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PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY BRYANT FUKUTOMI / BFUKUTOMI@ STARBULLETIN.COM Take stock at year-end
During the past year, I have thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to be able to share my thoughts about organizational excellence with you. I have been enriched by the thoughts and ideas many of you have shared in return. As we move toward the close of yet another year in the business we share in common -- living and working on Earth Inc. -- I thought it might be stimulating to frame this article as a hypothetical report to all of us as stockholders.I felt some hesitancy, in the context of what follows, using the imagery of a CEO. I do so with only the utmost respect for each readers' perception of their own Higher Power.
Best wishes to one and all for a happy, healthy and peaceful new year.
TO: All Employees
FROM: CEO
SUBJECT: Report to Stockholders: Earth Inc.As we move through the early stages of our third millennium, I feel a need to take stock of Earth Inc.'s business history and future. Our fundamental mission, albeit under increasingly severe threat and attack, is unchanged. That is, to evolve into an even more loving, beautiful and creative planet, a perfect reflection of my cosmic being. Earth, fire, water and air remain the essential elements needed to support our business. Please keep in mind, these elements are finite, both in supply and quality.
The bottom line will forever be our people, some 6 billion strong. None of our conglomerate subsidiary organizations -- families, churches, schools, industries and governments, to name a few -- can survive, let alone succeed, without them. Without its people, every organization becomes like Earth Inc. was "in the beginning ... without form, and void."
Let me digress a moment. I've become aware recently that many of you wish that Adam's and Eve's employment dates had been simultaneous. I confess, quite frankly, the reason is that Mother Nature and I hadn't yet conceived of twins. I hope you'll forgive me. I really did not mean to imply a preference between the genders.
As you all know, a clear division of authority and responsibility is vital to the success of any business. I will outline what I perceive to be my areas of authority and responsibility. As your CEO, I will continue to provide the gift of life and the assets that will allow you to live it to the fullest. Like a snowflake -- one of my favorite inventions, by the way -- each of your human forms is unique in its expression, yet all are given these gifts in common.
Three of these assets are tangible:
1) Bodies to support your physical natures.These three tangible assets are finite and are susceptible to abuse, just as are our basic business elements, which I mentioned earlier. Add to these assets those which are intangible, infinite and, perhaps, the most important: your souls, which support your spiritual natures.2) Hearts to support your emotional natures.
3) The most powerful of personal computers, brains to support your creative natures.
I have given you dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Therefore, in the business of living, you are all CEOs. As such, you are individually and collectively responsible for the consequences of your choices. The truth is that by the choices you make today, you will -- in fact and by design -- determine the forecast for tomorrow.
The policies that guide human beings in aligning their behavior with our reason for being -- our fundamental mission of creating love -- are vital to the success of our business. I will be available to help as I have always been. While the queue is ofttimes long, my door is always open. And if you have an emergency, you may refer to our first policy manual, the Ten Commandments. Or, you need only invite me through prayer to join with your souls in guiding your bodies, hearts and minds to distinguish right from wrong.
In fact, I strongly recommend heartfelt silent prayer and meditation. If you look into your own hearts and minds deeply enough, you will recognize that you already know what is right. Oftentimes, my help simply affirms your own faith and courage.
Any business that fails to take a regular inventory risks going broke. An inventory is a twofold process: First you must find the facts, and then you must face them. I can hardly overemphasize this latter step. Always keep in mind that your objective is to discover the truth about the stock in trade. If you should discover damaged or unsalable goods, get rid of them promptly and without regret.
To be successful, business owners cannot fool themselves about fundamental values. Values are your guides, so choose them wisely. At the risk of being repetitive, let me remind you that as employees of Earth Inc. -- in the business of living -- you are all CEOs.
As Earth Inc. moves forward, I will continue to serve as your collective CEO. However, if you should choose to follow leadership elsewhere, as you have often threatened to do in the past, I can only pray for the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Sound familiar?
I love you, one and all, and I remain your faithful servant.
Irwin Rubin is a Honolulu-based author and president of Temenos Inc., which specializes in executive leadership development and behavioral coaching, communication skill-building training and large-system culture change. His column appears twice a month in the Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Send questions and column suggestions to temenos@lava.net, or visit emenosinc.com.
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