When people start working together they will, quite naturally, start to behave as if they were a family. This principle applies to all forms of togetherness and is the basis for the inner cohesion and loyalty towards the organisation, be it a small business, a company, a town, a country, an international organisation or the whole world. When we ignore and forget the family-concept of any organised entity internal division and strife will be inevitable, sometimes with dire results. The family remains the cornerstone of society in all aspects. There is no such thing as independence, there is interdependence.
The fragmented view of independence opens the door to unabated self-interest and getting ‘something for nothing’. The present world economy has little to do with the real world. Our economic value systems have become infected by speculation on future values and bubbles. They have become instrumental in the dramatic fluctuations on the world stock exchanges and other financial markets. Speculation on the basis of fears and expectations has become artful and has grossly inflated the global value of the economy. Questionable debt can hardly be considered a good and sound basis for credit and credibility and is one of the sources of the present credit crisis.
Shareholder value has been ‘God’ for too long. It is high time we found a new balance. We have seen the failure of the communistic systems of ownership. Those systems created inefficient and outdated production units. Saddled with ambitious defence spending they were barely capable of producing basic needs. Since the eighties the capitalistic system began to focus more and more on share price and dividend return. Large investment groupings such as pension funds grew to hold enormous influence. Share price and dividend became all important and everything was fashioned to that end. Research and development and long-term strategies were sacrifificed t the short-term, for share price was paramount. The workforce, management, customers and the state (as receiver of taxes) were secondary factors. This one-sided view ignored the family concept of a company as a living entity and focused only on profit maximation for the shareholders, It also ensured that the financial analysts and credit rating companies would produce their reports accordingly.
When a major company made bumper profits the next thing it would do was to start a reorganisation and a cost cutting drive to ensure that next year profits would even be higher. Despite the profits people were made redundant and service to customers was further curtailed. This went on for twenty years or more. Now the system has come to a grinding halt.
It seems, therefore, of great importance that we reconsider the true ownership of a public company. Are the shareholders, as financiers of the company, the real and true owners of that company? The truth is that the workforce, the providers of risk capital and the state are all three involved. This threefold nature of ownership should be reflected in the company structure. The state is involved through the instrument of legislation but the workforce and the financiers should find a means to co-operate rather than compete for power in a company. This could be achieved by issuing certificates of shares and vesting the real authority in the board of directors as issuer of the shares. The nomination of the board should be a matter of further consideration.
Of course, a fundamental driving force in speculative activity has been in the realm of real estate. Indeed, one might say that it is the primary force behind the monetary excesses. The great attraction is location value, which is all too evident in the city centres. No individual or corporation creates this value, for manifestly, it is the creation of the community as a whole. Currently, this value – the natural fund of the state – is not collected, so the state collects its funds through taxes on production and wages. Clearly, this is an area that needs much more attention and investigation.
With a willingness to seek the causes of our present predicament, much can be achieved. With more balanced relationships within the corporate world more energy will be available for setting up a green and durable economy rather than a profit driven treadmill. Durability is the hallmark of a family. A family provides shelter for good times and bad times.
Paul G. van Oyen
vrijdag 3 april 2009
vrijdag 20 maart 2009
Circular Letter March 2009
Circular letter
March 2009
An early crisis in the spirit of this century
By this time it will have dawned on most of us that we have been plunged into a deep global crisis. Ever since the roaring sixties of the last century we have dreamt about all kinds of global ideals based on ‘sharing together’ and ‘flower power’. The so called ‘carnation revolution’ in Portugal and the student revolts in Paris and Berlin marked a break with the past and its authoritarian systems. But this idealistic dream did not last very long and soon the revolutionary world of Che Guevarra and the so called paradise-state of Fidel Castro’s Cuba had to give way for a much more businesslike approach which was prompted by the economic hard times of the early eighties.
