The Essential Rumi (translated by Barks, 1995) and Have a Little Faith (Albom, 2009)

Two books I read back-to-back – Have a Little Faith (Albom, 2009) and The Essential Rumi (Barks, 1995) – related in fascinating ways to each other. The combination of them offered insights on the three monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Suffism (a small subsect of Islam, recognized by some, but not all, Muslims). These books allowed me to continue to explore my own faith in the context of different faiths that I’ve encountered over the years.

Beginning with Suffism, it is a unique perspective that focuses on contemplation as a way of pursuing religious enlightenment. Rumi is the Suffi mystic whose writings are frequently quoted by philosophers across time and culture. A popularized aspect of one of Suffism’s practices is the dance of the “Dervish.” The “Swirling Dervish” is recognized as part of Turkish culture but frequently not seen as a religious observance. Dervish means “doorway” and takes this name because those who do the dance become so entranced that they become “an empty place where human and divine can meet.” (p. 277) In verse, Rumi describes the times when we should dance:

Dance when you’re broken open.
Dance, if you’ve torn the bandage off.
Dance in the middle of the fighting.
Dance in your blood.
Dance, when you’re perfectly free. (p. 281)

Have a Little Faith weaves the lives of two individuals, one a Rabbi (nicknamed “the Reb”) at Albom’s community synagogue, and the other (Henry) a recovering drug addict and ex-convict who founded the “I am my brother’s keeper” shelter in downtown Detroit. The “Reb’s” request that Albom deliver his eulogy at his funeral kicks off the book. The succeeding chapters recount the years following as Albom became increasingly aware of the depth of the man he had taken for granted as a youth. Alternating interludes describe Henry’s struggles with his addictions, being unjustly convicted of murder, and eventually released from jail to start a new life. These two men, different in their religion, virtue, and life circumstances end up being not so different in the ultimate meaning of their lives through the grace of uncompromising service to their fellow human beings. And, by seeking to serve others, both find the peace that allows them to “sleep in a storm.” As the “Reb” so eloquently professed in a 1975 sermon:

My friends, if we tend to the things that are important in life, if we are right with those we love and behave in line with our faith, our lives will not be cursed with the aching throb of unfulfilled business. Our words will always be sincere, our embraces will be tight. We will never wallow in the agony of ‘I could have, I should have.’ We can sleep in a storm. And when it’s time, our good-byes will be complete.

The “Reb” and Henry had very different theologies and congregations yet Albom could see that they were driven by the same God, one who is merciful, loving, and sacrificing. Why is it, then, that Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and other religions haggle and sometimes even wage war to establish supremacy over each other? The Reb’s response, based on recognizing and affirming the differences among religions:

Well, you can look at it this way. Would you want the world to all look alike? The genius of life is its variety. Even in our own faith, we have questions and answers, interpretations, debates. In Christianity, in Catholicism, in other faiths, the same thing – debates, interpretations. That is the beauty. It’s like being a musician. If you found the note, and you kept hitting that note all the time, you would go nuts. It’s the blending of the different notes that makes the music. (p. 160)

I couldn’t help but think back to one of my earlier posts on Karen Armstrong’s book, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life (2011) as I reflected on what I learned from Rumi’s and Albom’s writings:

The seventh step, “how little we know,” encouraged curiosity in understanding others as a way to increase compassion. As she explained, so often we have our own pre-determined view of others and, instead of allowing ourselves to absorb new information and insight, we judge others in order to substantiate our own bias. She bemoaned that there is a certain mystery about others’ ways of thinking and living that is turned to sacrilege as we attempt to “pluck out” the point we wish to use to serve our own agenda. (p. 127)

Ultimately, one of Rumi’s poems, “The Howling Necessity: Cry Out in Your Weakness,” addresses the “how little we know” and offers hope in the story of a man who has lost his will to pray and dreams of an encounter with Khidr, the guide of souls :

“Why did you stop praising?”
“Because I’ve never heard anything back.”
“This longing you express is the return message.”
The grief you cry out from draws you toward union.
Your pure sadness that wants help is the secret cup.

Isaacson - Profiles in Leadership

Walter Isaacson’s Profiles in Leadership: Historians on the Elusive Quality of Greatness (2010) does not reference the extensive body of leadership research and theory. However, through astute historical analyses of the individuals profiled in this book, it brings many very important issues about leadership to light.

The profiles are primarily highly visible public figures who had positions of authority that allowed them to exert leadership. The other cases were exceptional cases where, by sheer force of will, the individuals were able to exert influence that pushed important issues forward in history. The public figures included the likes of George Washington, Ulysses S. Grant, Franklin Roosevelt, and Robert Kennedy. The exceptional cases included Charles Finney, Chief Joseph, W.E.B. DuBois, Wendell Willkie, and Pauli Murray. What I particularly liked about the book is that it was realistic; it identified failures in leadership as much as it focused on successes. Even in cases where history generally paints a positive picture, figures like Franklin Roosevelt were described as having both shortcomings and triumphs. In the case of Dwight Eisenhower, he is described as someone with immense potential for greatness following his successes as a commander in WWII but who failed in moral leadership when he ignored issues of discrimination and racism that affected the very men and women on whom he counted as soldiers.

There are so many jewels in this book that it is extremely difficult to pick only a select couple of examples to illustrate the wisdom of these historical analyses. Choosing two who actually opposed each other in the world of American politics will have to suffice – one is Franklin Roosevelt and the other is Wendell Willkie who sought the GOP nomination to run against Roosevelt. Franklin Roosevelt faced the challenge of restoration after economic collapse and a world war that he wanted to avoid. When “New Deal” policies came under question at the end of Roosevelt’s first term, he grew increasingly bold in his criticism of those who resisted his attempts to rescue the economy by saying that “…all my old enemies… monopoly, speculation, reckless banking… war profiteering” were undermining his efforts to create an economic recovery. Going further, he said, “Never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today. They are unanimous in their hate for me – and I welcome their hatred… I would like to have it said of my first Administration that the forces of selfishness and of lust for power met their match…” Roosevelt went on to win two more terms as President of the United States.

Wendell Willkie, businessman turned politician, was most significant for his contribution in authoring, along with Irita Van Doren, One World (1943). One of the most widely read books of the day, it addressed the increasing isolationism that was emerging at the time. Walter Lippmann praised it as “one of the hardest blows ever struck against the intellectual and moral isolationism of the American people.” Willkie was dedicated to engagement with the world in ways that recognized the negative repercussions of colonialism saying:

If we had left the olive groves and the cotton fields and the oil wells of this region alone, we might not have had to worry… But we have not left them alone. We have sent our ideas and our ideals,… our engineers and our businessmen, and our pilots and our soldiers into the Middle East; and we cannot escape the result… If we fail to help reform, the result will be of necessity either the complete withdrawal of outside powers with a complete loss of democratic influence or complete military occupation and control of the countries by those outside powers. (p. 256)

The previous reference to conditions in the Middle East are quite remarkable for 1943 and they are frighteningly predictive of the continued struggles of the Middle East.

In the conclusion of the chapter on Pauli Murray, an early champion of the American civil rights movement who was one of the first to use Ghandi’s methods of non-violent resistance, Glenda Gilmore (chapter author) sums up the key issue of transforming public leadership when she wrote:

Leaders aren’t just the few famous people who dominate the news or find their place in history books. They don’t always represent the majority. They aren’t always popular. They don’t always win, and they aren’t always remembered. Leaders such as Pauli Murray, brave and obscure men and women who act on their convictions even though they fail time and time again, sometimes change the course of history. (p. 280)

Salibi - A House of Many Mansions

I've continued to read a lot about the Arab world during my residence in Qatar. It has been a tremendous help in understanding local and contemporary issues, even though much of what I've read has been history. My most recent read was given to me by a Lebanese colleague - Kamal Salibi's A House of Many Mansions: The History of Lebanon Reconsidered (1998/2011).

"Reconsidered" is a very important point in the Salibi book because his purpose in retelling the Lebanese history is to counter what the author believes has been a somewhat fanciful history used to justify particular political perspectives. "Many mansions" is also a very important point as Salibi tells the story of so many different people coming and going from the geographic area of Lebanon over time. He traces the origin of the peoples of Lebanon back to tribal groups who came from Yemen, who became the Phoenicians, and then were mixed with more modern cultural groups such as the Druzes, Maronites, and even those encroaching down from what we now recognize as Syria. Because of Lebanon's advanced practices and proficiency in trade, it became a crossroads which was very attractive to any national, cultural, or religious group that wanted to dominate the region.

While the comings and goings of different cultural groups contributed to the tense blend that is now Lebanon, the most divisive moment came when the British broke their promise to Arabs to allow them national independence in their historical homelands and, instead,

"partitioned this Arab Territory with the French, and committed themselves to hand over a particularly precious part of it, namely Palestine, to the Jews." (p. 29)

This moment contributed to the growing belief and dynamic of Arab nationalism, an ideal that Salibi asserts was flawed from the start.

