Leadership Pledge for the New Year: Be Here Now and Be There Now
Policies of every business, every leadership development program, must think in terms of both next quarter revenues and how today’s decisions will affect the next generations to come. We have to do a better job of being in the present moment and casting a long lens into the future. We need to be here and be there simultaneously.
We seem to be at a log jam between “jobs versus the environment” and this polarization is literally strangling us. We are watching, actually participating in creating a great chasm between the wealthy and the rest of the population; one of the reasons this country came into being was to rail against this type of extreme. The ramifications of the political and workplace decisions made now will impact us physically, emotionally, and mentally for years to come.
As we start this new decade here is one vital thought to ponder, “Water is always more precious than gold”.
King Midas found that out the hard way. Bernard Madoff is finding that out on a daily basis. What will it take for us to learn this lesson before we die of thirst?
“Be here now” means considering all aspects of a situation when making a present choice. That is the core of ethical leadership. “Be there now” is based on concepts that come from indigenous cultures. The Great Binding Law of the Iroquois” puts it eloquently, ”Look and listen for the welfare of the whole people and have always in view not only the present but also the coming generations.”
In the Native American way consequences of decisions come down to the seventh generation beyond us. We seem to have forgotten this in our quest for power, for domination. The fickle finger of fate is pointing not just to men, women also who continue to aspire to the “dominate and conquer” model of attaining success.
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