Monotaga or No Monotaga

village fono (council of chiefs) - photo NPAS

Monotaga refers to the services certain matai (chiefs) render to the village as part of their dues and shares to the general development and welfare of the village.  These services include participating in village projects ranging from clearing and maintaining village access roads to building a church or school, and any monetary or other donations to church funds and village programs. In recent years, the government mandated the monotaga to be one of the main requirements for any chief who runs for a seat in Parliament. The requirement calls for the monotaga for a period of three consecutive years leading up to the elections.  The three years is also the minimum residency requirement for the candidate in the village he/she represents.  Some of the candidates (past and present) have been disqualified because they have failed to satisfy the monotaga requirement.  Hence the monotaga has become a controversial issue because of its vagueness and ambiguity.  It is also believed to be discriminatory since not all matais are supposed to render monotaga and it's not the same in every village in its application/execution. As recent as just last week, the courts have upheld the monotaga requirement even though Parliament had failed to define monotaga in the Act that sanctions it. The following letter of mine has been published by the Samoa Observer (Feb 27th) articulating my position on the issue.

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Monotaga or No Monotaga (updated)

(My aunty and sister would cringe at the eponymous title.)

Monotaga, as a cultural and traditional practice of rendering services to the village by certain matais should not be used as a requirement to be a candidate in the elections.

First of all, there is no specific definition of monotaga that would pass legal muster. The present irony, which borders on political and legal mockery, is that while Parliament had failed to come up with a definitive, unambiguous and fair definition and application, yet the courts went ahead and enforced what obviously is a vague and convoluted, if not a politically motivated, Act. The monotaga is therefore diminished in its traditional, cultural and altruistic role. It is now "defined", dictated and regulated by law - and classified as well.

Monotaga is a practice that is broad, general and relative at best. Different villages have their own interpretation and application despite the principle and idea being perceived as being the same and/or similar throughout Samoa. It's the same notion behind the adage "E sui faiga ae le suia faavae" (practices change but principles don't). Everyone can grasp the concept/principle of monotaga, but when it comes to its actual implementation, it varies and differs if not conspicuously relative and provisional. In fact, it proves even more problematic and unintelligible when it's ported over to a strictly legal construct. We need to remember that, more often than not, traditional and status-based cultural concepts do not dovetail well, if at all, into more modern democratic institutions. Monotaga therefore represents an at large challenge for developing societies trying to assimilate more modern legal and democratic practices.

Monotaga also proves to be discriminatory within the context of the present electoral configuration. The two principal constituencies (traditional and urban) are essentially different in composition and configuration, hence at odds with each other when it comes to modern political and/or legal principles. The urban constituency is an anomaly in the larger cultural configuration as well as in some people's aspirations to keep and maintain traditional elements - especially the faa-matai - within the more modern system of government.

As the clone of the Individual Voters Roll, the urban constituencies still have some of the old biased and discriminatory intimations. And to an extent, they have become a Pandora's box for the government. Initially, when the matai title requirement for Members of Parliament became law a few years ago, the impression then was that obtaining a matai title for the Individual Voters Roll representatives was "as easy as getting a loaf of bread" - and it was, obviously. Then the monotaga requirement naturally followed, if not imposed. And since it is something that is defined and understood exclusively within a traditional village, the question was to whom (what village) will the urban representatives render their monotaga, since there's no traditionally-formed village, per se, that they represent. And yet their titles may actually belong to a village in the territorial constituencies and in which, ironically, they are considered non-residents.

Therefore the resulting "evil" out of the proverbial box is dual loyalty. The urban representatives are now torn between their urban constituencies and the village of their titles. It's become a double duty. The suggested solution for these MP's is to pay and contribute to any projects within their urban constituencies, and that should satisfy the monotaga requirement. Simply put, monotaga, as rendered in the territorial constituencies, and now required by law, does not apply to them. However, according to customs, and to the PM, they still need to render their monotaga or risk being called not real matais. It seems that the more the government wants to create a seamless co-existence between the two constituencies, the more they're drawn apart. There is a convincement within the government that due to Samoa's cultural diversity, equality across the board is not possible. What, in essence, the government is saying is that in some cases, inequality, prejudice and discrimination will still be part of life in paradise and can/should be tolerated. Just learn to live with them.

