Ashley Mwanza

THE head of a monastery and his disciple had finished looking after the sick, so they left the village and headed home. After a 45 minute trek in the woods, they came to the most difficult part of their journey, a wide, raging stream that had to be crossed. But today was different, for standing close by was a lovely maiden that also wanted to cross so that she could visit her uncle who lived on the other side.

Sensing her distress, the head of the monastery approached the young lady and said, “If you can place your trust in me, I will carry you across the stream.” She agreed and thanked him. He scooped her in his arms and entered the stream, followed by his disciple. Although the ten-minute trip across was arduous, they arrived safely. The elderly monk put her down, said farewell, and he and his disciple continued on their way to the distant monastery.

An hour and a half later, they had finally reached the gateway to the monastery. But instead of being relieved, the disciple appeared agitated. When he was asked what was wrong, the disciple replied, “Master, as monks we have taken vows to never touch women. Yet, you carried the maiden in your arms.” “Yes, I did,” answered the master, “but I put her down ten minutes later. It is YOU who are still carrying her.”

Like the disciple, many of us refuse to put down what is troubling us. We carry resentment, anger, hostility, mistrust, suspicion, grudges, fear, anxiety, worries, and other burdens. How can we travel very far if we are weighed down by so many concerns? When will we learn to drop our cares, release our worries, and let go of whatever is troubling us? The above story holds a very potent lesson.

Letting go means surrendering our ego and will. It means trusting that what is aligned to our highest good and what will bring us the greatest joy will be provided for us. It means not holding onto every detail of our lives with the intention to control them. It is the process of releasing people, situations, thoughts, habits and patterns that no longer serve us.

“We can never turn back the pages of time, though we may wish to relive a happy moment, or say goodbye just one last time, we never can, because the sands of time continue to fall, and we can’t turn the hourglass over.”

But if you sincerely desire to reinvent yourself, to be the you that hasn’t emerged but you know you can be, let go. Say thank you for the old days, and purge them.

Yossi Ghinsberg says it is scary to let go; fear strikes. But fear is the best guide. It shows you the way, always towards it, never away from it. If you run from it, it will chase you forever. Letting go is the essence of life. One cannot hold onto anything, for nothing can be held; everything is in a constant state of flux. Letting go is the art of understanding the most basic principle of life. If you let go of your false position as conductor and assume your role as a part of the symphony, your music will be unique, flowing from all that you are, from your natural and most serene state of being.

Once you give up your need to be the conductor. Wow, what a sense of relief, what a load you were carrying; trying to control the uncontrollable. Your lungs fill with air now, you can breathe, and the strain on your shoulders, that constant pain you had become accustomed to, fades away. The music within you is miraculous.

As Barack Obama took up his presidency in 2009 he uttered words that talk to all of us, he said, “If you're walking down the right path and you're willing to keep walking, eventually you'll make progress. We have to acknowledge the progress we made, but understand that we still have a long way to go, that things are better, but still not good enough.” That is so true, if you’re willing to keep walking, you’ll make progress, and if you do not walk you remain in the same spot. And so to progress you have to let go and move on. You still have you.

Start your life all over again in 2014. It begins and ends with you. Letting go, and moving on starts with you. Move on in life, carrying only the sweet memories of the past and hope for the future. Remember, only when you let go, you gain something. Stand up and walk out of your history. When you accept that the past is behind you, and that it never comes back, you can move forward. Letting go today frees you for tomorrow, where 2014 awaits.

There is the old adage that says; “when the horse dies…dismount” I need not expatiate. Attachment is like holding on tightly to something that is always slipping through your fingers, it just gives you rope burn. But letting go, nonattachment, relieves the constant, painful irritation. Letting go is the practice, and the art, of being. We must let go of the past and start living for today!

Something we need to let go of is the idea that we need to be perfect. As well the fact that perfection is an impossible goal, the only thing you need to do to be happy is to be you, imperfections and all.

