Postcard from Bishkek

Today marks the anniversary of the first transmission of the cult science fiction series Star Trek on BBC TV, back in 1969.

The series had been proposed by Gene Roddenberry as early as 1964 and a pilot programme filmed in 1965.  It finally went on the air in the states in September 1966 and although it originally enjoyed high ratings it then started to plummet down the ratings.  It was finally cancelled after 79 episodes across three seasons.

Oddly enough, it had finished its run in the US before it actually crossed the Atlantic to take the Saturday evening spot vacated by Dr. Who … which is how I first came across it.

Both Dr. Who and Star Trek are part of my youth … and have important lessons for us, even today.

 

I am writing this at a time when I see that an overhaul of the English National Curriculum will involve pupils in studying more Shakespeare.   According to one report, all pupils will be required to learn at least two of the bard’s plays between the ages of 11 and 14 … although I see no reference to his poetry.

I can’t help wondering if this is simply a case of elitism and intellectual snobbery.

Now, please don’t misunderstand me … I enjoy Shakespeare … I remember, for example, laughing out loud when reading A Comedy of Errors for the first time …  being moved by Shylock’s plea for justice in A Merchant of Venice … the romantic pathos of Romeo and Juliet … and so on … but I have to admit that I do find many of the works difficult.  It strikes me as interesting that many productions are specially staged to be bring the stories into a new light – a new interpretation for the modern world – such as in Ian McKellen’s version of Richard III.

It’s not simply, however, a case of the fact that I think that children will find Shakespeare difficult to cope with … and even if that were the case, it’s not necessarily a bad thing for them to have to come to terms with and understand the huge impact that he has had in helping to shape the English language and our modern culture.

When I first came to Kyrgyzstan, for example,  one of my first experiences of Kyrgyzstan was meeting a sixteen year old who was wading through Dostoevsky’s The Idiot, I couldn’t help but be impressed, thinking to myself how difficult it must be.  Apart from the length of the novel, I know that I had found Crime and Punishment and The Brothers Karamazov as extremely heavy going and that was as an adult.  Despite that, I took the hint and found a copy which I duly read … only to be convinced that most sixteen year olds in Britain would have found it hard work.

I am sure that she got a lot out of the experience of reading Dostoevsky … but I am not sure that every sixteen year old I have met here would have coped as well … and I am certain that the kids would have struggled with one such book – yet alone two … or more..

I just wonder if there isn’t something more contemporary and relevant.

 

When first arrived in Kyrgyzstan I knew virtually no Russian, (I joke that knew just six words … Da, Nyet, Pravda and Izvestia, Glasnost and Perestroika – Yes, No, Truth and Well Known – two of the Soviet newspapers, Openness and Restructuring – the planks of Gorbachev’s reforms in the late 1980′s).  As a result I was taking an intensive course of Russian lessons every day.

One day my teacher turned to me and asked me about what sort of books I enjoyed … it was in a Russian lesson – so the conversation was all in Russian.

I replied that I enjoyed all sorts of books and tried to vary the genres: historical, science fiction, contemporary, factual, and so on.  She followed up by asking me about my favourite authors and why I liked particular books as opposed to others … and remember, this was all in Russian … “pigeon Russian” because I was still learning.

One of the important things I looked for in a book, I said, was that I wanted to be stimulated – to learn something.  I didn’t want to be simply entertained but to be challenged in some way.

Now, to be honest, there are indeed times, (like on a Friday night after a long and tiring week), when all I want to do is put up my feet and relax … watch some nonsense on the TV, (perhaps a sitcom), and turn off … but even then I often find that even in the midst of nonsense there is something to be learned or gained.

As a school teacher, I always made a point of picking up books which were being read in English lessons by my class … Stig of the Dump, Cider with Rosie, The Catcher in the Rye and so on.  Sometimes it helped me understand what they were talking about.

So, when I first came here, and

Even so, some fairly populist works can teach us a lot – if we are prepared to look for the lessons … even in Star Trek.

Yes, even Star Trek …

Also, as one commentator has put it, “Star Trek,  is packed with other people’s stories, be it highly inventive retellings of Greek classics, verbatim performances of Sherlock Holmes and even, it turns out, many examples of Shakespeare’s plays being appropriated and adapted to the twenty-fourth century.”

He continues, “Imagine what the English language will sound like 400 years into the future; imagine how the works of Gene Roddenberry will sound to readers then. Will they be any more “highbrow” because they’re old?” … concluding with a definite ” Certainly not.”

That’s not to say, however, that the stories are without value.

 

I was interested, for example, last year to see an article in Forbes magazine: Five Leadership Lessons From James T. Kirk.  It attracted quite a lot of attention and comment … some more positive than others.

Each “lesson” was supported by a quote from the script and an explanation Basically, they were:

1. Never stop learning: “You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown. But there’s no such thing as the unknown– only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood.” … We need to keep exploring and learning … The more knowledge you have, the more creative you can be. The more you’re able to do, the more solutions you have for problems at your disposal
2. Have advisers with  different points of view: “One of the advantages of being a captain, Doctor, is being able to ask for advice without necessarily having to take it.”  … We need to ensure that we encourage creativity and innovation by listening to the advice of people with vastly different opinions. Weak leaders surround themselves with yes men who are afraid to argue with them. That fosters an organizational culture that stifles creativity and innovation, and leaves members of the organization afraid to speak up. That can leave the organization unable to solve problems or change course. Organizations that allow for differences of opinion are better at developing innovation, better at solving problems, and better at avoiding groupthink. 
3. Be part of the Away Team: “Risk is our business. That’s what this starship is all about. That’s why we’re aboard her.” ….  It’s easy to trap yourself in the corner office and forget what life is like on the front lines. When you lose that perspective, it’s that much harder to understand what your team is doing.  We need to occasionally get down in the trenches with the members of our teams so we understand their needs and earn their trust and loyalty.
4. Play Poker, Not Chess: “Not chess, Mr. Spock. Poker. Do you know the game?” Chess has its place, but life is a game of probabilities, not well defined and rigid rules. And often understanding your opponents is a much greater advantage than the cards you have in your hand.  We need to understand the psychology of our competitors.
5. Blow up the Enterprise: “‘All I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.’ You could feel the wind at your back in those days. The sounds of the sea beneath you, and even if you take away the wind and the water it’s still the same. The ship is yours. You can feel her. And the stars are still there, Bones.” … even if we are driven by a passion and commitment, we still need to learn to radically change course when circumstances dictate … no matter how painful it is, to “blow up the Enterprise”, change what isn’t working and embark on a new path, .
   

I am quite sure that, if he put his mind to it, then Alex Knapp, the author could have come up with a number of other examples … but may have been handicapped by a word limit and the fact that it seems to have been part of an on-going series, including:

• Five Leadership Lessons From Jean-Luc Picard
• Five Leadership Lessons From Christopher Nolan’s Batman Trilogy
• Five Leadership Mistakes Of The Galactic Empire
• The Seven Habits Of Highly Effective Hobbits

not to mention the more general articles:

• Workplace Leadership Tips
• Good Leadership Skills
• Corporate Team Building Activities
• Innovative Leadership Styles

 

As Knapp said in his closing paragraph:

In his many years of service to the Federation, James Kirk embodied several leadership lessons that we can use in our own lives … By following these lessons, we can lead our organizations into places where none have gone before.

Whether we agree or disagree with Knapp’s argument … my point is that the stories can provide a challenge and stimulus for thought and learning … for those that have ears to hear and eyes to see.

Tags: Business, Education, Expat, Reminiscences