Love and Power

In one of the last speeches by Martin Luther King Jr., he said, "Power without love, is reckless and abusive," and he continued, "love without power is sentimental and anemic." His idea was that the world needs both.


In business and in education, I think it is comfortable for us to speak about having power and money. We see every day what you can have, in terms of tangible objects, if you have enough money. In fact, I saw on Amazon about a year ago that for a mere $85,000, you can buy an antique Russian Floral Bouquet Plaque paperweight and just in case you were wondering, gift wrapping is available. We all know that having money provides power to do just about anything you want. I mean just think of all the friends and dinner offers you would have if you just owned the aforementioned antique paperweight. :) The concept of power connected to money is not new and in fact is more predictable every day.



In the same line, King mentions that love without power is sentimental and anemic. Now to those of you who are somewhat like me and was offended by this when I first read it, hold on for a minute because I think he is actually right. How many organizations do you know that are run by caring and thoughtful individuals who have no concept of money or how to run a business? Do these organizations end up surviving? What it has taken me a really long time to realize is that loving something enough does not make it work. I can love the people of Haiti with all of my heart but until I am able to take kids off the streets and give them a safe place to stay and foot to eat, I am not actually helpful. There has to be someone that says helping Haiti takes time, it takes patience and it takes someone who has the power to not only love but the power to actually help the people.



The model I think Martin Luther King Jr. was talking about is one of balance, he is saying, for a healthy organization to work, this difficult and sometimes awkward balance has to be achieved. The "he is a lover and a fighter," mentality recognizes that the combination of love and power is vital to helping successfully.



I say all of this in conclusion to my Philippines trip because what I saw while I was there was a leader who has recognized this balance. In one of my first posts, I wrote that Salvador Cariaga might be one of the greatest leaders of our time, I could not agree more with myself today sitting in Edmond, Oklahoma than when it seemed like I was in the middle of nowhere looking at goats all day. No, I was not suffering from heat stroke when I said that the first time (ok I might have been a little) but now that I am able to reflect on the work that he is doing, I can see that his love for the people in the Philippines as well as his power to change their lives in dramatic ways is what makes him a true servant leader.



So, even though I have said this a thousand times already, I will continue to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. I arrived in the Philippines prepared to teach others about leadership and had no idea I would be leaving as the student.