Bob Calkin

The current financial and ecological crises have prompted me to consolidate my self growth programs and to also reconsider the tone of these programs. I have the feeling that people within the self growth movement have not faced up to the revolutionary nature of the crises we face and the impact that they will have on the next decade.

I am worried about the tone of much of the self growth material that seems to be very “ego self centered based” rather than on how self growth will need to be more socially focused where the emphasis is upon common goals and service. I don’t deny that the provision of service does not rank high with the self growth community. My conce is with the tone of the material that comes out of the self growth community. It seems to me that we need to develop programs that will allow everyone to enjoy the positive features of a mode civilization, but in ways that are compatible with the laws of nature.

The Earth and its ecosystems are the primary system. The economy and the way we make a living is arnsub-system of the primary system. We will all need to bring our activities within the limits of the Earth’s ecosystems.

It means that we will need tornredefine our ambitions and what it means to be successful and grow as people. Amassing wealth, while a necessary requirement to live decently, seems to me tornbe indecently emphasized. I am very conscious, however, that there is norndignity in being poor.

I have been a student of the workplace for many years and the changes that have occurred over the last two decades have transformed the workplace beyond recognition. Thomas L Friedman inrnhis book “The World is Flat: The Globalized World of the Twenty First Century”. By flat Friedman refers to the convergence of three forces arising out the micro-electronics revolution and the Internet that has enables many millions ofrnpeople to enter the global economy and where many have been lifted out ofrnpoverty.

The flattening of the global economy has seen countries like China, India, Russia and Brazil just to mention the most spectacular, grow their economies at a bewildering rate, and if their rate of growth continues atrnanything like the current rate then the Earth’s ecosystem services will bernoverwhelmed.

The flattening of the global economy has also had a profound impact on the organization of work leading tornthe creation of a very different workplace. I know from my work that very few people are equipped to do the work of collaboration, orchestrating teams ofrnworkers, organizing inter-firm supply chains and creating innovative solutions for fellow workers and customers. This is the critical work of the mode workplace. There is, even in the face of the current crisis a major problem for firms to attract people with the talents needed to do this critical higher level work of the modern workplace.

I don’t want to go on about global warming, climate change and ecological degradation. The story is quite gloomy, but it is filled with enormous opportunities for people to grow themselves through joining the green economy movement and repairing the earth’srnecosystems and helping the Earth heal itself at the same time.

The signs are that a green economy revolution is likely to get underway and in order to play a small part in this revolutio I have consolidated my programs around three themes.

The first of these programs deals with the seven secrets of the modern workplace. These are seven secrets that people need to know about in order to be part of the green economy revolution. These seven secrets help people unlock the door to see and be part of the unlimited possibilities that a green economy revolution offers.

The second theme relates tornthe issue of consciousness and the program is aimed at helping people develop an ecological consciousness that will enable them to live in harmony with arndifferent world where honoring the Earth and all living forms is the central driving force of the consciousness. We will not develop a green world simply through technologies, a significant number of people will need to bernecologically conscious in a real sense.

The third theme is based around training people to use the CMI suite of programs to spread throughout the world the seven secrets and the consciousness required for a green world.

One of the major aims of ther CMI seven secrets program is to unmask these secrets and at the same time help you play a significant part in helping bring about the new era. Another aim isrnto help each and everyone understand the secrets and thereby unlock their unlimited possibilities in relation to a green revolution.

High performance work refers to tasks involving coordinating the activities of other workers, inrncollaborating to achieve complex outcomes across supply chains and inrndeveloping creative and innovative ways of meeting the needs of other workers and customers. If your business or career is going to advance beyond the technical domain then you will need to be able to undertake this type of work. Being able to do this sort of work requires people who are able to communicate complex ideas, who can inspire others to achieve seemingly impossible targets and who are able to grasp the infinite nature of possibilities that they confront in the ordinary course of their work.

Well what do the seven secrets cover?

The first secret is aimed atrnhelping you live fully aware moment by moment so that you are able to adjust your actions in real time as events unfold. This means that you are able torntreat everything that arises as an opportunity to learn and make the most of every moment.

