The Cropley's Flow: An Ode to T-Street

“Watching someone in flow gives the impression that the difficult is easy; peak performance appears natural and ordinary.”

-          Goleman (Emotional Intelligence, 1995)

As a young boy growing up in Southern California in one of the surfing capitols of the world, San Clemente, I spent hours on the beach at T-Street during summer. Days melted one from the next; I picked the sleep from my eyes, poured a bowl of Life cereal, grabbed my board, and climbed down the cliffs to the edge of the Pacific Ocean. There, I carefully watched the tourists, the local surfers, and the waves as they gathered there and played.

The tourists always showed up at the beach with lots of stuff. Each group was dominated by stuff. They had stuff in bags, in their hands, and even in the coolers they pulled along behind them. Trudging through the soft sand just beginning to soak up the sun, the ladies pulled their children while their grunting husbands lugged the load which had so lovingly been packed just an hour before. These visitors wouldn't compromise, wouldn't listen either to each other or to the nature of the place. Everything was conflict. And, perhaps because of the transient nature of their presence in this place, everything was always a struggle, a battle. By the end of the day, these tourists walked across the sand dragging their children, their stuff, as their slippers tossed up little explosions of sand which stuck to them, frusterated them, caused little fuck words to slip off their tongues. Their parent's voices, tired by the end of the day, were jagged edges, ready to cut. The children, sad because they had to leave and sadder still because of the drive home, whimpered at the bottom of the stairs as the shadows stretched across the divots in the sand.

The benches at Cropley's and the shade under the stairs always stashed away a few surfers, like me. We were a motley crew. Some of us would hide, spending the entire lazy afternoons with our heads under towels, furtively sneaking one hit tokes of Mexi dirt weed. Every once in a while, a head would peek out, red eyes itchy, asking if anyone had another lighter or a walkman with fresh batteries or –and it always made me smile- whether the lifeguard was looking. Some of us were quiet, shy; some of us talked loudly and slapped our hands in silly ways, affecting the closeness of a brotherhood sealed in a heady combination of sand, sun, and the bursting sexuality of full-blown puberty. There, we discovered the lithe bodies of the young priestesses of the sun god. Coyly, they posed for us. They were discovering their power, as well. Their eyes drew us away from the moment and only into themselves. Others, like me, sat like gargoyles, eyes clad with sunglasses, staring out at the sparkling sea. We sat, watching the sun drip into the water; we were mystics, there, in that moment, in that time, looking into our future. Eidetically, we deftly played with an idea which we barely understood, words that have hung for an eternity preparing all for the entrance to the oracle at Delphi. Know thyself.

Looking past the sun-kissed bikini girls stretched out on the beach and the eyes of wary fathers watching us watch their daughters, the languid blue coolness of the ocean water undulated endlessly. The water would smooth itself around deep and shallow patches. Gathering power in each of these curves, a wave would well upwards, cresting, breaking into a bouncing foamy expression. I loved to linger there, in the presence of all that movement, day after day. I remember recognizing for the first time in my young life that these were peak experiences breaking up against me like the surf I duck-dived to get under and through each time I paddled out to linger there in the coolness, the only place where earth truly becomes the sky.

I knew the waves and the waves knew me. The wind knew me. The seaweed knew me. Each of the grains of sand deposited on that beach was a part of me. These were the seconds of my life manifest and strewn sloppily about. The nature of the place loved me in a way that it didn't love the tourists. It whispered secrets. It shared with me, as with anyone who listened, that there is no structure. There is no meaning, just a never-ending intertwining playfulness which simply seeks to express the nuances of interaction with those exhibiting the quietness to stop, listen, smell, touch, taste, and see, to reveal in our humanity. When we do this, we know without understanding and live, even if for a just a second, in the flow Goleman speaks of in his seminal work, Emotional Intelligence.

A Global Mirror

“Life outside can’t be trashed and made to look worse than it is. And life inside can’t be propagandized and made to look better than it is. Thanks to the democratization of information, we all increasingly know how each other lives – no matter how isolated you think a country might be.”

- Thomas Friedman (The Lexus and the Olive Tree - Pg.67, paragraph 3)

********Post provided by B. Jefferson*********

        From CNN to the homepages of Yahoo and AOL, it seems that we are always being updated with not just the happening of our own country, but the happenings of the world. Whether it be giant sink holes in South America or protests in Cairo, Egypt, today's mass information system allows us to get a glimpse of what is underneath the superficial front that so many countries try to uphold. Unfortunately, this uncovering is universal; this also means that other countries are able to see past our superficialities as well. I think this is what Thomas Friedman described in his book The Lexus and The Olive Tree, when he wrote, “Life outside can’t be trashed and made to look worse than it is. And life inside can’t be propagandized and made to look better than it is. Thanks to the democratization of information, we all increasingly know how each other lives – no matter how isolated you think a country might be.” 

Over the past year or so I have come to wonder if being globally aware is a two-edged sword. Yes, people need to know that other countries have it worse than us and our constant debate over our “liberties” and, yes, we also need to be aware that some countries run more effectively and have procedures that we can learn from and implement to be more effective. For example, we are currently going through a healthcare reform. What can we learn from other countries that can help us make the best reforms possible? Should we follow what Switzerland does and make policy so that everyone has to buy insurance, instead of receiving it as a benefit from their jobs, and make it so that health insurance companies compete which in turn will drive down cost? Or, should we maybe follow Austria’s example and have everyone pay into the healthcare system? The price that each citizen pays into the system will be determined by their income, because let’s face it, if we, the people of middle class America, can buy a new IPhone, IPad, or 62’ flat screen TV, and are using the excuse that “healthcare is expensive”, we are being irresponsible. The money we spend on fancy gadgets could have paid for our healthcare or better yet, our children’s healthcare. 

