Thoughts
Parochial or Systemic Thinking
Our representatives seem unable to break out of short termism and ideologically based decision making. They seem unable to find solutions that resolve crises or satisfy their electorates. In some ways it’s not their fault, we have put them in positions where they cannot please everyone and he who shouts loudest is most likely to have their view prevail. And …
Goals or Intentions
For at least the last 50 years we have been obsessed with goals – setting them and achieving them. And yet the evidence is that the whole idea of goals turns off roughly half the population. For goal fanatics this is heresy, and a sign of weak and ineffectual people. Nothing could be further from the truth. The focus on …
Letter from India: The Anna Hazare Effect
The other night I landed at Pune airport and outside found there were several hundred people and nearly as many police awaiting the arrival of Anna Hazare who comes from the area and has become the focus of national attention in his efforts to fight corruption, both official and unofficial. I had read about his efforts and seen him on …
Maturing or Evolving?
I have been increasingly troubled by this conundrum. We hear lots about how we are evolving and that global society is on the cusp of an evolutionary breakthrough, and yet we still seem beset by challenges which would undermine this hypothesis. And by what yardstick are we defining this evolving notion? If we look at human evolution, there hasn’t …
Revolution or Evolution
I read Russell Brand’s book Revolution at Christmas and it made me reflect on my own views about the topics he raises. Amidst his strongly expressed views and his style of rhetoric there are serious points worthy of reflection. He is saying that we need a revolution: nothing less than this will shift the tectonic plates of our current...