Mind the core

It’s not what goes into the mouth that defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”

“Don’t you realize that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated? But what comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man. For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies. These are the things that defile a man, … Matthew 15:11-20

Did you ever play the game “Who is in the garden?” as a little child? In that game, the fulcrum of activity and a constant factor, is the child in the centre of the circle made by his playmates. That child is the core of the entire game. The word core means “essential, central, fundamental, main, principal, basic, primary”. The word “education” is from the Latin word “educare” (Pronounced “eh du kah reh”) which is translated “training or instructing the core”. What this implies therefore is that education goes beyond the superficial levels of just being able to read and write or reading to pass an examination. It is not just about being taught or taken through a set curriculum. True education is something that affects the very centre of our being in a significant way that impacts our daily conduct. Our level and quality of education become the veritable reflectors of our behavior. In other words, we all act what our education has made us. Education has lifelong impact on everyone.

To understand the importance of the core in a leader’s life, I would like to use the analogy of a seed. According to Wikipedia, the seed is “an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering”. Just like us, a seed is a product of a reproductive process that comes with an embedded DNA to reproduce itself or self-propagate.

Without going into too many technical jargons, seed can be broken into three basic component parts viz, the endosperm, the embryo, and the seed coat. There are parallels between these and our individual lives.

The endosperm is the innermost part and the primary source of food for the seed. It produces the nutrients necessary to keep the seed alive and capable of propagation. This can be likened to the spirit of a person. By virtue of its function as the source of nutrition, the endosperm determines the survival of the seed. This is the heart of the matter. For anyone to live an effective life, it is important to mind what nourishes his core. The quality of the source will determine the strength of the resource. In a world where strategic, deliberate attempts are being made to diminish, if not obliterate the consciousness of spiritual essence in personal and corporate operations, the void in the lives of many people is filled with many feeding frenzies. The pursuit of career growth and material acquisition has made several leaders become so preoccupied with things that eclipse an intrinsic value system. Other things that choke a person’s spirituality include the media, the operating environment, and the peer factor, among others. In a recent training programme that I facilitated for top Management of an organization on Effective Time Management for Leaders, I asked participants to write THREE things they would focus attention on if the doctor, after a medical examination, confronted them with the heart-wrenching news that they had only three months to live. The answers were as varied as they come but top of the list for everyone without exception was the need to give greater attention to spiritual realignment and development. I was able to let them see the futility of a life that ignores that dimension because, truth be told (and they all saw it), everything about our lives spring from our core convictions. It is the convictions that originate at this level that our core values spring from. Our core values have to do with the minimum standard of conduct that we hold ourselves to.

• The values-driven life – 2

The embryo, also known as the radicle, consists of three key areas, viz, the epicotyl, the hypocotyl and the cotyledon. This is the part of the seed that stores and dispenses the food produced and supplied by the endosperm.  I liken this to our minds with the three faculties that process, synthesize and interpret every information that we get for our use. These are our thoughts, emotions and our will. For an organization, this can be likened to the process that drives the organization and supplies its strategy architecture. At this level, the ‘food’ received from the ‘endosperm’ is processed into core and peripheral values that RESOURCE the seed. Other aspects of the architecture include the processes that drive operations, the quality of the product or service, the people (staff and other stakeholders), the strategies, the intended market, the pricing as well as the expected bottom-line (profits). For an individual, the process begins with thoughts. This is followed by values which in turn, determine the individual’s choices. The choices made will determine the decisions and the actions taken by the individual. Repeated over time, actions become habits or culture, a way of life with a degree of predictability. This forms the basis of the regularity in our routines.

The seed coat is the outer protective layer that shields the endosperm and the embryo from exposure. Besides, it is the part of the seed that is visible to everyone. This can be likened to our physical body, the first contact that people have with us and the basis of their initial interaction with us. I call it the poster boy of our personality. For an organization, it can be likened to the brand image represented by the logo, colours and name. For the individual, it simply manifests as actions or behavior. The seed coat can take a lot of beating but the seed is not damaged as long as the inner core is intact and functional. However, when there is a problem arising from a disconnect between the source (endosperm) and the food bank (embryo) the seed coat also manifests in a dysfunctional way.

For the seed to grow and become fruitful therefore, there must be an effective interplay in the functions of these three components. As they say, garbage in, garbage out. If the sustaining essence of the embryo and the seed coat is tied to the quality of the food supplied by the endosperm, it follows therefore that deliberate, systematic and consistent efforts must be made to ensure that the quality of input at that level is not only qualitative but seen to be so. In the plethora of influences that seek to feed his heart, a leader must therefore be mindful of what he allows to affect his thoughts about life and his function…

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!