It is almost too easy sometimes to see situations like the current financial/economic crisis in purely functional terms. This inspiring piece is a great antidote for such instrumentalism.

The website where I found the piece is also worth exploring - http://www.uk.iofc.org/home (Initiatives of Change) - for those of you interested in citizen-led social transformation.

Aaron

--------------

What are our Human Responses to Economic and Financial Crisis?Hugh Williams12 December 2008

http://www.uk.iofc.org/node/39224

Playwright and theatre producer Hugh Williams gave these reflections at a recent gathering at the Initiatives of Change centre in London.
The usual question we ask ourselves in a crisis is, ‘Who is to blame?’In one sense most of us are, in that we got it wrong. Very few of ussaw it coming. So no one can crow and say, ‘I told you so’. No oneknows what will happen next week, next month or next year. We all have to live with uncertainty.

Behind economic laws are moral laws. I do not believe that God ispunitive. But there are consequences when we break God’s laws. Thesemoral laws include the just price and a fair reward—not anextortionate one—for work performed and capital invested. Human naturebeing what it is, people are quick to complain when they are underpaidbut not when they are overpaid. There are also the virtues of trust,integrity and responsibility.

Some of the ways God’s laws have been flouted are: greed—the notion that ‘greed is good’ because it stimulates economic activity;pride—reflected in the mantra ‘the end of boom and bust’;recklessness—taking unacceptable risks with other people’s savings toachieve my maximum bonus; materialism—the idea that moral andspiritual values don’t matter; consumerism—shop till you drop; andhedonism—let the good times roll.

Will there be benefits from the present crisis? I believe so. Firstly,there will be more discipline: the end of easy credit, obscenely highsalaries and bonuses and obscenely high house prices. Housing maybecome more affordable for first time buyers. There will be moreresponsible lending and borrowing.

There will be greater realism. Ultimately debt is not an asset or acommodity to be traded indefinitely. It is a liability which someone,somewhere, some day will have to repay. In the present case, that willbe all of us. We can hope for a reformed and socially responsiblecapitalist system, which accepts the need for more regulation to curbits excesses, and a Green dividend—a chance to pollute less as weconsume less. And the return of service as the motive for being in business or banking.

Free market capitalism and democracy go together. But without a moralfoundation neither can work properly. Wealth creation is an honourablepursuit, but taking unacceptable risks to boost vast personal wealthis not.

So what we can do? Firstly, exercise humility. It would be easy tofeel superior and indulge in moralising. But we need to behonest—about where we ourselves may have been reckless, greedy or gotinto debt. My wife and I got into overdraft this Autumn following ourholiday because we had not reckoned on a large service bill to keepour car on the road! The overdraft would have been a lot higher butfor a generous and unexpected gift from my brother. And as he says,‘We need to unclench our fists.’

Secondly, we can have compassion and empathy for those who have losttheir savings, jobs, homes or businesses. Find out how your neighboursand people in your community are affected.

For example, there was not much we could do when a friend lost hisjob. But because we cared and enquired regularly and prayed, he andhis wife felt a tremendous sense of support which they have never forgotten. When they celebrated their silver wedding anniversary wefound we were the only non-family members invited. His wife said this was because we had stood by them during that difficult 18 months ofunemployment.

Finally faith as an antidote to fear—for ourselves and others we meet.It was Franklin D Roosevelt who at the time of the Great Depressiondeclared that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself. Faith is also a reminder of where true values lie.

Ethical Leaders of 2008

Ethical Corporation has announced its pick of 2008 leaders who have done the most to advance the cause of responsible leadership over the year. The chosen leaders have worked on issues ranging from climate change and the financial crisis to human rights, creative capitalism, to sustainable agriculture.

Read the article here.

Centred Leadership

Another McKinsey article - this one about what drives and sustains successful female leaders, laying out five dimensions of leadership. Read it here.

Question for everyone: Are there gender dimensions to leadership?

Yeling

Leadership in Government

The McKinsey Quarterly interviews former US Chief of Staff Leon Panetta. "Emphasizing the importance of honest conversation and dialogue in government, Panetta suggests that the most important way to inspire leadership is to give people the chance to say what they believe—and then to listen to what they have to say. "

Read the full article here (registration to the Quarterly is free).

What is Good? What is Right?

A few weeks ago we played the 'tapping game' which sparked off an intense discussion on the meaning and purpose of rules, how power can be wielded, ceded, or possibly usurped, and why game players reacted in different ways when they had been 'tapped three times' (i.e. free to do whatever they want). We then discussed the meaning of The Good Society and the linkages between Power, Rules, What is Good and What is Right.

Subsequent discussions over email led to mentions of The Stanford Prison Experiment and the Milgram Experiment.

This month, Singapore artists explore similar themes through a production of Mario Diordano's novel/film Das Experiment: Black Box.

The rule of law is also a concept that has been heavily debated in economics and governance literature. This article in The Economist gives a fantastic overview of the different ways in which the rule of law is defined and interpreted. One group argues that the rule of law exists to protect fundamental liberties (and if so liberties according to whose definition?). Another group argues that the rule of law exists to ensure societal stability, promote economic growth through guaranteeing property rights, and allow the efficient administration of justice.

Yeling

Ursula Le Guin and Omelas

During our session on 8 Nov 2008, we briefly discussed the superb short story "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" by Ursula K. Le Guin. For those interested in reading the entire story and exploring its relevance to ethics and leadership, this link should be useful:

http://harelbarzilai.org/words/omelas.txt

Aaron

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

Last week we played a short game where groups used credits to 'bid' on different leadership qualities (compassion, integrity, self-sacrifice, confidence, etc.) Here's another lens through which to view this elusive quality we call Leadership. Kipling's famous poem was written in 1895. More than a hundred years later, the challenge he issues remains as daunting as ever

IF you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: 'Hold on!'

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
' Or walk with Kings - nor lose the common touch,
if neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man, my son!

Yeling