"While there was much that could be said for Arabism as a valid national ideal, most of the Arabs who adopted it were tribal or quasitribal communities of different kinds, and also of different religions and sects, who had not undergone uniform social and civic development." (p. 52)

This diversity of perspective within Arabism was exploited by outside forces from the West as well as from inside the Arab community within Lebanon to achieve various political benefits, an issue which continues to plague Lebanon to the current day.

One of Salibi's most interesting conclusions is that Lebanon in many ways represents the dilemma of the broader Arab world. It survives with a delicate balance of many cultural and religious perspectives; accepting a less romanticized version of what Lebanon has been, and is, will be essential to its future.

"What Arab nationalism, which is a phenomenon of the last hundred years, continues to propose and promote as Arab national history is no less fictionalized than the history of Lebanon. It has succeeded in deluding the general run of the Arabs into believing that the political unity they had once experienced under Islam was in fact an Arab national unity." (p. 218)

In essence, Lebanon's complicated past is much like the broader Arab world; recognizing the lack of true unity of both will hopefully lead to the West ceasing the practice of throwing all Arab peoples into one category and it will allow Arabs to work toward shared purposes while affirming the essential differences which will most likely remain for all time. This realization, and accepting it not as defeat but release to reality can come to fruition if all accept that no guilt for lack of unity need be asserted or sustained. In Salibi's words,

"No Arab country today need feel any guilt about accepting its actual existence as a wilful or unwilful departure from an Arab national historical norm. It is only when the Arabs succeed in ridding themselves of the highly idealized Arab nationalist vision of their past that they will be able to live together in the modern Arab world." (p. 231)

Levitin - This is your brain on music

Obviously, the title of this book is a take off on the scare-tactic commercials of bygone days of drug prevention. However, this kind of "your brain on..." is scientific, engaging, and, to a musician, a beautiful explanation of why I am so passionate about listening to, understanding, and performing music. For someone not deeply versed in what makes music interesting - pitch, timbre, rhythm, harmony, melody, and dynamics - the early chapters of This is Your Brain on Music are easily understood descriptions of things that we all understand at a general and descriptive level. However, understanding how they work together and how conventional use of each, as well as surprise uses, create the beautiful music that we listen to time and again, will hopefully help everyone enjoy music even more.

The assertion of the book is that music, dating back 50,000 years, may have been a type of vocalization that eventually led to the creation of language. From a neural science point of view, music uses more areas of the brain than any other function yet known. That's why brain-trauma patients who have lost their ability to read, talk, or even move can still sing songs that they learned as children or do something as complex as play the piano.

Music is so much a part of our daily existence that many of us don't even recognize when it is around us. Our taste for music is also shaped by the environments where we live. If we tend to associate with only those like us, we tend to have a narrower appreciation across history and culture. Exposure to broad types of music is particularly important for children because our preferences are established by our late teenage years. That's not to say that we can't learn to appreciate other types of music but, if we want to broaden our interests, it takes intentional effort.

Broadening musical exposure takes us into the culture of others and what is interesting about the cultivation of taste outside of our norm is what Levitin describes as a "U" shape. The "U" shape occurs when a 2-axis graph is created with one axis being complexity and the other appreciation. Initially, simple forms of music are attractive to us and they are the ones to which we resonate. Over time, the simple forms of music may become boring or too familiar a part of what we hear. Thus, we spread out and try new types of music but it is very predictable that the initial listening may require a stretch of comprehension. That's why, when we hear something to which we are initially attracted, we listen to it over and over, becoming more familiar with the new complexity of sound until our appreciation is firmly established.

Because music is so ubiquitous in our world, I see it as a metaphor for many other things, including leadership. So the idea of cultivating interest in diverse music is probably not unlike what it takes to cultivate curiosity and interest in other countries or cultures. Initially, we strike out to explore a culture that is a little bit of a stretch for us. However, as we travel more, or as we are exposed to greater diversity in our experience, we become more comfortable with greater diversity. My experience in Qatar has broadened both my interests in music as well as people. At first I explored cautiously, seeking to encounter difference that was only a slight departure from my own preferences or background. Now the easy stretches are less stimulating; I've grown more comfortable and trusting of greater stretches over time and now enjoy encounters that would have taken me completely outside of my comfort zone just a few years ago. It works in music, in relationships, and leadership.

As I get older...

Cornell West, eminent scholar who has offered essential comment in the discourse of contemporary American questions, has determined to return to his roots at the age of 58. In a statement about West’s decision to return to Columbia University’s Union Theological Seminary where he started as an assistant professor in 1977, Rev. Serene Jones, Union’s President said, “As you get older, the more integrated your life is, the healthier it feels and the less time you have to spend waking up deciding who you’re going to be that day.” What a remarkable statement! And, it is the relief of advancing age that each day I wake up I spend less and less time deciding who I’m going to be that day.

West’s statement also indicated that he knew his days of fullest engagement in his work were numbered and thus, he wanted to pursue the work he was called to do on this earth. The joy of being in Qatar is that I fully identify with, and am buoyed each day by, the comfort of knowing who I am and knowing that my work is worthwhile and purposeful. And, I know that there is no place I would rather be than Qatar in a time when higher education is so important to young people around the globe.

One of the topics I’ve struggled to understand of late is the question of working in places like Qatar, and many other emerging economies where expatriates work. There are many benefits to being here but it also requires some sacrifices that can weigh you down. It is being aware of the balancing act of fulfillment in the work against the sacrifices that it takes to be here that requires constant monitoring. Lack of self-awareness on this question can be deadly. Deep awareness, while painful, at least allows me (and perhaps others) to focus attention in ways that maintains a tolerable balance. I hope to explore this more in future posts that are informed by talking to some of the other expatriates and Qatari colleagues with whom I work. We have a lot to learn from each other.

FAT and Three Idiots

Faithful, available, and teachable – three very simple ideas but profoundly important to leadership and to fostering healthy and successful organizations. My recent post about the zappos.com book addresses some of this but these three words are a bit more direct and perhaps even easier to understand and remember. I picked up on these words while listening to a speaker talk about how his organization selected and nurtured staff; his point – if you want committed and effective colleagues, be sure to assess if they are faithful, available, and teachable.

Faithful – beginning with the purpose of your organization, strive to identify and nurture faithful colleague who understand the grand vision you seek to fulfill. This faith reflects a conviction, and the willingness to act on it. And, the faithfulness reflects an understanding that the outcome of one’s efforts may not be predictable. Faithfulness to a vision is essential if any of us is to have a ghost of a chance of fulfilling our personal or organizational visions but there is another kind of faith that is equally important – faithfulness in our relationships – building trust, cooperation, and care that allows us all to do our best work.

Available – reflecting not only availability in time and space, a good colleague is available to live in the moment, be present, and attend to relationships and work. Have you ever shared something deeply important to you with someone you felt you could trust, only to feel empty and bewildered once the moment was behind you? In this example, the likelihood is that, regardless of your passion in the moment, the “other” was evidently not available to join you. Compassion, to live as if you are the other, is the kind of availability that really connects us with each other and our aspirations.

Teachable – demonstrating more than a capacity to learn, a person who is teachable is curious and eager to explore new possibilities. Most of us have a lot to learn and in our better moments admit that our understanding of pretty much everything has its limits. However, it is another thing to be a curious learner at every turn, ready to explore, to question, and to engage in order to bring new insights to the surface even when we believed that we were already well informed.

Realizing how powerful the FAT ideas were, I continued to reflect on these words throughout the weekend. To my surprise, a chance encounter with “Three Idiots” brought the FAT paradigm into full reality. “Three Idiots” is a film that I’ve heard about a number of times. It is a Bollywood movie that was recommended by a friend on numerous occasions but I never got around to viewing it until Friday night. I viewed this delightful film without English subscripts yet was able to understand most of the plot without the slightest difficulty. I was mesmerized by the acting, the predicaments, the humor and poignancy and then suddenly realized that I was seeing FAT in action. Three college-bound Indian boys are randomly brought together as roommates and develop a bond that allows them to discover purpose in their own lives that is quite remarkable. While the immediate and explicit purpose of their experience at university is to graduate with engineering degrees, along the way they discover the power of deep friendship, of faith that they will accomplish their goals if they help each other, and availability that brings them to each others’ aid in numerous precarious circumstances. Ultimately, the film demonstrates that not allowing oneself to be forced into boring, didactic, and demeaning learning can result in personal transformation and it can also offer the opportunity to encounter each other in ways that are deeply moving. “Three Idiots” is a beautiful coming of age saga that should not be missed by anyone who cares about education, relationships, and discovering how being faithful, available, and teachable can transform the lives of young people.

