Is remorse too great for some?

Since the financial crisis, $20trillion of US tax payers and state guarantees was used to bail out the US Banks. $780 Billion in the UK and €140 Billion in the Netherlands. New regulation has been put into place. Yet ordinary people including Banking employees still feel upset and indignant about continued higher taxes and living costs for something they were not responsible for. Whilst some banks are really changing and working on their corporate governance, training and values; governments are more in debt than ever, more money is printed and the daily scandals are ever increasing. Key questions remain. What about all our debts? What about the individuals that played their part? Why are the perpetrators not in jail? Are we changing?

Last month a former Dutch banker was found dead together with his wife and daughter. The Dutch media reported that the banker had killed his wife and his daughter before taking his own life. This of course is a tragedy and there are very few words to express in such circumstances. My heart and prayers go out to their souls and their remaining daughter. It was reported that this banker suffered a depression. This crisis has now claimed the 14th banking victim in the West.

Somehow the financial crisis appears to be sadly slowly claiming victim after victim. There has been much publicity of a minority of financiers and disgraced ex-CEO’s who held the helm during these times, such as Angelo Mozilo, Charles Prince, Jon Corzine, Rijkman Groenink, Fred Goodwin, Jean-Paul Voltron, Maurice Lippens, Dick Fuld, Paul Flowers and Bob Diamond. There are probably so many more, hiding and floating about. What about them? I am going to group these types in three categories. There are those by cashing in on non-leadership really did do harm, and sadly are simply unable to express remorse and perhaps never will, and remain in permanent denial. There are others who are clearly victims or feel victimised, either of the system that we have in place, or have been unfairly criticised for the dishonesty and sociopathic behaviour of their peers. Then there are those that understand and acknowledge what they have done, accept the consequences and hopefully become better people.

I bring this up as examples as most trained psychologists, therapists and good coaches will understand that the discovery of the human change cycle can often work as follows. At any given time or event, life can creep up on you. By this I mean that any mentally intelligent person who has led a life that has not been in, or lost, touch with his or her emotion or heart, and has either harmed himself, herself or others, will realise if he/she is lucky enough that at some point our sub-conscience will awaken and our conscience will begin to dictate. We acknowledge that something is not right. A rupture, a break, suffering, or deep unhappiness can unfold. The tough or fearful part is what follows in our human development. This is what we coaches often call the inner changing process where there is a way out. Following from our human failings such as greed, pride, or aggression, come’s the vulnerable and healthy process of shame, guilt, remorse and sorrow towards ultimately the beauty of peace, love and then forgiveness. We mature and become more authentic, coherent, fulfilled and can rediscover a new beginning which can often link us to the idea of spirituality and truth.

As we are now seeing day by day with some of us higher up the food chain in parts of our business service culture where the idea of wealth creation is dictated by pure ambition, self-enrichment, status or power, in our flawed capitalist system, more and more people have come to realise that there is more than this in life. Really, there are two combined deeper goals that us humans search for in our ultimate fulfilment, namely that of happiness and of the truth. In achieving these two great ultimate goals, there can be a price that leaves us with choices. Either we step back through fear; close ourselves by remaining indifferent, weak, on the surface and aloof or we dive in and face the music. Which ever way we choose we will come to realise that we inevitably bear the cross. By this I mean that life has its burdens and trail of tragedy, trials and trepidations in some cases unbearable so or even inexplicably so. The trick is to simply remain strong turn to the good side, and always be open to encouragement.

The fact of the matter remains; our society today has a great difficulty and very little patience in understanding human dysfunctional behaviour and suffering, the why’s and the how’s, the symptoms and the causes. Time gives us the answers, where more often than not the truth always bears fruit. Aside from this where does that pragmatically leave us? What about our debts and how do we change? Many ideas spring to mind and here is a snippet of a few.

• The minority at the top that did commit wrongdoings in the ongoing financial crisis that are in denial or hiding must be sifted out and disciplined by the justice system which can help to bring other morally corrupt business financiers to justice. These types can sell their possessions and give their money back to help our debts.

• Those that have acknowledged their wrong doings and have expressed remorse may accept the consequences and can help others where things can be put right for change.

