Page 145 - Harnessing the Strengths

128 ■ Servant-Leadership in the Intercultural Practice

detailed planning, however, are very common. Within com-
panies, the people working on business strategy are often
future oriented.

(B) Sequential Versus Synchronic Notions of Time

With regard to structuring time, there are two approaches:
sequential (linear) time and synchronic (parallel) time.

Sequential (linear)
For people who have a linear thinking process, time ticks
by in an unwavering line, second after second, hour upon
hour. For them, time is as an empirical given, a bound con-
cept of successive segments. People who think sequentially
tend to do one thing at a time. They are wild about planning
and do their best to ensure the plans are followed. For them,
coming to a meeting on time is “a must.”
This linear notion of time led to Newton’s idea of the
universe as a “big clock.” Although the idea has since been
debunked, it played an enormous role in scientifi c history.
Moreover, the framework it provided functioned as a life
buoy, providing people something to hold on to in the midst
of chaotic reality.
However, the danger in cultures where people talk about
a constant “race against the clock” is that they can’t keep up
with themselves. It has been shown that those who are “gov-
erned by the clock” display more signs of mental instability
and stress. The linear notion of time also accounts for an over-
estimation of logic. Also, the attempt to shield oneself from
existential uncertainty, by measuring the world, works against
the creative powers of the universe. Linear logic leads to “cause
and effect” thinking that allows little room for creative syn-