Steve Jobs: Stay hungry, stay foolish

Steve Jobs talks to Stanford University Graduates about connecting the dots, love, loss and death.

Click here to see the video on YouTube.

The meaning of crisis

The word "crisis" in mandarin language is "wēijī", which consists of two syllables written in different characters "wēi" and "jī".

The interpretation of "wēi" and "jī" has let to a perception that "crisis" in mandarin means "danger" (wēi) and "opportunity" (jī).

According to Victor H. Mair, professor of Chinese language and literature, the syllable of "wēi" indeed conveys the notion of "danger", whilst the syllable of "jī" does not mean "opportunity" in a genuinely positive way as a favorable junction of circumstances or a good chance for advancement or progress. (see http://pinyin.info/chinese/crisis.html)

The jī in wēijī apparently means something like "incipient moment; crucial point (when something begins to change)".

Whilst jī as such does not automatically provide a favorable opportunity, it emphasises the crucial point when something begins to change, which could be seen as the tipping point in a systemic context.

The real opportunity therefore seems to be the sensitivity of the system for a conscious change when reaching the tipping point. Because the system is not very stable at such a moment, even a small impulse can determine the direction the system will take - either favorable or unfavorable, depending on the impulse.

These dangerous crucial moments ("crises") ask for a high level of consciousness rather than a naiv belief that everyhing will almost automatically turn into something favorable. This consciousness is the imparative requirement when aiming to turn a crisis into an opportunity.

Love & Oneness are the same as Connection & Coherence

For religions and spiruality the key words have been love and oneness, and for scientists they are now connection and coherence. In the final count, they mean the same thing.

------
Inspiration and extracts taken from Ervin Laszlo, WorldShift 2012

Natural Income versus Natural Capital

A major shift towards a sustainable future has to concern our use of natural resources. We need to start living on "natural income" rather than "natural capital".

Natural capital consists of the accumulated riches of the earth, used and discarded, as in burning of fossil fuels. When such capital is exhausted, the economic system based on it goes bankrupt - it's unsustainable.

Natural income, on the other hand, embraces all natural resources that can be renewed, backfilled, or recycled. Such use of resources can be prolonged indefinitely. An economy based on Natural Income is sustainable.

------
Inspiration and extracts taken from Ervin Laszlo: WorldShift 2012

William James: Islands in the sea

Quote:

We are like islands in the sea, separate on the surface but connected in the deep. (William James)

Being rich

There will come a time and view of the world, where being rich is defined not by having, but by being.

(Inspired by Ervin Laszlo, WorldShift 2012)

Making an Impact

When having been asked in the past about what would be important for me when taking on specific roles / tasks I have often replied: "I want to make an impact."

Those who tend to make impacts are often referred to as change agents.

I also remember a senior business leader during a conference stating that "Leaders leave a legacy", which in other words could be translated into "They make a sustainable impact".

Whilst making an impact as such might be a nice ambition it still lacks a sufficient reference point or scope.  This means that one can make an impact on a number of different things/aspects. When for example referring to a business environment one could make an impact on a specific project, on a specific customer, on a specific business unit or on an entire company.

When thinking about professional and - probably even more important - personal development in that context, it would seem legitimate to consider a growing scope of desired impact as an indication for professional/personal growth.

Being aware of your current scope of impact is the starting point to evaluate what scope of impact you would desire in the future.

On that journey some people could find that their own personal development might take them beyond focussing their scope of impact only on a specific business environment. Those people will want to make a sustainable impact on much wider aspects.

Difference between Leadership and Management

There is a difference between Leadership and Management.

The degree to which you need leadership vs management skills in an organization depends on the maturity/stability of an organization at any given point in time. Management is more transactional and keeps existing systems running. Leadership is more transformational and hence helps to create, develop and change businesses.

A lot of businesses are in a period of change and therefore Leadership skills are very important.

Old corporate cultures often promoted a non-collaborative management style. You might even argue if that happened deliberately or only “by accident” because the impact of such a culture on the long-term success of the company had not been thought through thoroughly enough by the senior management in the past.

