This week I want to recommend an excellent 30 day blog exploring Relational Thinking by Simon Fowler, who has been following our work for a while and wrote an entry each day during the month of May: http://sifowler.wordpress.com/30-days-index/.
Friday, 4 June 2010
Friday, 28 May 2010
Euro relationships under strain
Quote
"We are called to bethink ourselves of the Christian basics of Europe by forming a democratic model of governance which through reconciliation develops into a ‘community of peoples’ in freedom, equality, solidarity and peace and which is deeply rooted in Christian basic values.” Robert Schuman (one of the founding fathers of the European community; 1958)
News
Yesterday the Spanish parliament voted in favour of €15 billion of austerity measures – but by just one vote. European finance ministers last week agreed that tougher sanctions were needed for member states who are slow to bring government deficits back under control – in order to prevent the Greek financial crisis from spreading.
The single European currency is effectively an inter-country relational experiment. For 60 years the EU (helped greatly by NATO) has succeeded in its goal of making war inconceivable among the member states. However, the decision to form a monetary union in the 1990s has been pushing countries towards ever closer political union – far beyond what the founders such as Schuman envisioned.
When member states gave up their independent currencies a decade ago, they were placing immense trust in other Eurozone governments to keep spending in check. The present crisis exposes differences in values between member states over financial prudence and puts to the test the strength of the relationship binding them to a common currency. It’s time to count the cost: what price must be paid for the Eurozone to hold together, both financially and in terms of handing over more political and economic independence to an emerging European government?
Read on...
Paul Mills and Michael Schluter wrote a paper in 1998 weighing up the pros and cons of joining the euro from a Christian perspective. To find out what their conclusion was, and to see if their predictions about what would happen if member states faced unsustainable deficits are coming true, read the paper here http://www.jubilee-centre.org/document.php?id=22
Walk the talk
The application is restricted to Brits this week (but will probably bring a smile to our other readers!) At the risk of sounding pedantic, I challenge my fellow British citizens to consider their language and if necessary, to stop speaking of Europe as if the continent didn’t include UK! Britain is part of Europe geographically, historically, and by virtue of EU membership; acknowledging our common heritage this way might make us more sensitive to the concerns and challenges facing our fellow Europeans.
The last word
From the Bible, Luke 14:28-30 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, 'This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.'”
Friday, 21 May 2010
Artistic interlude
In place of the normal 5 points of Friday Five, we have a painting to reflect on relationally.
I am trying to be an honest blogger, so I'm not going to copy an image I don't have a licence for! Instead, I'll ask you to click on this link to see the painting “Coming from the Mill” on the site of its owner, the Lowry Museum:
http://www.thelowry.com/gifts-and-souvenirs/coming-from-the-mill-1930/print-coming-from-the-mill-1930
L.S. Lowry is famous for his unique style of painting “matchstick men” against urban industrial scenes in Northern England. Lowry was a solitary figure, a keen observer of the lives of the industrial working class during the first half of the 20th century. He painted around his other commitments – working as a rent collector, and caring for his bedridden mother for many years. He never married.
Lowry’s paintings and drawings depict an austere beauty in the mills and factories, the achievements of scientific, technological, industrial Man. But what of the impact of urban industrialisation on people’s lives and relationships?
The figures are atomised, drawn individually, many not touching another. And where walking, the people are bent forward, faces downcast, scurrying home as if before a thunderstorm.
Sadness, loneliness and isolation dogged Lowry’s life, and he saw the same things mirrored in the industrial workers of Salford and Manchester. The matchstick people are frail and insignificant, having become slaves of the great, monolithic factories and mills they invented.
Such images may look quaint and historical to 21st century European eyes, but this scenario is highly contemporary in China, India and other countries going through rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. In 2010 people are still becoming matchstick men and women, as they migrate into the cities from their village way of life, often becoming isolated from their families, roots and relational support structures.
