Hello, happy New Year and welcome to the January
2008 Message Board from PiB, the 2nd in our series of monthly articles on corporate life, leadership and of course, the 3Ps approach. I hope you find the Message Boards relevant and a worthwhile investment of your time.
If you missed the first, High Trust Environments, you can retrieve it from the PiB Message Board archive here.
As always, your comments, questions and general feedback are very welcome. Email me here.
Having said that, your once per month Message Boards are designed to address issues or topics you as clients experience every day - rather than simply adding one more thing to your inbox! So please email or phone, anytime [my phone number is at the bottom of this email]. It's an in-service thing ...David
IN THIS ISSUE
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MESSAGE BOARD: Issue 2. JANUARY 2008
Corporate Culture & the 3 Principles
Before I launch into exploring the world of corporate culture, core
purpose/values and the 3 Principles;
I would like to look at a similar dynamic that applies to human beings,
and later show how this same
force can be applied to the corporate world.
Philosophers, psychologists, theosophists and all forms of 'seeker' talk
about human beings being born with an inner purpose.
This inner purpose or 'deeper calling' is over and above work, raising
families and the things and circumstances that
involve our daily lives. You might say it is a gift, a vocation, a core
purpose which is in evidence through a deep
compelling desire to 'contribute something to life'. This core purpose or
conviction is often difficult to talk about,
and if referred to is described as 'just a feeling I have' [to live by its
guiding light]. In tandem,
there are values that align with this inner core conviction, working
together to guide our actions.
Some say this inner world is only given to a few special people - I
suggest that we all have this potential...
Corporate Culture & the Power of 3
PiB states that we all have three powerful inner capacities as human beings.[1] Firstly, we have the capacity to create world views, judgments, opinions and all forms of thinking. That we think is The Principle of Thought. The second is the capacity to experience life – to be aware of and understand that we think - known as The Principle of Consciousness or Self awareness. The third is that all life has intelligence. We all have access to this universal life intelligence, through The Principle of Universal Mind. And as human beings, we see the 3 Principles working in partnership as one, enabling us to experience life.
Personal minds versus Universal Mind
Our personal minds, as distinct from [the Principle of] Universal Mind,
have the potential to be secure or insecure.
When we have clarity of mind we are in the natural state of wisdom,
experiencing sound judgment, and the possibility for
insightfulness. Our minds are steady and secure, and our feelings reflect
that. At other times our minds are frenetic,
cluttered and thought-filled and we then commonly experience feelings of
stress, anxiousness, and doubt. After such moments,
we may appreciate that our state of mind was not in-service to us, and see
our thinking for what it is - just ‘a thought attack’.
We have then belatedly made a profound connection between thought and
experience [of life].
Sadly, for some, the connection is not made. Their thinking IS life, and they
miss the opportunity to see that they think.
Innocently, they miss the point, the inner dynamics of the 3 Principles. Thus
in Figure 1 below, we see how two distinctly
different people might experience exactly the same circumstances in life and
what their 'personal culture' determines...
Summarised, CONSCIOUS OR SELF-AWARE people understand the inner
dynamics of the 3 Principles working in their lives,
while UNCONSCIOUS OR SELF-CONSCIOUS people have little, if any,
understanding of them. Conscious individuals tend to have
clarity around their core purpose or calling, and live out their core values
much of the time.
A moment in time - or a way of life
Even while core purpose/calling/values are just thoughts that
individuals create, they lend a richness to their moment-to-moment
lives. Conversely, unconscious people tend to live lives of reaction and
fear - fear of their own creation!
Q What is the difference between being 'self-aware' and
'self-conscious'?
A Critically, it is the willingness to see that we think, along with the
ability to suspend or put aside how we see life via judgments,
opinions, etc. The more a person is able to suspend how they see life, the
more opportunity is created to experience self-awareness and
deepen their understanding that they think. With greater capacity to see the
nature of the 3 Principles at work, we are free to see that
life is what we make it, literally, in each and every moment. Trapped in the
world of self-consciousness, life is static, rigid,
determined [and therefore paradoxically comforting]. WHAT WE THINK and
what we think we know with absolute certainty, has snared us in its
trap.
Articulating Core Values and Purpose in the corporate world
Over the last couple of decades or so many companies have attempted
to articulate and develop core purpose and values.
The obvious intention is that once stated and documented they will provide
motivation and direction to everyone in the company,
who will then 'march behind' the stated ideology.
In Good to Great, Jim Collins and his research team[2] suggest that there is much to learn about core purpose
and values in
companies, and their role in motivation. He writes about what needs to be in
place, and what might be the major focus of great
companies, adding that while profitability is critical, it alone will not create a
great business. [3]
On Purpose he writes: "An effective purpose reflects the importance
people attach to the company’s work - it taps their idealistic
motivations - rather than just describing the organization's output or target
customers. It captures the soul of the organization.
Purpose gets at the deeper reasons for an organization's existence beyond
just making money..." [4]
And on Values: "Core values are the organization's essential and
enduring tenets - a small set of timeless guiding principles
that require no external justification; they have intrinsic value and importance
to those inside the
organization." [5]
In figure 2 below, our fictional company, Hilltop
Manufacturing, has a Core Purpose: Freedom to Create - lived through Core
Values of
respect, passion/pride, living possibility and creating a high-trust
environment...
Core Values & Purpose as a LIVED REALITY
PiB suggests that at the heart of the culture [created via those core purpose
and values] is the inter-connectedness, the central
dynamic, of conscious awareness and understanding of the 3 Principles.
And it will become A LIVED REALITY through Hilltop’s board members,
directors, management and employees. Or not, because the corporate
culture of Hilltop will be as good as its individuals and their
self-awareness. Only when there is a critical mass of self-aware [conscious]
people in the culture, will the stated values and purpose be
sustainable enough to create the company Hilltop [or any other company]
wants to be.
"Stretching our minds in contemplation of new ideas is, in a sense, like revisiting our childhood. All things were an adventure then, all things possible..."
REFERENCES
- Sydney Banks. The Missing Link. International Human Relations Consultants 1998.
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap... and Others Don’t. Harper Business 2001.
- Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. Harper Business 1994 (with Jerry I. Porras).
- Ibid Chapter 11.
- Ibid Chapter 11.
© David Bodman 2008. Permission to copy for personal use is granted. For other publication rights please contact the author.
WE ARE WHAT WE DO
Small things make a difference... so score an advantage for the environment
by joining Lleyton Hewitt, Australian Tennis Champion and Ambassador for
Planet Ark and recycle your cards.
You still have until the end of January to take your unwanted Christmas,
Birthday and other greeting cards and envelopes into any Australia Post
outlet, pick up a free reply paid envelope, put your cards inside and drop it
into your nearest street posting box.
**Better yet, take the envelope home and get the kids involved!**
For
details of Australia Post greeting card recycling locations in your area, call
the National Recycling Hotline on 1300 733 712 or go to RecyclingNearYou.com.au
and simply type in your postcode. Your recycled greeting cards will be made
into new packaging and recycled paper products, saving energy, water and
trees in the process.
THE TAKEOUT: the PiB Organisational Wellness Checklist
Is absenteeism, sickness & stress high? Is initiative, enthusiasm,
co-operation and trust low?
PiB regularly coaches workplace individuals experiencing confusion, limited
thinking and what they see as the unending treadmill. The workplace can
and should be productive and fun: teams innovating, workers cooperating,
managers leading. And with coaching, it can be done. Our approach is
simple, practical and effective and it has one purpose: to see your
organisation grow beyond what you can imagine.
How does your
organisation rate? To find out, download our
Organisational Wellness Checklist
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