Alexander Koptyakov
Applied Love
11 Individual
Man: Father, good day! Finally I got to you.
Priest: Good day, dear! Have you arrived with your son?
Man: Yes, he fell asleep in the wheelchair while walking. As you were transferred to a new church, I was still going to come, but then one thing, then another. It seems to be not far, but while waiting for the right moment – almost a year has passed. But I go to our church almost every Sunday, I confess, I receive communion.
Priest: It's good.
Man: I have come … with a purpose. I have never asked for a blessing. But I am going to write a book, and I feel that I must take a blessing for this.
Priest: What will the book be about?
Man: About love. You see, my first education was in applied math, programming. Then I became an automation engineer. I got carried away with the theory of management, now I am professionally engaged in this in a large international company. I also practice Japanese martial arts. And everywhere I see the same principles, everywhere I see love. I even came up with a definition: "Love is a property of all alive things, demonstrated in its interaction with another essence as a single whole with itself." I want to write about it, share my personal experience, and show that love is everywhere. Show it to other people, young people.
Priest: Interesting. Yes. I, too, when I was teaching, told students about Suvorov, Alexander Vasilyevich. Throughout his career, he did not lose a single battle, he believed in God, won with God and Russian heroic soldiers. Sometimes it is even better – not head-on, but like this, using examples about God and Love to speak, especially with young people.
Man: Thank you, father. Bless me for writing a book!
Priest: Write, dear, with God blessing!
12 Management for Dummies 2
Consultant: Many believe that humans are the pinnacle of evolution, the “crown of creation”.
Engineer: Don't you think so? Even if we accept that all life on Earth is still the same first living cell, which has grown, transforming the inorganic around itself, and has become more complex, releasing autonomous but connected living elements within itself, even if you think so, a person still has a special role, function. If we agree that one of the laws of the universe is a constant increase in love, as an interaction with other essences within a single whole, then a person is an undoubted leader! Humans connected everything, climbed into all corners, cognized and continues to cognize all living and nonliving from the microcosm to the macrocosm.
Consultant: I'm not even going to argue with that, I completely agree. But what I want to say. I want to say that evolution did not stop at the moment of human creation. Has man developed greatly over the historical period that we know? It practically remains the same, but the organization of people is developing. Tribe, village, cities, countries, empires. The boundaries of "new living wholes" were constantly expanding. The division of labor between the woman keeping the hearth in the cave and the man hunting in the vicinity has evolved into a world division of labor within a single global economy. To be clear: division of labor, not as a segregation, but as a specialization that complicates the internal organization and external efficiency of the general whole. Thus, organizational development is the next, large stage of evolution.
Writer: I feel that when you say “evolution” – this is no longer the old approach, when everything was accidentally formed and survived, but more about the fact that the World is an oak tree that grew out of an acorn. That is, there are also the laws of development and a certain initial project of development enveloped at the foundation of life. Am I right?
Consultant: I'll tell you more. I don’t understand yet how, but from the very beginning a human and his special role were included in this development project.
Engineer: A person is made up of cells, and organizations are made up of people?
Consultant: To put it very roughly, yes. But after all, eighty kilograms of minced meat can be equated to a person in terms of weight and number of cells, although we understand that the comparison is inadequate. Cells form tissues, tissues form organs, organs interact within systems and subsystems within the body. You know, it is fashionable now to talk about “company DNA”. Someone has innovation in DNA, someone has security, and so on. But the code cannot be passed just like that, without a nutrient medium and a protective shell of a living cell. I sincerely believe that a cell of an organization is not a person, but a small group of people who temporarily, shortly or for a long time, gather to reach common objectives.
Engineer: The family – a social cell!
