The Great Social Lie that binds and destroys us at work.

The deeper pain of the soul in business and how that will disrupt society in the near future.


In our modern world we cannot claim any more that one aspect will define all others. This column just reveals two deep aspects that are part of our modern chaos and are part of a huge growing problem that will influence untold many lives in our society. Ownership and huge losses of jobs ask for new approaches to life, work and society.


What are you really fan of in sports?

Who are you shouting for, when you support a professional sports team? The players are mercenaries from all over the world. The board are well paid managers and mercenaries too, with perhaps one former local player, as a true local hero. The owner may be a Chinese or Russian billionaire. You don't shout for your favourites colours. You shout for the story that these are your people. How much the faces change, you shout for the story that this is still your team. Once, several generations ago, these teams were really your village or town's team. Now they have become professional stories, that are well marketed to keep up the believe. It's a good story you may say. It makes millions happy.


Companies are only accepting you as community member as long as you can work.


The same story creation is at work in work. Companies are villages of only healthy people. Companies may be called companies, yet we act inside as if we are part of a village. It is how are social genes react to any group we identify with. 'Our company (read village) must grow.' 'Our village must survive tests of time.' 'Our village has a dream.' 'We are a great company with a rich tradition.' Managers mostly talk within the logic of the village frame.
But it is no real village, for a real village would care for it's sick and old. A real village includes everyone. Companies do it differently. Whenever someone is too weak, sick or old, he needs to leave the village. If you live in a country with social laws, companies may give you some money along. In some other countries some owners actually care. But in almost all cases the one who leaves has become a burden and discovers the village is no village, but a company that only appreciates healthy people. 'We have to be all strong and all support the mission. You can't do that any more Bob, so we have to let you go.' You're fired. Socially executed. Banned. The rest moves on. 'We're a team. We have a job to do.'

“Life is but a stage and we're all players.” Shakespeare.

Why and when the story is broken.


Then, through global changes, the profits may go down, or a lot of work is strategically outsourced to another country. Suddenly the village is no team anymore, but a place with owners who decide who gets fired. And again when the fired people are gone, we go back to playing a team on a mission, a village with a vision. Still many people feel hurt within. Their genes told them they were connected, yet now they know anyone can be thrown out. Others, act like opportunistic loners, move on to richer places to keep up the act.
Companies are therefore places owned by people, who want us to play village and team as long as the story benefits them. They break the story, when it doesn't suit their interests. Each time they break the story, commitment and motivation go down. Now we consciously play along pretending we believe the story, yet we know it's a lie. The more enthusiastically you play along¹ the more change you may stay when there is a choice who to fire. Still, this acting hurts the soul.


Most companies and managers have no clue what to do when the story is broken. Such workplaces feel unsafe. Anybody may be laid off. Suddenly targets and results count and you are not a person, but a machine expected to stick to the protocols written to get desired outcomes. The lower your position in a company, the worse it gets. There won't be any try for even a story, just nasty pressure. Read "Beyond inequality" to find out more how bad this is getting.
Managers work hard to help people get motivated again, or pressure for more results. They play the social village fairy tale or they play hard ball. 'Get real, we're not a family.' The nasty push hurst as much as the lie.
We're basically social beings. One third of our brain seems to focus on social relationship building. So whatever they do, still it doesn't really heal the wound. We mostly make do, because this is a very deep structural system problem. This wound cannot be healed within the system, unless the owners truly care or really change the rules.
Many business owner will now say, 'I don't care, I am a business. My people know this.' Yet when motivation drops, or their own soul hurts, or the whole company is in crisis, what do they turn to? Indeed a story that promises to get results. Hence huge profits for consultants with good stories.
So how can we change the rules and who is truly willing?


The fairytale of the company as a community is unsustainable, as is the hard business contract.
Mostly owners and thus management expect people to play along. Being professional means willing to act the story. Anyone who seeks a job and is heard saying 'I just fulfill my contract and do my job.' yet doesn't express enthusiastic commitment to his new village will not be hired. If people act over enthusiastic to get in, and we don't believe them we don't hire them either. The best actors are comfortable with their new role.


Companies thus hire people based on the quality of lying to themselves. And they are owned by people with the quality of storytelling (read lying) to others.


And who tells the truth? The outcasts, the artists, the anthropologists and employees making fun to deal with the pain. All over internet you can find stories like these wrapped in quotes that herald aliveness and soul, cartoons of work slaves, office humour, thinkers and observers wondering why we think this is the only model. Is the commercially owned company the only and best solution?
It was in the 20^th century. But the struggle to keep on believing in this solution gets harder and harder. When clearly there are so many alternatives already active around us. But we're not willing to listen, because we either own a village or we think this is the place that sustains our lives. What to do about the millions who are in pain for lack of real community, who feel pressured to play along with a false one to cater for their own real family?
The question now gets even bigger.



