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August 2, 2015

The Business Poet – Chapter 6

On Marketing

Merlin took a sip of water and gazed around the room. He caught the eye of his Marketing Director, who was shifting slightly in his seat. Merlin raised his eyebrows, inviting him to share his thoughts. He stood and declared, somewhat defensively:

“Stakeholder engagement is all very well, but at the end of the day, we are a business. And if people don’t know about us, or our great products, we will soon by out of business. How do you see the role of Marketing?”

Merlin was aware that Marketing often got a bad rap these days. It was seen as pure spin. But he disagreed. Marketing was vital, if it was done right. He found his writing on the subject and spoke in reply:

“Marketing is the art of making music: skilfully played, it has the power to move all who hear its sweet melodies; badly recited, it offends the ear and renders the intended listener deaf.

“The secret of effective marketing is resonance.

“Communication becomes a symphony when the information echoes with the clear ring of truth and honesty, when the message reverberates with the rich tones of meaning and relevance, and when the medium combines to strike a harmonious chord of reach and direction.

“The curse of poor marketing is dissonance.

“Exaggerated claims jar with the reality of experience, monotonous repetition dulls the battered senses, and disingenuous tricks sound the alarm bells of suspicion.

“The wise marketer is the master of music, while the fool is the king of noise.

“The wise marketer is the student of pianissimo, while the fool knows only fortissimo.

“The wise marketer is the conductor of an orchestra, while the fool beats only his own drum.

“The true purpose of marketing is matching genuine needs with tailored services.

“The corrupted practice of marketing is associating coveted emotions with generic products.

“The grand masters of marketing are jazz musicians, adept in the art of listening, practiced in the skill of blending, refined in the intuition of creativity.

“The false prophets of marketing are paid pipers, playing on people’s dreams and desires, calling the tune to suit their own pockets, leading the innocent children away.

“The market is a lively place of songs, but beware: though some are music pure and true, many are designed to cast their spell.

“Beware of melodies sweet and alluring, for many are those who have met a rocky end with the mesmeric notes of sirens still singing in their ears.

“Beware of rhythms pounding with calls to impulsive action, for many before you have marched to their needless graves to the deadly beat of a drum.

“And beware of the fevered pitch of inspiring summons, for many have suffered under dictator kings heralded by the passionate salute of trumpets.

“The most exquisite music of marketing is pure silence, played on the precious instruments of quality and caring, resounding with crystal clarity up and down the scales of human trust.”

August 2, 2015August 2, 2015

The Business Poet – Chapter 5

On Stakeholders

Merlin hoped he hadn’t ruffled too many feathers by challenging customer supremacy. But long years of business experience had taught him that they are only one stakeholder group – albeit a critical one. So he was delighted by the follow up question, from their social responsibility officer, who spent a great deal of time listening to the needs to communities in which the company operated.

“Speak to us of Stakeholders. Will we ever seriously challenge the corporate obsession with shareholders?”

This was a matter close to Merlin’s heart. He often wondered if, for all the good capitalism had done in the world, the power of shareholders could be its ultimate Achilles heel. He consulted his notes, and read by the flickering candle light:

“Business is the living manifestation of a complex web of relationships.

“Just as the body depends on the coordinated functioning of all its parts, so companies rely on the constructive interaction of multiple stakeholders for their continued existence and success.

“The dreaming logic of the head must listen to the yearning intuitions of the heart.

“The craving appetite of the stomach must heed the cleansing capacity of the liver.

“The eager strides of the feet must match the energising breath of the lungs.

“Companies that pander exclusively to the demands of insatiable shareholders risk acquiring a compulsive eating disorder, while those that neglect returns to capital providers may soon be staring anorexia in the face.

“Managers that place their own comforts and rewards ahead of the welfare of their workers are selfish cancer cells that threaten to destroy the entire body, while employees that make blind demands without regard for the health of the company may unwittingly be spreading a debilitating virus.

“Businesses that pollute the environment or fail to look after the community are poisoning the body and eroding its immune system, while civic and green organisations that attack rather than engage constructively must face the full force of the body’s self defence mechanisms.

“The needs of the private sector are many and varied, like the diverse requirements of the body, for water, food, rest and stimulation.

“An enterprise without a market of willing customers is a baby still-born, and a business without a stable, transparent government is a tantrum child.

“A company without reliable suppliers is a fickle teenager and a commercial venture without a record of good media relations is a staid adult.

An organisation without an incubator of creative innovators is a dying elder.

“A healthy body maintains a state of dynamic equilibrium, yet there is no single measure to diagnose this ideal balance.

“Temperature, pulse and blood pressure, all combine to paint a picture of health or illness.

