs Cohen Polish ticket inspectors

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Chapter 24: Rinpoche people The Chinese water bearer

Chapter 25:Integrating body, mind, spirit Humpty dumpty Brother Bruno and the bullfrogs Alfred Nobel

Chapter 26: The hero’s journey Anansi the spider The pot Exercise 12: The three me’s Drink me and eat me What makes you think I am alone? The rainmaker Pauses and pace He who binds to himself a joy (William Blake) Exercise 13: A Zen experience The greatest Buddha in the world

Chapter 27: Being in the love zone Princess Diana Woodbine Willy Subsidiarity Rationality says.. (Erich Fried) I know the way you can get (Hafiz)

Chapter 28: Fear conquers love Samurai warrior Mahala Yousafzai A contribution to Mother Teresa The duck pond

Chapter 29: I am different, don’t hold that against me/ other people’s stories If you think you can grasp me (Adrienne Rich) They were people First bite (Dorian Haarhoff) Laguna dolphins I note the obvious differences (Maya Angelou) The balloon seller

Chapter 30: Listening with the ear in the chest In every office (David Whyte)

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Chapter 31: What happened to good old fashioned manners? Nasrudin and the tailor Exercise 16: Seeds of love Meditation (Maritain, Raïssa ) Exercise 18: Do ethics direct our behaviours? The normal, everyday Samaritan

Chapter 32: The ukulungisa challenge Parsifal Nasrudin loses his ring Becoming a butterfly Pearl Witherington The great Xhosa cattle killing David Helfgott Exercise 19: Imagine Imagine (John Lennon) Exercise 20: Arriving in a workshop story (Dorian Haarhoff) A new balanced scorecard for business Irrigating a vegetable garden Exercise 21: Where to now? Are we ready? Arriving in a workshop story (Dorian Haarhoff)

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List of Illustrations in the order in which they appear Any illustrations, pictures, photos, graphics not listed here were produced by the authors.

Tony Grogan David and Goliath Command Chairman Diverse Group Leadership communication Ox wagons Hairdresser Service 2 Pony express Washing dishes Communication styles Boy and drum Da Vinci at work Banana skin Hydra Alice and the cheshire cat Oil spill Panic Calm Playground Nasrudin Watering the garden Tony Grogan – [email protected] - who supplied many of the cartoon illustrations has been an editorial cartoonist for the Cape Times and other South African newspapers since 1974. His cartoons are noted for their perceptiveness, wryness and wit. He is also well known as an illustrator. Seven books of his own work have been published and have become sought-after Africana.

Da Vinci images Leda and the Swan Illustration by Cesare da Sesto after a lost painting by Leonardo da Vinci, Wilton House, Salisbury. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leda_and_the_Swan_15051510.jpg Possible Self Portrait in Old Age – da Vinci http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Possible_ Self-Portrait_of_Leonardo_da_Vinci.jpg Statue of Leonardo da Vinci outside Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy–by Luigi Pampaloni. http:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci01.jpg A design for a flying machine, (c. 1488) Institut de France, Paris. http://commons.wikimedia.org/ wiki/File:Design_for_a_Flying_Machine.jpg

302

List of Illustrations

Parachute Codex Atlanticus, folio 1058. The original drawing is kept in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%D0%9F%D0%B0%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%8 8%D1%8E%D1%82.jpg Knight Photo by Erik Möller. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo-Robot3.jpg Bridge Codex Biblioteque Institute Paris http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_ Bridge.jpg Oslo Bridge designed by Vebjørn Sand Photo by Terje Johansen, Studio S Antarctica Bridge designed by Vebjørn Sand Photo by Nils Lund. http://www.alliedartsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/m-Oslo-Leonardo-Bridge.jpg The Babe in the Womb The Royal Library, Windsor Castle Royal Collection Trust /© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013 http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/eGallery/object.asp?searchText=babe &x=0&y=0&object=919102r&row=0 Da Vinci’s studio. http://jazarah.net/euro-rscg-london-creates-3d-virtual-tour-app-of-leonardoda-vincis-studio-for-credit-suisse-in-partnership-with-the-national-gallery/. (http://www. havasworldwide.co.uk) Adoration of the Magi, Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Leonardo_da_Vinci_-_Adorazione_dei_Magi_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg The Virgin of the Rocks Musée du Louvre, Paris. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Virgin_ of_the_Rocks.jpg The Sforzo Horse The Royal Library, Windsor Castle Royal Collection Trust /© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2013 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Study_of_horse.jpg Battle of Anghiari detail (lost work) Copy attributed to Peter Paul Rubens Musée du Louvre. http:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Paul_Ruben’s_copy_of_the_lost_Battle_of_Anghiari. jpg The Virgin and Child with St Anne and St John the Baptist (The Leonardo Cartoon) © The National Gallery, London NG6337 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Virgin_and_Child_with_St_Anne_ and_St_John_the_Baptist The Last Supper Church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, Milan. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:DaVinci_LastSupper_high_res_2_nowatmrk.jpg Heads of an Old Man and Youth http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_vinci,_ Heads_of_an_old_man_and_a_youth.jpg Mona Lisa Musée du Louvre, Paris. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mona_Lisa,_by_ Leonardo_da_Vinci,_from_C2RMF_retouched.jpg St John the Baptist Musée du Louvre, Paris http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_John_ the_baptist_-_Leonardo_Da_Vinci.jpg Study of flowers Accademia, Venice. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_ Vinci_-_Flower_study_-_WGA12851.jpg St John the Baptist Musée du Louvre, Paris http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St_John_ the_baptist_-_Leonardo_Da_Vinci.jpg Public Domain Allegory of Pleasure and Pain c. 1480 Pencil Christ Church Picture Gallery, Oxford http:// commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Andr36.jpg Public Domain Vitruvian Man, Study of proportions, from Vitruvius’s De Architectura. The original drawing is owned by the Galleria dell’Accademia in Venezia (Venice), Italy. http://commons.wikimedia. org/wiki/File:Leonardo_da_Vinci-_Vitruvian_Man.JPG. (http://www.italica.rai.it/principali/ argomenti/arte/leonardo/proports.htm)

