Discussions...

Today I ended up in another endless discussion. Discussions are not bad if they are constructive and leave room for interpretation. However, I strongly have the feeling that for reasons, I always end up in destructive discussions... they never end up in a good atmosphere.
Afterwards, I never have something to talk about with those people, relationships seem to stand still in time and not really progressing in any way since the start.

Is it just my personal attitude that causes all this? Cultural differences and shocks are normal when working in a foreign country but at some point you do need to find some common ground to start from. Always being on the other side of the road is just demotivating.

Which made me think of someting else. If our work is to develop individuals, having a positive impact on our society, developing future leaders who provide positive leadership, what are we actually achieving? Are we actually delivering what we promise. We are all so tide up in doing our job and making sure that we at least fulfil our responsibilities. But what about that positive impact, cultural understanding, positive leadership?

Are we measuring what impact our alumni really have. What are our alumni doing with their power/influence once they become CEO in a SME or multinational. Are we that cultural sensitive/aware? Who of our members are actually working abroad and really experiencing different cultures. Spending some time with people from other countries is one thing, working with them full-time is completely different.

The fact that there still exists racism, war and other social/cultural issues is a reason for us to work even harder to make a change. But let's not get to tide up in doing just our job but let's see what we really are achieving in our communities. How our work/values/attitudes/beliefs impact our environment, the people with whom we work...