Are people out of work free or are they ballast?
When we look from a spy satellite to earth it is but a small place. We can see millions of people running around like ants to keep several nests happy. The nest of the workplace and its shareholder queens. The nest of the own family. And their own community which they love to see happy, healthy and safe. The owned company once was a great solution for growing diversification of work and qualities needed to sustain society with a growing number of needs. A number that grew even more, when marketers discovered the invention of creating new needs. This diversification created clusters of people focussed on one aspect of what needed to be done for the whole of society, from making chairs to running hospitals. In return the company tried to reap benefits, by asking payment.
Soon however, less and less people need to work. Robots, smarter computers, new area's to outsource to will do more and more for us. Many (like anything that can be done online) will be competed out of work, by people from across the world who'll do the same work for half the price or less. What will de surplus people do? This is a huge question. Are they ballast? Or have they been liberated from work? The answer to that question is yet to be decided by the owners. They, and thus our politicians most probably will choose ballast. Not out of greed, but this is, how for them the system works. You keep on hearing politicians say it 'If we all compete, it will turn out fine.'
The truth is, it doesn't.
We all worked, several generations long, to make this happen en all contributed to create a society with less and less work. How come only a few may get paid for that community effort, because they happen to own the robot or software? And how come the rest must struggle rather than enjoy the benefits? What was economy supposed to do? Perhaps we should start question any business or work contract. Perhaps we need to rewrite the social contract.

Robots can replace more and more workers.

Solutions.
When the amount of people, without a job and with too low salaries to make do, grows enormously how will we move on? We have to move on together. Whether we believe this or not, in the end one village is real. The community we live in. We are all our society together. The lie of the village at work, has to become a reality if we want to fix our souls and our world. The company must learn to see itself more and more as part of the world, in stead of an attribute providing something, yet apart from the world. Here local cooperatives seem to be a engaging and involved answer. New kinds of currencies that break the hold of ownership and move towards other principles are being experimented with in many places. (with no hugely viral solution yet I admit, basic income for everyone might be a great break through though.) Our governments should stop harassing people who can't work, for any reason, as a ballast that has to become a earning taxpayer again. They have to discover how we can turn, all those liberated from work into souls that can celebrate live, play with possibilities and add in different ways. People without work will have to find different ways to give meaning to their lives than a job title. Volunteer. Go party. Start being creative. Be an artist. Use your freedom to play your new contribution into reality. Go instead of selling silly gadgets or more plastic do something truly meaningful. Indeed if all work was organized around meaning instead of profit it could both survive basic income politics, attract really motivated people and stay deeper connected to society, which in turn would have a bigger incentive to keep the company going. This is a huge work that lies ahead of us in this century. If we don't address it, poverty, war, revolutions and huge depressions on both personal and society level may happen.


Here's but one of the many visionaries who think on the huge scale of change needed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9yGP_I9pOM

1 This mostly goes for businesses. In places where almost no one gets fired, like American schools, people may get bitter en resentful and hurt the children they should help grow, when they feel forced to play along.

Modern Economy 1.01 What makes a healthy Business?

Be healthy for your community.

When CEO's get richer while many, many get poorer, we know there's a problem. The problem is simple. These men (mostly men) have not understood what business is for.

They may think they know, but they do not. They think it's to make their shareholders happy, they tell everyone is how business works and will lead to new work for many. Is it true, yes and no.   The huge American companies that raised profits by offshoring work to China, provided work for thousands overseas, yet deprived their fellow countrymen of their jobs. Profits and stocks up, local economy down.

A local business works for the community as much as it works for itself. Local business owners are aware they provide livelihoods for themselves and others. If the gap between them and the rest of the village gets to big, they damage their market, relationships and future in their own community. They will, because of their disconnectedness to the community that does the work. They live among the elite community and all workers are playing pieces on a huge money chess board. In their logic and frame they make all kinds of choices that affect many lives. Their choices may lower wages, introduce more pollution, diminish working conditions, etc purely out of strategical choices that make sense on the money scale and sadly too few others.
This is how it should be! A healthy business should work for a healthy community, for this is in the long term interest of all, including the business. Read that again for that should be the essence of future economics: a healthy business works for a healthy community (including the environment), for this is in the long term interest of all.

The current leaders are the real danger.

The fact that the superrich can afford to disconnect from their markets, their workers, their local community and even the health of the planet makes them dangerous madmen. Yes, you read that right, more and more studies show being too rich disconnects and makes amoral. We need to take the consequences of these insights fast. For their logic is pulling us into wars, poverty, a damaged planet and a damaging economy for all, but the CEO's and the big shareholders. And it is this elite of super rich that can stay away from all personal experiences of those bad consequences. In fact CEO's that have never been close (other than reading reports) to what war, sweat shops, poverty does to people, are as blind men leading the seeing. And those that counter that many of them are big in welfare should read this post by Charles Eisenstein: http://charleseisenstein.net/a-neat-inversion/

Solutions

A healthy business should work for the community, for healthy workers and a healthy planet. If it does not, the business is not healthy. It's that simple. How to make it so?

People at the top should not be able to decide their own income and bonuses. That should be decided by the lowest workers, and even the communities where they operate. Why, than fair and healthy conditions become most important. Then the people you work for must have your best interest at heart. Then their power hungry , work obsessed, greedy nature will incite them to get results where they matter for all of us. Than our society, nature, our planet may have a chance for a future.