Consultant: In the world of organizational management, I like the term “small project team” more. Here's the evolution of organizations:
Consultant: In the beginning there was a master who knew everything, and apprentices who helped him. Then the specialization of labor began, departments and subdivisions appeared in organizations, and the foreman turned into a manager. Specialization allowed the accumulation of different competencies, and this difference gradually began to lead to the loss of a common language. The whole was seen only from the position of top management, to which all information flows naturally began to direct. To make the organization more autonomous, flexible and quick in responding to requests from the external environment, progressive companies began to introduce project management – a matrix organizational structure. This is when several people from different departments gather for a task, and the project itself permeates all departments of the company, taking resources from there to achieve a result. On standard orders that have not changed for decades, this may be necessary, but in fact – this economic structure is in the past. The speeds are growing, you need to be as flexible as possible and use the internal environment of the organization as quickly and efficiently as possible to maintain balance with the external environment.
Writer: All your newfangled project teams have already been brought to life by Anton Makarenko in the twenties of the XX century!
Consultant: I know. "The Pedagogical Poem" is the favorite book of Ichak Adizes. In any case, as we said in mathematics, it is necessary, but not enough. No matter how well you use the horse, cars have replaced it. If you want to live, you need to constantly change. Change management is now a powerful trend that many methodologists are feeding on. So, some bright minds suggested: let's divide the project teams into those that support current processes (companies that supply products and services to customers today) and those project teams that will focus exclusively on changes. Run teams and Change teams. There are always urgent tasks, and development tasks are always postponed as the last priority. At the same time, if there are difficulties in the current activities of the organization, then all the energy is spent on solving them, and changes are postponed to “never”. Therefore, there is a lot of sense in dividing into teams that simultaneously are engaged in supporting the business and its development. Changes have a chance to be realized, and the organization has a chance to break out of the vicious circle of solving yesterday's problems today.
Engineer: Wait. It turns out that if earlier, and so, project teams fought for resources with departments and divisions of the linear structure, now the struggle for resources will also occur between project teams..
Consultant: I will say more. It's not even a fight, it's a real war! Because the “Run” team needs nothing to change in order to “stamp” the result that feeds the organization today. And the “Change” team's main task is to change this so that the company stays on the market and has something to eat tomorrow, when the world around us changes. The top management deals with the resolution of contradictions; this is now its main function – the balance of functioning and development. And the more such controlled contradictions, the more stable the organization on its boundaries in the rapidly changing modern world.
Engineer: But this is homeostasis in its purest form! Self-regulation, the ability of an open system to maintain the constancy of its internal state through coordinated reactions aimed at maintaining dynamic balance. Negative feedback loops try to minimize deviations from the norm (maintaining body temperature, blood glucose levels, blood pressure, and so on), while positive feedback loops amplify changes as soon as they begin (blood clotting, events in the body at birth, and so on). Moreover, all feedback loops (both negative and positive) are active at the same time and compete.
Consultant: Have you noticed that we know more about negative feedback loops, and that they mostly work under normal conditions. But if there is some kind of crisis, then the amplifiers of change "shoot out"!
Engineer: Generally, changes occur constantly for any organism. Both internal and external changes. With different speeds. It seems to me that a crisis is when internal changes do not have time to synchronize with external changes.
Writer: But, if you go back for a moment to an individual person, different people have different temperaments. Someone is quick from birth, someone is slower. It turns out that if external events, common to everyone, change slowly – comfortably for one, and if they change quickly, then for others, and the first becomes uncomfortable?
Consultant: That is why I prefer teams consisting of different people. In one situation, one goes to the boundary of the team with the external environment, in another situation – another member of the team. Even if one will work hard around the clock, while the other will have only a “minute of glory”. The interests of the whole take precedence over the interests of the subsystems living within.
Engineer: Did you know that Pavlov in his experimental dogs revealed the same four main types of character as Hippocrates and Galen?
Consultant: Leave me the third column, I will fill the types of Adizes leaders.
Writer: Do you propose to form teams of four people, one of each type?
Consultant: This would be a simple solution, but unfortunately, or fortunately, this is not possible. Firstly, the percentage of types in the population is different, and secondly, it is unlikely that a pure type can be found. Each time – this is some kind of combination, which also changes over time, but, however, in many cases, you can distinguish the dominant facet. But you are right, it is better to select the team so that there are no obvious gaps.