I'm sure that if it weren't for the law that requires a matai title to be a Member of Parliament, the monotaga would not have been an issue at all. Be the former as it may then, but drop the latter. I understand the main concern about matais who do not take seriously their responsibilities and become calculating and conniving especially close to election time.

Also certain matais like paramount chiefs (ali'i sili) are not supposed to render any monotaga according to customs and traditions.  They are exempt. Yet some are already in Parliament. An example would be the representative from Aleipata Itupa i Lalo (Tafua).  On the other extreme, so-called low ranking matais and those who may still hold their matai palota (ballot titles) are not expected to render any monotaga, and yet their titles have been registered and therefore are still legitimate. These matais can still run as candidates using these "inferior" titles but should not be required and/or expected to render any monotaga.

So here's my suggestion. Leave the monotaga in its traditional place. As for the candidates, make it a requirement to pay a registration fee. The fee should be non-refundable. It should be an amount representing an average across the board for a three years' worth of monotaga. And most importantly, instead of the government keeping the money, give it to the village(s). Though it sounds like a monotaga, it actually is not. It should not be considered as something in lieu of a monotaga. This registration fee is something that can be measured, is more equal, fair and can pass legal muster. Meanwhile let the village council deal with monotaga issues as part of their local administrative functions.

"Oh what a tangled web we weave
When first we practice to deceive." - Sir Walter Scott
(Oi aue, se faamoega i na lavelave ua tatou lalaga 
Mai se ulua'i taupulepulega ina ia tatou taulalama.)

Manuia le alo atu i faiga palota!

LV Letalu

My Thoughts and Notes on Samoan Tattoos - Pe’a and Malu

The two notable English loanwords of Samoan/Polynesian origins are taboo (tapu) and tattoo (tatau/tatu).  Now, on the latter.

Okay. I admit that I do have some like and dislike sentiments for tattoos.  I like the traditional pe'a ("full" body tattoo of the Samoan men). My dad had a pe'a and I was there when he had it done, witnessing the whole feat.  However, I dislike (bordering on disgust) the trending accessories -  armband, sleeve, shoulder, full arm/hand, ankle tattoos, etc., - especially when done with the notion of complementing the pe'a.  The only two designs that traditionally complement the pe'a are the pute (tattoo around the bellybutton, although it's often considered part of the pe'a) and the punialo (navel tattoo) - the latter being optional for some.

I also like the malu (traditional tattoo above the knees to mid thigh for women) and its traditional significance.  But I despise the fact that, today, any woman who wants a malu can have it. The result is analogous to any item of value, that whenever it's duplicated, its value/worth depreciates and significance diminishes. The best example would be an expensive and valuable painting.  The more it's reproduced and copied, the lesser will be its value and worth. Or take the malu for example. When there's only one woman with a malu dancing as part of a social occasion/celebration, the scene is treasured, admired and valued. But when five or ten women all get up at the same time to flaunt and strut their malu stuff, then the scene becomes nondescript and a run-of-the-mill.

The direct link to this mass duplication of the pe'a and malu is their commercialization. The pair have fast become commodities and cash cows for the tattooists. In the past, these tufugas (artists) were also well off when they were paid with traditional forms of exchange (mats, fine mats, tapa cloths, etc.) and with some money as well. Today, they are almost exclusively paid with monies.  And considering the current commodity status of the pe'a as well as the mad rush of supplementary tattoos (mentioned above), the tufugas are better off than most employed Samoans. They also get to enjoy some fringe benefits such as travel.  It's not uncommon for these tufugas to spend time among expatriate communities in the USA, New Zealand, Australia and other countries carving (pun intended)  their niche and earning thousands through an unregulated profession.