The utopian world had receded. Earning money, making a career and personal development were the new motivators. In the U.K. the miner’s strike was effectively broken in 1985 by the Thatcher government. Before, Britain defeated the Argentinians in the 1982 Falklands war. In the U.S. Ronald Reagan built up US military strength whilst Soviet power was crumbling and by the end of the decade the Berlin wall was torn down. Personal ambition and shareholder-value were the banners. Few can escape the spirit of the time. At most it is possible to stay aloof, decide not to participate and accept the consequences. Even then the time-spirit remains a dominant factor. However, the new businesslike approach soon appeared to be an even bigger dream than the utopian world of ‘flower power’ and the ‘hippies’. In 1968 the Beatles hit the world with their song Hey Jude don’t make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. That was the sound of the sixties: to make a better world. Ten years later Billy Preston sang with Syreeta with you I am born again. In ten years time the spirit of that time was transformed from world-improvers to the adepts of personal development aiming to be born again in the arms of a woman. In 1994 the Dutch singer Marco Borsato composed a song called dreams are empty.
Facts and dreams were swapped for personal ambition. Hefty bonus schemes and ‘big deals’ helped to inflate the balloon even further with hot air. In that dream of personal ambition we ignored our sense of measure. The sky was the limit. Bankers started to finance castles in the air and, finally, the ordinary people ran to the Icybank and got an ice-cold shower. They lost their savings. Now it is time to sober up and contemplate the astronomic bill we all, as taxpayers, will have to pay. That bill will only be paid if we come back to our senses, if we wake up and start to observe, once more, the natural measures in everything. Bankers have lost their trading stock in the form of trust and confidence. They do not even trust each other knowing how much ‘baked air’ has been pumped into their respective balance sheets. If the banks do not trust each other how can the money flow? The present crisis demands a new beginning, a new sound; the sound of our conscience in its sobering simplicity. Discover how things really are. Look at the facts and love the truth. Deflation helps because it stimulates new impulses. At low tide innovation is necessary in order to survive.
Paul G. van Oyen
March 2009
An early crisis in the spirit of this century
By this time it will have dawned on most of us that we have been plunged into a deep global crisis. Ever since the roaring sixties of the last century we have dreamt about all kinds of global ideals based on ‘sharing together’ and ‘flower power’. The so called ‘carnation revolution’ in Portugal and the student revolts in Paris and Berlin marked a break with the past and its authoritarian systems. But this idealistic dream did not last very long and soon the revolutionary world of Che Guevarra and the so called paradise-state of Fidel Castro’s Cuba had to give way for a much more businesslike approach which was prompted by the economic hard times of the early eighties.
The utopian world had receded. Earning money, making a career and personal development were the new motivators. In the U.K. the miner’s strike was effectively broken in 1985 by the Thatcher government. Before, Britain defeated the Argentinians in the 1982 Falklands war. In the U.S. Ronald Reagan built up US military strength whilst Soviet power was crumbling and by the end of the decade the Berlin wall was torn down. Personal ambition and shareholder-value were the banners. Few can escape the spirit of the time. At most it is possible to stay aloof, decide not to participate and accept the consequences. Even then the time-spirit remains a dominant factor. However, the new businesslike approach soon appeared to be an even bigger dream than the utopian world of ‘flower power’ and the ‘hippies’. In 1968 the Beatles hit the world with their song Hey Jude don’t make it bad, take a sad song and make it better. That was the sound of the sixties: to make a better world. Ten years later Billy Preston sang with Syreeta with you I am born again. In ten years time the spirit of that time was transformed from world-improvers to the adepts of personal development aiming to be born again in the arms of a woman. In 1994 the Dutch singer Marco Borsato composed a song called dreams are empty.
Facts and dreams were swapped for personal ambition. Hefty bonus schemes and ‘big deals’ helped to inflate the balloon even further with hot air. In that dream of personal ambition we ignored our sense of measure. The sky was the limit. Bankers started to finance castles in the air and, finally, the ordinary people ran to the Icybank and got an ice-cold shower. They lost their savings. Now it is time to sober up and contemplate the astronomic bill we all, as taxpayers, will have to pay. That bill will only be paid if we come back to our senses, if we wake up and start to observe, once more, the natural measures in everything. Bankers have lost their trading stock in the form of trust and confidence. They do not even trust each other knowing how much ‘baked air’ has been pumped into their respective balance sheets. If the banks do not trust each other how can the money flow? The present crisis demands a new beginning, a new sound; the sound of our conscience in its sobering simplicity. Discover how things really are. Look at the facts and love the truth. Deflation helps because it stimulates new impulses. At low tide innovation is necessary in order to survive.