The challenge is to break the habits which in the past have let to success of the individual managers  (…as opposed to leaders...) in your business. Change needs to happen on an individual basis. We need to win the hearts and minds of everyone to believe in the new way of working. And we have to be honest: Not every person has the ability/flexibility or willingness to change.

Real leaders act as change agents. They actively drive the transformation. Leadership should be infectious, it should “spark” people, it should drive people towards a common goal.

Leaders should therefore encompass three main elements: Vision, Passion and Authenticity

• Leaders need to have their own vision. If their own individual vision happens to be in line with the corporate vision we have the right people and the necessary “buy-in” and we can be sure that the leadership team pulls into the same direction.
• Leaders need to be passionate. Passion keeps the drive towards the realization of the vision and helps overcome the obstacles. Passion is a strong source for the intrinsic motivation and energy that is needed in a transformation. 
• Leaders need to be authentic. Authenticity exists when (a) what you say, (b) what you do and (c) what you think/believe is fully in sync. Authenticity creates trust, which is the basis for engaging with individuals and creating teams. 

Usually most people sense a violation of authenticity in a subtle, sometimes subconscious way, which is often the reason why the “supposed-to-be” leaders can’t create the necessary “traction” within their teams.

Authenticity - and hence leadership - often breaks because what people do is not in line with what they say. (This doesn't even take into account that people might neither say nor do what they really think/believe)

Assuming that people actually think/believe and say the right things in line with the new business direction, the challenge is to align their behavior - meaning what they actually do - to ensure their authenticity and hence effective leadership.

Peoples actual behavior is influenced by their individual circumstances and their experience. Some people have strong values, principles and ethics which predominantly drive their behavior, whilst other people choose to (…or are even forced to…) be predominately driven by incentives.

Whilst the right incentive system will potentially not solve all of the issues associated with a corporate transformation, we need to be aware that some company cultures are extremely receptive to incentives and that often the vast majority of managers still orientate their behavior more on incentives than on certain values, principles and ethics.

That's what distinguishes usual managers from great leaders.

Mahatma Gandhi: Change

Quote:

Be the change you want to see in the world.
(Mahatma Gandhi)

Mikhail Gorbachev: What have you already done today?

Quote:

If what you have done yesterday still looks big to you, you havn't done much today.
(Mikhail Gorbachev)

Dalai Lama: Peace in outer world and in ourselves

Quote:

We can never obtain peace in the outer world until we make peace with ourselves.
(Dalai Lama)

Albert Einstein: Levels of consciousness to solve problems

Quote:

You can not solve a problem at the level of consciousness at which that problem was created. (Albert Einstein)

Formation of business ecosystem around the Giordano Bruno GlobalShift University

There is an opportunity to facilitate a real ecosystem approach around the sustainability theme as the Giordano Bruno GlobalShift University will use the internet as the platfom to educate the youth of the world to create a consciousness for the sustainability of our planet. In this context we could provide the technical infrastructure, hosting and support of the internet based education system, whilst our Utlilities clients could agree to provide the ecofriendly energy required to run the technical environment in this context. This would certainly provide a synergy for all stakeholders: the technical infrastructure provider, the energy company, the university, the mankind and Planet Earth.

Coaching - Professional tool to enhance second level Syntony

In the context of Syntony we could start to regard coaching as an enabler to create second level syntony, meaning the coach is creating a safe environment, being deeply tuned into the coachee when being in a coaching relationship. Certainly the coaching competence to build rapport and be tuned in can also be a valuable tool to create interpersonal syntony outside any formal coaching engagements.

Psychotherapy - Self-discovery leading to level one Syntony

Having discussed Syntony it seems reasonable to make a link to experience with psychotherapy, as this often enables the process of self-discovery which can serve as the basis for level one Syntony as becoming and being fully in tune with oneself.

Client Intimacy - Second level Syntony with others in business environment

Having discussed Syntony before it started to become obvious, that Client Intimacy can be regarded as a specific instance of Syntony. From that perspective Client Intimacy could be interpreted as the second level syntony of being tuned in with "others", in this case a particular subset of the community seen as clients in an business environment.