• Those that are victims or feel victimised must be helped at all costs which will assist us through change to avoid further tragedies such as the tragic Dutch example I gave.

• Retail Banks can ban lending that encourages consumption. This will decrease personal debt which is arguably synonymous to increased stress levels and personal entrapment for ordinary people.

• With the liquidity they have, Investment Banks including shadow banks could be encouraged to further develop imaginative tangible mission statements for the common good. Triodos Bank here is a very good example of this. This can filter through the system and its employees and will help to eliminate conflicts of interest, aggressive conduct, fatigue and stress levels. This can be a way of giving back to society and open countless new opportunities and boundaries. Yes we can still have incomes!

In short the great majority of bankers I deal with are sincere, pretty decent and honest with normal incomes nevertheless we are all equally vulnerable if not responsible to make this world a better and safer place to bring ourselves into the next level for further greatness, irrespective of wealth, power or status. Einstein said ‘The significant problems we have cannot be solved at the same level of thinking with which we created them.’

Together we can fix things

Has Europe lost its identity?

For those of you who watched the Eurovision song contest the other night may have or not made some quiet opinions to ourselves about the result. Yes, I am partially guilty, for my sins. I am of course referring to this so called ‘Conchita’ character, a name referring to the female sexual genital in Spanish in South America. Whilst we are not sure whether this person who won is a man or a woman, our most basic identity birth gifts, this character has now been dubbed the so called ‘Queen of Europe’ and following from very little emotional self–control puts a fist in the air in front of 180 million viewers by saying ‘for peace and for freedom, and we are unstoppable’ in front of an idolising crowd. It may all ofcourse be in the name of entertainment and fabricated. However without sounding like a killjoy I’m thinking in all seriousness, ‘Houston, we have a problem.’

Paradoxically last year President Hollande had already commented that Europe has lost its identity as if he had predicted what was about to happen in this year’s song contest, he could not be closer to the truth. When the Queen of Europe was actually born a male but wants to be referred to as a she, the Belgian television commented that this is a day of victory for tolerance. Either Europe really has lost its marbles and all common sense or its media commentators and entertainment/music industry lack the courage to stand up to its conviction. One has to ask ourselves whether the media is in a state of delusion so easily fooled or is it actually dictating mainstream or doing its utmost to poison it. Perhaps it is all in the name of instant hedonistic fun and fame but I was sadly reminded that in my younger days, following all my idiotic antics, exploits and liberal frivolities, that too was all in the name of fun. What I had really done was as a single father I had run away from my own true identity in the name of so called ‘freedom’ which led to the suffering and virtual destruction of my very own soul.

An alarming statistic that caught my attention here in Belgium of late, around 80% of young male generation now regularly gawp at online pornography. Together with the Polish female contingency flaunting themselves on Eurovision, is this how our opposing sexes now treat each other? Is this the way to gain respect from each other not least from ourselves? As low, depraved and disrespectful as we have now become as I was once all too shamefully aware, in our limited minds, imagination and loose behaviour from a large portion of our over sexed and over fed European citizens, we are now resorting to nicknames referring to female genitals. You can almost laugh at the word ‘tolerance’ which in essence seems to have totally lost its meaning.

One might argue that it is about the talent or what we hear, I’m afraid it is also about what we see, as beauty is in the eye of the beholder except the beauty has all but gone whilst the light of the beholder may eventually...well...just switch off. I sometimes wonder if we would be simply better off without television and the internet, and bring back the radio, and proper human interaction. Is there not a way out of our never ending uncreative shameless bottomless pit? I am encouraged that this day had further awakened me in that this is a debate that has gone beyond tolerance or rights and is now about our very own identity, respect of our dignity that goes deep into our very own soul.

