{"id":180,"date":"2023-10-22T00:09:19","date_gmt":"2023-10-21T23:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/?p=180"},"modified":"2025-05-03T20:50:35","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T03:50:35","slug":"my-friend-abraham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/?p=180","title":{"rendered":"My friend Abraham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em><strong>&#8220;If you deliberately plan on being less than you can be, then I warn you that you&#8217;ll be unhappy for the rest of your life.&#8221;<\/strong><\/em> Maslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Until now, my entries have been carefully groomed to be warm and non-confrontational. I intend to continue to speak softly and avoid saying anything that might turn off prospective readers. As I walk a few less careful paths, I will be vulnerable in the room.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you have read my introduction, I hope you took away that I am not a partisan and not interested in contributing to the escalation of violent discourse, which is too familiar in our society. If you have enjoyed my musings, please look for a book with similar ambitions coming early next year. But today, I would like to talk about one of my lowest seasons and how one of my heroes, Abraham Maslow, picked me up and still carries me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In my coming book, Better Places, I talk about my life story, from experiencing hunger and transient living as a child to finding purpose and financial success (significantly in that order) and what shaped me on the path. I have already shared with the readers of this blog that among the most significant influences included military service and my years living in Norway.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The work culture in Norway did not immediately resonate with me. I recall being introduced to the corporate doctor on the first day of my new position at Ericsson (the large telecommunications firm). I took his message to me as na\u00efve. As I recall, it was something like this: &#8220;<em>Robert,&nbsp;<\/em>he said,<em>&nbsp;I know you are driven and knowing you are American, I imagine you work hard. But please, let me know if things get hard; at any point, if you feel like you are not comfortable or need a break, call me, and I can send you home.&#8221;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have grown to appreciate this attitude, and it&#8217;s very close to a policy we have at Agile Six (read&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/builtin.com\/brand-studio\/our-wholeness-really-matters-how-agile-sixs-self-management-structure-and-mission\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">more here)<\/a>. We call it Wellness Days (as opposed to the more negative term Sick Days) and sometimes refer to them simply as &#8216;nope days&#8217;; I can&#8217;t do this today. Unlike many firms with Sick Day policies, we set no limit on Wellness Days and require no management or doctor&#8217;s approval. We trust instead that our colleagues want to do great work from a great place of wholeness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While this is radical thinking by some American corporate standards, it was standard in Norway that professionals were trusted by default. The supportive social net also meant that the consequences of unemployment did not induce as much existential fear. I remember thinking,&nbsp;<em>&#8220;This can&#8217;t work!&#8221;<\/em>&nbsp;And wondering, &#8220;<em>Why do people work when they really don&#8217;t have to?&#8221;<\/em>&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There is a fundamental but profound reason for this, which Maslow explained. People are unique, beautiful, and purpose-driven creatures. All things being equal,&nbsp;<strong>when people are healthy and supported<\/strong>, they want to work, they yearn to contribute, to express their value to the world and to feel seen, heard and valued, something Maslow referred to as meta-motivation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a sceptic, I often watched national unemployment and GDP figures in Norway and the USA, looking for a &#8216;gotcha moment&#8217;. While these figures are hard to compare in differing systems, they consistently supported the idea that working less (or less triggered) produced more.