In praise of silence

A nice quote from John Francis, (from the TED radio podcast, 'Quiet', 21/11/14).  John simultaneously decided to give up using motorised transport and talking.  He remained silent for 17 years, and walked the world.  Talking about his motives, he realised that he regularly questioned his commitment to remaining silent, but never questioned himself about his choice to give up motorised transport.  This is what he said next:

'I didn't know who I would be, if I changed.  And I know that a lot of times we find ourselves in this wonderful place where we've gotten to, but there's another place for us to go and we kind of have to leave behind the security of who we've become and go to the place [of] who we are becoming'.

Laughter is good for the soul

We have just returned from 3 days in Germany, attending the Strategic Leadership Trainers' Summit. (Nuremberg is such a beautiful city.)  SL, run by Thor Olafsson is a fascinating company with some very impressive tools for developing leadership.  Most notably, the Integrated Leadership Development programme and their Inner Compass model seem to be able to create big changes in individuals and organisations.  It was the first time that we had met the rest of team of trainers, who are spread across the world.  A very impressive bunch of people.  You can find out more about Strategic Leadership at:

http://strategicleaders.de/

As part of the conference, we were treated to a presentation by Edda Bjorgvins.  Edda is a very well-known actress from Iceland, and has starred in an Icelandic comedy, 'Stella', which over the last 20 years, has become a national institution.  She's also a comedian, a psychologist and a motivational speaker.

http://www.eddabjorgvins.com/

Edda gave us a highly entertaining and informative lecture on the power of humour for well-being and for creating a productive working atmosphere.  When I say, 'lecture', it was rather unconventional and began with a few minutes of dancing, laughter and general good-natured banter.  There was a serious point to all this, though, as Edda soon backed up all the Tomfoolery with some of the research on humour and health.  We liked Edda.  She has a warm heart and she models what she talks about.  She's not afraid to be the butt of the joke and she can find humour in anything, while also knowing what type of humour is appropriate in a particular setting.  You can catch a bit of Edda on You Tube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nBfqVkGJKs

Random acts of kindness

Congratulations to Luke Cameron who completed his 365 days of doing at least one random act of kindness every day, over the course of 2014.  If you haven't already read about his exploits I recommend his blog:

http://thegooddeeddiary.com/

On the blog you can find a list of all the things he did.  Some of them may seem small or even insignificant.  Others you may look at and think, 'Well I do that as a matter of course.  It's just good manners'.  But to think that way is to miss the point.  

Just imagine what it does to your mindset, to go out every day (even the ones where you might be in a less positive mood!) and consciously aim to commit an act of kindness.  Take a moment to consider what that might do.  Fundamentally, it removes you from the centre of your universe and, for a moment at least, puts someone else in your place.  Now imagine repeating that moment for at least another 364 times over the year.  Do you think it might have an effect on you and how you perceive the world?  Maybe we become a bit more optimistic, generous or simply a bit more tolerant?

Coincidentally, while Luke's story was making national headlines, I was reading a book on the 'altrocentric leader'.  I will post up more on this topic soon, but for now, it serves as an example of how a similar mindset to that of Luke is being encouraged as a way of leading in modern organisations.  The altrocentric leader is the converse of the ego-centric leader, the alpha-male (or female) who gets things done by stamping their authority, keeping control and themselves at the centre of everything.  The basic argument of the book is that in order for organisations to thrive in today's busy complex environment, where workforces are distributed and more individualised, and where the boundaries between customer, supplier, competitor and partner are becoming increasingly blurred, the effective leader has to recognise that leadership is both relational and contextual.  I'll post up a summary shortly, but for now, the simple message is that leaders need to start thinking about others.

Talent versus Knowledge

While doing some holiday reading, I came across the following quote.  It's attributed to Johannes Itten, one of the pioneers of the Bauhaus design movement of the 1920's.  Although he was referring to design, I think there is something in it for all of us:

'If you, unknowing, are able to create masterpieces in colour, then unknowledge is your way.  But if you are unable to create masterpieces in colour out of your own unknowledge then you ought to look for knowledge'.  