Paul G. van Oyen
dinsdag 10 maart 2009
the social face of banking
THE SOCIAL FACE OF BANKING
The world has been roughly shaken up by the rather un-social behaviour of the Western banking system, especially in the U.S. and in Europe. As a result, the banking world is shaking on its very fundament of trust and stability. It sounds unbelievable that the greater part of the banking system in the USA and in Europe has fallen prey to the entanglements of greed and self-interest. The push for shareholder-value has driven the banking system into products that were so complicated that they could cover up the real risks as long as the markets kept on moving upwards. Banks have engaged in all kinds of complicated financial deals based on property investment, on life insurance policies and option schemes backed up by guarantees issued by other respectable banks in the West. These, and their derivates, are euphemistically called structured loans. On top of this there are many more forms of securitization of debt which have, as yet, not attracted the attention of the public eye. In short, the western banking system is gravely sick and it looks as if the tax payer will have to face the bill if the banking system is to survive. There is no other option in present day circumstances. Here are some causes of our predicament:
• Over a long period the system has been flushed with liquidity from the Central Banks, notably the Federal Reserve Bank. There was no lack of money for many years. Banks were like a cornucopia.
• Low interest rates invited lenders and borrowers to increase lending and borrowing, creating an atmosphere of ‘manageable credit’ without looking at the facts. Rising property prices were considered a sound basis for repayment schemes. This turned out to be a major error of judgment.
• Twenty-five years of being focused on ‘shareholder-value’ rather than on the interests of all involved as would be fitting for prudent leadership. The take-over of Dutch ABN-AMRO Bank for 80 billion euros marked the limit of this seemingly endless sky.
• Selling bad loans under the guise of triple A ratings is almost tantamount to telling ties. Supervision of banks failed. Accountants were condoning.
• The remuneration of the top and its executives by means of a bonus system that had gone completely ‘out of measure’.
When, finally, the world woke up to these facts the global banking community was no longer ready to allow the interbank market to function properly. This attitude of mutual lack of trust only aggravated the situation immensely. Every bank(er) mistrusts the other bank(er) because they know how much ‘junk’ everyone has taken on their books. With taxpayers’ money ‘bad banks’ are now created to harbour all those bad loans. For the time being the interbank market is only partially available for funding the outstanding loans of the banking system. Governments have to step in with taxpayers’ money to fill the gaps left by the banking system. The result is a banking crisis of – as yet – unseen proportions and a number of banks have had to be taken over by various governments by way of a bale-out. No wonder that in these circumstances new credit lines are not easily available for business and industry although they are highly needed.
As a further crisis measure banks in the Netherlands are actively closing down on the ‘underside’ of the market and refusing basic banking services to a number of enterprises on the grounds that they may be prone to the white washing of cash payments, even if these enterprises have obtained every form of ‘good conduct’ certificate from the local authorities and from the tax people. In short, using a Dutch saying: banks are more Roman than the Pope in Rome himself. For a public function, like banking, this is an unacceptable attitude and a number of businessmen are suing the banks, successfully, in this respect. Even if they are successful the attitude of the banks is fundamentally unsocial and it is important that this arrogance should be redressed. Such a ‘retuning’ of activities may be achieved from the inside and with the help of the government and the central bank, but it could also be achieved by setting up a new banking entity that would be willing to act, once more (as 100 years ago), as a Volksbank (people’s bank). The origin of the now respectable (triple A rating) Rabobank comes from this background.
Paul van Oyen: In my opinion the market is ready for such an initiative. In 1986 I had the unique opportunity of starting a small merchant bank in Amsterdam funded by investors from the Middle East (Bahrain and Kuwait) and from the UK. Unfortunately, the bank was converted into a savings bank. In its short time of existence as a merchant bank the bank was able to prove its useful function as a source of trade finance based on the bill of exchange.
Although the world’s outlook has dramatically changed over the past 30 years, the fundamentals are still the same. It is those fundamentals that are now under threat to remain unserved. This should not happen and it opens, therefore, a good opportunity for a new vision in banking: its public function as a service institute to the community based on the wellbeing of all involved. The function of a bank is to facilitate prosperity for all and not the excessive incomes of its executives. The duty of a bank is to get the facts and state the truth. Only the truth will vouchsafe credit, not lies or manipulated stories and dreams. Nobody has ever been able to actually eat an illusory apple. At lowtide innovation is necessary for survival. Truth is always innovative.