I believe this ‘Conchita act’ is giving us the signals where Europe now is, largely lost and indifferent, void of ideas and vision, stuck in a rut perhaps in denial of our past and fearful of our future. That we are simply neither being authentic, nor are we carrying the courage of our convictions whilst our leadership is not assuming proper responsibility. Why would this person shout out for peace and for freedom? Were powerful interest groups putting this poor guy on top of a pedestal for an ulterior or political motive? Do you think he has found his happiness that he is perhaps craving for? Or is he just another of our endless victims that the music industry has a knack in producing, thrown by the wayside once enough money has been made and the novelty or popularity has worn off? When something as provocative as this is done in the name of peace, how then can it be peaceful? Let alone how can we be free if we do not know who we are? I salute Austria for bringing this greater debate to light.

Come on Europe, wake up, rise up and unleash ourselves from our low ebb and face the music. If I can, you can. Now the elections are within us let’s up the bar and quality in our behaviour and take the lead to turn the pendulum from our obsession with self to a more creative, purposeful and hopeful future. Get a grip of our own destiny and discipline or rather censor our greed driven media mainstream sexualised fabricated  nonsense for the sake of protecting the innocence and education of our families and children. Let’s get back on track, regain the initiative to rediscover our lost identity, our soul, dignity, and credibility. Get the right people in at the top and show the rest of the world what inner steel we are made of. Yes, that very steel Mr. Lakshmir Mittal that you have helped us to lose which almost defined us all those many years ago.

It is the truth that sets us free

Our empathy versus our ability

An American psychologist almost 70 years ago spent time into understanding the minds of the Nazis and their thinking. He came up with a definition what he thought was the nature of evil.  He described evil as the absence of empathy. It is an interesting analogy because during the war the Nazis arguably had immense ability. They were warriors, builders and creators. They were organised, structured and well disciplined. But it so happens that with their incapacity to feel for their fellow man would have to explain their mistrust for one another and their crimes against humanity which ultimately led to their own self-destruction and downfall.

Today after two generations of peace in Europe we are in a very different era. But are we? Our economic war, failure and success has perpetuated a culture of individualism. Individualism is primarily derived by advocating one’s own self–interest, ahead of the interests of others; advocating one’s own independence versus others. Arguably in many ways many of us are working purely for our own interest where more often than not our human behaviour is governed by profit amongst others and not by conscience where our sole purpose is serving one’s own. This has by and large coincided into an era of liberalism and tolerance which has led to a world of mistrust and genuine apathy. A friend remarked off the cuff whilst describing another person’s misdemeanours. ‘He can do what he likes as long as he does not harm me.’  The three liberalism, tolerance, and individualism, the latter of which Lord Sachs describes, has played part in our society which he decribes is losing the plot.

In our current economic system we have the ability to work hard and show discipline. We are involved in cross cultural takeovers and acquisitions. We know how to cut costs and we can make money. Some of us are real economic warriors, and when it comes to profit, we can achieve this almost by any means often to the detriment of others. But do we really have the ability to show empathy? To show compassion in how we make decisions not for our own benefit but for the benefit of the other person? Are we really able to listen, care and understand the needs of our fellow human being, of our environment, and our world?

To really listen and to understand the other persons frame of mind is a very rare and unique skill to have.  It requires an element of awareness with a combined spiritual and emotional intelligence of its utmost. I myself find this part a perpetual challenge. It so happens that most communication failures occur because of differences in semantics or perceptions. Semantics means the way you define words or terms and perception is how you interpret data. If we were truly able to listen to each other with true empathy these differences would in effect disappear.

In short our combined culture of individualism, tolerance and liberalism truly has a danger of reverting to an absence of empathy. With the absence of empathy, our ego, pride, and self-interest becomes the order of the day which could have a distinct possibility of igniting the nature of evil thus ultimately leading to our very own self-destruction.

Our hope lies therefore in our ability, our ability to fight our ego, selfish tendencies and desires and reverse the tide of individualism, liberalism and tolerance. This may open an environment of empathy and true compassion in our work place and relationships whereby opening countless new boundaries and talent. Our ability to serving human needs together by contributing to the benefit of others, attaining a higher or clear purpose through leadership, thinking we instead of me, seeking first to understand then to be understood and behaving interdependently as opposed to co-dependently. Is this not a way we can bring back an environment of synergy and creativity not to mention trust and integrity into our lives and relationships that has been so battered and bruised in recent times?
 

Our conscience is our peacemaker

The Trappings of Power: Is it worth it?