Oppenheimer - Die Philharmoniker

During our recent visit to Eastern Europe, Diane and I went from one great Imperial architecture example to another. One that was particularly beautiful was in Vienna, where we visited the Belvedere Palace on a sunny summer afternoon. The Belvedere is now being used as an art gallery and it is truly one of the most beautiful palaces of Europe. While the palace was wonderful, there was a surprise neither of us anticipated.

Walking through the galleries without knowing what we would see, I was overwhelmed when I walked into the room where Max Oppenheimer's "Die Philharmoniker" hung against a far wall - the full wall as the painting is a monumental 298 X 432 cm in dimension. Die Philharmoniker is Oppenheimer's life work, although he produced many other pieces. He began the piece in 1926 and finished it in 1952, after shipping it from one studio to another as he sought to escape the persecution of the Nazis in central Europe. Die Philharmoniker includes images of several prominent musicians of the early 20th century, but most important to me, Oppenheimer included Gustav Mahler as the conductor. Although there are several artistic depictions of Mahler, including Rodin's bust, Die Philharmoniker captures the essence of Mahler more than any other. Mahler is at the center of the composition, yet strangely detached from his surroundings. He seems to rise above the orchestra in ways that draw only the best from the musicians but oddly leave him isolated and disconnected from his fellow artists.

Oppenheimer and Mahler were both Jews during very difficult times in Europe and America. Both were tortured and unfulfilled in many ways. And both are drawn together in Oppenheimer's greatest work of art and in a depiction of Mahler at his best - bringing life to music as few conductors have every done before or after his tempestuous years as director of the Vienna Opera Orchestra and Philharmonic.

The day we saw Die Philharmoniker was yet to reach another climactic point when we took the street car to Grinsing, a village on the outskirts of Vienna, to visit Mahler's gravesite at dusk. I was worried that we wouldn't make it before dark because I sensed the coming of dusk; luckily, it was only the result of late summer afternoons beginning early and lingering for several hours, as if summer days were meant for relaxation. We arrived in plenty of time and after searching rows and rows of gravesites we ultimately found both Gustav Mahler and Alma Mahler's gravestones. I don't know what I expected in being at the last resting place of a musician who has given me so much joy throughout my life. Although slightly melancholy, it felt more like the fulfillment of a relationship that, although lost in the moment, can be assumed to last forever. Sometimes I feel that I should have been born in the late 19th century so that I could have had a personal relationship with the artists, musicians, and architects of this time. To be able to study, visit, and appreciate Mahler's profound contribution to art was especially meaningful during this trip and I will never forget it.

Hsieh - Delivering Happiness

Tony Hsieh’s reflections (Delivering happiness: a pathway to profits, passion, and purpose, 2010) on the story of zappos.com as an international e-business phenomenon are both realistic and inspirational. The most refreshing part of his recollections is that he owns missteps, failures, and success – a mix that is sometimes missing in contemporary business success stories. The missing reflection is the impact of Tony’s educational opportunity. He portrays himself as a less than motivated student who was more interested in starting entrepreneurial businesses than getting good grades. The clincher is that he just happened to have attended Harvard University and relied on the friendships and networks he made from his undergraduate days to create the core of the businesses he started as a 20-something. Neglecting to acknowledge the importance of being a Harvard graduate ignores how powerful privilege (whether economic, political, intellectual, or other) can be in shaping one’s life.

The best lessons from Hsieh’s reflections include the importance of fostering a positive organizational culture, the necessity of taking risks, and focusing on service that brings happiness to both those who purchase your service as well as to those working to make it happen.

Zappos.com didn’t establish its company values but instead eventually recognized and documented them after it became obvious that their values were having a profound impact on Zappos.com’s success. The core values that they discovered employees embraced included:

1. Deliver WOW through service
2. Embrace and drive change
3. Create fun and a little weirdness
4. Be adventurous, creative, and open-minded
5. Pursue growth and learning
6. Build open and honest relationships with communication
7. Build a positive team and family spirit
8. Do more with less
9. Be passionate and determined
10. Be humble

These values allowed Zappos.com to survive economic ups and downs, lay-offs, and eminent bankruptcy. Most importantly, the company values helped the leadership stay focused when there were temptations to compromise on quality and they encouraged passionately risky behavior that took Zappos.com to higher and higher success in business and fulfillment.

Advocating that “your culture is your brand,” Hsieh makes a compelling point that positive organization cultures are the result of seeing the organization’s work as something beyond just the immediate task of product delivery (no matter what that product is). Zappos.com even measures the degree to which its employees see themselves as involved in something bigger than e-business sales of shoes and accessories by periodically asking them if they “believe that the company has a higher purpose beyond just profits,” and asking if “Zappos has a real purpose – is it more than just a job.” Simple questions but how sad it is that many people would not assess their company/organization as having either higher purpose or believe their work environment is more than a job.

Hsieh’s conceptual model of happiness is largely derived from the research of Seligman and Czikszentmihalyi on positive psychology and “flow.” Tying the points of work environment and happiness together, he commented, “I would learn that research from the field of the science of happiness would confirm that the combination of physical synchrony with other humans and being part of something bigger than oneself leads to a greater sense of happiness…” (2010, p. 80)

Zappos.com’s lessons are definitely coming from a for-profit perspective. However, reading this story consistently made me think that education, and other not-for-profit initiatives, would do well to adopt these very same perspectives. Organization culture, risk taking and happiness are central to success in any endeavor.

Habsburg Tour - 2011

Diane and I had a wonderful opportunity to take a whirlwind Habsburg Tour during the recent Eid break. We flew to Vienna, then took the train to Prague and Budapest, and back to Vienna for a return to Qatar. We didn't realize it but we were actually taking a tour of the three great Habsburg Empire capitals. These three cities were profoundly influenced by the Habsburg dynasty of almost 700 years that covered much of central and eastern Europe. What is also fascinating is that all three cities are somewhat influenced by the Arab world (or, Ottoman as the history books would say) in architecture, art, and other culture. While the Habsburgs were certainly not egalitarian in their leadership, they made a great deal of difference through their advocacy for education and art.

This picture above is only a teaser for the many other pictures that are in my Habsburg Picassa album (https://picasaweb.google.com/101052781277666677040/HapsburgTour11#) so be sure to check out the others...

Armstrong - 12 Steps to a Compassionate Life

TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) honored Karen Armstrong in 2007 with $100,000 to help her advance her ideas of compassion. Informed by her deep conviction that the world’s religions have more in common than independent truth, she chose to strike out to create an inter-faith human dialogue on what it means to be compassionate and how, as modern beings, we can learn to observe compassion throughout our dealings with each other and the earth itself.

Her latest book, Twelve Steps to a Compassionate Life (2011), tells the story of receiving the TED award and using the money granted to her to begin a series of meetings among religious leaders that would ultimately lead to the “Charter for Compassion.” The drafting process included notable leaders of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism and relied on each tradition’s version of the “golden rule” to formulate a call “upon all men and women 1) to restore compassion to the center of morality and religion; 2) to return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate; 3) to ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures; 4) to encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity; and 5) to cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings – even those regarded as enemies.” (p. 7) The charter was launched and began with sixty locations around the world adopting the charter on November 12, 2009. More have followed since 2009 and, perhaps, the charter will begin to have the transforming impact that the authors’ sought as more people hear of the charter throughout the world.

Armstrong started her life as a Catholic Nun but grew to relish understanding the world’s many religions. While she references many diverse faith perspectives throughout her book, I was most attracted to her references to Islam. She has made a commitment in her speaking (I saw her at Georgetown in Qatar last spring) and writing to provide alternative, and in her estimation more accurate, characterizations of all religions but she has focused much of her energy on Islam. One of the Arab world contrasts she posed was between muruwah (courage and endurance) and hilm (mercy). The tribal and difficult life circumstances of many in the Arab world long ago required muruwah and a relentless commitment to protecting and avenging any aggression, or wrong perpetrated, against one’s family/tribe. By contrast, the Qur’an advocated for patience, forbearing, and merciful conduct that protected the disadvantaged, orphan, widow and destitute. This example was used to demonstrate the first step toward compassion – learning about it.

One of the examples she used to demonstrate humankind’s struggle for empathy was the ancient Greek festival of Dionysus. During the annual festival, all citizens were more or less required to attend public plays during which old myths were reflected in contemporary examples, resulting in a public meditation on key issues of values and ethics. These plays were intended to put suffering onstage so that the audience could begin to empathize with the plight of the “other.” (p. 93) Thus, Dionysus’ role as the god of transformation was formulated as first a journey into self, then beginning to understand others, and eventually being able to see themselves in the circumstance of others. This example was used in the fourth chapter that focused on empathy.

