Una filosofía más ambale y gentil sobre el éxito

Una de las ideas más es estudiadas en la psicología de apoderamiento es el concepto del éxito y como los seres humanos definen sus creencias para alcanzarlo. Pero rara vez encontramos un filósofo que nos haga cuestionar las premisas sobre las cuales construimos las estrategias para alcanzar el éxito. Alain De Botton es escritor, filósofo y observador del entorno social.  Ha escrito varios libros acerca el amor, viajes, arquitectura y literatura.  Su estilo de escritura basado en ensayos ha sido descrita como "filosofía del todos los días".  En este vídeo describe elocuentemente la necesidad de un acercamiento más, sensible, amable y gentil hacia el éxito. 

Como los otros monos nos perciben

Los monos...un video para estimular un cambio en nuestra propia percepción. 

Estrategias Colaborativas para Manejar y Superar la Crisis

En el día de hoy 25 de septiembre de 2009, 16,970 personas, muchas de las cuales son mujeres, madres jóvenes y jefes de familia, han sido notificadas de que serán despedidas de su empleo en el servicio público. Las razones para los despidos, los ahorros que generaran al erario público y la emisión de jucio reprochable o en apoyo son temas de discusión con argumentos y debates de parte y parte. Lo que si es claro es que se ha tomado la decisión y que solo el tiempo demostrara el resultado de esta. A estos hay que añadirle los cientos de miles de empleos en la empresa privada que se han eliminado en los pasados meses debido a la crisis económica mundial y los que se eliminaran a raíz de esta decisión y tenemos una situación realmente sin precedente en la historia de nuestra sociedad.

Hace varios meses que los medios de comunicación locales han provisto numerosas sugerencias para afrontar la situación de crisis y desempleo. Es casi una nota diaria, ya sea en radio, televisión o prensa escrita y cibernética, en todo momento hay algún psicólogo, motivador, economista o comediante dando sus consejos y dino-cápsulas de como salir adelante en estos tiempos.

Estoy seguro que estas personas hacen sus sugerencias de manera sincera y con la mejor intención. Pero hay algo en común en el listado de estrategias de éxito que los expertos declaman; Todas son soluciones individuales, como si viviéramos en una jungla y el darwinismo social fuese la única regla de sobre vivencia. Todas se basan en las teorías neo-existencialistas de auto-ayuda, a lo Paulo Coelho, poniendo la totalidad de la responsabilidad (tu escogiste trabajar en el gobierno) y el esfuerzo en el individuo (eres el autor exclusivo de tu propio destino). Como si el haber escogido mi vocación de educador, trabajador social o salubrista haya sido mi error. O peor aun, como todos tenemos el potencial de llegar a ser mega exitosos, si no logras salir de esto es por que eres un fracaso. La realidad es que este reto es sistémico y mucho más complejo. Una receta de comida para el éxito o una sopa de pollo para la depresión no serán suficiente.

Inclusive hay soluciones que profundizan los problemas. Una de las alternativas más recomendadas es establecer su propia empresa. Suena muy alentador, pero (sin entrar en las probabilidades y estadísticas de fracasos en pequeños negocios a los 12 meses de fundación) el libre mercado es uno de competitividad voraz y frió. Por definición habrá perdedores. Es ponerse a competir el uno contra el otro hasta que queden unos pocos sobrevivientes.

Hacen falta propuestas de soluciones colectivas, comunitarias y colaborativas para sobrepasar esta crisis y poder emerger exitosos, más fuertes y hacia un mejor futuro.

Yo no soy guru de auto-ayuda, ni aspiro a serlo. Pero he estado pensando en cosas diferentes, en comunión, que se nutren de la necesidad de interdependencia de las personas. Aquí unas ideas.

1. Buscar alternativas comunitarias a los problemas - Digamos que hay un problema de que muchas madres no podrán costear el cuido de sus bebes e infantes. Pues quizás, la comunidad se puede encargar del cuido de los menores, asignando unas personas para esta tarea, bajando los costos de cuido y proveyendo ingresos a miembros de la comunidad. Si el gasto en alimentos es muy alto, quizás se pueda hacer compras de comida por barrio, calle o comunidad y que se logren reducir los costos de los alimentos al comprar al por mayor. O mejor aun, identificar agricultores, ganaderos, y productores locales que estén dispuestos a vender sus productos a bajos precios a "canastas comunitarias" de alimentación.