“Likewise, the vitality and sustainability of a business cannot be determined by the satisfaction of one stakeholder group only, or even all stakeholders at one point in time.

“The stakeholder-sensitive company invests in multiple instruments and tracks diverse measures for continuous bio-monitoring and bio-feedback that signals the state of health of the corporate body.

“In reality, a body does not consist of separate parts at all, but functions as an integrated whole.

“Machines can be dismantled, but if a body is dissected, it means it is dead.

“Those businesses are most alive that are inseparable, even indistinguishable, from their stakeholders, for this is the way of the living organisms.”

August 2, 2015

The Business Poet – Chapter 4

On Customers

Merlin was pleased to see one of his frontline staff had stood up to speak. He had always believed that these were the real heroines and heroes of the company – those dealing with customers, face to face, every day, exchanging pleasantaries and dealing with their complaints.

“What about Customers?” she asked simply.

Merlin thumbed his notebooks and cleared his throat to speak:

“Customers are the weather gods worshiped by business, as the mercurial source of creation and destruction, feast and famine, wealth and destitution, life and death.”

He looked up and saw her nod knowingly and smile, as she took her seat. Merlin slipped back into role.

“Legend has it that the Philosopher’s Stone of business success is religious devotion to customer service.

“According to this belief, entrepreneurs are the mystical high priests who have the uncanny ability to tap into the moods of the weather gods and to profit from their esoteric knowledge.

“They appoint directors as clergy who, having taken strict vows of capitalism, organise and lead their flocks in the ways of placating and pleasing customers with price sacrifices and product gifts.

“In reality, however, customer sovereignty is an expression of healthy stakeholder tension rather than a royal pronouncement of a commercial truth.

“For the goals of customers are not always congruent with those of business owners, managers, employees or other interest groups.

“Customers may want the highest quality for the lowest price, while owners may want the highest returns with the lowest costs.

“Customers may want the widest choice for the least inconvenience, while managers may want maximum standardization for the most efficiency.

“Customers may want unrelenting 24/7 service with a smile, while employees prioritise work-life balance with meaning.

“And customers may want ever more ‘stuff’ for unlimited consumption, while special interest groups want to reign in the damaging behaviour of corporate excess.

“Although most business devotees pray for fair weather, the enterprising trader turns all weather to their advantage.

“They know that the sun fuels the plants which can be cultivated as crops and forests to feed a resource hungry world.

“They know that the wind turns the windmill which drives the turbine to generate energy for a power thirsty people.

“And they know that the rain channels into rivers which circulate through the veins of industry, keeping it cool and clean.

“Fly-by-night commercial opportunists prey on unexpected changes in the weather, living as slaves to the boom and bust cycles of customer fads.

“Amoral mercenaries seek out the most destructive storms and make bargains with the devil, living as shadow people in the underworld of bloodthirsty customers.

“More sustainable enterprises seek to understand the underlying principles and patterns of the weather, living as students of human needs and desires.

“The natural scientist understands that the weather is Earth’s way of maintaining a dynamic balance between its complex living systems.

“The macro economist understands that customers are society’s way of structuring a reciprocal relationship between production and consumption.

“The business practitioner understands that customers are the market’s way of matching latent demand with tailored supply.

“The industrial psychologist understands that customers are suggestible subjects whose distinction between needs and satisfiers is easily confused.

“And the critical philosopher understands that customers are typecast characters in a scripted narrative which blurs the margins between fantasy and reality.

“Customer demand is not a reliable proxy for social good, nor is business success a sound indicator of desirable activity.

“Nevertheless, customers can be activists for ethical behaviour and moral causes, and businesses can be pioneers in the delivery of social justice and environmental protection.

“In our legitimate and worthy striving to serve the customer, know that there is a spark of the divine in all of us, for we are all simultaneously weather worshippers and weather gods.

“Therefore, let our service be respectful and responsive and let our custom be careful and considered.

“In this way, business and its customers will form a soulful pact of sacred trust.

“And let us never forget that, as customers, we carry the weather within us.”

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015

UK Notes 1992

4 August 1992

Arrived in London. To follow: Campervan Tour of UK with Kathleen, Mom and Dad – included Canterbury, Winchester, Stonehenge, Bath, Tintagel, Lake District, Findhorn, Sherwood Forest, Stratford pon Avon.

18 August 1992

By way of first impressions, Findhorn was somehow different from my expectations, although exactly what I had expected I can’t say. Nevertheless, I come away feeling impressed. Findhorn seemed to me a healthy, innovative, spiritually centred living and working community. All evidence pointed towards a creativity and openness of spirit at work, and certainly a willingness to experiment and change as the community evolved. Developments of particular interest included eco-housing projects as well as a number of business initiatives. In general, I believe the Findhorn experiment, and others like it, will be increasingly important as the search for alternative living styles begins to mushroom in the near future.