Paul G. van Oyen
Erik L. Van Dijk
Amsterdam,
March 2009
The world has been roughly shaken up by the rather un-social behaviour of the Western banking system, especially in the U.S. and in Europe. As a result, the banking world is shaking on its very fundament of trust and stability. It sounds unbelievable that the greater part of the banking system in the USA and in Europe has fallen prey to the entanglements of greed and self-interest. The push for shareholder-value has driven the banking system into products that were so complicated that they could cover up the real risks as long as the markets kept on moving upwards. Banks have engaged in all kinds of complicated financial deals based on property investment, on life insurance policies and option schemes backed up by guarantees issued by other respectable banks in the West. These, and their derivates, are euphemistically called structured loans. On top of this there are many more forms of securitization of debt which have, as yet, not attracted the attention of the public eye. In short, the western banking system is gravely sick and it looks as if the tax payer will have to face the bill if the banking system is to survive. There is no other option in present day circumstances. Here are some causes of our predicament:
• Over a long period the system has been flushed with liquidity from the Central Banks, notably the Federal Reserve Bank. There was no lack of money for many years. Banks were like a cornucopia.
• Low interest rates invited lenders and borrowers to increase lending and borrowing, creating an atmosphere of ‘manageable credit’ without looking at the facts. Rising property prices were considered a sound basis for repayment schemes. This turned out to be a major error of judgment.
• Twenty-five years of being focused on ‘shareholder-value’ rather than on the interests of all involved as would be fitting for prudent leadership. The take-over of Dutch ABN-AMRO Bank for 80 billion euros marked the limit of this seemingly endless sky.
• Selling bad loans under the guise of triple A ratings is almost tantamount to telling ties. Supervision of banks failed. Accountants were condoning.
• The remuneration of the top and its executives by means of a bonus system that had gone completely ‘out of measure’.
When, finally, the world woke up to these facts the global banking community was no longer ready to allow the interbank market to function properly. This attitude of mutual lack of trust only aggravated the situation immensely. Every bank(er) mistrusts the other bank(er) because they know how much ‘junk’ everyone has taken on their books. With taxpayers’ money ‘bad banks’ are now created to harbour all those bad loans. For the time being the interbank market is only partially available for funding the outstanding loans of the banking system. Governments have to step in with taxpayers’ money to fill the gaps left by the banking system. The result is a banking crisis of – as yet – unseen proportions and a number of banks have had to be taken over by various governments by way of a bale-out. No wonder that in these circumstances new credit lines are not easily available for business and industry although they are highly needed.
As a further crisis measure banks in the Netherlands are actively closing down on the ‘underside’ of the market and refusing basic banking services to a number of enterprises on the grounds that they may be prone to the white washing of cash payments, even if these enterprises have obtained every form of ‘good conduct’ certificate from the local authorities and from the tax people. In short, using a Dutch saying: banks are more Roman than the Pope in Rome himself. For a public function, like banking, this is an unacceptable attitude and a number of businessmen are suing the banks, successfully, in this respect. Even if they are successful the attitude of the banks is fundamentally unsocial and it is important that this arrogance should be redressed. Such a ‘retuning’ of activities may be achieved from the inside and with the help of the government and the central bank, but it could also be achieved by setting up a new banking entity that would be willing to act, once more (as 100 years ago), as a Volksbank (people’s bank). The origin of the now respectable (triple A rating) Rabobank comes from this background.
Paul van Oyen: In my opinion the market is ready for such an initiative. In 1986 I had the unique opportunity of starting a small merchant bank in Amsterdam funded by investors from the Middle East (Bahrain and Kuwait) and from the UK. Unfortunately, the bank was converted into a savings bank. In its short time of existence as a merchant bank the bank was able to prove its useful function as a source of trade finance based on the bill of exchange.
Although the world’s outlook has dramatically changed over the past 30 years, the fundamentals are still the same. It is those fundamentals that are now under threat to remain unserved. This should not happen and it opens, therefore, a good opportunity for a new vision in banking: its public function as a service institute to the community based on the wellbeing of all involved. The function of a bank is to facilitate prosperity for all and not the excessive incomes of its executives. The duty of a bank is to get the facts and state the truth. Only the truth will vouchsafe credit, not lies or manipulated stories and dreams. Nobody has ever been able to actually eat an illusory apple. At lowtide innovation is necessary for survival. Truth is always innovative.