The main reason the pe'a is considered an initiation, like most other rites of passage, is the excruciating pain involved in the traditional method and process. Therefore a pe'a is done incrementally and takes weeks if not months to complete.  Today, because of the tattoos' rising role as a source of income for the tattooists, modern forms of anesthesia and pain killers are used;  hence lessening the duration of the process. Apparently these new merchants are also catching up to the truth behind the axiom "time is money".  Conversely, the "no pain, no gain" axiom is the antithesis within the context of proper cultural and traditional symbolism.  In other words, if you didn't feel the real, unbearable, agonizing pain, because of the help of modern antidotes, then your pe'a has lost all the cultural and traditional essence and meaning.  It becomes more of just a rubber-stamped body art. Even the remedial and curative method is intolerable.  After a day's session, the men would walk out to the sea/lagoon and would soak the fresh skin lacerations in sea water (Ouch!) and then soothed afterwards with coconut oil.

Another significant part of getting a pe'a in the past, is the fact that it's an aiga (family) decision - not an individual's as it is today in most cases.  Today, anyone who wants and is able to afford the costs of getting a pe'a or malu can and will have one - just for the sake of having one; again with no real cultural or traditional significance.  The pe'a has also been a mark of a male who is agile, well versed and skilled in performing cultural roles and tasks such as food preparation, oration, and other manual labors in serving the matai and aiga.  This particular versatile male is called a soga'imiti.

Unfortunately there are those who wear the pe'a who cannot/will not stand the smoke and heat of the umu (Samoan oven), and would wear sandals to avoid stepping on a motumotu (burning ember) and die (haha!!) or suffer some other malady; cannot climb a coconut tree, let alone an apple tree; cannot folafola a sua (orate traditional gifted foods/stuffs) or make a lafo (clear ground for planting taros and other tubers); and could only fish using a fagai'a (dynamite), etc. etc. These are just a few of the responsibilities that come with having a pe'a.  And so to those who belong to this pseudo-soga'imiti group, the elders would often say: "Se ua maimau le pe'a ia oe se" ("Pity, you really don't deserve that pe'a")...You see, that's why I don't have a pe'a...hahaaa...actually it's by choice that I don't have one. (Dearie told me that a pe'a would look really nice on me lol!) But as for the duties and responsibilities of a soga'imiti, I've "been there ‘n done ‘em all!" ...#kamaSamoamao'iasikama.  Ia ga!

Pe'a Notes:

Pula'ū (pron. poolah~oo) An adult young man without a pe'a, often a taule'ale'a (non-titleholder) and especially a member of the ‘aumaga (group of taulele'a).  It's not, as claimed by others, any adult male without a pe'a.

Soga'imiti - A taule'ale'a with a pe'a, especially one that is active and skilled in performing manual tasks and labors in the everyday life of family and village.

Pe'amutu - An unfinished pe'a, or a male with one.  This is often regarded as a disgrace and dishonor.  Because of the severe unbearable pain, some - even the strongest men - were/are not able to finish their pe'a.  Pe'amutu however is not as common today, as in the past, because of the modern pain medicine and anesthesia.

Lama -  Ink/pigment.  The soot collected from burning the candle nut (later a kerosene lamp was used) is mixed with a solvent to get the lama.  This soot collection should be done during daytime - not at night due to superstition

Fāoa le lama - This expression means "snatched ink/pigment".  Like most other traditions, tattooing has its own set of superstitions. When the lama (ink) is faoa, it is believed that the aitu (spirits) have snatched or stolen the ink and as a result, the pe'a will eventually fade, appear faint and discolored.   This is a result of the tattooed male having gone to some place, especially at night, alone without his partner (soa) or anyone else as a companion.

Soa - Soa is "partner". Traditionally, a group of men to be tattooed, should be of an even number. Therefore, each one will have a partner and will operate on a buddy system concept. Members of the group cannot go alone anywhere, they should always go in pairs, threes or more. The purpose has to do with superstition that links directly to the lama (ink). If one cannot go with his partner, a family member should accompany the tattooed individual. This practice is a precaution against the  "faoa le lama" misfortune and superstition.