Letting go does not mean giving up, becoming passive, or accepting the status quo. It just means loosening your grip on life, accepting that many things are beyond your control, and trusting that whatever happens in your life, there will be wonderful opportunities for learning, growth, choice, freedom and happiness. Let go and let life happen.

For me letting go is a stepping stone on the path to total and complete self-love. It is what allows us to remove the unnecessary worry and stress and see the peacefulness and joy that lies in surrendering to the flow of life.

Whatever begins also ends. The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be the beginning. Great is the art of beginning, but greater is the art of ending when all is accomplished, we all want a perfect ending, so let us work at it. For that matter the beginning is always today, so let us get started, let go, and work our way to the end, and hence get to the beginning of great things.

May 2014, be the year you achieve some great things. Have a Blessed One!

EVERY now and then we go through a time, a phase, or a moment perhaps, when we lose hope, feel exhausted or stuck- in a rut, if I must add. How do you feel? Or what do you do about it?

I say slow down. Take a breath. Get a pen and paper and start to write out all the good things that have ever happened to you either by chance or by choice. Write down all your achievements no matter how trivial. This is to remind yourself that you are good enough. In fact you are great!

There will be many times in our personal and professional life when we'll get to that point, often, where we are dissatisfied with our life, our growth and progress. It is natural and it is good because it means that we are striving to be better, to be more than average. Once we know these moments are inevitable and even necessary it becomes easier to deal with.

Another thing is to calm your mind and screen your thoughts. What kind of thoughts are in your head? Are you self-loathing because you are comparing yourself with other people who are well off? Are you casting yourself down because of one failure or adversity? Are you worried about the uncertainty of your future? Stop it! Censor your thoughts. Your thoughts determine the way you feel so why feel bad?

This is where Napoleon Hill's wisdom comes in handy. He says 'There is a seed of equivalent benefit for each and every adversity and failure you encounter'. Think about it. How many times has your disappointment been a blessing in disguise? I have lost count.

If you already have a fool-proof plan for your future or the life you desire and it isn't working out. Rather than keep pushing, go back to the drawing board and re-strategize. It's beneficial to always revise your plans. You don't want to get to the end of the journey only to realise you have been on the wrong bus all along.

There is no smooth way to success. In fact, success is not a destination. Success is like happiness. It is within you, it comes forth from your efforts, thoughts, actions and acknowledgement. You create your own happiness as much as your success. The universe doesn't owe you anything. You owe it to yourself to attain success and happiness if you so desire. You create your own luck through your actions and through ceasing opportunities. Your destiny is in your hands. Think about it, everything you get is as a result of your thought or handiwork. In other words, you reap what you sow; you lie on the bed you lay; you get a spicy pot of soup if you add too much pepper or too little tomatoes. You get the gist. Everything you get is your own doing. The minute you realise this, the easier it will be for you to stop blaming others for your problems and the faster you will be at taking responsibility for your life.

Friends will advise and judge you; family may not see any good in you or may demand too much from you. Let me tell you this, there is not winning. There is no satisfying them. No matter how low you bend, no matter how many backsides you kiss, no matter how much pride you swallow, they (humans) will never be satisfied.

Last but not least. Do you. Think about you. Love you. Cherish you. Appreciate you. You cannot give what you don't have. If you don't look after yourself, you cannot look after your family. If you don't love yourself, you are useless to your loved ones. So, as selfish as you think it sounds, put yourself first. Always satisfy your preferences. Do not yearn for validation; it only cripples your self-esteem.

You are whole and complete on your own. You are wise. Just be calm and listen to the inner you. You are beautiful.

Nobody knows really what their journey is about. We are just making it up as we go along. So would you be the learner on the driver's seat of your life? Or would you rather another novice who has equally no clue what his own life is about?

- Zeenat Sarumi

WHO do I want to be and how do I want to be remembered? I only have this one life to live and to love others, this one chance to pour it out and make a difference. I thought about all the things I truly desired to do and all the reasons that I wasn’t doing them.

