“There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear.” – 1 John 4:18
The human brain is made up of five major areas, all of which serve as individual power houses that process conscious thought, control emotional and physical reactions, store memory and much more – www.holinergroup.com.
Similarly, the business “brain” is made up of five major systems, all of which serve as individual power houses that lay the foundation, provide security, generate life, inspire growth and engender business sustainability through the tenets of positive thinking, the holistic mind-body-soul resource of homo sapiens, the importance of the education system, the value of hard work and pervasiveness of love, respectively.
Optimal thinking facilitates the management of these systems and the collective success of individual businesses stimulates socio-economic success.
When I was a teenager the book, “The Power of Positive Thinking” by The Reverend Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, popularized the concept that “faith in yourself makes good things happen to you”. Sixty years later the book, “Optimal Thinking” by Dr. Rosalene Glickman, shares how to optimize your life and career on your own to achieve the greatest return on your time and investment – www.optimalthinking.com .
The concept of “Optimal Thinking” has become the successor to “Positive Thinking” and has been endorsed by Dr. Stephen Covey, Dr. Ken Blanchard, Dr. Edward De Bono, Brian Tracy, Mark Victor Hansen, Robin Leech, Dr. Nathaniel Branden, other experts, media, celebrities and more than 6,500 corporations.
Fascination with optimization has remained with me over the years and my interest has been manifested as follows: (1) Study of Operational Research at the Imperial College of Science & Technology; (2) a thesis on some theoretical aspects of optimization; (3) six consecutive years of service as Chairman of the Barbados National Productivity Council; (4) the challenge to set up a value chain system to sustainably export fresh product from the Caribbean to Europe; (5) strategies to allow the West Indies cricket team, once world champions, to return to its glory days; (6) the attempt to introduce the shepherding model as an optimization business tool; (7) involvement in the initial concept and a review of a private, public sector partnership; and (8) the recent authorship of a guide to showcase the investment potential in the CARIFORUM region’s growing agribusiness sector, with increasing global demand for tubers, added value of cultivating the crop, and the governments’ efforts to promote production and value addition.
Optimal thinking can generically be introduced, in the business context, by first adopting positive thinking. Secondly, the realization that our people are our greatest resource means embracing mind-body-soul and hence productivity is paramount. Thirdly, getting our educational system right from the cradle to the grave is so important. There is much evidence now of the negative impact on society when our early childhood educational system is neglected. Fourthly, there is no short cut for “hard work! hard work! hard work!” This culture has been diluted by many prevailing distractions such as drugs and the earning of a quick buck. Fifthly, arguably the most important point, the recognition that learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.
Each Life stands under a beam of Light which draws its energy from an infinite pool of Love.
Let us recognize that Love is the opposite of fear and hence we need to embrace Love and continually improve our understanding so as to cast out fear completely. Optimal thinking expedites this process and, with God’s guidance and grace, will ultimately lead us to sustainable success.