God Delusion

Tags

book, faith, God Delusion, religion, Richard Dawkins, summary

Just finished a book with that title by Mr. Richard Dawkins and I have to say that it’s been some time since some book made me think so much. I was born in Christian family and so I have been raised Christian, but throughout life my faith was less and less what Church would it like it to be, I suppose. I still believe in God, but my faith is different. This book made it different even more.

Mr. Dawkins says that most of the bad things happening in the world are to be blamed on religion, one or the other or all of them. I disagree, not because I particularly care for religion, but because I think people are to be blamed for all that is happening in the world. Religion is just one of universal – and powerful – excuses for doing bad things. Or all things. Faith is for people who cannot think for themselves or are too weak-minded to be able to. Faith is an evil precisely because it requires no justification and brooks no argument writes Mr. Dawkins and I agree. If children were taught to question and think through their beliefs, instead of being taught the superior virtue of faith without question, it is a good bet there would be no suicide bombers – and here I only partially agree. Ability to think critically and question everything is something that every one of us should be taught, but by whom? Not all parents or teachers can, simply because average mind cannot tackle such things and maybe this is the reason why it runs towards faith. And if not faith, then something else – greed, lack of perspectives, some other delusion, or simply depression – would supply us with suicide bombers.

Belief may be something providing mental stability to mind occupied with whatever surrounds it. Maybe faith is a fail-safe, giving us sort of ready-made explanation for all things we cannot explain ourselves, maybe this is also why there is so many people but relatively small number of recognized mass religions… we like to sign-up to ready-made recipes of the world, however questionable those may be, simply because we just are too insecure to question endlessly without finding answers. I may be following here old adage that religion is for the masses. But it really is, isn’t it?

Mr. Dawkins says something else that is very interesting: not a single atom that is in your body today was there when [past] event took place… Whatever you are, therefore, you are not the stuff of which you are made.

If that is really so, if all atoms of our bodies are in constant movement and are being replaced with new or other ones, then where our memories are coming from? How come those are stored for many years? I am sure that either Mr. Dawkins simplifies, or I have found another one of those riddles where the easiest solution to it lies in faith: the easiest answer is, our soul remembers all those things, not our bodies… not atoms, not matter.

Read this book. Regardless if you have faith or not.

 

Book of All Years

Tags

book, Cultures and Organizations, Hofstede, Merkel, Minkov

Just finished what I consider the best book for current times, a book which everyone – especially people living in Europe in times of refugees – should read. Ms. Merkel especially. She should actually be required to read it five times. Aloud.

It is a book where I wish I could memorize more and if I will ever read any book again, this should be the one. Will be the one.

The book is called “Cultures and Organizations” by Geert Hofstede, Gert Jan Hofstede and Michael Minkov. It is so famous that I will not bore you with my unprofessional analysis of its content (a summary of one of the previous editions can be found here). Believe me though when I tell you that it does explain why a lot of policies considering immigrants fail. Not only that – it gives you very good reason to expect that current refugee crisis in Europe and political program related to it will fail too. And may even end up in violence. Reading that book maybe will not help you to avoid that, but it will help you understand and in some cases, it may stop some nonsense. Hope springs eternal.

Popular Demand

Tags

AI, decisions, future, jobs, laws, populism, technology

Today world is full of populist pseudo-leaders using rhetoric people like to hear but offering no real solutions to problems. It is so easy to promise to build a wall, so easy to close borders. It is more difficult to fix the underlying causes of immigration. Politics became a game of thrones – who will get the seat to gain power, wealth, name in history. Reality though does not care, wheel of time moves unaffected by all this noise. There are issues out there not one of the leaders is even mentally ready to fix. World today changes because of technology and capitalism. Income gap is a reality pushing people for change, without really knowing what change they really want. They want different reality. But hey, it will not come by itself.

What needs to be done is not easy, involves tough choices and consequence. A lot of thinking and preparation. Technology threatens to remove a lot of jobs: driver-less cars will kill Uber, taxis, truck drivers and with it all mail or milk or post deliveries. This in itself represents great number of people. Robots replace manual labour. AI removes secretaries or assistants. Capitalism means producing goods cheaper and cheaper to beat competition, but that in assumption that someone is still out there to be able to buy those goods. If technology will remove jobs, who will buy those goods produced at near zero costs? Many of us will get by, but will have not enough to retire in comfort. We are, as humanity, getting older. Who will support us?

This is not to say that capitalism is bad. It drives a lot of inventions, if not all. But we need to come up with an idea how to share that additional value made without being communist about it. We need to divide income in a better way, without giving it away. We need to tackle those issues first. World is so interconnected today, that it moves like water. Rich economies attract poorer ones, as in nature trying to reach balance. We can either leave it to chaos, or try to control it using some measures. It is clear that some will gain without giving, but many more will gain and give, loosing at the same time reasons to emigrate. I don’t know what will work, simple giving money away may not be a solution. But this is what leaders should think about. The rest is just a circus and sometimes we laugh until we cry.

