Amazon Kindle Edition - free gift for XMAS!

Dear friends,

With the generous "complicity" of the publisher Coresi Publishing House (thank you!), my latest book, "Crisis - the New Black. A code to live by", will be FREELY available for downloading in electronic format, on Christmas Day:

http://amzn.to/2BRhPK5

I hope this beautiful season finds you in good health and with peaceful spirit, wherever the holidays have taken your bodily presence in this world... and please make good use of your gift, accompanied by a warm imaginary smile from me - disperse it without fear to all your friends and family members, to people who would appreciate a radiography of our present past, challenging reality and future ways ahead...

Don't forget to go back to Amazon after reading, to leave a note and a rating - if we collect enough positive reviews, there are chances to get more surprises for you in the future!

Merry Christmas and Big Hugs,
Georgina

ps: don't worry about the format - you can read Kindle books on smartphone, tablet, or computer, no special device required, you just need to download the free application available at the same link.

A Manager’s Mirror, Episode VII

Build, integrate, handover and take new challenge!

by Georgina Popescu

https://www.heise.de/foto/galerie/benutzer/Flaechenkind-726128/fotos/

I do not know if this is a general treat of my generation (I am from the vintage of ‘70s), but I always liked to seek new things to learn and explore. Even before switching to managerial positions, enlarging my understanding of the roles and expectations of various activity areas within the organisation was a crucial part of doing my job. I believe this had to do both with the need to integrate my work in ‘the big picture’ and the desire to avoid redundancies (or gaps!) in order to optimize results.

As a first time manager, when my then-boss entrusted me with the creation of a new department within a large bank, I set out an ambitious objective. My aim was to organize the process while motivating and empowering the team members in such a manner that, within three months from our kick-off meeting, they would be in the position to deliver almost anything on their own, as if I were not there. Of course I would stay on for a longer period of time, at least until we achieve stabilization of the new area we were supposed to build. However I wanted them to work as autonomously as possible, as this would allow me to focus on those managerial undertakings that had to do with political power balance within the organization, integration of the new process, establishing awareness and finally recognition of our team’s competence and results. And along the way, my other favorite priorities – travelling to understand better the local specifics, training and personal development of staff, within the team but also beyond...

The first adventure was cut short a little too soon in my perception, as I was offered an almost ‘mandatory’ promotion… don’t misunderstand me, it was not THAT kind of ‘mandatory’… purely once in a lifetime opportunity, which could not be passed. The decision to accept was also kind of a team decision and the carrot was a unique mix between an exceptional boss and the invitation to build another new area, on a higher level. Still, as the results seemed really great at that point, I decided to approach with similar simplicity the next journey. And so on…

In my opinion, the first phase of a managerial itinerary is building – process and team. No matter if this means to start from scratch or take over fully functional existing ones, it is a step no captain can skip, as sailors know very well… no matter how calm the weather looks when you start, you need to know that you can depend both on the ship and on every member of your crew when times get tough – and they always do!

I consider this phase as ‘delivered’ as soon as the team is able to operate efficiently on ‘business as usual’ mode, independently of my involvement. It can take from a couple of months to almost a year, depending on size and complexity, and it needs continuous fine-tuning and maintenance afterwards. For this purpose I usually recommend to focus on your own behavior: be fair and square with everyone, and make sure you are the first one to respect the new rules (which should be established in a transparent, credible and functional way!). Do not encourage people to jump ranks all day long, however keep your door open and listen patiently to all those who have good reason to address you with their concerns. Make sure your team can count on your support whenever duly needed. Finally, do not hesitate to recognize and timely address bad influence hubs, no matter if they threaten to contaminate the people or the processes. 

The second phase, or better said focus area, is the integration of the construction into the bigger picture. This may overlap sometimes with the first, especially if the building phase takes a long time. As a manager, you need to ensure process feasibility for all the stakeholders involved, as well as position your team properly – power balance, remuneration, recognition of expertise, dependability of results. As one of my former bosses used to say, the first few months are crucial from this perspective – you should aim to achieve a quick gain (success story with notable impact) and a constructive lesson, and make sure they both spread through the organisation, in order to build trust and motivate the other stakeholders in future co-operation. The recognition should then consolidate over time, with due care towards both exceptional results and proper communication.

The last phase, just before steering the wheel to a new challenge, is the successful handover to the next manager. Ideally, this should happen smoothly if the building and integration phases includes a succession planning that gains acceptance from the main counterparts – the team and the higher managerial ranks. If this is not the case, then you will probably need to make the best of what you have, meaning you should not leave (too many) untied ends and loose cannons… if you care about reputation in the long run!

If you successfully went through all those three phases, you should now be ready to… start again!

And because this is the last episode of the Manager’s Mirror series, I will conclude it the same as the first episode – by extending what I shared today to all professionals out there, managers or ‘not yet’… While I believe specific expertise in the area you are about to embark upon is paramount in order to achieve best results within reasonable time, I also incline to recommend expanding your knowledge with every new challenge approached in your career. Step one would then be to build (your new expertise and support network), step two to integrate (into what you already know, into the team, into the future…), then handover to the next ‘former you’ and move on to the ‘future you’ – on a different (hopefully higher) level!

One positive aspect of this approach is that once you prove yourself reliable, result-oriented and loyal to a complex organization that you are compatible with, you can keep on learning and progressing every few years, and this will most probably pay off in the long run also from a managerial perspective.

And because I know that younger vintages are tempted to make changes rather often, I will close by sharing another advise from a former boss: you should learn new things every 2 years while in your 20s, every 3 years while in your 30s and stabilize within your comfort zone after 40s… as you should know by then what fits you best!

A Manager’s Mirror, Episode VI

Trust people, build confidence, cast away fear 
by Georgina Popescu

Source: https://elysianwaters.com/tag/robert-brault/

Before going into the details of this episode, I need to get back to the idea of the entire series and, more important, to its title – A Manager’s Mirror.

It does not only reflect the need for self-assessment (see the pilot episode) or the permanent exploration of the environment around (as mentioned in Episode I - just as in a thrilling but safe driving experience, you should put to good use all the mirrors in the car, while keeping eyes both on the road ahead and on the picturesque surroundings!).

The most important mirrors on a successful manager’s path are actually… his (her) people! They are all mirroring the attitude and responding to the feed-back they receive with the same coin, only usually amplified in terms of effect. Trust returns loyalty, confidence returns enthusiasm, while fear returns discontent. It has to do with the basic law of cause and effect, concentrated in an old Romanian proverb saying: ‘how you lay your bed determines how you sleep’.

Experience has revealed to me many times in different organizations that proper delegation and empowerment proves and at the same time strengthens reciprocal trust, builds mutual confidence and casts away everybody’s fears (or at least silences them for as long as necessary to get the job done!).

The key word here is ‘proper’ and it means that it does not work if the three conditions above are not met.