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

Other The Bio-Pencil http://www.scribd.com/doc/57969378/BioPencil-An-Introduction Chaos by Chris Swift (provided by the artist) Oslo Bridge designed by Vebjørn Sand Photo by Terje Johansen, Studio S Antarctica Bridge designed by Vebjørn Sand Photo by Nils Lund. http://www.alliedartsfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/m-Oslo-Leonardo-Bridge.jpg Labyrinth at the Buddhist Retreat Centre, Ixopo, Natal http://www.brcixopo.co.za Labyrinth flower. http://www.freepik.com/free-vector/sunflower-vector—-05_558338.htm Marilyn Monroe http://hdwallpaper.freehdw.com/hdw001/marilyn_monroe-wide.jpg source: http://www.hdwallpapers.in/marilyn_monroe-wallpapers.html Mother Mary and Jesus The 12th century “Theotokos of Vladimir” icon. http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Icon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vladimirskaya.jpg Crone by OCAL http://www.clker.com/clipart-old-witch.html Goddess. Aphrodite by Botticelli http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sandro_Botticelli_-_ La_nascita_di_Venere_-_Google_Art_Project_-_edited.jpg Couple at Sunset   ID:201308262300 Author Jl. Figueroa http://en.free-photos.gatag. net/2013/08/26/230000.html  Public Domain Spiderman by Bill Richards http://www.easy drawings-and-sketches.com Wizard by Bill Richards http://www.easy-drawings-and-sketches.com/drawing-of-wizard.html King. http://egypt.customcards.biz/credits.html ‘Images from WP Clipart’ The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa by Bernini, Basilica of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome Photo by Napoleon Vier From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository: http://commons. wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teresabernini.JPG Malala Yousafzai Cruel Male-Dominated Culture. Evans, Malcolm cartoon (2011). http://www.evanscartoons.com/ index.php Janus, Roman God of Beginnings and Transitions. http://i.ebayimg.com/t/JANUS-AnonymousRoman-Republican-Silver-Didrachm-Rome-225-BC-/00/s/ODAzWDgzNg==/$T2eC16RHJG8 E9nyfnUUhBQSC52)M8w~~60_35.JPG Oslo Bridge Terje Johansen, Studio S Justiça by Alexander Moreira

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Authors Graham Williams, CMC, B.Com Hons, B.A. is a certified management consultant, thought leader, speaker, and author who has worked in a large number of countries and sectors around the world. An essential component of his ‘motivational fingerprint’ and forte is to overcome severe organisational blockages by installing creative, healing solutions – from concept to implementation. He focuses on the use of narrative, anecdote and metaphor as critical contributors to successful business interventions. He wrote Centreing Customer Satisfaction, Revelling in Transition and Reflections for 3H Leaders and The Halo and the Noose: The Power of Story Listening in Business Life. Dorian Haarhoff, D Phil English Literature University of York, England is a poet, facilitator, speaker, mentor, narrative practitioner, and author. He has held academic posts in Namibia, South Africa, Canada and the USA. Dorian is the author of The Writer’s Voice: a workbook for writers in Africa and several poetry anthologies. He has successfully transitioned from the academic to the business world, and with Graham co-authored The Halo and the Noose and Story Matters @ Work. Peter Fox. B.A. (Hons), Dipl. Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy [SAIP]. Peter majors in spiritual direction and mentoring, and is a workshop facilitator, life coach, palliative care educator, pastoral and grief therapist, Presbyterian Minister and author. He also does trauma debriefing. He recently resigned after 17 years looking after the spiritual care side of St. Luke’s Hospice, and runs a private counselling practice. Peter co-authored Dying: a practical guide for the Journey.

