The Grameen bank and You

The Synergy in Life System — Section 20

Ever heard of the Grameen Bank?  No collateral, No legal instrument, No group guarantee or joint-liability.  And… unlike many banks right now, this one is doing FANTASTICLY well!

If there was ever a story worth telling it is of the Grameen Bank and Professor Yunus.  He is a pioneer or magnificent magnanimity.  Below is the 20th excerpt from my book The Synergy in Life System.  Please read about this Nobel prize winning professor and how he helps others.  It has a bearing in your life too.

Helping Others

Some will say that they cannot or should not have affluence because there are so many poor and unfortunate people in the world who have nothing other than misery in their lives.  As you likely are deeply concerned about the plight of poor and unfortunate people, you should spend some of your time helping them.  You can help them best, however, not by giving them some form of material things that will keep them in their place, but through giving them the power of hope and by developing pictures of affluence in their minds, and by helping them to realize their deserved expression of life.  Read the rest of this entry »

Consider this…

The Institute for Global Ethics has conducted research around the world attempting to find out if there are a CORE set of values common to all people.  Their findings are … there are.  If this is true — and when you have visited their site and read their research, there is no reason to think otherwise — then this knowledge represents a powerful knowing.  It points to a similarity amongst all good people.  If we all have a similar basis for our values, then our understanding of one another can be placed upon a stable foundation — one that we can see and understand in one another.

And while this similarity holds for all people across the globe, it also holds for people near you.  And knowing this gives you a powerful tool for creating positive change and making positive influence.  Do you want to know what they are…?

There’s compassion, honesty, fairness, responsibility, and respect.  All cultures value these regardless of creed or color or religious background.  So, if your actions and the actions of groups you work with are focussed upon using these core values in reaching your goals, aims, and objectives then anything you attempt to accomplish will be guided by natural ‘laws’ of being human.  That’s powerful!  Agree to keep these words central to your team, your group, your family and you are agreeing to synergize your energy through positive, natural, and globally acceptable actions that are based upon core values to being human.  This is truly profound. 

New book coming out soon… Look for it!  This one is focussed on the communication patterns and synergy of groups.  THANK YOU to everyone who has purchased The Synergy in Life System.  The PDF’s are rolling out hot.  Its great to serve!

Douglas

Beyond Ego-centrism !

Big word — ego-centrism.  It explains young kids.  They believe themselves to be the center of their own worlds.  Their egos are central to their experience.  Somewhere during the toddler years, almost every child has a profound experience of realization.  They realize that they are not in fact the center of the universe.  That they and others share a larger system in a dynamic dance.  Mankind had a similar – albeit slow — realization when the theories of Copernicus in the 1500’s were supported by Galileo in the 1600’s hundreds through the use of the telescope and mathematics.  It was at this time that mankind slowly began to accept that the earth is NOT the center of the universe.  An interesting parallel. 

A funny thing happens when children realize that there are in fact other people that have needs and wants that might conflict with or compete with their own.  They start to group.  A new phase starts and this new phase is punctuated by the coming together with others in ways that allow groups to identify themselves.  It is an extension of ego-centrism that I call social ego-centrism.  The structure of singular ego doesn’t go away, but is largely consumed by and morphed into a group ego.  This group then thinks that they — their likes and dislikes, their drama, triumph, and difficulty — are the center of the universe.  It is from this construct that we see prejudice, distrust of others that are unlike ourselves, stereotypes, and many other less than helpful mindsets that impede growth, development, and performance. 

The question that arises from this discourse is: “in your family, social group, or work-group do you transcend social ego-centrism and discover the liberated capacity for high performance, or do you live within your universe center, unable to see the systems you exist within?”    Gaining objectivity is the gaining of perspective that leads to the ability to change, adapt, leverage for power, and design systems for positive gain.  Living in the center of social ego-centrism is living lost in a tiny yet encompassing universe that generates, feeds upon, and supports itself in impotent ways.

Can your group see itself?

Finding ‘UP’ through Systems Thinking

If you are sick, you really don’t have to do anything… at the very least, people don’t expect much of you.  That’s fair because most people feel a little low now and then and getting cut a little slack can go a long way to recovery.

BUT

What if there is no direction for a recovery?  To recover, you are returning to a state of balance and if you don’t know what or where that balance is you don’t know what direction to head for an optimal state of being. Kind of like jumping from a height into a lake and losing the ‘UP’direction for a moment.  That’s a bad moment.  It feels very out of control.   Now, what about organizations?  What if they are ’sick’ and no one expects much of them because they don’t have the talent, the funding, the facilities, the management team, the support, the recognition….  What if your organization is sick and you are floating along with no where to recover to?  No ‘up’.

