Dr. Ichak Adizes

Peter Drucker named his generation “the age of discontinuity.” I would like to call the present times “the age of mistrust.” We are living in a new jungle. In the old jungle, we knew who was the snake and who was the wolf. In the new jungle, no idea. Many are wolves in sheep’s clothing. Many snakes that tempt you with forbidden fruit have incredible titles and certificates.

We need to build Jewish pride museums. We must present to the world the contributions Jewish people have made throughout history in art, literature, medicine, science, and the social sciences.

In 2008 there was a big financial crisis. I was invited to speak to IBS, the Institute of Business Studies, at the Russian Academy of Economics. My presentation was transcribed, and the result is the booklet How to Manage in Times of Crisis.

The (E) personality style has positive aspects, not to be discarded. They are innovators. They are the people that solve problems in medicine, that create new engines. They look for challenges and, by solving them, move society forward. The way to get a Type (E) excited and instantly engaged is to tell them there is a challenge or a problem and no one knows what to do about it. They will jump on the task right there and then. And the more difficult and impossible the challenge, the more committed they will be to overcoming it.

So, why am I here on Earth? When I think about it, I feel that my purpose in life is to learn and to teach—to learn and know more and deeper—and then to share what I have learned. And learning not just from books or listening to lectures. Learning from life, observing, and asking myself and whoever will listen, questions. That is how I add value and justify my existence on earth. And this is driven by the fact that I have experienced a lot of change in my life: surviving the Holocaust, living in different countries, observing different cultures, learning different languages, and experiencing different religions.

Equality is a utopian expectation. Equality in power, in authority, in rewards. It can not be over time because of change. Situations change. The demands of the situations change. People change. Different situations require different competencies to deal with them. And the more change, the bigger the inequalities.

In my travels I come across many foreigners who admire America and would love to live here, would love to move here and invest here. What is it that America offers that is so attractive that others lack? It is not size. Other countries are even larger. It is not resources. Others have no less. What is it?

We are all human; we have strengths and weaknesses. When we have a problem, we look for help in somebody we look up to, somebody as close to perfection as possible, so that we can trust their advice. Thus, I think, at least subconsciously, we look for somebody we don't know, because the moment we know them, we know their weaknesses.