2. Conglomerarse en comunidades de intereses comunes - Dicen en el campo que todo río caudaloso fue primero muchas gotas. Nuestra sociedad se ha alejado de ver el valor de estar organizados y unidos. Los pocos ejemplos de esto se han desvirtuado en organizaciones inútiles y centradas en personalismos e intereses individuales sobre los colectivos. Aun así, creo que es buen momento para tener razones claras y tangibles para estar organizados y plantear estrategias colectivas basadas en necesidades comunes. Sí, hay que salir de la casa. Sí, hay que reunirse y conversar, dialogar, conspirar, expresar, manifestar y retar. Retar posturas, visiones y creencias. Retar colectivamente el modo de hacer país, ya que lo que estamos viviendo es resultado de este modo.

3. Lanzarse a empresas con modelos cooperativos y de sociedades - Se trata de ensanchar nuestra idea de como alcanzar el progreso. Sobrepasar el modelo individualista de "él" empresario, visionario, exitoso y talentoso. Movernos de la auto-gestión a la gestión-colectiva. Llegar a la profunda creencia que juntos lograremos más. Estuve leyendo que en el Departamento de Educación habrá sobre 1,000 secretarias y oficinistas desplazadas. Cada una de esas trabajadoras podría ir a competir por los pocos puestos secretariales existentes en la Isla. Pero si se organizaran en una cooperativa, una sociedad comercial o alguna otra estructura legal podrían ofrecer sus servicios en conglomerado a empresas y agencias gubernamentales estadounidenses que enfrentan el gran reto de integrar una población hispana en rápido crecimiento. De igual forma, todos los empleados de mantenimiento, planta física y demás trabajos diestros podrían crear una empresa PPT de servicios de construcción liviana y remodelación (que le digo por experiencia escasean los trabajadores responsables y honestos en esta industria). En fin, revisar el banco de talento no solo personal, pero colectivo y construir sobre nuestras fortalezas.

Estoy seguro que las ideas y oportunidades de actuar colectivamente ante esta crisis abundan y van mucho más allá de mi imaginación. Tengo que confesar, que aunque llevo la mayor parte de mi vida explorando maneras de unificar esfuerzos y fomentar la colaboración entre individuos, sigo siendo producto de este modo de país y por consecuencia tengo limitaciones estructurales de formación que me impiden ver más soluciones en este momento. Aun así, creo pertinente explorar soluciones en países vecinos y otros no tan cercanos que han pasado por situaciones similares o más severas y de manera colaborativa, compartir con estos estrategias comunitarias a las crisis.

A los cerca de 17,000 trabajadores mi más genuino y honesto respeto, aprecio y solidaridad. Les invito a explorar conmigo soluciones comunitarias y sepan que no importa lo solitario que parezca el camino, existen oportunidades para colaborar.

Karel A. Hilversum M.Ed.

El autor es científico social, educador y facilitador de procesos de integración y colaboración de grupos y equipos en organizaciones, corporaciones y grupos comunitarios.

El rey del Hip Hop invierte en Liderazgo

Russell Simmons es mogul del Hip Hop, empresario afro-americano, escritor, creador de conversaciones culturales, y filántropo.  Uno de sus proyectos es la creacion del African Leadership Academy.  Fundada en septiembre de 2008, el ALA une a jóvenes talentosos de 16 a 19 años de 54 naciones africanas en un programa innovador de 2 años de duración.  El programa aspira a preparar y edificar a estos jóvenes en los futuros lideres del continente.  A continuación una transcripción de una entrada hecha por Simmons en su portal Global Grind - El Mundo de acuerdo al Hip Hop (me encanta esta presunción de perspectiva!)

