Entries Tagged 'People' ↓

Mc 10,2-16.
Des pharisiens l’abordèrent et pour le mettre à l’épreuve, ils lui
demandaient : « Est-il permis à un mari de renvoyer sa femme ? »
Jésus dit : « Que vous a prescrit Moïse ? »
Ils lui répondirent : « Moïse a permis de renvoyer sa femme à condition
d’établir un acte de répudiation. »
Jésus répliqua : « C’est en raison de votre endurcissement qu’il a formulé
cette loi.
Mais, au commencement de la création, il les fit homme et femme.
A cause de cela, l’homme quittera son père et sa mère,
il s’attachera à sa femme, et tous deux ne feront plus qu’un. Ainsi, ils ne
sont plus deux, mais ils ne font qu’un.
Donc, ce que Dieu a uni, que l’homme ne le sépare pas ! »
De retour à la maison, les disciples l’interrogeaient de nouveau sur cette
question.
Il leur répond : « Celui qui renvoie sa femme pour en épouser une autre est
coupable d’adultère envers elle.
Si une femme a renvoyé son mari et en épouse un autre, elle est coupable
d’adultère. »
On présentait à Jésus des enfants pour les lui faire toucher ; mais les
disciples les écartèrent vivement.
Voyant cela, Jésus se fâcha et leur dit : « Laissez les enfants venir à
moi. Ne les empêchez pas, car le royaume de Dieu est à ceux qui leur
ressemblent.
Amen, je vous le dis : celui qui n’accueille pas le royaume de Dieu à la
manière d’un enfant n’y entrera pas. »
Il les embrassait et les bénissait en leur imposant les mains.
==============================================================================

Devant cette épineuse question de la séparation d’union de deux êtres : homme et femme, Je vois que la même question de deux mille ans se pose toujours aujourd’hui. Jésus considère le remariage comme un acte d’adultère. Ce serait trop facile pour nous humain, de montrer du doigt des humains faibles d’un tel acte. Jésus nous indique bien d’un idéal et pourtant Lui, le miséricordieux qu’il est, serait toujours présent à nous tendre la main dans la mesure de notre conscience.

Devant cette multitude grandissante de divorces, Il me demande d’ avoir de la compassion, d’ être le dispenseur d’amour. Seul Dieu  qui connait la profondeur des consciences serait apte à juger. La rupture d’un mariage n’est pas un petit incident de parcours, il est pour bien de cas des moments traumatisants. Devons nous rajouter de la douleur aux couples désunis en les condamnant ? Tout au contraire, je serai encore plus chrétien quand je porterai de la compassion et  d’amour à mes frères qui se trouvent en détresse. Je vivrai le Jésus compatissant et miséricordieux.

Je trouve fort intéressant que le texte de l’Evangile s’enchaine avec la présentation des enfants à Jésus. N’est ce pas que les enfants sont les fruits de l’union des couples ? J’ai le sentiment que les enfants que Jésus regarde avec une si grande compassion sont trop souvent les victimes des divorces et des familles prisées.

Quels sont les caractéristiques de l’enfant qu’il nous faut pour entrer dans le royaume de Dieu ? Je considère un enfant comme une éponge, dans notre tendre enfance, nous avions la très grande capacité d’absorber en toute humilité tout les biens autour sans cupidité, d’avoir une entière confiance dans nos ainés et surtout d’être émerveillé.

Augmente en moi, Seigneur, un cœur compatissant sans jugement de mes frères. Donne-moi Seigneur Jésus Christ, de rester humble comme un enfant, de croire en Toi, notre pourvoyeur de tout et surtout de rester émerveillé de Ton amour pour humanité et moi.

I have been in admiration with Disney ever since the first time I set foot on Disney Land in California in the very early 80’s. The quality of service and the settings of the place were absolutely stunning. In terms of entertainment nothing in the world can match Disney.

I came to know a fairly bit of the mode of operation of Disney when I attended a training seminar with Ansett Airlines of Australia in the early 90’s. The training was given by a subsidiary company of Disney, specialised in the concept of Fun Learning.

Down in Melbourne where Ansett was headquartered, the whole world wide organisation went through a 2 day program to know better Ansett and more importantly to understand the concept of team work within Ansett. It was just before the company went on a public listing on the stock market. The training company commissioned a theatre for six months and set up the place to give you the feeling of a Fun as if you were at a Disney entertainment park where we all had fun whilst learning. I was really amazed with the lessons I learnt whilst enjoying with fun and laughter…

I recall very clearly as I was impressed. To show us the need to play in tune with the organisation, we were assembled in the theatre and each of us was assigned a musical instrument:

1. An analogy to the company where each individual has a specific role as in an orchestra.

2. Each role has to be played to the best of our capability whilst respecting the music score.

3. To perform the best music, in respecting the beat, timing, volume, intensity etc.

4. Each musician whilst playing his own score has to be aware of the harmony of the orchestra.

Reading the profile of Lenn Millbower, today I can only suspect that he was involved with setting up similar learning seminars.

Lenn Millbower has coined his present business after working for years with Disney: Learnertaiment.

From Disney training leader to published author, from musician-magician to college professor, Lenn’s lauded Learnertainment® techniques have taught more than 1 million business leaders, trainers, educators and presenters how to keep their audience ‘awake so their message can take’.

