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The Merkury Principle I read this: “The new breed of disrupters share some common characteristics: Unencumbered development: While employees at traditional companies are constrained within 9-to-5 routines, the engineers and developers at disruptive companies often are gathering for late-night “hackathons,” and are trying to outdo one another with new products and innovations, which are rolled out in a rapid-fire manner. There’s lots of room for experimentation and failure. Twitter started out this way. Unconstrained growth: “Big-bang disruptions collapse the product life cycle we know,” Downes and Nunes point out. The five distinct customer segments—innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards — are slashed down to two segments: “trial users, who often participate in product development, and everyone else.” New product cycles: Traditional companies have months-long and years-long cycles of innovation, in which new ideas are vetted, approved, developed, tested, and brought to market. “The innovators collectively get it wrong, wrong, [[MORE]]wrong—and then unbelievably right,” Downes and Nunes point out. Undisciplined strategy: Traditional companies have carefully laid-out plans and strategies, with different departments handling various phases of R&D, operations and sales, all being constantly tweaked to attain optimum results. “Big-bang disrupters, however, are thoroughly undisciplined,” say Downes and Nunes. “They start life with better performance at a lower price and greater customization. They compete with mainstream products right from the start.” The language and perception all come from the materialistic perception of evolution, but the essential ideas are close to my heart. Conscious Disruption Recently, a friend and I consciously chose to disrupt an organization. We did not do this by direct engagement with the people in discussions or conversations. Such activities often lead nowhere and moreover, we were not perceived by the leaders of this organisation as being able to help. So we acted from our own conscience. We acted because we loved the essence of the original idea behind the organisation, which we (and many others) viewed as being disrespected by the management. Our actions formed around a conversation between me and my friend through art in an enclosed space, which we rented from the organisation. Our work was visible for all to see. And so we became like an idea, germinating in the mind of the organisation, yet not supported by the larger whole. (The reason we were in there was because we had paid to be there, which raises interesting questions around trust and alignment to core values. In other words, because we had paid, they in turn paid less attention to who we were and what we were intending to do). He would create something, then I would pull it apart. I would create something and he would pull it apart. Or we re-ordered.  These actions were symbolic in that they mirrored what we wanted to see happening in the organisation. One particular action was deeply symbolic of the transformation we wanted to see. It was so symbolic that it actually involved the physical sign that stood at the entrance to the organization!  They had been kicked down many times by someone in the village, angry at the institution behind the organisation. Rather than fix the sign at the entrance,we decided to walk it up into the art space. There, my friend worked on it as an installation piece until it formed part of a work called “Sign Language”. He changed the sign. It looked the same in shape and form, but the colours and the words were different. On a set day, we put the sign back out at the front of the organisation. We had an unveiling ceremony and the new sign was revealed. Many saw the sign, of course. Some were delighted. Some were outraged. This led to conversation, debates, conflict and hopefully resolution. The management viewed us with suspicion. Trust was broken. Yet they had to ask themselves questions and they were forced to respond. Sadly, they responded over time with more control mechanisms rather than freeing up people to create. Were our actions successful? Only time will tell.  What is certain is that these activities led to the formation of a concept that my friend and I are calling - The Merkury Principle - invite conscious disruption into your life.
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The Merkury Principle

I read this:

“The new breed of disrupters share some common characteristics:

  • Unencumbered development: While employees at traditional companies are constrained within 9-to-5 routines, the engineers and developers at disruptive companies often are gathering for late-night “hackathons,” and are trying to outdo one another with new products and innovations, which are rolled out in a rapid-fire manner. There’s lots of room for experimentation and failure. Twitter started out this way.
  • Unconstrained growth: “Big-bang disruptions collapse the product life cycle we know,” Downes and Nunes point out. The five distinct customer segments—innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards — are slashed down to two segments: “trial users, who often participate in product development, and everyone else.”
  • New product cycles: Traditional companies have months-long and years-long cycles of innovation, in which new ideas are vetted, approved, developed, tested, and brought to market. “The innovators collectively get it wrong, wrong,

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The Meeting I am becoming more aware that my greatest moments come from the meetings between myself and all things which are not myself. Of course, if I move to the perspective of wholeness I am All that I am. In the physical, when I move and meet another person or animal or tree or even an idea or story, I have the opportunity to delve into parts of myself that I may not have met. And so meeting another is meeting myself. When two souls meet there is greater potential and in the words of a faviurite thinker of mine, “A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.” Rudolf Steiner.
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The Meeting

I am becoming more aware that my greatest moments come from the meetings between myself and all things which are not myself.

Of course, if I move to the perspective of wholeness I am All that I am. In the physical, when I move and meet another person or animal or tree or even an idea or story, I have the opportunity to delve into parts of myself that I may not have met.

And so meeting another is meeting myself. When two souls meet there is greater potential and in the words of a faviurite thinker of mine,

“A healthy social life is found only, when in the mirror of each soul the whole community finds its reflection, and when in the whole community the virtue of each one is living.” Rudolf Steiner.

I am the beast in man’s colourful cloth I am the thread that shapes your blue wrath I am the sculptor who observes your blood I am the doctor who prepared the flood I am the cloud that knows your true name I am the teacher who set up the game I am the light which devours the dark I am the darkness: now build the Ark.
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I am the beast in man’s colourful cloth

I am the thread that shapes your blue wrath

I am the sculptor who observes your blood

I am the doctor who prepared the flood

I am the cloud that knows your true name

I am the teacher who set up the game

I am the light which devours the dark

I am the darkness: now build the Ark.

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