By Linda Naiman

A NEW WORLD VIEW. Quantum physics has changed the way we perceive reality. It opens up a new world view. It tells us we exist simultaneously in two states; as particles and invisible waves.

We are made up of sub atomic particles. Millions of them. We are also made up of wave forms. Subatomic phenomena (quanta) exist simultaneously as particles and wave forms. Quanta has no mass and takes up no space, yet extends out into the universe. In other words we are made up of energy. A wave in physics is actually a description of the probable futures of the particle. This means the building blocks that make up our physicallity—our bodies—are coded with our future potential.

Our DNA, the genetic coding of all life forms, is in fact a record of our future. We are constantly in a state of being and becoming. Yet because we are made of energy, our thoughts and feelings influence our DNA. What we become is shaped largely by our beliefs, attitudes and assumptions. Our thoughts influence and shape our wave forms, or probable futures. We can shape our future by how we think about it. In other words everything happens out of intention. We could say that history moves in the direction of the people who inhabit the planet. Our attitudes and beliefs direct our future.

Physicist, David Bohm, theorises the universe is structured like a hologram; each part contains the whole, no matter how often it is fragmented. He found connections between unrelated subatomic particles leading him to the conclusion that everything is interconnected. "The observer is the observed. Consciousness and matter are not separate. Consciousness is a more subtle form of matter, and the basis for any relationship between the two lies not in our own level of reality but deep in the implicate order." Reality may look one way on the surface, but reality exists in layers. Seemingly random events are linked in the implicate or hidden realms.

He believes everything is part of the whole and if we ignore the dynamic interconnections in our life, community, work and the environment, we create problems. The environmental, health and social problems we are facing are a call to rethink our relationships to each other and to the planet.

As our world view evolves from separation to interconnectedness, so do our notions of leadership and personal responsibility. We are transforming the structures of the modernist age where leadership was linear and hierarchical. Hierarchies in organizations are flattening. Changes in technology empower the worker to be entrepreneurial and innovative. Information is available to everyone. Converting information to knowledge is the new source of wealth. Creativity, communication, relationship skills, and adaptability to change and diversity, are the core competencies for thriving in change and creating the future. Leadership now involves collaboration and co-creation.

Information Technology is transforming how we communicate, and how we do business. The repercussions of this phenomena in our society have yet to be discovered. Convergence, drives the new structure. Convergence of the world wide web and the multi-media industry is a prime example. Through digital technology, information is instantly transmitted around the world. The web connects everything to everybody. It is a perfect structure for understanding how everything could influence everything else in a holographic universe. According to John Sculley, former CEO of Apple Computer, multi-media could be a $3 trillion a year industry by the millennium. Converging technologies give us the opportunity to create a new renaissance in our culture.

A VISION FOR THE FUTURE

Renaissance is the French term for rebirth, a time of cultural and spiritual transformation. If we are to create a new renaissance, we must include the qualities of the soul with the new technologies. We must include art, spirituality, and philosophical inquiry with technology. Today we long for sacredness in the midst of the excessive materialism of our times. Sacredness is recognizable by joy and beauty. This is where our human spirits come alive. Visionary leadership plays a role in bringing sacredness to this convergence.

The transformation of our world view allows for new ways of thinking about the nature of work itself. Our work must include wholeness, and contribute to our wellbeing and the wellbeing of the planet. There is a call to connect work with heart, to be of service to the community and through our work, contribute the evolution of humanity. We have an opportunity to direct our future and create a new renaissance in our world. We all have a particular set of skills, a piece of information that contributes to the whole. We are on the brink of unprecedented change and we have a role to play.

We are in the midst of birthing the next millennium. What is required is fresh thinking, a guiding vision and passion. Bring joy and beauty into your world. Dostoevsky proclaimed “Beauty will save the world!” Einstein said “the most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious—it is the source of all true art and science.” Remember: Embedded in our DNA, our record of our probable futures, is the blueprint of our calling. Our calling is the heart song of our destiny and fulfillment.

FINDING YOUR CALLING—DISCOVERING YOUR BLUEPRINT

What is your vision? Imagine you are in a place and time prior to coming to this planet. You looked upon the earth and made a promise to fulfil a dream. What was the promise? What does your soul long for? What special talents did you bring to this planet? Where can you most be of service? Finding your calling is to discover what you naturally love to do. What activities are easy and joyful for you? Honour and cherish them. These are your gifts and talents. Explore how you can bring these qualities to the work you are doing right now. Work takes on a different meaning when you understand your role, and the organization's role in the Big Picture. Align yourself with people and ideas that stimulate and inspire you. If your vision is to succeed it must be shared.

Cultivate a sense of curiosity, awe and wonderment as you imagine your ideal future. Write down and collect images to describe your ideas. Bohm says "Imagination is already the creation of form; it already has the intention and all the movements needed to carry it out."

IDEAS INTO ACTION—CASE STUDIES

Husky, a Canadian company, is a world leading supplier of plastic injection molding systems. Wellness is an important part of it's corporate culture. Employee well-being improves quality of life, motivation and performance. Their wellness team includes a medical doctor, naturopathic doctor, chiropractor, massage therapist and nurse. The team focuses on disease prevention, wellness therapies and educating employees on leading healthier lives. Husky has a fitness centre with programs and equipment for training, and sports activities. The cafeteria provides subsidized vegetarian meals (and non-subsidized meat meals).