President Obama was on a 5 day tour of several European Cities. I spoke to a friend of mine  whose office is located in Amsterdam, on the Museumplein. This was where the President landed in his helicopter right opposite the Rijksmuseum, one of the world's most famous art museums. From what I heard, the President was dwarfed by several Apache helicopters and a squadron of marine corps gunships that were constantly flying overhead for a good part of the day in such gung-ho fashion, as if perhaps this small city of cyclists, and down to earth peace loving citizens had woken up to a dossage of the war in Afghanistan on their very own doorstep. My friend was not allowed onto his balcony to see him. Infact no one was. There were 200 armed secret service agents all over the place in civilian clothes with one right outside his office. They could be spotted a mile off mainly through their small ear piece, hidden guns, dark glasses and constantly suspicious of others. Some were found blind drunk before the President arrived. As he described, ‘it was straight out of the movies!’

President Obama was also in Belgium where it all started again. The main route in the centre of Brussels was cordoned off from cars and civilians so he could drive through in his tanked up, amour protected black vehicle (known as the beast) with a line of dark vehicles following in pursuit. Flanked again by endless security and extra police which had even got the Belgian media ruffled.

Earlier that day he was visiting a World War One US cemetery somewhere in the battle fields of Flanders south west of the country not far from where my great-great uncle fought, died and is buried. The quiet town was described in a Belgian newspaper as a, ‘ghost town welcoming Obama.’ No one was allowed anywhere near him. Villagers were not allowed to give him flowers, Belgian chocolates, nor greet him which would certainly not be the case if other dignitaries were to visit.

We know we live in difficult times of economic hardship and there are some people out there in our world that can terrorise and can cause harm. Forgive me for asking but who (or what) are we at war with or trying to protect? We all know that security is important but is this not somewhat exaggerated? As a European, by withholding judgement, this comes across as a little aggressive, hostile and almost comical in which there has to be a fine line. This is not our style Mr. President and the opposite to what I call liberty, a word you often like to use. I can not help but wonder who the bad guys are, the US or the rest of us.  What could be causing this fear, is it their policies or is it the President himself who is afraid? Or might the US be in a perpetual state of vulnerability, paranoia or at war with itself?

I was taught in US politics that a President is elected by the people to serve the people. When he is not allowed anywhere near the people then this has to be a reflection of very bizarre and bewildering times leaving many of us disillusioned by politics. Clearly something is not quite right. The President together with his security and trappings has made himself a prisoner in his own right. Not to mention all that extra burden of expense and upheaval on the civilian tax payer, then one can understand that it makes little sense to make too many foreign trips. Who would want to go through all that? One is almost better off just staying locked up inside the White House leading the so called free world by pressing buttons and pulling levers. Oh how it must feel so lonely to be at the top.

Our greatest fear of course is fear itself. Mistrust so often reaps mistrust which can become a vicious circle by which we will never solve anything and move forward in a peaceful manner. How far and for how long are we prepared to stay this way? Somehow the solution has to be that we  overcome our greatest obstacle, by courageously mirroring ourselves with our policies as nations and as humans to break through this deadlock, find solutions and change the course, in so as we do not exasperate this phenomenon, in particular, in and amongst our leadership. Courage and true character surely is drawn from the confidence that comes from within.

In brief, this is Europe. We are often a gentle, talented, fun loving continent which is suffering a prolonged economic crisis in which change is crying out to us or rumbling beneath our feet. We also often like the occasional pomp. Belgium is supposed to be an Ally as you pointed out just now Mr. President, ‘un de nos partenaire les plus proche dans le monde.’ If you would like to come and visit us then with all due respect act as such. Try and be a little more trusting to us as civilians through example and treat us with more compassion and heart which is really what is needed in our culture and desperate world. Honestly, we are not at war with each other and neither is this North Korea. Lest not forget that World War One in the battlefields of Flanders where many of our ancestors fought, if anything portrayed the circle of mistrust born out of egos and simple abnormalities in our leadership that led to so much unnecessary destruction, resentment and suffering. Have we not learnt anything from this?