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I soon learned that many things were different. This is best summed up by the common phrase, &#8220;We work to live, not live to work&#8221;. I heard this on many occasions as my Norwegian colleagues practically sat on me with love, as they attempted, ultimately with futility, to convince me that I had more to offer the world than only my professional ambition. Workdays were strictly enforced at 7.5 hours, including two coffee breaks and lunch; we all did these ceremonies together. Initially, I would attempt to work through coffee or leave half an hour late. One by one, colleagues would file past my office, &#8220;<em>Coffee break, Robert, we all go&#8221;<\/em>, or &#8220;<em>Time to go home, we&#8217;ll be back tomorrow!<\/em>&#8221; I remember thinking this was a &#8220;blue collar&#8221; attitude, a distinction I also would learn was not really a part of Norwegian lexicon. Balance, wholeness, and work-life boundaries were not the sole rights of the non-exempt employee; they were the rule, even if there were exceptions in some companies (I suspect especially in American-owned companies).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">(Teaser Alert) It would be best if you bought my book to hear the details of my burn-out story. Still, for the sake of this blog, I will say that my scepticism and my ego eventually led me away from Ericsson to take a &#8216;more important&#8217; role for an American company as their Program Director in Northern Europe. This role literally almost killed me. I landed in the hospital with panic attacks that profoundly shaped my journey. During that season, I discovered that the Ericsson doctor was right. This is when I embraced my humanity and turned to Maslow to better understand it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many readers are familiar with the work of Abraham Maslow. His hierarchy of needs is an idea in psychology proposed in his 1943 paper &#8220;A Theory of Human Motivation&#8221;. I first encountered his work while in management training at Ericsson. I describe in my book how understanding the role of needs gratifications empowers us, and myself in particular, to transcend. As specific needs are met (including safety, food, shelter, and esteem) that were denied to me as a child, new (higher level) appetites emerge. And many societies are less conducive to meeting needs than Norway. There is an obvious case to meet lower-level needs more universally so that more of our taxpayers will transcend sooner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Most recently, I have discovered the latter works of Maslow in the collection of essays called&nbsp;<em>The Further Reaches of Human Nature<\/em>. Nothing has impacted my motivation to create this blog and write my book more than this collection. In these essays, published posthumously, Maslow appears vulnerable; he interrogates his work while building upon it simultaneously. I will share some of these essays in the future, but the one on my heart today, and I recommend it strongly, is the very last in the book and perhaps one of the last things he ever gave the world.&nbsp;<em>A Theory of Metamotivation: The Biological Rooting of the Value-Life.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One gets the feeling in reading Maslow&#8217;s late works that there was something inside himself that he had failed to catalogue in his hierarchy of needs. Perhaps he had experienced self-actualization, which was previously the pinnacle of the hierarchy, what he also described as B-realm experiences (the appreciation of being) above the gratification of deficiency needs and still had appetites. Abraham, unfortunately, died early at 62; as I approach this season, I can relate to experiencing needs above and beyond those of my 30&#8217;s or 40&#8217;s, which I describe as post-egoic and spiritual.