FROM SWANAGE TO AUSCHWITZ

Guest post by: David Oliver
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Stress Tactics and Vents - By David Oliver

FROM SWANAGE TO AUSCHWITZ

Hi I'm David Oliver from Love Work Live Life. Let me tell you a brief personal story to help you understand where I'm coming from.

I remember sitting on a pier in Swanage England when Joel my eldest son was five or six. As we sat there with our crab lines dangling far below in the water, hauling up the unfortunate prospects, something else unforgettable was taking place. Joel's attention was not on the crabbing but he was counting the number of people with crab lines. 'Dad, how much money do you think it cost to make those crab lines? How much did they sell them for?' He spent the next few minutes trying to calculate how much the manufacturers had made on this one day's transactions. It was unforgettable, not in some dramatic way but simply that he had begun to explore, at an incredibly early age, the principles of supply and demand, the principles of a wholesome product or not, the enjoyment of the customer and the issue, the alluring issue, of profit. It was unforgettable for me as a Dad because I saw the future for him. I saw just a glimpse that day of what God had made him to be.

Twelve years later, Joel and I were visiting Auschwitz and Berkenhau assessing the horrific impact of the holocaust. Looking into the ovens that had scorched and charred fathers, mothers, sons and misery, one of the things that struck us with incredible power was the fact that the Nazi perpetrators ran the whole thing as a business. Even to the grisly details of selling gold fillings and human hair. Gold that would find its way into the cynical banks of Switzerland or even our own Barclays Bank in Paris! Human hair that was sent off to line the suits of the rich, or alternatively as upholstery material on German furniture. Working out in great detail the maths of production, the ways to greater efficiency. It was as if the evil could somehow be covered by the routine, the normality and the pleasure of business principles. I remember the very strange feelings running through my own mind as I looked at the exhibits in the various rooms at Auschwitz, and saw many corporate names, names such as AEG, Bata, IG Farben, Krupp, Portland Zement and Siemens. Now I am sure that these corporations have changed since then, but how could respectable household names such as BMW (I even drive their cars) participate in a business venture with such horrific implications? I don't know if we will ever answer those questions satisfactorily.

In fact in a stamp of heretical wickedness over the gates at Auschwioz is the infamous inscription in German Work sets free. I have set my mind and life to find a wholesome view of work which does not denigrate it but rather that sees it as wholesome service to creator and creatures

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Stress Tactics and Vents - By David Oliver

About the Author: David Oliver

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Focusing on work-life issues, David Oliver is highly sought after in business conferences the world over for his charismatic, motivating style. He has spoken in a wide variety of settings to over 200,000 people - from large groups running into thousands to small workshops. 98% of delegates polled have rated his material as either excellent or good. This has ranged from both small owner managed businesses right through to international corporates such as HBOS, Mitsubishi, Microsoft, H.P., Lloyds, and B&Q. 'David Oliver is an inspiring keynote and motivational speaker' Gordon McKenzie, Country Manager Microsoft Scotland Recent assignments include addressing 350 delegates in Belfast at the 'Business leaders' conference and running work-life balance symposiums with the Ministry of State for community development in Singapore. Working directly with a government minister to address several large public groups on work life effectiveness. A board member of HBOS (Halifax Bank of Scotland) said of David after the keynote address at his senior management conference 'it was a tour de force but also an incredible challenge' David Oliver is an Author Of 9 books
Click here to visit David's website.

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