Paul G. van Oyen
Erik L. Van Dijk
Amsterdam,
March 2009
maandag 9 maart 2009
Leadership today
Being in charge of an organisation or a business and managing its affairs implies the ability to lead without swerving from Truth, from the facts. This principle applies to all ages and all times but is all too easily forgotten or ignored. A leader must have a special energy and enthusiasm for the job. He or she must have inner strength and if one is successful one should not feel proud or arrogant. On the contrary, one should be able to behave with magnanimity and liberality in such a way that everyone feels included. The great Indian poet Kalidâsa once remarked in one of his plays: the king's behaviour was such that all his subjects thought that he or she alone was very dear or close to the king. If a celebrated actress gives a 45 minutes press conference for 50 journalists the same could easily happen. It recently happened to Catherine (Kate) Winslett. Such is the power of attention, combined with the good name of a celebrated stature.
With leadership one should feel at home and at ease as if one were working with and for friends. Leadership through fear and coercion is disastrous. If a leader knows how to engender the quality of friendliness and mercy the organisation or the business will thrive and function to the satisfaction of all - even in hard times when painful decisions may be necessary. There is, however, another aspect that is most relevant. An element of ambition is natural, but when it forfeits the restraint of observation and just looking at the facts and when manipulative drive starts to usurp its place we can so easily end up selling – to use an example – collateralised debt obligations; in other words ‘baked air’. In such a world clever dealing wins the plaudits and truthful practice is acknowledged with reluctant condescension. A leader should have his feet-on-the-ground and not be thrown by the ups and downs; in fact, all is viewed from an inner sense of balance. This, of course, is not easy. Indeed, without some degree of inner spiritual connection, very difficult, if not impossible.
A real leader is not interested in power and glory but in the well-being of the organisation, the employees and the customers. This universal dimension gives true leadership a quality of serving all and everything. It entails the need for utter simplicity. Such a leader would not function from a desire for wealth and profit but from a sense of duty. Would Winston Churchill ever have started with the leadership of the allied forces if 'earning a nice salary' had been his motivating force?
Such is the dimension of true leadership.
Paul G. Van Oyen
With leadership one should feel at home and at ease as if one were working with and for friends. Leadership through fear and coercion is disastrous. If a leader knows how to engender the quality of friendliness and mercy the organisation or the business will thrive and function to the satisfaction of all - even in hard times when painful decisions may be necessary. There is, however, another aspect that is most relevant. An element of ambition is natural, but when it forfeits the restraint of observation and just looking at the facts and when manipulative drive starts to usurp its place we can so easily end up selling – to use an example – collateralised debt obligations; in other words ‘baked air’. In such a world clever dealing wins the plaudits and truthful practice is acknowledged with reluctant condescension. A leader should have his feet-on-the-ground and not be thrown by the ups and downs; in fact, all is viewed from an inner sense of balance. This, of course, is not easy. Indeed, without some degree of inner spiritual connection, very difficult, if not impossible.
A real leader is not interested in power and glory but in the well-being of the organisation, the employees and the customers. This universal dimension gives true leadership a quality of serving all and everything. It entails the need for utter simplicity. Such a leader would not function from a desire for wealth and profit but from a sense of duty. Would Winston Churchill ever have started with the leadership of the allied forces if 'earning a nice salary' had been his motivating force?
Such is the dimension of true leadership.
Paul G. Van Oyen
dinsdag 3 maart 2009
Rondbrief Februari 2009
februari 2009
‘Ik ben het!’
De grote Indiase filosoof en hervormer Shankara (plm 800 n.Chr) had een discipel die hem jarenlang diende zonder dat de discipel ooit formeel onderricht had gehad van de leermeester. Op een dag hoorde Shankara iemand achter hem lopen en hij vroeg ‘wie is daar?’ De discipel antwoordde enthousiast ‘ik ben het’. Daarop zei de meester tegen hem: als dat ‘ik’ je zo lief is, maak het dan onbegrensd of vergeet het helemaal zodat het verdwijnt.