Before delegating an important task, you have to believe in the integrity of the person, in their professional ability to carry it through and in their maturity not to be overwhelmed by negative feelings and get lost along the way. You can start with smaller and less important things and support your colleague on the path of self-development, so that he (she) grows both professionally and personally until ready to take on more challenging jobs.

You also need to be fair and transparent in your feed-back, not hide behind your position to avoid conflict or put others down when they fail. Management is a two-way street and the best means to enlarge it is by sharing and learning from each other.

The first ingredient is the most essential – mutual trust. It is hard to build and easy to loose, and once it is lost becomes really difficult to get back (even though not always impossible!). The other two – confidence and fearlessness - are usually rooted in this one. Therefore, if you want to have a winning team, you need to relate with each of its member on that level or be honest and carefully separate your ways, as fair and constructively as possible, but still as early in the process as necessary not to hurt the rest of the team.

I believe you all wonder by now – is there a simple ‘ABC success key’ to unlock and align the three properly on your managerial path?

The good news is that once you see them in your own mirror, it is not so hard to contaminate everyone around. The bad news is that I do not believe in universal recipes for that. The only thing I can do is share mine today, as I see it when I look back on the past 10 years or so…

‘My way’ basically consists in a mix of honest smile, enthusiastic story-telling and transparency over ‘the bigger picture’ for every task I give. I approach delegation based on confidence, empowerment and control in variable dosage, depending on the compatibility between the person and the task. I strive to ensure individual (or team) recognition for the result, and share failure in a manner aimed not to judge, but to learn from what went wrong. I can be understanding and demanding at the same time, but I do commit to personal involvement whenever needed (either as a fall-back option or as an escalation support). Sometimes I need to ask for temporary ‘sacrifices’ but try not to forget compensating for that afterwards.

Finally, I admit that I had my fair shares of failures, but somehow managed not to allow them to discourage me to start over again – and this is exactly the motivation behind today’s Manager’s Mirror.

So… you are now challenged! Look in your mirror once again, find your own way and trust it - today and always!

A Manager’s Mirror, Episode V

Bridge the gap between formal and informal

by Georgina Popescu

In most organisations the formal hierarchies and processes co-exist with an almost parallel universe, conventionally called informal structure.

The most adaptable recognize and strive to understand this reality and its effects on business. Then periodically bridge the gap – either by incorporating clever informal ways of doing things into the formal processes or by adjusting the formal controls in a way to prevent further spread of unhealthy informal practice.

In terms of people, the ‘soft’ skills that enable communication and managerial effectiveness are unevenly distributed among the formal and informal hierarchies.

In my view, a successful manager has a third eye that enables him/her to see through respective universe and thus steer in the right direction for the benefit of the working environment.

I see the measure of success as being able to bring together the best from both sides, by designing a formal frame that fits both theory (technical, legal, moral, regulatory compliance and industry standards) and practice (experience and wisdom from the informal world). At the same time, it means ensuring motivation and empowerment to those informal leaders which can become constructive enablers, while weeding out the unjustified resistance fighters that may compromise beneficial strategic change.

Each organization and manager has to find their own way in bridging this gap, with only one universal solution: common sense!

A Manager’s Mirror, Episode IV

Break for lunch and enjoy… good company!

by Georgina Popescu

It might come as a surprise to most hard-workaholics, but the body periodically needs fuel, the mind continuous challenge and the soul quality companionship. And a good manager knows how important it is to maintain all those in perfect balance.

I have tried almost every alternative to a decent meal in my professional life (even the ‘skip-it-altogether’ version once or twice!). And I have understood while growing mature that organising lunch breaks is essential for the success of any business week.

In my opinion, everyone should allocate proper time for it every day and, more than that, use that time wisely, depending on the area that needs most balancing. As the location choices are rather limited in real life, this translates mostly into alternating the company - colleagues (boss, peers, and team members), business partners, friends or family members. I always strive to keep one day per week free, in order to be able to allocate on short-notice emergencies, or purely to have a quiet lunch with myself from time to time.

Just as the intake of food is all about quality and not quantity, so should be the choice for company during lunch. One should not approach difficult matters, serve notices, give negative feed-back or settle scores over lunch breaks, unless the target is mass indigestion. Such issues are better framed in neutral but professional set-ups. When you invite people to eat together the occasion should be used as a frame for good news, or as a bridge to alignment and mutual understanding. A decent business lunch may facilitate reaching gentleman’s agreements in a positive and constructive way, and build the foundation for future partnership.

In any case, lunch break should allow the body to refuel, the mind to take an active break and the soul to enjoy good company – to get all of you back in sync, ready to approach the second half of the day with the same amount of energy as in the morning (or even better!).

While I perceive the breakfast as an intimate necessity and the dinner as a private reward, whenever I think of the lunch, I see it as the wizard of professional and personal balance. Without forgetting the old saying ‘there is no free lunch’, therefore balancing everything, including the involved bill!

A Manager’s Mirror, Episode III

Align expectations, then update; or expect failure!
by Georgina Popescu

This Episode could be also called ‘Managing - up and down and all around...’

I am talking about one of the basic economic principles, the law of supply and demand, and the effect it has on price, applied to the management of tasks, strategic goals, priorities and (limited!) resources.

The more ‘scarce’ your product is, the better the price you can tag to it (and I am not talking only money, but also time!); the more reliable you prove to be as a supplier in terms of quality, the more orders you will get. It is not really much philosophy, you have to see your team’s work as a high class product and build a brand around it.

Considering this, the message today is: make sure you can deliver what you commit to. Otherwise you will not survive for too long in the market place. Cutting a few corners to deliver ‘something’ just to meet a deadline may get you a pat on the shoulder today, but may prove costly in terms of reputation tomorrow.

The competent and credible manager is actually a contemporary wizard, who creates the right balance between whatever his team supplies and the demand for that ‘thing’ all around - upwards, downwards and lateral, internal and external, formal and informal. He (or she) has the ability to adjust the product / service to the ‘market’, comprehend what is expected from them compared to their delivery capabilities and react in a proper manner - by accepting, refusing or negotiating the conditions of respective ‘order’. And just like in any marketplace, the community prospers when the demand and supply naturally influence each other and move along in a common direction for mutual satisfaction.

That is all I had to say this week. Still, as this is an important week for Christianity all around the world, I will end the post with a managerial approach to the famous ‘Serenity Prayer’:

May my team grant me the serenity to say 'Yes'
to those tasks we can duly deliver in time and within quality parameters expected from us,

May my boss encourage us to say 'No'‎
to those things we cannot deliver or should not waste our time and capacity on (as they are so useless!),

May our (good) reputation grant us the credibility to say 'Yes‎, under condition that...'

to all those things that need a different angle to turn from 'good' to 'great', with a decent marginal ‘effort to result’ rate,

And

May we all have the wisdom to know the difference and timely adjust to changing times whenever needed.

A Manager’s Mirror, Episode II

Understand yesterday, deliver today, plan for tomorrow!

by Georgina Popescu

Simple and self-explanatory, no further details needed.

