2010 - Anger Management - South Africa 5
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Friday 10 of September, 2010
 
Articles written around the Critical Context we find ourselves in in the 21st Century. New thinking about how to create sustainable changeA series of short articles that describe the context within which we need to work if we are to make a difference to the way we operate and survive in the 21st Century - 
Articles On 21st Century ToolsThe 21st Century demands different thinking and ideas to cope with the complex context we have now created. These short articles begin to describe how we are thinking about these areas and starting the debate about what we might do to resolve them.
Articles On ThinkingOne of the main agenda items for success and survival in the 21st Century. These articles explain a lot of the technical and strategic ideas that inform our work - 
Articles On MeaningAt the heart of the inertia we observe in transformation and change is the way in which humans attach words and stories to their experiences while this is a natural human condition it needs to be understood if we are to create the tools that overcome conflict and lack of improvement in complex systems.  Articles About EthicsIncreasingly organizations are determined to really make a difference and not just debate how and what. These articles debate the importance or really getting to grips with the issues that are affecting the entire planet. Articles About Being On The RoadIt's a great privilege working and being able to travel. Ever so slightly tongue in cheek and yet ever so slightly true. The following are notes made to humor myself. Observations that inspire or annoy.
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The ‘So Called’ Road Trip – 2010 – Change, Values & Corporate Liars. 24th January - ?? - 2010
So. Speaking of values!
Scary? I think so.
You may be forgiven for thinking that I have it in for Sarah Palin. Well, err I guess I have it in for the tricky, lying out dated crap she stands for - so yes I do. How much this picture haunts the soul. Yes that’s a ruler in her hands and she has plans to rule America, oh yes she does.
Have you heard about TPN yet?
You will. It stands for Tea Party Nation and its manifesto reads like this - "We believe in limited government, free speech, the Second Amendment (the right of Americans to carry guns), our military, secure borders and our country." This is specifically tailored of course to appeal to 57.4% of discontented Americans who currently think the country is on the wrong track as opposed to 35.5% who think its on the right one. Of course Sarah Palin is TPN.
Now that's a wicked problem. The idea that old fashioned and insular thinking on that scale is so prevalent in the worlds biggest democracy should ring fear in anybody who thinks. To add a balance to the argument, which we should, is to suggest, as I have done before, that mankinds systems have grown so complex and fucked up that we can no longer conceive of a solution.
The other scary thought is if this is true then democracy needs to be put on hold in America so that common sense can be taught to a country in danger of wrecking the world with this kind of thinking. Don't get me wrong, I really like and admire America and the countless American friends I have but really what can we do to alter this situation? A black prospect indeed.
“I see a line of cars and they're all painted black. With flowers and my love both never to come back. I see people turn their heads and quickly look away. Like a new born baby it just happens every day. I look inside myself and see my heart is black. I see my red door, I must have it painted black - Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts. It's not easy facin' up when your whole world is black. No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue. I could not foresee this thing happening to you. If I look hard enough into the settin' sun. My love will laugh with me before the mornin' comes.” - Mick Jagger & Keith Richards
The Rolling Stones said that.
Warren Buffett The Esteemed CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. Lying bastard
Despite being a key adviser to Obama during the financial crisis, America's best-known investor has been blasting the president's push to curb global warming - using the same lying points promoted by far-right Republicans. The climate bill passed by the House, Buffett insists, is a "huge tax - and there's no sense calling it anything else." What's more, he says, the measure would mean "very poor people are going to pay a lot more money for their electricity." Never mind that the climate bill, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, would actually save Americans with the lowest incomes about $40 a year.
But Buffett, whose investments have the power to move entire markets, is doing far more than bad-mouthing climate legislation - he's literally banking on its failure. In recent months, the Oracle of Omaha has invested billions in carbon-polluting industries, seeking to cash in as the world burns. His conglomerate, Berkshire Hathaway, has added 1.28 million shares of America's biggest climate polluter, ExxonMobil, to its balance sheet.
And in November, Berkshire placed a huge wager on the future of coal pollution, purchasing the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad for $26 billion - the largest acquisition of Buffett's storied career. BNSF is the nation's top hauler of coal, shipping some 300 million tons a year. That's enough to light up 10 percent of the nation's homes - many of which are powered by another Berkshire subsidiary, MidAmerican Energy. Although Berkshire is the largest U.S. firm not to disclose its carbon pollution - and second globally only to the Bank of China - its utilities have the worst emissions intensity in America, belching more than 65 million tons of CO2 into the atmosphere in 2008 alone.
Rolling Stone Magazine said that.
“Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The trouble-makers. The round heads in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status-quo. You can quote them. Disagree with them. Glorify, or vilify them. But the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world - are the ones who do.” - Apple Advert
I sent the following note to about 200 folk recently, friends, experts, people that just stay in touch. I put it on my blog too.
A couple of years ago there was a highly apparent (hugely frustrating) lack of true association and application with important values within the teams we were working with. This showed up in the frameworks. It was borne out through results. Now things are definitely changing and the quality of attention and outcome is tangible.
The Current Themes
- A deeper appreciation of ‘design’ and ‘design thinking’ and how it affects performance and experience in everything.
- The pressing need for social and human values to return to the fore. Really.
- Much more focus on living systems, sustainability and ‘systems thinking’ in the connectivity of it all.
- Far greater recognition that our major political and media systems are broken and we need alternatives.
I know that this is our field so we would spot these wouldn't we - but this list sprang without much intervention from meetings with 50-60 people strong middle ranking groups in firms in America, the Middle East and Africa. I'm following several youth blogs and the same themes are there too. Co-incidence? I don't think so.
What are your thoughts and I’m interested to know what you think is really going on here?
These are just some of the replies
“What you're seeing is the technology superseding humanity and technology in many forms becoming a species in its own right. A species. Humans cannot keep up and also most have little desire to do so. Thus to relax and survive people yearn for love, support and what I call "connectedness".” - Thomas Power
“The long expected scientific revolution is dawning. The theory of scientific revolution comes from Thomas Kuhn, who wrote a seminal text in the 70's all about it. In a nutshell he says that a scientific revolution brings about a total paradigm shift in all parts of society and culture. For this to happen firstly the conditions must impel us towards change, then it's like a see-saw, with more and more people and organisations getting on board the new side, the momentum builds until eventually it swings and shazzam, we're there.” - David Avery
“If you ask someone to look at the sunset, 99% of the audience look at the sunset. Only 1% look the other way and look at the effects of the sunset. That 1% is the creative thinker. Maybe others are beginning to look the other way and if not, we need to encourage them as a society.” - Mark Gittins
====“I think the new focus on living systems comes with a natural counterbalance which is renewed, strong interest in the individual and personal. For example, the long-hours culture endemic in our generation is far less in evidence. So paradoxically, whilst there’s renewed focus on the system, there’s also a counter-balancing emphasis on the personal. Or to put it another way, I guess that’s decentralisation.” - Simon Kirby====
