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Collaboration

We achieve our full potential, when we work in collaboration with others.

After achieving independence, enlightened individuals move into a state of interdependence.

Dependence refers to relying on others to take care of us. Interdependence refers to the cooperation for a greater goal. There are limits on how productive we can be as individuals, but virtually no limit on how productive we can be when we strategically collaborate with others.

Dependence >> Independence >> Interdependence

We all start out life as babies completely dependent on our parents or other person to take care of us. This is a state of weakness and powerlessness.

As we grow up we work to become independent, moving out of our parent’s home and earning money for ourselves. A person at this level is able to do things for himself and does not need anyone else to survive.

The greatest human achievements come from people working at the third level, interdependence.

This is when people work together to achieve a common goal, and is the level of maturity of many people in a mature society or organization. This is how mankind has achieved things together that no single person could do alone. Interdependence is the state of human development of greatest maturity and power.

As we develop our character, we move from dependence to independence to interdependence.

  • Dependent wisdom is about tradition, belonging, power and survival.
  • Independent wisdom is about the journey of the self, and the power of personal experience and rational thinking.
  • Interdependent wisdom is about the interconnection of everything and the mysteries of existence.

Source: Three Stages of Wisdom: Dependence, Independence and Interdependence

“How can we develop more and better leadership talent more quickly?”

Organizations can avoid the risks associated with inadequate leadership, and prepare leaders for uncertain future scenarios, in two ways. The first is by sharing past experiences with each other as a source of practical lessons about leading. The second is by planning for future experiences and lessons to learn to make themselves and others ready for becoming senior leaders.

This structured approach to developing oneself and others is the best guarantee that your organization’s talent pipeline will be filled and flowing.

This 60 minute thought provoking, interactive and experiential session demonstrates how experiences can be used – by you and your teams – to become more effective and successful as leaders.

Learning

By learning new concepts, taking advantage of opportunities, and participating in new activities, you are physically changing who you are, and opening up a world of endless possibility.

Our knowledge of the brain is evolving at a breathtaking pace, and Dr. Lara Boyd is positioned at the cutting edge of these discoveries. In 2006, she was recruited by the University of British Columbia to become the Canada Research Chair in Neurobiology and Motor Learning. Since that time she has established the Brain Behaviour Lab, recruited and trained over 40 graduate students, published more than 80 papers and been awarded over $5 million in funding.

Dr. Boyd’s efforts are leading to the development of novel, and more effective, therapeutics for individuals with brain damage, but they are also shedding light on broader applications.

Liebstedt

The castle in Liebstedt is one of the few remaining castles, where an old trading route passed through the castle. One of the major medieval long distance roads, the Copper Road Kufperstrasse connected Venice and Hamburg.

“Margrave Friedrich von Meissen exchanges the Teutonic Knightly Order village and fort of Liebstedt with its church rights and all that belongs to it for the fortress of the Order Wallhausen.” deed dated 1 October 1331.

Construction with bricks was introduced by order of the German Knights, who constructed many of their castles in Brandenburg and on the Baltic coast with bricks.

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A system of wet and dry moats and earth walls was constructed around the castle. The lines of these fortifications can still be seen around the castle.

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The settlement “Liuprehtestat” was first mentioned in 876 in the annals of the monastery of Fulda. In August 956 “King Otto leaves for love of his daughter Mathilde the Monastery Quedlinburg from his property in the community of Liebstedt in Thuringia”.

The Quedlinburg Monastery survived here until 1300. This possession was then sold to Pforta Monastery on the River Saale. After four years, in 1304 the Herzfeld Monastery became owner of Liebstedt. Thereafter the county of Orlamünde-Weimar, the counts of Beichlingen and the Margrave of Meissen were by turns lords of Liebstedt.

The Teutonic order was disbanded in 1809 by Napoleon. After the Vienna Congress in 1815 the land passed to the Duchy of Sachsen Weimar Eisenach. With the foundation of Thuringia in 1920 the land was given to the new state. After 1946 the land changed ownership to the university of Leipzig.

A foundation was created in 1990 to restore the castle for use as a museum.

Tutors

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Two boys work with a tutor, who patiently explains a lesson to them. The surroundings are suggestive of an educated household. Lithograph, c. 1820.

Starting in the late 18th century, an educated class developed, which defined itself more on the basis of education than material possessions.

Members of this class were often employed as civil servants, at universities, or in the free professions. Mindful of how important their education was for their own careers, parents placed tremendous emphasis on educating their children, particularly their sons. In certain cases, daughters were also given advanced educations.

The term Bildungsbürgertum was coined in the 1920s for this class for whom the concept of education as a lifelong process of human development; rather than mere training in gaining certain external knowledge or skills. For this class, education is seen as a process of continual expansion and growth of an individual’s spiritual and cultural sensibilities as well as life, personal and social skills.

The word “Bildung” is deeply rooted in the idea of the Enlightenment and has broader meaning than “culture” or “education”.

Humboldt envisaged an ideal of Bildung, education in a broad sense, which aimed not merely to provide professional skills through schooling along a fixed path but rather to allow students to build individual character by choosing their own way.

Humboldt’s model was based on two ideas of the Enlightenment: the individual and the world citizen. Humboldt believed that the university and education in general, should enable students to become autonomous individuals and world citizens by developing their own reasoning powers in an environment of academic freedom.

The University of Berlin was founded on 15 October 1810 to develop this ideal. Friedrich Froebel attended in 1812 to study mineralogy under Weiss and jurisprudence under Savigny. With other Berlin students, Froebel joined the famous volunteer corps of “Black Riflemen”, in the Prussian army against Napoleon. After the close of the war, Froebel claimed the fulfilment of the promise made to him of an appointment in the mineralogical museum at Berlin, and resumed his studies.

