So much to learn, so much to do, and so little time...
In re Ben's insights:
> But mankind has to come to know him/herself before
> we can make any noteworthy progress.
"I see this same type of behavior, on a slightly higher scale, within most
corporations. Most people struggle to believe there is something noble
within just waiting, perhaps begging, to be expressed! How tragic! This
leads me to believe there is some validity to Theory X, but the thought
frightens me, as it gives credence to Plato's theory that society should
be governed by a Philosopher King! And such a notion I cannot accept."
and Barry Mallis':
"Maybe when we grow old, approach physical death, and near the threshold
of light so uncannily described in Tolstoy's Death of Ivan Ilyich, we have
a greater chance to be centered. And maybe this is an irony of this
physical life; that approaching physical death, we sense what Ben Okri
called "the highest things...beyond words", "...Like a smile, which
someone described as the shortest distance between two people". Words
fail the test of describing the balance of the 3 centers..."
Upon reflection on these two remarkable posts, I would offer that it
focuses with amazing clarity on the symbolism used since ancient times to
indicate the "tri-partitite" nature of our beings, also the "tri-une"
nature of God (in christian terminology the Father, Son and Holy Spirit),
the separation of mind, soul and body, as all are images and symbols of
our lives insofar as we are "conscious" of them. Indeed, recent medical
findings as reported on the media appear to indicate that as we grow older
our hormonal levels change (no surprise to women but perhaps a bit of a
surprise to men.) In this report, men appear to move toward a more giving,
sheltering, comforting, less agressive mode of behavior than was the case
in their youth, as this report seems to indicate.
This would also link with the commonly-held belief that wisdom comes with
age, which would be in concert with Socratic and Platonic schools of
thought. Having thoroughly confused those who have been patient enough to
come this far, the links between the two threads are to me very valuable
and tremendously helpful as they again indicate what our purposes are (in
this life), how each of us is different (acting differently and needing to
be treated differently, perhaps even by management?), how in small groups
or large the higher purposes are served by reflection by those in
authority, leading to enlightened (empowered) individuals, some of whom
may be farher along the path than others (for many reasons-some
intellectual, some hormonal?.)
IMHO, Jaques et al view the workplace through filters of their own
experiences; that they may not be all-inclusive as regards their
conclusions may be just "the luck of the draw". Whether or not they are
"right" or "wrong" does not change the nature of the human existence one
iota. In group dynamics, someone must say "let's go this way". Should that
person be "enlightened" enough to have become a "philosopher" might make
them a good and acceptable candidate for the role of "philosopher-leader".
It is not too far then to the role of "philosopher-king". Would there be a
reason to follow (insert historical personage of your choice) should they
"re-appear" in the world today? Why would that be?
The system we deal with in this and other lists is that of work as an
expression of the human condition. To improve the impact of that work (in
management terms), we would do best by always viewing it in the context of
improvement in that organization's "human condition".
I apologize to all religious groups and any other organizations that I may
have offended in this rambling post. I too am on the path...how far along,
I do not know.
Regards,
John Constantine
Rainbird Management Consulting
--John Constantine <rainbird@trail.com>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>