Friday, 14 May 2010
Keys to the Coalition
Departing from our usual format, we present a guest version of Friday Five about the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government formed in London this week, written by our sister organisation The Relationships Foundation:
We strongly advocate relationships education at the beginning of a relationship rather than counselling after it has all gone wrong. Here we assess the new government coalition on our five key relationship tests and offer some advice to its leaders.
1. Shared Purpose – enabling common aims and ideas
+ On the plus side the parties have hammered out a governing document and have united to deal with the difficult economic situation. They can do more together than each could do alone.
– On the minus side, however, there will be many forces pulling a coalition apart: so what is the big idea holding them together? National unity governments at a time of crisis can work well, but when the crisis is over, few survive because they lack a deeply rooted shared purpose.
2. Sharing Power – fostering participation and mutual respect
+ The Liberal Democrats have been empowered with more Cabinet seats than many expected and there seems to be a genuine respect between the Prime Minister and his Deputy. Key economic roles for Vince Cable and David Laws show that the risks and the rewards will be shared.
– Good relationships between two chief executives that are not matched by effective joint working at all other levels do not deliver the desired outcomes.
3. Shared Knowledge – increasing mutual understanding
+ Many coalition MPs, especially those in senior positions, know each other well, having worked ‘together’ in Parliament for many years.
– The number of new MPs, many of whom recently fought bitter battles with their new coalition partners, is a cause for concern.
4. Shared Story – creating momentum and a sense of belonging and loyalty
+ All relationships have a narrative story – the memory of the past and the imagination of the future. A five-year deal should encourage a sense of belonging, loyalty and commitment.
– When asked to tell a joke, David Cameron used to say ‘Nick Clegg’. The relationship between the parties has a long history and much of it has involved bitter battles. Changing this story will be difficult.
5. Shared Communication – building trust and understanding
+ The importance of communication cannot be over-estimated, particularly face-to-face meetings. Adjoining offices for the Prime Minister and his Deputy would set the tone.
– Openness, honesty and attentiveness are the necessary qualities – but they go against the habits of a lifetime for most politicians.
Our advice – the coalition needs a big idea which spans all departments leading to joined-up government with a purpose. Everyone must have a stake in this big idea so that it becomes part of the coalition’s narrative. They must also respect each other’s differences, seek creative solutions as opposed to conflict and talk to each other directly rather than through the media.
Friday, 7 May 2010
Crisis and compensation
Quote
"We are made wise not by the recollection of our past, but by the responsibility for our future.” George Bernard Shaw.
News
Since April 22nd up to 5,000 barrels (795,000 litres) of crude oil a day has been pouring into the Gulf of Mexico from the stricken borehole a mile beneath the surface. The large seafood and recreational fishing industry is under threat, wildlife in the coastal wetlands are endangered by the oil, and tourism in the area is likely to be hit hard.
In a statement, BP said they take full responsibility for cleaning up the oil spill, and for paying compensation for any loss or damage caused, including loss of earnings. This reflects the conventional approach to risk and responsibility, which assumes that all damage can ultimately be reduced to a financial cost.
Yet there is a cost to relationships also, beyond the reach of compensation – starting with those grieving for the 11 people killed in the initial explosion on the oil rig. Tensions in families will rise if fishermen’s revenues fall, or if small businesses go bankrupt and people have to move away in search of other work; families and communities may be forced to break up. The relationship between BP and the rig operator Transocean will be under intense pressure, along with relations between BP and workers in the oil and fishing industries; levels of trust may fall between conservation groups and government who authorized such risky deep sea drilling… and so it continues.
Read on...
A “relational lens” helps us to map the effects of this disaster on a range of people and relationships, which goes well beyond those affected by the economic and environmental impact alone. A tool has been developed by the Relationships Foundation to incorporate this wider perspective into evaluating business or policy decisions; you can read the executive summary of the “3D7L model” here: www.relationshipsglobal.net/Web/OnlineStore/Product.aspx?ID=45
Walk the talk
When an accident happens at home, it’s so easy to focus on the material damage first, not on the feelings or concerns of those affected. Consequently many children are left with an impression that things matter more than people. Next time there is a domestic incident, try to address the relational impact first.