Shell…

Tags

life, nature, plant, shell

I found this shell like that on the beach in South Africa… Life 🙂

What I Read – “Now, Discover Your Strengths – How To Develop Your Talents and Those of the People You Manage” by Marcus Buckingham and Donald O. Clifton

Tags

Advice, character, Discover your strengths, Donald Clifton, management, Marcus Buckingham, theme, trait

Part two of yesterday’s post…

This is how you are supposed to manage people with themes I mentioned yesterday (in alphabetical order this time):

1. Achiever

• When there are times that require extra work, call on this person. Remember, that the saying “If you want to get a job done, ask a busy person” is generally true.
• Recognize that he likes to be busy. Sitting in meetings is likely to be very boring for him. So either let him get his work done or arrange to have him attend only those meetings where you really need him and he can be fully engaged.
• Help him measure what he gets done. He may well enjoy keeping track of hours, but, more important, he should have a way to measure cumulative production. Simple measures such as number of customers served, customers known by name, files reviewed, prospects contacted, or patients seen will help give him definition.
• Establish a relationship with this person by working alongside him. Working hard together is often a bonding experience for him. And keep low producers away from him. “Slackers” annoy him.
• When this person finishes a job, a rest or an easy assignment is rarely the reward he wants. He will be much more motivated if you give recognition for past achievement and then a new goal that stretches him.
• This person may well need less sleep and get up earlier than most. Look to him when those conditions are required on the job. Also, ask him questions such as “How late did you have to work to get this done?” or “When did you come in this morning?” He will appreciate this kind of attention.
• You may be tempted to promote him to higher-level roles simply because he is a self-starter. This may be a mistake if it leads him away from what he does best. A better course would be to pinpoint his other themes and strengths, and look for opportunities for him to do more of what he does well.

2. Deliberative

• Do not position this person in a role that requires snap judgements. She is likely to feel uncomfortable making decisions on gut alone.
• Ask her to join teams or groups that tend to be impulsive. She will have a temporizing effect, adding much-needed thoughtfulness and anticipation to the mix.
• She is likely to be a rigorous thinker. Before you make a decision, ask her to help you identify the land mines that may derail your plans.
• In situations where caution is required, such as situations that are sensitive to legal, safety, or accuracy issues, ask her to take the lead. She will instinctively anticipate where the dangers might lie and how to keep your flanks protected.
• She is likely to excel at negotiating contracts, especially behind the scenes. As far as you can within the confines of her job description, ask her to play this role.
• Honor that she may be quite a private person. Unless invited, do not push to become too familiar with her too quickly. And by the same token, do not take it personally if she keeps you at arm’s length.
• Do not ask her to be a greeter, rainmaker, or networker for your organization. The kind of effusiveness that this role requires may not be in her repertoire.
• In her relationships she will be selective and discriminating. Consequently, do not move her quickly from team to team. She needs to be confident that the people she surrounds herself with are competent and can be trusted, and this confidence takes time to build.
• As a manager she will be known as someone who gives praise sparingly, but when she does, it is truly deserved.

3. Input

• Focus this person natural inquisitiveness by asking him to research a topic of importance to your organization. He enjoys knowledge that comes from research.
• Position him in roles with a heave research component.
• Pay attention to his other strong themes. If he is also strong in Developer, he may excel as a teacher or trainer by peppering his lesson with intriguing facts and stories.
• Keep him posted on news within your organization. He needs to be in the know. Pass along books, articles, and papers you think he would like to know about and read.
• Encourage him to make use of the internet. He will use it to find information he thinks he needs. Not all of his facts-finding will be immediately useful, but it will be important for his self-esteem.
• Help him develop a system for storing the information he collects. This system will ensure that he can find it when he and the organization need it.
• When you are in meetings, make a point of asking him for information. Look for opportunities to say something positive about his recall, such as “It’s amazing. You always seem to have the facts we need.”

4. Learner

• Position this person in roles that require him to stay current in a fast-changing field. He will enjoy the challenge of maintaining his competency.
• Regardless of this role, he will be eager to learn new facts, skills, or knowledge. Explore new ways for him to learn and remain motivated, lest he start hunting for a richer learning environment. For example, if he lacks opportunities to learn on the job, encourage him to take courses that interest him at the local college or association. Remember, he doesn’t necessarily need to be promoted; he just needs to be learning. It is the process of learning, not the result, that energizes him.
• Help him track his learning progress by identifying milestones or levels that he has reached. Celebrate those milestones.
• In the same vein encourage this person to become the “master of trade” or “resident expert” in his field. Arrange for him to take the relevant classes. Be sure to recognize his learning with the appropriate certificates and plaques.
• Have this person work beside a master who will continuously push him to learn more.
• Ask him to conduct internal discussion groups or presentations. There may be no better way to learn than to teach others.
• Help him secure financial support to continue his education.

5. Strategic

• Position this person on the leading edge of your organization. His ability to anticipate problems and their solutions will be valuable. For example, ask him to sort through all of the possibilities and find the best way forward for your department. Suggest that he report back on the best strategy.
• Involve him in organizational planning. Ask him, “If this happened, what should we expect?” “If that happened, what should we expect?”
• Always give him ample time to think through a situation before asking for his input. He needs to play out a couple of scenarios in his mind before voicing his opinion.
• Recognize this person’s strength in the Strategic theme by sending him to strategic planning or futurism seminar. The content will sharpen his ideas.
• This person is likely to have a strength for putting his ideas and thoughts into words. To refine his thinking, ask him to present his ideas to his colleagues or to write them for internal distribution.
• When you hear or read of strategies that worked in your field, share them with this person. It will stimulate his thinking.

Again, it does ring true… Now, if you know me, you know what to do 🙂