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Flight
The Trapeze Artist
In order to maintain momentum you have to let go of one and have
faith that there will be another one to take its place. There
is a terrible moment of fright when you have to let go of the
old, and the new is not yet there to grab hold of.
Such is
the nature of personal growth. If you do not let go, you will
have absolute control, but you won’t go anywhere. You will be
hanging, alone and isolated, in control, but hollow and
separate. If you take the leap of faith and let go, you will
continue to move, you will still be in the process — there is
always another trapeze out there — and you will have the
adventure of recapturing your
destiny
— D. M. Noer
The New Yorker (April 16, 2007) had a
feature on “parkour” — a term used to describe how a person quickly and
gracefully overcomes every obstacle in his path. Those who saw the
opening sequence in the latest Bond film, Casino Royale, enjoyed an
example of this particular sport. The hero was leaping from one crane
to another, from one roof to the next, scaling ladders, and, somehow
always landing safely — and always at a dead run.
My Army
Officer Candidate School was located under a looming mountain called
Lovstakken. It was one of the seven mountains that surround the city of
Bergen in Norway. I used to run up to the top of the mountain just for
the pleasure and excitement of running down it at full tilt. I was 19;
I was in the best shape I had ever been in my life; and I was creating,
I now understand, a new paradigm for what was to come in the years
ahead.
Think of what
it is like to run down a steep slope, landing on boulders — using them
as stepping stones to jump crevasses — doing it without thinking, guided
by instinct and reflexes in a body that senses what to do and that
hungers for flight. It is probably only possible when one is young,
with toned muscles and perfect balance and a mind set that itches for
challenge, and gives no thought to the risks as representing danger, but
opportunities for graceful navigation or mastery. I did the run
down the Lovstakken mountain so many times that I can still see every
inch of it in my mind’s eye. I’ve had glorious dreams about it where I
relive the experience; and in those dreams, the run becomes flight. |
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Storming down
that mountainside in Bergen became more important than I
could have imagined. I now see my subsequent mountain
climbing, paddling down white water rivers, and hiking
through the rainforest as part of a larger picture that did
not end with the physical effort that had to be expended. I
saw the rewards of attempting whatever seemed forbiddingly
difficult — the more challenging, the better — and
experienced the same thrill whenever I was successful in the
attempt. Hence, doing research that seemed too improbable to
be successful; hence, starting a health center for blind and
disabled people; hence, working in the urban and rural slums
of this country in comprehensive health care projects for
children and youth; hence, chairing a series of World
Productivity Congresses in countries and cultures very
different from my own; hence, . . . you get the picture.
Economists
would characterize this as risk taking. It was Milton
Friedman who pointed out that even though consumption may be
more than 70% of the GDP, it is the 1 - 3% of the population
that take risks and start things who are responsible for the
growth of the economy.
Continuously
taking risks means continuously being at risk of failure.
Failure is life’s most important lesson, and is never
forgotten. I see now that one misstep in that race down the
mountain could have caused an ankle to be sprained, a skull
to crack open, or a back to be broken. Yet I don’t think I
would have preferred to be without the experience. Life is
hazardous, but hazards are linked to rewards: The greater
the hazard, the sweeter the reward.
Accepting
who you are is the first step towards realizing what you
should become. The French call a person who does parkour
a traceur.
It
appeals to me: Living life at a breakneck pace, taking on
the challenges you are meant to tackle, doing it fast, doing
it well, then going on to the next . . .
Long
after my father died at the age of 49, I leaned that he had
been a daredevil as a youth. He once grabbed hold of a huge
basket of iron ore and held on while it raced down a
mountain, suspended by steel cables, at times soaring high
above the ground.
Perhaps
there is a simpler explanation than the paradigm I thought I
was forging in Bergen. Perhaps all my life I’ve been
chasing after my daring father, at breakneck speed, and in
full flight. He is still ahead of me. But one day, when I
catch that last trapeze, dizzyingly high above the ground,
I’ll let go at exactly the right moment, and my hands will
grasp his in a hold that will last forever.
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Tor Dahl & Associates Productivity Improvement
Seminar
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If You Would Like to See Tor
Dahl in Full Flight . . .
Tor will be keynoting the
Annual Conference of the World Future Society at a luncheon
in Minneapolis, Minnesota on Tuesday, July 31st.
His topic will be “The Knowledge Economy: Peace and
Prosperity through Productivity.”
Overview: Our economy
divides into three parts: the transformational economy,
which includes producing finished goods from raw materials;
the transactional economy, where human beings do routine or
machine-like work; and the knowledge economy. In principle,
there is no ceiling on the productivity of knowledge
workers. Knowledge is abundant, not scarce, and doubles
every five years. It is virtually free of pollution, it
shows increasing returns to scale, it is accessible, and it
pays its practitioners well. It does not respond to the
theorems of the production economy, which is ruled by
scarcity. Rather, it carries its own laws, which will
transform the future of nations — and the world.
Date:
Tuesday, July 31st.
Time:
12:15 – 1:45 p.m.
Cost: $59.00
(includes lunch)
Location:
Minneapolis Hilton, 1001
Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403
To register online, go to
http://www.wfs.org/2007main.htm.
Click “Register Now” in the left column and select
Tuesday’s luncheon |
Leading, innovative companies understand the
power of productivity as the strategy for achieving greater
corporate performance and bottom line results. Yet, most
companies do not apply a systematic and rigorous process for
realizing their untapped productivity potential. 80% of all
corporate initiatives focus instead on efficiency
improvements that are not tied to overall growth objectives
and do not produce any breakthroughs in performance.
Productivity improvement, on the other hand, is so highly
leveraged that even small increases can dramatically affect
revenue, cost effectiveness and profits, while raising
employee satisfaction and customer delight. For publicly
held companies, stock prices and market capitalization can
increase dramatically.
Tor Dahl & Associates is the world leader in this "new"
field of productivity. We have debunked the old myth that
productivity takes away jobs and that it is only concerned
about "doing more with less". Our successful productivity
strategy is rooted in the fundamental belief that
productivity is about removing barriers to individual
performance, freeing up resources from unproductive
processes and reallocating those resources to higher yield
activities that support organizational growth objectives. It
is a positive method that leads to greater earned
competitive advantage, increased job satisfaction and
positive employee engagement, rather than job losses and
downsizing.
Tor Dahl & Associates offers a compressed tutorial for
corporate teams during which the fundamental principles of
productivity will be taught and practiced. It is an
enjoyable, stimulating, practical and valuable session that
identifies key factors that impact productivity and how your
organization can apply this insight to make dramatic
improvements in personal and organizational performance.
Contact us now to arrange for a customized tutorial for your
leadership team. |
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