WRITTENBYMETTE SILLESEN,LOUISEFREDBO-NIELSENANDANNESKARE

T HE F U T U R E L E A D E R

FROMMBATOMBS

FROMMEDIOCREBUTARROGANTTOMIND,BODYAND SOUL

2

“MBA” isbecomingadumbandoverusedbuzzword.Ithas gradually (after the00’ies) lost its special statusas“theshit”inthebusinessworld. It might be cool tohave an MBA on theresume, but it causes bigproblems if you don’t haveyour mind, body and soul(MBS)withyou. It’stimeforyou to listen louder toyourself, and not only usetheleftsideofyourbraintodo what you think peopleexpectofyou.WithanMBSyou are making a muchbetter investment becauseit’s an investment inyourself. It’s not just a finecertificate,butalsoaholisticmethod, a philosophy oflife, andadailypracticethatwillnevergetoutdated. It’sthemissing linkthatcan liftyoufromstrict managertovisionaryleader.

»

3

FROMMBATOMBS

So I was sitting there. At Fancy PantsBusinessSchool andwastaughtPersonalLeadership Development. We read aboutGandhi,Mandela,Churchill, andKatharineGraham.Andthenitstruckme!Therearenoneof these world leaders who wenttobusinessschool. Fuck…Laterthatyearagoodoldfriendvisited.Arealcorporatesharkoftheinternationalkind. He smelled like burnt matches. Wetalked about his career and how he wastired of money, profit and how he hadmovedontoanewdeathstarandanewleadershit job version 2.0 and everythingwould get so much better. Theconversation turned toMBAs and he said“oh,thatwasjustthebesttimeofmylife,Ilearned so much.” “What did use it for,more specifically?” Sounded the humblequestion.“Oh,ohIuseditalot.Iuseditfor…I..I..onthatproject…hmm…To behonest…I neverdid. Itwascrap.Cometo think of it, after the MBA everythingstartedtogowronginmylife.”

MBA–MediocreBut ArrogantOnceuponatimejusthavingMBAonyour resumewas a direct entrance tickettothepromotion,clout,and$$inyourbankaccount.Butthosetimesareover.Today,everybodydoesbothhalfandfullMBAs. Yes, you can even domini andmicroMBAs in24hours.Justlikeextremesports, the MBA education has becomeMr. and Mrs. Smith; you are no longerutterlyimpressedwhentheneighbor,onceagain,completedanironman–becausetheguyin7Bandevenyoursisteralsodidthat! The times where anMBA certificatewas the entrance ticket and you weregreeted by statements like ”Wow, youmust be clever and one of the chosenones! How did you get sponsored for the2millions tuitionfee?”isfar-gone.

4

But it’sactuallynotsomuchbecausetheconceptinflated,thatyoushouldlookinanotherdirection.No,it’sbecausethefuturelabormarketdoesn’tneedmoreMastersofBusinessAdministration.TheMBA isa managerial education and it’s good for operationandprocess.Leadershipissomethingcompletelydifferent.Inthefuture we will viewskills likevision,empathy,and risk-willingnessasfarmoreimportant.Specifically,itwillbemoreimportant to:

o Seetheconnectionincomplexityandaccommodateit

o Createfollowership–gettingyouremployeestofollowyouratherthancontrollingthem

o Createaspacewhereyourcoworkersandemployeescanachievetheir potential

o Knowthelimitsofyourownknowledge

o Havecompassionandempathy,beingabletoputyourselfinotherpeoples’place

o Bebraveo Beafrontfigureforsomethingtobelievein,includingfightingformorals,ethics,andprinciples

o Andlast,butcertainlynotleast,tobeabletothinkforyourself.Andtothink big

CancelyourseatonthebenchDoesthissoundabitfluffy?Maybe.Thenletusopenthe windowscompletelyandletinafreshbreezeinsteadof

holdingontothestale,mustyair.Wealreadyfeel technology exceeding human intelligence.Computers and robots will increasingly takeover many of jobs that people do today. Butwhat technology cannotmaster –whichwill beincreasinglycrucialforsuccessinthefuturelabormarket – are jobs of interpersonal character, aswellastheabilitytonavigateandmakesenseofthe technology itself. We futurists forecastthat by 2030 about two billion jobs willdisappear because of automation. In thefuture, it will be desirable to beexceptionalatanalysiswhenrationalandheavydatadecisionscanbemadewithourelectronichelpers.Themid-levelmanagerwilljustbeextrafat on the company’s belly. And the bankdirector who climbed the career ladder,becausehewasgoodatmentalarithmetic,issittingonthebench.Thepointisn’ttocreatefear of unemployment, but to stress theneed to upgrade your skills, in order to besuccessful in the future. Human competences.Andskillsthatarecompletelyuniqueforyou.

