“Wars Not Make One Great.”

There appear to be two kinds of conflict: the one initiated by an individual and the one initiated by a group.  There also appears to be a natural cycle to conflict – the individual acting on behalf of a group gains power and can become so disconnected from reality that they are later removed from power by the evolving group. So, both autocracy and democracy appear to have a light-side and a dark-side: with the benefit leading the risk. The problem is that this system design creates the necessary and sufficient conditions for oscillating behaviour: boom-to-bust; centralise-to-decentralise; expand-to-contract. It it not a true cycle though because time cannot be reversed, we can never go back to a previous time – so what we see as oscillating is more like a driver swerving from one side of the  road to another when the road ahead is not straight and the forward view is limited.  To progress quickly along a winding road at night we need early warning of the next bend, good lights, quick  reflexes, and a responsive engine, brakes and steering. We need quick and accurate feedback and the confidence to decide and act.  The less feedback we get the more bumps we have, the lower our confidence falls, and the slower our progress becomes until we are paralysed with anxiety and fear.  Asking for feedback is relatively easy – giving feedback is much more difficult because to be effective it must be tailored to the recipient. General and anonymous feedback is ineffective. This implies that the person who asks for feedback must also specify why they want it and how they want it – they need to set out the terms of the psychological contract.  Without that clarity we descend into confusion. Conflict is often seen as unhealthy and destructive and when conflict is manifest as as battle the out-of-date paradigm that is blocking progress is destroyed but the collateral damage is the price that is paid.  Innocent bystanders get caught in the crossfire. It is this fear of collateral damage that often paralyses action and hands power to the autocrat. The good news is that conflict can be healthy and constructive  – when it is manifest as a race for understanding, for meaning and for a common purpose.  As a race and a challenge and with vision, agility and energy the unknown winding road ahead can be transformed into a safe and exhilarating ride!