Recently, I told you about “Planet Brillonia.” Here is how the next bit of that story.
What’s happened in the story so far: In the year 2500 A.D. a new human civilization was formed on a planet named “Brillonia.” Advanced spaceships brought humans to this earth-like planet which supports the life of humans, animals, and plants.
A core principle of Brillonia’s human civilization is to treat the brilliance of its citizens with utmost importance. It is an essential fuel for the success and well-being of the civilization and every citizen. On Brillonia, the word “Brilliance” means expertise, knowledge, and wisdom.
On Earth, most experts were like black holes for brilliance. They acquire more and more brilliance, yet, they keep much of it in their brains only. At some point, much of it ends up in the cemetery. Brillonia’s founders were committed to changing that.
Musings Of Two Brillonia’s Founders
One of the founders of the civilization on Brillonia was Roberto. He was an expert in marketing, sales, and medicine. He said, “I remember those days on Earth. I was too busy to even think about sharing the majority of what I knew. And deep down, I – and most of my expert friends – believed that if we shared too much, we might as well pack up. My company would not need me anymore. And then what? My value as an expert would vanish.
Another founder, Eirene (Greek for “Peace”), Roberto’s wife, chimed in. “Yes, I remember it, too. That was until “Doc” showed up. She told us, ‘The world is changing too fast for us to continue to treat brilliance in this blase manner. We must build systems to transfer and preserve the brilliance that drives businesses and organizations. That way, we can boost the impact of their work.
We can free ourselves from managing the things we already thought of and developed. Instead, we can think of new things. And we can get back to creating, innovating, and bringing our companies to the next level! If we don’t do it, we will all soon be dinosaurs – and you know what happened to them!'”
Roberto laughed. Yes, Doc sure was a character. She was born in Germany. She came to the U.S. as a young adult, initially for a student exchange program. She ended up staying and got her Ph.D. in chemistry. She thought she wanted to become a professor. After three years, she changed her mind and joined a high-tech company.
Eirene piped in. “Yes, remember when we first met her? After eight years, she quit that scientist job and started her own company. But before then, she went to Bosnia where she was part of a team testing a new landmine detector. That must have been quite an experience!”
Roberto laughed again. “Yes, it was hard to nail down her specialty. She had turned around some companies. She was quite good at it. Then she got certified as an executive coach and had clients in so many industries.”
Eirene mused, “Remember, the day when we came up with the term ‘Brilliance Extraction‘? Actually, it was I who said it first. I have got to gloat here for a second…. I saw Doc had been doing this all along. Pulling wisdom out of people’s heads, laying it before them so they could see it better – and then helping them to do more with it.”
“Once we had that name, ‘Brilliance Extraction’, Doc’s mind went into hyperdrive. She made a whole system out of it,” said Roberto. “The rest is history.”
Eirene said, “What’s cool is that Doc always sees the people she works with as heroes, never herself. She is their guide. Like Yoda helped Luke Skywalker.”
Just then, Doc entered the room where Roberto and Eirene had been chatting. “What about Yoda and Luke Skywalker? What are you guys talking about?” she asked.
“Oh, nothing. Just musing about how Brillonia became so brilliant.” joked Roberto.
“Oh, ok! I was about to pick you guys up. Let’s go to the Rotary meeting!”
Yes, Brillonia has Rotary Clubs everywhere on the planet. Its motto, “Service above Self,” is one of the brilliant things humans came up with on Earth.
When you think about it: How did Rotary grow from an idea one lawyer had to an international organization that has helped millions of people? Developing Rotary into a global organization involved brilliance transfer!
Did I mention: Brillonia adopted Rotary’s Four-Way Test into its culture?! “Is it the truth?” This question – and the other three – are always great questions to ask yourself.
More on that next time.
I’m Curious
Would you like to visit Brillonia?
Dr. Stephie
P.S.: I appreciate you commenting and sharing this with others. Thank you!