The seventh step, “how little we know,” encouraged curiosity in understanding others as a way to increase compassion. As she explained, so often we have our own pre-determined view of others and, instead of allowing ourselves to absorb new information and insight, we judge others in order to substantiate our own bias. She bemoaned that there is a certain mystery about others’ ways of thinking and living that is turned to sacrilege as we attempt to “pluck out” the point we wish to use to serve our own agenda. (p. 127)

There are many jewels throughout Armstrong’s book. It is short, easy and engaging to read, and hopefully will be read by many.

An Autobiography - Gandhi

My friend, Sabirsha, gave me several gifts when Diane and I visited with him in the Kerala region of India in February, 2011. One of those gifts was An Autobiography, by M.K. Gandhi. First published in the Gujarati language in two volumes in 1927 and 1929, the English version was published in 2009. Though a translation, these were Gandhi’s own reflections on his search for truth. He concluded his reflections far before the end of his life because, as he noted, his life became so public after 1921 that numerous sources could be consulted to learn about his experiences after that date.

An Autobiography is an evolutionary story of Gandhi’s discovery of the essentials of life. The concept of satyagraha, or the voluntary simplicity and denial of self in service to others, was not something that came easily. Indeed, as so many other spiritual luminaries over the ages, Gandhi struggled, questioned, and perfected his spiritual calling through many trials and tribulations. Ultimately, his journey, recognizing many flaws along the way, served to break the bonds of discrimination against Indians in South Africa and moved on to confront the mistreatment of “untouchables” in India. Eventually, as we know from history, Dr. Martin Luther King’s non-violent resistance, the “Velvet Revolution” of the Czech Republic, and perhaps even moments of the “Arab Spring” of 2011 are derived from Gandhi’s philosophy of first showing respect to others and then challenging injustice through non-participation in systems of oppression and exploitation.

There is so much deep wisdom in Gandhi’s reflections that it is impossible to do justice in one blog post. One point that fascinated me most is that satygraha, serving others, embraced those with whom he disagreed. When Gandhi began to realize the depth of the abuse of Indians and other people of color in South Africa, he was asked how he could not be angry with the perpetrators. His reply, “I am only sorry for their ignorance and their narrowness. I know that they sincerely believe that what they are doing today is right and proper. I have no reason therefore to be angry with them.” (p. 176) Such a view made way for a compassion that allowed Gandhi, and others who worked with him, to serve and bring justice to even those who opposed him. As an example, during the closing months of WWII, Gandhi actively recruited Indians to serve the British war cause against Germany, even when the record clearly demonstrated long-standing abuse of Indians by their colonizer. Gandhi sincerely believed that, although he disagreed with many of Britain’s actions, it had attempted to bring prosperity to India and therefore deserved the loyalty of British subjects who would defend her against other enemies. His point was that, even though he disagreed with Great Britain on very important issues, he was first committed to understanding their needs and viewpoint and by so doing agree with them as much as possible.

Once the commitment to understand, respect, and serve was established, Gandhi had an unswerving dedication to the causes he undertook to resolve. Through refusing to ride first class on trains when others of his culture were excluded, by creating voluntary living communities, by establishing natural fiber weaving groups and advocating work stoppages, Gandhi demonstrated in all he did that he would always observe “Ek Tek” – keep the pledge. The solidarity he reflected and fostered in others had a power that broke down many conventions that others assumed to be fair and right, or too difficult to challenge. The point was not to tear down the unjust systems but it was, through Ek Tek, not to participate with the oppressor.

These to core concepts – agreeing/engaging as much as possible with those who oppose you and staying true to your pledge – are found in many leadership texts. They are likely universal principles that help when negotiating the more difficult landscapes of leadership – a gift from one of the most often recognized great leaders when you ask “Who do you look up to when you think of great leadership?”

America's message to the Middle East

I usually avoid overt political comment but my experience watching President Obama's Thursday, 19 May, 2011, speech directed to the Middle East was a bit of an awakening. I viewed it while winding down from my daily workout in the Clubhouse. There were two TVs going - one on sports and the other on CNN. As the time for the broadcast approached, I asked my friend, Raymond, to turn up the sound so that I could hear better. I also thought that some of the other dozen or so people from various cultural and national backgrounds might be interested. I watched and listened carefully while the rest of the room went on about their workouts, talking, laughing, and attending to each other - hmmh? What's the message?

President Obama's remarks addressed a broad spectrum of issues in the Middle East and northern Africa - revolutions, economics, unstable governments and their treatment of their citizens, and finally the Israel and Palestine question. Unfortunately, as I've grown to understand this area of the world, the question of Israel and Palestine should have been at the beginning, not the end. The reason that people didn't listen was because the West has repeatedly been unwilling to recognize this fact. While President Obama is the first U.S.A. President to ever utter the words "return to pre-1967 territorial lines," Isreal's response of "no way," coupled with the other issues of access to Jerusalem and the right of Palestinians to return to their homeland, loom as dark clouds on the horizon.

Countries in the Middle East and northern Africa are struggling to birth new governments. If they end up being democracies, they quite possibly will be Islamic republics. How will the U.S.A. respond if this comes to fruition? What I hope is that Americans will understand that the vast majority of Muslims are reasonable people and there is nothing wrong with a government declaring a state religion. Afterall, what have Italy, France, Great Britain, and many other countries done and quite comfortably as well? The declaration of a specific religion does not mean that those of other religions cannot worship - I attend a Christian fellowship in Qatar and it is not, and never has been, a problem. But the U.S.A. has to understand the risk that, should it not find a way to deal with the Isreal versus Palestine question, it opens the door for Islamic conservatives to wield greater power in these new Islamic-influenced governments, thus resulting in governments that will be difficult for the U.S.A. to embrace.

Sadly enough, President Obama's hands are tied by the politics of America; he offered a moderate position designed not to alienate pro-Israeli supporters too much. Considering Israel's immediate response, imagine what would have happened had Presidennt Obama asked for more. And how will the American public come to understand that the history of U.S.A. and other western interventions on Isreal's behalf, all the time ignoring the occupation of land and choking it out of existence, is at the core of it all? I am saddened that Obama's options are so limited and I am saddened that those in the gym on Thursday evening had grown so skeptical that they didn't even take the time to listen.

Gladwell - What the dog saw

“He held it in the air as if he were holding a Tiffany vase,” (Gladwell, 2011, xx) – quote and clue to the bottom line of Malcom Gladwell’s latest book, What the dog saw (2011). His others (the Tipping Point, Blink, and Outliers) were written as books while What the dog saw is a collection of articles he published in the New Yorker. The chapters were written separately without the intention to publish them together, yet they are woven together in ways that reflect Gladwell’s customary and unique insight.

The purpose of the title, What the dog saw, remained a mystery through six chapters, eventually emerging to make the point that bad dogs are not really as bad as we think. “Bad dogs” are really only victims of bad masters, or non-masters as the case may be. Cesar Millan, the trainer profiled in the story, was the one who exasperated owners called when their dogs were so far gone that they feared having to get rid of them. What Cesar did upon encountering these animals was to separate them from their owners, establish boundaries for what was expected of them, and then he began to teach them the comfort of expectation while freeing them to be good, obedient, and loving animals. Gladwell didn’t only describe Cesar’s discipline in dog training but also his dance (figurative) of symmetry, expression, and balance. Thus, “what the dog saw” was a metaphor for how relationships with dogs, as well as humans, need to be artistic, purposeful, and authentic. Working with dogs requires a frame of discipline that establishes the human as the master, the one in control, both in terms of setting expectation but also in providing loving reward when the dog behaves in reasonable and affectionate ways – just like the “man’s best friend” view that we visualize but fail to actualize when the balance of discipline is absent.

The other chapters convey many stories about how perceptions cloud our vision of reality. Whether it was “Million Dollar Murray,” a story of how solving the problem of homelessness in America may be simpler than we think, or the story of how Enron was a mystery rather than a puzzle, Gladwell nudges his readers to examine the quality of their thinking so that more accurate judgments are possible. In a very contemporary example, Gladwell proposed that the decade-long mystery of finding Osama bin Laden was no mystery at all. Osama bin Laden was “hiding” in the open, obscured only by missing pieces of information that would eventually solve the puzzle of his whereabouts. Gladwell’s point is that mysteries are situations where there is no real answer and to continue to seek more information is useless. On the other hand, puzzles are solved by identifying the right information that fits the gap in the knowledge-base; the need is not more information but higher quality information and the discernment to recognize it.

“He held it in the air as if he were holding a Tiffany vase” reflects the fascination for simple things that teach lessons for life. Simple things that most of the rest of us miss! In this particular collection of stories, Gladwell identifies people who have profoundly impacted our lives but who are people of minor genius. They are minor because they don’t inhabit the upper echelons of organizations but, instead, inhabit the middle places. They are the ones who actually do the work. They are free of the restraint of high-level leaders who are encumbered by the need to protect their positions and privilege. The middle people are the people who create and market things like the “Dial-O-Matic” vegetable slicer, or who challenge our idea of mustard with “Pardon me. Would you have any Grey Poupon?“ or they coin a phrase like “Does she or doesn’t she?” in order to take hair-coloring from the salon into everyone’s bathroom. Imagination, creativity, and initiative come from seeing things in a different way – a way that others neglected to take the time to see.

