In this episode of Personal Point Of View (PPOV), I tackle one of the great prompts of all time. In 500 years…. There you go. How do you finish the sentence?

 

As it turned out, the prompt took me to places that surprised me. What at first seemed like way too much of a climb was actually an opportunity to think about what I think truly matters, really makes a difference. I hope you enjoy thinking about 500 years from now with me.

A1 Greetings Earth humans. I have opened our broadcast channel to comply with the new sunshine rules promulgated by the Central Council. It is no longer permissible for us to meet in secret or for us to develop plans and strategies without complete transparency. You are thus invited to listen in on our discussion preliminary to transmitting our status report back to the home planet.

 

A2 This feels a little awkward. Talking among ourselves is always comfortable but knowing that anyone can listen in is not so easy. I like to tell myself that I’m not going to say anything that can’t go public, but I’m not sure that’s totally true. Having everyone know what I’m really thinking is sure not the same as just talking among ourselves.

 

A3 What I don’t grock is why they did it. Why did the Central Council change the rules? What’s the deal with them thinking that everyone should know what we are thinking before we make our final decisions? It was working just fine for us to finalize our plans and then let them know what we decided.…

A1 It has been brewing for a while I think. They are alarmed by what they call hidden pockets of power. They were aware of the issue on the home planet and knew it has been operating on the Earth planet for many sun cycles and perhaps from the beginning. My sense is that the change in policy became more urgent recently. Specifically, trends in the America pod seem to be what brought it to a head.

 

A4 From what I have picked up on the chatter channels, you are very much on target. In sun cycles past, there were factions holding opposing views on most issues. This caused a lot of conflict and controversy; but it was still possible to work through differences in ways that allowed resolution and progress on most all issues. Society in general and government in particular continued to function calmly and relatively smoothly. There were occasional eruptions related to issues like discrimination, excessive police actions, civil rights abuses, and so on; but it was still possible for those in positions of power and authority to come together to work on constructive change and mutually accepted solutions. The pockets of power were there but mostly ready to support the common good.

 

A2 I heard a talk by one of the gurus back home who tried to explain what the Central Council finds so alarming. She reviewed in more detail the kinds of things you mentioned. I thought her conclusion got to the essence of it. She concluded that the critical change has been an increasing unwillingness to even discuss compromise or ways to find the middle ground. She believes that the art of politics has rather suddenly disappeared. Instead of coming together, the politicians and others in power are digging in, refusing to budge on their positions.

 

A5 I’m not sure I grock how alarm about pockets of power and what is probably the death of politics as we know it has to do with the new sunshine rules. What does any of that have to do with requiring that we open all of our discussions up to anyone who happens to want to listen in?

 

A1 Let me at least take a pass at responding to your question. In other Earth pods but in the America pod specifically, there is a long-standing belief that there is a political action process that is available to every America human. If he or she wants the government to do or not do something, it is only necessary to convince a substantial group of America humans to support the idea. They then become an advocacy group, committed to the idea. The group can then lobby politicians and try to work up wider support for their idea. They likely will not get exactly what they want but will move the outcome closer to their view. The political shift gets us back to the power pockets.

A1 Greetings Earth humans. I have opened our broadcast channel to comply with the new sunshine rules promulgated by the Central Council. It is no longer permissible for us to meet in secret or for us to develop plans and strategies without complete transparency. You are thus invited to listen in on our discussion preliminary to transmitting our status report back to the home planet.

 

A2 This feels a little awkward. Talking among ourselves is always comfortable but knowing that anyone can listen in is not so easy. I like to tell myself that I’m not going to say anything that can’t go public, but I’m not sure that’s totally true. Having everyone know what I’m really thinking is sure not the same as just talking among ourselves.

 

A3 What I don’t grock is why they did it. Why did the Central Council change the rules? What’s the deal with them thinking that everyone should know what we are thinking before we make our final decisions? It was working just fine for us to finalize our plans and then let them know what we decided.…

A1 It has been brewing for a while I think. They are alarmed by what they call hidden pockets of power. They were aware of the issue on the home planet and knew it has been operating on the Earth planet for many sun cycles and perhaps from the beginning. My sense is that the change in policy became more urgent recently. Specifically, trends in the America pod seem to be what brought it to a head.

 

A4 From what I have picked up on the chatter channels, you are very much on target. In sun cycles past, there were factions holding opposing views on most issues. This caused a lot of conflict and controversy; but it was still possible to work through differences in ways that allowed resolution and progress on most all issues. Society in general and government in particular continued to function calmly and relatively smoothly. There were occasional eruptions related to issues like discrimination, excessive police actions, civil rights abuses, and so on; but it was still possible for those in positions of power and authority to come together to work on constructive change and mutually accepted solutions. The pockets of power were there but mostly ready to support the common good.