I think that most often the reasons why we don’t live our lives the way we really want to is because we are afraid of what others might think of us. I am glad this has not been the reason or thing that has kept me from doing what I want to do and really living my life to my fullest potential.

Many have the fear of not fitting in or being judged by others as different, but, what is so wrong about being different? Are we really happy when we are living a mediocre life, suppressing our uniqueness and withholding our gifts from the world? Is there any potential for growth and change in our lives if we never break away from the need to be approved of by others?

One thing that I have always wanted to do was start a blog, I wanted to believe that some people would read it and actually relate to me. Maybe some people might actually even be inspired by it, just as I was inspired by many people, books and blogs. I caught their inspirational bug and I started blogging in February of 2009. At that time in my life I had been so excited about my successes, progress, faith and pursuing spiritual things that I needed an outlet to share it with others who also had this passion.

Well, It’s never a smooth ride, I received several negative, cutting comments. One in particular that got me really upset, until I realized that person’s comment was there to teach me something about myself. I had to ask myself why I was getting angry and defensive about it. It was that particular comment that was a test for me to really affirm to myself who I was and what I believed. I heard that voice inside me asking “If I truly believe what I am doing for my life is right for me and I am writing from my heart and not my ego then, why do I let myself get upset?”  I also had to ask myself if I truly believed that everyone is supposed to agree with me and love me all of the time and realized how unrealistic and non-beneficial that actually was. If life was always ‘good’ and everybody liked us all the time, what would we actually have to work against to become truly better people? If we never had those people in our lives who get us angry or upset and reveal those parts of ourselves to ourselves, how would we grow into stronger and more confident people?

While I did consider quitting, I decided against it. I never intended for this blog to be very popular and I still don’t. I consider it mostly an outlet for my thoughts and a scrapbook of memories that I will have to keep for those dear to me to look back on. I am getting stronger and more confident everyday on my journey to letting all of myself exist by channelling my thoughts.

In letting my true self come out in my writings, I have also had several people message me and tell me that they love reading it and that I am helping them and inspiring them to become their true selves as well. That is what especially gives me joy and confirms to me that when we let our light shine in the world and are not afraid of being ourselves, we unconsciously allow others to do the same. When we take our actions from love instead of fear, we grow and allow for change in our lives and in the lives of others.

I think so many times we get caught up in our thoughts, with worrying about the future, swelling on the past or just a general going through the motions that we forget to appreciate where we are and what we have now. Everyday each one of us is changing, learning and growing and we will continue to do so until we die. And that is the reality, we will all die someday. Life is constantly changing and presenting you opportunities to be who you were created to be and many of us shoot down opportunities all over the place because of fear.

Circumstances are always changing, life and death are experienced daily, children grow up, people will judge and criticize, but people will also love and encourage. We influence each other and we are influenced by others. Life is happening now, you are on now and time is not going to wait for you. You have this one opportunity to live your life to your fullest potential, be who you want to be and live your life the way you really want to. You have this day to choose to break out of your comfortable mediocre existence and reach out and take hold of the life that you truly desire.

When you pass away (which you will), how do you want to be remembered? What do you hope that your life will have meant to others and to the uplifting of the world? If you aren’t living your life in a way that serves your highest potential, what is it that is keeping you back? If it is the fear of what others might think about you, I am sorry to say that is a poor excuse. Is that going to rob you from your potential and expressing yourself as the uniquely created being that you are?