What if?

You have to know where you are going in order to get there…. That’s what forecasting is all about and planning.  Do they work?  If the road you are driving on leads to a cliff, then all the planning in the world, all the best talent on board, the best equipment etcetera will not mean much by the time you reach the end of the journey!  Forecasts and planning must be made in health and plan for health.  A sick organization is not the best planner.  Its like a sick person.  It just wants to get better and lays low and does its best to recover.  Luckily for individuals, we are — most of us — able to return to relative health after being ill.  Thankfully, gratefully, we return to health.  An organziation doesn’t have such sophisticated organizing power as does the magnificent human body… so, it needs to see itself as a system — and within the system that it inhabits — before it can find its up.

The systems thinking exercise in objectivity is done through symbolic conversation.  Using symbols to ‘tell the story’ of the organization helps everyone first SEE what the parts make and then realize — collectively — just WHAT the organization is.  After this, purpose and direction are determined.  And THEN strategies can be implemented — but ONLY those that make sense in terms of the system’s organization, structure and capacity.  And, all along the way the tools of systems — the symbolic language of organizing — are used for deep conversation and clarification.  They are used to CREATE the organization’s picture and its story.  Complete a systems thinking exercise in objectivity and you are ready to apply energy and find the correct times and places to influence for gain, for good, for improvement.  Its the only way that works.  It is the way.

Douglas Leadbetter M.Ed.

The Community Earth Council Movement

Margaret has provided the following comment:

“I would suggest anyone who is interested in the power of groups taking action to look in to the Community Earth Council movement.”

The Earth Council site welcomes you to their page with the following statement, followed by even more introduction:

Community Earth Councils (CECs) are groups of elders (50+) and youth (16-28) working together to address global environmental and social challenges at the local level. CECs build community, helping young people find meaning and purpose while providing elders with a way to give back, inspire, and impact the future. Participants in a CEC explore how, together, they can bring vision into action.

First, however, they spend time getting to know each other, sharing their stories, hopes, and aspirations. They then explore possible projects for addressing a community need, possibly by partnering with other individuals and/or organizations. After a period of planning, they move to implementation, working shoulder to shoulder.

Is this not worth doing something with… about?  Anyone with any connection to this that would like to comment.  I am watching the numbers on this site, and they continue to grow — a lot of onlookers?  Anyone have a contribution on this topic?

“GSCS: built on quality service and client benefit”

In these GreenSeed Consulting Posts, you can have a closer look at the areas of expertise offered by GSCS.

Problem Identification:

Ø  Social Systems Analysis:  in order to influence positive change, you require objective information about your present social system state and conditions, and you may also need someone to point to the complicated issues that are rarely mentioned, or are ignored.  Candid information is difficult to get or give when you are part of the system you are analyzing.  GSCS uses qualitative and quantitative measures developed from systems training and research.  A four step process is used to paint a clear picture of your current climate and culture: (1) interview key staff individually to determine perceptions and determiners of climate and culture; (2) develop, administer and collate a site-specific feedback tool; (3) analyze and discover existing fluidity and impediments; (4) present a picture of the current environment with suggestions for discussion and action. *Information from participants will be kept confidential.

·       Benefits to Client: a candid social systems analysis is provided with suggestions for positive action based on systems research and understanding.  

Ø   The View on the Line:  as an outside resource with a signed confidentiality agreement, we can ask the tough questions and provide the unbiased answers; we provide management with direct, candid, and confidential feedback.  *Information from participants will be kept confidential.

·       Benefits to Client: (i) we present an unbiased picture showing you how procedures, processes, and current directions are perceived from the workers’ point of view; (ii) useful in producing positive relations and growth, solution focused information is gathered and presented for discussion and action.

“GSCS: built on quality service and client benefit.”

In these GreenSeed Consulting Posts, you can have a closer look at the areas of expertise offered by GSCS.  

Training:

Ø  Succession Planning – Inquiry and Recommendations:  with the current rate of retirements, this is a growth area that must be addressed! Tap in to the wisdom of those close to retirement – before it is too late.  A four step process is used to discover and present your current training needs and the training goals that will keep you abounding with qualified staff well into the future:  (1) consult with key staff to determine specific needs and measurable goals for successful succession planning; (2) develop and administer and collate survey items; (3) conduct informed interviews with experienced professionals and newcomers in your field to discover gaps, needs, and vital suggestions; (4) present the report.

·       Benefit to Client: a comprehensive report is presented detailing current training needs and vital training goals to consider and act upon through a positive and effective succession plan specific to your enterprise. Read the rest of this entry »