Imperative, says CEO & International Speaker
Whether we like it or not as Americans, the world is changing. Berny Dohrmann, an entrepreneur and international speaker, says we should like it.
"Embracing change is at the heart of the spirit of cooperation, which I believe to be at the heart of a solution to the problems plaguing humanity," says Dohrmann, chairman and founder of CEO Space International, and author of "Redemption: The Cooperation Revolution," (www.ceospaceinternational.com
"Many of us have been taught that competition is the primary feature of our economic system; however, the most salient common denominator for all successful human interaction features is just the opposite - it is cooperation."
Removing competitive thinking and replacing it with cooperative thinking opens us up to developing alliances that elevate what we do, rather than strategies that aim to take down our competitors, Dohrmann says.
"Cooperative thinking is the ultimate virus-removal program for the mind," he says. "Cooperative action helps resolve individual problems and, in the long run, can resolve the problems of the entire world."
Dohrmann describes some issues we face that would benefit from cooperative thinking:
• Republicans versus Democrats - a stalemate. We face massive problems -- terrorism, poverty, climate change, to name just a few. But our biggest problem lately has been agreeing upon the most basic functions of government, including paying our bills on time. Why? Because our federal congressional leaders view their roles as competitors, which demands that one group of them win and the other group lose. They value their competition over the welfare of their country and its citizens, who suffered lost wages, lost business, and lost access to crucial services.
• How will we deal with the major emerging economies that are developing? China, India and several countries in South America are among many emerging economies worldwide, which is why government and corporate leaders in America require a sea change in worldview. As Dohrmann puts it: "Cooperation produces speed in distribution of goods and services (social capital). Competition produces three speeds: slow, slower and damn near stopped. Cooperative investment rewards direction. Competition punishes it. Cooperative accounting rewards planning and this is in contrast to manipulated near-term profit illusions. Competition rewards hype. Cooperation rewards integrity. Competition rewards error. Cooperation rewards truth."
• The largest growing city in the U.S. is prison. By a large margin, America has the highest incarceration rate of any country on Earth. In 2009, the number of adults under correctional supervision - including probation, parole, jail or prison -was 6,977,700. The prison population has quadrupled since 1980, mostly due to mandatory sentencing since the "war on drugs." Almost 60 percent of America's prison population, an industry in itself, is related to minor marijuana offenses, which is a drug that's "far less harmful than over-the-counter meds or alcohol," Dohrmann says. He cites the recent case of a Utah woman who was sentenced to 11 years in prison for possession of $32 of marijuana.
"This is a staggering dynamic of stupidity in our society," he says. "Whether we like it or not, humans have taken chemicals to alter their experience since recorded history; it's like we've declared war on human nature. There is certainly a better cooperative solution to this problem, and others."
About Berny Dohrmann
Berny Dohrmann is chairman and founder of CEO Space International, one of the largest support organizations for business owners. He is the inventor of Super Teaching, a Title I technology that accelerates retention for public schools, and speaks on it around the world, at conferences and on TV programs. As a member of the Dohrmann family, which operated the largest global resort-outfitting firm as Dohrmann Hotel Supply for several generations, he grew up with several business mentors, including Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale, Walt Disney, Warner Earnhardt, Bucky Fuller, Dr. Edward Deming and Jack Kennedy. He has learned from both success and adversity: Indicted for criminal contempt for a $86,000 junk bund from an investment banking firm he had sold, he fought the charge in court, but lost in 1995 and went to prison for 18 months. He has since made a documentary about the experience.
