Why Philosophy Matters
By Murray Johannsen |
WE assume leaders have a higher responsibility, a higher calling than to simply follow authority —they must come up with a set of principles that they can live by and share with followers. |
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Definition of Philosophy
The word comes from Ancient Greek. It consists of two elements:
[sophos meaning love] & [philos meaning wisdom]
A philosophy involves principles, values and traits— that continue and continue and continue through-out life. So it is more about the path, not the destination.
The key is live by, since a philosophy should serve as a guide to life and business. One sees this kind of leadership philosophy fully developed in the teachings and life example of great religious figures such as the Buddha or Jesus Christ.
Why Develop
a Success Philosophy?
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To Prepare Yourself
Life posses many problems, many crisis—we are all tested.
Defining a philosophy includes looking at personal development areas that help one prepare for the challenges of life.
Learn how you can prepare
To Counter The Corrupting Effects of Money and Power
Leaders without a philosophy are like the leaf not tied to the branch — you get blown anywhere the winds take you — Murray Johannsen.
There is a fundamental truth to Lord Action’s famous saying, the first half of which goes, “Power corrupts.” If he where alive today, Lord Acton would no doubt agree that in the modern world, money corrupts just as much as power.
And so we sometimes see in the powerful, the second half of his saying, “. . . and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” We see too many individuals using their influence to benefit themselves or their in-group at the expense of everyone else.
Without a set of uplifting principles and a bedrock solid set of character traits, the elite tend to exercise selfish power.
To Counter a Lack of Meaning In Life
The doors of opportunity more open for those best prepared to walk through it. — Murray Johannsen.
It was Viktor Frankl's belief that many people feel that life has no meaning. This is also seen in the very wealthy, according to Jessie O'Neil who wrote the book The Golden Ghetto. Because many feel alienated and alone, they may conclude that their lives having little meaning. However, we do possess the ability to create our own values and so add more meaning to our lives.
To Accelerate Personal Growth
One definition of managerial insanity: Doing the same things, the same way but expecting better results. — American Saying
Many businesses walk the path of continuous improvement. They understand that it's required to successfully compete and execute on a competitive advantage. However, many managers and executives are stuck in a rut of the same routine. Establishing a philosophy can serve as one method of overcoming complacency.
"The society which scorns excellence in plumbing because plumbing is a humble activity, and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because philosophy is an exalted activity, will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy. Neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water." — John Gardner, Source: wisdomquotes.com |
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Establishing Your Leadership Philosophy
The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials. Lin Yutang, Source: wisdomquotes.com
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Developing a philosophy takes time but it came be shortened. Learn how
The following are some guidelines for developing your own leadership philosophy.
Philosophical Guideline 1: A Good Philosophy Has A Number of Guiding Principles
If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable. —Seneca, Source: Said What |
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Editors and authors like to put numbers on things. For example, there are seven habits, (The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People), oops, I mean eight. Or maybe there are twenty-one. (The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You).
These are worthwhile books, but it's important to realize there is no magic number since your situation and responsibilities are not the same as someone else. For example, a supervisor on an assembly line would likely have a different set than a Hollywood director.
Leadership Principle 2: A Faulty Philosophy Has Unintended Consequences
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It’s sometimes easy to forget how easily untended consequences can occur. Take the following story as an example:
A businessman decided to to send his wife a quick e-mail when he was on a business trip. Unfortunately, he missed one letter and his note was directed instead to an elderly preacher’s wife, whose husband had passed away only the day before. When the grieving widow checked her e-mail, she took one look at the screen, let out a scream, and fell to the floor in a faint. Her family rushed into the room and saw on the screen:
Dearest Wife,
Just got checked in. Everything prepared for your arrival tomorrow.
Your Loving Husband
PS. Sure is hot down here
Years ago there was a very beneficial philosophy of business known as Total Quality Management. Those businesses that acted on these ideas improved product and service quality gaining a competitive advantage by doing so.
One of the central principles underlying this philosophy was known as, "Continuous Process Improvement." There was nothing wrong with this leadership principle, but it was incomplete since it allowed businesses to perfect process, but not perfect people.
So you had a paradox of flawed (meaning unskilled people) trying to perform in a process requiring perfection. A better way to state this philosophical principle would have been, "Continuously improve people and processes."
Philosophical Principle 3: Your Philosophy Should Change and Evolve
Men like the opinions to which they have become accustomed from youth; this prevents them from finding the truth, for they cling to the opinions of habit.
Moses Maimonides, 1135-1204, Egyptian physician and philosopher, Guide for the Perplexed |
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A good philosophy is not cast in concrete—it can change. This is easy to say, but usually this does not happen. This reminds me of a story:
The university president sighed as he went over the proposed budget offered him by the head of the department of physics.
"Why is it," he said, mournfully, "that you physicists always require so much expensive equipment? Now the department of mathematics requires nothing of me but money for paper, pencils, and erasers."
He thought a while longer and added, "And the department of philosophy is better still. It doesn't even ask for erasers." Source: Asimov, The Humor Treasury.
Moral of the Story: Beliefs Once Formed Rarely Change
Leadership Principle 4: It's Not Real Until Written
My grandfather once told me that there were two kinds of people: those who do the work and those who take the credit. He told me to try to be in the first group; there was much less competition. —
Indira Gandhi |
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A wise business leader will take the time to write something down on paper. This simple act forces you to clarify your thinking and define what's important. To give you an example of how this works, you should look into the life example of author, publisher, entrepreneur, scientist, inventor, diplomat, statesman and leader known as Benjamin Franklin.
Learn to Put Together Your Philosophy
Wrap-up:
Greet leaders need to have a philosophy—a set of theory— that guides their actions. It helps you know whether you are on the right road and if your actions are wise. To not do so means you are like a leaf blown on the wind with no branch to hang onto in the tree of life.
There is no statement so absurd that no philosopher will make it.—Cicero, Source: wisdomquotes.com
Copyright
@ 2008 by Murray Johannsen. All Rights Reserved |