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015

Canada Notes 1992

26 April 1992

Started work with Royal Bank, Kingston; to be trained as Customer Service Representative, and assistant to Randy Hansuld, Area Manager for Kingston.

18 May 1992

Greetings from a spring-blessed Kingston, Canada. That’s right, we have sunshine, greening trees, and blossoming flowers (tulips and daffodils)!

Work is also looking positive. I’ve been with the Royal Bank for 3 weeks now, and getting to know the ropes has been quite a challenge. I’m basically starting out as a teller and working around from there. The people there are also very nice. Other good news is that Kingston has Unitarians! … Basically, they operate more as a contact group than a church. They don’t have a minister, only a “hired” chaplain who conducts weddings, etc., and so, instead, they have subcommittees who contribute in various ways to running the group. The community itself has about 100 people who regularly attend meetings and they range across the whole spectrum.

Kingston is very much a university town, similar in many ways to Stellenbosch – it also has the historical buildings (since it used to be the capital of Canada) and the tourism element. Anyway, since I’m just 5 minutes walk from the university, I’ve had a chance to peek in at their library, and it’s great! They have on-line access throughout the States, Canada and the UK! So, needless to say, I hope to do some preliminary work on my Masters thesis. …

I’ve only been here a month and I’ve already started up a library of my own (bookshops are definitely a weakness of mine!) Amongst others, I bought Leo Buscaglias book Love – I really enjoyed what he had to say – such common sense things, but most of us are too afraid to be honest with ourselves and others. Another which I think you should look out for if you don’t have it already is Pragmagic by Marilyn Ferguson (based on the findings of the Brain/Mind Bulletin over the last 10 years). Here are some extracts:

The practice of pragmagic is a kind of alchemy. The ancient alchemical quest was, of course, the transmutation of matter, the making of gold out of baser elements. But the alchemists were not motivated by greed. Quite to the contrary. This quest was symbolic, a metaphor for a deeper quest – the transmutation of the self into a new, golden kind of human. Where do we begin our contemporary alchemical quest? How do we discover magic in everyday life and learn to use it? Magic starts with a state of mind, a way of thinking. Before the practical tools and techniques can be of use, we each have to discover the internal sources of our own stories.

More news. I’ve decided to forfeit attending the Global Forum in Rio in June, even though I had been selected as a delegate and the Royal Bank was prepared to give me time off to attend it. I guess it’s just a case of personal priorities at this time, so I have no regrets; there will be more appropriately timed opportunities to come.

12 July 1992

Greetings once again from the Land of the Maple Leaf!

Well, I’ve been in Canada 11 weeks now and it’s been what I’m going to call a mixed experience. On the one hand, working in a foreign country, learning new things and meeting new people has been great. On the other hand, being away from home has been extremely unsettling for me. Suddenly, everything familiar is no longer there and you’re all on your own. …

Part of my experience has been that time alone has afforded me plenty of opportunity to get myself into contemplative knots regarding what should be the next step in my career path. My basic dilemma is that I know where I want to be, but I’m not quite so sure how to go about getting there. That is, I know that I want to end up writing, teaching and perhaps consulting on the “new age” (for want of a better label) business paradigm; but I’m not quite sure how to get started. Do I continue along an academic line (Masters and PhD) or do I opt for securing more work experience first? Then of course military service (which I don’t plan to make part of my life experience) and the general questions about South Africa’s future have to be figured into the decision as well. But enough about my deliberations – I’m sure life will reveal the way as I go along. …

Canada, in many ways, faces similar challenges and shares similar experiences to SA. Both have colonial histories which include disgraceful treatment of their natives; both are countries of immensely diverse cultures and backgrounds; both are in the process of building a nation (beginning with a negotiated constitution) in the face of minorities who wish to remain separate. The only difference seems to be that Canada is a lot more optimistic and positive about their process. Take culture for instance. A lot is being done here to promote the idea that diversity is strength and is something to be proud of rather than obliterated or scorned upon. We certainly could use a bit of that kind of attitude in SA at the moment. We need so much to regain our sense of self, and as a result our pride and dignity as people and as a nation. I guess where there is life there is hope … and lots of hard work to do.

A book I recently discovered is called Meditations on Business: Why Business as Usual Won’t Work Anymore by John Dalla Costa is truly inspirational. In fact, it’s everything I’ve been thinking over the past few years about the future course of business, and more. Its basic message is that the time has come for business to recognise its interconnectedness with the wider dimensions of nature and society. As such, it needs to take responsibility for its impact on the environment and on the lives of the human beings it affects. In essence, it needs to develop a firmer grounding in spiritual values. … I can’t tell you what a find this is for me! It’s the first book of its kind which directly addresses the new paradigm of my dreams and intended research. And it doesn’t end there. By synchronicity, the author is a CEO of a Canadian ad agency, and I’ve managed to contact him and arrange to meet him in Toronto in 2 weeks for lunch. I’m so excited!

