be heard!
Check out www.beheard.ae … I saw a series of outdoor hoardings advertising it while driving along Beach Road this morning. I first had an idea for a website just like this about a year ago – but did nothing about it. 
It’s such an excellent way to have your finger on the pulse of a region! People can post questions and answer them anonymously. The yes-no answers are available for all to see. You can look up results of overall respondents and also split by gender, age and ethnicity. I’m so excited to see this in effect. Not only is it a good idea, the site is well-designed.
Anyone aware of who the originators of this website are? There is no webmaster or contact information. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s The National that’s behind it, but I could of course be wrong. I’d so like to know either way!
the good life
Anyone who has visited this blog more than a couple of times may have sensed my tremendous reverence for Sir Ken Robinson’s speech at the TED 2006 conference in California. A few months ago, JK Rowling delivered another wonderfully inspiring speech at a graduation ceremony at Harvard. This address by the Harry Potteress, if you will, comes extremely close to evoking the resonance created in me by Robinson.
Their themes are similar in part. The overlap lies in their descriptions of how people are typically held back from finding their talents. Robinson talks of how kids are often pushed in to doing things that they are not designed to do. This detracts from their uniqueness and leads to the feeling of having failed from within – no matter how successful they may appear to be from the outside.
JK Rowling speaks of her own experience as a mother in a financially dire situation who finally found the courage required to live her life with authenticity: She said: “So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged. I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid foundation on which I rebuilt my life.”
Robinson gave the example of Gillian Lynne, now a British ballerina, who was taken to a doctor when she was still in school for being miserable at her studies. The doctor was wise enough to tell her mother that her child didn’t have ADHD but that she did have the fidgetiness of a dancer. He encouraged her mother to enroll her in a dance school. In Robinson’s words: “Gillian was eventually auditioned for the Royal Ballet school. She became a soloist and had a wonderful career there. She founded her own dance company. She met Andrew Lloyd Webber. She has been responsible for some of the most successful theater productions in history. She has given pleasure to millions. And she’s a multi-millionaire. Somebody else might have put her on medication and told her to calm down.”
Bravo to both speakers!
Rowling took the idea a step ahead. She spoke of how getting in touch with ourselves then helps us to get in touch with others. She talked about how it enables us to use our power of imagination to empathize with those less fortunate than us. That, most beautifully, is her definition of a good life – which is what she eventually wished upon the graduating class of 2008.
I have always thought that “the good life” is not one in which you have acquired material things and been a conventional success, but one in which you have been true to yourself; it is the only way in which you can be true to others. Believe me, I know how tough it is. But I also deeply feel how vital it is, not just for our own wellbeing but also for that of those around us; for our children, our spouses, our families, our employers, our employees, our countries, our world – whether strangers or friends.
Finally, Rowling had an important point to make for the youth of ’superpower’ America – which figures in this moving excerpt from her speech.
“Amnesty International mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my life.
Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places.
Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.
And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; they can refuse to know.
I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see more monsters. They are often more afraid.
What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.
One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.
That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other people’s lives simply by existing.
But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest, the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.
If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves already: we have the power to imagine better.”
Hear hear! Powerful thoughts and words indeed.
sarahndipity
It is so fortunate that Palin’s mortifying performance at off-the-cuff TV interviews coincides with McCain’s waffling on the scheduled debate.
Hopefully, this is the point at which this outrageous vice-presidential nomination will swing voters to the Obama side. What was McCain’s point in nominating her again: “Look look, America, I found you someone, and a woman no less, who makes Dubya look wise…”?
I’m breathing just a bit easy about the outcome of the election now compared to then. However, I have to remind myself, there’s still time for the votes to be cast. And, bewilderingly enough, there’s still folks out there who think this way…
(Comment on CBS News Video of Sarah Palin being interviewed by Katie Couric)
“So Palin’s not that great on answering questions that she’s been getting crash courses on over the last few weeks. She can’t communicate very well off the cuff. She looks stupid trying to defend her forgein policy when she doesn’t have any. I really don’t care. What I do care about is her record as a succesful governor who faced down corruption, made tough decisions, demonstrated good judgement with the information the experts around her presented her with and maintained the highest approval raiting for any governor in the state. Apparently she has a decent grasp on how to govern and serve the people. Something Obama only wishes he had. Oh wait, he’s running against McCain. Woops, two people with more credentials then he has. Didn’t see that one coming.”
I’m not superstitious but my fingers are Xed for the debates.
speak for america
I haven’t warmed up to Obama yet, even though I am for the most part fine with his politics. Even so, I resonated with Clinton even less, and was relieved when Obama was the one nominated.