The problem that I have with this new sense of global awareness is that, unfortunately, there are many people in our country who can tell you the political structure of the Middle East and what they need to do to sustain “democracy”, along with people who can tell you exactly what caused the riots in Greece and how the people were trying to effect change in the Grecian government. And yet these people cannot even begin to examine some of the key discussions concerning what we need, as Americans, to manifest the future which we truly desire.

Ultimately, I fear that the very information that links us together with the world and allows us to think past our superficial understandings of what happens in different parts of the country could cause us to down play what happens in our own. For instance what are we doing to make our future generations more competitive? Have we made it easier for our children to get quality education? Or, are we making it more difficult to give them the tools that they need to succeed? Are we creating viable jobs for our children or are we outsourcing everything we can to technology and other countries? Lastly, and more importantly, I daresay that we are not holding our government accountable for its actions and not holding ourselves accountable for thinking that we are blameless in the doings of our government considering that, cough, we participate in a democracy. I hope to see you at the polls, whatever your position is -politically- in the coming months as we move through election season.

Efficiency is Great, but...

Humans, unlike machines, easily use something called case-based reasoning. We consider the current set of circumstances, compare them with situations that occurred in the past, and determine what we can take from those experiences. This is a kind of flexibility that's very hard to teach a machine.

-          Jeffrey Kluger  (Simplexity, p. 121)

******Post provided courtesy of M. Rodriguez******

Although in the 21st century, we are living in a technologically dependent world, humans are still an integral part in communicating any business' mission, vision, and product/service. Customers and shareholders are major players in whether or not a business will survive, and they need to be fully taken care of to solidify their loyalty to a business. Throughout the years of innovation, businesses have found ways to provide customers with situational responses using technology.  This includes computerized phone survey questions based on consumer responses, as well as Internet surveys that alter the questions that follow based on responses.  

Based on my experience, the most utilized technology providing customers with situational responses are self-service machines like ATMs and self check-out counters in grocery stores. To withdraw cash and to check out at a grocery store for oneself is considered a convenience to many citizens of the 21st century working class. To maximize the availability of time is a goal that many workers representing other times and places could only wish to have. These machines do just that but at the cost of personalization. Numerically, these machines can do the calculations and provide the services needed; but the machines are not capable of case-based reasoning. They do not have the ability to be flexible in their responses based on situations that have occurred in the past.

Businesses have recognized that these technological solutions are useful, but are not a sufficient way of communicating with customers. Humans need an actual person to listen to them, to personalize their experiences, and to see and feel even a little bit of empathy. It seems that this quality that Jeffrey Kluger, the author of Simplexity, calls "case-based reasoning" is an important difference that is present and palpable when humans engage one another. Unfortunately, many large corporations have submitted themselves to utilizing technology instead of human labor due to its theoretical lower long-run cost.

In terms of business processes, the cost of substituting technology for human labor is supposedly less than paying salaries and hourly labor costs. Recently, a major hotel chain on Oahu let go of most of their parking attendants and replaced them with parking ticket machines. When this major change occurred, there were many aggravated customers. No one knew how to use the machine. Now, this machine walks you through the whole process of paying for parking, but the monotonous, robotic voice can get a little irritating.

By the time one reaches a parking exit, drivers just want to leave. We expect what we know. Driving up to the parking attendant, handing over a ticket, being told a price, and paying the cost is what we know as normal today. Human interaction is what we are accustomed to. When a machine takes that away, this service becomes impersonal. What if we want to question the cost of the ticket? What if we don't know how to use the machine because we can't follow a machines direction? What if we just want to have a short conversation or hear a parking attendant say, "Thank you" and "Have a good day"? Even the smallest "Thank you" being voiced can make a person's day.

With this change in technology taking over human labor, we lose a part of communication with our customer. Only a human being should do marketing and personal selling because humans still have the corner on the ability to adapt responses and behaviors based on context, complex and nuanced interactions emerging in real-time with endless permutations.  Based on previous experiences, if the customer seems to want everything done for them, then we can make that happen. If the customer seems to want to figure everything out for him or herself, then we can leave them alone. This adaptability to case-by-case scenarios is something that no technology can replace.

We Can't Preach Value

“A vision cannot be established in an organization by edict or by the exercise of power or coercion” (Bennis & Nanus, 1985)

            Vision is the driving force behind leaders. Without vision, a leader is not a leader. Leaders need to know where the company or organization is headed. They must peer into the future, make predictions, and put their organization on a path to be successful.  Vision is essential to a leader's worth.  Probably the one thing a leader does not want to hear is that they lack vision.

            Leaders attain vision through many lenses.  They will look at a history of an organization, the goals for the organization, and where they see themselves in the future.  The leader must align their vision with the mission of an organization. An effective leader cannot force their values on an organization, but work within the organization to effectively achieve its goals.

            Using coercion in the vision process can lead to devastating results.  The effective leader needs to communicate their vision at the beginning.  The leader will also need to assure that their vision is aligned with the mission of the organization.  You cannot have a leader who wants to do one thing, but it does not fit within the organization mission.  Finally, the leader must not be afraid to make a mistake.  Mistakes are just another way of doing things.

            Power can be used to make decisions, but this is probably not the most effective way. A leader would like to have most of the company/organization on board.  Yes, everyone will not agree, but as long as the leader has communicated their vision effectively, people will follow.  The use of power should be used with caution.  Not effectively presenting a vision will seem like a lack of leadership.