Amit Sood's Training your brain...

Carla Paonessa, a LeaderShape Board member and co-Lead in years past, recommended Amit Sood's (2009) Train your brain, engage your heart, transform your life on several occassions. I finally got it and read it over the last several weeks. Carla has attended training programs by Dr. Sood at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota and was instrumental in inviting him to speak to the LeaderShape Lead training in 2011.

Train your brain... proposes that the reason much in our lives doesn't go well is 1) our inability to pay attention and ) frequent misinterpretation of our experiences. On the first assumption, inability to pay attention, he uses the analogy of a computer that has too many active programs up and running, thus resulting in diffuse and partial attention (I've commented on CPA or "continuous partial attention" in a previous blog post). The freightening part of this inattention is that Sood cites research indicating that, when our minds flow to distractions that are negative and stressful, it forms a habit of going there, thus resulting in an overworked and over-stressed world that we create in the way we think. The second assumption, misinterpretation of our experiences, encourages the reconsideration of life's events within a principle-based or altruistic perspective rather than what is for many of us more of an ego-centered, competitive, "first-class on the Titanic" approach. The principle-based approach focuses on cultivating a habit of interpreting what we encounter throughout our days in a spirit of gratitude, compassion, acceptance, and forgiveness.

Attention and refined interpretation - sounds easy enough! Writing this post reminds me how far I drifted from these two simple points just in the couple of weeks I've been away from the book. One has to ask if the approach is faulty in some way or is it my practice and discipline? Unfortunately, the likelihood is that the problem is my practice. Turning to what could refine my practice of sharper attention and refined understanding of what is going on around me, Sood suggests that the focus should be on reducing the number of thoughts and improving the quality of my thinking about them. In a four-quadrant model (p. 168), he proposes that a) few thoughts with a negative focus results in depression and apathy, b) few thoughts with a positive focus results in attention, mindful and heartful awakening, c) many thoughts with a negative focus results in anxiety and anger, and d) many thoughts with a positive focus result in excitement, energy, and animation. You can choose for yourself where you would like to be but my preference is for "b" a good part of the time and "d" some of the time.

If a few thoughts with a positive focus is the goal, what does it take? Sood proposes that the best way to live this kind of life is to seek, and then commit to, finding meaning and purpose in all that we do. This is not a new revelation as this admonition can be found in most of the world's religious writings and it can also be found in the writings of contemporary sages such as Parker Palmer, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Otto Scharmer, and others. Fewer and more positive thoughts (and actions) are the result of more reflection, attentive care in all our encounters, and maintaining a higher purpose, even when there are obstacles and distractions. Pursuing higher purpose is not easy because deeply grounded and passionate commitments are often at odds with those around us. It appears to be the path in pursuing these passions that makes it all worthwhile because if it is only the end on which we are focused, we will surely faulter in the pursuit of what we value most...

Reza Aslan - Tablet and Pen

I've learned a great deal from Reza Aslan's writing. Particularly as I transitioned to living in the Arabian Gulf, his No God but God was profoundly important to me in beginning to understand Islam, its history and potential future.

It was my past experience with Reza's writing that drew me to ask for Tablet and Pen (2011) as a family gift. Upon receiving it, I was a little disappointed that, instead of being Reza's work, it was a collection of other modern Arab world authors that Reza had compiled. Tablet and Pen demonstrated that Arab authors have been quite active over the last hundred years and that they have been taking great artistic and political risk through their writing. As I read a couple of the stories, I knew that the explicit images might give conservatives from a variety of backgrounds pause. I read on...

Reza punctuated the poetry, essays, and short stories with brief commentary introducing the pieces in each section. Overall, the entire book was a march through the 20th century up to 2010, granting the reader the opportunity to see both the anguish and resignation of Arab world authors whose lives have been shaped by colonialism, border disputes, and being driven from their ancestors' lands. Some of the stories convey hope while others cannot be understood in any other way than expressions of utter desolation. I read on...

As an example of both hope and desolation, Abu Salma offered a poetic critique on Palestine in his "My Country on Partition Day." Salma brought a poignancy to the post-WWII boundaries established by Western powers while proclaiming the eventual return of its native people:
We'll return some day while generations listen
to the echoes of our feet.
We'll return with raging storms,
holy lightning and fire,
winged hope and sounds,
soaring eagles,
the dawn smiling on the deserts.
Some morning we'll return riding the crest of the tide,
our bloodied banners fluttering
above the glitter of spears.

One of the essays included in Aslan's collection is that of Jalal Al-E Ahmad titled, "Gharbzadegi" (page 389). This particular piece (written in 1962) posed one of the more salient questions of the day - how much Westernization is required or acceptable in order for the East to make peace with the world and itself? The word used in the title, "Gharbzadegi," was invented by Jalal to mean "Westoxification" or "Weststruckness." Jalal defined West as the "industrialized nations, or any country able to bring raw materials to a state of refinement with the aid of machines and put them on the market as merchandise." East he defined as "nonindustrialized nations, or that group of countries who are consumers of products manufactured in the West, products whose raw materials... come from the same part of the world, meaning from countries in the process of growing." His point was that not only is the East "Weststruck" in terms of products but it is also in danger of losing even its own mythology, belief systems, music, and deep sense of culture. I read on...

It strikes me that those involved with U.S. Representative (R) Peter King's recent hearings on Muslim radicalization might benefit from reading Tablet and Pen. If Representative King wants to understand the dynamics underway, he might start by studying some history, by examining the evidence of Western and Eastern writers who have commented over the years about "the East," and by asking Muslim Americans how they feel about being American, what they have contributed and how they have benefitted or suffered as American citizens. I can't predict whether Aslan's book will make it onto Representative King's or any other politician's reading list. If it does, it will be tough reading and it will cause considerable discomfort. As King himself is quoted as saying, "These hearings are absolutely essential. I am facing reality. My critics are not." (NBCNewYork.com - updated 3/8/2011 2:16:04 PM ET 2011-03-08T19:16:04) The reality is that precious few Americans have done any reading about Islam and the Middle East and the number who sought out their Muslim colleagues and neighbors to understand their beliefs is even fewer. Maybe these encounters are where real solutions to radicalization of all sorts could be found.

Aslan's collection of contemporary Arab authors will likely be of greatest direct interest to Arab and Muslim world readers because it is a repository of important thought and writing on issues for them. As someone shaped by the West, but growing in my appreciation for the East, Tablet and Pen opened new windows of understanding to which I know I will return. The first reading was difficult because I didn't have the historical and experiential awareness to understood all I read. I read and will continue to read on...

Incredible India

There is a great tourism advertisment that runs on CNN every once in a while titled "Incredible India." It shows a young back-packer who travels by himself through various locations in India. There is much color and excitement. Most important of all, the traveler is seen making friends, being embraced in exotic cultural experiences, and getting caught up in the everyday life of the people of India.

That's what Diane and I experienced when we traveled to see our cherished friend, Sabirsha. After my failed attempt to visit him in November, 2010, Diane and I visited Sha in the Kerala region from 10-20 February, 2011. Select pictures (https://picasaweb.google.com/robertsdenny860/India2011#) from our journey offer only a glimpse of our "Incredible India" experience.

There are so many revelations from our travel - economic, political, religious, and cultural. Economically, Kerala is less densely populated than other areas of India and it has always had substantial natural resources. The lower density and high resources created positive trade opportunities which enhanced educational opportunity and should have created broad employment opportunity. The problem with the current employment picture is political. The people of Kerala have little faith in their government and see many of their politicians as corrupt. The proof of ineffectual government is that the economy of Kerala has not grown to a level that its workers have opportunities to match their education - many are underemployed or they work abroad. That's how I came to know Sha in the first place; after graduating from university, he didn't have good opportunities in Kerala so chose to work in the Arabian Gulf, a pattern followed by many workers who have come from Kerala to the Gulf and other areas for generations.

The religious heritage of Kerala is beyond fascinating. In fact, I would assert that it is an exemplary model for establishing religious appreciation across disparate faith communities. Jainism and Buddhism were dominant centuries ago. Hinduism replaced Buddhism as the primary religion of the people but Christians also established permanent communities in Kerala as early as first century AD. Jews followed the Christians and then Islam came to Kerala soon after the Prophet Mohammed PBHN established its base in Medina and Mecca (6th century AD). These religions came to Kerala as a result of the active spice trade that brought ships from Egypt (1,500 BC), Arabs and Phoenicia (3rd century BC), and Europe (1st century BC) to its shores. The trade and economic opportunities in effect became fused with religious pluralism and respect - charters and land ownership were established with all these groups as the Kings of Kerala recognized that all religious groups required legitimacy if trade were to thrive. The necessity of religious tolerance to trade vitality has created an amazing array of temples, churches, and mosques. The density of one type or the other varies by the region but it is not unusual to see places of worship comfortably placed beside each other throughout Kerala.