I watched his speech at the Democratic National Convention a few days ago and was not as moved as some of my friends in the US. (Of course, I do not currently reside there, and maybe that partially affects how I received it.) See I thought that while he was good, his speech lacked a real power to motivate the listener. He was too composed and his demeanor was aloof. His words had integrity but lacked drama, an aspect necessary to win this election. Where did his gifted speaking skills go?
In contrast, Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention was way more dynamic. It drew the audience in with its conviction, humor, and strategy. Kudos to her speechwriters. Don’t get me wrong – it made me continually livid. (For example, when she alluded to the “fact” that even though America is still under catastrophic threat from Al Qaeda terrorists, Obama wants to read them their rights!) The same anger that I felt when I lived in the States not too long ago – at the warmongering that is condoned.
But an impassioned speech or two is imperative to swinging this election! I heard both speeches with a sinking feeling. From a persuasion perspective, I have a strong sense that it is the McCain-Palin ticket that will win this election of ambivalence.
All I can say is: PLEASE VOTE.
tell the story
I’ve been reading about writing, if only to procrastinate.
I find it hard to actually sit down and begin to write a story. Except for a short one I wrote in Austin, which was fun but not particularly good if I may add, and the odd composition in school, I have not delved in to fiction very much. You see the scientificist ( 
) in me won’t allow it.
Excuses, excuses.
So I came across a tips-for-amateur-storytellers type website out there. It said: Open a book at random. Write down the first sentence you see. Now tell the story from there.
Here goes then.
The loneliness was still there, but it was getting louder and easier to dance to.
Wow.
great PSA
Public service advertising can be so amazing. Check this one from Television Espanola out, it’s totally precious.
Translation: If your best friend doesn’t want to stay with you anymore, maybe you are watching too much TV.
If an NBC had released this ad instead of a TVE, it would have fit the “corporate responsibility” bill perfectly!
making it work
Back to work culture like I said I would.
I think one of the most important qualities to engage in the work place is flatness. By that I mean – a strong check on hierarchical behavior. Everyone has contributions to make and worrying about what the boss might say/think/feel is the best way to bring about clamming up of employees, or even worse – them expressing thoughts they believe will be favored by those “in power.” This creates a space where people are motivated by fear, leads to a fake consensus, and culminates in a non-progressive environment. What we need are work cultures in which people are intrinsically motivated. Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence. Sucking up is not conducive to this kind of sentiment.
A facet related to the first is this: companies must be very careful to inculcate an atmosphere that is not idea-killing. The role of two-way communication needs to be deeply underscored. It’s easy to be dismissive of thoughts that are not articulate enough or stated confidently enough or are perhaps slightly tangential to the topic at hand. But true respect is always due to input offered – so value all that is said, dig a bit deeper to get at the essence, certainly don’t discount anyone. Someone once said: The paradox of innovation is this: CEOs often complain about lack of innovation, while employees often say that leaders are hostile to new ideas.
The next thing I can think of is affirmation of who employees are – in a holistic sense. It is not often that people feel known/understood where they work. (There is plenty of research in organizational psychology showing that verifying people’s sense of self is greatly useful.) So, for example, let’s say you have an engineer who can paint, let it be known. Perhaps a showcasing of employee’s talents outside of their job descriptions is worthwhile. People are unique and should be seen as such; cliques should be avoided at all cost. A related aspect is of giving people autonomy. Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what needs to be done, and then let them surprise you with the results.
An openness to change is vital. A great quote speaking to it: To survive in the future, every organization must be prepared to abandon everything it does. The world is engulfed in a revolution, on a social and psychological level, and this must reflect at the organizational level as well. I’m obviously not saying the focus should be on abandoning everything, but that there should be a readiness to doing so, if need be.
Money is an unavoidable but surprising variable in creating a good work culture. Another neat quote that talks to the point: There is no contest between the company that buys the grudging compliance of its workforce and the company that enjoys the enterprising participation of its employees. You could pay people a ton of money and not have their faithfulness. (Employee turnover rates are not as muted by high salaries as one might like to think.) Or you could value an employee tremendously and have his loyalty forever, even if you couldn’t pay him the best that is out there.
Management must develop a clear ideology and let it be implemented by all – from the guy who wheels the coffee and croissants in to the conference room to the one who heads the table. It is more than vital! A powerful quote that I believe gets at it most thoroughly: A visionary company creates a total environment that envelops employees, bombarding them with signals so consistent and mutually reinforcing that it’s virtually impossible to misunderstand the company’s ideologies and ambitions. This ties in inextricably with giving meaning to the work employees do. A vision is exceedingly important.