The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

Index Index A adventure, 61, 125, 188, 200, 210, 214, 271 agendas brown, 13, 14 green, 13, 14 aggression, 189, 242, 243, 245 aggressive behaviour, 148, 150, 152 air, 17, 28, 88, 93, 119, 120, 130, 131, 138, 169, 173, 175, 221, 225 angel, 166–167, 182 anger, 124, 163, 215, 216, 222, 244, 246, 250, 282 answers, 7, 51, 87, 88, 115, 137, 159–163, 224, 227, 254, 277, 284 archetypes, 180–183, 185–187, 189, 191, 202, 225, 226, 247 art, 68, 72, 73, 85, 90–92, 94, 186, 190, 192, 195, 210, 212, 230, 231, 257, 259, 284 attendant, 50, 153 awareness, 6, 8, 87, 114, 116–119, 121, 124, 130, 131, 134, 156, 208–211, 219, 221, 243, 244, 279 habitual, 118, 119 B balance, 8, 43, 52, 55, 90, 91, 124, 130, 183, 187, 188, 197, 202, 208, 211, 272, 277 balanced scorecard, 20, 45, 281, 283 barriers, 100, 246, 247, 252, 279 behaviour indicators, 32, 43, 100, 101, 107, 108, 112, 234 better work performance, 115, 117, 119, 121, 209 blind spots, 8, 127–131, 133, 135, 258 blockages, 162, 226, 257, 258 blood flow, 133, 196 body, 44, 57, 58, 87, 91–92, 94, 118–120, 131–132, 138, 205–211, 219, 221, 222, 225, 272, 277, 279 body language, 151, 152, 162, 193, 258 boundaries, 57, 116, 149, 156, 228 BP, 4, 26 brains, 62, 115, 124, 126, 132–134, 152, 166, 192, 193, 196, 208, 221, 222, 238, 242–243, 247, 258 left, 91, 180, 188, 246 right, 57, 91, 114, 180, 188 brand, 45, 145, 200, 222, 223, 239, 273 breathe, 119–120, 122, 132, 209, 225 bridges, 11, 18, 44, 71, 72, 127, 144, 156, 217, 251, 252, 278 Buddha, 35, 124, 160, 163, 214, 254

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business, 11, 13–15, 18–21, 23, 24, 34, 35, 37–40, 44, 45, 47, 68, 87, 89–91, 93–96, 113–116, 272–278, 283–285 chain, 16, 18 man, 68, 128 organisations, 39, 58, 123, 158, 273 processes, 17, 177, 179, 223, 270 C calm, 8, 46, 56, 78, 118–120, 133, 136, 176, 209, 279 campaign, 37, 44, 53 carbon footprint, 16, 17 care, 52, 88, 92, 111, 138, 208, 212, 231, 234, 235, 240, 257, 259, 265, 266, 268, 276, 277 case study, 97, 99, 101, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 113 cave, 6, 77, 138, 181, 182 centre, 20, 55, 75, 90, 123, 125, 126, 189, 267 chain reaction of imagination, 169, 171, 173 chairman, 3, 10, 32, 33 chaos, 56, 107, 109, 136, 155, 156, 159, 193 character, 42, 45, 50, 53, 65, 97, 144, 181, 183, 185, 187, 189, 202, 249, 269 charter, 266, 267 checklist, 117, 131 child, 80, 85, 88, 97, 112, 141, 160, 163, 182, 285 children, 21, 74, 97, 111, 128, 185, 187, 239, 251, 254 circles, 16, 43, 88, 99, 113, 123, 124, 134, 141, 144, 205, 220, 246, 252, 284 civility, 228, 230, 232, 261–263, 279 coaches, 99, 106, 107, 159, 257 communication, 25, 30, 31, 151, 152, 178, 241 communities, 1, 27, 29, 38, 39, 42, 72, 93, 94, 97, 108, 163, 220, 228, 272 companion, 143, 177, 182 company, 21, 25, 27, 33, 38, 39, 44, 50, 52, 53, 113, 115, 150, 156, 170, 262, 263, 270 compassion, 14, 16, 41, 44–45, 58, 62, 119, 120, 185, 208, 211, 237, 238, 244–246, 266, 267, 276, 279 competence, 7, 40, 41, 43, 53, 114, 198, 274, 275, 277, 279 competitors, 40, 51, 66, 268 compliant, 147–149 conflict, 196, 228, 230, 241, 242, 252, 279 connect, 8, 18, 119, 124, 159, 173, 192, 209 connections, 40, 42, 44, 45, 59, 137, 141, 162, 178, 183, 192, 193, 206, 208, 222, 268, 277, 278 connectivity, 172, 173 conscience, fragmentation of, 1, 3, 4, 236 control, 39, 51, 74, 108, 120, 121, 128, 130, 150, 151, 189, 208, 209, 211