Part of the companies profits are donated to support wellness and education programs in the communities where they operate. Husky runs a child development centre, where qualified early childhood educators teach theories and techniques that encourage decision making, responsibility, co-operation and self-esteem.

Environmental responsibility contributes to the wellness of the planet. They maintain strict standards for energy efficiency and waste reduction. They believe the environment is crucial to measuring business success and have made proactive environmental responsibility a core value. Husky's thriving workplace environment includes team work, trust, open communications at all levels and in all directions, constant innovation in customer service and developing new technologies to maintain leadership in their industry. Employees receive training and education to develop marketable skills. Life long learning is integral to the corporate culture.

Skandia is an insurance company operating globally, with subsidiaries in real estate and banking. It has become a leader in the field of Intellectual Capital (IC), which a growing number of companies believe plays a major role in creating wealth in the future. IC consists of the hidden assets of the company; the knowledge and skills (brain power) of employees, plus information technology, customer relationships, trademarks, and organizational structures. Skandia believes the future is an asset and innovation is a core competency. IC is evolving as a management tool, to measure the value of a knowledge based business.

Skandia has "replaced national thinking with a global flow of knowledge in cross-border networks." A focus in the Nordic countries is to work in cooperation with it's commercial clients in the area of health, environment and safety. They have introduced insurance programs associated more with preventive fitness activities and rehabilitation than conventional health care. Psychological assistance is available after traumatic experiences such as robbery or assault.

Skandia is flattening the hierarchy, forming cross-functional teams and nurturing creativity. A special "idea group" continuously compiles ideas from the staff. Awards are given to the ideas that make the impossible possible. Skandia has assembled "future teams" which represent a microcosm of the company; a cross section of competencies, age and geography. The ideas they generate constitute an important source of renewal for the company.

Skandia's CEO, Björn Wolrath asserts, "We can choose to focus strictly on streamlining or we can seek new opportunities and markets.There has never been a better time for a business revolution and quest for new heights than today. This is not a revolution of anarchists, however but of activists and innovators: it's about daring to open the flow of ideas and propose that which has never been considered before: about tearing down the walls between what were previously independent units; about fostering a climate of knowledge sharing within the group that is conducive to creativity and value creation. It's about having the courage to realise that the key word for the future is not only competition, but understanding that the future is more a matter of collaboration and context."

An American company committed to healthy and stimulating work environments for its employees is Lucent Technologies: Bell Lab Innovations, a spin off of AT&T. Lucent developed IdeaVerse (TM) an environment devoted to developing employee creativity and innovation.

IdeaVerse is described as "infinite space for whole-brain thinking...you'll discover a high energy environment crackling with colour, light, and music; murals, toys, games, beanbag chairs and art supplies; floor to ceiling white board and space to spread out; irresistible books on creativity and innovation; inspiration for making your personal and team workspaces more stimulating and supportive of your creativity; [and] a staff that's eager to help you explore options for nurturing your creative spirit or enhancing the creative collaboration of your team... the IdeaVerse room symbolises the wonderfully creative universe of ideas and potential connections that exist in each of us and within our teams."

To stimulate whole-brain thinking, Lucent hosts Creative Family Night, Spirit in Business forums, Art Days, outdoor story telling and juggling, field trips, Feng Shui workshops, nutrition and fitness instruction, and invites guest authors and colleagues to share their wisdom.

These three companies embody the future. We can transform the way we live and work as we birth the next millennium. Within our holographic universe, new ideas and new potentialities constantly unfold.

Deepack Chopra M.D. explains:

The truth about each of us is, that our life spreads out in larger and larger fields of experience. There is no limit to the energy, information and intelligence concentrated in one persons existence. In the physical form this infinite creativity has been embodied in your cells; in the unmanifest form it is expressed in the mind’s silence, the void that is actually a fullness of untold possible meanings, possible truths, possible creations. The emptiness at the core of every atom is the womb of the universe; in the flicker of thought when two neurons interact, there is the opportunity for a new world to be born.

We live in a world of infinite possibilities. We have only to look, to listen, and allow our human spirits and the universe itself to guide us... Health, work and wellness along with visionary leadership provide the foundation for a new renaissance of art, science, spirituality, and well being on personal and planetary levels.

REFERENCES

Chopra, Deepak. Ageless Body, Timeless Mind: The Quantum Alternative to Growing Old. New York: Harmony Books, 1993.

Drucker, Peter. Managing for the Future: The 1990s and Beyond. New York: Truman Talley Books, 1992.

Fox, Matthew. The Reinvention of Work: A New Vision of Livelihood for our Time. New York: HarperSanFransisco, 1994.

James, Jennifer. Thinking in the Future Tense: Leadership Skills for a New Age. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1996.

Talbot, Michael. The Holographic Universe. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.

The Globe and Mail Report on Business Magazine, March 1997: Feature article on Husky.

Corporate information from annual reports, the internet, phone conversations and company literature.

This essay was first published in the Health Work and Wellness Conference Vancouver BC Conference Proceedings, October 1, 1997

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