Nothing like a bit of hard work and application to study what has gone before you to help your genius shine!

The end of conscious choice?

Two stories in The Times, 5/1/2105:

'Technology lets boss know who is longing to leave', by Tom Whipple, and

'The suit that reveals when you are lying', by Nadeem Badshah

The first story is about employers using 'Big Data' technologies to analyse your posts on social network sites and other sources of information to highlight when a employee turns from engaged worker to disgruntled employee, who may then start to think about a new job with a new employer.  Apparently, data analysis shows that the existing employer has approximately 3 months to turn the situation around (should said employer wish to do so!).  

The second story is a short piece describing research conducted by a team of scientists from Cambridge, Lancaster and Utrecht.  They have developed a suit containing multiple sensors that can detect fine changes in physiology, allowing it to out perform the more traditional forms of lie-detectors.

What is striking about both of these stories is that we are now developing technologies that can tell what a person is thinking even before they might be currently conscious of that thought.  There are many more examples of this (For example, apparently, Amazon are developing algorithms that will predict a buyer's next purchase even before they know it themselves, thus improving efficiencies around delivery).

What does all this mean for our sense of autonomy, our belief that we are responsible and conscious about the decisions we make?  What implications does this have for personal development, or even legal responsibility?  Are we in the process of creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, where instead of 'Computer says 'No'' we start believing we wanted something, just because it arrived in our post-box?

Any thoughts?

If your new year resolution is to find a new job...

We've been saving this one up, maybe just so you can have something to smile about on return to work!

Metro (9/10/14) ran an article on things job hunters have included in their applications and CVs. We've posted up some of our personal favourites:

'The idea was a gift from God, so unfortunately I am not able to share my methodology'  

(I would love to use this line when completing Request for Tender documents!)

'I have a lifetime's technical expertise.  (I wasn't born - my mother simply chose 'eject child' from the special menu)'.

'I have an excellent track record, although I am not a horse'.

'I want to be an astronaut but I think working in a call centre will help me gain confidence for talking to mission control from space'.

'I am a wedge with sponge taped to it.  My purpose is to wedge myself into someone's door and absorb as much as possible'.

'Please accept my application for the role of customer services director, which I appreciate may come as a surprise given I was fired from the position last month'.

'Previous experience:  Marijuana dealer and nefarious dude with an intuitive understanding of supply-and-demand economics'.

'I offer mediocrity at its best'.

'To utilise my creative talent in a mundane office'.

'I am able to show up at the office on time, not only during the first week but even after a year of employment'.

'My ruthlessness terrifies the competition and can sometimes offend'.

'Duties:  Pretending to be on the phone.  Trying to work out what the company did and what part of it I was supposed to be doing.  Hiding'.

If you have decided that you are going to enter the job market this year and you are feeling a bit out of touch, we strongly suggest you seek some advice!

Rik Mayall's rules for life

If, like me, you grew up watching Rik Mayall, in the Young Ones, you will have been saddened by his death earlier this year (9 June 2014).  There was a fitting tribute to this genius of comedy, shown on BBC 2, 20 December 2014.

The programme concluded with footage of his acceptance speech to graduates of Exeter University, as he received his doctorate.  We repeat that speech here:

‘Let me give you youngsters a present. Five mantras to carry with you through your lives.  These are mine:  

Number 1 – All men are equal, therefore no one can ever be your genuine superior.  

Number 2 – Your future is as bright as you make it.  

Number 3 – Change is a constant of life, so you must never, ever lose your wisdom.  

Number 4 – If you want to live a full and complete human life, you have to be free.  

And Number 5 – Love is the answer, love is the answer.  Bon voyage!’

You can catch the programme, 'Rik Mayall: Lord of Misrule' on BBC iPlayer for the next 20 days:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04w7m97/rik-mayall-lord-of-misrule