Sama - A native lotion made from mixing lega (turmeric) with coconut oil.  Sama was used mostly by men as a type of body oil/cologne to smell nice and appear attractive to women especially during night time trysts (re: lyrics below).  Sama is yellowish in color (re: samasama for yellow).

Samaga [o le] Pe'a - This is the official completion of the whole process of having a group of men tattooed. During the ceremony an egg is cracked and the yolk (lega) is dripped on top of the head of each individual. This is followed by the samaga or applying the sama to the pe'a.
Note: The significance of the egg yolk (also called lega) may have something to do with its association (both in color and name) to the lega used in making the sama.

Lastly, here's a verse (with sama mentioned) of one of the popular oldies  that is often misinterpreted.

Incorrect (underlined words lines 3 & 4)
Ala maia malie lou finagalo
Lou vaita'ele ua le lava
E tausiusi o si a'u tama
E te o'o ai i au evaga

Correct:
Ala maia malie lou finagalo  (Wake up, don't feel bad)
Lou vaita'ele ua le lava  (There's not enough water for your bath)
E tausiusi o si a'u sama  ([But] this sama of mine is translucent enough)
E te u'u ai i au evaga  (You can dab with it for your outings)

Everyday translation:
Gofo i luga e alu e ka'ele
A le lava vai la e i le kaloge
Ia vaai le lolo lale e ke u'u kapakapa ai
Ma e faamagogi ai i kou shumpa ea poo a....

Sounds like nothing's new under the sun...hahaa... kusa a pe le ka'ele ua le o sua le paipa, ae a magogi a i le fagu sausau le loomiki ia ua seki fo'i.... LOL!!!.

BYU - Best in the World

Business Insider (December 2015)

Often the only way to justify spending tens of thousands of dollars on business school is the promise of a high starting salary post graduation.

We took a look at our list of the 50 best business schools in the world and re-evaluated them on a ratio of starting salary to tuition to determine which schools give you the best bang for your buck. The higher the starting salary and lower the tuition and fees, the better the school fared on this ranking.

Because our ranking is globally focused, we only considered out-of-state tuition, ignoring the discount those who live close to the school may receive. Residency discounts would naturally make some schools an even better bargain for students eligible to take advantage of them.

Brigham Young University's Marriott School of Management came in No. 1 on our list, with grads going on to earn average starting salaries of $102,800, more than twice the $47,900 cost of tuition. Coming in at No. 2 is Nanyang Business School (Singapore), where the cost of tuition ($39,100) is only half of what grads, on average, will make at their first jobs ($80,300).

1. Brigham Young University — Marriott School of Management

part of the BYU campus

Location: Provo, Utah
Average starting salary: $102,800
Program tuition and fees: $47,900

Named for the family that founded the world-famous chain of hotels, the Marriott School of Management aims to train students for business-leadership roles. The Mormon-affiliated school has five concentrations — entrepreneurship, finance, global supply chain, marketing, and organizational behavior/human-resource management — and at less than $50,000 for the entire program, it's among the most affordable MBA degrees available.

On the Present US Presidential Election ...

Can we ever avoid politics completely?  I mean politics as we commonly know and understand it. Apparently not.  If the so-called most powerful person in the world, as in the President of the United States, is derived from politics, and if our everyday lives are affected, influenced and dictated - to a large extent - by politics (as in government regulations), then I guess politics is like the weather.  It’s always there “weather” we like it or not.  And if Aristotle is right in his claim that man, by nature, is a political animal, then all the more reason for our inevitable inverse involvement - directly and/or indirectly.

