If you ever thought that management was a project,then I'm afraid you are mistaken. Management is one long road with little or no time to stop and rest on your oars. A good story to substantiate this is Homer's Odyssey.I'm amazed as to why history is not taught as a course in management, because we can laern a good deal from folk who preceeded us.But then that's not what holds my attention right now.
Post the pillage of Troy the victorious Greeks, would have probably heaved a sigh of relief, and look forward to returning home. Not the case for Hercules. The heroes of the 'Iliad'- rebellious Achilles, brave Hector and the bossy Menelaus are all gone and the Odyssey is the story of Hercules and his labors.
This short blog is not a piece on Greek history but on one of the characters of the Odyssey- Proteus. Proteus, supposedly son of Poseidon was a sea god. He was special because he could tell the future but avoided doing so by changing shape and form. He was versatile and quick. He bought time, in decision making and eventually made a commitment only when captured.
Plato, Euthyphro 15d (trans. Fowler) (Greek philosopher C4Th B.C.) :
"[Plato uses Proteus as a metaphor for the reluctant speaker :]
Like Proteus, you must be held until you speak."
Plato, Ion 541e (trans. Lamb) :
"[Plato uses Proteus as a metaphor for the twisting arguments of a debate :]
You are a perfect Proteus in the way you take on every kind of shape, twisting about this way and that, until at last you elude my grasp."
While I do not subscribe to the evasive tactics of Proteus, I do like his ability to change shape and appearance at will. Drawing a parallel with our world today, I think managers should draw a leaf from his book and develop the ability to adapt to and change depending upon the situation.
One area where managers falter regularly is in their Cultural Intelligence. Like other forms of intelligence, CI is fundamental to success in a globalized world. Stories of deals that have failed due to a lack of cultural sensitivity abound but we still refuse to learn that culture and cultural practices are various and different across the world.
In my last organization, we had a gent from a pacific Island. The guy was very polite, but behaved strangely- avoided eye contact, sat before he was offered a seat & generally did not shake hands. He was summarily labelled as uncouth.
Was this the truth................. no!
In his part of the world, you avoided eye contact with a person you respected and did not appear bigger than a superior so he sat uninvited.
Culture can be complicated and you need a high Culture Quotient, to avoid pitfalls in a world that is increasingly turning flat.More importantly a high CQ would preclude us from being judgemental.
Proteus, or as Homer called him, 'The Old Man of the Sea' would be a great example in cultural adaptability!
4 comments:
Sir, I draw from your write up that you are interested in Greek culture .. i am a huge fan of Greek Culture I admire it next to Indian.. and i think Greeks too have " roots"
sir please give me your email id i have to mail you.. not the alliance one
AAK,
Indian's too have roots, unlike some of us.
Much of western civilization & thought springs from the Greek's, so it is to be admired.
On an occassion Gandhi was asked what he thought of Western Civilization? His terse reply was- It would a good idea!
My mail id: cap.nagaraj@gmail.com
Ciao!
every culture has roots. but to understand and appreciate them we need to understand our culture first.each culture teaches to respect other culture and all live forms.knowledge of what our ancestors were guide us in making our life better. our forefathers showed how important is to change as when you stop changing you start perishing..i really like Greek and Egyptian cultures especially Alexander the great, Aristotle , Socrates, Greek god Zeus,Athena, Anubis and Egyptian queen Cleopatra. her history is very interesting!!
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