Now just who is Ron Koertge?
“You who asked for advice, listen: When the tower
falls, be like that child. Laugh so loud everybody
in the world frowns and says, “Shhhh.””
A delightful little poem to make you smile.
Month: July 2011
I prepared these slides to help students revise and consolidate what they know about complex adaptive systems, psychology, management, leadership, organizational design, supply networks, and yes, happiness.
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Do poms whinge?
I’ve only lived in Europe for 4 years. In a new economy, that is a sizeable chunk of time. Here it is nothing. Surrounded by old buildings and reminders of a long history, everyone is acutely aware of their insignificance. To the ear of a new arrival, there seems to be a lot of complaining. And the constant whine is not a figment of our imagination. Academics have constructed massive theories about the anomie of Europeans, the malaise of hopelessness, and the prevalent sense that someone powerful makes our lives a misery.
What is fun about living in a highly developed country?
There is another reading of life here that I find more useful.
Being a small part of a large system is invigorating when our understanding of the part we play brings alive our sense of our relationships with other people. The need to tell our story to the strangers around us sharpens our wits as we retell the same story for their appreciation. And we are drawn into the present as we attend mindfully to changes the ripple across the land.
- A part implies a whole and a complex whole implies relationships in every direction. What could be more fascinating for the social animals we are?
- A stranger needs a quick explanation and often not in words. A courtesy on the underground melds our story with others and is instantly recognizable to them.
- The world swirling around us draws us in to fast moving events and draws us to horizons and vistas that are breath taking in our mutual recognition of possibility.
Putting my money where my mouth is
Sitting on a grubby train, it can be difficult, I admit, to be anything but disgusted. And the impulse to withdrawn into our shell is very strong. I do try to avoid the trains, I must be honest.
- But what if we thought instead about the wonderful diversity of relationships we have because of our movement. What would our commute look like through a filter of “relationships”?
- What if we were interested in the story of the person next to us (including their desire to sleep if that be their story)?
- What if we developed a Sherlock Holmes sense of awareness about who was on the train with us and where they were going? If we knew the fields we pass through so well that we knew when the wild flowers were late and when the birds were hungry (or over fed).
Would we then feel out of sorts, put upon and out of control?
The three ideas from social science which suggest whinging is the wrong way to see the UK
Parts and relationships. Strangers and stories in gestures. Swirling activity and vistas suddenly appearing on the horizon.
Those are the powerful concepts that challenge the stories of us as hopeless bit-players in someone else’s romance.
Leave a CommentAs I searched for well written articles on social system stratification – or to you and me, coordinating our organization with layers, I fell over this cool distinction of leadership tasks from Christo Nel.
#1 Lead our selves – can we sing and sing with others?
- Do we join in?
- Do we practice?
- Do we grow with feedback (or throw a strop)?
- Do we help others and let them know of our needs to help the choir sing (feedback)?
#2 Influence our friends – can we speak up and take responsibility for group success?
- Do we practice raising “the issues”?
- Do we listen to others and value how they make the group richer?
- Can we get things done without elaborate management structures?
- Do we celebrate whenever we can?
- Do our friends value us as a “metronome” that allows helps them sing together?
#3 Organize network of groups – can we set up agreements for sustained activity and induction of noobes?
- Can we suggest and set up “light weight” schedules and systems that people can stick to?
- Can we delegate to people who get things done and get things done better?
- Can we encourage others to learn from the best?
- Can we monitor what needs changing and flag that up to the network?
- Do we build future leaders so that the incoming smoothly replace the outgoing?
- Do we understand the whole choir and what it takes for all of us to succeed together?
#4 Inspire performance that surprises even ourselves – be a mirror for the organization
- Do we help us make sense of triumph and disappointment?
- Do put our long term plans into words and keep us all informed of how we are doing?
- Do we highlight people who are implementing our values in humdrum and challenging circumstances?
- Do we encourage smaller assignments to distribute leadership and build our acumen for leadership?
- Do we know where we have come from and where we are going and when other people listen to us, are they able to tell our story too?
#5 Balance the work of today with our investment in the future – be loyal, to everyone
- Do we broker sound inter-generational agreements?
- Do we set out a few key factors for looking after all of us for now and for ever?
- Do we keep the organization simple but relevant to today and tomorrow?
- Do we keep good relationships with our neighbours and nurture sound relationships where we can solve problems together?
- Are we big enough to absorb frustrations into the group story and to show by our words and deeds that the group is big enough to live life to the full?
These five levels of leadership are as relevant as they have ever been
- Be happy, skillful and obliging
- Be a positive influence among our friends and work mates
- Design simple systems that help large numbers of people coordinate with each other
- Reflect who we are back to the organization so we are alive to what is ‘good and true and better’ and what we should do more of
- Be mindful of the world and model for us the joy in the richness and diversity of the world
Stratified social systems uses ‘techie’ language and so does the new age ‘complexity theory’. Lyrical language is more fun. Depends whether you are like to be impressed by techie or whether you like to have fun with words! Your choice!
Hmmm . . . I like big enough to live life to the full.
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