|
The Informed CEO: It Takes a Network
by Brett Johnson
Our Crisis
What kind of on-the-job education is necessary for the business leader to find and retain "the edge" that keeps him or her "ahead of the curve" (a curve that may feel like a vertical cliff!)? I am not speaking of tech skills -- these are a daily part of any progressive environment -- but the general fields of knowledge that constitute real thinkers as opposed to dabblers. The answer to this question impacts everyone, from college students to the readers of the New York Times Book Review.
With pure data now doubling every two years, all fields of inquiry, from high-tech to humanities, are forced to decipher and organize massive amounts of knowledge. This exponential growth has accelerated intellectual fragmentation. Pundits remark that the Renaissance scholar Erasmus (fl. 1500) was the "last man who knew everything."
A comprehensive acquaintance with several areas of intellectual inquiry is beyond the grasp of all but a few rarefied savants.
Globalization, expansion of information and increasing specialization has subverted any vestiges of intellectual cohesion. There is no organizing center, no presuppositions comprehended and communicated by the majority of educated persons.
Medieval simplicity, Renaissance optimism and even Enlightenment hubris have yielded to post-modern fragmentation and subjectivity. "Truth" is now only a series of personal "truths".
Current ecological and political crises have ripped apart the already threadbare classical traditions. What is next on the intellectual horizon? If we have "power-shifted" (Toffler) from an Industrial to an Information-based socioeconomic reality, what lies ahead for those who aspire to some kind of intellectual integrity? If we are moving toward a post-information, "imagination age" (Rolf Jensen), what will a well-equipped leader need to know?
Our History
After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the fifth century AD, monasteries and cathedrals preserved the heritage of ancient civilization. By the twelfth century, universities emerged as an expansion of cathedral schools and places where the academic disciplines (summarized by the ancient trivium and quadrivium) were integrated and future leadership equipped. The very notion of "uni-vers-ity" [uni = one; verse = word] implied the integration of all knowledge within a cohesive framework.
The Renaissance (1400 - 1600) renewed interest in Classical learning, but the goal of education remained a broadly trained person who would be at home in several academic fields. Erasmus of Rotterdam (fl. 1500) was a literary critic, linguist, philosopher and theologian -- in other words -- a true "Renaissance Man." The first signs of modern fragmentation began to appear during this era as the medieval synthesis was undermined by renewed philosophical debates (dating back to Plato) and the rancorous theological polemics that polarized Catholics and Protestants.
By the time of the Enlightenment (fl. 1750 - 1800), cohesion in the West was completely undermined as "secular" (empirically validated and rationally consistent knowledge without reference to the divine) understanding was deemed superior to "sacred" (read: mythological or superstitious) wisdom. Religious notions were fine for personal piety (Schliermacher) and useful for placing the uneducated masses (Marx), but they were not the proper realms of serious thinking. Philosophy and religion became "privately engaging and publicly irrelevant" (Os Guinness).
As we enter a new millennium, Western cultures (and global villages touched by technology from the West) face the void predicted by the nihilistic 19th century philosopher Nietzsche. We have tried to retain vestiges of an integrated and moral world-view without the moral or philosophical center necessary for cohesion. This "death of God" announced by Nietzsche is not the explicit belief of most, but it is the functional presupposition of much of modern intellectual inquiry.
Integrated thinkers do exist and this void is being filled by some creative minds. Religious and spiritual impulses remain strong, but the fragmentation (and resulting hyper-specialization) of knowledge remains a challenge for an age where instant information and new paradigms of understanding area necessity, not a luxury. Is there a way through to a new integration? Is there a 21st century consensus that could rival the brilliance of the Medieval and Renaissance eras?
Our Opportunity
This intellectual challenge coincides with the sense of personal and corporate fragmentation we find among thoughtful leaders, especially in the information and imagination economies of the coming decades. The integration of transcendent purpose (calling), profitable activity (career), personal relationships (community) and profound thinking (creativity) is the challenge of our day. A commitment to lifelong learning and be becoming part of a network can provide some of the resources for personal and community reintegration.
There is a way to "break though to the other side" and forge a new cohesion of human inquiry. A personal Luminary Network is a group of creative thinkers committed to high principles and healthy practicality, to intellectual integration and sociocultural impact. A leader’s personal Luminary Network is founded upon the importance of:
Truth: The search for objective, trans cultural beliefs, ethics and ideals.
Dialogue: Ideas and practices are best tested in community, both locally and internationally. Interdisciplinary exchange results in the integration of diverse fields of knowledge.