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maslow perceived these motivations as spiritual and did not add them to his earlier hierarchy of biologically motivational needs. But if we are the products of evolution, whatever characterizes the human species must be biological? He further asserted that only a tiny percentage of human beings are motivated at this level, so he coined the terms&#8217; metaneeds&#8217; and &#8216;metamotivation&#8217; as if they were somehow beyond what could be defined as a characteristic of the whole human species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is where I disagree with my hero. By his own logic, this percentage is a product of how well society meets lower-level needs. I saw more Norwegians seeking meta-motivation than Americans. I also saw more Americans seeking it in places where lower needs are taken for granted. Here, we might draw conclusions regarding the business case for a better social safety net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As I said, Maslow seems vulnerable and interrogates his work in these late essays. While they are lesser known, I can not recommend them enough. He finally conceded that these spiritual motivations are also part of our biological nature as members of the human species. We are waking up to the universal nature of spiritual needs as a society. As communities and employers, it becomes our responsibility to support them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His friend and colleague Anthony Sutich wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>He told me that he had just completed writing a paper that was, in his own words, &#8216;\u2026the culmination of 30 years of work in the field of psychology.&#8217;\u2026&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marshal Rosenberg, the creator of the concept of Non-Violent Communications, said,&nbsp;<em>&#8220;Everything we do is in service of our needs. When this concept is applied to our view of others, we&#8217;ll see that we have no real enemies, that what others do to us is the best possible thing they know to do to get their needs met.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Understanding how humans serve needs and unfold meaning was the business case for those &#8216;nope days&#8217; mentioned earlier. These &#8216;higher needs&#8217; are the raw materials of inspiration and better products and services. If and when we are not well, not feeling safe, not feeling loved, not feeling whole, we are not nearly as effective, and we may even be counter-productive to others with whom we work. Showing up entirely and well is critical to creating great ideas, products and teams.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But Maslow describes it more like falling in love. He says there is a merger of what we need to do (external obligation) and what we want to do (intrinsic needs); when these two things are the same, we have our calling. I have experienced this feeling in church, and it has come and gone with the seasons of my life. But this season, I am called to share what I have learned in my cultural travels via this blog and book. I both want to do this and, at the same time, need to do it. It is what Maslow called in the essay My Destiny. I find it incredibly refreshing to discover these concepts outside of the church, not in any way to discount what I have felt inside, but to recognize the universality of spiritual needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cCan we create soulful workplaces \u2013 schools, hospitals, businesses, and nonprofits \u2013 where our talents can blossom and our callings can be honored?\u201d<\/strong><br>\u2014 Frederic Laloux<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large is-resized\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"672\" height=\"504\" data-attachment-id=\"413\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/?attachment_id=413\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/betterplaces.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/norwegian-flag.png?fit=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1024,768\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-title=\"norwegian-flag\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/betterplaces.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/norwegian-flag.png?fit=672%2C504&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/betterplaces.