Sunday, September 15, 2013

Week 3 - Introduction: Open Thou Mine Eyes and I Shall See

Thesis:  To love our neighbor we must learn to see what is right in front of us. 

Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Master, let me receive my sight.”  And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he received his sight and followed him on the way. Mark 10:51-52
Open thou mine eyes, and I shall see. Incline my heart and I shall desire.  Order my steps and I shall walk.  Lancelot Andrews 



How do organizations think? In her book, Willful Blindness, Margaret Heffernan examines why businesses and the people who run them often ignore the obvious -- with consequences as dire as the global financial crisis and Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster. Heffernan’s third book, Willful Blindness was shortlisted for the Financial Times/GoldmanSachs Best Business Book award in 2011. 

Margaret Heffernan began her career in television production, building a track record at the BBC before going on to run the film and television producer trade association, IPPA. In the United States, Heffernan became a serial entrepreneur and CEO in the wild early days of web business and was named one of the Internet's Top 100 by Silicon Valley Reporter in 1999.  

Gayla Benefield was just doing her job -- until she uncovered an awful secret about her hometown that meant its mortality rate was 80 times higher than anywhere else in the U.S. But when she tried to tell people about it, she learned an even more shocking truth: People didn’t want to know. In a talk that’s part history lesson, part call-to-action, Margaret Heffernan demonstrates the danger of "willful blindness" and praises ordinary people like Benefield who are willing to speak up.

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