I came up with a list of things that I thought about for myself and my life that I hope to be remembered for:

• Someone who extended love to others
• Cared deeply about the environment, people and animals
• Inspired others to live a life they love
• Appreciated the simple things in life
• Was honest and real, not interested in pretending to be somebody else
• Was an extremely loving father and husband (not married and no kids yet haha)
• Valued time with family and friends
• Enjoyed nature, walking and being outside
• Enjoyed exercise and valued health and happiness
• Respected others opinions
• Set goals and was determined to keep growing, changing and learning
• Knew who he was and what he loved, not afraid of being himself
• Had a passion for writing and sharing with others. Wrote many inspiring things and helped many people
• Was a good cook (those who know me might laugh at this one)
• Friendly
• Not externally or materialistically minded
• Compassionate
• His faith was important to him
• Was interested in spiritual things
• Always saw the best in everyone
• Patient
• Happy and excited for what life would hold
• Never gave up, no matter what!

We don’t often think about the bigger picture and what our lives really mean, but each one of us is unique and has a role that no one else can play in this production we call life. Making a list such as the one above can help you to identify what it is that you truly want for your life and take action toward becoming the person that you want to be.

The one thing to always remember is that you are on now. I need you to do your part, so that I can do mine. Your playing small in life does not serve the world. You were born for greatness and your life is meant to be remembered by every life that you touched. Remember who you are, you are unique and you are different. You aren’t meant to be like anybody else, but you. Only you know what you really love and can follow the voice of your spirit.

Ashley Mwanza

HAVE you ever had the feeling that you are always short of time? The alarm rings and you hop out of bed. Another day is off and running. A quick shower, and the rest, well you know! More and more it feels like our lives have turned into a gruelling race toward a finish line we never reach. No matter how fast we go, no matter how many comforts we forgo in order to quicken our pace, there never seems to be enough time. So what are we really in a rush for?

When was the last time you took a moment to ‘really’ enjoy your morning cup of tea or coffee?  When was the last time you really saw the beauty in nature and enjoyed being present to experience these simple things? Have you ever tried slowing down and just taking a backseat to enjoy the little pleasures in life?

It seems that the faster we go, the farther we fall behind. Ever noticed how hurriedly the days seem to pass by, and you still feel there is so much left to be done. Doesn’t it always seem that there is so much to be done, yet less time do it all? What does it mean to rush through life? Simply put, when you rush through life, you forget to live NOW.  It means not being able to enjoy what you like doing. You don’t appreciate things around you, nor the outdoor, and don’t spend time with your loved ones.

Instead, what do people rushing through life do? They are always working, connected to their laptops or PCs, or on their mobile phones. Or they are checking their emails, blogging, commenting, multitasking, on social media, and keep working endlessly without a break! Such people just don’t wait to stop and think how and where life is heading. They don’t have the time. After a long workweek, the rest of our life becomes a rat race, during which we have little choice but to hurry from activity to activity, with one eye always on the clock. Our Saturday then seems to just evaporate and Sundays turn into a hectic whirlwind of errands before Monday arrives at the speed of light.

We have quickened the pace of life only to become less patient. We have become more organized but less spontaneous and less joyful. We are better prepared to act on the future but less able to enjoy the present and reflect on the past. When you rush through your life as it is, you miss out on the journey. You miss out on living in the present. You miss out on those precious moments of life. 

Wolfgang Sachs rightly affirms that, “A society that lives in the fast lane can never be a sustainable society,” he went on to say “In a fast-paced world we put a lot of energy into arrivals and departures and less into the experience itself.” Imagine a world where everyone slowed down a little.

When you jump from one task to another and forget what you just did, or which direction you just came from, you lose awareness of everything around you, thus lose to live in the moment. You create a vicious cycle for yourself where you find yourself running after time. And as you hurry, you make mistakes, achieve little, and take much more time doing the things that need to be done.

Slow down, step into the present; be aware, alert, and conscious. When you are focused, you can make better choices and feel much more in control. Remember, when you slow down and enjoy life, your will reduce the stress and tension that comes across in your work, family, and relationship. It would give you immense happiness and satisfaction. We all have a chance to slow down. So, stop rushing through life, because in doing so, you are missing out on a lot of things that matter.

