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Subscribe] FinalCall.com News - Refer This Page Business & Money Balancing Creative and Critical Thought “And when those who disbelieved devised plans against thee that they might confine thee or slay thee or drive thee away—and they devised plans and Allah, too, had arranged a plan; and Allah is the best of planners.” Holy Qur’an; Surah 8 verse 30 “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.” “Some of us are favored by God in that way. This is what sets apart the prophet from the great historian who predicts and prophesied. The prophet does not need to study. It is the gift that God has given the prophet to see beyond what is presently seen. But the historian studies the cyclical nature of history and the cyclical nature of the struggle of the human being to achieve peace, and security and fulfillment. As a consequence of that intense study, he can with fairly great exactitude prophesy. But those are rare cases and rare individuals. But for the most part, all of us have to study.”
Over many years and in various settings, I have been blessed to work with, manage or advise entrepreneurs, entertainers, politicians, businesspersons, religious leaders and spiritual teachers. It has been an educational, spiritually rewarding, and illuminating experience. Among the insights that I have been blessed by Allah (God) to receive through such relationships and interactions—with said individuals, and those that work closely with them—is an understanding, to a degree, of the complimentary and sometimes tense relationship between creative thinking and critical thinking. One of the areas where this dynamic plays out is in the arena of planning. Without getting into the many schools of thought regarding various forms of planning—financial, time management, business, strategic, and national, among others—it would serve us well to look at the word itself and present a brief definition of it. As a noun, the word plan is defined (http://yourdictionary.com/) as: 1. a scheme or method of acting, doing, proceeding, making, etc., developed in advance: battle plans. 2. a design or scheme of arrangement: an elaborate plan for seating guests. 3. a specific project or definite purpose: plans for the future. 7. a formal program for specified benefits, needs, etc.: a pension plan. I recently was further enlightened on this subject through conversation with a client—a brilliant lawyer, political professional and entrepreneur, Ann del Llano (http://www.capitolcitysolutions.com/). In reference to some innovative thinking on the value of plans and what they reveal, she brought to my attention an author with an interesting perspective, telling me, “Elliott Jacques, in his books Requisite Organization and Human Capability (http://www.requisite.org/), teaches that we are each born with a different level of mental capability, and he teaches how to assess capability ... It is possible to assess a person’s level of mental capability based on how far in the future a person can plan their work. Some of us can make plans a few days or weeks into the future. Others of us can make realistic and relatively concrete work plans 2, 5, or 10 years into the future. A rare few of us can allegedly plan in relatively concrete terms 25 and 50 years into the future. This is an oversimplification, and I encourage those who are interested to read his book Human Capability. I find his system fascinating and I have yet to come across evidence that Elliott Jacques is incorrect.” Of my great interest in all of her words, I focused on this portion, “It is possible to assess a person’s level of mental capability based on how far in the future a person can plan their work. Some of us can make plans a few days or weeks into the future. Others of us can make realistic and relatively concrete work plans 2, 5, or 10 years into the future. A rare few of us can allegedly plan in relatively concrete terms 25 and 50 years into the future.” ***** The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave great attention to the subject of planning in his teachings. In fact, he wrote of a supreme planning effort, the process by which the scriptures—and the prophecies contained within them—were written and revealed. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught that we received the scriptures that we have before us today as a result of a unique research effort, study, dialogue and planning process participated in and maintained by the Wisest of human beings. He specifically taught that at the center of this process were 24 Men, who collectively at a time, were capable of planning the future 25,000 years in advance. Please read his words regarding this, contained in his books, articles, and speeches where much of the process of the production of the scriptures is explained. And please keep in mind that there were other qualifications and details regarding this process and these men that he shared with only some, in more individual or private settings. Among such details that I have learned regarding these special human beings is that they lived on average for 500 years and that prior to their deliberations, they would perform a 14-day fast. I heard that from Brother Jabril Muhammad who learned that from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. There is more context necessary for one to have regarding these details, and how they were given to Brother Jabril, in order to fully understand them. Again, many Sisters, Brothers, and Others heard more details from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad regarding these brilliant men known as the 24 Scientists. Among whatever we may have heard or learned regarding these men and their planning process, we always should consider what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s representative, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, teaches on this subject. Here is an example, contained within the book “Closing The Gap: Inner Views Of The Heart Mind & Soul of The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan” conducted and compiled by Jabril Muhammad. In response to a question regarding the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s use of prophecy, Min. Farrakhan answered, in part, “Well the thought that first comes to my mind is the Scientists, who get up the history. They sample the thinking of the present population. They multiply that thinking with a multiplier and then they can produce the thinking in another generation, two, three, four, ten, twenty—up to twenty-five thousand years.” Please weigh all of this in relation to these words from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, in an April 2, 1936 letter written to his Ministers, “The wise man is he who has made a careful study of the past events, of ancient and modern history. The knowledge of the future is judged by the knowledge of the past. There are some men who are born with the gift of prophecy, while others are trained into it through an intense study of history.” Now think of your particular field of interest, profession, goals, business ideas, dreams and desires. What role does an intense study of history and planning for the future have in the accomplishment of what you desire or intend? ***** Now, back to how I began this column regarding the tension between creative thought and critical thought in the planning effort. Much of that tension can come from aspects of our creative nature and personality, and the fact that at times, elements of the planning effort involving areas of critical thought—like research, reasoning, debate, and even the proper use of doubt—can appear to be the total opposite or even the enemy of the creative process which initiated the planning effort. In other words, many of us feel that such attributes, qualities and processes of creative thought like desire, intuition, spontaneity, affirmation, and “brain storming” are hindered by certain more deliberative aspects of critical thought. We can feel that somehow the freedom, joy, and comfort that we find in the rise or expression of an intense desire or new idea is hurt by the discipline of critical thought. By the same token, many of us (often subconsciously) who are well-studied and comfortable relying upon analysis and critical thought often believe that planning is incompatible with spontaneity, intuition, and even revelation. This might be the case when mistakes and errors are made or when we are imbalanced. However, this is not the case with a properly balanced personality (read what Min. Farrakhan teaches about the relationship between knowledge, will, and love in his October 26, 1986 speech, “The Will Of God – Part I” ), or a balanced organization. Keys to understanding this are contained in what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught about the relationship between the first two laws of the universe—the law of motion and the law of order; and in Min. Farrakhan’s September 1986 “Self Improvement: The Basis For Community Development” Speech (http://www.noi.org/study/study_center_selfimprovement.htm) and Study Guide Number 10,“The God Within.”) In Study Guide Number 10, “The God Within,” the Minister gives guidance on how to balance our creative and critical thinking, “When we think to do a thing, other thoughts come up within us, questioning the move, or objecting to the move. We must then reason with ourselves to reach a conclusion, for confusion within Self has a chilling effect on movement. When we are confused, unsure, we cannot take action.” Next Week, Allah Willing: The Sciences Involved In The Writing of Scripture And Business Plan Basics. (Cedric Muhammad is a business and political economist who advises entrepreneurs and small businesses through his company, CM Cap (http://www.cmcap.com/). He can be reached via e-mail at cedric@cmcap.com. His weekly “Cedric Muhammad and Black Coffee Program” can be viewed every Wednesday from 12 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST at The Black Coffee Channel by visiting http://www.blackcoffeechannel.com/.)
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