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/norwegian-flag.png?resize=672%2C504&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-413\" style=\"width:74px;height:auto\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u00abHvis du med vilje planlegger \u00e5 v\u00e6re mindre enn du kan v\u00e6re, advarer jeg deg om at du vil v\u00e6re ulykkelig resten av livet.\u00bb<\/strong> \u2013 Maslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Fram til n\u00e5 har innleggene mine v\u00e6rt n\u00f8ye utformet for \u00e5 v\u00e6re varme og ikke-konfronterende. Jeg har til hensikt \u00e5 fortsette \u00e5 snakke mykt og unng\u00e5 \u00e5 si noe som kan st\u00f8te potensielle lesere. Men n\u00e5r jeg n\u00e5 beveger meg inn p\u00e5 noen mindre forsiktige stier, vil jeg v\u00e6re s\u00e5rbar i rommet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hvis du har lest introduksjonen min, h\u00e5per jeg du forst\u00e5r at jeg ikke er partisk og ikke interessert i \u00e5 bidra til eskaleringen av det voldelige ordskiftet som er altfor kjent i v\u00e5rt samfunn. Hvis du har likt mine tanker, se etter en bok med lignende ambisjoner som kommer tidlig neste \u00e5r. Men i dag vil jeg snakke om en av mine laveste perioder og hvordan en av mine helter, Abraham Maslow, l\u00f8ftet meg opp \u2013 og fortsatt b\u00e6rer meg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I min kommende bok, <em>Better Places<\/em>, snakker jeg om min livshistorie \u2013 fra \u00e5 oppleve sult og ustabilt bosted som barn til \u00e5 finne mening og \u00f8konomisk suksess (i den rekkef\u00f8lgen), og hva som formet meg p\u00e5 veien. Jeg har allerede delt med leserne av denne bloggen at noen av de viktigste p\u00e5virkningene inkluderte milit\u00e6rtjeneste og mine \u00e5r i Norge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arbeidskulturen i Norge resonnerte ikke umiddelbart med meg. Jeg husker at jeg ble introdusert for bedriftslegen f\u00f8rste dag i min nye stilling hos Ericsson (det store telekommunikasjonsfirmaet). Jeg oppfattet budskapet hans som naivt. Som jeg husker det, sa han noe slikt: \u00abRobert, jeg vet at du er ambisi\u00f8s, og siden du er amerikaner, antar jeg at du jobber hardt. Men v\u00e6r s\u00e5 snill, si ifra hvis det blir vanskelig \u2013 n\u00e5r som helst du f\u00f8ler deg ukomfortabel eller trenger en pause, ring meg, s\u00e5 kan jeg sende deg hjem.\u00bb<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeg har l\u00e6rt \u00e5 sette pris p\u00e5 denne holdningen, og den ligner veldig p\u00e5 en policy vi har hos Agile Six (les mer her). Vi kaller det <em>Wellness Days<\/em> (i motsetning til det mer negative begrepet <em>Sick Days<\/em>) og noen ganger bare \u2018nope-dager\u2019 \u2013 jeg klarer ikke dette i dag. I motsetning til mange firmaer med sykedagspolitikk, har vi ingen grense for Wellness Days og krever ingen godkjenning fra ledelse eller lege. Vi stoler heller p\u00e5 at kollegaene v\u00e5re \u00f8nsker \u00e5 gj\u00f8re en god jobb fra et sted av helhet og balanse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Selv om dette er radikalt tenkt etter amerikansk m\u00e5lestokk, var det standard i Norge at fagpersoner ble m\u00f8tt med tillit. Det st\u00f8ttende sosiale sikkerhetsnettet betydde ogs\u00e5 at konsekvensene av arbeidsledighet ikke fremkalte like mye eksistensiell frykt. Jeg husker at jeg tenkte: <em>\u00abDette kan da ikke fungere!\u00bb<\/em> og undret meg: <em>\u00abHvorfor jobber folk n\u00e5r de egentlig ikke m\u00e5?\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Det finnes en grunnleggende, men dyp, forklaring p\u00e5 dette \u2013 noe Maslow forklarte. Mennesker er unike, vakre og drevet av form\u00e5l. Alt annet likt, n\u00e5r folk er friske og st\u00f8ttet, \u00f8nsker de \u00e5 arbeide. De lengter etter \u00e5 bidra, uttrykke sin verdi til verden og f\u00f8le seg sett, h\u00f8rt og verdsatt \u2013 noe Maslow kalte <em>metamotivasjon<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Som skeptiker studerte jeg ofte nasjonale arbeidsledighets- og BNP-tall i Norge og USA, p\u00e5 jakt etter et slags \u00abaha-\u00f8yeblikk\u00bb. Selv om systemene er vanskelige \u00e5 sammenligne direkte, viste tallene stadig at det \u00e5 jobbe mindre (eller mindre stresset) ofte f\u00f8rte til bedre resultater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jeg l\u00e6rte snart at mye var annerledes. Dette oppsummeres best i den vanlige frasen: <em>\u00abVi jobber for \u00e5 leve, ikke lever for \u00e5 jobbe.