Scratching the Surface in South Africa

Russell Simmons

A few years ago, I founded the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.) (www.diamondempowerment.org) to raise support of education initiatives in African nations where diamonds are a natural resource. Most people that know about D.E.F. think of the Simmons Jewelry Co's Green Bracelet, the symbol of our cause worn by many celebrities, athletes, and a few politicians. That's great, and every time I see someone wearing it I am happy to know it's out there getting seen and making a difference.

But sometimes even I forget how important the cause is since there are so many needs in the world, not to mention in Africa. D.E.F. is supporting two programs - CIDA City Campus and African Leadership Academy - both based in Johannesburg, South Africa. CIDA is the first virtually free business college in South Africa with almost 1000 students from very difficult circumstances and most coming from extreme poverty. African Leadership Academy is based in South Africa, but has set its sights on transforming the continent by helping talented and driven students from throughout Africa get the top education that will help them fulfill the promise of their God-given talents by getting a world-class education.

Plain and simple, both of these programs are about access to resources. I promise you - you will be hard pressed to find young people who are as focused, determined, and grateful for opportunity as the students of CIDA and ALA. They deserve to be able to get an education and chase their dreams with a chance of catching them. Read this important report from the NY Times which gives us some insight into the challenges and opportunities for South African youth. Reminds me we are just scratching the surface.

-Russell

Mapas Mentales y 'Brainstorming" en Equipo

Los mapas mentales son un tremendo recurso para organizar y tener presentes todos los conocimientos y eventos necesarios para el desempeño diario.  Es una excelente herramienta para la planificacion, colaboracion, plasmar nuevas relaciones de conocimiento o crear una imagen de conceptos y relaciones complejas.  Hace muchos años que llevo utilizandolos como herramienta primordial personal y profesional ya que mi estilo preferido de interpretar el mundo es el visual.  Recientemente me tope (gracias a mi gran amigo Victor) con esta nueva technologia llamada XMind que permite de manera facil crear mapas mentales de una calidad impresionante.  Quizas lo mas importante e innovador de XMind y lo que lo distingue de otros programas similares es la integracion de conceptos de Web 2.0 como "community sharing", su plataforma open source de acceso gratuito y la capacidad de compartir mapas con otros mediante blogs y otras plataformas.  A continuacion un video explicativo del programa.  Espero que esta herramienmta nos sirva para integrarnos y acercarnos mas.

Google Wave - Una nueva conversacion en colaboracion virtual

Los genios de Google nuevamente han salido de la manada y han creado una herramienta de comunicacion y colaboracion llamada Google Wave.  Integra un sin numero de herramientas existentes como la  idea de chat, e-mail, documentos compatrtidos y  los han llevado a conversaciones "real time" integradas.  Adicional estan lanzandolo codigo abierto para que el mundo lo pueda utilizar, transformar y modificar, exponiendolo al increible potencial de la comunidad.  El video es del lanzamiento de la aplicacion.  Tiene una duracion aproximada de hora y media,  pero garantizo que les va a  estimular la imaginacion radicalmente, especialmente el traductor "real time" de 40 lenguajes!!!  Ya no hay barreras de comunicacion entre culturas!!!!!  Definitivamente el trabajo en equuipo y la colaboracion ha alcanzado un nuevo nivel.

Liderazgo en momentos de crisis

A 8 años del acto terrorista, quisiera compartir una lectura simple que resume las actuaciones de un líder en el momento de crisis.

Adicional a esto, creo que una buena manera de recordar es escuchar las diversas perspectivas de ese momento de varios escritores y estudiosos del tema de liderazgo grabadas justo diís luego del 11 de septiembre de 2001.  El listado incluye impresiones de Ken Blanchard, Marshall Goldsmith, Tom Peters, Stephen Covey y otros.  Visiten http://www.masie.com/perspectives/.

9/11 Leadership Lessons

Jeff Janssen, Janssen Sports Leadership Center

FOUR STEPS FOR CRISIS LEADERSHIP

On September 11, 2001 we witnessed both the destructive power of evil leadership and the resilient power of heroic leadership by FDNY, NYPD, and countless others.

One figure who stands tall as an example of effective leadership during the crisis is former New York mayor, Rudy Giuliani.