Index convergence, 68, 173, 175 core values, 31–32, 61, 99–101, 106, 170, 217 corporate culture, 38 craft, 92, 138, 155 creativity, 41, 101, 121, 133, 135, 155, 156, 175– 177, 180, 184, 196, 197, 199, 227, 238 crises, 39, 59, 130, 141, 198, 199, 228, 235, 266, 284 crone, 182, 185, 186, 190, 226 culture, 1, 2, 39, 40, 42, 63, 66, 115, 116, 118, 129, 130, 176, 179, 181, 188, 191, 192, 196, 198, 199 organisational, 38, 152 Curiosità, 43, 87, 88, 159 curiosity, 8, 58, 62, 77, 88, 130, 156, 158, 159, 165, 175, 176, 178, 211, 218, 275, 279 D Dalai Lama, 12, 21, 100, 120, 122, 254, 255 dance, 124, 163, 210, 226 danger, 37, 114, 214, 242, 254, 255 dark, 7, 77, 78, 89, 90, 138, 142, 165, 183, 188, 189, 268, 272 darkness, 83, 89, 155, 183, 216, 239, 264 dark sde of l 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 Da Vinci, 58, 72, 79, 85, 87, 88, 90, 159, 173, 178, 210, 217, 278 Code for Business, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95 Virtue of Corporalita, 205, 207, 209, 211 demands, 68, 135, 137 depression, 24, 103, 144, 215, 216 depths, 119, 120, 192, 193, 210, 237, 240 design, 70, 71, 84, 98, 99, 172 dialogues, 55, 59, 110, 162 differences, 30, 38, 40, 41, 51, 58, 65, 94, 96, 98, 175, 176, 179, 249, 251–252, 259, 272, 273 direction, 25, 28, 108, 124, 249 disconnect, 27, 57, 58, 108, 237, 273 discovery, 176, 211, 220 diversity, 3, 111, 158, 176, 197, 227, 230, 249, 251–252, 254, 257, 263, 279, 282, 285 donkeys, 268, 285 dreams, 62, 138, 143, 172, 176, 191, 192, 224, 225, 285 E Effective communicating and relating behaviours, 147, 149, 151, 153 emotions, 18, 80, 91, 143, 162, 165, 166, 188, 192, 196, 208, 209, 237, 243, 257 employees, 25, 32, 50, 52, 53, 64, 105, 107, 108, 193, 197, 199, 231, 234, 274, 275 emptiness, 155–157 energy, 18, 19, 75, 132, 140, 182, 186, 197, 198, 206, 219, 231, 251, 252, 258 engagement, 8, 18, 45, 59, 68, 98, 99, 150, 151, 180, 197, 241, 283

erences, 150, 252 espoused values, 24, 26, 27, 39, 40, 66, 130 ethics, 38, 42, 47, 65, 98, 197, 229, 268, 269 exercise, 61, 64–66, 113, 131, 135, 157, 199, 218, 224, 225, 227, 264, 265, 268, 278, 284 experiments, 62, 63, 73, 143, 253 F father, 12, 37, 67, 75, 91, 116, 182, 271 fears, 2–4, 8, 9, 57, 59, 77, 145, 147, 149–151, 207, 208, 210, 214, 230, 232, 238, 240–246 fellow staff members, 111 feminine energy, 91, 188–190 Florence, 69, 75–76, 79, 81, 84, 85 food, 13, 19, 26, 113, 118, 250, 251 forgive, 67, 244 forgiveness, 139, 183, 211, 226, 238, 244 France, 35, 81, 84 fun, 59, 61, 62, 97, 106, 111–112, 133, 175–178, 180, 188, 195–199, 203, 206, 275, 279, 284, 285 funeral, 62, 64, 232 G game, 5, 15, 32, 102–103, 106, 170, 175, 197 gaps, 20, 23, 25–27, 50, 55, 156, 193, 223, 249, 258 giant, 182, 219, 231 globe, 13, 16, 153 goals, 24, 59, 72, 103, 110, 132, 148, 185, 225, 237, 281 God, 21, 62, 88, 116, 127, 144, 172, 213, 231, 233, 246, 272 goddess, 182, 185, 189 Good old-fashioned manners, 261, 263, 265, 267, 269 groove, 156, 169, 176 groups, 2–4, 59, 80, 112, 176, 178, 188, 196, 213, 220, 222, 235, 236, 244, 246–247, 252–254 G-Wiz, 32, 96–99, 101, 102, 106, 107, 273 Organisational and Individual Values and Virtues, 97, 99, 101, 103, 105, 107, 109, 111, 113 values, 102, 108 H habits, 3, 43, 64, 88, 99, 102, 114, 152, 156, 165, 201, 217 halo, 61, 64, 97, 113, 167, 175, 199, 201, 202, 218, 245, 249, 275 healing, 6, 57, 93, 120, 141–143, 145, 192, 208 heart, 13, 16, 92–94, 111, 114, 120, 219, 221, 227, 231, 233, 239, 240, 267, 269, 282, 283 heart’s sorrow, 271 hero, 181–183, 191, 213–215, 217, 225, 226