Some politics are more ubiquitous and pervasive than others.  American politics of course being the most ubiquitous - yes, like the weather.  And no other time do we find this truer than during the Presidential Election year, and leading up to it. This year (2016) happens to be one of those times.   Unlike the last election year (2012) when I religiously followed the election and pulling for Romney, this year I try  my best, with not much success, to circumvent the ruckus and brouhaha of the political mayhem.  This time, it’s the comedy, the clowning, the stupid comments, gaffes, weirdness of the candidates - more than profound platforms and promises (as empty as they are anyway) - that I find exciting and entertaining, as always.  It’s the reason I stay on top of most of the current fiasco, especially the laughter resulting from the intrinsic idiocy of the candidates trying to pitch their inflated resumes through political one-upmanship and smarmy promises.

Politics, after all, gives us many of the jokes and gaffes, lasting innuendos and embarrassing moments. Speaking of lasting political innuendos and embarrassments, this election year has resurrected a few in an almost blatant audacious manner.  The Clinton and Bush bynames are again in the mix. A former first lady (wife of president Bill Clinton) - Hillary - and Jeb Bush, the son and brother of the two former Bush presidents, respectively, are presidential candidates.  Some people do not believe in an American political dynasty, hence the disdain for the two families. Others may have either very short  memories or forgiving hearts, especially those who seem to barefacedly support Hillary who is presently alleged to have improprieties of her own while serving as Secretary of State, and therefore currently under investigation by the FBI.  But despite this sometimes unruly and rowdy character of American politics, it also is a source of the best medicine, no, not ObamaCare, but the medicine of laughter.

For the Republicans, perhaps the two weird and laughable candidates are Trump (as in Donald Trump) and Ben Carson the brain/neurosurgeon whose success story has been told in the movie “Gifted Hands”.  A very inspirational story.  But as a candidate for President, Carson is a joke. Literally.  I kinda blame Obama for Carson’s determination - foolhardy as it may be.  He may have thought that if Obama can be President, any other black guy can do it too, especially for someone with expert knowledge of brains...hahaaa....(Actually, Carson does not think that Obama is genuinely Black.) Carson thinks therefore that he has the brains to be President.  Unfortunately, based on some of his gaffes, he seems brainless and obviously is not suited to hold the highest office in the land.

one of his ridiculous comments

Ben was asked about his campaign just last week in Iowa and he said his goal is to “save America” (Trump’s is to make America great again).  But I seem to have the notion that Carson’s brain is wired to his neurosurgeon profession.  To “save America”, meaning America is apparently dying like most of his patients and his goal is to save her.

In the Iowa caucuses last night, Carson came fourth (behind Cruz, Trump and Rubio), meaning he has very little chance of surviving the operation (pun intended).  His campaign was asked what Carson’s next plan is.  The answer: “He’s going to Florida to get a fresh change/set of clothes.” Really?  Most people did not know what they meant if it was literal or figurative.  It turned out that it was the former.  The campaign said he's worn the same clothes for three weeks. Only a doctor would say that, asking for a change of clean things, as in a fresh set of gloves, or a new clean needle, etc., etc.  It seems that he is so attached to his neurosurgeon job that he is not able to dissociate himself from the jargon and influence.  Let me invoke Plato’s definition of justice here, which is:

“To do one’s own business and not to be a busybody is justice.” (Republic 433b.) The idea is that justice consists in fulfilling one’s proper role – realizing one’s potential whilst not overstepping it by doing what is contrary to one’s nature.”

Simply put - at least for the purpose of this post - if one’s business, nature or calling is a neurosurgeon, then stick with it. Leave politics to the politicians. According to Plato, it will be an injustice, as a medical doctor, to overreach into politics.

the bodacious (as in bold+audacious ) Trump

And for the pompous and bodacious Donald Trump, the limits are less delineated.  He has denigrated women and offended minorities with his audacity, and at times, his arrogance.  He wants to ban Muslims from coming to America.  The Republican Party has become very worried and uneasy about Trump's positions, which will hurt the party.  Even the media and Washington republicans dislike him while he continues to tout and enjoy comfortable leads in all polls.

