Knowledge is to consciousness
Knowledge is to consciousness
“Knowledge is to consciousness what the signpost is to the traveler: just an indication of the way which has been traveled before. Knowledge is not even in direct proportion to being.”
I spent the last few days in Boston. As many of you know, I currently live in Basel, Switzerland. Cambridge (the one related to Boston) was my last U.S. residence.
My trip, unfortunately, left me with little time to robustly engage with my Boston-based community beyond the proximate (i.e., time and availability) and the necessary (i.e., client engagement).
One delight I had was the chance to co-facilitate an executive dialogue about psychological safety, belonging + un-belonging, and intellectual honesty with my dear brother and mentor, Howard Ross.
In 2003, I was building a job board business. We had two healthcare-related job portals. The first was called Georgia HealthWorks and the second was Diversity HealthWorks.
As I was working to grow the brand of Diversity HealthWorks, which was focused on helping healthcare organizations engage with ethnically, linguistically, culturally, experientially, and underrepresented job candidates nationally (in contrast to Georgia HealthWorks which was regional), I cold-called/emailed about ten diversity consulting firms.
Reconstructing Inclusion by Amri B. Johnson | Book Launch with Howard Ross
I can’t recall what I expected from my cold calls, but I can remember that I wanted to figure out what these firms did and where they might be able to partner with us on behalf of their healthcare clients.
Eight of the ten didn’t respond. One replied, but we never had a conversation. Howard’s business partner (at the firm formerly known as Cook Ross) and wife, Leslie Traub, did. Leslie, like me, is trained as an epidemiologist. That created some initial affinity. And another connection was that my business was exclusively in public health and healthcare, while theirs boasted several high-profile healthcare/hospital system clients.
That initial conversation with Leslie led to me driving to Nashville, Tennesee where Howard was doing a workshop, interestingly with a group of allied healthcare professionals, administrators, and executives. I cannot recall exactly what Howard was sharing with the group.
I remember his ability to connect and share stories with the audience, creating a generative state. Through his delivery and sharing of energy, they were primed to engage in more open, caring, safe, and trust-based dialogues for better health and well-being in the communities they served. At the end of that session, while the information he shared was important, grounded in fact, and relevant to their daily ways of being, I am sure they didn’t retain most of it.
Related post: What’s the relationship between DEI and Trust?
Howard and I haven’t worked together since 2008. Some of his stories were familiar, some were not. We naturally fell into a rhythm in preparation and throughout the session. Facilitating with someone as skilled as Howard gives you space to be 100% present. Space to peer deeper; more depth into what is not surfacing. This is impossible without a relaxed mind and eye.
Like the group in Nashville in 2003, the group we worked with won’t likely retain most of what we shared. However, they will recall how we shared it, the energy, timing, and reflexivity. They will recall how they began a shift.
The seamless nature of being able to respond at the moment from a well of wisdom–utilizing the proper knowledge at the right time to awaken the wisdom of the so-called “other”.
They will remember the intentions and impact—the mindset shift in the moments they engaged with one another. And, what was created within and amongst the group of senior executives who are constantly responding to the throes of global business. Given the buzz that remained as we exited our session, I realized we had awakened their collective wisdom.
I have learned tons from Howard. The skills, tacitly and explicitly acquired from Howard, were embers for the fire that has forged my professional journey in this space.
And, what I treasure the most from Howard is his warmth, sincerity, generosity, and kindness. I have always remembered that–and, these were most familiar to me upon reconnection. I was reminded of the gifts that keep on giving,
Next to last, I would like to give a special shoutout to Collette Phillps and Harris Zhao at Get Konnected. They hosted an event at the location of my colleague, State Street Chief Diversity Officer, Paul Francisco. The timing was impeccable (that I could be in town to experience it) and the opportunity to have the connection between Black History Month and the Lunar New Year celebrated together was heartening.
Lastly, I think hearing more of D.H. Lawrence’s quote from Fantasia of the Unconscious is worthwhile:
“Yet we must know, if only in order to learn not to know. The supreme lesson of human consciousness is to learn how not to know. That is, how not to interfere. That is, how to live dynamically, from the great Source, and not statically, like machines driven by ideas and principles from the head, or automatically, from one fixed desire. At last, knowledge must be put into its true place in the living activity of man. And we must know deeply, in order even to do that.
That which sublimates from the dynamic consciousness into the mental consciousness has alone any value.”
I hope this was helpful. . . Make it a great day! ✌🏿
In this episode of the ‘Reconstructing Inclusion’ podcast, I interview Laura Smith, a celebrated organizational researcher and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) strategist. Laura shares her journey from Detroit to Europe, her encounters with distinct cultures, and the notion of work in different countries. She highlights the significance of DEI in startup and scale-up companies, discussing a data-driven approach to understanding employee safety, company culture, and readiness to respond.