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business hero’s journey, 213–215, 217, 219, 221, 223, 225, 227, 229 horses, 12, 50, 75, 161, 192 house, 27, 143, 155, 193, 272 humour, 61, 74, 133, 176, 196–198, 225, 232 Humpty Dumpty, 206, 222 I imagination, 43, 90, 91, 135, 143, 156, 158, 169, 171–173, 176, 178, 188, 192, 195, 225, 258 inculcating organisational values, 35 individuals, 3, 6, 7, 38, 51, 52, 61, 64, 68, 99, 106, 108, 158, 193, 200, 252, 254 innovation, 15, 18, 43, 59, 101, 106, 114, 158, 161, 169–173, 175–179, 196, 197, 199, 211, 227 Inşallah, 261, 262 integration, 8, 13, 92, 205, 206, 208, 211, 221, 222, 236, 238 integration of body, 205, 207, 209, 211 J Jesus, 57, 268, 269 jokes, 74, 133, 176, 196, 198, 261, 263 journal, 88, 129, 141–145, 157, 209 journaling, 43, 129, 141, 143, 145, 157, 209, 278 journey, 98, 106, 109, 111, 123–124, 156, 213–216, 225, 268, 270, 272–273, 275, 277, 278, 281, 284 joy, 120, 137, 152, 166, 220, 225, 226, 252, 259 jumping, 162, 175, 176, 196 K key factors, 176, 177 kids, 21, 105, 112, 128 king, 12, 33, 44, 81, 139, 153, 172, 182, 187, 189, 190, 206, 222 L labyrinth, 43, 114, 123–126, 138, 156 lateral thinking, 18, 59, 133, 177, 178, 196, 198, 199 laughter, 57, 107, 111, 133, 175, 176, 196, 198, 225, 239, 271 leaders, 4–7, 9, 10, 26, 27, 51, 52, 94, 96, 106–108, 131, 227, 229, 257, 259, 270, 277, 279, 280 good, 7 leadership, 2–5, 7–9, 24, 39, 41, 43, 50, 53, 107, 116, 227, 240, 241, 247, 279 learning organisations, 37, 109, 116 lens, 129, 142, 143, 189 Leonardo Da Vinci, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85, 91, 188, 205 bridge project, 72, 84

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life, 84 lessons, 96, 111–112, 240, 254 levels, 3, 34, 35, 38, 39, 43, 45, 103, 104, 108, 118, 120, 124, 129, 131, 272, 277, 283 organisational, 40, 43, 94, 114, 277 life story, 181, 183, 185, 187, 189, 208, 209, 222, 272, 277 lightening, 7, 43, 129, 156, 187, 189, 219 listening, 7, 114, 118, 132, 138, 148, 155, 162, 163, 178, 193, 235, 257–259, 265, 284 attentive, 158, 162, 230, 257, 258, 263 love, 7, 8, 58, 59, 61, 93, 189, 207–209, 211, 225, 226, 230–243, 245–247, 263, 264, 266, 275, 277, 278, 284, 285 action of, 236, 266 great, 233, 285 listening is an act of, 93, 163, 235, 265 power of, 182, 231, 245 practice, 44, 93, 211, 279 romantic, 189, 237 seeds of, 264, 275 transformational, 233 unconditional, 237, 246 zone, 53, 231, 233, 235, 237–239 lover, 55, 182, 186, 189, 247 loyalty, 27, 45, 47, 50 M machine, 70, 73, 172, 282 magnet, value-proposition, 40, 66 Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, 74, 78, 85 management, 3, 9, 28, 29, 44, 47, 150, 241, 257, 261 mandalas, 123, 124 massage, 132, 209 master, 5, 103, 111, 117, 215 mate, 171, 185, 187 maze, 123, 126, 156, 195, 215 meditation, 35, 80, 114, 119, 120, 131, 133, 162, 189, 190, 208, 209, 225, 264 medium, 53, 55, 59 members, 2, 3, 9, 31, 68, 114, 240, 251, 252, 279 memories, 89, 113, 132, 142, 143, 173, 181, 191, 197, 207, 208 mentors, 182, 186, 225 metaphors, 6, 11–12, 16, 29, 31, 135, 141, 143, 177, 178, 191, 197, 258, 264, 268, 278 Milan, 76, 78, 79, 81, 84, 85 mindfulness, 35, 107, 114–117, 121, 135, 152, 158, 165, 192, 193, 195, 208, 227, 278 deeper, 43, 88, 114, 117, 131, 136, 243, 284 scientific, 116, 121 mining, 17, 18 model, 45, 53, 68, 114, 129, 147, 149, 152, 175, 177, 179, 214, 278, 284 Mona Lisa, 81, 82