Professional Standards: Luminaries must be respected professionals in their field and a personal interest in personal integration.
Multiple Luminary Networks groups already exist formally within various disciplines and informally in think tanks and university communities. A personal, 21st century Luminary Network is more practical than the coffeehouse clamor of college or laboratory language games. The Luminary Network is a unique network of creative and integrative persons committed to excellence in their discipline and capable of delivering insights with impact.
Our Network: First Steps
Creating a Luminary Network begins with leaders inviting cutting-edge luminaries from relevant fields of inquiry into their "inner circle". At first the personal Luminary Network might consist of thoughtful persons from one’s immediate circle of friends. As the network grows, other disciplines can be added. In the early stages, a personal Luminary Network consists of friends one can call and chat with informally or "players" requiring an appointment. As the Luminary Network grows, some formality and remuneration for the participants may be necessary.
How do we begin? What fields need to be part of our network of luminaries, our circle of insightful informants? In addition to colleagues in one’s specific field, the following categories may help in organizing our emerging network. Remember, this is a group of thinkers as well as practitioners. These individuals love to think "outside the box" and challenge conventional clichés
• Humanities and Fine Arts -- These facets of inquiry help leaders understand cultural currents and the higher (or lower) natures of people in the emerging global workplace.
• Political and Social Sciences -- Understanding emerging nations’ political leadership and the changing demographics of the first-world countries is a must for business impact. Trend analysis is part of this domain.
• Natural and Physical Sciences, including Genomics -- Ecology is more than disputes between business concerns and "tree-huggers". New scientific breakthroughs and the need to manage finite resources for a world population with rising expectations are of paramount importance.
• Economics and International Relations -- The rules keep changing and having a finger in the pulse of emerging market models, debt and trade issues and political hot spots is critical for strategic planning.
• Information and Technology: Breakthroughs come at a dizzying pace. Every leader must stay abreast here, lest he or she end up with the next decade’s "Betamax" product!
Networking and Reintegration
There are many more categories and subcategories to add to this list. However, these provide a beginning framework for lifelong learning. The notion that college and grad schools are the end of education is as antiquated as the slide rule. Learning through a Luminary Network enhances personal understanding (calling), encourages friendship (community), stimulates new thinking (creativity) and enhances productivity (career). In short, integration takes a network!
How does a new network of thinkers affect personal integration? A case can be made for such a network for the academy, business or government (think tanks will always be with us). How does connection with such luminaries impact corporate and personal life?
Our profitable endeavors (career) cannot be disconnected from the larger thinking community. If we are driven to excel in Internet "e-tailing", for example, knowledge of socioeconomic trends, cultural psychometrics and information technologies are essential. We need more than book summaries and the latest seminars. Personal contacts with real people who are experts in these fields enhance our ability to fulfill our place in the market.
Our sense of purpose (calling) will be challenged and stimulated by interdisciplinary interaction. If we are moved to allocate time and money to a medical project in a developing nation, our efforts will be better managed with anthropological, historical and religious knowledge.
Our personal relationships (community) will be aided by the insights of a network of thinkers. Artists may inspire our involvement in local theater. Literary luminaries may stimulate connections with libraries and schools.
The intuitive thinking of the arts and sciences enhance our fresh thinking (creativity). As the biogenetical facets of humankind are discovered and defined, we will learn more about our nature and how to nurture human possibilities. The fine arts and an appreciation of sound thinking will help us unite passion and principle and create holistic persons and communities.
Our present fragmentation can be transformed into a journey toward holistic formation if we are joyfully connected to insightful people who are excellent in their fields. Such networks create new paradigms of intellectual inquiry and economic possibility. Partnerships with business and education are eliciting new delivery systems for lifetime learning. Quality employees are adding to their skill-sets consistently in a way that helps their company and their personal career.
The capital of the 21st century will be people capable of integrated thinking. Leaders must navigate new cultural, economic and philosophical issues if they are going to be more than marginal in the global marketplace. A formal or informal Luminary Network will not be a luxury for the academic elite. It will be a necessity for personal and corporate growth.
Integrated, value-driven thinkers will be the key to 21st Century impact in all domains of life. The "bottom line" in the future includes profits and sustainable living; corporate innovation and community transformation. A Luminary Network makes this possible. The road ahead is not easy, but it is exciting. A new "bandwidth of the mind" must be employed to overcome the narrow confines of modern specialization.
The Information Age has made specialists of everyone, but integrated thinkers of very few. A commitment to humbly learn from other disciplines through relationships with key thinkers will develop neo-Renaissance persons able to navigate change with insight and impact.
|
