Please! Less Rules but More Purpose

Every day I go into the world of work I hope that I will find that elusive something that I am looking for. That something special, intriguing beautiful and liberating. What I however find, all too frequently, is something that is life-sapping and disappointing.

I find a labyrinth of rules, procedure, politics and drama. We are caught in this fantastical illusion of freedom and security whilst we are unknowingly being lulled into a paradigm where we willingly follow rules at the expense of our greatest human expression of creativity and love.

Those who make the rules normally have no incentive to change their ways because they are in control. It will most likely take another generation to see a transformed business horison that catalyses the human spirit to reach heights and depths never seen before. Inside we yearn for this new world that we do not even understand yet. We just know that what we are experiencing now is just not enough.

Especially the newer generation simply do not accept things for what they are. I sometimes feel like I am quite alone in the way that I see the world. I am told fairly frequently that I need to accept the way things are and be more patient. I agree that change will take time but I do not believe that I need to be patient in expressing, motivating, raising awareness and inspiring a world that has much more purpose centered on transcendental truths so that we can reach beyond ourselves to a world that is filled with peaceful purpose. A world that turns us away from our own internal ego-driven obsession and towards a community centered self-actualisation reality.

Yes, I am unrealistic and I live for what is to come. I hope more people will start to open their eyes to a world where we use authority, control and power for their appropriate purposes detached from fear. I work towards a world that inspires trust, openness, learning, growth and beauty. I believe in businesses that not only have a purpose to help transform our society by putting the society before profits but I also believe in a business that puts their own people before profit.

So I ask all of us why are we doing whatever we are doing today?! We need more leaders at all levels to be asking this question and if the answer is not a clear indication that the organisation has the greater good at heart I respectfully request that you reconsider.

Stop giving people rules in order to follow your egotistical vision and rather empower, devolve, decentralise and inspire. Your future and the future of our children depend on the way we organise and lead because business is one of the greatest drivers of change in society.  Please!  Less rules and more purpose.

Fix the Hole

It's been a while since my last post.  And that's the way it is for now.  Perhaps also better because the world is inundated with the latest greatest whatever.  I have in fact gone into my database of drafts and stumbled upon this post that I drafted 2 years ago.

I don't know about you but as usual this year started with a bang and I have been running at quite a pace for the last 2 and a half months.  It's been students, presentations, organising, networking and managing on a consistent basis with more and more demands from a ever-hungry world out there.

It really reminds me of a scene in Apocalypto, a film by Mel Gibson.  If you have not seen it perhaps it might be a good time to watch and reflect on our place in this world.  There is a scene where an old man tells a story around a camp fire and it goes like this:

And a Man sat alone, drenched deep in sadness. And all the animals drew near to him and said, "We do not like to see you so sad. Ask us for whatever you wish and you shall have it." The Man said, "I want to have good sight." The vulture replied, "You shall have mine." The Man said, "I want to be strong." The jaguar said, "You shall be strong like me." Then the Man said, "I long to know the secrets of the earth." The serpent replied, "I will show them to you."

And so it went with all the animals. And when the Man had all the gifts that they could give, he left. Then the owl said to the other animals, "Now the Man knows much, he'll be able to do many things. Suddenly I am afraid." The deer said, "The Man has all that he needs. Now his sadness will stop." But the owl replied, "No. I saw a hole in the Man, deep like a hunger he will never fill. It is what makes him sad and what makes him want. He will go on taking and taking, until one day the World will say, 'I am no more and I have nothing left to give.'"

I look around me at entrepreneurs, students and leaders and it is clear that the majority is still trying to fill some kind of hole deep inside them with empty, vain, ephemeral things.  I know that I also have to check myself - I am no different.  I do however invite you on a path with me where we really ask ourselves if we are striving after emptiness to fill emptiness?

Shall we go from survive to alive?!

2015 and the Best is Yet to Come!

This will be an incredible year!

How can I be sure?  Simple - I am alive and the opportunities ahead are simply staggering.  What do you see when you look at this year?  What are your hopes and dreams for yourself and the world around you?  How will you contribute and add value in 2015?

It doesn't matter where you are in the world, all of us have a simple choice:  Will you look for the best in everyone around you or will you only see the worst.  You will find what you look for.

Go from survive to alive!

The 'Why' of Work (part 1)

In light of my previous two posts regarding Connectedness I am going to continue with three major aspects of Connectedness.  In the last ten years or so I have been searching and have found three areas of life, and specifically business, that guide further inquiry: Why?  How?  Who?.