Regardless of your current political leanings, Guiliani's leadership during the 9/11 tragedy is something leaders from all walks of life can learn from.

In his book titled Leadership, Giuliani writes, "It is in times of crisis that good leaders emerge."

Giuliani demonstrated that during times of crisis, leaders must do four critical things: be highly visible, composed, vocal, and resilient.

BE VISIBLE

Giuliani writes, "While mayor, I made it my policy to see with my own eyes the scene of every crisis so I could evaluate it firsthand."

During a crisis, leaders must be out front rather than running or hiding from the ordeal. They must go to the scene of disaster and stand front and center - to accurately assess the situation as well as show their concern, while also demonstrating confidence that the group will persevere.

Business author Tom Peters writes of Guiliani's courage to be visible: Rudy "showed up" - when it really mattered, on 9/11. As one wag put it, he went from being a lameduck, philandering husband to being Time magazine's "Man of the Year" in 111 days. How? Not through any "strategy," well-thought-out or otherwise. But by showing his face. By standing as the embodiment of Manhattan's Indomitable Spirit.

As a leader, be sure you don't retreat when faced with a crisis. Rather than hide from the chaos and confusion, be sure to step in to sort things out and find a solution.

Again, political preferences aside, the importance of being visible during a crisis can also be learned from George W. Bush's presidency. Like Giuliani, Americans rallied around President Bush when he went to Ground Zero and grabbed a bullhorn amid the rubble to reassure the nation.

Contrast that with President Bush's lack of a timely response to Hurricane Katrina. Bush was noticeably absent during the first few days of the crisis and his poll numbers took a big hit.

Bottom Line: Step up during a crisis to survey the scene and be there for your people.

BE COMPOSED

Guiliani writes: "Leaders have to control their emotions under pressure. Much of your ability to get people to do what they have to do is going to depend on what they perceive when they look at you and listen to you. They need to see someone who is stronger than they are, but human, too."

No matter how difficult things may seem, you must maintain your poise under pressure. People will be looking to your face as well as tuning into the tone of your voice to determine whether they should panic or remain calm; to give in or maintain hope.

As Duke men's basketball coach reminds us in his book Leading with the Heart, "A leader must show the face his team needs to see."

Bottom Line: Be sure to show your team that you are calm and in control, even though you may not exactly feel that way at the time. Your calm demeanor will go a long way toward helping your team think clearly and react appropriately during the crisis.

BE VOCAL

Giuliani writes, "I had to communicate with the public, to do whatever I could to calm people down and contribute to a orderly and safe evacuation [of lower Manhattan.]"

In addition to being visible and composed, leaders must step up in an effort to calm people down and communicate with them.

Bottom Line: You must speak up and take charge of what people are thinking and feeling at the time. You must reassure them and give them a simple yet specific plan that will get people through the crisis. Outline important action steps that they can take immediately to help themselves and the team.

BE RESILIENT

As difficult as the crisis can seem, remind people that there is hope.

Giuliani writes: "I am an optimist by nature. I think things will get better, that the good people of America and New York City will overcome any challenge thrown our way. So in the face of this overwhelming disaster, standing amid sixteen acres of smoldering ruins, I felt a mixture of disbelief and confidence... that Americans would rise to this challenge."

While your athletic challenges pale in comparison to 9/11, they can still discourage, distract, and debilitate those on your team.

Bottom Line: Give your team a sense of hope. Let them know that they have the ability to make it through the crisis.

Crecimiento Post-Traumatico

Post-Traumatic Gowth

Tony Robbins July 14, 2009

We have all heard of post-traumatic stress syndrome. We have studied how human beings deal with and react to extreme stressors they encounter in their lives: war, attack, financial ruin, illness, death. There are thousands of tragedies and crises that can produce extreme stress in human beings. But very few people have actually studied how people respond to stress in a positive way. There is something called post-traumatic growth. You can have amazing personal growth come out of extremely stressful situations. And that's what I talk to people about. When you face extreme stress you have a couple of options. One positive option is to face that stress, do something and try to deal with that problem in your life. Reappraise your life. Decide that you "have to look at life differently." It's the proactive approach.