Syntony - being in tune with oneself, with others, with nature, with the flows of being and becoming

We have to come to a new stage  in the evolution of consciousness which is marked by conscious evolution.Today, we stand on the threshold of this stage. We have the choice consciously to participate in the co-creation of the future. It is all a matter of tuning our sense ability to perceive it, accepting our response ability to engage in it, and demonstrating the willpower to embody and enact it. With integrity of heart, mind and spirit, we can learn to create the conditions for the emergence of sustainable evolutionary futures.

 

Daniel Pinchbeck and others suggest that consciousness does not arise in the slow course of evolutionary development out of the seemingly lifeless and inanimate play of matter and energy (Cf. Pinchbeck, 2006, p. 287). In fact, it seems almost unreasonable to think that at a certain point in the process of diversification, integration and coordination of ever increasing complexity, animate matter becomes self-aware and, presto, consciousness emerges as a novel feature in the universe. What if, instead, consciousness were primary and
served as the substrate upon which the interplay of matter and energy were catalyzed? If our universe is composed of an underlying field of consciousness this would mean that dynamic structures of matter and energy arise out of this field rather than the other way around (Laszlo, E., 2004).

It is our challenge to learn to consciously tune into the general evolutionary forces that shape us as we shape them. As a system that incorporates purposeful change agents with conscious intent, society manifests the potential for self-directed conscious evolution.

Designing Evolutionary Systems involves a form of sustainability that changes the homo-centric and chrono-centric paradigms of Business As Usual (Laszlo, A., 2003). It goes beyond the search for “green tech” solutions in specific areas of market opportunity – an orientation that only shifts the paradigm marginally to
become Sustainability As Usual. Sustainability requires sense abilities and response abilities that are anything but usual in our contemporary world. True sustainability means evolutionary development and is, in essence, an inside job. The search for solutions to the challenges faced in common by all people will not be successful if limited to an outward quest for answers in the domains of science and technology alone – we also need to include the human factor as the essential ingredient in every consideration.

Syntony is a creative aligning and tuning with the evolutionary processes of which we are a part. It is the integration of evolutionary aesthetics (Wahrnehmung), ethics, consciousness and willpower.

Presence and practice of the following principles fosters the emergent processes of syntony:

• Passion — vibrant, intense, and compelling enthusiasm
• Integrity — dignity and congruency with your values; worthiness, honor and respect
• Balance — spin control and flow control in (not of) all situations
• Grace — simple elegance, presence, kindness and a composed way of being
• Flow — tuning actions and attitudes to harmonize with surroundings

Almost as a byproduct of this quality of being, the conditions that nurture sustainable communities are fostered. Once we begin to remember how to tune into our continually emerging world, we start to move from merely being peripherally aware of it to becoming fully conscious participants in its selfactualization.

The syntony of evolutionary development means to be so attuned to the dynamics of change that every thought and action contributes to the emergence of life affirming, future creating, opportunity increasing relationships – consciously, purposefully, and yet effortlessly, naturally. This is the promise of the next stage of our species – that of conscious evolution.

The fostering of an emergent evolutionary ethic can only be accomplished in relationship – with oneself, with others, with nature, and with the potential inherent in the bridge we represent between what has been in the past and what is yet to be in the future.

• At the first level – syntony with oneself; personal or internal syntony – the practices involve centering, quieting the monkey-mind, listening with every cell of our being. These practices cultivate intuition, compassion, insight that matches outsight, and a willingness to explore and follow our deepest calling. 
• At the second level – syntony with others; community or interpersonal syntony – the practice involves deep dialogue and collaboration. Coming together to learn with and from each other and to engage in collective action with empathy, considerateness, openness, and joy.
• At the third level – syntony with nature; ecosystemic or transpersonal syntony – the practices involve communing; listening to the messages of all beings (whether they be waterfalls, animals, mountains or galaxies) and acknowledging our interdependence and ultimate unity (oneness).
• At the fourth level – syntony with the flows of being and becoming; evolutionary or integral syntony – the practices involve learning to read the patterns of change of which we are a part; learning to hear the rhythms of life and becoming familiar with the improvisational jam session that nature has been playing since time immemorial. These practices cultivate our ability to play our own piece; to sing and dance our own path into existence in harmony with the grand patterns of cosmic creation.