The documentation of the culture of Kerala, and its historic emergence, contains many gaps and contradictions. A book given to me by Sha, Kerala's History (Menon, 1967/2007/2008), helped me a great deal. This particular book traces archaeological records, documents, and art objects over many centuries to conclude that the culture of the people of Kerala has almost always been one of engagement with others, respect, and hospitality. Whether the openness to others was driven by climate (two monsoon seasons per year), topography (shielded by the Ghat Mountains to the east and the Indian Ocean to the west), trade (spice, herbs, and pearls), or by bounteous food supply (rice, fruit, and fish), the unmistakable fact is that today's Kerala is rich with welcoming and hospitable people. Perhaps greeting others of different backgrounds throughout the centuries was the cause. Maybe it is a nuturing environment cultivated through sharing natual resources. Or, perhaps it's the influence of the many mothers, wives, and sisters who remain at home to raise families while their sons, husbands, and brothers are forced to leave Kerala to pursue earnings that will bring prosperity to their families.

Diane and I were the beneficiaries of a Kerala that has a vibrant natural environment, an open culture, and extremely hospitable people. Sha, his family, and friends entertained us with deep and amazing care, demonstrating nothing but giving and generosity (evidence of which is in the picture to the right of our welcoming feast). Sha’s view of the world is truly one of abundance, and he demonstrates it with numerous acts each day when he gives all he has, expecting nothing in return. And, once he has given, others take care of him in ways that are truly profound. This is what I’ve grown to understand as love – the selfless, sacrificial, and unquestioning giving of oneself to family and friends.

Civility

I've used the term "civility" for many years but it has new meaning today. It has new meaning as a result of many of my experiences in Qatar as well as the tragedy that occurred in Arizona. President Obama's remarks, concluding with "Have we shown enough kindness and generosity and compassion to people in our lives?" pretty much makes the case. Although no one wishes for tragedy, it is amazing how we are sometimes brought to deeper understanding after being shocked by the impact of the exaggeration of behaviors we observe on a regular basis. Does divisive rhetoric (incivility) potentially lead to such things as the Arizona shootings? Does disrespect (incivility) shown to others in our daily interactions drive wedges between us in ways that prohibit progress toward a more peaceful, compassionate, and prosperous world?

Unfortunately, some of my recent experiences in Qatar have demonstrated impatience, intolerance, and disrespect. Not from Qatari nationals but from visiting expatriate workers. As the media is now portraying (after granting Qatar the 2022 World Cup), Qatar is an amazing country with grand aspirations and a breath-taking pace of change. The kind of change underway here is more rapid and profound than almost any in history. And, this pace of change has bumps - mistakes, miscalculations, and times when the systems are not ready to match the challenge. I've grown to understand my role, when things don't work quite as I would have liked, as being one of appreciating the work that was done, respectfully critiquing for the sake of improvement, and doing what I can to take care of my own responsibilities. There are sometimes those who, instead of demonstrating appreciation and respect, choose to acuse, criticize, and worst of all, generalize from one experience to another indiscriminately.

Burgess and Burgess' (1997) essay on "The Meaning of Civility" proposed that understanding civility in conventional ways (i.e. being polite or courteous) has severe limitations in the diverse global community in which we live. Instead, they propose a number of methods to resolve difference. They say that true civility today, "entails an obligation to seriously consider the persuasive arguments made by opponents and to carefully try to explain and justify one's own position to one's opponents and others." Civility is two way - expressing respect and appreciation and stating one's own position in ways that does not denigrate, attribute ill-purpose, or diminish the value of others' views. More importantly, being civil is to express oneself in ways that does not devalue the other person.

Whether it is a stereotyping joke about the "other." Whether it is criticism that questions the purpose of the "other." Whether it is silencing (through whatever means) the voices of those with whom we disagree. These are all forms of incivility and, in all likelihood, they form a continuum of incivility that escalates as the rhetoric becomes more strident. There are lots of reasons why we, as human beings, might disagree with others - politics, culture, religion, socioeconomics... and these forms of difference are only increasing. The question is if we can find another way of demonstrating civility that leads to respect of difference, pleasure in our interactions, and improved conditions for all rather than accusation and marginalization that leaves us standing alone in frightened defense of our own sacred views?

WISE Learners' Voice

The 2nd annual WISE (World Innovation Innovation Summit for Education) Conference is underway in Doha (November 7-9, 2010). This is a conference chaired by Dr. Abdulla Al-Thani, Vice President of Qatar Foundation, and it involves 1,200 educators from around the world who are discussing how to broaden access and deepen the impact of education. One of the new additions to the conference this year is that 20 students have joined the conversation, 10 from Qatar, and 10 others from throughout the world. They are serving as reflectors for the conference and are maintaining a blog (http://learnersvoice.tumblr.com/) on their views of what can be done to enhance learning. Check it out for some interesting perspectives about enhancing learning from a students' perspective.

Learning Community at Education City

I was recently interviewed for the QF magazine, Foundation. The summary points from the interview, entitled "Learning Community (http://www.qf.org.qa/files/tf22/index.html," (look on page 18+) allowed me to articulate some of the issues that I see as important to student affairs in a different cultural setting. I welcome responses to the content of the article. This was primarily an attempt to inform various stakeholders in Qatar of the importance of student engagement in learning and the role of student affairs in supporting it.

Student perspective on learning in Qatar

One of the students attending CMU-Q (one of Qatar Foundation's Education City university partners) offered a blog post that pretty much sums up why we believe so deeply in this work. Varuns' views (http://dohmusafir.wordpress.com/2010/11/07/top-7-reasons-why-i-love-cmu-q-attempt-1/#comment-41) capture both the strength of the individual university (CMU) and the combined experience with the other branch universities that makes Education City such a powerful model.

Elegance

“… there’s a fine line between not thinking enough and thinking too much. Elegance is all about learning how to walk that line on a more consistent basis.” These words from Mathew May’s conclusion to Pursuit of Elegance (2009) reflect a simplicity similar to the four elements he proposes as central to elegance – symmetry, seduction, subtraction, and sustainability.

May defines elegance as creativity or innovation that is done in as simple a way as possible – or, as the Japanese say, through shibumi or “effortless effectiveness.” This type of creativity usually emerges from a creative burst of insight that is stimulated by time away from a problem or enough distance from its subjective content to see it in a fundamentally different way. This elegance, captured in the artist’s language, is like being “kissed by the muse.”

The intriguing paradox of elegance is that it is often more about what’s not there than what is. The momentary pause in a great piece of music. The void in an architectural masterpiece. The absence of a conclusion in a book or movie. These moments of absence take us to another place because the pause serves as a catalyst for seeing something in a different way. When we begin to see in a different way, we see things that were hidden beneath the veneer of the first impression and these may actually be the most beautiful of all.

What is beauty? May proposes that what we view as beautiful is the symmetry of what we view or experience. He substantiates this assertion by citing numerous examples where patterns are repeated,, sometimes in obvious and other times unobvious ways. Obvious patterned symmetry is seen in butterflies, snowflakes, and literary palindromes. But hidden symmetries can also be observed in Jackson Pollock “splatter” painting, self-organizing traffic intersections, or shortcuts across grassy meadows. Sometimes we can’t see the symmetry until we withdraw and view it from a greater distance or when we come closer to the detail of what we are viewing. Regardless of whether it is obvious or not, found in infinity or miniature, it is the symmetry that draws us to observe or gaze in wonder.

The second element of elegance is seduction – generally manifest in things that are mysterious and elusive. May cites the Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa as one example. There are much larger paintings, more complex subject matter, and more interesting uses of color in other paintings. However, it is the elusive expression on her face that draws so many to her portrait. We are seduced by the question of whether she is smiling or stoic, where her gaze is fixed, and any number of other questions. In a more contemporary example, the public was seduced by Steve Jobs’ first revelation of the iphone. Following the introduction, there was five months of silence before it was released. The seduction of the public created a landslide of interest and sales. In both cases, seduction is achieved by revealing some information, coupled with clues to entice us further, and then time/space to formulate a response.

Subtraction focuses on what is not there or is not to be done. In an age of overwhelming commercial appeals, our excess as consumers frequently creates a profusion of clutter. Homes in the U.S.A. in particular have grown to sizes far beyond the real needs of their inhabitants. Sarah Susanka, creator of home architectural plans revealed in The Not So Big House, epitomizes the idea of subtraction in a big house era. In Susanka’s designs, spaces are eliminated that are not used regularly. In her houses, all spaces are used and are frequently open to others, using only ceiling heights and visual difference to define the functions of space. These designs were achieved by subtracting out the on average 30% of home space that goes unused in most homes. And, in the place of subtracted space, a simple elegance, functionality, and quietude emerges.