Let's still expand this a bit, just to make a point: one should neither overdo nor ignore any of those three equally important time dimensions of the managerial experience. And by overdoing it I purely mean outlining one as being the most important, to the detriment of the others.

Past is all about understanding. And not for the sake of curiosity or revenge, but for the sake of forward-looking improvement and growth.

Digging too deep backwards and playing blame-games more than reasonably necessary to prove a point, find a solution and prevent future mistakes will gradually build tension, eliminate trust and erode motivation within a team. Questions need to be asked and lessons learned from the perspective of their relevance to the present and usefulness to the improvement of the company. Long-term vision is something that every manager somehow has - the question is if it's focusing on inner fears or glazing into new beginnings.

Sometimes the past should be left behind, in order to overcome present difficulties and move boldly into a better future. Even in such cases, the need to understand what went wrong is important, at least to avoid tailoring the future in the same way...

On the other hand, past can be an excellent teacher and the source of present wealth – brand awareness, functional process, best practice, team spirit, and so on. Even in such cases, it should not be worshiped without questioning or maintained without permanently looking around and ahead, as the world changes and even great empires eventually fall.

And so, here comes the present – the only one which is actually happening to us, every day!

Present is all about delivery – properly as expected when due, reasonably exceeding whenever possible, but always fair and thus consolidating the past and preparing for the future.

A manager should not lead like there's no tomorrow, as this would be wrong almost all the time - except the day before last. The present should be approached wisely, making the best of resources and opportunities, preparing for the next probable steps in accordance with available information and (yes…) past experience. Just like when planning to go on a holiday to a distant island - check weather conditions, flight schedules and time zone, currency and insurance, local culture and must-see places, best food locations, safety concerns, and so on. Decide, book, pack accordingly and then prepare… to be unprepared.

Really now… if you want a practical hint from my experience, the best way to organise is to close your eyes and bring the future into the present moment – imagine you are already there and picture what you need to have in order to deliver what is expected of you. And make your list(s). Timely preparation gives you comfort, as long as the most important feature of the plan is flexibility! Allow reasonable room for unforeseen events and turns of luck (no matter if we talk about good or nasty luck – you should distribute attention to both!). And be ready to fill holes with creativity, even in case everything goes as planned.

Almost every successful manager I know recognises planning as being the key to balance their assumed past with a fulfilling present and promising future. Everything flows and is correlated – understand cause and deal with the effect (until you learn to influence both), take action (or inaction or reaction) and assume the consequence.

The past and the future are always knitted into, respectively out of the present, where balance (or imbalance!) gets created. And only those well prepared are comfortable enough to deal with the unexpected.

A Manager’s Mirror, Episode I

Your success pillars: hardware, software, content, awareness.
by Georgina Popescu

If you are an experienced headline-news-reader, you may believe this is about IT.

It is not.

It is about focus for efficient management.

IT-like terminology just makes it short and simple.

Any computer-operated system needs both ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ to operate properly, and the quality of those makes a big difference in the user’s decision to purchase. While being mandatory for any state-of-the-art machinery, it is however no longer sufficient. In order to differentiate, the producer needs to deliver also quality content – added-value applications with friendly interface, which create ‘best user experience’. Finally, it does not matter if you have the best hardware, software and content if you keep this to yourself… you need to make sure that everyone is aware of that in order to purchase, enjoy and then further disperse the positive feed-back.

Apply now the same rationale to a human being – we are all born with unique hardware and software, develop content and build awareness all around us until the last day of our life. Most of us perpetuate the content and awareness for a while, even past the moment when our hardware and software has stopped functioning…

Can we apply the same to a profession? I believe so. The basis for this lies in the education and continuous learning.

First, there is a set of so-called ‘hard skills’ to be acquired as a pre-requisite by any individual who wishes to adhere to the profession. Then each of those individuals has a blend of unique so-called ‘soft skills’ that differentiate him/her from the other members in the way he/she does things in the area of human interaction. The set of skills needed vary significantly with the profession - for example the hard skills of an actor may represent soft skills for a doctor or mathematician. The backbone (or basic social survival kit) which transcends most of the professions is instilled to most of us from childhood to adolescence, while the adult life is all about further developing our own unique set of skills, according to the content we wish to contribute and the awareness we intend to raise in our environment.

Enlarging now from individual to collective self, I finally get to the point which is that wonderful complex system that a manager has to lead towards greatness nowadays, both in terms of content and awareness (no matter how you may specifically call them - profit, deliverables, bottom line, quantitative and qualitative results, regulatory constraints, team spirit, customer centric, social responsibility etc.).

Any manager, no matter how big a ship he/she needs to steer, has a two-fold focus – human resources and everything else. You cannot cross the street without the first one. The rest is just mandatory hard skills set, which should be a pre-requisite for his/her appointment.

In terms of mastering your team’s performance, it is all about integrating the limited resources at your disposal (hard and soft skills), by generating together credible proper content and facilitating awareness – both inside the team and towards external parties, so that you can add value to all the stakeholders involved. And the best way to do this is in a continuous flow motion, just like going around the world in a car. Set your itinerary, get your resources and passengers on board, check that all your mirrors are adjusted to maximise vision from all possible angles and… start moving! Drive courageously but keep your passengers safe (and make sure they feel that way!), adapt to your surrounding and maintain schedule. And… don’t forget to refuel and enjoy!

The longer the trip, the more you will need to make adjustments – to the car, itinerary or passengers. And when this happens, my advice is to concentrate on the future usefulness of needed changes. If you want to stay one step ahead of (real!) competitors you should get comfortable with an anticyclical approach. Romanians have a saying for this – responsible people build sleigh in the summer and carriage during winter.

In times of profits flowing and markets growing you may want to invest in expensive ‘hard’ components and content design while maintaining all the rest. In times of difficult survival and shrinking demand you should direct your scarce resources to ‘soft’ skills and awareness (including loyalty of best people!) while maintaining all the rest. Never forget that driving under difficult conditions requires the best set of skills and the most feasible (not fast!) car for survival. You should use hardship periods to unload unnecessary burden, but make sure you don’t lose top performance drivers in the process.

If you distribute your management priorities around those four pillars in an anticyclical and forward-looking manner, you will notice that your team members will start self-investing in their own upgrade to generate better content, to the benefit of the entire system.

Finally, even if you are not yet a team manager, you may find that the same logic can be applied to everything important in life, both in terms of personal and professional accomplishment. It helps turning dreams into plans and executing them without losing focus.

I know this is no easy challenge, because anticyclical approach actually requires abilities to understand the past and see the present as it is, with the purpose of anticipating the future. Which is actually the topic of the next episode…

Hand-Dreaming

I lay quietly asleep

With mind silenced breathing deep
‎There's no face or sound or color
Just your hand holding my sorrow.

We don't speak as there’s no need
To feel words beneath our feet
It is dark outside and cold
Your hand warm holding my soul.