Integral responses to the complexity of contemporary global and local challenges – personal, organizational, planetary – require an expanded perspective: a way of recognizing interconnections, of perceiving wholes and parts, of acknowledging processes and structures, of blending apparent opposites. But most important, they require collaboration. Individual solutions and breakthrough ideas are necessary but not sufficient. Real opportunity to affect change arises from the systemic synergies that we create together.

We are prepared for this moment in history because we have the cognitive and emotional capacity to embark on this quest for syntony. The real question is whether or not we have the will, the vision, and the conviction to do so.


------
Inspiration and extracts taken from...

Alexander Laszlo and Kathia C. Laszlo:
SYNTONY AND FLOW: THE ARTSCIENCE OF EVOLUTIONARY AESTHETICS
http://www.syntonyquest.org/publications/syntony/

State of Global Emergency Declaration

Whilst we are all living on the same planet we often seem to lack a conscious understanding of the impact that the human race has on the sustainability of the space ship we call "Earth". Nevertheless, there is a growing movement which points to the devastating developments but more important to the opportunity and responsibilty of a timely change.

Hermann Hesse: Stufen / Steps

Hermann Hesse wrote an amasing poem called "Stufen" which in German language means "Steps". Whilst it is often difficult to translate poetry into other languages without loosing some of the subtle deeper meaning, the following translation from Walter A. Aue (with friendly help on "Stufen" from Bertram Kottmann) has mastered this challenge brilliantly.

Hermann Hesse: Steps 

Like ev'ry flower wilts, like youth is fading 
and turns to age, so also one's achieving: 
Each virtue and each wisdom needs parading 
in one's own time, and must not last forever. 
The heart must be, at each new call for leaving,
prepared to part and start without the tragic, 
without the grief - with courage to endeavor 
a novel bond, a disparate connection: 
for each beginning bears a special magic 
that nurtures living and bestows protection.

We'll walk from space to space in glad progression 
and should not cling to one as homestead for us. 
The cosmic spirit will not bind nor bore us; 
it lifts and widens us in ev'ry session: 
for hardly set in one of life's expanses 
we make it home, and apathy commences. 
But only he, who travels and takes chances, 
can break the habits' paralyzing stances.

It might be, even, that the last of hours 
will make us once again a youthful lover: 
The call of life to us forever flowers... 
Anon, my heart: Say farewell and recover! 

Change Agent

For a long time I'm already considering myself to be a change agent, whereby the focus in the recent past has been to be a corporate change agent. Now that I'm embarking on my new mission around sustainability and Gaia, I had - at least for a while - dropped this perception and hence stopped calling myself a change agent. Nevertheless, during a conversation with my wife whilst walking the dogs we actually spoke about the impact that I might want to have and she said that I might not be happy with only changing companies anymore, meaning that I would now seek to do something bigger, trying to change the behaviour of corporate leaders and beyond in order to achieve the worldshift that is required to create a sustainable future for our planet , the people (individuals and society) and profit (business continuity). So untimately I come to the conclusion that I will remain being a change agent, but now with an ever increasing scope of what I'm trying to change.
I started of as an mechanical engineer, which means designing, building and improving mechanical structures. Then I have applied this mission to the corporate world by helping to design, build and improve businesses. As a coach I'm able to help individuals creating insight, awareness and consciousness, which seem to be the ultimate personal drivers for change. Now I seem to make the next step, focussing on the next, bigger target which apparently is to help designing, building and improving our approach towards a more sustainable Gaia.

Gate Phrases

Hold the moment before the thought arises.
Take a backward step.
Pause for the particular.
Not knowing is nearest.
Just now is enough.

Irgendwann ist immer das Erstemal...

...und zwar genau jetzt. Dieses sind die ersten Schritte in die Blog-Welt.

Wir werden sehen, was sich daraus entwickelt.