 

Compassion is the ability to reach out

5 ways for (senior) bankers to improve accountability

• To understand where the buck stops and take personal responsibility for your actions.
• Empower your own sense of responsibility.
• Success is not just reaping the rewards when things are great it is also when we are prepared to take the slack when things are not so good. Almost like a vow one makes in marriage ‘….for richer and for poorer’. 
• Clear and concise reporting lines.
• To have (or try to be) a boss that leads by example.

Jerôme Kerviel: Saint or Villain?

I was struck by the headline, that Jerôme Kerviel, the convicted ex trader from Société Générale for the 4.9 Billion Euro trading loss back in 2007-8, had just met Pope Francis. Kerviel had a special audience with the pontiff who seemed very disturbed by what he heard, and Kerviel is currently on a pilgrimage walking back to Paris from Rome with a rosary, seeking divine justice in what he calls the ‘tyranny of the markets’ whilst awaiting the result of his appeal.

It is not my position to pass judgement before the appeal has reached its verdict in this particular case. Kerviel may or may not be guilty and by no means am I saying he was an angel. The man will no doubt accept his fate and serve the consequences. What is clear from this head line is that he is not the only one and there has to be a wider issue at stake here? In other words Société Générale looks suspiciously guilty. The French Bank is already under US investigation for other serious matters. If it is true that certain senior key staff knew of the malpractice and what he was doing, then the bank needs to be made accountable, heads will nead to roll and other criminal charges may well need to be pursued. To make someone a scapegoat from a supposedly trustworthy institution is both weak and pathetic and reflects if anything a culture ruled by fear irrespective of the amount of money involved.

I am not one to claim inside knowledge of the French financial system nevertheless my gut feeling tells me it is partially flawed which is most likely down to the colluding and/or cronyism between Government officials and leaders of their banks. According to Wikipedia, both the former CEO and current CEO were educated at the Institute d’Etudes Politique de Paris and were Civil or Public Servants by profession and experience and each followed very similar career paths. The current CEO Fredrik Ordea, before he joined the bank was a plain civil servant who worked for the office of Nicolas Sarkozy in the 90's. Does that qualify them as Commercial Bankers? It may be ok if Soc. Gen was a public state run service except that it is not.

On the other end of the spectrum and across the Channel, things are done differently where progress is being made. The UK Parliamentary commission on banking standards has already reviewed their own financial system on their own back yard and done their own mirroring. Last year in their report, they had already pointed out the lack of accountability and responsibility, issues of high rewards offered for high risk, and incentivising misconduct amongst senior bankers. The UK goes as far as proposing criminal charges to help restore our trust. Solutions are not easy but they are there and will always remain challenging to implement as many of us are adverse to change particularly where money is involved and certain livelihoods could be at stake. Some banks have got the message and are reviewing their mission, corporate governance & values, leadership, pay, and training and so on. Others such as the Co-op just cannot cope and many still remain indifferent.

Money must be there to serve and not to rule. In the case of the latter then this is tyranical by its very own nature resulting to endless conflicts of interest, exploitation, misconduct and mistrust. Many think that money can buy ourselves out of trouble, instead we have learnt it can pay a very heavy price. Lest not forget how the financial crisis was caused? Should the perpetrators be brought to justice with a Hague Tribunal?

In some quarters the message is not clear, there still exists a sub culture of sleaze and corruption amongst parts of the financial and wider intermediary sector as the raw truths in the film 'The Wolf of Wall Street correctly exposes. (A film I do not wish to see for personal reasons). If we do not go through this change in our behaviour and attitude, for many our next precipice will be too great to bear. This is why we must care, and all do our bit and work for the common good of our world, our society, our family and our children. Take your pick.

Jerôme Kerviel was a product of the flawed system and culture. I cannot but admire his walk regardless of the verdict and I am in two minds to join and support him. That is a trek of 1.380KM ! Is Kerviel showing us the long walk to a life in chains confined to a prison with a cliff fall in our midst or is he showing us the long walk to recovery, change and true freedom?

Our troubled banks: self-serving or serving?