In my dream there is no face
And no tear, nothing to trace
Your hand gentle on my skin
And no fabric in between.

I did not invite you in
Still, you’re here in my dream
Knowing that I want you near
As the forest needs the deer.

I wake up. Apparently
There's nobody next to me
But I know I'm not alone
As your hand is never gone!

The dream faints away too fast
Still, one thing will always last
As I ride my own life’s wave
You, my friend, will keep me safe!

Georgina Popescu

Romanian wisdom

New Septoes*, inspired by old Romanian wisdom

***

Whoever digs someone’s grave falls inside himself.

Wolves shed furs but never ethical codes.

Great people make any place worth living.

A person’s fear is another one’s strength.

Introduce your friends, so I know you.

Small obstacles can overturn a winning chariot.

Wisdom is about experience, perception and humility.
***


* Septoes: literary genre invented by Edward de Bono i.e. to tell something wise in seven words

WAYS 10 – THE INHERITANCE

Motto: 

We are a continuum. Just as we reach back to our ancestors for our fundamental values, so we, as guardians of that legacy, must reach ahead to our children and their children. And we do so with a sense of sacredness in that reaching.

Paul Tsongas

As it has been a while since I have shared with you any thoughts on this topic, it may prove useful to remind you why today’s post bears the number ‘10’. It is not only the number of perfection from my childhood memories (best school grade, best gymnastics note), but it is also the 10^th writing from the ‘Ways’ series. It is the last from a collection of personal views about potential ways out of the contemporary mess which the humankind has created for itself over the last decades. The thoughts sharing started actually with the ‘Roots’ series, consistent with my professional habit of diagnosing the causes and status-quo of any mess before recommending alternative ways out of it…

So … here I find myself today, striving to bring a nice final touch to a collection of uninvited advice to humanity, to be either appreciated or disregarded (time will tell!...). And the ‘inheritance’ topic carved its way, first into my head and then gradually into my heart this week, just like all the other topics did over the past four years.

Why would the inheritance aspect be so important for our future? I would love to take you beyond the beautiful message lying in the motto, as today’s choice of topic is somehow larger that the noble ‘legacy’ idea.

And, as you are reading this on my good friend Peter’s EGO-OUT blog, I will start today’s inheritance story, by describing to you the exact opposite, respectively what EGO-OUT means: the quantity of information, knowledge and wisdom lost by the death of an individual. It encompasses basically that spiritual part, which people either omit to (or purely cannot) pass on to other people before their death.

Inheritance has many components. The most tangible and obvious to the naked eye, and also the most exposed to fierce fights amongst surviving relatives are … the material things - such as real estate, jewelry, cars, books, trousseaux, kitchen ware and so on. The most resilient and (still!) difficult to manipulate are the genetic ones – such as physical appearance, intelligence, skills, health risks and similar. The most sensitive to the environment are the spiritual ones – such as education and moral standards, traditions and beliefs, scientific and cultural wealth etc.. Last but not least, another interesting category, both sensitive to the environment and volatile from a public perception point of view, is the social component of the inheritance – reputation, credibility, fame… This last component is usually formed within a specific niche of activity, within a specific social circle and it has very much to do with family bonds. This part of the inheritance can be wasted easily with hasty or reckless behavior…

Except the genetic component, inheritance is not necessarily connected to a certain blood line or official family bonds. There are relationships in our lives that bring us close to other people that may bestow on us material, spiritual or social welfare, some following certain interest, and some out of pure generosity or kindness of their hearts. On the spiritual side especially, some do it intentionally, others just by being themselves. Some inheritance we accept, some we reject, consciously or not… Inheritance is also not necessarily good – we may inherit expensive properties which we cannot afford to keep and cannot manage to sell … we can get stuck with weak genetics or pick up silly behavior and lousy habits …

There is also the other side of the story, the ‘taking back’ story. It cannot be applied to all the inheritance components, as some are not within the control of ‘the giver’ after being given… Materially or socially disinheriting the unfit or disobedient heir may bring some immediate effects in line with the deciding party’s interests, but genetic and spiritual inheritance is certainly not reversible. I would dare to speculate that when the genetic and spiritual inheritance is strong and of good nature, the material effects of the disinheritance may be reversed in no time, while the motivational effects of challenged pride make the ambitious heir more prone to succeed in the long run.

Why should inheritance be considered as one of the most important ways ahead?

The globalization has transformed most developing or under-developed countries into consumer markets, pushing the families beyond their real purchasing power, by encouraging excessive debt and waste, and by gradually turning this into a socially gratified behavior. Sometimes such vicious circle ends up with a negative inheritance situation, when the assumed debt stretches over to the next generation... by accepting the material inheritance, one must take on responsibility for the related debt also.

Therefore, it has become essential to understand the importance of sustainable wealth accumulation in such economies. The prosperity of a nation is largely dependent on the strength of its middle class. Such middle class grows stronger by accumulating material wealth across several generations, gradually passing it on as inheritance to the next line of legitimate heirs. A healthy mix of family expenditure with long-term savings is one of the most important engines for progress on a macro economical level. To increase awareness about the importance of building material inheritance for the children is an important way of influencing the savings and investment behavior of families.

Moving on to the next components of the inheritance, the spiritual and social parts of one’s inheritance are highly sensitive to both the material side (as education, culture and exposure to global environment are rather expensive treats), as well as social environment (starting with family, school, works, other social circles). 

Without a constant focus on what we expose ourselves and our children to, we will gradually lose control over what we shall leave as inheritance to those who follow… And our world is being tested nowadays, on an unprecedented level, at least for this century. We are witnessing a material, cultural and social clash of civilizations, with one major stake: our INHERITANCE!

And, same as with all important things in life, it is hard to define the right balance. Pride is the most resilient genetic inheritance of all mankind and it rules a lot on the other inheritance matters. We have a fundamental need to be proud of our children and the legacy we leave behind. We cannot postpone the focus on individual, family and social inheritance, we must wisely listen to and harmonize an entire chorus of mostly contradicting voices (pride and prejudice, material interests and needs, survival and tolerance boundaries, generosity and humanitarian spirit), while not forgetting to re-visit the lessons of history!

If we believe to be our ancestors’ most honorable and ambitious dreams turned into reality, we have a duty to prevent our children to turn into our worst nightmares!

Georgina Popescu

WAYS 9 – THE DANCER

Motto:

Everything in the universe has rhythm. Everything dances.

Dance is the hidden language of the soul.

Maya Angelou, respectively Martha Graham

(Two independent quotes, invited to dance together by my hand today…)

Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, Ginger Rogers, Martha Graham, Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureev, John Travolta, Olivia Newton-John, Ecaterina Gordeeva, Serghey Grinkov, Patrick Swayze, Jennifer Grey, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Shakira, Carmen Amaya, Joaquin Cortes, Michael Flattley... the list can go on … beautiful artists, bringing joy in our hearts and smiles on our faces, teaching us to dream about flying on a perfect music, only barely touching the dance floors.

