Right Relationship

It's important to remember our place, our relationship to all things.  

This line of thinking sparked a memory of an old story and I credit Ken Cohen for bringing the story to my attention in his book, Honoring the Medicine.  Here it is:

An elder and chief from Vancouver Island, British Columbia, was invited by the Pope to visit the Vatican as a representative of her nation.  Grandmother was pleased with this recognition.  The Pope took Grandmother on a tour of the magnificent buildings, art, and archives.  Later, when it was just the two of them and they were in the basement of the Basilica, the Pope pointed to a closed red door that was barely visible among the rows of sacred texts.

He explained in a hushed whisper, "Only a few great leaders have seen what lies beyond that door.  I escorted the Dalai Lama into that room, and now I am going to show you."  The Pope opened the door.

The splendor of the Vatican contrasted sharply with the simple view that greeted Grandmother: 15-foot square chamber in the center of which were a wood chair and a small table.  An antique looking gold colored telephone was on the table. 

The Pope pointed, and said, "Ever wonder how I speak to God?"  Knowing that Grandmother would welcome a chance to speak with the Almighty, the Pope continued, "It's a long distance call, but it reaches.  You only need a credit card," he smiled.

Grandmother shook her head with regret and explained, "I am poor, so I must decline the honor."  Yet, she was filled with gratitude for the offer.

A year later, while the Pope was visiting Western Canada, he received an invitation to attend a longhouse welcoming feast in his honor at a small village on Vancouver Island.  The Pope accepted and was pleased to see his friend.  After the nightlong festivities, as dawn was breaking, Grandmother invited the Pope for a walk around the village.  The cool fog was just beginning to lift and he could see the cedars and the sea.

To his surprise, he noticed a small simple cedarwood shack with a red door.  The Pope was incredulous. "You don't mean to tell me....?"  "Yes," replied Grandmother, calmly.  They went inside, and the room was barren, except for a red telephone sitting in the dirt. The Pope smiled and Grandmother said, "You won't need a credit card though. From here, it's a local call."

The stories told by indigenous people do such a wonderful job of teaching us to remember place, with each other, in our community, our nation, on Earth, and in the cosmos.   Wherever we are, we are there.

The Nature of Giving

Isabel Allende - the niece of the assassinated Chilean President Salvadore Allende - wrote this....

All Things Considered , April 4, 2005 · I have lived with passion and in a hurry, trying to accomplish too many things. I never had time to think about my beliefs until my 28-year-old daughter Paula fell ill. She was in a coma for a year and I took care of her at home, until she died in my arms in December of 1992.

During that year of agony and the following year of my grieving, everything stopped for me. There was nothing to do -- just cry and remember. However, that year also gave an opportunity to reflect upon my journey and the principles that hold me together. I discovered that there is consistency in my beliefs, my writing and the way I lead my life. I have not changed, I am still the same girl I was fifty years ago, and the same young woman I was in the seventies. I still lust for life, I am still ferociously independent, I still crave justice and I fall madly in love easily.

Paralyzed and silent in her bed, my daughter Paula taught me a lesson that is now my mantra: You only have what you give. It's by spending yourself that you become rich.

Paula led a life of service. She worked as a volunteer helping women and children, eight hours a day, six days a week. She never had any money, but she needed very little. When she died she had nothing and she needed nothing. During her illness I had to let go of everything: her laughter, her voice, her grace, her beauty, her company and finally her spirit. When she died I thought I had lost everything. But then I realized I still had the love I had given her. I don't even know if she was able to receive that love. She could not respond in any way, her eyes were somber pools that reflected no light. But I was full of love and that love keeps growing and multiplying and giving fruit.

The pain of losing my child was a cleansing experience. I had to throw overboard all excess baggage and keep only what is essential. Because of Paula, I don't cling to anything anymore. Now I like to give much more than to receive. I am happier when I love than when I am loved. I adore my husband, my son, my grandchildren, my mother, my dog, and frankly I don't know if they even like me. But who cares? Loving them is my joy.