Clementine

Clementine was a woman of great style, patience, and wisdom.

Clementine Churchill (1885-1977) was a force of nature all her own. She is best known as the wife of British Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill, offering her husband unwavering support and guidance throughout his many years in office.

Clementine Ogilvy Hozier was born in 1885 to a prominent, but financially starved English family. Miss Hozier studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and upon returning to England, taught French lessons to supplement her family’s income.

After a whirlwind romance, Churchill proposed to Miss Hozier at his birthplace, Blenheim Palace.

Located in Oxfordshire, the sprawling country estate consumes 2,000 acres and boast 187 rooms. Miss Hozier said “yes” and the couple were married a month later at St. Margaret’s Westminster before 1,000 guests.

A celebrated hostess, Clementine entertained an endless stream of noteworthy dinner guests at the Churchills’ city and country homes. Among them were Charlie Chaplin, Albert Einstein, and Lawrence of Arabia.

Lady Spencer-Churchill was exceptionally close with her five children.

Source: 6 Fun Facts About…Lady Clementine Spencer-Churchill

Clementine was educated first at home, then briefly at the Edinburgh school run by Karl Froebel. (Soames, M. (2002). Clementine Churchill: The Biography of a Marriage, London, Doubleday)

Thuringian States

In 1884 Paul Lehfeldt was appointed as “Conservator of the Governments of Thuringia”. He mainly focused on the recording of artistic monuments, particularly as editor and publisher of the body work on the Thüringer monuments.

Architectural and art monuments of Thuringia, Bau- und Kunstdenkmäler Thüringens, Jena 1888–1899 can be read online.

For his publications, he was appointed by the Prussian Minister of Culture to the royal title of Professor.

When the German Empire was founded on January 18, 1871, Thuringia had been ruled for centuries as duchies and principalities.

The empire was forged not as the result of the outpouring of nationalist feeling but through traditional cabinet diplomacy and agreement by the leaders of the states
The empire was forged not as the result of the outpouring of nationalist feeling but through traditional cabinet diplomacy and agreement by the leaders of the states

The empire was founded toward the end of two decades of rapid economic expansion. The railway system almost doubled in size between 1865 and 1875.

These halcyon years came to an abrupt end with the onset of a worldwide depression in 1873. Prices for agricultural and industrial goods fell precipitously, as surplus American and Russian grain flooded the market. Among the more immediate consequences of the crash was a burst of emigration. During the 1870s some 600,000 people departed for North and South America; this number more than doubled in the 1880s.

Nature

Work less, help the environment and foster connections by just saying no to typical turf

What is beautiful in nature can be quite subjective.

Beauty in the desert Southwest is different than in New England.

Ideas of beauty are based on regional, native, wild habitats, and personal experiences living in those places that define cultural and personal ideals. It does not matter whose idea is “better” or “right,” only that those beliefs lead to healthy people, plants and wildlife.

All gardeners have choices that lead to the well being of all life under our care, including our own.

Do you wish to be in the lawn, or the garden? Or is the juxtaposition of the two somehow enticing?

What design elements can you use to invite people into nature? How can you create an ecosystem landscape that requires little maintenance and relies on nature to do the work of pest and disease control?

If you enjoy seeing butterflies, birds and bees, then having a diversity of flowers is key.

Have you heard of nature deficit disorder? Can you identify the call of a robin or blue jay? Can you identify an oak tree?

Source: The Case for Losing the Traditional Lawn

After the publication of “Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children from Nature-Deficit Disorder” in 2005, author Richard Louv and others co-founded the Children & Nature Network, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to fuel the worldwide grassroots movement to reconnect children with nature.

“I like to play indoors better ’cause that’s where all the electrical outlets are,” reports a fourth grader. Never before in history have children been so plugged in and so out of touch with the natural world.

In this ground breaking new work, child advocacy expert Richard Louv directly links the lack of nature in the lives of today’s wired generation. He calls it nature deficit.

Practice

In the words of Periander, one of the Seven Sages of Greece, “Practice is everything”. This is usually translated as:

practice makes perfect

The Seven Sages, depicted in the Nuremberg Chronicle 1493
The Seven Sages, depicted in the Nuremberg Chronicle 1493

Some participants LOVE theory: give them sources and concepts, reports and ruminations, inspirations and ideas, as well as books and bibliographies.

Some participants LOVE action: give them activities and exercises, puzzles and practice time, as well as scenarios and simulations.

Put the theory and action together for powerful learning, called praxis.

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Friedrich Froebel noticed the natural activity of children and designed play gifts to enable each child to learn though play.

Rowland Hill

Post Office Reform: its Importance and Practicability was privately circulated in 1837 by Rowland Hill, a schoolmaster from Birmingham.

The report called for “low and uniform rates” according to weight, rather than distance. Most of the costs in the postal system were not for transport, but rather for laborious handling procedures at the origins and the destinations. At that time, letters were paid for by the recipient, not the sender. Costs could be reduced dramatically if postage were prepaid by the sender.

Hill proposed to lower the postage rate to a penny per half ounce, without regard to distance. His idea of prepayment facilitated the safe, speedy and cheap transfer of letters.

In the House of Lords the Postmaster denounced Hill’s “wild and visionary schemes”.

The penny post was a remarkable success with the number of letters posted rising from 90 million in 1839 to 679 million in 1864. This was more than enough to make up for the initial loss in tax revenue.

Another big idea in 1837 was nurturing the creativity of each child by “play and activity”. Friedrich Froebel taught children how to learn, observe, reason, express and create through play. Employing philosophies of unity and interconnectedness, the songs, games, playing with blocks and nature walks of Kindergarten become familiar throughout the world by the end of the 19th century.