Writer: It's strange somehow. When you want to gather a group of like-minded people, I think you need to listen to your heart. And you propose to start with a questionnaire to find out the psychological types. Also try to memorize all these names. It turns out somehow unnatural.
Consultant: I don’t know about the heart, but with emotional intelligence you will most likely pick up your own kind in spirit and make a big mistake. A strong team needs different members. Well, that is, in a simple way, the one who covers up your weakness in a critical situation with his strength, will most likely annoy you under normal conditions. The converse is also true. But for a stable living whole, you need both of you, different. The bones must be hard and the bottom soft!
Engineer: Nowadays there is a lot of talk about two brains. The neocortex is a new brain and a reptilian brain, an older formation, the limbic system. The first is rational, the second is emotional. And here and there – gray matter (concentration of bodies of nerve cells), and in both – intelligence. It's just that the “old brain” regulates the most ancient systems: respiration, heartbeat, hormonal reactions. So, when they talk about the mind and heart, they are most likely talking about a “new” (by evolutionary standards) and “ancient” brain. The “ancient” brain is fast, controls all basic instincts and is directly connected with the heart, but thanks to the neocortex, a person can make plans for the future. This is in a nutshell, of course.
Consultant: If there are two brains, then just four options are obtained in combinations. The brain cannot be absent at all, so if we take 0 – weak, 1 – strong, then we have four types (new brain – ancient brain): 0-1, 1-0, 1-1, 0-0.
Writer: Like the four types of blood: 0, A, B, AB.
Consultant: Do you want me to tell you such a typification of characters that you will never forget it and will easily apply it without any questioning? Own development. There are also four types:
Engineer: Bicycles?
Consultant: Yes, exactly. They differ in speed, attitude towards the person with whom they interact, and so on. The first type (choleric, entrepreneur) is a unicycle. Like in a circus. Very fast, but there is no particular purpose. Constantly in motion, at any second it can change direction to any of three hundred and sixty degrees. If you ask about the risks for a person sitting on it, the answer from a one-wheeler will be – “I don’t know what risks are, but it will definitely be fun!”
Engineer: A two-wheeled one?
Consultant: You should like it. The second type (sanguine, producer) is a two-wheeled bicycle. This is a bicycle for an adult who knows and achieves his goals. He has seven speeds, foot and hand brake, flashlight and pump. He cannot move backward, only forward. If you stop it, then it will fall either to the left or to the right, unlike a one-wheeled one, which, when stopped, can fall in any direction.
Engineer: A three-wheeled?
Consultant: The third type (melancholic, administrator) is a tricycle, a children's bicycle. This one can move both forward and backward. Only slowly, and it is better not to move at all, it is safer for everyone. Very stable, where you put it, it will stand there. If an adult sits on it, it will be uncomfortable: the knees will be at the level of the head, it will take a huge amount of energy and strength to overcome a short distance. But claims will not be accepted, because “everything was done correctly, according to Standard”.
Writer: And what about the four-wheel?
Consultant: My favorite. The fourth type (phlegmatic, integrator) is a four-wheeled bicycle. In fact, it is very similar to a two-wheeled one, except that usually two more small wheels are attached to its rear wheel for stability. Such a bicycle is bought for a child after a three-wheeled one so that he learns to maintain balance on his own and then switches to a two-wheeled adult bicycle. The four-wheeled bicycle grows with the child: the seat and handlebars rise, when necessary, additional wheels are detached. And when the child is transferred to a real two-wheeled bicycle, additional wheels are again fastened to the four-wheeled bicycle and handed over to the new child for training.
Engineer: Yes, it's really easy to remember. I immediately remembered several one-wheeled vehicles that I had encountered in my life…
Writer: Of course you remembered, unicycles annoy many!