MBS–Mind,Body&SoulThe choice is yours: you can continueheadless (and moreover heartless andsoulless)downthetraditionalcareerpathandblindlyfollowthestream,slowlygeteatenupfromtheinsidebyalltheleadershipbooksyouhavereadbutneverusedtocreatevalueintherealworld.ORyoucanre-saddleandstartfocusingonyourMBS(noMoreBullShit).MBS means having a balance between yourmind,bodyandsoul.MBSisnotaquickfixorsomethingyou can studyfor. Itshouldgothoughthebody,beunderstoodbythebrain,and accepted by the soul. MBS is a journeytowarddestinationMEanditwillneverend– perhaps not even at the grave.StillMBS has successcriteria:tohaveallthree dimensions in everything you do,

becauseonlythencanyouliveyour»

FROMMBATOMBS

life’s purpose. Without stress, and instead with a feeling ofbalance.YourMBSistheroadtoyoursuccess(purposeandhappiness) both professionally and personally. It’s all aboutliving in accordance with your principles, whichgrants theabilitytocreateyourownreality,achieveyourfullpotential,andliveatrulyauthentic life.

Doyouresistorfearchange?Stop it!People often scream in agonywhen it comes to changeand especially when ‘the new’ ismessing with all that wepreviously thought was good. We did not, for example,burst into happy gospel songwhenwe found out that the‘light’ products we stuffed ourselves with up through the00ieswere farworse than the original sugar bombs. Orthat it is twice as damaging to your health to go joggingaround thetraffickedlakesinCopenhagenduringrushhourasitistosmokeapacketofcigarettes.Therefore,youmightnot consider it the funniest thing to realize that all thatknowledge you have gathered through the past decadesonly trulycomes inhandywhen you want to beat yourdad-in-law in Trivial Pursuit. Your computer is far smarterthanyou!JustlookatIBM’sWatsonwhogavetheJeopardychampions a beating. Listen to your inner voice. Yes, thefuture is demanding. Itwould be somuch easier to justleanupagainsteverythingyouthoughtandbelievedyouhad to do. All the things you believed wouldmake youhappybutturnedouttobebasedontheold,outwornandoutdated criteria’ of success. So when you catch yourselffallingbackintoyouroldworldview,thereisnothinglefttodobuttoSTOPIT.Juststopit!

ChooseyourselfA person who has implemented MBS in life is JamesAltucher. James Altucher is a New York based entrepre-neur who daily blogs about his experiences and callsfor

Sowavegoodbyetootherpeoplesandespeciallyyourownobsoletemodels.Thereisnobigmancomingtotellyouwhatyoushoulddo.Youhavethefullresponsibility.Youarethekeytochange–andyouhaveallthepossibilities.

us all to take responsibility for our lives.James Altucher hit rock bottom and hit sohardhealmostwentthrough–bankruptcies,milliondollarmortgages,divorces,lossoffriends, suicidal, addiction, etc. But heworked his way back by, as he so simplyputsit,choosinghimself.According toAltucher it startsbychoosingyourselfwithhealthinourfourbodies:thephysical body, the emotional body, thementalbody,andthespiritualbody.Sleep,exercise,andahealthydietareallessentialforbeinghappyandinbalance,butitisnotenoughjusttofocus onthephysicalbody.The other three bodies also need to bemaintained andexercisedon a daily basis.In other words, it’s all aboutstrengthening the balance between mind,bodyandsoul.BecauseMBSismuchmorethan well being, flexibility and stresscoping.WhenBuddha lefthishome itwasnot to become flexible and lower hisstress level, but to become transformedandenlightened.

Innerdemonsandold‘jargons’You will quickly discover that followingyour heart is not as easy as itmay sound.When it suddenly becomes specific andcomes down to daily MBS rituals andpractices, itcanevenseemfrightening. Alotofpeopleareactuallymoreafraidofthelightthanthedarkness,asabsurdthatmightsound.Tofollowourhearts anddowhat we wish deep inside can scare usmuchmorethanlivingalifewithunfulfilleddreams. So be ready to let your demonsbiteyourbuttintheprocess.Andifyoudon’thityourselfintheheadwithold jargon like “meditation is for hippies inorangeclothes”and“Ican-notmeasureit,soitisnotserious,” then

others will do it for you. In Denmark we are worldchampions in scaremongering. We are afraid of theunknown, taking risks and doing something diffe-rent. So when your colleagues, friends, and lovedonesaretryingtoconvinceyouthatyouaretakingacrazy step and you should instead read your mana-gementbooks, then remember it is just themonkeybrain which doesn’t like change. Forget them! Andchooseyourself!Someofwhat isdefiningusmost isour social circle. If youwant to balancemind, bodyand soul, then be with people who care about youforwhoyouare,justasyouare.