Using the secrets of show biz, Lenn’s interactive brain-based entertainment-fused learning events, e training coaching system, open enrollment workshops, and keynote presentations Lenn can help you and your organization deliver the interactivity your audience wants and the results your organization needs.

His published works – including the CLOUT Creator Inventory©, Show Biz Training and Training With A Beat – have been used by instructional designers, trainers, educators, and speakers throughout the world to design and deliver five-star Oscar worthy learning programs.

On the other hand the creativity of Walt Disney himself is awesome. In NLP we have a special chapter where we study the creativity strategy of Walt Disney.

Frequent professional speaker at ASTD ICE, NSA, MPI, IAL, and other national events; workshop leader for Offbeat Training seminars including the Learnertainment® Skills Development Lab, From Out to CLOUTâ„¢, Learning With A Beatâ„¢, That’s Learnertainmentâ„¢, Razzle Dazzle Designâ„¢, Cultivate Your Creativity, and Business Brainstormâ„¢; and author of The CLOUT Creator Inventory©, Training With A Beat, Show Biz Training, Cartoons for Training, Game Show Themes for Trainers.

Last night, I spent two hours listening to the recordings I took during the eye opening seminar I attended by a Philosopher. The material was so dense that I had to stop the recording on and off to reflect thereon. I then mentally reassess my position in the light of Bertrand Vergely point of view. By so doing, I found that by using an ‘observer’ perceptual position, I could better judge the position to take, in melting some of the good sense that Bertrand Vergely was driving to some of my own convictions. I totally adhere to the thesis of Bertrand Vergely on Primary Intelligence (reptilian) and Creative Intelligence which was for me a new way of defining the type of intelligence.

Today whilst reading, an article of coaching it was suggested that one could be one’s own coach by imagination and the use of our creative intelligence. In NLP, we call this the ‘what if’ frame. This is at least how Marshall Goldsmith & Patricia Wheeler start off their script on Coaching.

The best coaching advice you’ll ever receive in life comes from a wise old person. Listen carefully:

First, take a deep breath. Now, imagine that you are 95 years old and about to die. Before you take your last breath, you are given a wonderful, beautiful gift: the ability to travel back in time and talk with the person you are today. The 95-year-old you has the chance to help the you of today to have a great career and a great life.

The 95-year-old you knows what was really important and what wasn’t; what really mattered and what didn’t; what really counted and what didn’t count at all. What advice does the wise “old you” have for you? Take your time. Jot down the answers on two levels: personal advice and professional advice. And once you write down these words, take them to heart.

In a world of performance appraisals, this may well be the one that matters most. At the end of life, if the old you thinks that you did the right thing, you probably did. If the old you thinks that you screwed up, you probably did. At the end of life, you don’t have to impress anyone else—just the person you see in the mirror.

Four Recurring Themes

When a friend once talked with old people facing death and asked them what advice they would have given themselves, their answers were filled with wisdom—and four themes:

1. Take time to reflect on life and find happiness and meaning now. A frequent comment runs along these lines: “I got so wrapped up in looking at what I didn’t have that I missed what I did have. I had almost everything. I wish I had taken more time to appreciate it.”

2. Look to the present. The great disease of “I will be happy when…” is sweeping the world. You know the symptoms. You start thinking: I’ll be happy when I get that . . . BMW . . . promotion . . . status . . . money. The only way to cure the disease is to find happiness and meaning now.

3. Don’t get so lost in pleasing the people who don’t care that you neglect the people who do—your friends and family. You may work for a wonderful company and believe that your contribution is important. But when you’re 95 and on your death bed, very few of your fellow employees will be waving goodbye! Your friends and family will likely be the only people who care.

4. Give it a try—follow your dreams. Older people who tried to achieve their dreams were happier with their lives. None of us will ever achieve all of our dreams. If we do, we will just make up new ones! If we go for it, we can at least say at the end, “I tried!” instead of, “Why didn’t I at least try?”

When we interview high-potential leaders worldwide and ask them: “If you stay in this company, why will you stay?”, we hear the same answers: “I’m finding meaning and happiness now.” “The work is exciting, and I love what I am doing.” “I like the people here. They are my friends. This feels like a team—like a family. I might make more money if I left, but I don’t want to leave the people here.” “I can follow my dreams. This organization gives me the chance to grow and do what I really want to do in life.”

To make a new beginning in life or in your leadership, look ahead to the end and then decide what to do.

Growing Into Success

Why do some people reach their creative potential early while equally talented peers don’t? We’ve all seen the near-misses: people who have talent to spare but never quite make it; and those, like the tortoise in Aesop’s fable, who enjoy eventual success that once seemed out of reach to most observers.

If you believe you are born with all the smarts and gifts you’ll ever have, you tend to approach life with a fixed mind-set. However, those who believe that their abilities can expand over time live with a growth mind-set—and they’re much more innovative.

As coaches, we encounter people who have a stellar track record, off-the-chart IQ, great technical expertise, and a track history of success—but who then reach a career plateau. In contrast, we work with individuals who, despite a rather pedestrian early track record, lack of Ivy League pedigree, surpass those who appear to be the “chosen ones.” How does this happen—and what can you do about it?