It means that your life then becomes a field of infinite possibilities. This helps you become more creative and innovative.

Very few people are aware ofrnthis secret, but given an ever increasingly complex workplace unlocking this secret opens many doors to career and business advancement.

The second secret is learningrnhow to take full responsibility for the choices you make. This is the secret tornliving as a full participant in the game of life rather than as a victim ofrncircumstances.

The third secret is gaining mastery of your emotions so that they become an ally in helping you adjust tornthe fortunes of life. All emotions even emotions like anger and fear have their place in our lives. The secret here is to use the energy of the full range ofrnemotions as a positive influence rather than being a prisoner of your feelings.

The fourth secret is learningrnhow to turn a crucial conversation where opinions differ, where the stakes are high and where emotions run hot into a positive outcome. This means being able to tell your truth without offending others, even when you disagree with them. Most people when confronted by a crucial conversation become aggressive orrnwithdraw rather than buy a fight. This results in bitte ess and bruised relationships, not to mention a likely unsatisfactory outcome. This secret isrnone that master collaborators know about.

The fifth secret is learningrnhow to turn disagreement into the best decision even if it means giving up arncherished position when a better argument is presented. This is about skilful negotiation where the best decision is the goal rather than winning an argument to save face.

The sixth secret is about making promises and honoring those promises. This secret ensures that things get done efficiently and effectively and good relationships are preserved.

The seventh secret is to know that the field of work you are involved in is compatible with your talents and interests. This is about unlocking the secret of your talent cluster and the things you are most interested in.

We urge you to think carefully about each of these secrets and the difference that they would make if they became the basis of the way in which you live your life.

You would approach everything that arises in your life as brimming with infinite possibilities and be open tornexploring a wide range of alte atives. You would identify with the best outcome and wouldn’t feel threatened if alte ative ideas were proposed. Indeed you would welcome them.

You would become someone who accepts the responsibility totally for the choices you make. This enables you to be a full participant in life and not seeking excuses through the “rub and the green”.

Your emotions would become your friends and you would be able to use the energy of the emotions to make good decisions and not be held captive to unwelcome feelings and regrets.

You would be able to tell the truth, even in the face of opposition and do it in a way that does not offend or put others down. You would have the negotiation skills to seek the best decision and you would not feel you lost face if your view was not accepted. You would make promises that you can honor and people would trust your word. This would give a great deal of integrity in the eyes of others.

Moreover you would be doing work that fits in with your talent cluster and your real interests. We are constantly amazed about the number of people who are struggling to do work that does not fit with where their natural talent lies.

From our experience in the field of work organization we know that very few people could sign up to the capacities that the seven secrets hide. You are now about to learn about the seven secrets and transform your life to one of infinite possibilities.

The second theme of my consolidated programs deals with the development of ecological consciousness. One of the most important features of the green economy will be balancing the production of natural resources for consumption to nature’s capacity to regenerate natural resources. This in plain language means adjusting our consumption to the levels that nature can regenerate.

For too long we have consumed far more than the ecosystem services can provide and the result has been rampant environmental degradation. As a species we have had an insatiable demand for more and more and more. And yet we are no happier as a species than when we were much less well off. Bringing about this balance is probably an even bigger challenge than creating the technical side of the green revolution, and this is a really big challenge on its own.

If the increasing population of the world desires tornconsume the same level of stuff as the developed world that includes the Unitedr States and my own country of New Zealand we will need three planet Earths. This is clearly not possible and gives some indication of the scale of the challenge that we face.

I believe there is hunger for change and I am hopeful enough to think that it will involve a grand new era. I believe that there is a spirit of hope and optimism right around the world that the election of President Obama signifies. It is a hope that exists inside and outside of the USA that America will take the lead that will bring the new era into being.

I believe that Presidentr Obama’s inspiring words were not just his words but they express the spirit, the hopes and consciousness of this time.

There is a real danger, however, that we will set about creating a new driver for the economy but if we don’t discard our appetite for things and unbridled consumption we will soon overwhelm the already stressed ecosystem services.

However, limiting our consumption and bringing about the green revolution each have something in common, and that is developing whatr I have called an ecological consciousness.

