This Fulcrum features three players:
- The universe
- The 21st century
- The human
The Universe
Connect for a moment to the feeling of watching the universe in a clear night and the sense of awe, depth and stillness, evoked by the glorious sight of the twinkling brilliance of countless stars and galaxies mixed with the perception of ‘endless’ of the spaces in between.
The time scales involved with universal processes are measured in billions of years. Nothing in Creation works under short term pressures. There is no competition between galaxies to rob each other of universal market-share, with the master of ceremonies being the omnipresent influence of Creation’s permanent lines of growth and evolution. The universe is made to host and support life, a task so incredible so as to live outside the framework of human comprehension. When we observe the wonders of Creation we connect to and feel the stillness of eternity, allowing a little break from the break-neck intensity of our crowded world.
We exist in a universe that offers stability through the presence of natural laws and supremely intelligent directive processes. In creation, because everything happens within the spheres of influence of a governing purpose, there is no such thing as a God waking up one day and deciding to turn things around or press in a radical culture change to secure a franchise. If that was so, none of us would live to read this article. All and everything out there happens within the overlord of eternity’s timescales. And time out there has a very different meaning than the time scales of the 21st century.
The 21st Century
The 21st century is a runaway train. It has no recognized higher purpose and collective human mission. In the business world, it is mostly a case of each to one’s own. Airbus against Boeing; Apple against Samsung; Pfizer against Teva; Deutsche Telecom against Vodafone; Amazon against Best Buy; Google against Microsoft… and so on… If you seek to conduct a true and genuinely principled gentlemen and ladies affair, look elsewhere.
The governing time dimensions are micro-blips in comparison to those of the universe. Produce a wonder smartphone today to see it overtaken with a superior technology in a space of 6 – 12 months. It’s a world that keeps re-defining the meaning of ‘new’ and ‘old’. ‘Transformation design’ is a much used term in many areas of life, from architecture to work environments. In the worlds of organizational dynamics ‘transformation’ is a process engineering to enable a company to maintain its value proposition and market-share. To all intents and purposes, it has little to no connection to the Creational meaning of transformation that concern the evolution of life along eternal time dimensions.
To talk of true human transformation in a corporate context is like talking about re-designing the four seasons to suit someone’s profit-making scheme. Think about it because it’s a good analogy in the context of what certain processes, if not conducted correctly, actually cause in the human system. You may be able to recognize this from personal experience.
It’s not that human transformation has no place in the business world. It certainly may have, depending on how it’s approached and executed.
The Human
The lives of most 21st century citizens have become battle zones between the long-term vision and promise of life and the short-term focus, capricious nature of the world they live in.
In the worlds of human development, ‘transformation’ – trans-formation – lives inside an awareness that by design, humans are made to be able to change and transform. The question being: Change and transform into what? Every individual has a choice: Changing to become same-same with the ways of the universe; with Creation’s permanent lines of growth? Or changing and transforming to serve a 21st century profit-making schemes or project that is here now but no longer there tomorrow?
What then is the meaning of ‘transformation’ in the context of human development? What is the difference between ‘change’ and ‘transformation’?
The difference between change and transformation
Fundamentally, change begins with letting go of something – behavior, idea, concept, arrangement – and replacing it with something more fitting, especially in the context of one’s purpose. Transformation is the living outcome of a successful change process. “I changed my attitude to life in a way that caused a remarkable transformation in how I feel about myself and others”.
The more connected, the more capable
By design, the human system is blessed with phenomenal versatility and chameleon capabilities. We are naturally made to handle simultaneously the ultra-fast and super-slow; the hard and the soft; extreme crisis and nirvana; the high and the low and all and everything in between. However, the more we are disconnected from the ways of the universe, the less effective we are in handling the trials of life that seem to be peaking in this day and age. The more connected we are, the more capable in the most awe-inspiring ways.
Knowing how to correctly combine the eternal – the long-term vision – and the short-term needs and exigencies is a crucial skill-set that is a prerequisite to engaging in transformative processes that pioneer the creation of thrilling new futures. It is a wise leadership that knows how to integrate the vision and processes that support human development into bottom-line business environments.
With the right know-how it can be done to best effect, to the benefit of all – the growth of the people and the growth of the business.
David Gommé
World Copyright 2013© David Gommé