This is good news for those who do not grow up feeling chosen or special. Feeling much more like the tortoise than the hare, you may stumble along while others seem to sail through life easily and successfully—or so it seems.

In reality, the pampered and pedigreed are often the ones who stumble, due to adopting a fixed mindset. We’ve all seen folks who were tapped as stars early in life. Cheered on by doting, praise-lavishing parents, they develop the sense that their talents are God-given qualities that they can count on for future success.

What’s the problem with this? They feel entitled to succeed and become risk-avoidant, fearing the embarrassment of failure. They deal with obstacles by giving up, feigning disinterest or blaming others. Or, having enjoyed so many early wins, they keep on doing what made them successful, despite all the changes around them—not a great recipe for ongoing success.

Mark was a bright, results-oriented VP in his company and yet he offended his peers with his brusque style and impatience. His manager doubted that he could, or would, change. And Mark had no patience with fluff. He needed a clear business case for making any behavior change. Once he understood that listening more and increasing his patience would lead to better buy-in from others and improve his department’s product, he embraced the change enthusiastically. Mark implemented his development plan diligently with great results—to the astonishment of his manager.

What propelled Mark’s progress? He embraced a mindset of growth. Never a natural star or charismatic presence, he’s a regular guy who approached challenges with curiosity and saw roadblocks as signs that he needed to change strategy, increase effort, stretch himself, or try new behaviors (high emotional intelligence).

In our early meetings, Mark took a learner’s approach to his 360-degree feedback. Although surprised with the negatives, he didn’t deflect or blame his stakeholders. Although a very private man, he faced his fear of disclosing more about himself to others to enhance his leadership. In other words, he embraced the possible.

You can adopt an attitude that enables you to grow and change.

First, listen to yourself—to the internal music and lyrics that you hear inside your head? Are you telling yourself to give up? That your challenges are the fault of others, less wonderful, less “enlightened” people? Or do you tell yourself that you can figure out what abilities you need to grow or stretch toward to succeed? These belief systems are the underpinning of the success—and failure—of many.

Second, create a regular time and space to reflect on who you are—your beliefs, your vision, your inner dialogue. This will be unfamiliar and uncomfortable for those who value speed and are used to a track record of stardom. My advice: do it anyway.

Third, find a partner to serve as “spotter” and dialogue partner as you grow. This could be a trusted colleague or an experienced executive coach. They’ll help you leverage your strengths and stay out of the way of your blind spots.

Recently, Mark described how he now observed patterns in meetings. “Now that I know myself better,” he said, “I see how other people use different behaviors to manage stress. I’m less impatient with them because I know what they’re trying to do, and I don’t let it get to me.” In fact, Mark now uses his new knowledge in developing and mentoring others. His department is delivering results more effectively, and other leaders are asking him and his team to participate in highly visible and strategic projects.

So what started out as a simple self-improvement project by an ordinary guy has turned into a big win for his company—largely because he has a mindset of growth.

Somme tout, j’ai eu une journée éprouvante physiquement mais combien réconfortant au point de vue intellectuel. Un jeudi matin avec un réveil matinal à 6 heures et un départ précipité vers Port Louis pour éviter la circulation afin d’arriver à l’hôtel Le Labourdonnais avant 7.30.

Un vrai bonheur de rencontrer le conférencier philosophe Bertrand Vergely et de vivre avec lui quelques heures le partage de sa passion : la philosophie. Sur le thème de ‘Sens de Vie’, il nous explique en 6 bonnes heures en termes simples le pour quoi et comment homme fait sens des sa vie. Il est certainement d’une positivité que le monde d’aujourd’hui pendant ces moments de crise financière, a besoin d’entendre. Un baume que beaucoup qui voit un monde assombri dans l’avenir devrait entendre. Une lueur d’espoir !

Je le plaisir de présenter ce matin un exposé de Bertrand Vergely sur la vulnérabilité.

La vulnérabilité : une opportunité ou un danger pour l’entreprise ?

Bertrand VERGELY est ancien normalien et agrégé de philosophie, il enseigne à Sciences Po à Paris et à l’institut de théologie orthodoxe de Saint-Serge (fondé à Paris en 1925).

En préambule, Bertrand Vergely définit la philosophie comme la lumière qui éclaire la vie, qui permet d’ouvrir les yeux sur les signes cachés, qui permet d’avoir une vision et un univers parlant.

Elle peut s’appliquer à la vie quotidienne car l’existence est originale et surprenante. Elle offre une vision ternaire parce que l’Homme est un être transcendant, il n’existe pas d’opposition par le fait qu’il y a de la place pour tout. Enfin, elle permet de sentir de l’intérieur car on ne demande pas à l’Homme d’être intelligent mais d’être vivant.

La question de la vulnérabilité, c’est celle des passages, celle de sortir des blocages dans lesquels nous sommes enfermés.

Nous sommes à cheval entre le monde matériel et spirituel et nous devons transformer nos faiblesses en force pour entrer dans la liberté. L’essence du monde est harmonie.

Etre vulnérable, c’est être blessé, atteint dans ce qui fait perdre la médiation entre l’intérieur et l’extérieur. L’humanité est blessée. Pourquoi la vie qui est si belle peut-elle être si douloureuse ?