This morning, as I was surfing through the internet, a couple of sad news caught my attention: the death of Ben. E. King (the singer of ‘Stand by me”) and of the Russian ballet dancer Maya Plisetskaya. Many other bad news were decorating the screen with their ugly headings, mostly reminding me that what we started to call ‘crisis’ for some years now is just the current state of affairs, no matter where we live in this world.

Positive news however got also some attention, as a new baby-princess was born in the British Royal family yesterday. If you can ignore the collateral damage done by journalists, this certainly brings a smile in my heart, the same heart that also sheds a tear for Ben and Maya’s departure.

I smiled some more, as I remembered that the day before yesterday I met a baby-girl named Maia, who was born this April. Who knows? Perhaps she will become a famous ballet dancer. Or at least she will learn how to gracefully hold her head and ballet her way through school and further on, as far as she may dream!

I have no idea why, but the song that came to my heart today was ‘Time of my Life’.

It happens to me quite often to sing a song in the back of my head throughout the day. Usually it is something I hear in the morning, either at home while I get ready for going out or on the way to work. Sometimes it is not something I hear, but a tune which I reminisce from the past and I carry with me for the whole day, or just until a more appropriate music replaces it, according to whatever happens during that day… It gives me a certain mindset and also a certain rhythm for the things I have to do.

Shortly after midday, I lit up a candle and then started to walk through the beautiful streets of Vienna. Today I decided to wonder to some new places, where I never walked before. I looked at the quiet buildings, their harmonious architecture and majestic lines. I tried to imagine them full of life, as I suppose they should be on any given (but preferably sunny!) working day.

Suddenly I realized that … I was dancing! Not obviously, not physically, not like Gene Kelly in the rain, but … I was singing ‘Time of my Life’ and my soul was dancing to it, while my body was walking down the streets of Vienna. And my steps were somehow harmonized with it, as my walking just felt ‘in-sync’ with the tune. Because this is one of the songs that always make me get up and dance, no matter how tired, disappointed or hurt I am …

While dancing with the buildings, the trees and the clouds, I wondered how long it has been since I have written something. In 2013 I thought I was quite close to finalize my ‘ways’ series, while now I am not even sure whether it should have an end anyway. I could be just gradually adding to it in the years to come, as work in progress throughout my daily life.

(A short note for those who do not know or cannot remember what I am talking about: I started to write some thoughts about the world crisis, back in 2011. It started as a collection of thoughts about financial and sovereign mess, which extended to human rights and tolerance, then somehow evolved into a so-called ‘roots’ series. They are basically personal views for the dilemma ‘what went wrong’? The ‘ways’ series came later, in an attempt to find answers to the other, somehow circular dilemma - ‘and now what?!...’)

Today a ballet dancer, a singer and a royal princess made me pause and listen to my heart. And there I found one of the simplest and the most beautiful of all the ways to approach life and take on problems head on.

I therefore would like to invite you to take your bodily presence in this world … for a dance - today, tomorrow and for the rest of your life! No matter if the dance of your choice is ballet or tango, if you are on thin ice or on soft carpet, if you need to invoke rain or fertility, if it’s time to mourn or to party, if you plan to start a game or launch an attack… No matter if the song of your heart today is ‘Stand by Me’ or ‘Beat It’, ‘Kalinka’ or ‘Zorba’, ‘I’m a believer’ or ‘Hit the road, Jack!’…

Some may argue that dancing is a form of art and that they are not ‘gifted’ for such an endeavor. Of course, we are not all Fred or Ginger, same as not every singer is Maria Callas, every scientist Einstein or Edison, every basketball player Michael Jordan or every gymnast Nadia. I am not talking of THAT kind of dancing. I am talking about another kind of dancing, which transcends everything – art and religion, as well as any line of work. A form of human expression which I suspect to be older than the speech, one which resides in every living soul, no matter how easy or difficult it is expressed outside. Every act of creation has its own dance.

Every one of us has a rhythm inside, and so we dance to it every day. Our dancing part may be our heads, our hearts, our stomachs, our feet or our fingers … our music may be something we hear, something we feel, something we dream, something we fear … our dance may express harmony or disruption, peace or torment, despair or hope. Dancing may come out as elegant or erotic, majestic or common, provocative or inviting, intimidating or encouraging.

We are investing significant part of our waking hours to communication with many living creatures in our limited universe. In particular, I find humans quite difficult to convince that reason does not exist in the absence of feeling (and that feelings are easily hurt or misread), theory and practice can coexist in parallel worlds just like the Sun and the Moon, law does not always mean justice and education does not always mean character. In my daily life, I need to do a lot of dancing with many people that dance on very different music. Sometimes it is hard to follow the tune but, same as everything in life, practice brings one closer to perfection. And for those who have seen me dance, they know what I am talking about …

Last year I have discovered that I start each day with a smile. Today I noticed that a tune is also somehow involved in the universal conspiracy of my daily life. I do wonder what the next year will bring new to my understanding of life.

Until then, I leave you with a feminine smile … As I started with a motto compiled from two great ladies, I shall end with a very important thing you should learn about dancing:

Dancing is wonderful training for girls; it's the first way you learn to guess what a man is going to do before he does it.

Christopher Morley (Kitty Foyle character)

Good night!

Georgina Popescu

WAYS 8 – THE DREAMER

Motto: Pay attention to your dreams - God's angels often speak directly to our hearts when we are asleep (Quoted in The Angels' Little Instruction Book by Eileen Elias Freeman, 1994)

One year has passed since the previous posting under the ‘ways’ series, as I shared with you ‘The Give and Taker’, exactly on December 31, 2013.

It is now January 2, 2015, midst of the yearly season for balancing past achievement with future plans, old learning with fresh expectation, and memories with dreams. During such period, I find myself thinking about time and its effects on people perception of live. I like to watch this short, interesting and funny video whenever I wish to re-visit life from a new time-perspective: The Secret Powers of Time.

Most people believe in living the moment to the fullest, as it is actually the only timeline in which we experience reality. The past is usually distorted by perception and the future rather unpredictable. Thus we hear a lot of advice about how to best ‘seize the day’, ‘let go of the past’ and ‘embrace the future’.

I found myself thinking today about the good old Master Time from a different perspective. It suddenly occurred to me that it is the most reliable lifetime partner that we have. It is always around, not going anywhere until we take our last breath on this Earth. It clearly has split personalities (past, present and future), shifting moods (boring or exciting, predictable or fascinating, good or bad), destiny-harmonizing skills (right or wrong), and variable driving speeds (flying by or juuuust staaaalling…).

Master Time is largely unpredictable, however in a manner that (have you noticed?...) is strangely harmonized with our own unpredictability. While I mostly agree to the general idea of living each day as it comes, (reasonably) letting go of the past and not worrying (too much) about the future, it happens that every year, on and around New Year, a little miracle affects the Master Time. The ‘now’ personality disappears for a little while. For some days around New Year, it is dominated by its past and future components. It is a time for smiles of acceptance and hope and for big dreams about the future.