Support local businesses, local produce, local cooperatives. Buy as little as possible from businesses that have shareholders. Buy as much as possible from people you know and believe in. Make life personal again. It may take longer, you may be able to buy less, but boy, you'll be part of society again. 

Apply no longer for jobs in big business, don't sell your great idea out to them. Seek to establish cooperatives, shared ownerships, work for people you know, like and trust. 

And if you work in shareholder owned constructs, ignite conversations that matter. Be less afraid of your job. Many around you have the same worries about our planet, their contribution and position. Try to open the conversation. You may even post anonymous posters with questions that should be asked. Seek out information outside that supports your opinions inside and will help support transformation of the corporate culture. Have and develop a life outside work.

And for God's sake stop reading Fortune 500, like being a thief of us all is something to strive for. Why do we value business leaders that know how to earn millions and hide bonuses on the Cayman Islands, and avoid paying taxes that would have benefitted the whole of society more than their cleaners who work as many hours, doing a dirty job often without social security? 

When you see the palaces of the super rich, consider them specialized detentions centers for predatory minds, plastic bubbles of distorted reality, the homes of the machines that keep the Matrix running. Stop believing smart greenwashing by stupid intelligent marketing spin doctors. Real Green improves nature, not damage it slightly less. Start making money by inventing the Natural 500, the Future Thought Leaders list (put Charles Eisenstein on it) the most Health Communities List, best places to live list, flourishing planet creator list, etc. In short seek and support the what together with heroes that have us all in mind.

Two Very Clear Ways to Understand Occupy



Two helpful pictures to understand the Occupy Protest. The First is a change of Paradigm. The Old doesn't get the New in any way. The Old is the Corporate world as it is today. The New is the Networked Society.

Look at the picture and consider on which side you live, on which side you('d) want to be and if you believe it's possible? It tells you your current place in the world.

What world do you live in?

A Model to Understand the Protest and Its Aim Better
The Second picture shows a simple model to understand the difficulties of the protest a bit better. And offers some advice how to see what really is the issue and who should be working together and who are not doing that, yet.

The real focus of the protest revealed and understood

Many people resist change. Change is always scary. This is why sometimes beaten women stay with their violent men. This is what they know. Many Honest Loyal seem to think being a 'little' cheating should be accepted as part of the game. The new world Occupy favours might be worse. Thus the Honest Loyal dislike the protest and on top of that they are being fed prejudiced news.

The protest is also being harassed by the Corrupted Loyal, who defend the system, often with arbitrary means. They think they have to protect the system against all attacks. Police intimidation, Prejudiced media and all forms of extreme Loyalism seem to side with the Honest Loyal, but the Corrupted Loyal are as far away from it as the protesters in a different direction. This is what the Honest Loyal often don’t get. Because the Corrupted Loyal seem part of the same system as they. Countless movies of heroes committing mass murder for good have made sure of that.

There’s also always a lot of citizens who seem to think, 'our government is a corrupt, but it is ours and someone must take the decisions'.  Well sadly, the Corrupted Loyal are often being played by the Corrupt Disloyal. They are being bought, they are being played. And the Honest Loyal often don’t seem to understand that the Protesters are aware of this. That is why the Protesters or Honest Disloyal are so angry. They see the corruption better, because they understand that everyone has a choice. They choose to be Honest and see others being Dishonest. The Honest Loyal often think everyone but real Gangsters are Honest and that Honesty is, or should be the same as, Loyalty. They forget that being Disloyal to the system, may be still a way to help the system to become better. Think about Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela. They protested the Status Quo, definitely for the better!

At the same time many Protesters often think the Honest Loyal are part of the corruption too, because they protect things as they are. They are not! They are the people the Protesters are also fighting for. How to solve this?

Tips on How to fight Corruption and improve the system.

The Honest Loyal should aim to protect Stability and Honesty and dare to admit that not everything is alright, because the whole system they so proudly protect includes the protesters. So stability is served when they are curious and willing to find out how to (re)integrate the protesters within the system.

The Honest Disloyal should target Corruption and those parts of the system that threaten Stability and Honesty. Then they can work together with the Honest Loyal. They both want a stable and trustworthy Honest System, with Honest People.

The Corrupt Loyal are seen by the Honest Disloyal as agents of Corruption, while they too want to protect the System. The Corrupt Loyal should strengthen their Loyalty by serving Honesty. They should put aside Prejudice and Corruption in order to strengthen the system within the Law and with Honesty. Thus they can win the trust of many Honest people, by upholding the Law towards the Corrupt Disloyal, who are the real crooks in the System. And those that are corrupt in the sense that they receive money to turn the blind eye to Corruption and Crime, or are being paid to misrepresent events in their media? They are Corrupted Disloyal.

When these three sides take on the Disloyal Corrupt together they can win. With their victory they can create the space and trust for an open dialogue. Then they can reflect what can stay as it is, and what might be improved upon. This is how South Africa beat Apartheid. This is How the Berlin Wall fell. This is How Occupy and Loyal Citizens can help Capitalism to revitalize into a Healthy Green and Honest Economical Model for everyone.