[PERSPECTIVE by @katharinajanus] ON HUMAN ADVENTURE AND DECISIVENESS

It is almost exactly six years ago that I diverted from my path home on a pre-Xmas evening and followed the flow of people inside the cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris, not knowing that I would attend the last Christmas concert in this spiritual place for six years to come. Four months later, on that evening of April 15, 2019, I was again on my way home and witnessed the first fume coming out of the roof of Notre Dame, then the collapse of “la Charpente” and the spire from “first row” on the tip of the Ile Saint Louis.

After a double whiskey I returned late at night to the site. At that time, it was still not sure whether the cathedral would eventually collapse, so basically all Parisians were rushing in panic to the Ile Saint Louis to see Notre Dame maybe “one last time”. The “ship shape” of the Island made you think that the Isle was getting overloaded with Parisians – many of them with tears in their eyes – in between pipes and fire engines to mobilize all resources and water from the river. People stayed overnight as a collective nightguard united in spirit irrespective of religion or nationality. Around midnight the crowds were singing chorales. Parts of the cathedral were lost but by that time it became clear that firefighters had avoided the feared collapse of Notre Dame. Decisive and with a leap of faith into craftsmen and artisans from around the world president Macron promised that night to rebuild Notre Dame within five years, not fully aware of the magnitude of the “human adventure” needed to make this happen.

WHERE THERE IS A WILL, THERE IS A WAY, I read written in stone this morning six years after the last Xmas concert I attended in Notre Dame. Today, I returned to Notre Dame, again following the flow which was this time lined up well and determined at 7.30am to enter the entirely restored and finally opened cathedral for the first time after more than five years.

In the back of the cathedral, I read about “les batisseurs” (the builders) – the thousands of women and men with exceptional know-how who united their hearts and skills in the project to stabilize and then restore the cathedral. Their captain – General Georgelin – who set this magnificent collective adventure on the path to success unfortunately did not live to its completion. But it is evident that this incredible human adventure came to life because of decisiveness and determination of people with the haptic names of for example the brass brothers (le Bras Frères) who took on the challenge of relearning forgotten techniques, creating tools from medieval times to rebuild the entire roof truss without any metal joints, and putting their heart & soul into this body of work. Its Gestalt today embodies more than a catholic cathedral: it is a symbol of humanistic values, culture, and civilization that exudes peace in times of turmoil.

AN INCREDIBLE HUMAN ADVENTURE: An adventure is about intentionally putting yourself into uncomfortable situations that lead to growth. A human adventure excels by its human and collective spirit of persistence – “no matter what” and “whatever it costs”. This strength permeates the cathedral this early morning. It reminds me of Venice where this “no matter what” attitude is imminently present. This untamable determination that shouts out loud: courage and commitment first! Make a leap of faith. Dare to and you will succeed. It is the building, this structure and composition that tells you the story of this incredible human adventure. The sweat and tears, and long nights of learning, insights, and the eurekas!

My uplifting morning experience is in stark contrast to many of ours’ daily work experience and makes me think about our own construction sites in which human beings come together in pursuit of growth: organizations. Clearly, there exist still organizations in which people bring in their heart and their soul – especially in the founding scene. Entrepreneurs might describe themselves as adventurers and they frequently are. However, many organizations are struggling with attracting and motivating their workforce. The physical distance of hybrid working and the soulless standardization of modern management has contributed largely to increased efficiency and higher outputs, but also to alienation, a lack of interest in one’s own work and its relation to the bigger whole. Additional organizational layers that are needed to manage “documentation drones” have often killed the spirit of creation, of doing a job right and with passion while feeling appreciated internally and externally.

Today, many professions have less or even no more SKIN IN THE GAME (a must-read for the holidays by Nassim Nicholas Taleb), less decision-making power and are, thus, less decisive which lengthens decision-making processes, resulting in a continuous postponing of appointments and the well-known cancel culture. While many rules and regulations (sometimes also called bureaucratic structures) have their justification to ensure quality, safety and wise decisions, they might also lead to lost opportunities due to the time lags they entail and the disempowerment they cause on the side of knowledge workers. Bureaucracies also offer the opportunity to hide behind processes, delegate responsibilities and postpone deadlines further without making any decisions.

This morning in the cathedral I literally feel the major difference of the body & soul engagement of the builders of Notre Dame: there was a clear commitment and decisiveness. Rarely has the German term for a certain fact a more positive connotation than the English, but this is an exception: decisiveness translates as “Entscheidungsfreude” in German and is the “joy to make decisions”. It also means to have the courage and the “backbone” to be decisive and to stick to your guns because you have skin in the game. What we see and experience in today’s world is much too often a “grey zone” of decision-making that gets increasingly larger – the “maybes”, the “laters”, the “I have to ask” or “I will transfer this to the responsible person” because I’m not or I do not wish to take the responsibility to make a yes or no decision. But that would be so refreshing and efficient: black or white – yes or no. And this with JOY!

Along with this comes an attitude and mindset to be 100% committed and decisive with your heart & soul. This can start with a promise to oneself and is then reflected in our interaction with other human beings of this big human adventure we are all in together. How delightful it is in our world today to respond with or receive an immediate and convincing “yes, with pleasure” or “of course, no problem”.

This holiday season I wish for more commitment and decisiveness in our daily work and lives. The “maybes” should be a thing of the past, getting increasingly uncool. Making a choice is strong; keeping options open might mean losing your best option. Especially if we intend to grow and create great things in this collective human adventure as the builders of Notre Dame showed us.

With that I bow in front of this accomplishment and determination which instills the spirit of decisiveness and conviction that everything is possible if you’re willing to commit.

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https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/human-adventure-decisiveness-prof-dr-katharina-janus-gnpqf

Take care, be safe, and enjoy what you can. Happy Holidays!

#perspectivebykatharinajanus #enjoystrategy

Sincerely,

Prof. Dr. Katharina Janus
President & CEO, ENJOY STRATEGY, Paris
Founder, Center for Healthcare Management, Paris
https://enjoystrategy.com/
http://katharinajanus.com/