Posted by Luke in I was thinking of writing a longer post but my lecture starts in twenty-five minutes so this short, sharp anecdote will suffice. There I go, proving Herbert Simon right again.. dammit!
I was watching something the other day and it occurred to me (no wait I was driving) that there are people in life who need leading. I am one of those people. Often I find myself trusting people who look like they have the answer. Once I pull apart, reorganise, support, rally against the message I find myself wondering what all the hoo-hah was about. Then it dawned on me… I like seeds!
No not the overpriced kind you find in the organic store… the kind you find inside ideas. The kernel of innovation. I like to sit in the middle of something, explore it, give it away and move on to something else. This is perhaps why I find the job of writing papers so tiresome? Either way, I think there is a concerned effort on my behalf to find the seeds in things then sow them. I love ideas!
Do you? Let’s extend the metaphor a bit here and have some more fun with it. Say you have a concept in your head for world peace… go on imagine you don’t have to explode someone and shake the dust off your feet with me. I think personally, if you can do this… you already have it don’t you. Peace is something you find and then give away. It’s a seed.
You want a better workplace… sow a seed. Water it, care for it and don’t let them they steal the kernel of it… I assure you more gardeners will be attracted to your metaphorical wonderland than ever before. You in essence, spreading, germinating, cultivating that seed is what life is all about. Perhaps it isn’t?
Nevertheless, I think that you will find over time that seeds grow. Some die, others are taken by evil birds and swallowed whole. Those dirty birds! They don’t even touch the side do they? Nobody can stop it once it germinates, grows and plants roots. For God’s sake slam down your iPhone and iPod control mechanisms and listen to me darling, listen to me!
The seed of what you think you are reading if you have made it this far is this: a seed of an idea, love, hate, whatever is just that a seed. To grow it needs water: participation, colleagues, sandwiches, coffee and of course a good hearty dose of fertisler to make it grow. Jesus said that if we hear and understand the seed it will grow and bear fruit… some thirty, some sixty and some hundred times as much. Even though he speaks of the Word of God… I think the same principle is true for those looking to sow any other kind of seeds.
I want to use this coffee-induced madness to inspire you today. Give someone a seed. No, don’t go and pluck it from someone else and hand it to them like they were your father’s mistress… give it to them and mean it. Can you see what someone is doing and you know the answer… sow hope. Can you see a person struggling and you have the means to help… sow love. What about your enemy? Do something to them that makes them confused! Confuse them with your greatness. It works for me and bloody hell why can’t it work for you?
Now I must go teach some international students about Business Informatics!
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