 

A2 I heard a talk by one of the gurus back home who tried to explain what the Central Council finds so alarming. She reviewed in more detail the kinds of things you mentioned. I thought her conclusion got to the essence of it. She concluded that the critical change has been an increasing unwillingness to even discuss compromise or ways to find the middle ground. She believes that the art of politics has rather suddenly disappeared. Instead of coming together, the politicians and others in power are digging in, refusing to budge on their positions.

 

A5 I’m not sure I grock how alarm about pockets of power and what is probably the death of politics as we know it has to do with the new sunshine rules. What does any of that have to do with requiring that we open all of our discussions up to anyone who happens to want to listen in?

 

A1 Let me at least take a pass at responding to your question. In other Earth pods but in the America pod specifically, there is a long-standing belief that there is a political action process that is available to every America human. If he or she wants the government to do or not do something, it is only necessary to convince a substantial group of America humans to support the idea. They then become an advocacy group, committed to the idea. The group can then lobby politicians and try to work up wider support for their idea. They likely will not get exactly what they want but will move the outcome closer to their view. The political shift gets us back to the power pockets.

Adhering to the guiding principles is essential for achieving agency excellence. The Management Team is responsible for agency Management, i.e., for assuring the successful functioning of the internal eco system. Members of the Team implement the policies, rules, and guidelines promulgated by Authorizers and Implementers as well as manage the day-to-day functioning of the agency. Their Management activities reflect a thorough understanding of and acceptance of each of the guiding principles. Team members also understand and accept the priorities discussed below in order to better assure the successful functioning of the internal eco system. Hannagan 1995 page 37-69 in his discussion of leadership styles, organizational culture, and associated patterns of accomplishing necessary work asserts, "In order for any group to operate effectively, both tasks and problem solving functions have to be performed, and at the same time, group maintenance for social functions. It can be argued that any group of people need to have leadership in both functions so that on the one hand, decisions are made and on the other hand, the ideas and feelings of the whole group are considered." page 48 Keep this dual focus in mind when considering these priorities. …

Management Team members emphasize cooperation and a helpful, supportive approach to relationships and activities. As they interact with and support the work of others within the agency, their focus is on how they can help others succeed.

As Management Team members focus on helping others succeed, loyalty is an important aspect of their relationships with others. Team members emphasize working with others by accommodating to their special needs and interests and by facilitating positive resolutions of problems or issues. The first approach with people is always to understand why problems come up and attempt to work things out and never to simply use authority to force people to change their behavior.

For Team members, caring matters. They emphasize concern for and interest in the activities, successes, and problems of all staff members. To be a successful Management Team member, how others feel, what they think, and what is important to them professionally and personally matter. This not only includes how things affect agency operations, but also includes how they are affecting or might affect agency staff members and other people they personally care about.

Sharing is also a priority for Team members. They emphasize talking with staff members, reciprocal assistance, and mutual problem solving. Within the internal eco system, interdependence and mutual interest are recognized and valued by Team members. Sharing is not simply a nice thing to do, it is essential for agency success.

For Team members, respect is more than a simple priority. It is fundamental to the functioning of the eco system and to agency success. Without it, the system quickly reduces to chaos. Team members insist staff members always relate and interact respectfully. They model this expectation by emphasizing acceptance of others' beliefs and values, receptivity to everyone's thoughts and ideas, and sensitivity to others' feelings and interests.

Team members give other staff members the benefit of the doubt without blaming, accusing, or threatening. This level of trust is at the essence of how Team members perceive and relate to other people. They assume the other person did not knowingly or intentionally do anything wrong and do everything they do honestly and to the best of their ability. If there is an apparent problem or issue, Team members work with the other person to understand what happened, why it happened from the other person's perspective, and how they can work together to resolve the issue and reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Professional and personal integrity are hallmarks of successful Management T...

Adhering to the guiding principles is essential for achieving agency excellence. The Management Team is responsible for agency Management, i.e., for assuring the successful functioning of the internal eco system. Members of the Team implement the policies, rules, and guidelines promulgated by Authorizers and Implementers as well as manage the day-to-day functioning of the agency. Their Management activities reflect a thorough understanding of and acceptance of each of the guiding principles. Team members also understand and accept the priorities discussed below in order to better assure the successful functioning of the internal eco system. Hannagan 1995 page 37-69 in his discussion of leadership styles, organizational culture, and associated patterns of accomplishing necessary work asserts, "In order for any group to operate effectively, both tasks and problem solving functions have to be performed, and at the same time, group maintenance for social functions. It can be argued that any group of people need to have leadership in both functions so that on the one hand, decisions are made and on the other hand, the ideas and feelings of the whole group are considered." page 48 Keep this dual focus in mind when considering these priorities. …

Management Team members emphasize cooperation and a helpful, supportive approach to relationships and activities. As they interact with and support the work of others within the agency, their focus is on how they can help others succeed.

