Forwarding the Conversation

Bobby Kennedy on the quality of youth:

“Our answer is the world’s hope; it is to rely on youth. The cruelties and obstacles of this swiftly changing planet will not yield to obsolete dogmas and outworn slogans. It cannot be moved by those who cling to a present which is already dying, who prefer the illusion of security to the excitement and danger which comes with even the most peaceful progress.

This world demands the qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. It is a revolutionary world we live in, and thus, as I have said in Latin America and Asia, in Europe and in the United States, it is young people who must take the lead. Thus you, and your young compatriots everywhere, have had thrust upon you a greater burden of responsibility than any generation that has ever lived.”

Youth is a quality and a state of mind that gives us the ability to continually see the world through new eyes and different lenses. Bobby Kennedy spoke of the outworn dogmas and slogans of the previous generation and cited that what we need is the quality of youth. If we are to tackle the growing problems of tomorrow we need to go back to the visions of yesterday. We need to go back to a time when we saw the world differently: before we decided things are just the way they are. 

When a newborn baby opens its eyes for the first time it sees a world without labels and identities. It sees a world through the eyes of infinite possibility. That is the quality that we need now, not just in our leaders but among the general populace. Kennedy said that in order to create the world that we all want to pass down to our children that we require the “qualities of youth; not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of the imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.”

It’s time that we demand this quality of our leaders and of ourselves. I will now leave you with some questions to spur some creative thinking…

When you were a child how did you see the world?

How does the way that you saw the world as a child differ from the way you perceive the world now?

What is not possible now that you thought was possible when you were a child?

Who do you know that as an adult displays the ‘qualities of youth’ that Kennedy describes?

If you know a person like that, how do they personify these qualities?

Bobby Kennedy is an example of someone who displayed the qualities of youth. The video below is another speech that he gave called the Mindless Menace of Violence which highlights his thinking.

Take a look at Google’s philanthropic arm, google.org. A component of this arm is called Inform and Empower. Below is a description of the community engagement component the initiative:

Google.org supports efforts to generate accountability and “bottom up” citizen engagement to influence the quality of public services. We will support efforts to provide easily accessible information to people so that they can choose the best strategy for themselves and their community. We will use multiple modes of communication (such as media, mobile, e-kiosks and other technologies) to allow a broader range of people to access information and we will seek innovative methods for disseminating information. We’re focused on:

• Informing individuals and communities of their rights, entitlements, choices, and quality of public services
• Providing tools and information to increase access to and use of available services
• Supporting civil society organizations that strengthen links between communities and policy makers.

Does information alone really have the ability to empower? How does information empower individuals and how do those individuals use that informationt to empower their communities? How can information best be used to empower individuals? What more can google.org do use information in a way that truly empowers people?

Leadership – In order to create leaders we must empower people. People must have a vision and then act in fulfillment of that vision. This gives the leader the ability to create rather than innovate. Outcomes and deliverables give you innovation. Vision and commitments give you creation. We need leaders who have the ability to create.

This TED Talk is by a man named Patrick Awuah who started a school to train leaders in Africa.

Educating Leaders in Africa

Here is a fantastic TED Talk on classical music as it relates to leadership by Benjamin Zander. The essential idea that comes out of this is that a true leader allows others to truly explore their own talents in a constructive and creative way. Apparently, classical music provides us with a great example of how that can happen. Take a look…

Classical Music Through Shining Eyes