Three benefits of extreme stress:

You Discover what you are made of. You come to realize that you are stronger than you ever dreamed. Your sense of what you are capable of shifts and becomes an "inmune system" that allows you to face other challenges in your future more easily.

It deepens all of your relationships. You get to find out who your real friends are. The depth and the appreciation of those friendships is extraordinary. When you experience an extreme stressor and you aren't able to give everyone everything they want, your fair weather friends disapear. Remember, what truly make people most happy is their internal emotional and social relationships.

Changes your consciousness. When things are going well we keep expecting things to keep going well. It puts a different perspective on your life. You value the little things in life more.

People who face extreme stress, instead of hiding from it, can experience benefits. We are all stronger than we think we are. Winter doesn't last forever and what follows is a beautiful springtime. If you remember that, you can go to work and focus on what you can do to change your life, change your perspective, rather than denying it or living in fear.

¿Que significa ser Humano?

Algunas de las mentes mas talentosas del mundo se reunen en una conversacion exquisita sobre lo que significa ser Humano. Es impresionante entender las diferentes perspectivas, tomando en cuenta la gran diversidad de areas de estudio de este grupo compuesto por Biologos, Filosofos, Neurocientificos, Antropologos, Geneticistas, Sociologos, Ingenieros de Computacion y Fisicos. Realmente una oportunidad unica de ampliar nuestra percepcion y acercarnos a entender nuestro estado de humanidad.

WDYDWYD?

Why Do You Do What You Do? Esa es la pregunta que le hizo un niño de 12 años a Tony Deifell (foto) una noche en 1999. Pregunta profunda, que nos lleva a reflexionar diariamente sobre nuestro sentido de proposito y razon de ser.

Tony decidio hacer esa misma pregunta a otras personas creando un proyecto artistico-comunitario a nivel global combinando imagenes y texto en maneras creativas. Desde entonces cerca de 3,000 imagenes respondiendo a esta pregunta han sido posteadas en el site de wdydwyd?

Y tu, ¿Por que haces lo que haces?

Moon Ball

Signs

Solos una gota; Juntos un diluvio

Escala Pentatónica

Hace años que Bobby McFerrin maravilla al mundo con su genialidad. Ha grabado muchisimos discos entre ellos con estrellas como Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, con Yo-Yo Ma y muchos otros. Ha hecho jazz, se codea con los clásicos, ha ganado varios premios Grammy, y nos ha tenido tarareando "Don’t Worry, Be Happy" a muchos, muchas veces. Esta vez nos demuestra que la música tiene un lenguaje universal. Son tres minutos de sorpresa y genialidad.

La neblina del dia a dia

Este artículo me puso a pensar en lo necesario que es tener una buena perspectiva de las cosas....

My Brain on Chemo: Alive and Alert
By Dan Barry.  Published: August 31, 2009

Within the chemotherapy alumni corps there exists a mutual respect not unlike the bond shared by veterans of war. Sometimes that respect is silently conveyed; not everyone wants to talk about it. And sometimes it is shared in the shorthand of the battle-hardened.

Where? Esophagus. Who? Sloan-Kettering. What kind? Cisplatin, fluorouracil, Drano, Borax ... . Side effects? The usual: nausea, vomiting, hair loss. And the toes are still numb.

Yeah.

At this point the two chemo alums may begin to sense a phantom metallic taste at the back of their throat, a taste sometimes prompted by the intravenous infusion of the corrosive chemicals intended to save their lives. A strong drink might be in order; maybe two.

With that first, taste-altering sip, the two might begin to discuss another side effect that has received attention lately, the one rudely called “chemo brain”: the cognitive fogginess that some patients experience after completing their regimen. That fogginess does not always completely lift, and oncologists are now taking seriously what they might once have dismissed as a complaint rooted in advanced age or cancer fatigue.

For me, reading about chemo brain has resurrected that faint taste of metal. I underwent chemotherapy in 1999 and again in 2004, thanks to a profoundly unwelcome recurrence. Depending on one’s perspective, I was both unfortunate and fortunate. Unfortunate in that I endured all the concomitant fears and indignities, twice. Fortunate in that I had the option of chemotherapy, twice. Not all cancers respond; not everyone is so lucky.