I believe that in whatever we do, and especially work, their is great reward in following your passion and connecting the 'why' of work to a greater purpose.  I have therefore jumped at every consecutive opportunity I could get to figure out what I am best for the world at.

The 'why' of work has guided me on a quest for more, not more stuff, but more life.  My journey has led me to foreign countries, to disappointment, pain and suffering but at no time have I had any regret because what I have also discovered is myself.  I have seen many people go through their whole life and not have the experience and the privilege that I have had.  I have also remained true to my family and in any choice if it leads to less intimacy with my wife and son it is not a good choice.  This is in fact also very much part of Connectedness.

I have been working for myself or other people from a young age and I have been privileged to be raised on two continents and in three countries.  This has fueled my ability to see the world as connected, rather than separated.  In every opportunity I have been part of an organisation or business I have consistently looked for ways to improve myself as well as the organisation - this has led to some conflict.  ...It is easier to make it in this world than it is to change it.

When I was younger I simply grabbed hold of every opportunity and do my best.  But as I grew older I seriously started asking at what can I be best?  What are my talents?  Where can I contribute?  At what can I succeed?  I experienced glimpses of flow or engagement which also led me to start writing this blog.  Yet, with every new opportunity I grew faster and many times have outgrown my job within two years or so.  What I have experienced is that with every opportunity I can more clearly identify what I am good at. This normally means that I start longing for the next opportunity to develop.  Learning to be patient is very important.

The most important thing however is that I believe in continuous improvement and moving towards a greater purpose for work - the 'why' of work.  Perhaps you don't have it today but I believe that improvement is possible.  Yes the bills have to be paid, but that can't be why you work.  If it is I seriously ask you today to consider your purpose and the meaning behind your work.

"Don't ask what the world needs.  Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it.  Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

...And being alive is Connectedness 

I'm Back!

After months of glorious introspection, reflection and redirection I am glad to say that I am gradually getting back into the blogging saddle.  More than ever I am aware that writing is important.  I believe it is important because I enjoy it, but it is also important because it has served as a platform where the unheard voices are united.  


It has not only been an online conversation, but primarily I have experienced individuals speaking to me directly which has been inspiring.

This blog is all about living a life that is testimony to being alive and not merely breathing.  Surviving is the same old routine every day.  Surviving is never facing your fears.  Surviving is doing what is safe and expected.  Surviving is never fully committing to relationships. Surviving is taking, being busy and 'me'. Surviving is command-and-control. Surviving is the majority.

Living is facing your fears.  Living is accepting the challenge and laying another down.  Living is doing things different, new and better today even if it means you will fail.  Living is being, giving and 'us'.  Living is connecting and collaborating.  Living is the minority.

This is the blog for the minority.  This is where the real voice of meaning is heard.  Its message is one of bravery, creativity, innovation and change.  This blog is a challenge for better, every day!

The journey always starts with ourselves.  If we think we can change the world without doing the hard work of facing ourselves in the mirror, we have already lost the battle.

So here is the warning:  Don't read or reply to these posts if you are not serious about seeing through the change in society that frees us from ourselves; that frees us from sheepwalking.

Likewise, here is the mandate that comes with this blog:  Read very carefully and REFLECT!  ...Then partake in the discussion and pass it on to others with the same instruction.

Life is not too short; it is exactly long enough for us to do what we have to.  Get going!

Hmmmm

This is some writing on stuff. It may make sense on certain levels or plains depending on your paradigmatic orientation towards a multiverse reality. On the other hand it could be complete nonsense. The fact of the matter however is that in the broader spectrum of things nothing really matters. Although things have known to matter dearly to those who care about things that matter.

I justly therefore ask what is the matter. Where is the beauty? Where is the monkey that whistles a Monet as beautifully as I dance the freed cave captive. Don't worry this is not suppose to make sense except for the meditative purpose of questioning stuff.
What stuff? Well your stuff off-course. Ultimately we only have our own stuff... don't you? I therefore propose that we reflect on what it is that we really need. What stuff is necessary?

I respectfully and specifically challenge those who are in the busyness of business - those who are driving the engines of industry.  Entrepreneurs, CEO's, managers and leaders.  You who helped entangle all of us in the relentless speed of nothingness.  The pervasive beauty of creativity is the all-encompassing delight of those who persevere unto the transcendental reality (which doesn't really exist for those caught in complexity).
I'm sorry, I mean how do you pull on the strings of infinity and eternity to make the fleeting moment permanent?  Yes, in business!  Don't pretend like you don't know what I am talking about.