Finally, a thoughtful and honest Corporate Responsibility policy is imperative today. When institutionalized right, it can cover almost all of the points touched upon above – and more! The idea of Corporate Responsibility is NOT anti-profit, as many like to believe; it is just a more long-term orientation than the short-term one to which we are accustomed. Ultimately, CR is about nothing but profit, actually. I will write about it some more in another post.
ditch it
I’ve grown certain that the root cause of lack of fulfillment – and the sense of futility that goes with it – is fear. (Needless to say, I’ve been in a contemplative phase for the last couple of weeks.) To live life with authenticity is tough, especially in the smoke-and-mirrors world this often is. And underneath the fear of being true to yourself lie the fears of failure and rejection. They make us give in to the status quo, to not speak our minds, and to not bring to any situation what we might uniquely bring, in their absence.
It is very early on in our lives that we become afraid of being wrong or looking stupid or feeling inferior. These are very real and very human fears, and once they set in, discovering who we really are becomes an uphill battle. We lie to ourselves and others, we hide and we hurt, we deny and we demean. We all do; it’s not a question of if but how much.
Now consider the flip side. Is courage the absence of fear? Seems to me it’s more like courage is simply the acknowledgment of fear. Once you admit to a fear, it tends to lose its bite, which is liberating. You gradually become free to be aware, free to not unthinkingly conform, free to be and believe in yourself. (One of my great fears is of being perceived as too idealistic and only very recently have I begun to confront it.)
I recently came across a related and rather neat quote by Nietzsche: Fear is the mother of morality. That got me thinking about how rarely we find ourselves doing what feels right – not what we are told is right, or what is generally considered right, but what intuitively feels right deep down to us. If we could make more of a habit of it, then we might have no use of the so-called morality that often leads to brashness towards ourselves and others. I deeply believe that being gentle is part of being brave, and requires even more of those proverbial guts. Think not just about us as individuals, but also about how we behave collectively – for example countries that are at war…
I know I am rambling, guess it’s because I’m not used to doing this. I tend to avoid getting too personal on this blahg – perhaps in the fear that I will be judged as childish and over-emotional or even worse as boring. (All this fear, my being a psychologist notwithstanding!) But this is how I feel and this subject is at my core. So hear hear then, here’s to facing fears. Slowly but surely, even if just a fraction of one at a time. Good night. =)
think like a kid!
We sometimes use a cool creative tool to brainstorm at work. Basically, you each pull one of a pack of cards. (Every card bears a different anecdote and an associated technique.) Then you play the role that the card suggests within the team for a bit, until it’s time to pull the next card. It’s a fun and remarkably useful exercise! Here is one I especially like…
dissatisfied?
Consider the following aspects of job satisfaction.
1) The EMOTIONAL (i.e. people are doing work they personally enjoy and when they know that the outcome of their work is meaningful)
2) The SOCIAL (when one works with people one likes and respects, where feedback is appropriate, and where the motivation to perform is positive)
3) The PHYSICAL (whether it be manual labor that is not abusive or about a comfortable, easily accessible office for a white-collar worker)
4) The FINANCIAL (I realize how subjective the phrase “well-paid” is; but let’s say that “well” implies a cool savings of at least a fifth of monthly pay.)
I have a feeling that a strong fulfillment of just one or two of the above could lead a person to say they are pretty satisfied at their job overall. For example, let’s say you are getting remunerated at a high level; that might negate the ill effects of all other aspects. Or for example, if you aren’t, but you adore your colleagues, you may grin and bear the fact that you don’t absolutely love your work either. This might be a tad simplistic, but you get the drift…
And yet, the percentage of people who are extremely dissatisfied at their jobs these days is spectacular. Well, why?
It would be easy to primarily blame issues with the last factor on the list – inadequate compensation is indeed a major concern in most economies today. But how about we focus on the first two for a bit.
The kind of work you choose to do obviously influences to a great extent how much you enjoy your work. Do your aptitude and abilities match your profession? If not, you are probably not alone. People are often socially pressured to take up jobs they are doomed to dislike. Many of us have heard things like: “Don’t do music, you won’t get a job doing that!” or “Where’s the money in studying art?” or “Whatever would you do with a degree in language when you grow up?”
Sir Ken Robinson has given a remarkable speech (Do schools kill creativity?) on what the consequences of discouraging kids from their natural affinities are. I do not blame society for putting pressure on their children to become engineers and accountants. I see that the advice is well-intentioned – but it is not necessarily right. And what ends up happening is the creation of a world where people are not synched up with their jobs, which then contributes significantly to job dissatisfaction – and ultimately reduces commitment and productivity at personal and organizational levels.
The issue above is a huge one and needs much attention. Even so, let’s say you chose to do what you want to, or even if you chose to do what you can at least tolerate doing. Unfortunately, there’s a bigger hurdle that often creeps up. Typically, after the initial novelty of a work place has worn away, you begin to grapple with a work culture that is far from ideal.
It’s not often that workplaces elicit the kind of sentiment that companies like Google do…
More on work culture in an upcoming post.