As Management Team members focus on helping others succeed, loyalty is an important aspect of their relationships with others. Team members emphasize working with others by accommodating to their special needs and interests and by facilitating positive resolutions of problems or issues. The first approach with people is always to understand why problems come up and attempt to work things out and never to simply use authority to force people to change their behavior.

For Team members, caring matters. They emphasize concern for and interest in the activities, successes, and problems of all staff members. To be a successful Management Team member, how others feel, what they think, and what is important to them professionally and personally matter. This not only includes how things affect agency operations, but also includes how they are affecting or might affect agency staff members and other people they personally care about.

Sharing is also a priority for Team members. They emphasize talking with staff members, reciprocal assistance, and mutual problem solving. Within the internal eco system, interdependence and mutual interest are recognized and valued by Team members. Sharing is not simply a nice thing to do, it is essential for agency success.

For Team members, respect is more than a simple priority. It is fundamental to the functioning of the eco system and to agency success. Without it, the system quickly reduces to chaos. Team members insist staff members always relate and interact respectfully. They model this expectation by emphasizing acceptance of others' beliefs and values, receptivity to everyone's thoughts and ideas, and sensitivity to others' feelings and interests.

Team members give other staff members the benefit of the doubt without blaming, accusing, or threatening. This level of trust is at the essence of how Team members perceive and relate to other people. They assume the other person did not knowingly or intentionally do anything wrong and do everything they do honestly and to the best of their ability. If there is an apparent problem or issue, Team members work with the other person to understand what happened, why it happened from the other person's perspective, and how they can work together to resolve the issue and reduce the likelihood of recurrence.

Professional and personal integrity are hallmarks of successful Management T...

In this episode of PPOV, I am picking up on my quest to get over my little case of stage fright. I use two prompts from my iPhone app and spend a while exploring how they play out for me. When I'm older… prompts me to consider how real getting older actually is. The same pondering is prompted by, "If I were taller…." Perhaps you will want to listen to see if you agree with my perspective or have an alternative perspective of your own.

In this episode of PPOV, I am picking up on my quest to get over my little case of stage fright. I use two prompts from my iPhone app and spend a while exploring how they play out for me. When I'm older… prompts me to consider how real getting older actually is. The same pondering is prompted by, "If I were taller…." Perhaps you will want to listen to see if you agree with my perspective or have an alternative perspective of your own.

I’m glad you stopped by. If this is your first visit, I have some interesting mental gymnastics for you today. If you like that sort of thing, I think you will enjoy your visit.

If you are an Audio Tidbits Podcast regular, I am still pursuing interesting ways to respond to the prompts from the Prompts app on my iPhone. I think you will agree that today’s prompt is particularly puzzling. It’s another one of those notions that either has a dozen good responses or none. I’m having trouble deciding.

Try this. Everything I know, I learned from…. How will you finish the sentence? …

I’m probably making it way too difficult. It’s likely one of those pronouncements that neither invites nor deserves a response. I can complete the sentence with whatever pops into my head, and no one cares. Everything I know, I learned from my dog. Everything I know, I learned from my wise grandfather. Perhaps, “Everything I know, I learned in Kindergarten.”

As you see, most anything I say to complete the sentence can stand on its own. Everything I know, I learned from riding my pony in the woods. The idea is that all it takes is appending a potential source of knowledge, no matter how improbable. But where did I really learn everything I know?

The first step toward finding the answer for me is to simplify. There are the things I know, the things I only think I know, the things I think I don’t know, and the things about which I don’t have a clew. What do you think? Does that pretty well cover the possibilities?

Today’s prompt is limiting me to the things I know. What I only think I know and all the rest are out of bounds; so, let me see if I can figure out how I came to know the things I know. What is the source of that knowledge? Perhaps more to the point, what makes me so sure about the validity of what I put into the “I know” box? Along with knowing where the knowledge came from, I also need to know why I am so sure it is right.

The source of what I know matters. It’s the “Everything I know, I learned from” idea. Philosophers have argued about this issue for eons or at least for a very long time. The central question is whether there is intrinsic knowledge along with experiential knowledge or just what we come to know from experience. Are there things we are born knowing, things that are just there for us as a benefit of being human or have we learned everything we know along the way?

I’ll leave that one to you and the philosophers and opt for “Everything I know, I learned from experience.” That takes in many types of experience; but nonetheless, experience is the only path to knowledge.

