Before it was here, it wasn’t.
Before it was cool, the creator of the idea questioned herself.
Before the VCs, there was struggle.
Before the idea was accepted, somebody wrestled to get their message across.
Copernicus knew this struggle. So did Galileo, and Andy Warhol, and J.R.R. Tolkien, and Steve Jobs, and Stanley Kubrick, and so many others.
Here’s my struggle spoken in the words of Krishnamurti, “The only hope for humankind is in the transformation of the individual.”
The ancient Greek’s knew this as expressed in their universal axiom of, “Know thyself.” The mystics know this. Even the corporate trainers who strive to teach the importance of “emotional intelligence” know this.
My story is that of the indigenous principles and how applying them to business holds the potential for huge shifts in the way we do business. My struggle is that it’s so simple that it’s hard for people to grasp.
We’ve gotten so used to solutions being served up in the form of linear lists, presented by people with lots of letters after their names. The Copernican struggle is that the solution is not linear and it has nothing to do with academic accomplishments.
The problem and the solution is us … it always has been.
But, of course this is not a comfortable message for many people to hear.
It’s not comfortable to be asked to power down our electronics for an entire day, sit on the ground around a fire and take part in slow conversations that strike to the core of who we are and who we want to be in the world.
It’s not comfortable to have to question the foundation of our belief systems that we’ve held steadfast for so long.
It’s not comfortable to have to slow down … to listen and hold our words … to look at the world through the eyes of another.
This is our story. The story of the evolution of our work of helping people shift their culture, evolve their understandings of their roles in the world—to build legacy instead of metrics.
We know that one day this struggle will be behind us and the world will be listening—and it will be here.
Tip of the Week
Breath deeply … and often. Yes, it’s simple. That’s why we don’t do more of it. But it works. “What does this have to do with corporate culture?” you ask. Everything. But you won’t know till you try it.