How do we begin to apply the brakes in our lives when the world around us seems to be stomping on the gas pedal? Walter Hagen once said, “You’re only here for a short visit. Don’t hurry, don’t worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.” Life isn’t a 100 metre race, it’s a marathon; you need to run long not fast. For that, you need to be like the tortoise; be slow, be steady, and win the race!

- Ashley Mwanza

Lord, as we vote, we are prepared and intending to seek peace for this country. Open our minds to all sides of the issues, give us counsel to choose wisely when the choices fail to offer what we seek and expect of those who might govern your people. 

Lord, we offer you our votes, may they be good, may they speak a just word, may they hasten your reign of peace and bring life and liberty for all. It is the cry of our hearts Lord, that you come and heal our land.

Lord, may it be Your will that votes will be counted faithfully, and may You account our votes. May it be good in Your eyes to give a wise heart to whomever we elect and may You raise for us a government whose rule is for good and blessing, to bring justice and peace to all the inhabitants of Zimbabwe.

Just as we participate in elections, so may we merit to do good works and to repair the country with all our actions. May You give to all the peoples of this country the strength and the will to pursue righteousness and to seek peace as a unified force in order to cause to flourish, throughout Zimbabwe, good life and peace.

We pray for peaceful and democratic elections for your glory. We declare that Zimbabwe is blessed and NOT cursed. Thank you for always being there of our country day after day, moment after moment. Lord we commit the forthcoming elections into your hands, may You Lord BLESS Zimbabwe and its inhabitants.

Amen.

Rabbi David Mevorach Seidenberg & Ashley Mwanza

WHEN you start to put together your emergency management plan or your business continuity management plan, one of the really critical steps is the business impact analysis (BIA). The BIA determines, as a result of extensive questioning of different parts of the business and sometimes actual testing, how the identified risks will affect various business operations. This process establishes business priorities. It also establishes the clear linkages and contingencies between different operations of the business.

The consequence analysis looks at the cost to the business if these risks are not mitigated, but become full-blown. One of the elements of that consequence analysis is placing a dollar value on the loss of functions, assets, inventory, etc. Placing a dollar value on company assets enables us to understand their true value and relative importance to the operation of the whole business.

It may be very difficult to assign a dollar value to a particular set of data or piece of information. A better approach is to create some categories and then apply a band of value to that category. For instance, the base category would be information that is developed, handled and stored by the company. This information may have value for the company but it equally may already be in the public domain. 

There is little sense placing any restriction on it and it would not damage the company if it passed into the public domain. For most companies, this band probably constitutes upwards of 60% of their information holdings. Finally, do a cost/benefit analysis to determine which IP protection measures make sense for your business.

- Ashley Mwanza

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela affectionately known as Madiba turns 95 years today. He may be in hospital but this man has the spirit of a warrior. Mandela is one of our great reminders of perseverance, courage, grace, forgiveness, and a love of freedom and humanity so great it will burn long after he is gone. His ability to rise above his conditions, to stay positive and remain focused  His dignity, humility and character is a model for everyone. His total lack of bitterness, Mandela embraced his enemies with love. He is known for his powerful words, such as, “There is no time to be bitter - there is work to be done.”

Madiba  is a man who knows that any real change starts from within, a true leader. Life and its problems is a continuous struggle and the words of this fine gentleman sum it up, “after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb...There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountaintop of our desires.” As we fight our passions more obsessions will crop up, as we fight for a world of peace more conflict will emerge, hence we should be prepared to fight.

Change within himself led to the great leader that is Mandela. His incredible power as a ‘transformational’ leader came in part through the demonstration of change within himself. Prepared for the presidency by 3 decades in prison and a lifetime resistance against oppression and injustice, he acquired a stalwart, inspiring moral and spiritual courage that enabled him to rise above the hate and recrimination that was so deeply embedded in the apartheid system of his country. He led from his inner strength and offered to all the people a vision of moral reconstruction to guide South Africa’s future, “if there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness,” he went to say. He by no doubt built these two roads in his own heart first.