            The use of power and coercion in the vision or decision making process is not the best way to lead.  The one thing a leader cannot afford to do, is not have their managers on the same page as them.  Yes, the leader will be task with making decisions that at times may not be the most popular to digest.  This is where the communication aspects and self-awareness will kick in for the leader. Power and coercion should not be used, instead communication and awareness should be fostered.

Rueben A. Ingram

Argosy           

Thinking Outside the Cereal Box

“Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of and since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.”

            -Viktor Frankl

For those of you not from Hawaii we have several versions of cockroaches of all different sizes and shapes. On of my favorites is the B-52 cockroach with which I’ve had several encounters throughout my 8 year blissful stay in Kailua, Oahu.  My first encounter was a warm sunny day as I dried off from my long day at the beach.  I had just come back from my swim in the pristine turquoise waters and was relaxed from reading a wonderful book about happiness. I truly enjoyed the clean beaches, the smell of the salt sprayed air, and the feeling the warm sand caked to my skin. I was whistling and excited from my lovely day as I was rinsing off the sand at home.  I reached for my towel to dry off my face.  As I was drying, I felt something engage in a sprint from my shoulder, to my ankle and off the left side of my body.   I looked just in time to see the giant cockroach scurrying off my leg. 

No one had warned me about the colonies of roaches that at times even come out during the day. Although, I was well aware that cockroaches spread disease as my mother and many others had passed this information to me through time. I did not want to smash it with my shoe because I was afraid it might take my shoe and slap me back- it was so big. I normally do not kill bugs, cockroaches and mosquito’s being the exceptions; so I grabbed the can of raid and sprayed it. Due to the lack of ventilation, I inhaled some of the chemicals which immediately numbed my throat and mouth.  I watched the cockroach hiss and experience what seemed to be an inhumane death.  In that moment, I felt incredibly bad to have made something suffer.  Recently, I researched the roles of cockroaches in our ecosystem, disease spread by these pests, and the effects of chemicals on their systems as well as humans.

            In my research, I could not find record of direct transmission of any disease from a cockroach to a human being. There is record that they leave feces trails in order to navigate. This could lead scientists to infer that our little friends could spread disease to humans.  Let me point out that cats stand in their litter boxes and walk on the counters and we are not eradicating them for spreading disease in our homes.  I found many fascinating facts about cockroaches that you may be interested in reading.  I was able to see many different points of views on which seemed like such an insignificant topic.  

  I found a problem with my ability to think outside what I read on a cereal box or hear from trusted resources.  I am working on changing the way I think about the world around me.  I am learning to find the significance in everything.  Because when I make uneducated decisions like using Raid in a unventilated room to kill a cockroaches. In another perspective, I was choosing to inhale poison that I did not understand in order to kill something that I knew nothing about.  I believe this type of thinking is the same ignorance that caused Hiroshima and the Holocaust. 

In the Holocaust, people stated that they had no idea that heinous actions were occurring.  People did not know because they did not educate themselves of the truth.  They did not seek to understand the reality occurring to their countrymen and women.  I am not saying that we should save the cockroaches and ban bug spray. I am saying every time we do something, no matter of insignificant the action may seem to take a moment to be completely aware of what we are doing.  It is our ability to think from different angels even in the smallest or what seem to be most insignificant situations.  I believe Victor Frankl warned us that it is our aversion to the truth and the lack of desire to truly understand any given circumstance that leads to much demise.  Dr Frankl concludes his book with a startling quote “Since Auschwitz we know what man is capable of and since Hiroshima we know what is at stake.”

Amber Stubbs
Honolulu, 2011

Burning is Learning

What is to give light must endure burning.

            -Victor Frankl-

            It was the last day of math in which I was calculating no more numbers for life!  This is a lie I tell myself even today.  Algebra II was the course and because it was algebra II it was a cold, stormy, and dark night.  I walked in the dreary room which resembled a mental hospital thinking that I should be able to pass this class with the intense effort I had put into it through the tutoring sessions and marathon study sessions I had endured the entire semester.  The teacher handed out the test, I took a deep breath, reached into my bag, and I pulled out my pencil silently saying to myself:  “you can do it” in my most sarcastic Adam Sandler voice. I understood the importance of securing the happiness in math class.  I reached down for my calculator and my heart dropped into my stomach.  It was not in my bag where I had left it?  Panic set in because I know that my professor would have no mercy.   

I reported this news to the professor and he stated “Well that is too bad, Amber, it looks like you will be taking this test without a calculator.Maybe next time you will listen when the professor tells you to be prepared”.  There was no possible way I could have passed the test without a calculator. I made an attempt to answer the questions but failed.  I failed the course!  I was devastated!  My dream was to finish a doctorate degree and yet the my degree plan showed, on that day, that I would never even finish my AA.  I was 19 years old, living on my own with no financial support from my family, and I had to figure out how I was going pay for a doctoral degree when I could not pass or pay for math. Everything seemed hopeless as I drove home that night and it burned.  I found that my roommate gave my calculator to a friend to borrow for his test.  You see, he could not afford a calculator so my roommate felt that I was so much smarter and his friend needed it more.   

             It is now eleven years later and I am nearing the end of my doctorate course work.  Anyone can guess that I did find a way to pay for school, passed a few more classes, and failed my way to successful moments multiple times. As I write this blog, I am taking a course that involves math, quantitative statistics. Thanks to all my repeated failures in Algebra class and life I am doing okay, but it does not lessen the burn and fear that I may fail or am not adequate to sit at the table with my fellow students.  So where am I going with all this you ask? What does a candle burning and then giving light have to do with some blogster's math story?” 