Ce qui est beau dans la vie, c’est la force de se défendre, d’être capable de faire la guerre comme la paix. C’est l’état intérieur de quelqu’un qui sait ce qu’il veut, qui est déterminé. Car la vie est un rapport de force dans laquelle l’énergie doit être maîtrisée pour qu’elles deviennent intelligentes et transcendantales.

La blessure est une hémorragie de force, une mauvaise gestion entre l’intérieur et l’extérieur, (je me laisse impressionner par l’extérieur). Rester fort, c’est rentrer en soi même, un grand art de la vie, le contraire de la blessure. La vraie force, c’est l’Homme déterminé moralement et mentalement. Etre fort, c’est assumer cette force, le côté masculin qui construit le monde. Mais il est important de dire aussi que la vulnérabilité est magnifique par son côté féminin. C’est l’aspect de celui qui a enlevé la cuirasse, de celui qui arrête de se protéger dans une citadelle. Etre dans sa vulnérabilité, c’est accepter sa limite personnelle, sa fragilité devant l’infini, sa sensibilité faîte de douceur, de légèreté, de délicatesse. Car  les hommes aiment leur vie, recherchent le bonheur par l’expérience de la sensibilité.

Autant que le masculin et le féminin, le Ying et le Yang, la vie a besoin des contraires sans être contradictoire, une introduction du 3^ème tiers, celui de l’équilibre, de l’harmonie.

La vulnérabilité, constituée de 2 opposés, un aspect négatif, une faiblesse dangereuse  et un côté positif, le plus haut état de la vie.

Etre vulnérable, c’est être dramatiquement faible. Mais qu’est ce qu’être fort ou faible ?

La force est la capacité de l’homme à établir un équilibre entre l’extérieur et l’intérieur. Si l’extérieur dévore l’intérieur, l’homme devient  esclave d’une situation, dans le cas contraire, il devient  tyran mais dans les deux cas, il renonce à lui-même. Inconsciemment il est séduit par ces relations de tyrannie et d’esclavage qui sont pourtant contraires à ses intérêts. L’homme vulnérable est donc un homme victime d’un phénomène d’emprise contre lequel il n’arrive pas à lutter.

Comment sortir de cette vulnérabilité ?

Les êtres forts sont les êtres qui ont trouvé en eux même les ressources qui leur permettent d’avoir confiance en eux indépendamment des circonstances, et de résister au renoncement. Il importe donc de tout faire pour trouver ces ressources intérieures et pour établir cet  équilibre entre le monde intérieur et le monde extérieur.

La vulnérabilité positive : le plus haut état de la vie.

S’ouvrir au monde, c’est sortir de soi même, s’avancer « nu » face à la vie, sans préjugés ni méfiance, afin de vivre toutes les expériences, de capter toutes les informations, qui seront ensuite autant de matière à la créativité.  S’ouvrir au monde, c’est aussi manifester haut et fort son désir, choisir et qui dit choisir dit aussi renoncer et donc entrer en conflit. Il importe donc d’assumer cette situation de conflit, et de se mettre dans cette position de fragilité qui est compensée par l’immense potentiel de vie que cette dynamique permet.

Nous sommes donc en face d’un paradoxe :

Pour être fort, il faut fuir la vulnérabilité négative et lutter contre les tentations de renoncement à soi. Mais il faut aussi chercher l’état de vulnérabilité positive, et ce afin de pouvoir découvrir et utiliser nos propres sources de vie, nos énergies, qui sont extraordinaires.

Passer les 3 épreuves

– Passer l’épreuve du masculin, celle de la maîtrise de la force, du goût du pouvoir, de celui qui blesse. C’est aussi s’approprier la vie, d’être capable de se battre et de se défendre, de construire le monde.

– Passer l’épreuve du féminin, celle de ne pas se laisser absorber, se perdre, se laisser fasciner par le fusionnel. C’est également avoir le sens des détails, l’attention à l’autre, l’écoute, l’accessibilité et la subtilité des liens entre les évènements.

– Tenir en équilibre le féminin et le masculin pour répondre à la question de la vie et de la mort, pour développer un équilibre créateur.

« Si vous voulez diriger une entreprise, ne faites rien », ou du moins mettez votre pouvoir de côté, trouvez votre place pour devenir le collaborateur des forces qui agissent dans l’entreprise, vivez en paix avec vous-même pour le bonheur de votre entreprise.

Etre vulnérable, c’est combiner les forces et les faiblesses, c’est être humble et maîtriser son charisme en acceptant ses limites pour rassurer les collaborateurs en revenant à la réalité.

En étant sensible, l’Homme découvre l’autre partie de son intelligence, vivante et dynamique et qui peut lui poser problème par un manque de maîtrise. Vouloir dominer, c’est refuser qu’à chaque jour suffit sa peine alors qu’il conviendrait de faire confiance en demain, dans les courants de la vie.

L’intérêt de réunir les forces et les faiblesses dans un équilibre n’est pas de s’endormir mais de pouvoir commencer, car rien ne peut débuter dans le malheur. Il existe des épreuves négatives qui nous épuisent et d’autres qui sont créatrices.