I experienced all the typical side effects. Nausea: for several days at a time, though vomiting sometimes broke the monotony. Hair loss: I was balding anyway, so chemo saved me from comb-over delusions. Neuropathy: even now, my toes feel as if they were wrapped in cotton.

And, I now think, chemo brain — but a form that seems to be the common definition’s opposite. My self-diagnosis is that I had a pre-existing case of fogginess that lifted during and immediately after my chemotherapy regimen: I suddenly experienced acute clarity. Then, as the effects and memory of chemotherapy faded, my confusion returned. Twice.

In 1999, before the diagnosis of cancer and the prognosis of let’s hope for the best, I was enveloped in the haze of the everyday. Rather than rejoicing in a loving wife, a daughter not yet 2, a job I enjoyed — in being, simply, 41 — I created felonies out of matters not worth a summons. Traffic jams. Work conflicts. No Vienna Fingers in the cupboard. Felonies all.

Cancer, as is often said, tends to focus the mind. But my diagnosis hovered in the theoretical until the moment I began the first of six rounds of chemotherapy, each one requiring a five-day hospital stay. The nurse hung bags of clear, innocent-looking liquid from an IV pole, found a plump vein along my right arm — and the fog slowly lifted.

Sickened by the mere smell of food, I suddenly saw the wonder in the most common foods: an egg, a hard-boiled egg. Imprisoned and essentially chained to an IV pole, I would stare out my hospital room window at the people below, and feel a rush of the purest envy for their routine pursuits. Imagining the summer night air blowing cool through sweat-dampened shirts, I’d think how good a $3 ice cream would taste right about now, or a $5 beer, and how nice it would be to watch a baseball game of no consequence.

Men acting like boys, hitting, throwing, running on grass. I used to play baseball. In the morning, after urinating away the remnants of poisons pumped into me, I would roll my IV-pole partner back to the window and study again the people below, moving, hustling, ambling, to jobs, to appointments, to a diner, maybe, for one of the fried-egg sandwiches served countless times every morning in Manhattan.

Gradually, from midsummer to late fall, the chemotherapy transformed me into a bald guy whose pallor was offset only by the hint of terror in his eyes. But the chemo also wiped away the muddle, revealing the world in all its mundane glory. I won’t tell you that I wept at the sight of a puppy. But I did linger over my sleeping daughter to watch her tiny chest rise and fall. I did savor the complexities of a simple olive. I did notice fireflies, those dancing night sparks I had long ago stopped seeing.

After the chemotherapy, radiation and a few weeks to allow things to settle down, as my doctor put it, I was declared “clean” in February 2000. Never again, I vowed, would I take these simple things for granted. I was blind, but now I see.

The fog, of course, returned as the effects and memory of chemo faded, no matter that my wife and I were now blessed with two daughters. How I hated traffic jams. And the Vienna Fingers! Who ate the last Vienna Finger?

Then, in the late spring of 2004, probably while I was railing about something eminently unimportant, my cancer impolitely returned. Once again I felt the frigid breath of mortality at my neck. I also felt like a fool. What is the use of surviving cancer if you don’t learn from it? Are improved by it? Am I so thick that I need to receive the life-is-precious message twice?

I returned to Sloan-Kettering for more chemotherapy and more of the same side effects — including my own manifestation of chemo brain. Fog lifted, world revealed.

After the chemotherapy came major surgery, which provided the exclamation point to whatever chemo was trying to tell me. Once again I was declared clean. And this time, by God! This time!

I became a walking platitude, telling friends without a trace of irony to live every day as though it were their last. Because, man, I’ve been there. And if I weren’t so repressed I’d give you a hug.

Slowly, insidiously, the fog of the everyday has returned to enshroud me. It came in wispy strips, a little more, then a little more, wrapping me like a mummy. Just the other day, in the car with my wife and my two daughters, I began railing about being stuck in a traffic jam.

Perspective, my wife said. Perspective.

I could not hear her. You see, I’m struggling with this pre-existing human condition.

Dan Barry writes the “This Land” column in The New York Times.