The point is that in order to achieve anything we have to burn or fail in order to succeed. I know you’ve heard in many times but did you understand it fully?   It is inevitable, but not successive.  The tricky part is that I always thought at some point the burning or failing would stop and I would give light.  I realize now that this is false and socialized thinking because anything that is giving light is currently burning.  Success and failure always occur at the same time, if we choose success just as light and burning occur simultaneously. I’ve found that, when I do things that matter, life does not get easier. I have not found a way to make the burning more tolerable other than giving up.  When I give up, my cognitive development is unchanged; I make very little transformation or development in my mental or spiritual progression as a human being. So I guess what I am trying to say to those of you that are at the end of your ropes is:

 “if you ain’t burnin, you ain’t learnin.”

Amber Stubbs
2011

True Freedom...and the Arrival of Maturity

Between stimulus and response there is a space.  In that space is our power to choose our response.  In our response lies a place of our growth and freedom.

           

            -Victor Frankl-

            During an accusatory confrontation not too long ago, I realized that the only thing that separates a leader from anyone else is their response.  A leader chooses to see the other’s point of view and understands not only the verbal complaint but the root of the problem.  Next, a leader chooses not to be right, but to make an effort to solve any problem with compassion and opportune timing.  Sometimes, compassion means saying or doing something that could hurt a person or even damage a relationship.  Or, it may mean that the leader may have to seem wrong for a time in order to help a person grow. 

Being a leader requires the acceptance of being wrong when the leader is wrong and even wrong when the leader is right.  To clarify, I used to believe that in order to be respected and viewed as credible by my peers, employees, volunteers, colleagues, and employers, I had to be the best at everything.  This included proving to others that I was intelligent enough to participate in conversations through thorough analysis based on research, self improvement, and working harder than anyone.  I recently realized what my perfection seeking communicated to others, that being right and the best was most important to me.  

I realized that even in the smallest conversation it is better to look for themes in each person’s dialog than enter into the conversation itself. Every moment we are communicating something; this rings true: the most important thing is to communicate that we care. It is not about understanding what people are verbally saying it is about understanding people.  Leadership is about looking for the underlying message that each person unconsciously communicates.  When a leader does this, he or she automatically enters the person’s reality and communicates that he or she cares.  It is the impression that the leader imprints on the person’s unconscious mind that matters.   In the constant dialog of the human mind is where conclusions are ultimately drawn.  Long after the group or individual conversation, situation, meeting, or workday ends the multiple conclusions that matter have yet to be made.  

Leadership is about laying down ego for the greater good.  I struggle with this on a daily bases because I truly want to be the best person I can be so that I may make a difference in this world. However, being the best is not what makes a difference in this world.   It is about seeing the most important thing in life: the personal growth of all individuals.

 A leader does not care to be right or wrong, but sees every response and situation as an opportunity for growth.  A leader sees a bad circumstance as an opportunity for immense positive change and paradigm shifts because a leader has the ability to take even the most heinous circumstance and convert it into something more.  A leader is able to do this because of the realization that everything is a collective action and each individual must feel cared for and have purpose. To conclude, it is the leader's job to help people find their greater purpose without the person knowing they've been helped. 

Amber Stubbs

This Is Just Not "the Way It Is"

I recommend the Statue of Liberty be supplemented by a Statue of Responsibility.

            -Victor Frankl-

            I find myself in frequent discussions about government and personal responsibility.   During a business leadership course, I found myself in another government responsibility discussion. The conversation concerned the movement of Hawaii’s homeless population to an alternate place in order to preserve the reputation of Hawaii’s aloha for APEC. I was appalled that the government was taking away what very little the Hawaii homeless have in order to display the image of aloha for leaders from abroad. I thought if we all really lived aloha we would not have homelessness.

From that day forward, I have decided to shift my thought process to personal responsibility.  If I am not taking personal responsibility for the topics I am concerned about; how can I expect the government or anyone else to take responsibility?   I have the freedom to take personal responsibility to help the homeless and yet, I don't.

Why? Because, that which falls within the circle of our personal responsibility is so hard to recognize.

            With freedom, each of us should realize that there is giant wave of responsibility that comes with the benefits. According to Webster’s dictionary, liberty is the quality or state of being free. If the homeless are living in the Hawaii, are they not free to populate any area at any time as part of their rights?  Is not what we are doing for APEC a violation of personal rights, the meaning of aloha, and the American ideal of freedom? 

The definition of responsibility is to be liable to be called upon to answer.  In every conversation I’ve had with my fellow doctoral students on this topic the conclusion ends with "this is just the way it is."  Very few times is anyone willing to have the conversation about how a small number of leaders in the classroom could make a difference (except Carole) with homelessness in Hawaii or human trafficking in India.  I see now that the problem is not homelessness in Hawaii.  The problem is me not speaking up to encourage others to have a different conversation just for today. To point out, just as Dr Oliver has done, we have to remember that if we see a problem we are being called upon to answer it. 

I hope, at least, my next conversation will not conclude with "it's just the way it is."   

Amber Stubbs, 2011

Love in the Abyss

"A thought transfixed me for the first time in my life. I saw the truth as it is set into a song by so many poets, proclaimed as the final wisdom by so many thinkers.  The truth - that love is the ultimate and the highest goal to which man can aspire.  Then I grasped the meaning of the greatest secret that human poetry and human thought and belief have to impart. 'The salvation of man is through love and in love.' I understood how a man who has nothing left in this world still may know bliss, be it only for a brief moment, in the contemplation of his beloved."