Wij vinden het heel lastig om ons los te maken van onze overtuiging dat wij iets of iemand zijn. We zullen altijd op zijn minst herkenbaar willen zijn aan onze naam of stem: ik ben Piet, ik ben Marie of ‘ik ben het!’ Maar ‘Piet’ en ‘Marie’ vormen een begrenzing voor het Zelf dat zich door die enkele naam ingeperkt ziet tot een gevoelig brokje levend vlees en bloed van nog geen 2 meter lang en een aantal kilo’s gewicht. Wanneer dat lichaam geboren wordt, is dat het begin en wanneer het sterft is dat het einde. Verder kijken dan de neus van ons lichaam lang is, doen we niet want dat is niet concreet maar wazig en speculatief. Zo is onze leefwereld ingeperkt tot de wereld van onze zintuigen en van zintuiglijk denken en voelen. We maken onszelf tot een speelbal van onze fysieke omstandigheden en van de eindeloze afwisseling van plezier en pijn.
Neem bijvoorbeeld liefde en toewijding. In liefde vinden we het helemaal niet moeilijk om achter de fysieke schijn te kijken en allerlei kwaliteiten te waarderen die zich slechts heel ten dele in fysieke zin laten uitdrukken. In liefde kennen we de waarde en het belang van geduld, van vergevensgezindheid, van doortastendheid, van moed, trouw, loyaliteit en nog veel meer andere subtiele kwaliteiten. Nog verder achter die kwaliteiten bevindt zich de stille wereld van helder, transparant bewustzijn waarin de zaadvormen van ons leven en van onze toekomst worden vastgehouden. Tenslotte is er het onbegrensde Zelf, waarin het ego zelf oplost en verdwijnt en echte vrijheid de werkelijkheid is.
Iemand bad tijdens een religieuze ceremonie: “O God mogen wij allemaal verdwijnen in de rivier van onze liefde en devotie’ Een wijze man merkte op: als je dat doet, wat gebeurt er dan met de mensen om je heen die van jou afhankelijk zijn? Doe dit: zink weg in de peilloze diepte van liefde en devotie en kom dan weer terug op het droge om verder te gaan en je reis te vervolgen en neem een sprankje van die liefde mee…
Paul G. van Oyen
Circular Letter February 2009
Villa Sophia
circular letter
February 2009
‘It is I’
The great Indian philosopher and reformer Shankara (about 800 AD) had a disciple who served him over many years without receiving any formal instruction from the master. One day Shankara heard somebody walking behind him and he asked ‘who is it?’ The disciple answered enthusiastically ‘it is I’. The master said: if you are so fond of that ‘I’ make sure it becomes limitless or else forget about it and make sure it disappears altogether.
We find it rather difficult to letting go our cherished conviction that we are someone or somebody. All of us want to be recognized and for that purpose we carry a name and other identity marks such as the sound of our voice. So the least we would accept is: I am Peter or I am Deborah or – if the sound of our voice is known – It is I. Peter and Deborah and the sound of our voice identify us with our physical appearance and in that way they are an major limitation over the Self which is limitless and beyond time and space. We assume that this limitless Self is now limited – as ‘I’ - to a physical appearance in a living embodiment of flesh and blood of about eight foot high and weighing a few stones. When the body is born, it counts as the beginning and when it passes away it counts as the end. Looking any further is deemed to be speculative and unscientific. In this way we have enclosed ourselves in the world of sense-perception. Our mind is focused on the drifting sands of our senses and the endless alternation of pleasure and pain.
But there is much more than just a world of sense perception. Take for instance love and devotion. In love we have no difficulty to look behind the physical appearance and to value many qualities that may only find a partial expression in the physical world. In love we fully know the value and importance of patience, of forgiveness, meekness, vigour, courage, faithfulness, loyalty, stability and many more subtle qualities. Even further behind this world of subtle qualities there is the stillness of clear and transparent consciousness where things are known as they are and where the seed-forms of our actions and tendencies are safely stored away. Finally there is the limitless Self as substratum of all and everything. Everything returns to it to become, once more, universal and beyond form.
Someone prayed at a religious service: ‘O God, may we all sink and disappear into the river of devotion and love’. When the service was over a wise man said to him: ‘look here. How can you disappear altogether in the river of love and devotion? If you do, what will happen to those around you and who depend on you? Just do one thing: sink now and then, and come back again to dry land to continue your journey and take a drop of that love and devotion with you….
Paul G. van Oyen
www.pvanoyen.nl
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