There is however one other little miracle that combines the various personalities of Master Time into a strange and miraculous blend between past, present and future. It does not come to us only once a year and it is called the DREAM!

Have you ever noticed how our dreams tend to be timeless? How people from the past are sitting next to people from the present (even if they never actually met!) or how the future seems to be already happening as we dream? Sometimes we wake up with a slight confusion whether what we were dreaming actually happened, and it takes a while to re-adjust. Other times the dreams have no face, no color and no time, they are just a bundle of feelings and sensations. If we pay attention to those dreams, we may wake up knowing exactly what and who was the dream about, even if it had no such content.

There are many proverbs and old sayings that try to explain dreams and what they are all about. Starting with things that were forgotten and should have not been, answers to questions that we did not dare (or did not know how) to ask during the day, warnings coming from the future or cries for help from our past or present. What is obvious to everyone is that dreams have a strong hold on our daily live, no matter whether they are nice dreams or nightmares. They each have their own distinctive contribution to our life. While the nice dreams come as a reward or recognition for our peace of mind, kindness and happiness, the nightmares come as warning signs and make us attentive to whatever is wrong in our lives, address our fears, and make us change our mindsets and even our lives for the better, in the pursuit of happiness. Dreams seem to be the best yet unexplained soul monitoring tool given to us by the Universe, a fine reward scheme complementing our day-to-day life.

The Internet crossed my search for a motto with a Talmud reading: ‘A dream which is not interpreted is like a letter which is not read.’ 

There is some truth in this, as many dreams have day-life translations. On the other hand, I do not trust universal dream-reading rules (even thou some may have empirical experience behind…), but am more inclined to believe that each dream is tailor-made for a dialogue with ourselves and with those intimately connected to us beyond reason. As we are both the creator and the beneficiary of our dreams, we are obviously the main piece of the puzzle in interpreting it. As such, we should probably go beyond simple viewing towards focusing on the feelings we experience, trying to ‘read’ between the lines whatever our subconscious mind is telling us.

Well, I should get ready for closing this New Year dream exploring adventure, however it cannot be complete without mentioning the so-called ‘day-dreams’. I am referring to those great hopes for the future that we have with our eyes wide open and our minds very much awake. We cannot call them plans, as there is a big difference, which has to do with the feasibility of the day-dream. In other words, what we wish to achieve but we are not quite sure if or how or when we will, we call ‘dream’. What is obviously within our reach, we call ‘plan’. The big challenge ahead, for strengthening our capacity to build a better future for ourselves is to rely more on our ability to dream, to properly read our dreams so we can translate them more often and faster into plans. And to further make those plans come true, in a manner that would feed better and more beautiful dreams for a happier and healthier future!

I wish for you in 2015 to become skillful and beautiful DREAMERS, no matter if you dream while asleep, half asleep or fully awake. And enjoy the experience of making them come true, as a way out of any personal of global crisis which you may experience in your long, healthy and beautiful life!

Hugs and Happy New Year!

Georgina Popescu

A Traveller's Note

Motto: Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.Lao Tzu

About one and a half hour away from the polluted, noisy and traffic-jammed Bucharest you can take a deep breath of fresh (not squeezed...) forest air. The sky has a more intense blue, the Sun is burning more efficiently and broken clouds look lighter when you look at them from the mountains. At night more stars are shining in the clear sky and also storms are more spectacular, with lightening and thunder definitely more impressive than back in the crowded city.

It was raining a lot in Bucharest in the past couple of months and the specific smell has triggered in me some serious mountain nostalgia.

I remember from my childhood that there were 1-day excursions organised by the school. Other times we would go for longer times, during summer, spring or winter camps. Every time it seemed like an adventure, with attached emotions and fears. My biggest fear was the one of not being sportive enough compared to other kids. I was striving to minimize the probability of either being left behind or delay everyone climbing the mountain. Later on I developed another concern, connected to associating proper clothing and the right shoes ... to be honest, this did not go away with age ...

Years have passed and the pattern of my trips to the mountains have changed. Getting to the same childhood destinations nowadays has to do more with a set of wheels and a pair of sunglasses. But the specific smell of the fresh air still reminds me of the school teacher, telling us children to empty our lungs of residual air and fill them with clean forest one.

The grass usually invites either bare-foot walking or plain sleeping on . The scenery always brings big stupid smiles on my face. I drift towards another distant memory, in a place close to Vienna, back in 2009. A car and then a funicular, took us in less than 1 hour somewhere higher than 1000 meters for sure ... We set then a reasonable destination target for light walking. It was not supposed to be a huge climb, it looked quite ambitious only compared to the passivity of the last years - it was supposed to last for about one and a half hour. So we started enthusiastically... After about 20 mins, our path reached a nice mountain cottage. The Sun was smiling at us, the food looked quite inviting, we were already tired (!), so we decided to have a rest ... I took a blanket to lay down on the grass away from my friends, just for a couple of minutes... Then I turned on a side, covered myself a little better, got warm and relaxed and ... when I opened my eyes again, I felt strangely well rested... my friends told me they did not have the heart to wake me up ... for about one hour!...

I felt like doing this again today, but had a plane to catch... I know however that I will have a good night's sleep, with a smile on my face, grateful for another beautiful day, because ... my hand took a dive in the cold water of a small mountain creek, my lung took deep breaths in fresh humid forest air, my face felt the warmth of a loving Sun, my eyes looked up to the Caraiman cross and then all around to the mystic mix of shades of green and grey on the mountains surrounding it; then my whole heart enjoyed a show of light and shadow mixing through some fluffy clouds. Later in the evening my entire body was lifted above the clouds and I witnessed once more an incredible sunset from the airplane. And before going to bed, I went out to enjoy the beautiful night vision of Karlskirche, mirrored in the calmness of a small pond in the middle of Vienna.

All those above crossed my path within one day... It made me realize how important it is to remember to daydream while carrying on our tiny life. To acknowledge that all the beautiful things in the world are there for a myriad of reasons, among which filling the eyes of hasty travelers with beauty and their hearts with gratitude - just for being alive!

Good night!
Georgina

ROOTS 10 – THE COMMUNICATION

Motto:

' We are sinking, we are sinking!!! '
' What are you thinking about?... ' (For proper understanding, this needs some visual effects - you can find them here)

Brain waves. Hugs. Signs.

Words. Music. Dance. Sculpture. Painting. Building. Flying.

Papirus. Paper. Morse. Feather. Coal. Chalk. Pen. Keyboard. Touch screen.

Radio.Tv. Computer. Phone.

Theatre. Opera. Multiplex.

Pigeon. Horse. Post. Courier. Internet. Email. Call. Sms. Chat.

Evolution or involution? Curse or blessing?

Fear or desire? Irony or smile? Tear or laughter?

Love or hate? Acceptance or rejection? Hurt or embrace? Anticipation or avoidance?