Amazingly, Trump sang Ted Cruz’s praises a few months back, as being a nice terrific friend, while Cruz was lagging behind in the polls. Surprisingly, last night, Cruz won the Iowa caucuses, with Trump coming in second.  Now Trump seems to look at Cruz as, at best, a frienemy.

Trump and Carson are so-called “outsiders” - that is, not of the Washington or local political establishments.  They want to appeal to the public outcry of being tired of Washington and its cliques.  And for Trump, it seems to be working.  He has been leading in the polls from the get-go, and may very well win the GOP nomination, unless Americans start espousing Plato’s philosophy and start reminding Trump to stick to his business guns and acumen, and stay out of politics. Or Trump may defy Plato and remind everyone that there was - and is - such a person called a Renaissance Man, and he can be one.  In fact he has been running beauty pageants and a TV reality show and he’s already been married three times anyway ...So he can at least multitask...hahaaa.... Stay tuned!

This is Ted Cruz’s main campaign slogan: TRUSTED.  But with Trump's loss to Cruz last night, I won't be surprised if Trump will change one of his main campaign banners to read like this ..."TRUMPTED"  ...LOL!   Oh wait, what if these two end up as a team (President and Vice President) in the General Election???  Then they can use the same banner ..hahahaaa.  And hopefully they (individually or together) can weather the Billary Clinton storm (yeaaahhriggght!) and come out victorious.

Matai System [Management] the Same as Military [Management]?

The hot debate in Samoa presently has to do with the Police Commissioner equating the faa-matai (chiefly) management model to that of the military.  As a result, the Commissioner has come under fire from some government officials, cultural specialists, etc. and demanding an apology for “insulting” the matai establishment. Many (including myself) have opined and expressed their positions on the matter over the airwaves and online news sources - the Samoa Observer being the main one, so far.  Most seem to support the Commissioner while those who are vilifying him, had either taken his comments out of context or just bent on impetuously defending the matai system against an innocuous misunderstood claim.  These vilifiers are trying their best to protect and defend the matai system against any association with what they think is egregiously evil - the military.  And that’s the root of all their impetuosity, if not their blatant ignorance. They even blame the Commissioner for his lack of knowledge of the matai system and how it operates, and attribute that to him not having ever sat in a council meeting (fono).  Baloney!  I say.

It’s an irony that the vilifiers make such accusations and yet, they, conversely, do not understand either how the military management model works - the oldest management model in the world and whose elements are found in many management models; including the faa-matai. Apparently, their only limited and insular impression of a military has to do with guns, tanks, ammo and killing.  For example here’s what one so-called Cultural Specialist said in objection to the Commissioner’s comparison and comments:

“We don’t have guns or weapons to rule the village.... The military system can get people killed. They give orders and people follow them, but in the fa’amatai system we don’t. We don’t give demanding orders.”

Well, that’s flagrant denial - if not an outright lie - right there. But even with such an equivocation, he’s still wrong. Where has this “cultural specialist” been in the last few years when a number of villages had standoffs (bearing arms) with the government?  Where has he been in the hundreds of years when the matais had been “giving orders” - even “demanding orders”?  Was this guy living under a rock?  This is the direction of jumble and muddle that the vilifiers have taken due to some foolhardy interpretation and lack of understanding.

One of the letters (here) by an opponent of the Commissioner went as far as calling those who side with him (Commissioner), “idiots” who “[open their] foolish traps.”  I have submitted a response (below) to the letter.
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Dear Editor,

I'm writing to respond to RK's letter dated 5 Jan 2016 in your Letters to the Editor section.

With RK's spites and ad hominem jabs aside, let me address some of the pivotal points of, hopefully, a more civil and respectful discussion.

