Madeira Consorcio

68 joint Madeira Consorcio Meeting 12.3.2015

Unfortunately, the surgeon couldn’t come, so we started with Ri.’s introduction to the system he used to find his purpose in life.

This is based on a technique by an American author (John F. Strelecky “The Big Five for Life”, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Strelecky#The_Big_Five_for_Life-_Leadership.E2.80.99s_Greatest_Secret

This is a humanistic approach, about team building for executives (it should also be offered to teenagers) and the application for the work in groups. Most important is that a person knows what he/she most wants to accomplish (the Big Five) in life. Most people work not in the jobs or even fields they would really like to work in, Ri. found that the career in the military was not for him. A person’s occupation should be fun, not just a means to earn money. It should be about “Auto-Estimo”, not egoism.

If we try to work towards the goals we really embrace, we will have more satisfaction in the workplace. This also helps the company achieve its goals, with a lower staff turnover and subsequently, better profits.

Ri. is offering this teamwork program to specific high-value companies. He fuses this with his own approach. This technique requires a group to work together 2 x 1 week in two years.

Some companies work along the lines of Strelecky, such as Richard Bransons’s companies, Google, AirBnB and others, empowering their team to do what like best and reaping more creativity and profits.

We want to buy and read the book in turns and then talk about it further, perhaps to apply this process to us

Other, similar approaches:

Ricardo Semler: http://www.ted.com/talks/ricardo_semler_radical_wisdom_for_a_company_a_school_a_life Ricardo Semler also created schools based on his laissez-faire approach which works very well for this companies and the schools.

Tom Wujec: http://www.ted.com/talks/tom_wujec_got_a_wicked_problem_first_tell_me_how_you_make_toast#

D. talked about tax controls and the loss of privacy. It is much worse than Edward Snowdon revealed. Anonymity also means freedom. With more transparency, our right to invest our money how we want is being curtailed. D. now sees his job as to protect his clients from the Tax Man.

Apps like WhatsApp know our every move. The solution would be turn them off and deny them access to our lives: The Amish between themselves know where everybody lives; the state doesn’t have a clue.

In the old times in Portugal, people would be called by nicknames. In theses village societies, everybody also knew what was going on in everybody else’s life, and oppression was exercised by the priest. In this regard today’s life is not much different; the loss of privacy is nothing new.

In Portugal the problem is bad education. Good leadership skils are not taught, nor are good life skills. Waldorf is a good approach to create personalities with a humanistic approach. In Portugal the problem is attitude, attitude, attitude, and a missing civic sense. Outside of Portugal, the Portuguese are well liked workers; in their own country, they don’t care much about their society.

Another funny thing: in a “happiness poll”, it was found that the feeling of happiness decreases from North to South in Portugal. In the North, communities are still sounder and people thrive better in old-fashioned social networks.

On the other hand. isolation cannot solve all the problems. What we can do is show our happiness so that others ask us how we came to be in this state.

U. quickly referred to the Fracking article by the Economist. Fracking is prohibited in New York State but not across the border in Pennsylvania. It is most likely bad for the environment but the point here is that the people in New York State want to secede from their state and join Pennsylvania across the border to gain jobs and earn money with this technique. The future may be a world with less visible borders as economic interest compels citizens to choose another legal jurisdiction for their community.