Now that I have settled on that, I can more easily complete the sentence. Everything I know, I learned from many and varied experiences. I learned from parents and other teachers, from libraries and lectures, from books and Google, from friends and from just hanging around, from touching the hot stove and myriad positive and not so positive experiences. Life and living have taught me a lot. Although I have mostly forgotten the specifics, I generally know where all of that knowing came from. Some of it came through serious effort on my part and much of it came unbidden; but most of it simply accumulated unnoticed.

That leaves the million-dollar question. Do I really know what I know or do I just think I know? I know it hurt the last time I touched the hot stove and also know it will hurt if I touch it again. I would call that direct knowledge. I know a lot of if A then B kinds of things. Some are simple like touching the hot stove and others are very complex like not keeping track of and responsibly managing current expenses in relation to existing assets and future revenues is a sure way to end up between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Direct knowledge is a very good thing and only comes through experience.

I’m glad you stopped by. If this is your first visit, I have some interesting mental gymnastics for you today. If you like that sort of thing, I think you will enjoy your visit.

If you are an Audio Tidbits Podcast regular, I am still pursuing interesting ways to respond to the prompts from the Prompts app on my iPhone. I think you will agree that today’s prompt is particularly puzzling. It’s another one of those notions that either has a dozen good responses or none. I’m having trouble deciding.

Try this. Everything I know, I learned from…. How will you finish the sentence? …

I’m probably making it way too difficult. It’s likely one of those pronouncements that neither invites nor deserves a response. I can complete the sentence with whatever pops into my head, and no one cares. Everything I know, I learned from my dog. Everything I know, I learned from my wise grandfather. Perhaps, “Everything I know, I learned in Kindergarten.”

As you see, most anything I say to complete the sentence can stand on its own. Everything I know, I learned from riding my pony in the woods. The idea is that all it takes is appending a potential source of knowledge, no matter how improbable. But where did I really learn everything I know?

The first step toward finding the answer for me is to simplify. There are the things I know, the things I only think I know, the things I think I don’t know, and the things about which I don’t have a clew. What do you think? Does that pretty well cover the possibilities?

Today’s prompt is limiting me to the things I know. What I only think I know and all the rest are out of bounds; so, let me see if I can figure out how I came to know the things I know. What is the source of that knowledge? Perhaps more to the point, what makes me so sure about the validity of what I put into the “I know” box? Along with knowing where the knowledge came from, I also need to know why I am so sure it is right.

The source of what I know matters. It’s the “Everything I know, I learned from” idea. Philosophers have argued about this issue for eons or at least for a very long time. The central question is whether there is intrinsic knowledge along with experiential knowledge or just what we come to know from experience. Are there things we are born knowing, things that are just there for us as a benefit of being human or have we learned everything we know along the way?

I’ll leave that one to you and the philosophers and opt for “Everything I know, I learned from experience.” That takes in many types of experience; but nonetheless, experience is the only path to knowledge.

Now that I have settled on that, I can more easily complete the sentence. Everything I know, I learned from many and varied experiences. I learned from parents and other teachers, from libraries and lectures, from books and Google, from friends and from just hanging around, from touching the hot stove and myriad positive and not so positive experiences. Life and living have taught me a lot. Although I have mostly forgotten the specifics, I generally know where all of that knowing came from. Some of it came through serious effort on my part and much of it came unbidden; but most of it simply accumulated unnoticed.

That leaves the million-dollar question. Do I really know what I know or do I just think I know? I know it hurt the last time I touched the hot stove and also know it will hurt if I touch it again. I would call that direct knowledge. I know a lot of if A then B kinds of things. Some are simple like touching the hot stove and others are very complex like not keeping track of and responsibly managing current expenses in relation to existing assets and future revenues is a sure way to end up between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Direct knowledge is a very good thing and only comes through experience.

Do you have stage fright? To my surprise, I have concluded that I am having a little case of what I can only call stage fright. It's not a fear of speaking to a large group or anything like that for me. My stage fright is new and only kicks in when I sit down to make a PPOV podcast.

It's not talking to you that sets off my anxiety. Rather, it is merely talking into the open microphone. Since I really want to talk to you, I need a plan for Getting Over Stage Fright. Although I have been putting it off, I have concluded that the only cure is to podcast.

This episode and likely the next few will be for me. I am going to push through it. My stage fright is preventing me from podcasting. That is simply not acceptable. I need to just get over it.

 

Perhaps you will choose to join me during the cure. If not, I will understand. Please check back in a few weeks. By then, I should be cured. If you choose to join me for the journey, stay tuned. The trip should be interesting, at least interesting to those of us whexperience a little stage fright now and then.