Give, give, give -- what is the point of having experience, knowledge or talent if I don't give it away? Of having stories if I don't tell them to others? Of having wealth if I don't share it? I don't intend to be cremated with any of it! It is in giving that I connect with others, with the world and with the divine.

It is in giving that I feel the spirit of my daughter inside me, like a soft presence.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4568464

Act As If

What do you do when you don't know what to do?

Happens alot, actually.  You're in a meeting and people are floundering, the project has stopped, key input hasn't arrived. Resources are dwindling, and pressure is rising.  And the moment that you know is coming, arrives.

Everyone looks up, simultaneously, and stares at - YOU.

You're the go-to guy, the girl with the answers.  Except you aren't, because you can't, or don't want to, or don't have any.  At this exact moment you wish everyone would just figure it out for themselves. You want to indulge your little itty bitsy 6 year old, and just throw a wild tantrum on the conference table.

But you don't, because you can't.

And you do what you always do, make a few suggestions, get people unstuck from the rigidity of their positions, and mostly hope that no one knows that you pulled a "PIOOMA-MIU." (For those of you in the dark about this phrase, it stands for, 'pulled it out of my ass, made it up.'  It sounds Hawaiian when you pronounce it:  PIE - u - ma, MY - U.  Cool, huh?)

Instead of seeing it as a 'wing it' situation, see it as an opportunity to 'act as if'.  Act as if you knew the answer, as if the next course direction is assured, act as if innovation and creativity do in fact lead to greatness.  Step into the shoes of the Wright Brothers, the Gates garage gang, the 3M scientist inventor of sticky notes. 

They did what was required, what was needed, what made sense.  In the process they created something out of nothing.  Acting as if, beats the heck out of the alternative, and might actually create the ground work for a new culture, a creative culture. 

And wouldn't that be a cool place to go to work everyday?

Thrown under the bus by a colleague?

Many of my clients this week and last have reported challenges with co-workers. I thought it was time to refer to those gurus of leadership, the folks in the Leadership Dept. at the Naval Academy.

There have been many who have written about Naval Leadership, but few have made it accessible to corporate America. One of the few, is Brad Johnson, who is a professor in the Leadership, Ethics, and Law Dept. at the Academy.

In his book, Becoming a Leader the Annapolis Way, Brad (who, in full disclosure, is one of my former professors at Johns Hopkins) writes about the 12 essentials for leadership and does a remarkable job in the Chapter entitled, “Shipmates First.” Here is an excerpt from that...

“Never bilge a shipmate...p.134

Not only is an Academy midshipmen bound to keep track of his or her shipmates, there is also a clear prohibition against doing anything to take advantage of, get one over on, or bring a shipmate to the attention of superiors in a negative way. Such behavior is considered “bilging a shipmate” and it is ardently avoided. One can also bilge a shipmate by neglecting to provide important information or by failing to help a shipmate correct an obvious problem before it comes to the attention of an officer or upperclassman.”

Conclusion of the chapter, p.141...

“Leaders have an obligation to their shipmates. Excellent leaders see themselves as servants of their people. Part of serving through leadership is acceptance of the obligation to sacrifice for others. This is the burden of command...Nonetheless, the most mature and successful leaders manage to reframe this obligation as opportunity....”

The burden of leadership is also its opportunity. No matter how many times you have been thrown under the bus by a colleague, it is never the highest best choice of a fine leader to reciprocate.

There's change afoot!

Change Everything.ca

The website, www.changeeverything.ca, is a powerful expression of the force of ideas.  Take this video for instance.  Someone jumped on the idea of paying it forward, and applied it to transportation.  Bikes, specifically.  The idea is simple, ride the bike to your destination, and then pass it along.

I can hear the naysayers, "huh?"  How will you get back again? How will this be reliable? Etc. 

I don't know.  And I'm okay with that.  Let's just see what happens next.  I love this old expression, "If you're pointed in the right direction, just keeping walking."  Or in this case, rolling!

Are we going to let the Canadians be the only ones with a change everything website? In the very least case, Seattle? Whatcha got?

If you're looking for ideas go to Seth Godin's blog.  He's got a pretty good list to get you started.