by Jeff Salz – Anthropologist, Explorer, Mountaineer & Author

Jeff Salz has made a lifetime of adventure. An acclaimed explorer – with a Ph.D. in anthropology – he has traversed most of the remaining blank spots on the globe.  Salz instills his audiences with fresh strategies and enthusiasm for life and career; his free-wheeling humor and profound sense of humanity turn every meeting into a memorable event.

As an anthropologist with a thirst for adventure, I often find myself in some pretty wild places. Often places where no ‘outsider’ has ever before strayed.  I am not a collector of birds, not bugs nor minerals. I prospect for wisdom. I have spent four decades mining the ‘wisdom lore’ of traditional peoples as far afield as Patagonia, Tibet, Peru and remotest Mexico to bring back home.  My most remarkable discovery so far?  All the areas just mentioned share a common map of human life. I call it the Wheel of Life.

In most places the wheel is divided into quadrants. These are the principle pillars of wisdom and the key to living a good life. I share them with you here along with some hints of how they may offer insights into to working, leading and living in our current climate of unprecedented social, geo-political and economic change. I have named the universal perspective it inspires ‘HCD’ – the Highest Common Denominator.

East:

Vision:  What is your DREAM?

People want to work for a vision that inspires the soul. A vision acts as a magnet for passion. It articulates the higher purpose of an organization; it describes how we serve. Businesses have more opportunity to influence the future than any other institution in the world. HCD leaders choose to make business an instrument for positive change and enlist active participation around a mission.

South:

Vitality:  What gives you greatest inspiration and vigor?

Employees are looking for more than a paycheck. They seek exuberance, meaning and fulfillment from their work, an environment in which “work” and “life” are not just “balanced,” but blended into an integrated, seamless whole. Accessing the HCD results in a sense of enthusiasm and engagement that nourishes and expresses our souls. In turn we move an organization forward. The leader’s mission is to enable each follower to find, grow and excel in her or his own personal quest.

West:

Courage:  What do you believe in?

The word courage derives from the Latin ‘cor’, meaning heart. In times of diminished access to resources, reward systems become increasingly intrinsic: job satisfaction and retention are based around such themes as purpose, contribution and recognition and personal congruence. When individuals are connected to the power of their convictions the result is resilience and an indomitable spirit.

Creating an HCD culture means devoting even greater attention to meeting the needs of employees than for customers! This goes beyond the usual incentive and reward systems —to practices that awaken passion and satisfy the soul. The result is a dramatic improvement in profitability.

North:

Wisdom: What will be your legacy?

The poet Kahlil Gibran wrote: Our work is our love made visible. An HCD leader is unafraid to ask the big questions, to frame ordinary events with an extraordinary perspective. Today’s most successful organizations have created a culture that prioritizes, seeking always to pay attention to what really matters. Human relations, integrity, attention to detail, contribution, a sense of mission are paramount. HCD organizations understand: pay attention to process and the profits will follow.

What the Wheel of Life – or any other wheel or circle – cautions us to remember is we are really just spinning in place. Going nowhere.  Our greatest chance for happiness begins the moment we realize that progress is an illusion.  The good news is that as soon as we open our hearts and our minds success is ours. We have arrived.

For more information on Jeff Salz, please contact Speakers’ Spotlight.

Tags: adventure, anthropology, collector of wisdom, courage, enthusiasm, explore, fresh strategies, Highest COmmon Denominator, Jeff Salz, keynote speaker, North, The Four Pillars, thirst for adventure, Vision, Vitality, What do you believe in?, What gives you inspiration?, What is your dream?, What will be your legacy?, Wheel of Life, wisdom, Wisdom Lore from Around the Globe