My good friend Cris Hagen suggested that I start my blogs with some questions for the reader to ponder, to let the "thinking juices flow." I have taken his good and much appreciated advice.
So get ready, get set, and go.
What is wisdom to you? How do you recognize it and differentiate it from dime-store psychology or fortune cookie advice? How do you find it in your job or personal life? Where do you look? Why do you look there?
Enough questions! We want to have fun here, not get a headache.
I was born in a part of the world where experience is revered and where elders are respected and honored for their wisdom. We looked to the elders to teach us and to share with us their travails and their wisdom. I have lived most of my adult life in a country that encourages the elders to move to retirement villages and to join other elders in the sunset of their lives. I submit to you that the latter shortchanges the learning opportunities of the younger generations and perpetuates the cycle of mistakes made.
As it has been eloquently said and I paraphrase: those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
In my journey as a consultant and executive I have concluded that the most dangerous people to our companies and indeed our society at large are people who do not know what they do not know. They are blind to the obstacles in front of them and they have no ear for the lessons learned. I have seen them do much harm and little or no good comes from their actions. I learned later in life to avoid them, to stay clear of them, and to not bother trying to reason with them. Cynical view? You bet! Ernest Hemingway said it well: life breakes you and makes you stronger in the broken parts.
The Bible in Ecclesiastes 7:12 teaches us that "wisdom keeps you safe -- this is the advantage of knowledge". Later on in the same chapter, the Bible continues "wisdom does more for a person than ten rulers can do for a city (7:19)."
What a wonderful way to succinctly communicate such powerful thoughts!
I have nothing else to add that would illuminate the subject further. Let me hear from you.
So get ready, get set, and go.
What is wisdom to you? How do you recognize it and differentiate it from dime-store psychology or fortune cookie advice? How do you find it in your job or personal life? Where do you look? Why do you look there?
Enough questions! We want to have fun here, not get a headache.
I was born in a part of the world where experience is revered and where elders are respected and honored for their wisdom. We looked to the elders to teach us and to share with us their travails and their wisdom. I have lived most of my adult life in a country that encourages the elders to move to retirement villages and to join other elders in the sunset of their lives. I submit to you that the latter shortchanges the learning opportunities of the younger generations and perpetuates the cycle of mistakes made.
As it has been eloquently said and I paraphrase: those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it.
In my journey as a consultant and executive I have concluded that the most dangerous people to our companies and indeed our society at large are people who do not know what they do not know. They are blind to the obstacles in front of them and they have no ear for the lessons learned. I have seen them do much harm and little or no good comes from their actions. I learned later in life to avoid them, to stay clear of them, and to not bother trying to reason with them. Cynical view? You bet! Ernest Hemingway said it well: life breakes you and makes you stronger in the broken parts.
The Bible in Ecclesiastes 7:12 teaches us that "wisdom keeps you safe -- this is the advantage of knowledge". Later on in the same chapter, the Bible continues "wisdom does more for a person than ten rulers can do for a city (7:19)."
What a wonderful way to succinctly communicate such powerful thoughts!
I have nothing else to add that would illuminate the subject further. Let me hear from you.
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