Flat Battery
Colin makes a metaphor between the flat battery of a car and that of a human. The human "flat battery" also made him think about human relationships, teams and human organisations. Wonderfully designed systems of extraordinary human potential – but hardly capable of getting out of bed in the morning when the battery is flat. What makes it worse is that humans, unlike cars, can deliberately run one another’s batteries flat. Negative energy shorts, sparks, fuses and burns out - and positive energy people get tired of always having to jump-start others. On our programs we share ideas about sustainable positive human energy at all levels – personal, leadership and organisational.
Human Energy
My old but still mechanically sound car had been in for a service. Driving home I noticed things going wrong – indicator lights were not flicking, the long beam headlights weren’t operational, the interior light didn’t work and the brake lights stayed on even when the car was parked in the garage. I blamed an inefficient serviceman.
My guest was arriving on the last flight from Johannesburg after 11 pm. I was ready to leave well on time, but the car wouldn’t start. The battery was flat! With all its mechanical sophistication, I still had to open the car lock manually. I would have been able to get more use out of a skateboard than my car!
I had options – abandon the car and my guest, use jumper leads to jump-start the car, replace the flat battery, or take my wife’s car – and deal with the problem tomorrow.
It made me think about the most sophisticated vehicle we know – the human being. An extraordinarily complex set of systems – sensory, nervous, digestive, analytical and a hundred others, all interconnected and interdependent.
It also made me think about human relationships, teams and human organisations. Wonderfully designed systems of extraordinary human potential – but hardly capable of getting out of bed in the morning when the battery is flat, when our energy is finished.
Sport is an excellent example. The Springboks lose test match after test match but their coach appears to have been able to jump-start their battery through openness, honesty and the re-emergence of trust. They made a quantum leap to win the Tri-Nations. The Para-Olympians were magnificent examples of pure battery. In keeping with the car theme, they managed to get to great places without wheels or indicators. Some of them had no lights, and managed a quantum leap “in the dark”, and many of them did not have complex or sophisticated operating systems. However, they did have full hearts, lots of guts and fully charged batteries – as well as what looked like pure and simple enjoyment!
The Proteas lose 10 one-day internationals in a row and the Americans get thrashed in the Ryder Cup. Superb sportsmen with superb competence, skills and years of experience, at peak fitness, coached thoroughly and innovatively – yet they fail miserably.
Why? Perhaps because the individual batteries, and consequently the team battery, are flat.
The same reality affects us all. As individuals and in organisations, we just run out of energy. Our batteries are flat and the systems fail.
What makes it worse is that humans, unlike cars, can deliberately run one another’s batteries flat. Negative energy shorts, sparks, fuses and burns out - and positive energy people get tired of always having to jump-start others.
Only we can master the generation of our own constantly renewable energy. Only we are responsible for our own happiness. We make the choice to live or merely exist.
On our programs we share ideas about sustainable positive human energy at all levels – personal, leadership and organisational. The programs are what we enjoy most and do best.