Honesty or deceit? Reality or dream?

Photo or paint? Live or unplugged?

Eloquent or ambiguous? Intimate or public? Gentle or aggressive?

Build or destroy? Divide or join? Break or conquer?

Manipulate or convince? Seek or avoid? Share or hide?

Give or take? Endorse or disclaim?

Listen or hear? Watch or see? Say or insinuate?
Loud or whispery? Stereo or surround?

Read or heard? Seen or imagined?

Flat or curved? Colored or b&w? Sepia?...
Touch. Hold. Hug. Kiss. Weep. Smile. Frown. Laugh. Blink.
Speak. Feel. Smell. Hear. Taste.
Morning. Lunch. Afternoon. Evening. Night. Late at night. Early morning.
Clock. Tick-tack.
Life.
Over and out.

By now I have already communicated to you more than in all the other nine roots put together. This would be true in case you have been reading properly each line and everything lying between and behind those lines. If you haven't, I invite you to slooowly read them again.

Did you find different meanings? Did you imagine different scenes and different persons on the second reading?

That could be triggered by the common while abstract nature of those words. We go through life convinced that we listen, understand and react. Actually we may very well spend most of our life imagining, translating and acting on what we think we know.

Why do I believe that current communication pattern has become one of the deepest roots of the current status of our world? One reason could be that we started to take too many things for granted. We got used to so much communication, on so many levels and coming to us in so many packages that we are gradually turning off old-fashioned communication, the one occurring on a basic intuitive level. We (ab)use surrogate communication so much that we are gradually convinced that we know it all. We get carried away by online presence of hundreds of remote friends, adrenaline rush of movie characters, news about public persons, accomplishments of sportsmen and emotions of artists, most of them happening on a flat cold computer or television screen, while we are comfortably snoozing on our couch. We are nicely fitting in pre-packed life stories and consume the enormous supply of communication which is being fed to us. Quantity seems to have won the war over quality and is now taking heads-on another challenge: our time.

Some of us even got used to the idea that robots and people have daily access to our communication and don't even bother about it anymore. A handful is fighting to win back the right to intimacy, but the 007 Genie is out of the bottle for a long time on a planetary scale. One can only hope that the paranoia of supervised communication may actually have positive consequences, such as bringing back into our life the communication channel which matters the most: eye to eye. One can dream that someday we will go back to using all our given senses at the same time (including common sense!) and therefore minimize as much as possible misunderstandings.

I wonder what else is to be said as a closing note. I believe at this point it would be better just to challenge you to remember any classic French movie, so you can draw your own conclusions. When I was young I used to hate the fact that those movies had no ending. Today I would just smile, turn off the tv and move on. 

I have learned that one should not seek answers to all life questions. Some things, facts and people are just there for a reason which will reveal itself much later in the process. There are events which just happen - for apparently no reason. Asking for answers and looking for endings in advance just leads to misunderstanding of much bigger pictures.

Georgina Popescu

WAYS 7 – The GiveAndTaker

Motto: The only people with whom you should try to get even are those who have helped you.

John E. Southard

Today is the last day of 2013. Austrians call this day Silvester, which always makes me think of the cat chasing Tweety in a Looney Tunes cartoon, even thou the spelling is different (Sylvester). All in all, it makes me smile and, together with the nice atmosphere which invades Vienna in this period, contributes much to giving me an optimistic disposition before New Year Party.

For celebrating the night between the years, there are some pre-requisites which cannot be cheated: a little trip down the memory lane (what did the ‘old’ year bring, compared to what I wished for last year), a little peek into the future (what would I kindly ask from the ‘new’ year), food and drinks in the stomach and on the table, some money in my pocket, funny outfits (especially on and around the head…), lots of noise and lots of hugging, kissing and hoping.

I spent the morning enjoying a late breakfast in a wonderful place (Beaulieu in Ferstel Passage), focusing on the memory part. Then I strolled a little through the town, went home for a hot bubble bath (thus coming back to enjoying the present). Then I decided to take a glimpse into the future, before I get out and loose myself into the present again - by eating, drinking and fire-working into the New Year. So I started writing ...

I cannot say I have completely stopped making wish lists and plans for the next year. I have however learned that lists are mostly useful for putting things into perspective when you look back on them … and smile while remembering the ‘old you’ who created that content... Time has a way of sorting through what is important and lasting versus short day-dreaming, and revealing what is good for one versus what is just meant to become lesson-learning...

Those being said, I should focus now on the message I wish to share with you today...

While sitting and enjoying my hot chocolate cup this morning, I looked around at the crowd which was strolling up and down the Ferstel passage. Some people were working this morning, such as the waiters and the singers. There was a small piano and a violin exquisitely playing music of various backgrounds – from classical to Elvis ballads. Those people were giving us food, drinks and music, in exchange for a few euro and applause. We were giving them our money and admiration in exchange for nurturing and beautiful future memories. Everyone was giving and taking, in a nice set-up and with a smile on his or her face.

Why is this so important? … Quite simple answer … It is one of the easiest ways out from the contemporary self-induced and self-perceived ‘Crisis Ages’. As pointed out in a previous posting (Ways 6 – The Teacher), our future has the face of our children. If we raise takers, we shall provide tyrants and feed abuse, intolerance and inequity in our world. If we raise givers, we shall provide martyrs and feed more abuse, intolerance and inequity… If we raise give-and-takers, we shall provide leaders and people striving on generosity and freedom of choice, thus feeding love, tolerance and prosperity in our world.

For all religions, races and cultural backgrounds, the past has proven over and over again that the only way out of any crisis created by inequity was for people to come together when they have hit the bottom of despair and start to give to and take from each other in an equitable manner. I am not referring here only to tangible goods, but also to housing and hospitality, moral support, love and trust and the list can go on.

Life is a multioption, multichoice and multipeople game, which should find its own balance once people learn to accept that happiness comes from within. The give-and-take mood has more to do with feeling, perception and expectation than with any material thing one may see around. Material things could be used to achieve internal aspirations but not the other way around. Material things could be used to achieve higher spirituality but not the other way around. People should regard taking as a way to improve their giving capacity but not the other way around. By taking love, trust or knowledge from others, you will enrich yourself; by further sharing this love and trust and knowledge, you will enrich the world around you.

I will share with you now my short list of wishes for 2014. May this Year bring health, wealth, respect and happiness to all the genuine give-and-takers of the world! And may this Year bring health, wealth, respect and happiness also for all the others, so that they may learn to accept and value what they are offered, so that they may start giving things that matter in exchange. And ... may 'wealth' go way behind the material component of its meaning!

Happy 2014!

Georgina Popescu

WAYS 6 – THE TEACHER

Motto: In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are not.

Albert Einstein (attributed)

Twenty-one years ago, on a nice October day, I stepped into the big festivity room of the Academy of Economic Science, where the official opening of the university year was held. I was a fresh(wo)man. After the usual opening words from the Academy officials, Professor Doctor Anghel Rugina was introduced to the audience, as a prominent American Economist of Romanian origin. He was 79-years-young back then (he died in 2008, at the age of 95).