-Victor Frankl

            Love is the ultimate truth and ultimately the meaning to life or the means to self-actualize.  Looking at the Auschwitz prisoner’s living conditions through the lens of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/maslow.html), I would conclude, as a scientist, that every person should have died. Yet some lived… And not just lived, but were also able to self-actualize in that monsterous place.  I reflected and meditated about what it must have been like for Victor Frankl on the day he had his epiphany about love. 

On that day, the weather was freezing cold; he was hungry, improperly clothed, and had no shelter from the elements. His body was eating itself from lack of nutrition; everyone he knew had been murdered.  Around him, people were giving up on life; he was treated like a rat; his life work was lost; his odds of living were 1 and 26, and his human identity was a number.  He should have died, but didn’t because he had one thought that sustained him and that was love.  What better evidence does humanity have that the meaning of life is love? When all else fell away from Victor Frankl, it was in the contemplation of his beloved that he was sustained.

The lingering question I had for Frankl is why did he call love a goal?

I speculated for some time and realized that love is a goal because it just does not happen. One has to make it a goal and set off to achieve it. Our soul mate does not just come along and we live happily ever after. We learn love lessons each time we see that we failed ourselves or another person.  Our soul mates and relationships really are mirrors. They show us how to love more deeply by reflecting our failures and flaws back to us. It is through facing these painful lessons that love is really achieved and learned. When we fail to learn through our failures and see the evidence as a reflection of us, we fail twice and, as a result, experience love aversion.

For instance, most psychologists will say that infidelity in a relationship is a symptom of a much bigger problem. The truth is that everyone, when a relationship explodes, endures moments during which they feel like victims. Victims do not see their fault in the relationship, learn nothing, and assume the role of a victim. Unconscious victims are not activated and focused on learning anything. Victims are caught in an emotional loop exploring nothing, but their own pain. As a result, the victim loses trust for others and continues to make the same mistakes in the next relationship. Only when we set the goal to love, reflect on who we are, and tear down all the lifetime victim-centric barriers and defense mechanisms we set against love are we able to understand the highest truth.

If Victor Frankl can spend three years in a concerntration camp and be sustained by contemplating his beloved, can we not face the dark chambers inside ourselves that are preventing us from achieving life's ultimate goal?

I thank him for facing the inhumanity of his situation, for moving past it to the new life waiting for him on the other side, and for being brave enough to let these experiences move through him and manifest into words on paper so that all of us might benefit from the realization which was borne of so much darkness.

Amber Stubbs

Inside Out: Outside In

I chose Dr. Zachary Oliver’s book (2010), Falling but Fulfilled: Reflections on Multiple Intelligences for my selected book for this exercise.  My first chosen quotation for reflection is: “As with any research into human beings, the truths we discover always seem most rich as we look both into our own experience and then look for acknowledgment from the experience in the world” (Oliver, 2010, pp. 9-10).

My reflection of this quote begins with the experience of oneself and of our fellow human beings.  When I think about finding out the truth from experience, experiential learning comes to mind.  In a landmark book on experiential learning as titled Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development, Kolb (1984) defined experiential learning to be “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience.  Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience” (p. 41).  An observable key strength of experiential learning is its effectiveness given the context of Bloom’s taxonomy. 

In a number of our doctoral courses, Dr. Oliver has discussed Bloom’s taxonomy to be the process of moving from lower order to higher order learning.  Lower order learning involves (a) knowledge acquisition and memory retention, (b) comprehension, and (c) application.  Higher order learning involves (a) analysis, (b) synthesis, and (c) evaluation.  Notably, synthesis results from multiple loops of lower order learning and analysis along with the reflection of application.  In other words, evaluation occurs almost simultaneously with synthesis and involves multiple syntheses.

In a book as titled as Mastering Business in Asia: Supply Chain Management, Kim (2005) addressed how Bloom's taxonomy relates to experiential learning.  Kim contended that multiple experiential learning loops enable a system (e.g., supply chain, firm) to avert past misgivings as these kinds of learning approaches further enhance a system’s processes.  In other words, Kim pointed out that evaluation to overcome the potentiality of failure involves multiple and repetitious experiential learning processes.  Thus, the power of evaluation is contextual on experiential learning, especially multiple loops of learning opportunity.  Notably, Dr. Oliver explained that a research effort is relative to the analysis in Bloom’s taxonomy.  Only multiple research efforts on a given research question or phenomenon can yield an actual evaluation… This is most certainly a hint to my last area of reflection for the selected quotation.

The part on seeking the truth from Dr. Oliver’s aforementioned quote is relative to scientific research.  The term epistemology relative toward understanding the nature of knowledge comes to mind when I think about research.  From what I continue to learn in these doctoral courses, inquiry in “contributing to the body of knowledge” in a particular field or scholarly discipline (e.g., social science) is relative to a research effort.  Furthermore, a research effort involves ascertaining truth by methodically pursuing a research question.  An example of a research question is: Do graduate students perceive themselves to be experiential learners?

Well, the somewhat detailed reflection and explanation of experiential learning and research is quite a “mouthful” to swallow in terms of knowledge acquisition.  Rather than merely seeking knowledge (i.e., knowledge acquisition), the key point to Dr. Oliver’s aforementioned quotation is about understanding the deeper meaning of the truths from experience-based learning, whether it be from oneself or others.  In other words, truth is best learned by numerous life experiences, which enables reflection so that one can understand the deeper meaning of life and the information from one’s surroundings.

Michelle Harada

Problems teach us better questions...

“Each situation in life represents a challenge to man and presents a problem for him to solve, the question of the meaning of life may actually be reversed. Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only respond by being responsible. Responsibleness is the very essence of human existence.”