The final element of elegance is sustainability. Sustainability, in fact, is the summative element because symmetry, seduction, and subtraction can actually provide the pathway to more ingenious and judicious use of many things. When there is an absence of resources, our creativity increases. PlayPumps International is an example that demonstrates the point of scarcity sometimes being the origin of simple solutions. Trevor Field was on a fishing trip to the eastern “Wild Coast” of Africa when he saw women waiting for days to gather water for their families. His concern for these local conditions, coupled with later seeing the display of a merry-go-round that pumped water in South Africa, caused Field to license the idea to begin production of pumps to create self-sustaining water systems powered by children’s play. One thousand pumps were in place in 2009 and another 4,000 planned by 2010. The PlayPump would never have happened unless there had been an absence of water and no electrical source coupled with the observation of someone called to make a difference by his own conscience.

To think of elegance as resulting in less expense and reduced use of resources seems counter-intuitive. However, May provides ample examples that symmetry, seduction, and subtraction just may allow us to have a richer, fuller, and more sustainable life.

Museum of Islamic Art (Qatar) and Ibn Tulun Mosque (Cairo)

Diane and I had a wonderful time during our Eid Al Fitr trip to Egypt. This was a life-long dream for both of us and we were not disappointed. There are so many things about which I could comment that it's hard to determine where to start. Until I reflect a bit more, enjoy the Picassa album of Egyptian pictures posted on my "Pursuing Leadership" blog.

One of the highlights of our trip was an off-script surprise - one we pursued on our last day in Cairo and without the help of a tour guide. Yes, we braved the traffic congestion of Cairo to seek out the Ibn Tulun Mosque in the Islamic section. The reason - to see what inspired I.M. Pei to create the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar, the last public/monumental architectural creation of one of the great creative geniuses of the 20th century.

The Ibn Tulun Mosque was built in the 9th century and is the oldest continuously operating Mosque in Egypt. No wonder Pei was mesmerized by the openness, balance, and void of this beautiful place. The Pei design captures the feel of the interior courtyard of the Mosque with the Ablution Fountain in the middle. To see how closely these buildings resemble each other, first look at the exterior image of Ibn Tulun to the right:


Now look at the exterior of the Museum of Islamic Art below:



The interior of Ibn Tulun is composed of receding geometric shapes rising to the top of the Ablution Fountain:



The interior of the Museum of Islamic Art uses the same approach with the geometric shapes turning inside one another, rising into an almost infinite space:



It is fascinating to me how literal Pei was in using Ibn Tulun Mosque as his inspiration for what some believe may be his finest culturally-derived piece of architecture. As you can see by these pictures, the insides and outsides of both MIA and Ibn Tulun reflect a serene beauty that is seldom matched elsewhere.

Reality test of global leadership

Andrew J. Bacevich's The Limits of Power: the End of American Exceptionalism describes the causes and intoxicating impact of America's emergence as the one dominant world force in the last half of the 20th century. While the book speaks of foreign policy and elected political leaders, the seduction of presumed importance is equally possible in all sorts of leadership environments - business, education, arts and others.

Quoting Rheinhold Neibuhr's Beyond Tragedy (1937), "One of the most pathetic aspects of human history is that every civilization expresses itself most pretentiously, compounds its partial and universal values most convincingly, and claims immortality for its finite existence at the very moment when the decay which leads to death has already begun." What a stunning statement and how tragic - Egypt, Rome, Austria, Britain ... The problem wasn't that these civilizations had lost their power but that their power had become so vast that their social fabric disintegrated from within as innovation, creativity, and outward-looking engagement declined. Each of these civilizations were still expanding at the time they began to die. The vulnerability was the presumption that other peoples, civilizations, and forms of life seemed not to add any value beyond what their own culture provided.

While Bacevich's book is a critique of America's current political and military role in the world, there are many other warnings that can be drawn from its pages. The danger of superiority is that it limits our ability to understand how others view us and it may even obscure our ability to see ourselves in a realistic light. A warning of the political predicament in which the U.S.A. now finds itself was foretold in 1979 by then President Jimmy Carter who, while addressing the energy crisis of the day, said, "In a nation that was proud of hard work, strong families, close-knit communities, and our faith in God, too many of us now tend to worship self-indulgence and consumption." Carter's words were countered by his political opponents who won the Whitehouse by promising that the U.S.A. had not yet reached its zenith and would go on to greater heights. The credit-based spending of the following two and one-half decades fulfilled the "greater heights" with the biggest Bull market of all time and the near collapse of the world economy in the Great Recession of 2007-08.

Carter's warning was avoided not only by his political detractors but by the American people themselves. And with the end of the Cold War and the shock of 9-11-01, asserting superiority over others through military and economic means seemed even logical. The only problem was that the domination allowed for ever-increasing military expenditures and a belief that the U.S.A. had a right and responsibility to protect its interests no matter how far from its own shores. Indeed, the Bush doctrine after 9-11-01 reflected an urgency that "The survival of liberty in our land increasingly depends on the success of liberty in other lands." While reflecting the frontier spirit of the U.S.A. in its founding, this view also encouraged an imperial agency around the world that we now know spread U.S.A. resources too thin and compromised its credibility around the globe. And as the resources dwindled, advocates such as Wolfowitz and Rumsfeld pushed to "Make American people realize they are surrounded in the world by violent extremists," (Washington Post, 2007) thus justifying even more expenditures.

While the critique of U.S.A. foreign policy is central in The Limits of Power, the most frightening assertion was that a nation's citizens can actually encourage their government to ignore fundamental social and economic issues by being obsessed with their own desires for comfort and luxury. The broader reality check then is if leaders, whether governmental or otherwise, might sometimes have to choose the more difficult path of challenging the wishes of peers and followers rather than perpetuating a notion of grandeur that is destructive to themselves and others.

Genius - what is it and why does it matter?

Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book (2009), Outliers: The Story of Success, raises a fundamental question about why some people are successful and others not. A belief that many of us hold is that genius (whether it is intellect, creativity, or other) is at the center of success. The only problem is that review of studies on genius, especially examples among children, indicates that IQ has very little if anything to do with success.

A broad summary of Gladwell’s perspective is that “Outliers are those who have been given opportunities – and who have had the strength and presence of mind to seize them.” (p. 313) The book is peppered with examples of great success – the Jewish immigrant piece good workers who became the moguls of New York fashion, the scruffy lawyers who started corporate take-over maneuvers when other more gentile lawyers wouldn’t touch it, the Beatles, Bill Gates, Steven Jobs, and others. These cases are popularly portrayed as heroic, yet, when we look closer we find that these success stories had special circumstances that prepared the heroes for a moment in time when the accident of their preparation met a unique opportunity. In some cases it was the accident of a birthday in the early part of the year that allowed an aspiring Canadian boy to emerge as the best player on his hockey team. For the business tycoons born in the 1830s (Carnegie, Rockefeller, Mellon, Ford, Astor, Vanderbilt) who became the quintessential examples of “making it in America,” it was simply a matter of hard-working immigrant aspirations coupled with explosive business opportunity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Besides the accidents of time and place that birthed success, two other things stood out as shaping the experience of those who would otherwise have been “normal” like the rest of us. One was the importance of having a nurturing community that recognized and encouraged their gifts. The second was finding and locking into work that was fulfilling.

In relation to community, a study of children with high IQ from various socio-economic backgrounds revealed that those children who were nurtured by their parents or by significant teachers excelled while the others were destined to mediocrity, regardless of their extraordinary IQs. One of Gladwell’s observations about nurturing reinforced a skepticism I’ve had about the contemporary idea of “helicopter parents” in the U.S.A. A study by Annette Lareau (pp. 116-117) concluded, “The wealthier parents were heavily involved in their children’s free time, shuttling them from one activity to the next, quizzing them about their teachers and coaches and teammates.” Is it any surprise that the children with potential who had wealthy and involved parents were more successful? Could it also be that the “helicopter parents” about whom some administrators now complain are only those middle class parents who finally figured out how privileged parents behaved all along?

In relation to finding meaningful work, Gladwell analyzed several cases to identify three essential factors of success: 1) the opportunity for autonomous action, 2) the challenge of complexity, and 3) an obvious connection between effort and reward. When these three variables are present, we see ourselves as more efficacious in our action – we strive, we push, and we ultimately accomplish. In addition to efficacy, another variable related to hard work is the role of culture, particularly where cultural groups’ admonition for hard work leads to perfection over time. Gladwell shared several examples of his 10,000 hour rule. These examples demonstrated that the people who emerged as the best always gave at least 10,000 hours to developing the capacity for their work. In these cases, it was obvious that all those who were successful believed that “work ought to be a thing of beauty.” (p. 279) The work didn’t need to be glamorous as was demonstrated by the culture of rice paddy farmers in Asia. All it took was dedicated effort, the likes of which is reflected in the Chinese peasant adages of, “No food without blood and sweat,” “In winter, the lazy man freezes to death,” and “If a man works hard, the land will not be lazy.” (pp. 278-279) While Asian culture isn’t the only one recognized for its encouragement of industry, it is one of the cultures that established a legacy supportive for those who seek to find meaningful work and then give their entire being to it.