Index monk, 132, 182, 243 motivation, 18, 24, 25, 84, 99, 101, 108, 128, 150, 151, 199, 209, 223, 275, 279 intrinsic, 23, 98, 99, 103, 282 motives, 39, 42, 51, 269, 272, 284 moulding, 181, 183, 185, 187, 189 mountains, 88, 153, 181, 182, 220, 224 movement, 6, 39, 57, 88, 116, 119–121, 124, 132, 138, 156, 173, 197, 208, 209, 215, 217 multicultural groups, 252 mundane, 136–140, 203, 210, 215, 278 music, 46, 64, 73, 88, 124, 132, 133, 209, 277 myths, 49, 176, 191, 192, 213, 214, 249 N new metaphor for responsible capitalism, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21 nurture, 12, 26, 50, 51, 106–108, 184 nymph, 182, 184, 189 O ocean, 31, 93, 166, 224, 246 oil spills, 171, 240, 268 olive, 11, 13–15, 17–21, 59, 274, 285 organisational, 98, 99, 107, 169, 215 behaviours, 47, 241, 251 change, 52, 241 transitions, 121, 152, 155 organisational values, 29, 32, 37, 45, 111, 112, 273, 284 identifying, 1 right, 99 journey, 99 workshop, 106 organisation journeys, 42, 109, 110 levels, 14, 43, 45, 114, 136, 222 organisations, 1–4, 6–9, 24–25, 27–30, 37–40, 50–52, 66, 96–99, 106–108, 113, 114, 130, 199, 200, 227, 228, 272–275, 277–278 become virtuous, 37, 39, 41, 43, 45, 47, 53 culture, 3, 30 P pain, 50, 62, 91, 95, 141, 165, 188, 190, 225, 233, 234 painting, 27, 74, 78, 79, 81, 83, 88, 212 parables, 12, 269 paradox, 42, 55–59, 89, 91, 177, 183, 188, 269, 273 parents, 97, 106, 111, 112, 144, 145 Paris, 77, 82–85, 95 participants, 62, 102–105, 113, 177, 285 party, 157, 236, 265 passions, 29, 30, 55, 143, 166, 208 path, 52, 120, 123, 124, 202, 213, 217, 233, 243, 254, 267, 270

patterns, 119, 172, 189, 191, 196, 215 pauses, 151, 156, 157, 162, 163, 166, 220, 258 pencils, 16, 19, 20, 62 person, 7, 42, 111, 127–129, 150–152, 161, 162, 200–202, 205, 208–211, 222, 231–232, 235, 236, 246, 257–259, 265, 266 personal computing, 173, 175 personal values, 62, 64 reframing, 278 universal, 58 personal work vision, 109 planet, 8, 13–16, 20, 58, 59, 79, 93, 206, 276, 279 poems, 35, 62, 93, 143, 144, 238, 264, 285 pouring, 117, 268 power, 12–14, 18, 57, 70, 127, 128, 130, 132, 142, 143, 150, 151, 189, 211, 219, 236–238, 240, 241, 245 love, 240, 247 precious jewel, 201, 202, 205 priests, 182, 187, 196, 268, 269 prison, 113, 233, 246 process, 1–3, 7, 17, 18, 29, 30, 39, 40, 94, 96–99, 106, 107, 119, 120, 131, 141–143, 178–179, 189, 215, 276–279 personal value determination, 62 products, 14, 18, 26, 33, 74, 115, 128, 170, 171, 178, 179, 191, 279 profit, 16, 20, 106, 279, 281 psyche, 18, 183, 187, 191, 202, 245 psychology, 166, 167, 181, 192, 193, 197 Q questions, 160–162, 271 R rain, 142, 220, 247 religions, 12, 57, 93, 129, 188, 231, 233, 240, 246, 249, 254, 255, 267 reputation, 28, 40, 66, 67, 74, 76, 223, 273 research, 8, 9, 24, 39, 45, 116, 121, 197, 251 resentment, 55, 206, 210, 222, 243, 244, 246 responses, 24, 31, 57, 59, 90, 94, 109–110, 114, 116, 211, 238, 242, 243, 246, 276, 279 responsibility, 3, 4, 43–45, 90, 97, 99, 110, 111, 114, 135, 136, 149, 151, 211, 228, 272, 273, 277, 279 responsible capitalism, 1, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19–21 return, 19, 53, 79, 153, 183, 211, 214, 215, 238, 267–269, 281, 283 ripening, 11, 13–15, 17, 19–21, 59, 285 river, 37, 100, 120, 141, 162, 181, 182