I think one of the points that may have been misconstrued in the discussion thus far, is the nuanced interpretation and application of the military reference within the context of the Commissioner's comments. It seems the military management model is cast in a very negative and scornful light. The implied and assumed stigma resulting from associating the faa-matai to the military is overblown and obfuscated. This may be derived from the negative perception and authoritarian context of the military, especially those of dictatorial and rogue nations and countries. It may also stem from an insular perception - with Samoa not having a military of her own - of wars and conflicts around the world. Not all militaries are bad or evil. Some are benevolent in their undertakings and effective in their operations and logistics. The military model is perhaps the oldest management model and one on which police force managements are based.

Now what about the comparison to the faa-matai? Allow me to expound.

Not all villages have the same power structure and configuration. For some, power and authority are distributed among individual matais or groups and/or alliances (e.g. taauso, falefia/tolu, usoali’i, etc.,). The standard and more common model, however, is the one to which the Commissioner alluded, the one with the “big matai” or a paramount chief (ali’i sili, tu’ua, tulafale ali’i, etc.,) who has, at least ideally speaking, irreproachable authority (pule). In this model, any consensus by the fono will have to be either in alignment with the will of the “big matai” or would simply have to acquiesce. This acquiesced authority is bequeathed on the tu’ua via village history and traditions.

Moreover, on the aiga level where the matai is selected through deliberation and consensus, the process also endows the matai with similar acquiesced authority. This is true in all if not most of the aiga decisions. This authority stems from the fact that a matai is vested with the pule in a type of social contract arrangement where the aiga entrusts the holder with the matai title (hence power and authority) and in return he/she will “provide” for the aiga (in today’s society) and administer the aiga affairs.

Therefore in both cases (village and/or aiga), the basic elements of centralized power structure and configuration including the hierarchical and more vertical chain of command of the faa-matai are those that are also found in the military model. So the Commissioner has a point, at least to those who truly understand the entirety of the issue. His analogy/comparison, in totality, may not be comprehensively accurate. And guess what? It’s not totally false either. Furthermore, I don’t think that the Commissioner’s intention was to denigrate the fa’a-matai, considering the essence of his claim and the more popular elements of the military management model. So, again, I honestly feel that he does not owe any one an apology.

And by the way, on consensus and democracy, although the two can co-exist, they actually, in their very nature and essence, are more mutually exclusive than not.

In conclusion, let me say to those who still may not be convinced, to please lighten up! Again, I’m sure there are a lot more serious and urgent matters that need to be addressed by government officials than to insist on an apology from someone who seems sincere in effecting change in a critical branch of government, especially in light of the rising crime occurrences in the country.

Ma le faaaloalo lava,

LV Letalu

World's 50 Most Important Management Thinkers: 10% are BYU Graduates

Excerpts from a Deseret News article.

“... for the first time, 10 percent of those on the Thinkers50 list are BYU graduates — Christensen at No. 2, Ulrich (27), Liz Wiseman (43), Hal Gregersen (46) and Whitney Johnson (49).”

Like a smaller boxer who succeeds against bigger fighters, "BYU outpunches its weight," Ulrich said.

But how? Why does BYU make up an outsized portion of the Thinkers50?

The answers range from the mundane — how lists are compiled — to the intriguing — what the dean of BYU's business school calls the Clayton Christensen Effect. Christensen earned an economics degree at BYU and went on to write "The Innovator's Dilemma," which "deeply influenced" Apple's Steve Jobs. His ideas on innovative disruption have had such a broad impact that "disruption" is becoming a household term describing, for example, what is happening right now with cable TV cord-cutting. Gregersen and Johnson have worked directly with Christensen.

Ulrich said a better and perhaps more interesting answer includes the influence of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on all five BYU alumni in the Thinkers50.

"Five LDS people on the list is amazing," he said. "I credit the LDS learning system. BYU, I think, through the missions served by so many of its students, gets that benefit. I don't think the world understands how great missions are for learning. Gospel and theology learning, of course, but also social learning, organizational learning, personal management learning. An 18-month or two-year mission is like five years working at one of the world's best consulting firms."

