Ethics, leadership and spiritualityI am in danger of being intimidated by my own words. "I write to express..." Perhaps some people will think I am claiming to be something special, or to have special knowledge. I don't make any such claims. The most I would say is that I have had experiences and that I have thought about things. I would say one thing in addition — that I have a desire to assist individuals and organisations to understand ethics, values and spirituality. That way they might, you might, and we might, do better at living in harmony with one another and becoming all that we could be. I mention spirituality, and that might scare or offend some people, but I think it is a useful word. If you have trouble with the idea of "God" as an object, at least the word spirituality tells you that there is something more than the material. (The Dalai Lama has said that the only religion we really need today is the religion of kindness.) The word spirituality tells you that love, justice, care and respect are worthwhile guideposts for your life, and worthwhile criteria by which to measure whether you are living your "best self" in life. My offering? I offer my perspectives, insights and stories on ethics, leadership and spirituality.
I spent 18 months writing my first book on ethics: Human Values and Ethics in the Workplace. It summed up my perspective on ethics, namely, that people develop through different world views, so at one end of the spectrum people resist ethics and only acknowledge laws and rules. At the other end of the spectrum they embrace ethics and see the world as a place where their role is to foster fairness, love and growth. In writing the book I struggled with the idea of taking an authoritative position. However, I realised, I am not pretending to pronounce Absolute Truth. I am just trying to persuade you that what I am saying is a useful way to think about how things are. My next book turned out to be an account of a period of time when I was the leader of an organisation. The theme of the book was ethics, but I was taking a different stance as a writer. Now I was a storyteller, not an "expert". It was liberating. The book was The Ten Thousand Things. So now I have two streams of books — one that explains ideas, and another that tells stories. Well, if only it was so simple! In reality, the stories infiltrate into the ideas books, and the ideas flow into the story books. And then there is the poetry — I have two books of poems and personal stories. And now I have written a book that pours everything into the same pot - stories, themes and ideas, and poetry and short stories. It's called To the bush and back to business (2012). Look at the Books pages to find out more. All my books are self-published (G.P. Martin Publishing). Why? Because I like to retain control of my words and ideas, and the design of the books. I am responsible, in the same way that an artist is responsible for her/his pictures. And speed. I can have a new book available within a couple of months of its being written, instead of 18 months to two years in the traditional world of publishing. Visit the other pages of this website and you will find out about all my books, and articles I have written on various topics, such as human resource management, training and development, coaching and mentoring. |
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BooksThe Books page takes you to all the books I've written and published. Read descriptions, reviews and comments, see samples, and purchase books. Go there... Writer in Action BlogI write this blog irregularly, about the latest in my book projects. Go to blog. ProfileRead Glenn Martin's professional profile, biography and service offerings. Go there... ArticlesRead articles that Glenn has written on various topics. Read more...
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