Dieu, Descartes, La Fontaine et Pascal :

La foi est dans un principe ternaire, Dieu – L’Homme – La vie

Descartes développe la philosophie de la vulnérabilité, celles des limites.

– 1^ère règle de morale : Le respect de la loi et de la religion de mon pays

– 2^ème règle : Vouloir n’importe quoi plutôt que de ne rien vouloir. Avoir la volonté car c’est la générosité

– 3^ème règle : Changer mes désirs plutôt que l’ordre du monde. Ne pas demander l’impossible, la limite, c’est la réalité dans laquelle nous vivions.

– 4^ème règle : Méditer tous les jours les 3 règles précédentes.

La Fontaine parle lui aussi des limites dans le chêne et le roseau.

– 1^er principe : Il vaut mieux être faible ou adaptable parce que l’on ne casse pas

– 2^ème principe : Il n’y a pas d’opposition entre force et faiblesse mais entre la folie et l’orgueil et le bon sens.

– 3^ème principe : C’est parce que le roseau a renoncé à la folie qu’il peut être dans sa grandeur.

Pascal et le roseau pensant.

– L’homme est le plus faible de la nature mais il en a conscience alors que le monde ne le sait.

– L’homme n’est rien dans l’univers mais aussi, il est tout parce qu’il peut penser sa position dans l’univers.

Descartes, La Fontaine, Pascal  font confiance au bon sens et peut être pourquoi pas Dieu aussi.

En conclusion :

N’ayez pas peur de faire des choses simples, parce que c’est là que se trouve les trésors cachés de la vulnérabilité. Ce n’est pas une affaire de solutions mais de vie. Nous sommes forts lorsque nous avons accepté ce que nous sommes, nous sommes vulnérables lorsque nous n’avons pas accepté nos limites.

Les Hommes sont faibles lorsqu’ils ne sont pas reliés à eux-mêmes.

I learned that the release of a film on the Hakka is planned for mid September 2009.

Below is the short synopsis of ‘The Last Clan’. I am looking forward to view the film.

They are a model of socialism. Living as a collective and as equals in a family-based commune. They are the Hakka from the mountainous region of South East China. Their home is a fortress-like structure, called the Tulou, where as many as five hundred family members live together, sharing an ancient way of life. The Tulou is one of the world’s most unique buildings. But as China modernizes and its cities expand, life in the Tulou is slowly disintegrating. As the young move away to find work, only old family members are left to endure the hardships of rural life.

One man chooses to avoid extinction by transforming his Tulou into a popular tourist hot spot. The trend grows and the Hakka are quickly flooded with strangers walking among their homes. They soon realize that tourism is a two-headed monster that brings promises of wealth but threatens to destroy their ancient culture.

I have yet to find out how far Tulou Fukien is from my hometown Mei Xian? I do recall that Fukien Hakka migrated earlier to the South than Mei Xian Hakkas. I had the chance to talking to Fukien Hakka during my past trip to Singapore. I would understand them their language which sounded a bit different from mine.

The characteristics of the houses in Tolou whilst looking different from those typical constructions of Mei Xian have the same purpose: the whole family clan under the same roof, united to ward off the bandits.

I was delighted to attend the 33th anniversary celebrations of HUALIEN club at Trianon. It crossed my mind that the present President Chan Sun may not have been born when the club was formed or was just a toddler then,and I rejoice that the 33year old organisation is having a new youth with this new generation of active members. Perhaps more significantly, on the celebration day the new website was presented and a master plan for the future development was revealed by the younger generations.

I went through the new website built by Joel Wan Chow Wah, single handedly, and was pleased to see a number of interesting features namely: ‘The Sino Mauritian’ and the ‘Cultural resources’. However I think that the Mission & Aims of HUALIEN club could have been more prominent. The purpose & usefulness of the club can be found in reading through its ‘History’ and story behind the ‘birth of the club’.

I would eagerly wish that the website become an interactive one. Not only could the website be an information diffusing vehicle of the club but also become a place where members can interact with the club and amongst themselves in the virtual world.

Today, I congratulated Joseph Tsang Man Kin for his contribution to the cultural pages shown on the website. Surprise! By returned email, he told me that he did not know that he featured thereon.

All told, I am proud to belong to the club. I have to congratulate the founder members for their vision. My gratitude also goes to all the Past Presidents and their respective committees who through the years have maintain the spirit and have through much struggle built up this wonderful 9 arpents infra-structure which will benefits the future generations.

Long live HUALIEN! Long live the Sino Mauritian Community! Long live Multi- ethnic Mauritius!

Cela fait un moment que ma femme et moi sommes confrontés aux irritations que nous pose une personne que nous voyons très souvent. Eh bien, cette personne connait tout ce qu’il y a à savoir, et s’il y a des problèmes, ils proviennent de quelqu’un d’autre. Elle est la meilleure, plus forte, plus importante, a plus de connaissances que n’importe qui d’autre, surtout dans certains domaines.

Grace à un de mes tuteurs de PLN, j’ai trouve une solution:

Le Test du Macho

© 2002 Shelle Rose Charvet

L’un des aspects les plus irritants de la communication quotidienne est d’essayer de convaincre quelqu’un qui adopte une attitude de Macho. Les femmes sont souvent consternées de découvrir que, entre elles, elles peuvent tirer parti et commenter les idées de l’une et de l’autre, mais que c’est souvent bien plus difficile de le faire lorsque des collègues masculins sont impliqués. Et parfois, même les femmes deviennent Macho !