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The Virtuosa Organisation: The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business S samaritans, 268–269 science, 68, 72, 73, 90, 91, 94, 166, 176, 192, 247, 249, 284 secular, 53, 55, 57–59, 61, 63, 65, 67, 78, 79 self, 104, 119, 129, 143, 148, 161, 183, 185, 188– 189, 202, 206, 219–221, 233, 237, 239 love of, 200, 237 self-interest, 5, 6, 14, 19, 38, 39, 44, 235, 265, 267 self-love, 5, 7 Sensazione, 43, 87 sfumato, 43, 83, 87, 89 shadow, 5, 6, 8, 25, 31, 43, 56, 58, 59, 83, 89, 114, 130, 139, 181, 188, 211 shadow side, 7, 89, 129, 180, 183, 187, 211, 237, 243, 277 Shakespeare, 4–6 shared values, 28, 32, 43 values process, 30 shareholders, 25, 27, 53 shareholder value, 46, 281 societal values, emerging, 40, 66 society, 1, 12–14, 25, 34, 45, 49, 62, 67, 68, 130, 137, 232, 236, 272, 275, 282 soul, 88, 91–93, 127, 132, 138, 155, 156, 160, 166, 208, 212, 225, 226, 272, 273, 276, 277, 279, 282 sound, 8, 14, 19, 39, 58, 88, 116, 118, 124, 138, 165, 224, 225, 273 spears, 172, 177, 233, 239 spirit, 38, 57, 58, 70, 91, 93, 108, 132, 198, 200, 205–212, 219, 221, 222, 225, 272, 277 staff, 26–28, 31–33, 39, 44, 45, 50, 52, 98, 107, 108, 112, 113, 157, 197, 223, 227, 241 stars, 78, 79, 90, 166 start, 15, 21, 29, 40, 43, 51, 58, 61, 112, 131, 138, 141, 152, 155, 156, 165 states, desired, 99, 103, 238 St John, 77, 83, 85, 95 stones, 88, 116, 126, 181, 182, 220, 263 stories, 6–8, 23–25, 27–30, 35, 97, 98, 127, 128, 141–144, 156, 171–173, 191–193, 202, 213– 215, 217–223, 249, 258, 259 archetypal, 232, 268 new, 13, 20, 32 organisational, 223 organisation’s, 246 using, 178, 193 stories of family love, 233 story and innovation works, 169, 171, 173 stress, 2–4, 39, 93, 121, 133, 176, 196, 206–208, 219, 222, 228, 230, 241, 243, 279 submissive, 147–149 subsidiarity, 29, 236, 266 Swan, 49, 53, 80, 85, 93 symbols, 11–13, 33, 78, 90, 189, 192 systemic, 274, 275

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T tactics, 2, 114 taste, 88, 116, 118, 250 techniques, 1, 96, 106, 160, 161, 177, 243, 270, 278 technologies, 106, 170, 171, 173, 175, 178, 282 territory, 213, 214 thinking, 1, 6, 11, 31, 94, 99, 114, 116, 119, 133, 134, 160, 162, 164, 172, 176–179 thoughts and works, 69, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, 83, 85 threads, 125, 215, 259 tips, 1, 28–30, 32, 189 touch, 88, 113, 116, 118–120, 124, 132, 138, 141, 187, 192, 206, 207, 209 training, 18, 43, 94, 97, 98, 103, 107, 177, 179, 228 transition, 43, 94, 98, 108, 136, 153, 193, 213, 215, 216, 272, 277, 279, 284 trauma, 52, 129, 141, 222 traumatic events, 144, 215 trees, 31, 56, 113, 126, 127, 131, 138, 141, 144, 147, 165, 182, 213, 218 trust, 9, 10, 26, 27, 45, 50, 51, 61, 124, 148, 152, 162, 223, 241, 245, 251, 254 truth, 55, 58, 88, 149, 159, 202, 206, 254, 261, 264, 269, 273, 277, 279, 285 Turkey, 71, 72 U Ubuntu, 7, 29, 45 ukulungisa, 272, 276, 277 Ukulungisa challenge, 271, 273, 275, 277, 279, 281, 283, 285 universe, 93, 124, 142, 166, 176, 192, 193, 209, 231 V value proposition, 23, 51, 52, 106 values, 23–25, 27–40, 42, 43, 45–47, 51–53, 61–62, 64–66, 98–102, 104–108, 148, 149, 161–163, 223–225, 230–232, 272–275, 283, 284 deeper, 24, 224 higher, 58, 61, 274 lived, 35, 99 new, 38, 253 organisation’s, 113, 199 perceived, 113, 170 right, 29, 40, 51, 58, 66, 108, 275 threshold, 30, 32, 101 universal, 87, 93 values to virtues, 9, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31, 33, 35, 53, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95 Venice, 76, 79, 89, 92, 95, 212 vicious, 35, 243–245 village, 127, 128, 131, 139, 181, 182, 220