The dominant consciousness currently is what is often called modernism. People whose consciousness is at this stage experience the self as a separate isolated individual. Modernism values wealth, status and the good life through material wealth and consumption. People are valued in terms of what they own and their income. Progress is achieved through science and technology and seeking the best solution is equated with what advances wealth and status. It values winning and striving for excellence and appreciates individual autonomy and independence all organized within a meritocracy.

These are the things that people with this level of consciousness identify with. This mindset believes that its values of wealth, status and the good life based around conspicuous consumption are the core of human nature. Those with this consciousness fashion their lives around these values. Developmental psychology has taught us, however, that there is no such thing as a universal human nature. Our nature asrna human being evolves through different stages and there is no such thing as arnpermanent human nature common to all people.

This modernist consciousness is the world view of corporate culture, mode science, mainstream media and professional sports. What is true is “objective truth”, reason and that which can be materially proved. The aesthetic domain isrndominated by fashionable symbols of power, prestige and glamour.

Material progress and the exploitation of resources are seen as good as they increase wealth and they are an outlet for the ambitious and entrepreneurial. Material wealth, status and material plenty and expansive consumption define the good life. Needs are defined as those things that make for this definition of the “good life”. Identity for modernists is formed around what they consume, what they own and they are strongly attached to this identity.

It must be conceded that the positive form of modernist consciousness has been responsible for many good things, but the emphasis on material success and the acquisition of wealth has meant that everything is sacrificed to these ends. This consciousness created the modern world, but it cannot take us to a world that will work in harmony with and value the Earth and allow the Earth to heal as well as valuing all living forms. It will not be possible to retain this form of consciousness and create a green economy and a mode of consumption aimed at reversing global warming and repairing the ecosystem services.

Einstein said that you cannot solve the problems created by one type ofrnconsciousness with the level of consciousness that created the problem in the first place.

It is easy to see the relationship between this form of consciousness, (particularly in its more extreme form) the nature of the now collapsed model of capitalism and the tragedy of the ecosystem services. This form of consciousness is a major contributor of the challenges we face as arnspecies. We need to create a new economic driver to meet our needs and preserve the positive gains that have been achieved. However, this will not occur unless a significant proportion of people who are in a position to influence the direction of events develop ecological consciousness.

The skeptics would claim that human nature is selfish, nasty and brutish, but the field of development psychology has shown that human beings pass through development stages and modernism is one of those stages. However, there are stages beyond modernism and one such stage is what I amrncalling ecological consciousness.

The starting point is that an ecological consciousness goes beyond I, me and mine that we experience as a separate individual.

The separated individual craves achievements, and the acquisition of things as a means of gratification as the central defining qualities of identity. Transforming this level of consciousness leads to arnrealization that each of us is life, life has us, we are the dance and life isrnthe dancer. Life is a universal conscious energy that has its expression in arnmultitude of life forms including you and me. This understanding of our place inrnthe scheme of reality can emerge out of meditation and contemplation and what Irnwould call conscious living.

From this realization flow a series of values. We are able to recognize the oneness of everything. Everything is connected and this seems to equate with the latest ideas among physicists. This helps us tornidentify with the Earth and the ecosystem services – the recognition that the harm that has been done to these services is in a profound way harm we cause ourselves in a very deep and real sense. We are also able to recognize our connection with future generation and our obligation to them to clean up the mess that has been created.

If we are all part of and participate in the one universal conscious energy then treating each other with dignity, respect and love can become the norm in the way in which we order our lives. There are other skills and capacities that you can learn that accompany ecological consciousness that help us all relate more sensitively to each other.

Knowing the seven secrets will take you to a place within yourself where you can develop a deeper relationship with ther Earth, new ways of defining your needs and how you can satisfy those needs, new ways of understanding what it means to succeed, how you can expand your span ofrncare and conce for others and other life forms and how you can discharge your social and political obligations. My dream is that we reach a point where there are enough people who know and apply these seven secrets that they cease to bernsecrets.

My vision is a world that knows about and applies the seven secrets so that are no longer secrets of only about 20 per cent of people. I also have a dream of building an organization that can make this a reality and invite people to join me in making this dream come true.