The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8 NIV)
Whenever I say that our prime objective should be to maximize control, it would be easy to assume that I speak of close and strict hierarchical control and a substantial degree of mistrust of those beneath that control. Nothing could be further from what I intend by saying that we should work to maximize control. For it is in understanding that raw condign power is inherently self-defeating and limiting that we come to understand that maximum control in human affairs gets its genesis from conditional power conjoined with responsibility and accountability. Conditional power is born of goodwill and respect and is thus the power that engenders creativity, generosity, and loyalty. Thus we have a paradox (so it must be true), the more we try to hoard power and disenfranchise others, the greater power and effectiveness we lose. A corollary to this regards timing. The sooner we demonstrate that we exercise conditional power in the entrepreneurial process, the greater our effectiveness will be for it inspires trust and cooperation at the outset of production rather than its opposite...rebellion–a typical and predictable countervailing response to condign power that undercuts abundance.
One note in passing; if you have followed my blogs you will notice that I never mention the “Private Sector” but always the “Creative Sector.” The Private Sector suggests an enclosed, static space whereas The Creative Sector most nearly describes the true dynamic interrelationships and functioning of a market economy.
(My above power terminology is heavily indebted to John Kenneth Galbraith and his book Anatomy of Power.)
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