Maverick Intelligence - Dare to Do the Right Thing
Mavericks matter … because they bring us the future. George Ambler, Executive Partner, Gartner, South Africa - The Practice of Leadership
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination … We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them. Albert Einstein 1879-1955
Many Happy Returns
I have just posted the beginning of the first chapter of The Unisey, following on from The Unisey Premise, posted here on 7 June 2010. This is in celebration of Jeff Cartwright’s birthday who would be 78 years old today. In my mind, he is still very much with us, continuing his great work, supporting me and being there for me whenever I think of him which is every day … that’s every single day without exception and with much love. Happy Birthday, Dad!
I thought a great way to celebrate this special occasion would be for me to share some thoughts on his work and document my take on his approach which I have called 'Maverick Intelligence'. It feels appropriate, on his birthday, to talk about his remarkable insights as a thought-leader, inventor, chemist, business owner, philosopher, mentor and friend.
Jeff Cartwright is a friend of humanity because he believes in our individual, unique and collective potential as human beings to create a beautiful life for ourselves on this earth. Through a lifetime’s research and study, he came to understand the true nature of Self. From our ability to survive with goodness (aka Viktor Frankl) to our ability to destroy with hatred (aka Adolf Hitler), he was acutely aware of our capabilities and limitations (especially his own) and he set out, from an early age, to find a way to reverse our journey towards destruction and find a better way (The Unisey).
Cultural Transformation
Jeff Cartwright coined the phrase ‘Cultural Transformation’ for the title of his book published in 1999. This was based on a six year dissertation entitled ‘Motivation in Organisational Work Cultures’. His MPhil degree was tutored by Professor Paul Webley, Head of Psychology at the University of Exeter where he founded the Culture Management Research Association in association with the former Economic Psychology Research Group. His aim was to enable members to initiate and participate in research and development projects that would promote the understanding of culture management and its practical applications. His work was recognised as a world first for British research and he was elected as an Honorary Fellow of the university. The Nine Factors Survey for ‘Improving the Soul of your Business’ was the methodology we used in our business to transform workplace culture, productivity and performance.
Today, 11 years later, I am coining the phrase ‘Maverick Intelligence’ as a starting point to explore ‘intelligence’ and what this means in its myriad of forms today. My findings to date will be posted to coincide with the forthcoming launch of The Unisey Hub ‘Sense’ Sub Groups on LinkedIn. This is my way of progressing Dad’s work by identifying best practice (ie, what works in business) and connecting this to the needs and aspirations of organisations, volunteers and young people working in our local communities.
Maverick Intelligence
Jeff Cartwright was a maverick with applied intelligence. He was a maverick who would not accept allowing things to happen by default, he wanted us to create the best way of doing things by design. He was a maverick who was passionately interested in discovering the truth in all things, even if it was just one sentence found in a scientific work riddled with assumptions. He was a maverick who wasn’t afraid to be kind, considerate, honest, thoughtful and unrecognised, even though he went out of his way to recognise and reward the talents and abilities of others. He was a maverick whose motivational methodology was rejected by an unacceptable amount of people who were afraid to trust their people and make the radical change from an autocratic to democratic style of leadership. Above all, he was a maverick who stood by his principles unfailingly, sometimes to the perceived detriment of himself, his business and his family.
Jeff Cartwright was no ordinary maverick because the change he advocated was for the benefit of mankind, the theories he created from scratch were the result of a mindboggling amount of study into all manner of subjects including, amongst others, science, chemistry, religion, economics, culture, philosophy, psychology, nature and natural law. His used to say ‘It’s all very well getting rid of something but you have to find something better to put in its place.’ He filtered everything down to its most fundamental truth, he made mistakes which he openly admitted and tirelessly tried to learn from and he learned how to use his intelligence to improve what had come before. This relentless drive to find the truth made his work all the more profound.
The Continuum
To continue Jeff Cartwright's work is my heart-felt ambition, to honour the principles he instilled in me. I dedicate my life to this journey and to working with Unisey Hub Members who have so generously volunteered to become part of this continuum, to work together to be the best we can be and find a better way.