\u00bb<\/em> Jeg h\u00f8rte dette mange ganger, mens mine norske kollegaer n\u00e6rmest over\u00f8ste meg med kj\u00e6rlighet i sitt fors\u00f8k \u2013 til slutt forgjeves \u2013 p\u00e5 \u00e5 overbevise meg om at jeg hadde mer \u00e5 tilby verden enn bare yrkesambisjon. Arbeidsdager ble strengt h\u00e5ndhevet til 7,5 timer, inkludert to kaffepauser og lunsj \u2013 vi gjennomf\u00f8rte disse ritene sammen. I begynnelsen pr\u00f8vde jeg \u00e5 jobbe gjennom pausene eller dra en halvtime senere. En etter en kom kollegaene forbi kontoret mitt: \u00abKaffepause, Robert, vi g\u00e5r alle sammen\u00bb, eller \u00abTid for \u00e5 g\u00e5 hjem \u2013 vi er tilbake i morgen!\u00bb Jeg husker jeg tenkte dette var en \u00abarbeiderklasse-holdning\u00bb, en distinksjon jeg senere l\u00e6rte ikke eksisterte i det norske vokabularet. Balanse, helhet og grenser mellom arbeid og liv var ikke forbeholdt lavtl\u00f8nte \u2013 de var normen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>(Smakebit)<\/strong> Du b\u00f8r kj\u00f8pe boka mi for \u00e5 f\u00e5 detaljene om utbrentheten min. Men for denne bloggens skyld vil jeg si at skepsisen og egoet mitt f\u00f8rte meg bort fra Ericsson til en \u2018viktigere\u2019 rolle i et amerikansk selskap som Program Director i Nord-Europa. Den rollen holdt p\u00e5 \u00e5 ta livet av meg. Jeg havnet p\u00e5 sykehus med panikkanfall som formet reisen min dypt. I den perioden inns\u00e5 jeg at bedriftslegen p\u00e5 Ericsson hadde rett. Da omfavnet jeg min menneskelighet og vendte meg til Maslow for \u00e5 forst\u00e5 den bedre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Mange kjenner til Abraham Maslows arbeid. Hans behovspyramide er et psykologisk konsept introdusert i 1943-artikkelen <em>A Theory of Human Motivation<\/em>. Jeg m\u00f8tte f\u00f8rst p\u00e5 arbeidet hans under ledertrening hos Ericsson. Jeg beskriver i boka hvordan forst\u00e5elsen av behovstilfredsstillelse gir oss \u2013 og meg \u2013 kraft til \u00e5 stige. Etter hvert som spesifikke behov blir m\u00f8tt (som trygghet, mat, husly og selvrespekt) \u2013 behov som ble nektet meg som barn \u2013 oppst\u00e5r nye, h\u00f8yere behov. Og mange samfunn legger ikke like godt til rette for \u00e5 m\u00f8te behov som Norge gj\u00f8r. Det er et opplagt poeng at flere lavere behov burde m\u00f8tes universelt, slik at flere mennesker kan transcendere tidligere i livet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nylig har jeg oppdaget Maslows senere arbeider i essaysamlingen <em>The Further Reaches of Human Nature<\/em>. Ingenting har p\u00e5virket min motivasjon for \u00e5 lage denne bloggen og skrive boka mer enn denne samlingen. I disse posthumt publiserte essayene virker Maslow s\u00e5rbar; han gransker sitt arbeid mens han bygger videre p\u00e5 det. Jeg vil dele noen av disse essayene senere, men det som ligger mitt hjerte n\u00e6r i dag, og som jeg anbefaler sterkt, er det siste i boka og kanskje det siste han ga verden: <em>A Theory of Metamotivation: The Biological Rooting of the Value-Life.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">N\u00e5r man leser Maslows sene arbeider, f\u00e5r man inntrykk av at det var noe inni ham som han ikke hadde klart \u00e5 plassere i behovspyramiden. Kanskje hadde han selv opplevd selvrealisering \u2013 som tidligere var hierarkiets topp \u2013 det han ogs\u00e5 beskrev som <em>B-realm experiences<\/em> (opplevelsen av \u00e5 v\u00e6re) over det \u00e5 fylle mangelbehov \u2013 og likevel hadde behov. Abraham d\u00f8de dessverre tidlig, bare 62 \u00e5r gammel. N\u00e5r jeg n\u00e5 selv n\u00e6rmer meg denne livsfasen, kan jeg kjenne igjen behov som g\u00e5r utover dem jeg hadde i 30- eller 40-\u00e5rene \u2013 behov jeg beskriver som post-egoiske og spirituelle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Maslow oppfattet disse motivasjonene som spirituelle og la dem ikke til sin tidligere, biologisk forankrede behovsteori. Men hvis vi er produkter av evolusjon, m\u00e5 da det som kjennetegner mennesket ogs\u00e5 v\u00e6re biologisk? Han hevdet videre at bare en liten prosent av mennesker var motivert p\u00e5 dette niv\u00e5et, og kalte dem derfor <em>metabehov<\/em> og <em>metamotivasjon<\/em>, som om de l\u00e5 utenfor det som kunne defineres som allmennmenneskelig.