We look for it everyday and hunger for it more and more.  We know it is there but we spend so much time on the stuff that is served up that the real food is overlooked.  If you don't understand this then you haven't begun to ask: your self?  Go ahead ask: my self?  Who is this really?  Who am I being?  Am I real?  I therefore submit to you that the business person has no right to do business until he/she has found someone to do business for!

Business is the reality of our society, our faults, our beauty and delight.  Don't switch off the lights.  Get a message and get out there.  Do something that will make people talk, smile and look for the good in others.  Come with me and look at the beautiful connections between everything.  Be part of the connections, find your place, your voice and go from survive to alive!

4 Months as the Crow Flies

And when I blinked the year was 4 months old (and counting).  It has been a while since my last post... I have been thinking; restoring; reflecting and reviewing.  I have been thinking of fears and desires, passion and purpose, complexity and transcendence.  If there is one lesson that I have learned over the last year it has been patience.  I now see my haste and propensity to haste much clearer in the light of  the tension between desire and fear.  In other words, in the past I used to attack the present in order to get to the future because I was afraid of missing the opportunity to prove that I am competent and useful.  The reality is  that I am competent and useful; here; today.

I know that repetitive work frustrates me... A lot!  I know that I  can't hide in the corner world of ideas.  Music, ideas and dancing energise me.  Too much of my day does not incorporate creativity - I need more; I think we all do.  I believe this is the key to being more and being more to others.
It seems like it has been a mad dash in the last four months to where I am now.  A good dash however because it has been at home.  Our life is richer because of family, friends and nature.  The improvement in quality of life is invaluable.

After years in Johannesburg we have been living in Stellenbosch for the last 9 months and working as a lecturer for the last 4.  It has been an awesome time so far and I know that it has been a time of restoration.  It will probably continue on the same path for a while but I am tilling the soil.  I am removing the old thinking that was embedded during the past 7 years.  I am throwing off all the old labels and returning my competent roots.  I am removing what is not important an focusing on who I am (yip, that old theme again).

It is literally easier said than done, but I am doing it.  It is a constant journey going from survive to alive.  I fight negativity, look for meaning, acknowledge that I am part of a great tapestry and that I have a part to play.  My part is the one that helps people, and specifically people in business, realise why business is important, why they are doing business, how this adds value an finally how they run their business, or do business, because of this.  I translate my competence into their competence.

Dream vs Security

On my journey I am continuously challenged by different opportunities.  I dream of freedom, creativity and simplicity.  As I dream I look around me to see what needs to be done practically.  I am continuously aware of the tension between the dreams in my heart and the requirements of living a life that is secure.  Secure, that's a nice word.  What the bleep is it anyway... Security!?  Is it freedom from danger, risk, etc. as the dictionary tells you?  Is it something that we put on to make us feel better - a little like an expensive coat?  A coat that can be taken away at any moment...

Why does it look like if you choose security you sacrifice your dreams?  I see so many people that have settled for security or have faced the choice of taking greater risks and have chosen to settle for something secure.  I personally also know people that have taken risks and have then burnt their fingers trying a new venture.  The result is that they then choose a more secure option for the future.  Can you blame them?  You have to start thinking of the kids, education costs, retirement...  The list is endless.  The basic cost of a decent standard of living is rather ridiculous.  Have you ever been in a situation where you look at what's left of your salary/income after deductions for medical aid, cars, house and a few other basics and thought to yourself: "How on earth is this possible?"

I am an idealist, iconoclast, dreamer and believer!  I want to see the small guy win.  I hunger to see a world that really cares but still gets things done.  I hope to find many more inspiring leaders just around the corner.  I see the future for others as they themselves can't even see it yet.
In all this I have to find peace in tension.  Tension between the dream and security.  Tension between action and rest.  Tension between fatalism and free will.  Aaaagh!  Man this is really frustrating... And actually very exciting.  It is not just one thing.  Not boring.  In actual fact the challenge is beautiful.  The way I see it is that if I can get a little more comfortable with change I can be so much more - BE, NOT DO!

I guess this is why I try stuff.

Measure by Growth

What do you measure by? Results are important but many times results come much later like fruit on a tree or grapes on a vine.
Many times in the past I have looked back when it seems like I am heading in the wrong direction and asked my parents if they think I have made a mistake.  The answer that I mostly got was: "No, because we can see how much you have grown".
Perhaps they are looking at results but it is results on a continuum.  In other words the result is me being more mature yet knowing that it is the next step on the journey that I have achieved, not a destination or final measurable result.