This is a question that one could tackle philosophically, morally or even ideologically that could go to the very heart of our identity and sense of purpose. Nevertheless, I will try to tackle it pragmatically or humanely thrown in with a little common sense. Although as someone amusingly pointed out to me the other day that nowadays the idea of common sense was a rare commodity to come by and appears not to be very common these days.
 

The more I write about the subject of service, a bygone phenomenon in our European culture, I see it as not such a dissimilar word to one of interest. By this I mean that one could ask one selves when working for a large organisation such as a bank, whose interest are you acting or working for? Is it your own or the company? The shareholders or the customers? Are banks working in the interest of each other, or even the Government?  It is important to distinguish this fact first and foremost with a goal or purpose in mind, to help you define a more coherent path ahead and before really believing whether you are a service orientated bank. To act in all the differing above interests would be inconsistent and ultimately create too many conflicting interests which results in continuous value breakdown and we will never change public perception and move forward.

Putting myself into the position as a paying customer or client with a need, nothing is more satisfying than when your service provider acts or behaves or works in my interest. That for me is essentially the art of serving or a reflection of a service minded business even if mistakes are made. One might say we are paid to serve, to deliver and to contribute to our customer needs. This may require more work in each other to become more selfless whereby avoiding our very own needs. Service does not mean you are here to invent what we think our customers want or by convincing them that this is what they actually need as gone are the days that we enforce new products down their throats. It is not for the customer to fall under the delusional hoax and clever tactics of the service provider simply for the providers own benefit. Remember what the ex-Goldman’s Sachs employee said ‘we saw our clients as muppets!’

No- a customer need is a gap that truly requires filling or a requirement that is visibly missing or requires changing or improving. A customer will actually have a problem in which it is up to the service provider together with the customer to work through the solution together and ultimately be paid for that solution. That is service. That is how we re-instil trust. It is linked to our deeper sense of purpose and belief system.

Self-serving in contrast, is selfish by nature and is simply a reflection of human fear, weakness or failing and is a result of a breakdown in our own belief let alone value system or lack thereof. We are likely to fall into the club of the stressed, the aggrieved, the beleaguered, the greedy and the aggressor, not to mention the low integrity, low self-esteem one is putting oneself into. Self-serving implies your own interest, it means that almost certainly that in the long run you or the other party will lose and you will never find fulfillment. How can you be serving in the interest of the paying customer when your sole interest is one’s own? Therein lays the conflict?

Another word that often corrodes all our common sense is profit or worse of all short term profit as that brings in the essential element of time. Many people may give the impression that time is something in our attitudes we are running out of or even running away from as if we are fighting something greater out of sheer fear, almost to the extent that it has become a limited and valuable resource. Is it this valuable resource that is the only answer to re instil long term belief, trust, synergy and integrity? I don’t know about you but I am tired of such uninspiring and negative business headlines such as profits have risen due to cost cutting or layoffs. Neither is it a reason to pay out higher bonuses. I am longing for headlines such as business profits are up due to … real changes, better creative products for real needs, sound investments, increase customer satisfaction...you know what I am getting at. We all understand that profit is important, nevertheless at some point common sense has to prevail that surely profit is the positive result of a well-managed, customer orientated business offering good products and services supported by a motivated and quality work force?

I was a little disconcerted that having discussed with a private banker who was made redundant by Barclays, a bank that I often write about, one that I believe was to be making headway in change and with a strong CEO. She held the belief that good work pays off to the benefit of the customer in which she had always proved and showed. Together with her deep sense of service she was still made redundant. ‘Don’t believe what they all say.’ she said

 

Banks such as Citibank during the build up toward last Christmas were advertising on Television their credit cards by offering an interest free credit in the first month. The question is how can you offer debt, or pay later system at a discount to entice consumption? We already live in a debt culture that requires repairing not worsening.

Another discussion I had, with a slightly more cynical customer of a bank. ‘What has changed?’ He remarked. ‘If anything we the customer are now doing all the work. All payments and now done by us at home on the internet. It was never like that before. What are they charging us for?’ That one certainly got me thinking. Self-serving or serving, there may be a long way to go yet for a positive change and solutions that encompass a stronger belief system, sense of purpose in our business culture or will a weary impatient public get there first?