 

-Victor Frankl

In “A Man’s Search for Meaning,” Victor Frankl spoke about human life being divided much like frames in a movie.  Frankl explained that we cannot understand a whole movie from watching a part of it.  The end of the movie is where we receive the clarity in meaning. The same holds true for life.

Before reading Frankl’s book, I was a goal setter and achiever.  I had already achieved many great feats to include, a master degree - despite my disability, four years in the Marine Corps, gazed at two of the seven wonders of the world, overcame my fear of heights through rock climbing, and completed two 70.3 triathlons when I did not know how to swim, bike, or run.  I had to learn how to do these activities from the perspective of a triathlete. I had more goals set in the future to include the Ironman World Championships, see the rest of the wonders of the world, ascend the 7 summits, and earn a Doctorate degree. It was very exciting to look to the past and the future.

However, I felt unfulfilled in the current moment.  This was a sobering as I sat in a desert wash alone, in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, in the middle of the Mohave Desert.   I reflected on the past and realized at every moment I was not truly happy. Just like this moment.  How could I feel happy about my reflections of the past and future, but not be happy during any of the moments?  This caused me to ask many questions: What is the point? What am I here for? Why do I have all these goals?  Do I have delusions about my own happiness?  Is God really God? Am I really Christian?  How do I feel about love? What is happiness really? Is there such a thing as a soul mate? What about past lives? What is reality? I decided to stop setting goals and search for meaning inside myself. Two years into my amazing journey, I read Frankl’s book.  

After reading the quote above, my life changed completely. This was the point where the knowledge I had about my outside search for meaning became inner meaning.  Meditation did not have to be the only time I lived in the moment.  I saw the significance in every moment. In the past, I always searched for the end of the movie.  I rushed through life seeing every moment as being insignificant but only as a set up for the next. I had to rush and get this moment done so I could move to the next one.  I was always in a hurry! I was never satisfied with what was occurring now.  I never enjoyed riding my bike, swimming in the ocean, or just simply taking a shower.  Everything was a means to an end.

Now, I truly practice that every moment is significant.  I look at every moment and see the miracles in it.  As I take a shower, I feel the warm water on my skin; I dry off and give thanks for that part of my body; I reflect when I walk; I feel all my feelings, and the list goes on.  I now have the answer and feel very happy in my moments.  In closing, Dr. Oliver stated in class that all great answers lead to more great questions.  And so, Dr Frankl’s answer led me to more great questions in which I am happily on a path to answer.  I begin a new journey where fulfillment is not the goal but the feelings of unfulfillment is the question in itself.  What is the answer? Ask yourself… Go ahead.  Do it…

Amber Stubbs

...broken into pieces...

“Leadership hath been broken into pieces” John Wildman, 1648

From the book: Leaders The Strategies for Taking Charge

There is no one hard and fast way to describe leadership and its meaning.  We can debate who makes a good leader, and what criteria we use to describe the perfect leader.  We do know that leaders do need some basic components to be effective in guiding individuals, organizations and companies.  We also know that leaders need vision, the ability to motivate, and at times be persuasive in working with people. 

One way we can define leaders is that leaders must have the ability to get the maximum effort out of the people they are charged with leading and must be able to reach the goals that are set forth by the organization, companies, or its followers.  Some say that leadership is a learned trait that can be taught. Others may argue that leadership comes from within, we may be predisposed or have a biological make up to become leaders.  Some may say that their peers or colleagues appoint leaders.  I would subscribe to the theory that leaders have a biological inheritance to become leaders.  We can teach different traits or leadership styles, and how we would handle different situations involving leaders and decision making, but leaders are born and then groomed to become effective leaders.

            Leaders use different strategies to get the results they are looking for from their followers.  Leadership strategies depend on things such as the goals of an organization, where do we see our organization a week, a month, six months or years down the road.  Leaders are challenged by which strategy they will use, what is the make up of their organization in terms of their employees, managers, and possibly investors.  Possibly, the biggest issues that comes to mind with leaders is the changing global environment and how business is being conducted.  Before, leaders would come into a room, outline where they wanted to see their organization headed, and task their managers with carrying out their wishes.  Today, leaders are using social media sites, conference calls, and other modern technology when getting their point across.  Leaders of today have lost in some ways the personal touch in dealing with people.

            “Leadership hath been broken into pieces” is a powerful statement.  Leaders use different styles, and strategies to get the outcome necessary for their organization(s).  There is not a set of prescribed bullet points leaders use, but what works at that moment, and what may work in the future.  There was probably a time when you could break leaders into one of two categories: Leaders who got the job done, and leaders who struggled to get the job done.  The latter would most likely not be a leader for long.  The best or most effective leader, needs to be able to take a piece from each of the different leadership strategies, form that in a global perspective, and use the new technology to its advantage. 

Rueben A. Ingram

Reincarnation of Blog

Aloha All,

Please excuse my absence. Life has been busy.
In the last few months, I've edited many books which will start coming out. In fact, the first one, "Almost Paradise" by Laurie Hanon is now available (at http://www.savantbooksandpublications.com/currentworks.php). It's a mystery set in Hawaii. So, for all of you curious about what life is really like here, beyond coconuts and palm trees, this fun little novel does dig a little deeper.

As far as my reason for starting the blog again: I really wanted this space to be an interesting opportunity to reflect on some of the great quotes which are floating through our various media. So, in this iteration, I've asked my doctoral students to read some books that go beyond the basic studies they are responsible for and select quotes and discuss them.