25 July 1992

I found John Dalla Costa to be friendly, interesting and approachable; I felt quite “at home”, relaxed and treated with respect during our entire meeting. The most important ideas to emerge from our discussion were: 1) follow your heart, 2) don’t be in a hurry to settle into a career; enjoy opportunities to travel while you can, 3) work experience is advisable; it gives one credibility in both the academic and business communities, 4) writing is hard work and difficult to make a living out of, 5) try to infiltrate rather than confront the business community; hence, be cautious in the use of “new age” concepts and terminology. John was especially interested in my ideas on Parables for Business and Business Alchemy as the basis for books, and saw potential in the Business for a Better World journal.

August 1, 2015

Japan Notes 1990

5 September 1990

I woke up with a gentle breeze on my face, and for a moment I was not sure where I was. My room had reed mats covering the floor and wooden panel walls painted with beautiful nature scenes. A sliding door opened onto a tiny garden with a narrow street below. Just outside the door on the step was a small pair of slipper-like shoes. I heard the strange yet vaguely familiar words: “Ohayo gozaimas” called in a woman’s voice in another room. Then I remembered that I was in Japan, halfway across the world from South Africa. It was a strange feeling.

Only three days ago I had been in Tokyo attending a five day international AIESEC conference with 200 other delegates from 50 countries. We had worked hard and partied hard together while enjoying a fantastic and successful conference (in fact, we had almost solved all the world’s problems!). Now I was in Nagoya (Japan’s third largest city) on a five day tour together with twenty of the delegates. On the night of our arrival we had been whisked off to a huge welcoming party organised by the Japanese AIESECers. We survived and went to stay with Japanese families for three days. My host family were great and spoiled me terribly.

I got up and greeted Hisako (my Japanese mother) in my best Japanese – “Ohio gozaimas, Hisako” (which means “Good morning”). She asked if I wanted to take a traditional Japanese bath. I discovered that bathing in Japan differs from Western baths. You do not wash in the bath because that’s for soaking in after your shower. Also, the baths are about one and a half times deeper than Western baths and filled to the brim with temperature regulated water and usually a sprinkling of herbs (what a pleasure!). Yesterday I had visited Nagoya castle with its spectacular seven storey tower fortress. It was built in 1612 for strategic defence, and after being almost totally destroyed in the Second World War, was rebuilt in 1959. That evening my host family dressed me in a kimono (traditional Japanese dress) and we all had a good laugh.

It will be sad to leave behind these wonderful friends, but the experiences I’ve had and the culture that I’ve grown to love will always be a part of me. This country with its charming mixture of ancient and modern I will take with me to share with others.

August 1, 2015August 1, 2015

Zimbabwe Notes 1990

24 April 1990

Well, here I am aboard the Trans-Karoo on my way home after 2 weeks away. I’ve been in Zimbabwe attending an AIESEC environmental conference in Harare on “Wildlife Management in Africa”. The conference was really worthwhile, although at times frustrating. Worthwhile because it brought together people from Zambia, Botswana, Kenya, Zimbabwe and SA.

Also, it made one more aware of the importance of (nay, the necessity of) conserving our environment and in particular “our” wildlife. But frustrating for me (and how!) because “conservation” seemed to involve treating wildlife as a commodity, as something which humanity “owns” and has the right to determine the destiny of. What am I talking about? I’m talking about wildlife managers (?) having the audacity to decide that the life of an elephant is worth $5000, or an impala $75 (these are the trophy fees for sporting hunters!). Even the idea of culling wildlife to me seems wrong. Indeed, the concept of “wildlife/environmental management” seems to me a contradiction in terms; an environment manages itself! Mankind’s interference is perhaps the heart of the problem … But don’t let my bitterness mislead you; the conference was a wonderful and invaluable experience.

It was really great to be back in the land of my birth – the climate, the vegetation, the type of people … It got me thinking actually: Why did I choose to be born and to spend my early childhood in that land? What were the factors which I needed to shape me for this life of mine? I didn’t come up with any clear answers (I didn’t expect to) but perhaps it has something to do with learning to appreciate nature (rather than a “big city” experience at an early age), learning to appreciate more “primitive” ways of living (and often more natural); also learning about the effects of war (something which had a direct effect on us as a family, not to mention the country as a whole); and who knows what else? It is a question which will now remain with me as I journey through life …

July 22, 2015July 22, 2015