Index virgin, 76, 77, 80, 85 virtuous, 1, 7, 35, 38, 39, 43, 45, 102, 217, 243, 245 virtuous organisation, 51, 65, 99, 108, 130, 136, 152, 195, 198, 231, 238 vision, 1, 8, 20, 27, 28, 37–39, 42, 46, 65, 90, 98, 109, 127, 144, 186, 215 W war, 50, 53, 62, 142, 156, 161, 232, 275, 276 warrior, 182, 186, 226 waste, 14, 17, 19, 62 water, 15, 17–19, 52, 56, 57, 59, 73, 79, 137, 171, 189, 191, 201, 202, 205, 246, 247, 251 living, 57, 59 water bearer, 52, 202 wells, 26, 191, 193 wholeness, 31, 91, 92, 123, 180, 187, 205, 207, 208, 210, 222 wife, 21, 128, 163, 181, 213 window, 39, 129, 139, 142, 143, 153, 161, 176, 177, 216 wisdom, 35, 39, 51, 55, 59, 61, 90, 127, 159, 160, 173, 186, 192, 215, 226, 257 woman, 57, 79, 139, 143, 182, 187, 216, 237, 275 womb, 85, 88, 216 women, 73, 182, 185, 244, 245, 250, 267 wonderful world, 138, 140, 165, 167 wonderment, 30, 88, 158, 165, 166, 195 words, 2, 7, 8, 23, 24, 26, 152, 155, 159, 162, 165, 218, 220, 244, 246, 254, 257, 258 work is love made visible, 7, 9 workplaces, 127, 131, 197–199, 230, 231, 233, 235, 241, 243, 246, 249, 261, 263, 266, 278, 282–284 writers, 16, 142–145

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THE VIRTUOSA

Here is a way to embrace the philosophy and practice of becoming a virtuous organisation and giving a dazzling performance. The book helps you to define where you are in your current experience of your organisation, and how you can shift things within yourself and around you. This is more than an adaptive or compliance process. It is about necessary, compelling and radical change and the authors show how it can, and has been done: Seeing the need. Arriving at the right values. Aligning individual and organisation values Determining appropriate behaviour indicators. Entrenching the values so that they become spontaneously lived virtues

The mind-set, methods and techniques used during the process are important in each of these steps, especially the last where precious few have succeeded. Virtues drawn from the life and works of Leonardo da Vinci, and which span all cultures and generations, illustrate what is possible. Terrence Gargiulo, MMHS. President of MAKINGSTORIES: Are you open to a renaissance of hope? What does it mean to soar in the sacred space of an Organisational geometry that frees its citizens to discern fields of dreams? The authors have crafted a dynamic tapestry of stories, poetry, images and metaphors to recalibrate our compasses. We are invited to emancipate ourselves from irrelevant and irreverent myths of business. Be well advised this is not another rabbit hole of management jargon. The authors have mixed an alchemical elixir of reflective propositions to transform our thoughts into motions and take us from the realm of possible to actual. This is a call to action and none of us living in today’s world have the luxury to ignore it. Virtuosa is a contribution of heart and soul that will not leave you unchanged. I urge you to step out of your comfort zone and embrace this book’s set of tools to initiate the important work that lies ahead for all of us…to reclaim the integration of each precious moment to something greater than our self. Peter Christie, MBA lecturer The authors coherently, influentially and comprehensively confirm the growing realisation that the business of business is much more than business. Through invoking historical and biographical accounts, entertaining anecdotes and other stories, and a detailed case study, the book outlines powerful concepts and principles promoting sustainable enterprise of the future. The book should be prescribed reading for all MBA students. Dave Snowden, Founder & Chief Scientific Officer, Cognitive Edge Pte Ltd: This book is a powerful presentation of some of the issues associated with organisations and society and the failure of conventional methods to tackle them. It presents a model of human behaviour and interaction which is aspirational in nature.

THE VIRTUOSA

ORGANISATION The Importance of VIRTUES for a Successful Business

By GRAHAM WILLIAMS • DORIAN HAARHOFF • PETER FOX

• • • • •

THE VIRTUOSA

This is a book about people in organisations developing love for themselves, others, communities and nature. It offers an opportunity to see afresh, to envisage courageously and to position yourself differently. To bring hearts, minds and wills to bear on the world around us. The life we live inside our organisations influences every other part of our lives.

ORGANISATION

ORGANISATION

Paul Smith, Key Note Speaker, Author of Lead with a Story: We spend most of our waking hours invested in an activity called ‘work’ that we accept as necessarily selfish–out to enrich ourselves and shareholders at the expense of consumers, society, and the planet. We satisfy our guilt by promising ourselves that we’ll feed our souls, support charitable causes, and save the environment in our spare time, whenever we find some. But what if there was another way? What if you could make the world a better place while you were at work? Read this book and you can.

ISBN: 978-1-86922-503-2

By GRAHAM WILLIAMS • DORIAN HAARHOFF • PETER FOX