Mandela is a leader no prison cell, no intimidation, no threat could silence. A man whose belief in the future was so powerful that not even near 30 years behind bars and barbed wire could destroy his dream that millions could be free. His charisma, self-depreciating sense of humour and lack of bitterness over his harsh treatment explains why for millions of people around the world, Nelson Mandela stands, as no other living figure does, for the triumph of dignity and hope over despair and hatred, of self-discipline and love over persecution and evil.

This Mandela is a unsophisticated construction: a good man that fought unspeakable injustice in the form of racial oppression. He reconciled with and forgave what was essentially undeserving oppressors, and won a democratic and multi-racial future for South Africa. “Struggling is the way I live”, are Mandela’s words that are related to South African struggle against tyranny. However for Madiba, the real meaning of life struggle was to overcome obstacles, to hope for something more, and to challenge yourself. In his struggle, Mandela discovered his greatest strength and his country.

Let us contemplate his example as we face so many seemingly insuperable problems and the power and wealth that always seem to stand in the way of liberty and transformation. These simple words of Mandela have a weight and a legitimacy few others could grant them: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” It’s my argument that Mandela really is remarkable, and that much of the fuss about him is warranted. Not because he is a saint. But because his personal narrative is such a powerful human story of redemption. And stories are powerful. Stories help us make sense of the world. They carry emotional weight. We remember them.

Mandela is a great character, somebody with flaws and human desires, someone with whom we can identify, we too have our flaws so he has shown us that we can overcome them. He changed from young firebrand to agent of peace and reconciliation. And through it he changed South Africa. Mandela is a remarkably positive individual. He believes that people are actually good, and he is right we are. He also has a keen understanding of human nature, and unlike most leaders in our world, he has immense self belief freeing him to interact in ways other politico have not been able to.

Madiba dedicated a good part of his life to groom himself into the mould of leadership, and was always mindful of his strengths and weaknesses in his public role. It was a huge but worthy investment he made. His prison years played a key role in his transformation, he apparently went in emotional and headstrong, and walked out balanced and disciplined. In his own words: “I came out mature.” He took to knowing his adversaries very well, a master tactician, who always played to his strengths, understood gray areas like no other, compromised without giving much away, adapted well at every turn life took. And that is a very interesting insight, because a good leader is really, really smart at the core with a genuine shell of humanness. While the humane qualities endear him to the masses, the smartness ensures that he does well in the leadership position. 

Mandela’s life is an excellent example to a lot of people who aspire to lead people, especially when they have no chance of leadership being thrust upon them. Being a leader is certainly hard work, but there are many lessons one can learn from the greats.

- Ashley Mwanza

IF your business's proprietary information has monetary value, it may be a target. Business information theft is prevalent and invisible, and is getting easier and more lucrative considering today's technology, and extremely competitive corporate climate. Threats include compromised trade and patent secrets, hacked company networks, employees using company assets to start competing businesses, or colluding with competitors.

With the huge advancements in technology over recent years, data theft is the new 'invisible' crime and poses a real threat to all businesses. Because employees have access to vast amounts of data, that sensitive information is vulnerable in the hands of a dishonest employee.

Email address books, sales proposals and presentations, customer databases, and contact details are the most common kinds of data taken. Businesses might be losing commercially sensitive information worth thousands of dollars.  This crime has no level It’s happening in all businesses and through all levels of the company, from lowly admin staff right up to senior board level.

What is your information worth? The business critical information of your company. This includes the client list, your charging rates for services or goods, your borrowings, your strategic plan, your financial data, the nature of the contracts of your key people and your perceived competitive advantage relative to your business rivals in the market-place. So, what is that sort of information worth? We will approach the issue from a risk management point of view in the next post...