Lorsqu’une personne exécute un « programme macho », elle fonctionne comme si elle croyait les choses suivantes :

• Elle sait déjà tout ce qu’il y a à savoir.
• Elle n’a pas de problème. Elle, et tout ce qui est en relation avec elle est parfait.
• S’il y a des problèmes, ils proviennent de quelqu’un d’autre.
• Elle est meilleure, plus forte, plus importante, a plus de connaissances que n’importe qui d’autre.

Combien de fois est-ce que des décisions importantes ont été prises pour assouvir l’ego de quelqu’un ou simplement pour ne pas perdre la face ? Ecoutez les interviews à la radio. Lorsque le journaliste demande à quelqu’un s’il était surpris par la tournure des événements, la personne n’admet jamais ou que très rarement avoir été surprise. Ceci voudrait dire qu’elle ne savait pas déjà tout ce qu’il y avait à savoir. Une fois, j’ai donné une formation suivie d’un coaching optionnel. Personne n’a profité de l’offre de coaching parce que ceci aurait voulu dire que cette personne avait besoin d’aide. Actuellement, le coaching fait partie intégrante du programme de formation.

Nous devenons tous parfois Macho. Remarquez votre réaction lorsque l’un de vos parents vous dit quoi faire !

Pour être certain que même une personne qui est devenue Macho prendra en considération vos idées, vous pouvez employer le « Test du Macho » comme technique de rédaction. Même si j’ai formalisé le « Test du Macho », vous avez peut-être déjà fait vous-même quelque chose de semblable pour vous assurer que vos messages importants arrivent à destination.

Ecrivez votre document ou préparez ce que vous allez dire en employant la formule en 4 étapes pour présenter vos idées aux personnes septiques. Ensuite, examinez-le d’un bout à l’autre et posez-vous les questions suivantes sur ce que vous avez préparé :

Avez-vous dit ou sous-entendu que :

• Il y a quelque chose que votre auditoire ne sait pas déjà
• Vous lui dites quoi faire
• Il a problème et vous avez la solution
• D’une façon ou d’une autre, il n’est pas parfait et/ou
• D’une façon ou d’une autre, vous êtes meilleur que lui.

Si l’une ou l’autre des phrases ci-dessus sont dites ou sous-entendues, votre document ne passe pas le « Test du Macho ». Vous pourriez considérer refaire des phrases comme ci-dessous :

• Comme vous le savez probablement… (ensuite, dites la chose que vous suspectez qu’ils ne savent pas).
• Employez le langage de la suggestion : vous pourriez considérer
• Je sais que d’autres organisations ont eu ce problème et ce que certaines ont fait est …. Comment avez-vous résolu ce problème ? (Implique qu’ils ont déjà résolu tous les problèmes).
• Avec votre expérience et votre connaissance dans ce domaine….
• Votre rôle est…. Mon rôle est…. (pour établir des rôles différents mais égaux).

La prochaine fois que vous avez l’impression que si vous présentez une « nouvelle idée », la personne niera que c’est véritablement nouveau, essayez de suggérer que c’est peut-être quelque chose qu’elle a déjà considéré. Vous savez probablement déjà qui sont les Macho dans votre vie. J’ai découvert que lorsque je rédigeais une seconde fois pour passer le « Test du Macho », les personnes auxquelles je m’adressais arrêtaient d’être Macho et participaient plus volontiers au flot libre des idées.

J’ai publié un article intitulé : «  Dix tuyaux pour survivre au système de santé ». Ce titre a passé le « Test du Macho » parce que des « tuyaux » sont seulement des suggestions. Cet article n’aurait pas reçu autant d’attention si je l’avais intitulé : « Dix règles pour survivre au système de santé ».

De toutes mes années passées à résoudre des problèmes de communication, j’ai appris que la plus grande partie de l’effort est d’avoir une personne dans un état mental et émotionnel d’ouverture, afin qu’elle puisse entendre ce que je dis. Lorsque nous arrivons à obtenir que les gens nous écoutent et nous prennent sérieusement, c’est parce que nous avons dégagé assez d’espace mental chez l’autre pour que nos paroles puissent pénétrer. Vous ne me croyez pas ? Essayez vous-même !

Are we not  in transition? Are we not in perpetual change? Are we not in a continuous motion?

I am very fond of this article by Vicki Heath that compares my early learning of Physics: Newton’s Law of Motion with her laws for successful Transition.

Managing Change: The Three Laws for Successful Transition

By Vicki Heath

Change programs that succeed adhere to certain enduring principles of effective change management. Organizations that act in accordance with these change management principles are more likely to see their efforts result in real organizational benefits. Here are three principles that have well stood the test of time.

Isaac Newton was a giant in the field of physics. We can all remember him from our school days as the genius that discovered the law of gravity. The picture of an apple falling from an apple tree on to Newton’s head is etched indelibly on our minds.