I figure this is a great opportunity for an interesting conversation for my student community to have with the wider world. I am truly impressed with the level of reflection bubbling to the surface among these students and am honored to have the opportunity to share these ideas with the world. Over the course of the next few weeks, new posts will be coming out that will be written by these awesome members of our learning community.

Z. Oliver

Love and Money

"Love without money is better than money without love."
- Warren D. Evans

This quote comes from a mentor of mine, a dear man who lives a gentle life filled with moral behavior. Yet, he has enjoyed fantastic financial success along the way.

Often, we are so ground into the negativity surrounding corporate irresponsibility and the undercurrent of avariciousness swirling around us as we seek to find stable footing in life, we find that we have absorbed a kind of negative perspective that anyone with money, anyone who has succeeded financially, must be a crook. It's both a sad and pervasive mentality which permeates the middle and low class.

I've said in these blogs before that money is not the goal of a good business, money is, instead, the measurement of how well a business maneuvers and behaves. Money is the measurement of the company's interpersonal ability.

Let's remember that business is a social act. It depends on trust, respect, and successful communication. Let me also remind us that these are all qualities that indicate love. Trust, respect, and successful communication are, after all, the hallmark of any quality marriage.

This quote is great in that it challenges me to put the first thing first. Put love before money. If I act right, then success will pursue me, not the other way around.

So, I'm going to spend tomorrow thinking about my behavior, ensuring that my behavior is a successful expression of my internal world. Of course, I will find that, in some ways, my behaviors alighn with my internal world and in others, my behaviors don't. I'm human; this is a process which I will have to repeat throughout the days and nights of my life.

It is my belief, though, that as I work to align my internal world, as I become more articulate about that which I believe, as I understand better what I have to offer the world that is unique to me, I will become an ever more capable witness of love.

I believe in the art of putting the first thing first. I guess it's time to start my Spring cleaning...
I hope everyone has a wonderfully peaceful and relaxing Sunday!

Z

An Apology

Aloha Dear Readers,

I'm sorry to have left you hanging. Everything is going well in Zachland; however, life has been extremely busy. I've been working so hard on making sure that my university job is well done so that my students will have a strong start for the semester.

On top of that, I've been editing a couple of new books. It's satisfying work, but time consuming.

So, I want to get back to my writing and to start this new flurry of bog posts out on something that falls very near and dear to my heart and to the subject matter of my latest book, "Falling but Fulfilled" using the words of a great man who taught the modern world a whole new way to conceive of itself.

"You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him to find it for himself."
-Galileo Galilei

These words of wisdom come from the man credited to having offered us the very first solid proof that the universe does not swim languidly around the Earth. He produced the first evidence that pointed to a universe made up of a lot more moving pieces than just the parts observable by our eyes. Some people may malign him as having taken away a great sense of wonder, as the executioner of the religious age. It seems that he pointed at an even more wonderous reality that stretches unimaginable eons and speeds away from us in all directions like some slow motion existence inside a bursting explosion.

His words, here, are so elegant, so simple. He makes such a great point that effective teaching isn't about stuffing information into a person's head. Instead, learning happens when a student finds the will and joy to begin connecting with the wonders surrounding him or her in every moment of every day.

I wish for all of you that you keep yourself wide open to the experiences that await each and every one of you today, tomorrow, and every day.

Z

A New Year's Wish

Aloha Dear Readers,

Thank you for a wonderful break. I really enjoyed spending some time with my family.

A few times during the last month, I've hit on something that is a core issue of my book, my classroom philosophy, and I hope for this continued blog. Today, I received the new issue of Time magazine, opened it up, and flipped it to an article on Suu Kyi, the Burmese Nobel Peace Prize laureate. On page 32, I saw my opening quote for the year staring at me in big bold print. It is the shot into the very heart of what I'm trying to do with all of this work.

The nicest thing about this, for me, is that seeing these words coming from someone who also believes passionately in his or her work. It means I'm not crazy and that this is a worthwhile mission. It fills me with the energy to dive back in for another year and share all of this love inside of me in an effort to spread the message that learning is worthwhile as it allows us to decide carefully and clearly where and when and how we might contribute to this great human experience.

With no further ado, I leave you with the quote:

"My very top priority is for people to understand that they have the power to change things themselves."
-Suu Kyi

Happy New Year!

Z

Coming Home

“A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.”

-George Moore

Dear Readers,

Earlier tonight, a close friend of mine sent me a text message with this quote. So, I texted him back and asked if he wanted me to take a closer look at the quote for our Christmas Eve blog. At the time, I was walking around Diamond Head with my wife and beautiful daughters while watching the sunset. The quote hit just right with the sunset and the feeling of my daughters hand grasping onto mine and the funny sqeaks of my infant daughter enjoying the ride on my shoulders.

George Moore sure understands that the fulfillment we so deeply search for is never out there; rather, it’s always right here in the quiet moments of togetherness, the tender seconds during which we simply are with those that love us and those whom we love.

So, Jon, I hope this blog makes you smile. It’s my Christmas present to you on your final pre-parenthood Christmas. Some of your friends may be filling you with stories told in gloomy tone about how children empty bank accounts or keep you from playing at all of the time wasters that used to fill your life (video games anyone?), but let this blog put a stop to that silliness. I gladly empty out my continually slim wallet to share the best possible life with these lovely ladies, my beautiful daughters.

I’ve been all over the world. I’ve travelled and lived in all kinds of interesting places. I wouldn’t trade my travels to have rushed this life, but now that it is here…I can smile, look anyone in the eye, and say that all of this is absolutely worthwhile.

I have no doubt this will be your experience as well. You’re an awesome human being; fatherhood will come to you very naturally. I look forward to hearing trading stories with you along the way.