The last word
From the Bible, Deuteronomy 22 verse 8: “When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.”
Friday, 30 April 2010
Spending cuts: how will the axe fall?
Quote
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen shillings and sixpence, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds, ought and sixpence, result misery." Mr Micawber in Charles Dickens’ book, David Copperfield.
News
As the government debt crisis mounts in southern Europe, Britain’s government spending overshot by £163 billion last year – 11.6% of national income. To avoid a crisis of Greek proportions, Britain has to cut this deficit dramatically over the next few years – but in the run up to next week’s general election, none of the party leaders is talking about that. Instead they imply that “efficiency savings” might be enough – instead of the more realistic “age of austerity” that Conservative leader David Cameron spoke of briefly a few weeks back, before being advised to drop it as too “unpopular”.
No intelligent person can look at the figures and avoid concluding that major cuts must be made; debt must be tackled at the national level the same way as at the household level – by spending less and earning more. That requires an agreement by all that it’s for our common good to take these necessary measures. Our problem in Britain is that people have lost the collective sense that the nation is theirs, and the government is theirs – so ultimately we all have to pick up the pieces when that government overspends – which makes participation in next week’s elections all the more critical.
Relationally speaking, government spending cuts should surely be done as fairly as possible. The burden should not be made to fall mainly on lower paid workers, through redundancies; rather it should be shared as widely as possible. Many private sector workers have accepted pay cuts over the last year; would it not be reasonable to expect public sector staff to do the same?
Read on...
We recommend Paul Mills’ paper contrasting the injustices and problems arising in modern debt-based economies with the Old Testament economic model in which interest was banned; to read these insights click here http://www.jubilee-centre.org/document.php?id=3
Walk the talk
A problem shared is a problem halved; many arguments at the household level are to do with money, especially when the responsibility for getting into a mess belongs to one party more than the other. However, if both partners manage to agree on steps to get out of the mess, and shoulder the burden together, then unity is restored and finances can be brought back under control. Is there any way this could be applied in your situation?
The last word
From the Bible, Galatians 6 verse 2: “Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfil the law of Christ.”
Friday, 23 April 2010
Volcanoes: vulnerability, virtue and vice
Quote
“You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
News
Hundreds of thousands of passengers, stranded for days by the ash-induced flight ban over much of Europe, have found themselves unexpectedly vulnerable, and at the mercy of others to help them get home. How have other people responded to their plight?
Two particular kinds of response stand out; both involve making a profit. One group of people have sought to make a fast buck from these hapless travellers, demanding exorbitant prices for hotel rooms, bus tickets, train fares and the like (taxis charging 1000 euros from Brussels to Calais; hotel rooms way over their normal rates; Eurostar train fares 3 times higher than average.)
Another group of people looked on their fellow human beings in distress, and decided to profit from the opportunity to extend kindness and generosity to strangers. A businessman paid £5000 for a 13 year old boy to get back to Scotland for his mother’s funeral. In Denver, Colorado, the mayor “has been to our hotel and invited several of us out for a meal at her home,” writes stranded Martin Smith on the BBC website. “It was unbelievable kindness.” Several pages on social networking websites have been filled with people offering a bed for the night in their homes to stranded passengers.
The first group saw distressed travellers primarily from an economic angle; the second looked at them instead through a relational lens. The first took, the second gave; I wonder, in the end, who enjoyed their profit the most?
Read on...
The way we respond to strangers is one of the chapters of Michael Schluter and John Lee’s book, The R Option. You can read the four pages on our website here: www.relationshipsglobal.net/Web/OnlineStore/Product.aspx?ID=44
Walk the talk
It is liberating to realize that we have a choice how to respond to people who are caught out by unexpected circumstances. Insurance companies try to avoid paying compensation by calling the volcanic eruption an “act of God”; perhaps it is more accurate to say that it has produced some God-given opportunities to serve others. Keep your eyes open for the chance to take one.
The last word
From the Bible, Proverbs 11 verse 16: “A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.”
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