We are all aware of the circling processes of change that are sweeping across the globe. Something is happening in our world that keeps us on edge. Whether it is manifested in the Palestine, Israel, Syria, Russia, China, or the United States of America—we know that there is something on the horizon that is larger than our own histories and memories.
I had an old friend who would regularly change her voicemail. In each new message, she would say, “Please listen carefully because things have changed!” Indeed, things have changed! The ground has shifted! The ways we have thought about power, sovereignty, geopolitical territorialism, business, the environment, values, culture, and leadership are changing as well. As this new season of change accelerates, leaders around the globe are faced with various challenges at the “intersections where worlds collide.” Leaders will need critical tools and resources to address the serious ethical challenges embedded in these changes.
Leaders in this century will need to find different and creative ways to address questions of poverty, health, education, gender, sexuality, religion, race, ethnicity, and culture that threaten national and world security—and most importantly, the flourishing of all humanity and creation.
Pandemics, multiple wars, climate change, political chicanery, racial injustice, ethnic and tribal conflicts, unscrupulous practices in technology, communications, and science; raging battles over immigration policies, corporate jostling, and brazen acts of incivility only add to the mounting anxiety that grips our frightened and confused world.
This long litany of ills is symptomatic of a deeper, more fundamental fracture in our very human, spiritual, and moral foundations. The origins of these problems are immensely complex, but in some ways not so new . . . so much depends on our human capacity to think, feel, adapt, and act in ways that promote peace, justice, and a sense of community. Like it or not, we are all caught in the web of the spider—no one gets out of this tangled web alone. We must wake up running!
In my own nation, we are reeling from the after-effects of COVID, two costly wars; struggling with poverty and social dislocation precipitated by corrupt practices in our major banking centers and local communities; and embroiled in political contests that have degenerated into character assassination based on race, religion, and unresolved cultural wars. We have a confused and frightened citizenry that is asking the questions raised by Martin Luther King, Jr. over fifty years ago: “Where do we go from here? Chaos or community?”
We at Walter Earl Fluker & Associates do not pretend to have answers to all these questions, but we invite you to join us on the run as we seek new solutions and strategies that address the perennial question, “Where do we go from here?” Or as leadership theorist and former Medtronic Chairman and CEO Bill George asks, “Which way is true North?”
We’ll see you on the run!
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