- The Wisdom Manifesto
Today's zombieconomy has been a long time coming. If
you've been following our discussions, you saw it rising
as early as 2006. The roots of this deep recession are
about what zombies lack: consciousness, intelligence,
and, at root, wisdom.
you've been following our discussions, you saw it rising
as early as 2006. The roots of this deep recession are
about what zombies lack: consciousness, intelligence,
and, at root, wisdom.
America, it was once said, is the richest country in the
world. And though Wall St, Washington, and Europe
are focused on exploding deficits and rising debt,
both are effects of a deeper cause. We're poor in the
single way that counts the most: In terms of institu-
tional capital, we're bankrupt. It is institutions that
allocate and create mere financial capital — and
without better ones, we're learning, prosperity must
implode.
world. And though Wall St, Washington, and Europe
are focused on exploding deficits and rising debt,
both are effects of a deeper cause. We're poor in the
single way that counts the most: In terms of institu-
tional capital, we're bankrupt. It is institutions that
allocate and create mere financial capital — and
without better ones, we're learning, prosperity must
implode.
There's a simpler way to express institutional capital.
It's about wisdom. It is because we've beggared our-
selves of wisdom that we're bereft of cash, jobs, and
meaning. The scarcest, rarest, and most valuable
resource in the world today is wisdom. The coun-
tries, companies, and people that possess it will pros-
per. In many ways, wisdom is the opposite of strategy
— and today, it is strategy, bought by the dozen from
legions of besuited, back-slapping consultants, that is
cheap, abundant, and worth little.
It's about wisdom. It is because we've beggared our-
selves of wisdom that we're bereft of cash, jobs, and
meaning. The scarcest, rarest, and most valuable
resource in the world today is wisdom. The coun-
tries, companies, and people that possess it will pros-
per. In many ways, wisdom is the opposite of strategy
— and today, it is strategy, bought by the dozen from
legions of besuited, back-slapping consultants, that is
cheap, abundant, and worth little.
How large is the economic gap between wisdom and
strategy? It begins in the billions. JPMorgan wasn't wise,
and now it has to set aside $3 billion in "model-
uncertainty reserves." Toyota wasn't wise — and the
price of that lack of wisdom is already $10 billion and
rising. Think wisdom's warm-and-fuzzy?
Think again. It's as hard-as-nails, and as sharp as a razor.
strategy? It begins in the billions. JPMorgan wasn't wise,
and now it has to set aside $3 billion in "model-
uncertainty reserves." Toyota wasn't wise — and the
price of that lack of wisdom is already $10 billion and
rising. Think wisdom's warm-and-fuzzy?
Think again. It's as hard-as-nails, and as sharp as a razor.
Here's a nine step plan to go beyond mere strategy and
begin bringing a little wisdom into your own organization.
begin bringing a little wisdom into your own organization.
Express. Most organizations have values — vague, boring,
meaningless statements about what's important to...them.
Values, of course, are the basis of strategy. That kind of
megalomaniacal egoecontricity's so 20th century. Wisdom
isn't about what you "value" — it's about how everyone values
you. To get wise, articulate your essence: the change you
want to see in the world. That means literally crafting a
statement of intent about "the world", like Google: "to
organize the world's information and make it universally
accessible."
Energize. Wisdom doesn't happen by hanging out in the
VIP section and sipping Grey Goose — though the deal-
making of strategy often does. It happens by understanding
the who, why, what, and how of suffering. Do you, or does
your organization spend any time with those who are made
worse off by what you do? Almost none do. But that's the
only source of the most explosive kind of horsepower —
not just physical or intellectual energy, but emotional
and ethical energy.
Channel. Once you're energized, it's time to channel
your energy most productively. How wide is the gap
between the change you want — and the change that
is? Most people, like most organizations, focus on
living up to a "best practice", or living to the expecta-
tions of beancounterly analysts or warmongering chief-
tains. Forget it. Wisdom is measured against a higher
standard than mere strategy: the one set by what people,
communities, and society lack. If your organization
doesn't have them yet, start building them.
Ignite. Strategy is carried out militaristically, by doling
out formulaic tasks to be completed. Wisdom, in
contrast, requires space for experimentation and play —
for people to find new ways to change the world.
Google's 20% time is going the way of dinosaur —
and so, unfortunately, is its wisdom. If you don't get
time at work to ignite wise ideas, ask for some, or
better yet: take some.
Evoke. Strategy is the application of force. Wisdom
is the application of love. Strategy suppresses, but
Wisdom evokes. Its test is the ability to spark new
ideas, concepts, and solutions. That is how to be
valued by people, communities, and society — and
it's what Starbucks is learning at mystarbucksidea.
The lesson? Stop working and start evoking.
Examine. Apple won't be defeated the day Microsoft
makes an Applier phone. It will be defeated the day
Apple makes a more Microsoftian gadget. The rule?
Strategy's battle is defeating a rival, by any means
necessary. But Wisdom's battle is the real one: never
to compromise your essence, the way you want to
change the world. Wise organizations — like wise
people — spend time every day examining whether
the rot of compromise has led, unintentionally, to
self-defeat.
Raise. Strategy is concerned with the low: profit,
here and now, by any means necessary allowed
within the rules of the game. Wisdom, in contrast,
is about what's higher. Can you hold yourself up to
a higher standard than the bare minimum rule-makers
ask for — and by doing so, create morevalue? That's
the difference between Wall St's "regulatory arbitrage"
and microfinance's nascent revolution. That's the
real-world question Wisdom asks to ask ourselves
every day to reset and continually raise the bar.
Be. Strategy is about doing; wisdom is about being.
Strategy asks us to seek examples of people or
organizations who are "doing things right" — and
do what they did. The result? At best, a lack of
improvement, and at worst, a vicious downward spiral
in standards, quality, and value creation. Stop look-
ing for examples. Set an example. One that, like
Threadless, the world hasn't seen before — because
no one's had, well, the wisdom.
Renew. Strategies are as disposable as a cheap
plastic razor. But wisdom is eternal. And that means
that it's a ceaseless quest for learning. Here's the
measure of a wisely spent day: one where you learned
five new things. At the end of the day, can you articulate
them? If you can't, odds are you're not acting wisely.
Wise organizations institutionalize everyone's daily
learning, and a simple path to wisdom is to be the
person in your organization that brings the Rule of
Fives to life.
Are you wise — or merely clever, smart, and cunning?
If it's the latter, prepare to be hit by a neutron blast of
disruption. The 21st century isn't just about bigger and
faster: Strategy is obsolete. It's time to wise up.
Wisdom is a Jupiter-sized topic. The principles above
are far from the only ones, the best ones, or the "right"
ones. So fire away in the comments with your own
principles, reflections, or further examples.
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