Beyond the Barricade

by Don Harkey


Do you hear the people sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
who will not be slaves again!
When the beating of your heart
echoes the beating of the drums
there is a life about to start
when tomorrow comes!

- from "Do You Hear the People Sing" - Les Miserables



There is a beating of the drums, but you have to listen very carefully. Since World War II, the United States has prided itself as being the smartest, hardest working, most innovative economy in the world. Yet today we find ourselves lost behind a conventional wisdom that values performance appraisals and dashboards over ingenuity, creativity, and empowerment. Our older generations talk about the lack of a feeling of loyalty among the younger generations to their companies that help put food on their table. The truth is that we have lost a lot of what we are when we believe that it is the company (or the worse, the government) that is putting the food on the table.

More than 150 years ago, the father of Laura Ingalls Wilder, Charles Ingalls, sat quietly at his family table as his father discussed his choices for a career. He could either apprentice in a trade, or pursue life as a farmer. His father told him that the life as an apprentice would be a comfortable life where he would be able to set his own hours and trade for other things he needed. Charles didn't like the sound of needing to depend on others for things he needed, so he chose to be a farmer. He ended moving his family several times making a good living wherever they settled. He put the food on his table (and the roof over their heads and the clothes on their backs!).

Today, American's get their desired level of education and then enter the job market. Many companies take these employees in, either blue collar or white collar, and they immediately begin to build a dependency. Our current pop culture thrives on this dependency. If you want a car, borrow money for it. If you want a house, borrow money for it. In 2004, 43% of American families spent more than they could earn. The average credit card debt was $8000 per household.

Companies take the same short-term approach. They build bureaucracies and procedures in an attempt to prevent short-term failures that occur from time to time. They measure and rank their employees so that they can keep the "best" and throw out the rest during difficult times. They borrow money when times are good and then cut people when times are bad. They make short-term decisions designed to impact stock prices or get the decision maker a much desired promotion.

Those of us who enter the management world are trained to "climb the ladder". We are told that we can "have it all"; a bigger office, a fancy title, more pay and benefits. Then a funny thing happens.

I have talked with many managers in these larger corporations who have really "made it". The one thing I picked up from many of these people is that they have a sense that they missed something. They have the office, they have the job, and they are now asking "now what". As one manager confided in me, "I played the game so that I could some day rise to a position where I could make some real changes. Now I've forgotten what changes needed to be made."

We have lost our focus. Why would young Charles Ingalls choose a hard life of travel and farming when he could have learned a trade and lived a comfortable and safe life? He understood that comfort and safety do not offer fulfillment. He understood that true happiness comes from doing the right things and from doing them well. He understood the idea that motivation comes from autonomy, competence, and relatedness. He knew that when he took control over his life, with the Grace of God, that he would leave his corner of the Earth a little better than when he found it.

If your heart is now beating like a drum, its time to start your life again. How can you be better at what you do? Are the things you do making the world a better place? What is your purpose? It is not about the Plasma television or the new car or the job title... its about using your time on this planet the best way that you can.

If you are a manager, challenge yourself to make the lives of all of your employees better. Give them opportunities to make their corners a little better. Teach them. Empower them. Be humble.

If you are a worker, work hard and learn the skills of your trade. Teach those around you. Be a leader by showing the way.

If you have a family, spend time with them. Nurture and cherish your relationship with them. Teach them what you know and learn from them. Pray together and then listen together.

I believe that America is starting to wake up again. We have the greatest country ever invented in the history of the world and it allows us to do things that no one else can. We just need to use our God-given vision and passion to humbly pursue ways to simply make a better world. It is time we crash through our self-built barricades and LIVE our purpose!

Will you join in our crusade?
Who will be strong and stand with me?
Beyond the barricade
is their a world you long to see?
Then join in the fight
that will give you the right to be free!