AmericansuitsinlotuspositionIn Silicon Valley, the center of the world for inno-vation and future-proofing, you find one of thebiggest concentrations of spiritual awareness.Engineers,programmers,andentrepreneursthrivehereamong vegan restaurants and offices equippedwith meditation rooms and ambient technology.And every year, at the end of August they dosomethingaswackyasgoingtotheNevadadessertandgiving their mind, body and soul a week of rawcreativityattheBurningMan Festival.You should actually take a look at your fellowcitizens ‘over there’. In contrast to the Danish per-ceptionof feelingsafe, the Americans are not tobe lockedtotheir threadbareofficechair,buttakingresponsibility and living out their dreams. They arenot as afraid tomakemistakes, because they aren’tthinking in success versus failure. The mentality isthat it’s okay to fail because you learn from yourmistakes; they develop you and make you bothsmarter and stronger. So wave goodbye to otherpeople’s, and especially your own, obsoleteoutdatedmodels.Thereisnobigmancomingtotellyouwhatyoushoulddo.You

havefullresponsibility.Youarethekey to »change–andyouhaveallthepossibilities.

7

IDEASTOGETMBSINTOYOUREVERYDAYLIFE

YoucanimplementMBSinyoureverydaylifeinmanyways.Themostimportantthingisthatyouchoosethingsthatyou’recomfortablewith,anddoitatapacethatsuitsyou.Herearesomeritualsthatwe’vetriedtomakeintodailyroutinesatFutureNavigator.Feelfreetostealthemandmakethemintoyour own:

1) Meditateeveryday(5minutesisenoughtobeginwith).Meditationisoneofthetechniquesthatwillchangeourlivesradically.

2) Visualize:Wealluseatleast5minuteseverynighttoimagineour

dreamfutureandsensehowitfeelsineveryinchofoursoul.Allmeetingsarevisualizedthenightbeforethemeetingtakesplace.Itisbothfunandmakesmeetingsmoreefficient–insomeways,wealreadyknowwhattheotherswanttosay.

3) Workwithyourenergy:Dowhatyouhavetheenergyfor,exactly

whenyouhavetheenergy,insteadofforcingyourselftoworknon-stop.Researchershaveinfactprovedthatyouarefarmoreeffectivewhenyoufollowyourbody’senergy.

4) Practiceyoga(likehotyoga)asitisoneoftheonlybranchesof

sportwecanthinkofthattrulyunitesmind,body,andsoul.

5) Lifelonglearning:Weare,atthetimeofwriting,doingonlinecoursesinNeuroscienceatHarvardandEnlightenedSexattheMindvalleyAcademy.

6) Gratitude:Writeagratitudediary.AtfutureNavigatorweallwrite

down1-3thingsdailythatwearethankfulfor.It’sascientificfactthat focusing on gratefulness improves both physical andmentalhealth.

FROMMBATOMBS

You may be thinking, ”yes yes, got it.Balance, health, and soul is all fine, butwhy is it sowrongwith thatMBA?”Theanswerissimple:heMBAis”more,”andnot”better”.Itisaclearmanifestationoftheoldmore-paradigmwhere success ismeasured in growth, expansion, optimi-zation,break-even,numberof likes,undsoweiter.Andthefuturedoessimplynotneed that. The future needs consciouspeople,whofeeleverything’sconnected-ness.Nooneinthefuturegetssuccessfulalone, and the world will only improvewhenweworktogetherandsupporteachother’s skills and potential. We mustthereforestrivetochoosethethingsthatcreate energy, change, and strengthenrelationships, aswell as consistently optoutofthosethatdonot.Inotherwords,just think for a momentbeforeyoupaythroughthenosetogetanMBAandrisklacking sleep, comfort, and even a jobwhen1-2yearsisover.Andaskyourself,ifyouinthisprocesswillbeabletoworkwiththeintegrationbetweenyourmind,your body and your soul. Or is the tiebound so tight that the body andsoulcannotbecontactedbythemind?

Whateveryouchoose,itisimportantthatyoumakeitaritual.Routines,ritualsand persistence - and dare to listen to your soul, your body and yourmind.They are your three most honest friends, and they’re all trying to tell yousomething.Themorefrighteningthemessageis,themoreyouneedtohearit,andthemoreradically,yourlife’spathcanchange.Forthebetter-foryou.

MBS–Abetter investmentIf you canprioritizeMBS in youreveryday life and take yourMBS-trainingasseriously as other tasks on your to-do list, youwill in time (about 100 days)find thatMBS is farmore valuable thananemployment contract, retirementsavings, insurance, a master degree, and not least the MBA. Why? BecauseMBS gives you a fundamental security and authenticity, because you haveconsistency between yourmind, your body and your soul; who you are andwhatyou do.

SoifourburntoutMBAfriendfromearlierhad invested inhisMBS instead,we’dbetour futurist-hats that hewould have bothhadthemostamazingtimeofhis life andhad been able to tell us what value hehad created. The Gordon Gekko era andindustrial mindset is history. The futureneeds visionary leaders (and not moremanagers); leaders who have a holisticapproach to their environment and leadwithalltheirintellects-thecognitive,theemotionalandthespiritual.

9