My current season really reflects such a phase.  I know that I have grown tremendously in the last year and have come to accept myself as I am more than ever before.  I am making peace with where I am and have come to greater insight regarding ambition.  I see ambition as the driving and destructive force behind our current global condition.  Think about what ambition - the desire to achieve, stand out and be something, has done to our world and communities.  Never before have we been so ambitious in our goals and never before have we wreaked such havoc on our planet.  Inequality is greater than ever and even though we have made major advances that contribute to our standard of living we are no happier than 50 years ago.

I believe that it is ambition that drives a meaningless pursuit after our own, predominantly instant, gratification.  We have polarised our societies into those that are rushing forward at a reckless pace and those that seek greater meaning and purpose in what they do.  I don't think this divide will ever change but hopefully more and more people can meet in the middle where we engage one another in work that centers on love, money and meaning.  I don't think we have to settle for the tyranny of the 'or'.  It does not have to be about money or love; why not both?

What I do make a case against is the domination of our ambition that blindly leads us over the precipice into the abyss.  Ambition that looks at monetary results and ignore the growth of individuals and communities.  Ambition that ignores the growth required to make things more sustainable and full of life.

So what are we measuring?  What is the result we are looking for, and more importantly, who do we have to be to realise our dream?

The Gifts of Pain

In my previous post I spoke about the challenges that I am going through in terms of physical pain.  I would like to follow-up with the gifts of pain.  In the last year and a half I have been brought to my knees, literally and figuratively, and even though I would never want to go through this again I believe that we are given the opportunity to claim who we really are when we are in pain or go through periods of suffering.

Through the tears, anger and deep disappointment I have to look myself in the eye and see a man that has to be brave due to circumstances.  I now realise that being brave is actually not something that I want to do.  My idea of the hero that is so brave has blown away with the wind.  Being brave means that you have to dig in where it hurts; it means you have to do stuff you really don't want to do, again and again and again until your energy is depleted and you feel like crawling into a little ball and die.

It is here though that I have the choice to get up again through the pain, tears and pills and just focus on the next ten minutes or hour.  Ignore the fear of having to this for an indeterminate time.  What I am saying is that the character that is being built, the faith that is being developed and the relationships that are being strengthened is invaluable.  They are gifts of pain.

I don't want to be sore.  I don't want to be weak.  I do however have to face myself, let my ego be trimmed and my will be shaped so that I can be here and have peace with who I am no matter what I do or how I look.  All that is not necessary is being challenged and removed.  It is another gift that is accompanied by pain.

Today I fight to smile.  Today I look for the beautiful.  Today I cry.  Today I recognise the opportunity to live.  Today I welcome peace and joy.  Today I welcome the gifts of pain.

Moment of Truth

I just had a moment of truth ...A grand realisation that perhaps I really am that different and special.  Perhaps I truly should be challenging the status quo, not by creating my own status quo but by tearing down captivity and building foundations of freedom.  I continue to have conversations with people that seem truly open minded but with some more investigation I realise that they might have adopted language that 'keeps them on the edge' but that their approach and expectation of life still very much resembles the industrial revolution - top down, hierarchical, unilateral, etc.  It will work for a little longer but the world is a different place today...

What I have come to realise is that the tool of control has served us (modern society in general) rather well over the last century or so.  The challenge now is that control is no longer as useful as it once was.  The scientific approach to business management was all about that.  The leader was the one who controlled, knew everything and was infallible.  That kind of leadership will pass soon and only businesses and leaders that embrace connection, trust and complexity will last.

This is the next step.  Leaders must become facilitators in order to trust the organisation's future to everyone involved.  Yet few people are willing to push for this kind of change.  What is much more likely is that people stick to their old ways, ways that are not so threatening, in order to keep their position of power.  I have seen this very often in the business environment.  Due to different influences people don't want to change and most of the time right at the centre of it all sits some kind of fear.

I don't think that my mind or abilities are that special or different but I do believe that they are geared towards a specific purpose to which I need to pay more attention.  I know that through my efforts on this blog, academic talents and abilities to write, facilitate and teach I can devote my life to a great passion for change.  It is a gift-set, passion and awareness that few other people share and because of that I am excited.  Within that lies my unique contribution and realising it has really been a moment of truth for me; a little like when the winemaker gets to taste the grapes of the season for the first time. In that instance everything that has led up to that moment, every element comes together to reveal the special character of that season.  It helps me to go from survive to alive.