Consultant: Yeah, especially four-wheelers! The main thing you remember is that everyone is needed for a common cause. How is there in the definition of love: to interact as a whole with itself. You protect – you love, you endure – you also love. By the way, as an Orthodox person, how do you fight with condemnation? After all, it is at the level of a reflex that it is laid down – to evaluate another person: dangerous – not dangerous. This is often far from reality. How many times have I condemned in my life, so many times have I made mistakes.
Writer: I came up with a trick with strangers. As soon as my gaze lingers on someone and I feel that I’m going to start putting up labels, I immediately ask myself the question – “how can I help this person?” In ninety-five percent of cases – nothing. In four percent of cases, a little help is needed – I try to help right away. It is more difficult with the last percent, when help is really needed, but you do not have the strength and ability to help. But the strength and capabilities could have been enough, if somewhere in the past I was not lazy, if I tried harder. It motivates you to be bigger and stronger, not for yourself, to help when someone really needs it from you.
Consultant: You said "with strangers." And with friends in a different way?
Writer: Believe it or not, I started to apply the Engineer's love formula with my friends and relatives! I think something about a person, or I want to say or do something and immediately ask myself inside – "How much love is there on a scale from zero to ten?" If someone is a stranger to me – zero, if there is something in common that unites us – already five or six. If a wife or children, then there should be a nine or ten, but in fact – often much lower. So I try to correct myself immediately so as to raise the degree of love by at least a couple of points. Very often I just don’t do what I wanted to do, or don’t say what I wanted to say. Truth spoken without love is a lie…
Consultant: And we are just conducting a philosophical search for truth with love and about love! I wanted to ask you both one more question before we part ways today.
Writer: Give your question.
Consultant: I have a work business card. Everything is as it should be: full name, company name and position, address, phone number. And so I wondered, if I had not a work card, but a personal card, what would be written on it? Who am I really in life?
Engineer: It is hard to say in one word…
Consultant: You can not in one word.
Writer: Why, I can do it in one. So it will be written for me – "The Writer".
Engineer: I came up with it too. Write “Russian” on my personal card!
Consultant: And for some reason I remember the phrase of Kurt Lewin "There is nothing more practical than a good theory." I suggest not to interrupt our philosophical conversations, it seems to me that I am becoming myself. Perhaps on my personal card I will write – "Applied Philosopher"…
Engineer: By the way, you once asked to collect ten books from each of us and make a general list. Task is done:
1. The Bible
2. Alexei Ukhtomsky. Dominant
3. Pyotr Anokhin. Philosophical aspects of the theory of functional systems
4. Ivan Pavlov. On the Mind in General and the Russian One in Particular
5. Lev Vygotsky. Educational Psychology
6. Norbert Wiener. Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine
7. Andrey Kurpatov. Trinity. Be more than yourself
8. Georgy Shchedrovitsky. Organizational thinking
9. Alexei Gastev. How to Work
10. Anton Makarenko. The Pedagogical Poem
11. Ichak Adizes. Mastering Change
12. Simon Sinek. Start with Why
13. Barbara Minto. The pyramid principle
14. Kurt Lewin. Field theory in social science
15. Edwin C. Nevis. Organizational Consulting: A Gestalt Approach
16. Arnold Beisser. Paradoxical Theory of Change
17. Serge Ginger. Gestalt Therapy: The Art of Contact
18. Andrey Teslinov. Homeostatics: Harmony in the Interplay of Contradictions
19. Stephen Hawking. A brief history of time
20. Eric Schmidt. The New Digital Age
21. Frederic Laloux. Reinventing Organizations
22. Simon Dolan. Coaching By Values
23. David Allen. Getting Things Done
24. Daniel Goleman. Emotional Intelligence
25. Lyudmila Petranovskaya. Secret support: affection in the life of a child
26. Shinichi Suzuki. Nurtured by Love: The Classic Approach to Talent Education
27. Fyodor Dostoevsky. The Brothers Karamazov
28. Alexander Suvorov. The Science of Victory
29. Sun Tzu. The Art of War
30. Erich Fromm. Art of Loving
Consultant: Thank you.
Writer: See you again, my friends!