It was the first time I have heard about this guy, however after I listened to his very short speech, I knew I would remember him for the rest of my life. He told us to value every moment of the university years ahead and to pay attention to all our teachers, no matter how we judge them – good or bad, strong or weak. He said we should always have in mind that there is much to learn also from the bad teachers; from them, we learn how we should NOT be in our future life. And sometimes such learning may prove more valuable than the positive one.

Later on, I discovered during a Six Sigma training that one of the most powerful methods of brainstorming is practicing the negative thinking. It is very useful especially when you hit a dead end in terms of solutions. You challenge the participants to think of anything which can make the situation worse than it is. Negative creativity is far more imaginative than positive one. And then, you identify those actions which, by reversing the idea, have potential to become constructive solutions.

My dear friend Peter (the ‘owner’ of this English blog who is generous enough to host my postings here), is another fervent supporter of the constructive power of the word ‘NO’.  He has developed a sensational set of rules for problem solving. Most of those rules I apply in my day to day life. Peter had found supporters of his ideas worldwide and thus they helped him translate those rules in many languages. You can look for a version in your own language here.

I come back to the learning process now. That October day in 1992 marked one of the most important lessons for me, even thou Prof. Dr. Rugina was never on my university curriculum. Another memorable day was when I realized that the ‘Golden Rule’ which was instilled to me as a child would be better applied in its ‘Platinum’ version. More exactly, not only you should not do to others what you would not like them do to you, but you should basically do to others what they would like to be done to them (something like first observe, then empathize and only in the end actually deliver).

I would stop here with examples of my past learning, as it would be totally unfair to mention some great teachers from my life and omit others. Therefore I will mention none. It suffices to say that I consider myself extremely lucky, as I have had the opportunity to learn from everyone and everything that surrounds me. I have been learning from family and school, work place and nature, friends and foes, dreams and reality alike.

Why do I consider ‘the teacher’ as one of the ways we have to focus on, so that we can get ahead? I believe no extensive arguments are needed. It is obvious for most of the people that the current worldwide situation (which I am not sure we should even call ‘crisis’ any more) is deeply rooted in the moral hazard that has gradually swamped most of the inhabitants of this world.

I do not believe that we will solve our moral dilemmas by splitting the world into 99% vs. 1% - the poor and pure vs. the rich and rotten. No one is free from moral hazard. Almost any man or woman in this world is exposed daily to temptation, corruption and sin. The difference between the 99% and the 1% is the type of temptation they face – more or less expensive. Mankind is full of sinners and saints, liars and truth-holders, with a rather reasonable distribution on all regions, religions, professions and income levels.

There is of course one significant difference, which is that the 1% decides on taxes and laws, respectively distribution of wealth and punishment. And they do so, basically as they please. But in this respect we should wake up and see reality for what it is. It was always like this. There were always kings and servants, nobles and peasants, generals and troopers, priests and sinners. There was always a reasonable middle class, providing services to whoever could afford them, and there were always taxes and duties.

What got really complicated in the past decades was the increasing interdependence between democratic systems (which need electors to legitimate their rulers) and financial systems. In theory, each democratic system is based on separation of powers. In practice, they are all interconnected and fueled by one circulatory system, which is the financial system – the blood that irrigates all the state organs in the contemporary society. And also in practice, there is no humanly operated system which is immune to moral hazard. Everyone started to bend moral rules in order to get what they targeted – some wanted power, other wanted profit, most of them wanted both.

I believe everybody has heard of the little Golden Fish (you know… the one who can make dreams come true!) or of Aladdin’s lamp. In the past decades, the financial system assumed this fairy-tale role for whoever wanted to make a wish come true. Car, house, political or legal power, and so on. Some had smaller and other had bigger dreams. As you know, some things cannot be bought… for everything else there is xxxx (will not mention the credit card provider, but you get the point).

Therefore, we have nice theoretical separation of powers and nice theoretically functional macroeconomics and nice theoretically working financial systems. Practically, informal systems were born from the interaction of the initially planned theoretical ones. And they started to grow and lead a life of their own, just like tumors in an apparently healthy body. Doctors only noticed when it was too late. It is metastatic already.

It is hard to tell which system has sinned more and who is to blame for what. All the ‘systems’ which should be theoretically functional are practically as good as their human operators. Just as it happens with machines and company – their lives depend on the quality of the people behind them.

And thus I finally get to the point of this Way edition: why do we need to redefine our Teachers? 

Because we cannot kill our systems. It would be like a mass suicide, as they are actually our working places, our source of income, our future education and health service systems. We need to re-adapt them to a practically functional reality, in a way which is acceptable to our moral standards.

Communities cry out nowadays that their educational systems are failing. Unfortunately, they seem to refer purely to the organized school, college and university education; however I would like to go one step further. I would also blame it on what Peter likes to call it the new religion – Moneyteism. 

And specifically on one of its Gods - the Career God. It is killing most of our teachers. Families are dying because of lack of focus on personal time (while home education is crucial for a successful school impact). A large number of managers do not follow a teaching path because of the perceived competition. They are afraid to lose power and thus they keep information and prevent knowledge sharing. They are afraid that their own people may learn too fast and shine too much when (alas!), they should know that people reflect their light upon their teachers. By suffocating talent within a team, managers are basically getting in the way of their own future development. Good managers should spot talents and encourage them to learn as much as possible, regard them not as threats but as opportunities. The talent pool can either provide successor ship (and thus set their manager free, to further expand their own career) or can become peers in other important areas of the organization and create an ideal network for their former teachers and colleagues. A manager, who treats the people as potential future stars, is on the way to own personal growth.

Is then the Career God a bad God for us? I believe not. I believe that if we start seeing It as a Teacher we can improve our life as a whole – both professional and personal side. And the same goes for other Moneyteistic Gods. If we learn good things from them and not let them rule us, we can live a fulfilling life.

I will end my post today with a common sense question: WHO should be the Teacher of tomorrow?

The short answer is: me, you, us together. And we should be also pupils at the same time, all our lives. Because we have to walk before we can run, we have to learn before we can teach, and we have to be proud to have lived before we can die in peace.

We are the teachers of our families (husbands and wives, kids, parents, other relatives), of our work places (colleagues and bosses), of our friends and our enemies equally. We are good teachers and bad teachers in one and the same body, because we cannot be saints all the time - we are merely humans. We should not be afraid of this but embrace our nature, while remembering all the time that WE ARE THE TEACHERS. 

The people around us will learn both from the good stuff and the bad, how they should and how they should not be - every day! Sometimes they will get it wrong, misunderstand our ways and misjudge our actions. But we should never give up being ourselves, with the permanent knowledge that we are the masters of our life and the teachers of our fellow people. And as such, we need to live our life so we can smile when we see ourselves in the mirror – every day.

All the best,

Georgina Popescu