WE should dream of new inventions, systems, ideas, practices and how we can make Zimbabwe a better place. It is true that the dream requires action to make it come to pass but the dreamer is not the problem. The problem is a world where we are told over and over again to get our heads out of the clouds and to think small. We are constantly pushed by our systems and told we are on our own in this world and that we are an island unto ourselves. We see selfishness and greed lauded as good business sense. We see the poor berated for being poor, because obviously they must be stupid or lazy otherwise they would be rich. More and more we see people being encouraged to embrace prejudice against anyone that's different, or something 'other'. We need to embrace the spirit of Ubuntu!

The Zimbabwe Dream must be for all despite one's race, colour, religion, sex, socioeconomic status, physical ability, national origin or political affiliation. We are chasing dreams in a very difficult environment. But it is the dreamer that sees this obstacle and says "No. Zimbabwe can be better than this," and moves to make that dream a reality. Zimbabweans SHOULD dream, and not just that, but they should dream BIG. Maybe, just maybe, one of those dreamers will change Zimbabwe, Africa and the World.

Looking through history, and even in contemporary times, it is clear that the people that have made a difference and excelled above their generation are those that challenged the general view of things during their time and dared to dream. We should dream of that dream that most term 'the impossible dream.'

Zimbabwe cannot become the ideal beautiful nation unless we deliberately and passionately choose to make it what we desire it to be. I promise to play my part, how about you? As a nation, let us never give up our right to dream big dreams and ruthlessly experimenting with different things until the nation discovers its own niche for transformation. Let us embrace a common vision and work together to realize it. Anything is possible to a determined nation.

Zimbabweans we are all we can be. Let us go on and be it. Many could be discontented with the current status quo in this nation but we must shade off the remnants of self pity and embrace progressive mindsets in all aspects; in thinking and action. Are you that dreamer?

May God bless Zimbabwe and may God be gracious to its inhabitants.

-  Ashley Mwanza

In an interdependent, fast-moving world, organizations are increasingly confronted by risks that are complex in nature and global in consequence. Such risks can be difficult to anticipate and respond to, even for the most seasoned business leaders.

The World Economic Forum’s Risk Response Network provides leaders from the private and public sectors with an independent platform to map, monitor and mitigate global risks.

Its annual Global Risks Report analyses the perceived impact and likelihood of 50 prevalent global risks over a ten year time horizon. The 50 global risks are divided into five categories: economic, environmental, geopolitical, societal and technological risks. Significant interconnections of global risks are analysed as major case studies in the report.

The Global Risks Report 2013 analyses 50 global risks in terms of impact, likelihood and interconnections, based on a survey of over 1000 experts from industry, government and academia.

This year’s findings show that the world is more at risk as persistent economic weakness saps our ability to tackle environmental challenges. The report highlights wealth gaps (severe income disparity) followed by unsustainable government debt (chronic fiscal imbalances) as the top two most prevalent global risks. Following a year scarred by extreme weather, from Hurricane Sandy to flooding in China, respondents rated rising greenhouse gas emissions as the third most likely global risk overall. The findings of the survey fed into an analysis of three major risk cases: Testing Economic and Environmental Resilience, Digital Wildfires in a Hyper-connected World and The Dangers of Hubris on Human Health. In a special report on national resilience, the groundwork is laid for a new country resilience rating, which would allow leaders to benchmark their progress. The report also highlights “X Factors” – emerging concerns which warrant more research, including the rogue deployment of geo-engineering and brain-altering technologies.

• Browse the Report (HTML)
• Download full Report (PDF)

ONE of the many challenges a leader faces is knowing when it is time to move on or step aside. Pope Benedict XVI’s announcement that he would step down at the end of the month is spectacular but not surprising for a man with experience running a vital sector of the Vatican hierarchy. He has prevented the Catholic Church from going through the ordeal of seeing the organization’s chief decision-maker slowly but publicly wither away. He is the first Pope to resign since 1415.