LDS impact

The idea of an outsized Mormon impact in business and business management has been explored before, most famously in a 2010 Financial Times article, which said LDS culture has given birth to "a professional elite." In 2012, Harvard Business Review published a piece titled, "How Mormons Have Shaped Modern Management."

Two Mormons, Christensen and the late author of "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," Stephen Covey, made the first Thinkers50 lists in 2001, ’03 and ’05. A human resources guru, Ulrich joined them on the list in 2007, ’09 and ’11.

HR Magazine named Ulrich the father of modern human resources in 2012 after calling him the most influential international thought leader for five consecutive years. Last year, speaking.com ranked him the No. 1 speaker in management and business.

Ulrich, who earned a master's in organizational behavior at BYU, is prolific. He is the author of more than 25 books."

The BYU 5

After Covey died in 2012, Christensen and Ulrich were joined on the Thinkers50 2013 list by Wiseman, who developed the idea of leaders as multipliers and diminishers. Multipliers are people who double the brainpower inside an organization by attracting talent and making people around them smarter.

Wiseman earned a bachelor's degree in business management and a master's in organizational behavior at BYU and was the global leader of human resource development at Oracle. She has written three best-sellers in the past five years, including "Multipliers: How the Best Leaders Make Everyone Smarter."

This year's new BYU additions to the Thinkers50 are attached to Christensen.

Gregersen is executive director of the MIT Leadership Center. This year, the Forbes list of the world's most innovative companies was based on methodology Gregersen created with Jeff Dyer, a BYU business professor. Gregersen, Dyer and Christensen were co-authors in 2011 of "The Innovator’s DNA: Mastering the Five Skills of Disruptive Innovators."

Gregersen, who earned a master's in organizational behavior at BYU and is a past BYU faculty member, is working together now with Christensen studying "the power of questioning and how the most successful leaders are able to identify the right question — rather than the solution — to unlock a vexing challenge," according to the Thinkers50 site.

Johnson is the co-founder with Christensen and past president of the Rose Park Advisors' disruptive innovation investment fund. She took Christensen's theory of disruption and applied it at an individual level. This fall she published "Disrupt Yourself: Putting the Power of Disruptive Innovation to Work."

"She's revolutionizing career change," said Lee Perry, dean of BYU's Marriott School of Management. "She did a nice pivot with disruption and applied it to individuals."

She earned a music degree at BYU before moving into business. Last year, Fortune listed her as one of the 55 most influential women on Twitter. She has more than 51,400 followers.

Nice validation

Perry said having five BYU alums in the Thinkers50 rivals Harvard and Stanford. "It's pretty elite company," he said. "It's a nice validation when things like this happen. It's validation that you're doing the right thing and you're getting better. They're happy surprises for us."

Perry was careful not to ascribe too much credit to BYU.

"These are primarily individual achievements," he said. Like Ulrich, he credited what he called the LDS Church's focus on leadership and leadership development. Mormons don't have a paid clergy but their congregations are highly organized. Girls and boys begin to serve in leadership positions when they turn 12, and those opportunities continue to grow for women and men throughout their lives.

Christensen wrote about the concept in an essay a few years ago. He noted that a story about the organizational efficiency of the LDS Church in response to a flood missed the larger point — that organization is on display every week in every Mormon congregation.

"I think the experiences we have in church help us become more sensitive to leadership and organizational issues," Perry said. "I don't think it's just happenstance BYU had one of the earliest and strongest organizational behavior programs. We basically have a laboratory for leadership opportunities in the LDS Church that come with maybe even some additional challenges because it's a volunteer organization."

Perry taught Wiseman in a class at BYU, and he's proud of her. He said every Mormon will have had leaders who have been multipliers and others who have been diminishers.

"They've done this by themselves," he said of the five Latter-day Saints in the Thinkers50, "but I think their LDS and BYU backgrounds provided a nice little jumpstart."

Ulrich, who teaches at the University of Michigan's business school, agreed.

"I think the LDS culture creates an organizational DNA," he said. "BYU magnifies those early instincts. For me, BYU was life-changing.”