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Her er jeg uenig med helten min. If\u00f8lge hans egen logikk er denne prosentandelen et resultat av hvor godt samfunnet m\u00f8ter lavere behov. Jeg s\u00e5 flere nordmenn s\u00f8ke metamotivasjon enn amerikanere. Jeg s\u00e5 ogs\u00e5 flere amerikanere s\u00f8ke den \u2013 i kontekster der grunnbehovene var dekket. Her kan vi trekke konklusjoner om forretningsgrunnlaget for et bedre sosialt sikkerhetsnett.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Som sagt virker Maslow s\u00e5rbar i disse sene essayene. De er mindre kjente, men jeg kan ikke anbefale dem nok. Han innr\u00f8mmet til slutt at disse spirituelle motivasjonene ogs\u00e5 er en del av v\u00e5r biologiske natur som mennesker. Vi v\u00e5kner som samfunn opp til de universelle spirituelle behovene. Som samfunn og arbeidsgivere blir det v\u00e5rt ansvar \u00e5 st\u00f8tte dem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Vennen og kollegaen hans, Anthony Sutich, skrev:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Han fortalte meg at han nettopp hadde fullf\u00f8rt et papir som han, med egne ord, kalte \u2018&#8230;kulminasjonen av 30 \u00e5rs arbeid innen psykologi.\u2019&#8230;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Marshall Rosenberg, skaperen av <em>Nonviolent Communication<\/em>, sa: <em>\u00abAlt vi gj\u00f8r, er i tjeneste for v\u00e5re behov. N\u00e5r dette perspektivet brukes p\u00e5 v\u00e5rt syn p\u00e5 andre, vil vi innse at vi ikke har noen virkelige fiender \u2013 det andre gj\u00f8r mot oss, er det beste de vet for \u00e5 m\u00f8te sine behov.\u00bb<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u00c5 forst\u00e5 hvordan mennesker betjener sine behov og gir mening er selve forretningsgrunnlaget for disse \u2018nope-dagene\u2019. Disse \u2018h\u00f8yere behovene\u2019 er r\u00e5materialet for inspirasjon, bedre produkter og tjenester. N\u00e5r vi ikke har det bra, ikke f\u00f8ler oss trygge, elsket eller hele \u2013 er vi ikke s\u00e6rlig effektive. Kanskje til og med kontraproduktive for dem vi jobber med. \u00c5 m\u00f8te opp hel og til stede er avgj\u00f8rende for \u00e5 skape gode ideer, produkter og team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Men Maslow beskriver det mer som \u00e5 bli forelsket. Han sier det skjer en sammensmelting av det vi m\u00e5 gj\u00f8re (ytre forpliktelser) og det vi vil gj\u00f8re (indre behov); n\u00e5r disse to tingene er det samme, har vi v\u00e5rt kall. Jeg har opplevd denne f\u00f8lelsen i kirken, og den har kommet og g\u00e5tt gjennom livets sesonger. Men i denne sesongen er jeg kalt til \u00e5 dele det jeg har l\u00e6rt i mine kulturelle reiser \u2013 gjennom denne bloggen og boka. Jeg b\u00e5de vil gj\u00f8re dette og, samtidig, m\u00e5 gj\u00f8re det. Det er det Maslow i essayet kalte <em>My Destiny<\/em>. Jeg synes det er forfriskende \u00e5 finne disse konseptene utenfor kirken \u2013 ikke for \u00e5 undergrave det jeg har opplevd innenfor \u2013 men for \u00e5 anerkjenne den universelle karakteren ved spirituelle behov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u201cKan vi skape sjelefulle arbeidsplasser \u2013 skoler, sykehus, bedrifter og ideelle organisasjoner \u2013 hvor v\u00e5re talenter kan blomstre og v\u00e5re kall bli \u00e6ret?\u201d<\/strong><br>\u2014 Frederic Laloux<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;If you deliberately plan on being less than you can be, then I warn you that you&#8217;ll be unhappy for &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/?p=180\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">My friend Abraham<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":238892274,"featured_media":148,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pf3Jag-2U","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/betterplaces.blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/ed121d58-45b1-4800-b6e4-afb2917856ec-3.jpeg?fit=3024%2C4032&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/238892274"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":501,"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions\/501"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/betterplaces.blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}