Meek

Translated from the original Greek in which the gospel was written, we read “Blessed are the meek.” The ancient Greek πραΰς or praus can imply lowly and, perhaps, oppressed.

But the word Jesus used was almost certainly the Hebrew term used in Isaiah. This is ‘arnav which is much closer to the English word “gentle.” In the context of Isaiah ‘arnav is also suggestive of those who “cooperate in the purposes of God” or who are ready to listen to God. So we can understand this beatitude as, “Congratulations to those who listen and cooperate with God.”

In a business context: Congratulations to those who listen and cooperate with what they hear.

In recent years business processes have increasingly focused on generating “feedback” from shareholders, customers, employees, and others. The term feedback originates from theories of quantum physics and complex adaptive systems. These are scientific fields that study the natural reality of order within chaos.

Fundamental to these theories is the recognition that systems characterized by chaos are also the most resilient systems and those most likely to keep growing. Since change and growth are so important to business leaders, they have been quick to see potential lessons-learned in translating the reality of quantum physics to the reality of business.

A key characteristic of complex adaptive systems is how they listen and cooperate with feedback. In these systems there is a constant exchange of energy between events that are subtly yet profoundly connected. When feedback is rapidly assimilated by the system, the system changes and grows. This often involves a radical re-ordering of the system. But order is usually maintained.

The illustration above shows two regions of space for a Hénon map where the system is self-organizing around a strange attractor. (Michelitsch and Rössler 1989). Weisstein, Eric W. "Hénon Map." From MathWorld--A Wolfram Web Resource. http://mathworld.wolfram.com/HenonMap.html

The principal impediment to the preservation of order-within-change is a rigidity that rejects feedback. In such cases the result is entropy and eventual elimination.

In modern business we seek to measure and track everything we can. This is – or should be – the first step in listening. The feedback we receive from market surveys, employee meetings, focus groups, sales reports, financial statements, and more can help us understand how the future is taking shape. A strategist – like a quantum physicist – will be especially interested in tracking the relationships between these various sources of feedback.

As we review the results of feedback we can choose to cooperate with the emergent future or we can try to resist it. The insights of quantum physics would advise cooperation.

So would Jesus: Blessed are those who listen and cooperate with God.