Newton is also famous for his three Laws of Motion. The formulation of these three laws was the largest single scientific advancement since the days of Aristotle, some two thousand years previous. Newton’s laws of motion apply to physical entities operating in space and describe how they interact at the most fundamental level. However, they can just as easily be applied to human entities interacting in an environment of change. When we apply them to people and organizations, we call the principles the Three Laws of Change Management©.

Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object will remain at rest or in perpetual motion until an unbalanced force acts upon it. Think of your change program for a moment as the object in Newton’s First Law. Once your change initiative gets going, think about what will keep the program moving towards your goal.

As with the object in Newton’s Law, your change program will need a force to get it going and will need a force to move it to each new level. Also, given the natural inertia in organizations, if the driving forces dissipate, like a rolling stone the program will eventually come to a halt.

Just as with Newton’s First Law, the force must be immediate for your program to progress. A potential force that will provide an impetus in the future is of no use in the present. What is the immediate force that will get your people moving and what are the forces that will keep them moving? For some, discussing with them the forces for change may compel them to follow and support you. You could point to:

• legislative changes such as corporate governance, occupational health and safety, and risk management
• competitor activity such as new entrants and decreasing market share
• financial results such as profit and loss and share price
• quality indicators such as defects and delivery to commit
• customer feedback from surveys, mystery shopper, focus groups and field reports
• employee satisfaction survey results
• benchmarking comparison results

You could also highlight the impact of not changing. Impacts that you could discuss with people may include:

• loss of market share
• fines or jail sentences for non-compliance or personal injury
• tarnished business reputation
• increased rate of customer complaints
• loss of key staff

Whatever the forces for change, make sure that the forces are applied to the people needed to bring about the change by communicating often and using a variety of methods.

As you think about what strategies you will use to keep the momentum going in the new operational environment, I encourage you to draw a lesson from Newton’s Second Law of Motion. Newton’s Second Law states that the rate of change in motion of an object is proportional to the force acting upon it and inversely proportional to its mass. Consider the object as being the people working in the new organization and the force to keep them moving in the right direction as the various practical techniques that you can employ.

Your practical techniques could include:

• aligning systems of reward and recognition
• feeding back performance results to employees
• achieving some quick wins
• celebrating achievements
• creating meaning through introducing symbols of the new culture
• operationalizing the change
• aligning recruitment and selection criteria

Newton’s principle is telling us that the greater the mass (that is, the more pronounced the resistance to change), the more diligently you will need to apply the techniques (that is, increase the strength of the force). Think about and record what concrete steps you will take to institutionalize the change and who will be responsible for each action.

The final lesson on managing change comes from Newton’s Third Law. Newton’s Third Law states that every action is met with an equal and opposite reaction. What the principle teaches us is that if you confront resisters with shouting, lies, mistrust, sarcasm or apathy, you will be confronted with shouting, lies, mistrust, sarcasm and apathy in return. On the other hand, if you treat resisters with respect, acknowledge their feelings and listen genuinely to their concerns, you will be met in kind. How can you apply this principle? Things to consider include:

• Communicate openly and often with employees and other stakeholders, and without using commercial confidence as an excuse to not communicate.
• Meet resisters face to face whenever possible.
• Point out unacceptable behavior without resorting to character assassination, sarcasm and other methods that serve to attack people’s sense of self-esteem.
• Keep your commitments in order to build trust and respect. Trust can be lost in an instant and take years to regain.
• Don’t shy away from bad news. Tell people candidly but sensitively.
• Choose people for key positions that have well developed interpersonal skills.

That’s three important keys to guiding successful organizational change. We can summarize these Three Laws of Change Management© as:

First Law: Overcoming the natural inertia in organizations requires the constant application of the forces for change.

Second Law: The greater the inertia or resistance to change, the greater the required forces for change.

Third Law: The way that change agents treat resisters is the way that resisters will treat change agents.

Next time you want to bring about positive change with maximal impact, think about Isaac Newton and the Three Laws of Change Management©. Most importantly, think about how you can apply these three principles to your change program to get it moving in the right direction.

Journaliste sportif très célèbre, Nelson Montfort se livre intimement et pour la première fois à la télévision. Protestant par ses parents, d’un père Américain, il confesse mettre de plus en plus sa confiance en la personne protectrice de Dieu. Il place sa relation avec Dieu dans son intimité. Sa passion pour la musique religieuse de Bach, le persuade que Dieu est une petite musique. Il confie que sa conscience en la sainte présence de Dieu, l’aide dans sa vie de journaliste sportif. Il livre à la télévision qu’il se recueille dans une petite chapelle avant le grand événement du Tournois de Roland Garros- un rendez vous avec Dieu avant d’entreprendre son labeur. Et il y retourne pour dire merci dans les années particulièrement réussies.

Il croit à la vie éternelle. Orphelin de Père et de mère à 23 et 27 ans, il est fils unique. Il est convaincu que ses parents sont ses âmes protectrices.

Je me réjouis d’entendre le beau témoignage d’un personnage « people » qui livre au grand jour sa foi en Dieu.

Corporate Social Responsibility seems to be now  a buzz word in Mauritius. The government would like to see the involvement of the private sector in shouldering the burden of the social pains. Is not the responsibility of the government to look into this aspect through the ministry of social affairs? It would appear that by lowering the taxes, the government would be introducing some other types of revenue earning devises through compulsory payment. Is it fair or not? At this stage I would stay on the fence. We have still to evaluate the use of the compulsory tax levied on training and the benefits derived from it. How can we break the ingrained mentality that is prevailing in the public sector that tenure is over riding productivity?

