Wise words from my friend Boaz Tamir
On
this eve of the New Jewish Year, the fog grows thicker and the horizon
seems to be moving ever-further away: We face uncertainty, confusion
and daily challenges to our assessments of what the morrow may bring.
Once our slogan was, "Every plan serves as a basis for change;" but the
in the current pace of change, we must adopt a slogan of, "Changes are
the basis for never-ending planning."
The changes are
multi-dimensional: technological innovations; global climate change,
civil uprising and political unrest, drastic adjustments in public
consciousness, consumer awareness and the political arena and the
rearrangement of global and local systems are bringing about epic
transformations. These are leading to a destabilization of the validity
of established economic, political and managerial paradigms and their
usefulness as a base for the development of economic-political polices
and sustainable business strategies.
What should we wish for others and for ourselves as this New Year begins?
1. That we learn to adjust to reality, even if we have no theory to explain it.
2. That we learn to view chaos as a lever for creativity, disruption as an advantage and crisis as an opportunity.
3. That we are wise enough to create systems that blur hierarchical
boundaries, whose stability stems from constant movement in fluid
surroundings.
4. That we replace the paralyzing anxiety brought about by uncertainty with the ability to grow in a storm.
5. That we exchange pride with modesty, answers with questions and certainty with investigation.
6. That we succeed in integrating internal and external strengths as we
enlist workers and managers to cope with an environment full of
contradictions and disharmony.
7. And to those who have lost their
way in the fog: We hope that they will be able to return to their
foundations – to interpersonal relations, the foundations of culture,
and to be willing to learn from organizational frameworks and cultures
that have survived for thousands of years.
Happy New Jewish Year,
Boaz Tamir, Zicheron Yaakov, September 5th, 2013
Wise words indeed!
ReplyDeletePaul, I had almost forgotten about your friend Boaz so I went to look for this post:
http://runningahospital.blogspot.com/2013/03/boaz-tamir-finds-his-doctor.html
Now the wise words sound even wiser to me. I have a friend who never recovered from these few fateful days. He too was a commander on the Golan Heights during the Yom Kippur war. Seeing most of the soldiers of his unit decimated within a few hours made him see the world differently, forever. PTSD engulfed him for a long time. And then, many years later, he became a wise, wise man too.
Shanah Tova!
Your friend is a wise man. Thank you.
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