Thinking Globally while Acting Locally

Ignorance of the bigger picture is not a virtue for self-leaders.  Our projects may be local, but they are subject to the influence of global forces and events.  Technologies, stock markets, currency values, trade laws, environmental realities, trends, etc, can change dramatically over a short period and if we are not sensitive to what is happening we can be caught off guard and pay a big price.  It is also vital to get a feel for where things are going in our particular field of interest.  If we can anticipate where a current trend will lead within a certain time frame, then we can structure our project accordingly.  What we are offering should dovetail with the unfolding trends.  Offering what we think is good, desirable or beautiful is self-defeating if it is not what the market is calling for.

In getting a feel for the global picture, it helps to be thoughtful. Newspapers, for example, are owned by corporations, which have their own agendas and political interests.  Do not expect them to be objective, they are not and never will be.  Some major papers are so biased as to be little more than propaganda sheets.  They are not interested in fairness or accuracy and do not want to stimulate debate and critical thinking. Instead, their strategy is to shape public opinion in the direction they think it should go, according to their own interests and philosophy.  For this reason, self-leaders learn to ‘read between the lines’ of all forms of popular media in order to extract a scenario of what is really going on. They will also study other sources of information, such as the Internet, or books and articles written by independent researchers and journalists. They will also consider sources outside of the North American or European context.  For instance, what are intelligent and informed people in India or China saying about current events? These two countries, in particular, should never be discounted. Together they represent almost forty percent of the global population, and both have dynamic, rapidly expanding economies.  It is entirely conceivable that they will become the dominant world players within the next fifty or hundred years.

Being informed globally about one’s own field of interest, as well as world affairs in general commands the respect of others and increases our credibility.  It also gives us more confidence in our own decision making.  We know we are far from infallible, but at least we have a reasonable idea of the ‘lay of the land’ and feel more comfortable moving around in it.  And we will make fewer mistakes than those who are uninformed, all of which in the long term will work to our definite advantage.