However, this article which was published on the Guardian in January 2009 is enlightening and has some food for thoughts. Is it possible to start Social enterprises in Mauritius?

Think bigger and better

Social enterprise is not just about tiny community projects: it is a model for running big business and public services alike

Have you noticed how everybody talks about us as if the words “charity” and “competence” don’t go together? This indicates to me that the first battle for social enterprise is a psychological one. I would like to think that companies such as Unilever, Shell and BP could be social enterprises – and that anyone running a social enterprise should aspire to be good enough to run organisations like that well.

It is my view that there are a number of private businesses that should be social enterprises: water, energy maybe, and railways?

One of the real big cons about social enterprise is that there is a belief that the private sector is rigorous and professional and dynamic. But many of the best charities are run like very, very fine businesses, and a lot of companies I come across are run like accidents.

Innovation comes from the confidence to trust your instincts, having the bravery not to believe that hidden in the endless array of business management manuals is the secret to being Gordon Gekko. The truth is that they are all bibles, they are all motherhood and apple pie, and they are all bollocks. When you read The Harvard MBA in 10 Days, it does not tell you anything about attitude. But it is attitude and values that should distinguish a social enterprise.

Transformative power

Social enterprise is hugely important, but we need to be more bullish about its potential – to understand its transformative power, not in terms of getting jobs for people who previously found it difficult. That’s kind of a loser’s mentality. What we should be about is talking about how we can transform services in this country to act efficiently and how we can bring wealth back to a wider stakeholder group.

We’ve got to get the news out to the people about social enterprises, but there is no definition of a social enterprise. The soppy one is: it is an organisation with the rigour of the private sector and the citizenship values of the public sector. But the real battle for us is to think of rules of engagement that can actually bring that welding power of private and public together for a greater good.

Last year I spoke at the 40th anniversary of Resurgence magazine, and asked the audience if they believed that everybody on Earth should have access to clean drinking water. They all put their hands up. I asked them who supported WaterAid, a fabulous charity, and almost everybody put their hands up. Then I asked who believed WaterAid could provide clean drinking water to everybody on Earth. Nobody put their hands up. I laid into the audience. I said: “The problem is you’re in love with hippie shit.”

The truth is that the very organisations that make your tummy turn, because your politics suggest you shouldn’t be supporting them, are the only people capable of it. Shell, ExxonMobil: these companies have the project management, the drilling skills to actually do this stuff.

That is our battle ground. It’s to grow up and not take the baggage of the 60s – the radical chic of being pro-business or anti-business – with us into the next phase of our development. We need to understand that there is a new configuration developing, and if we can’t bring business together with the sort of value driven systems that we have, that will be our failure.

So if we are going to talk about innovation, the starting proposition is to leave some of that old baggage behind, and not to demonise any particular sector, but to look at how we can do things better.

Eden is a social enterprise, which we built out of innocence. We were fortunate that it was in a place of great deprivation, which meant there was a predisposition in government officers who were looking after that area to look at anything that might bail us out of a really awkward situation. But it was built completely out of innocence. I went to the local development committee and said I had this great idea to build the eighth wonder of the world [in Cornwall]. I had no business plan, but said they had to believe me that it was going to be absolutely fantastic. They gave me £25,000 to go away. Then I raised a bit more money, and very soon we had a little fighting pot and went to see the Millennium Commission. It, eventually awarded us half of the then project cost of £74m.

We brought the Eden Project in on time and on budget, and have since invested £130m.

If you were to ask me, if you were to put a rusty razorblade to my throat and say, you have one minute to say why you did it, it would be that we wanted to find the most derelict place on Earth and create life in it. We then wanted to show how clever human beings are, by building something totally fit for purpose, which I hope we did.

I wanted to run a place that had the values of sustainability. We do fantastic local sourcing – 90% of everything we consume at Eden is locally sourced, our waste strategy is highly regarded, waste neutral. It is a lot easier than people say. But ultimately, I wanted to see how we could answer the question, what does a great place to work feel like?

Piddling little things

Our social enterprise at Eden cost £130m and has already put £800m back into the Cornish economy – which is more than double the entire money that has come from Europe for the whole of the south-west. So to think of social enterprises as being piddling little things that you have to talk about in hushed library tones is nonsense.

All over the country, as a result of the climate change debate, there is going to be an opportunity for starting new energy companies that will link agricultural production with all sorts of different aspects of the economy. These drivers of energy are fantastic areas for social enterprise. And they’re social because if you set them up regionally then everyone who lives in that region is likely to buy their energy from that company, and if they know that their purchases will create profits that can be used to pay for social benefits in those areas, it is a wonderful virtuous circle that means the revenue is going back to stakeholders, and so on.

I think it’s fantastically exciting, because we can do it and it works. I think social enterprise is the future model for organising our collective state assets.

· Tim Smit is chief executive and co-founder of the Eden Project in Cornwall. This is an edited extract from his speech to the Social Enterprise Coalition Voice 07 conference last week.