Jon, thank you for the perfect Christmas quote…

So, my dear readers, merry Christmas and happy holidays to all of you out there in this fascinating hyper reality which we call the Internet. I will take the next couple of days off and enjoy them at home with my family. If anyone needs anything, then don’t hesitate to call, shoot me an email, and/or post a response to the blog.

I wish you all peace!

Z

Shameless Self-Promotion

“With the advent of cognitive psychology and the extremely dynamic disciplines collectively called neuroscience, conceptions of intelligence have drastically evolved. These disciplines no longer view the brain simply as a giant computational organ. Logic, while important, is not the sole summation of the myriad parts of the brain. The mind is no longer a spiritual abstraction. The mind is now considered, from empirical evidence, to be the self conscious by-product of multiple parts of the brain working collectively and often layering on, interconnecting with, and redundantly supporting the other areas of the brain.”

-Zachary Oliver, EdD.

Dear Readers,

I know that this kind of reading typically falls outside of the norm for blogs on the Internet. Thank you for bearing with me during the course of the last month. It has been my hope to use this blog to help my book develop a market.

“Falling but Fulfilled” is a gentle book. It is filled with stories designed to give voice to the learner still hiding inside of each of us, like we did in the back of a closet during an especially fierce game of hide and seek.

While it isn’t filled with complex sentences and challenging ideas like the quick excerpt I included above as the quote for the day. You may be thinking: Then, why would you use a quote like this to communicate your book?”

This is a fair question.

In this quote, I feel the intellectual message of the book is clearly articulated. Truly, there is so much more to being smart than formalized analytical skills, such as those inherent in structured logic. People exhibit intelligence in the creative ways in which we solve problems, in the domains with which we feel a connection, and in the fast fluid world of social interractions with the speed of perception and the power of a quick wit.

My book, “Falling but Fulfilled”, speaks to the stories which I’ve lived that have brought this learning into my consciousness. Throughout its pages, readers are challenged through my storytelling to sift back through their own memories looking for analagous experiences.

So, excuse me for my shameless self-promotion. The thing is: I believe in my sweet little book. I believe that it deserves a chance in this big wide world. I believe that it offers a fresh perspective for a world full of burned-out people.

I hope that it brings you as much joy to read it as it did for me to write it.

I look forward to reading your reviews here and on Amazon!

Z

Nightmares and Daydreams

Dear Readers,

I came across an excellent Japanese proverb a few years ago which has been rumbling around my brain and in several of my classrooms. I don’t typically like proverbs as a root of examination. I think that it’s because I want to velcro the words and perspectives in a quote to a person and to the time in which they lived. In this case, though, I think the proverb really reminds me of the two-sidedness needed to really see a project through to its successful completion. I leave all of you tonight with a very short and touching group of words that I feel are timely during this most dreamy season.

“Vision without action is a daydream; action without vision is a nightmare.”

I wish all of you the best of days leading up to our New Year’s celebration complete with all of those fresh challenges and resolutions with which we feel ready to challenge ourselves.

With respect,

Z

Redefining Business

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up men to gather wood, divide the work and give orders. Instead, teach them to yearn for the vast and endless sea.”

-Antoine De St. Exupery

Earlier tonight, I was working with my colleague, David. David is a fantastically bright and ambitious up and comer in the business world. We were examining a business opportunity that is near and dear to our hearts, deciding whether we want this chance and whether the time is right.

As we were talking over what we have to bring to the table, I felt a bubble fighting its way to the surface of my conscious mind. Besides exhaling in relief that I knew what would be my topic for the daily blog, I felt that I had an opportunity to articulate my philosophical position about business.

You see, business, in many people’s minds, is something dirty. I hear people make comments about the scum sucking corporate world which sadden me, especially when considering my role as the Department Chair for the College of Business. I work hard, everyday, to train the future business leaders to be thoughtful and ethical individuals.

Truly, I understand that this negative reputation has come to be well-deserved in many areas; however, my contention is that this reputation is less the result of what we call the business world and more a result of unethical and antisocial behavior from individuals participating in it. In fact, I would venture a guess that this kind of behavior is among the worst common to all human beings. It would be silly to assume that this kind of behavior only exists in the for-profit business world.

So, I went casting around for a quote that would allow for me to have an opportunity to share my philosophy on why I work so hard and how I stay positive. I think this quote works nicely.

You see, I believe that the purpose of for-profit business is not to simply make money. Money is not purpose. We have to remember that money is only a measurement of value, not value itself. It is in this confusion that we begin to see convoluted ethics which often breed excessive behaviors.  

The purpose of a business is to build value. Therefore, the goal of the true business professional is to build an organization with a focused and incisive purpose in which people are motivated to work well with one another to build something in which they can believe. The profits such an organization produce are the measurement by which the owners can recognize the effectiveness of the business.

Thinking of this in the vocalublary of today’s quote, the dream of a vast ocean of possibilities is the environment which the leader tries to fashion throughout the entire organization. The profits of this are fine ships, designed to move smoothly and derive maximum efficiency, safety, and joy when sliding across the waters. Of course, the better the boats are cafted, the more value a potential consumer can recognize in the craft’s design, materials, and solid construction.

Luckily, David is patient with my long-winded protestations. We agree that the only way to progress in the way of wealth in this capitalistic world in which we live is through conscious participation in markets through entrepreneurship. More importantly, no one has to lose his or her sould in an effort to find financial success. The important thing here is that there is a clear way forward for commerce to exist without it becoming so filled with avarice that no scrupulous, talented, and creative individual would pursue business as an exciting and rewarding way to spend a life.

Let’s light the way together!

Z

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