The bottom line of all Gladwell’s stories is that “To build a better world we need to replace the patchwork of lucky breaks and arbitrary advantages that today determine success – the fortunate birth dates and the happy accidents of history – with a society that provides opportunities for all.” (p. 314) Does genius matter? Of course it does. But genius is not sufficient for success. As Gladwell proposed, genius can simply be average ability coupled with preparation, opportunity, and hard work. What a freeing realization for those of us who have yet to realize our full potential?

Future of Freedom - Zakaria

My latest read was The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and Abroad by Fareed Zakaria. It is an incredibly interesting book that critiques pretty much the entire globe for forms of democracy that are not working. And, Zakaria provides lots of evidence for why each is flawed and how it might be improved.

The first point that Zakaria challenges is the belief that democracy is the entry point to prosperity. This belief is where many advocates of democratic reform begin - stir the people to elections, democracy will follow, and then prosperity and peace. The evidence tells a very different story - that moderate economic improvement (i.e. the creation of a middle class) results in a critical mass of empowered citizens who will eventually demand an accountable and effective government. Countries with too low a GDP can't muster the hope and possibility. Countries with too high a GDP are "trustfund" states where wealth creates a lethargy about asserting citizens' needs. So, economic improvement is the door to democracy when the GDP is modest, but not exorbitant.

Zakaria's second assertion is that democracy doesn't go from nothing to full-force without cultivation. For example, the British Empire invested in infrastructure among some of its colonies which then were able to sustain democracy after the British left. In those colonies where the Brits (and other colonial powers) left the public bereft of political will and means, governments slid precariously into their own monarchies or dictatorships. Had there been an investment in community building, and had colonial powers not saddled the new nations with borders fraught with ethnic and religious problems, perhaps the future of democracy in the post-colonial years would have been different.

And, "perhaps the future of democracy would have been different" brought the question of the future of freedom very close to home - to the Middle East. Many references are made throughout Zakaria's book to the challenges of the Middle East, and particularly of the Arabian Gulf oil-rich monarchies. The point he made was that little nation building took place after the colonial/protectorate governments left, leaving monarchs to rule in an environment of extreme wealth where the government could take care of pretty much anything the public might want. The Arabian Gulf has a number of benevolent monarchs who work hard to make their citizens comfortable and happy and the lack of need in luxury discourages democratic aspirations.

Not only is the Middle East critiqued. Asia, South America, Russia, and elsewhere are equally placed under the microscope. One of the most interesting warnings about the future of freedom is levied at the U.S.A. Zakaria warns of democracy gone wild in the U.S.A. as a result of leveling the playing field to the degree that only lobbyists and interest groups can impact public policy. The legislation by referendum that showered down on government after California's Proposition 13 resulted in heightened levels of direct influence by citizens. Professional politicians, rather than public servants, fill the conference rooms and voting chambers and every vote is public. "What has changed in Washington is not that politicians have closed themselves off from the American people and are unwilling to hear their pleas. It is that they do scarcely anything but listen to the American people." (p. 166) And to money, lobbyists, and special interests.

So, for the U.S.A., Zakaria recommends a period of reflection on legislative process, with attention to the inordinate power of special interest referenda, and getting back to building economic opportunity through education. By fostering prosperity that citizens themselves own, government would then be able to focus on the issues that are truly in the broader public's best interest rather than creating safety nets that reinforce dependency on the state.

In the chapter titled "The Way Out" Zakaria proposes that government in developing countries "must demonstrate deep commitment and discipline in their policies" and "must focus on the long-term with regard to urban development, education, and health care." Finally, a welcome sigh of relief came over me. Qatar is mentioned in several places as an example of a monarchy dedicated to developing capacity that will result in a growing middle class able to articulate its own needs and work with its government on the things that have the greatest potential to improve the quality of their lives. The form of government that will work best for Qatar has some elements that are democratic, and overtime these will likely increase, but Qatar's brand of democracy may not be the same that western countries expect.

Zakaria has far too many ideas to summarize in a post such as this. Suffice it to say that all areas of the world have their turn to face criticism. By doing so, the opportunities to confront illiberal democracy are enhanced to a level that we might even be able to make the core purposes of freedom and democracy work.

Economic and environmental future - crazy idea

An advantage of living in the Arabian Gulf as a citizen of the U.S.A. is that I sometimes see things in a different way. That's what this post is about - a different way of creating a sustainable economic and environmental future. I have no idea where the idea might go but, for fear no one has thought of it before, I share it here and I will share it privately with some of my colleagues in Qatar who might be able to do something about it.

One of the most negative impacts of the post-9-11-01 era is the suspicion in the West over being dependent on the Arabian Gulf and broader Arab world for oil. This has driven the West to risky off-shore drilling the likes of which brought us the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The impact of the BP gusher will be felt for generations and untold millions of people are suffering and economies risked – all in the name of avoiding dependence on oil from the Gulf. The West needs to stop being so paranoid and taking unnecessary risks but they won’t do it without some assurance of stability and security.

What if OPEC, perhaps even led by Qatar, proposed a steady supply of oil/gas at a stable price for the next ten years (maybe more)? A steady price would assure the oil producers of a constant source of income and it would avoid the precarious ups and downs of the commodity market. During the ten years, the West, in cooperation with the Gulf, would pursue research to perfect other energy sources that would gradually replace oil/gas over the next 50-100 years (the projected natural lifetime of these resources). By proposing an idea like this, the West could stop risky practices, achieve financial stability, and create new energy markets. The Arabian Gulf would have an immediate steady source of income while it sought other partnerships for new energy sources that will secure its long-term future. Both the West and the Gulf benefit as a more trusting and mutual relationships is established and we all get a glimpse of what a sustainable environment would be like.

Securing freedom is at least partially dependent on creating economic vitality. Suspicion, exploitation, and self-serving purposes have failed us. Perhaps it is time to look at what we have to gain by joining together in resolving the globe's energy and environmental challenges...

Globalization and the "imagined other"

I've continued to read Religions: A Scholarly Journal, Issue 0, of the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue. The most recent article I read by Afe Adogame (p. 174-192) explained that, in relation to religious and political dialogue in Nigeria, globalization has created a sense of "imagined other" that has turned inter-group awareness into marginalization and violence. The point made is that, as globalization continues to emerge, cultural groups are introduced to each other in ways that create competition and antagonism. The reason this occurs is that as difference is recognized, it sometimes hardens one's own cultural perspective, resulting in differences being exaggerated beyond what they really are. Thus, an "imagined other" is constructed through differentiation rather than through seeing the possibilities for mutual and shared journey.

What I find fascinating is how this concept relates to one I introduced during discussions at the recent National (U.S.A.) Leadership Symposium held in Richmond, Virginia, last week. I was asked to offer comments on Deeper Learning in Leadership and, of course, due to the intervening three years of working abroad since I published it, I couldn't help but reflect through the new lenses I now have. What I proposed at the Symposium was that leadership educators may be better off to approach the question of the relevance of the 1,000+ definitions and approaches to leadership that we now have through "principled universalism" (Reza Shah-Kazemi, Religion: A Scholarly Journal, Issue 0, p. 117- 139, DICID) rather than trying to determine which is right or better than the others. The idea of "principled universalism" is that, in order to be successful in inter-faith dialogue, those who advocate it should concentrate on the universals that all/most religions embrace rather than attending to the differences that separate each. The idea is different than indiscriminate syncretism which is relativism used to create superficial sameness. Instead, principled universalism encourages differences in points of view and advocates that the fine points where religions diverge is the result of historic, cultural, and inspirational context. Many religions can then have a place and purpose while recognizing the importance and relevance of others. I used this core idea to propose that leadership might be the same way - rather than focusing on what separates the various perspectives on leadership, perhaps a strategy could be to accommodate the different views (business, political, social change, arts, etc.) while drawing out how each contributes to a universal hope for leadership - drawing the globe together in prosperity and peace.

Placing the two ideas together, "imagined other" and "principled universalism," then might allow us to recognize that, as the globe shrinks and exposes us to peoples we have never encountered before, we need to be careful not to construct imagined differences that could lead to competition and even conflict. What if global thinkers were able to identify universal aspirations that cross culture, history, politics, and economics? What if we recognized that our differences are important and must be respected but that, at our core, there are essential and universal aspirations toward which we can all work? What if the imagined others could be reduced in number in a variety of areas in our lives and what if leadership could be cultivated to bring this type of reason to the challenges we face around the globe?