Pope Benedict XVI, who announced his resignation yesterday. His successor is expected to be elected before the end of March. photograph: Reuters/Stefano Rellandini

For the balance of the past millennium, anyway, the man and the office have been considered separable only by death. So Pope Benedict’s decision to step down is a major change in tradition, and a welcome one. Knowing when to resign, and how, isn’t easy. Such insights seemed virtually impossible for the absolute ruler of an organization bound by tradition.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said of the pope, “Benedict XVI is and will remain one of the most important religious thinkers of our time.”

Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation is a positive sign in that it shows the pope is, after all, a man, and not the office, whose personal needs are distinct from those of the Church. It is a distinctly pragmatic and modern statement, and leaders the world over would do well to take a lesson from it.

Even if his mind remains sharp, the office brings with it a schedule that would exhaust men a quarter of the pope's age. Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation holds a message for all leaders, especially those pragmatic leaders who realize that leadership is defined by action and a capacity to get things done. The lesson is simple. As a leader, your responsibility to your organization, to your cause, and to your vision is realistic self-monitoring. “Unto thine own self be true,” we’re advised.  In this case, the truth was clear to him, and he acted decisively, with clarity of purpose and clarity of mind and heart.  When clarity is present so strongly, no outside deliberations are necessary to provide “cover” or comfort, clarity is the comfort.

Harvard Business School professor and leadership historian Nancy F. Koehn weighed in with her thoughts on leadership and what the pope’s resignation means:

“At one level this resignation feels really distant, and at other, when you really peel it down, it's not. It's about how much is on leaders' plates and how much that's not going to change. Quite the opposite: he's stepping down because it's not like it's going to get better tomorrow.

So what's the answer for leaders who are older, who are sick, who are tired? Is it to step down when you feel like you can no longer do it anymore? Or is there an increased pressure to keep working as long as you can?

I don't think this is primarily about age. I think it's really about energy and enthusiasm and a kind of physical, moral, intellectual, and emotional verve — an appetite. It's something that every leader is responsible for maintaining and feeding.

Pope Benedict XVI is someone who has probably looked himself in the mirror and looked at his predecessors — no one else has done this — and said, "For me, I need to do this. Because I'm taking an honest look at my physical and mental and spiritual balance sheet, and I don't have enough assets right now. In some ways, it's an act of great responsibility. Of really responding to his spiritual duty.”

Pope Benedict XVI waves during a mass conducted by Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, for the 900th anniversary of the Order of the Knights of Malta at the St. Peter Basilica in Vatican Feb. 9. Reuters

Pope Benedict has always put the Church first and views himself as its servant (so too should leaders of every institution). His resignation demonstrates that he is first and foremost humble and realizes that the Church in times of difficulty needs strong leadership. He is too infirm to lead. Leaders of every institution should pay heed. 

“With typical humility, courage and love for the church he has clearly come to the view that the Lord now wants him to use his remaining physical and spiritual energies by serving the church in prayer. I think this is a profound act of humility, a conscientious and responsible decision to hand over the ministry of the successor of Saint Peter in a time of great challenge for the church and for faith in the modern world.” - Cardinal Seán Brady (Ireland)

In resigning, he put the good of his organization of over a billion people that requires active, day-to-day leadership, especially during these complex modern times – ahead of himself. The primary lesson that leaders can learn from Pope Benedict XVI is honest self-reflection. Leaders need to make an honest examination of what they can and are willing to do. In a statement, the pope said in order to govern “…both strength of mind and body are necessary, strength which in the last few months, has deteriorated in me to the extent that I have had to recognize my incapacity to adequately fulfil the ministry entrusted to me.” 

Focus on what, why and how. That clarity of purpose often translates into an organization’s shared values – an approach that may be easier for a religion than a business – but a valuable one, all the same. If we know our own hearts, and look to the needs of others, we will lead through service, for the greatest good. This noble gent has done the right thing. Something that so many leaders have failed to do.

I sincerely wish Pope Benedict XVI (Joseph Ratzinger) every good blessing!   

    

- Ashley Mwanza