To understand what High Ideals is NOW, it’s important to have a snapshot of what High Ideals used to be. (Of if history bores you, just skip to the section below called “Demand Better”.)
The History
High Ideals started out in 2008 as a passionate idea of a dear friend of mine, Karina Butera. We ran into each other by coincidence in the Gold Coast, while she was there holidaying with her family and I was on a “writer’s holiday” finishing a book. We met up for breakfast and she pitched her idea to me.
Essentially, Karina and I believed that there was a definite need in the market place to be able to identify business professionals who operated ethically, professionally and were really outstanding. We determined that the main categories of assessment would be Integrity, Positivity and Impact.
All revved up with excitement and “change the world” stars in our eyes, we launched High Ideals as a business, with an assessment process to accredit professionals and have them listed on our website. Within a few months, we had a range of people from life coaches to cabinetmakers, from website builders to real estate agents.
However, we didn’t get many members. Why?
It certainly isn’t because there aren’t enough professional out there with demonstrated high idealism. (Although it’s always easier to find examples of low- idealism in action!) But we found it hard to reach them, for quite a few reasons but there are three that were probably the most critical for us.
- It can be quite difficult to find the right high idealist team to run a business like ours was, particularly because such people are in such high demand and have many other competing priorities and interests. There were so many strategies that if implemented, would have made the business successful. But we only ever had a small handful of people able to put in the necessary effort, so most strategies never happened and the business never grew.
- The market / world didn’t know about us (see previous point).
- When business professionals did learn about us (and generally they were quite excited to know that such an organisation existed!), most didn’t apply for membership as they had a limiting belief in themselves that they weren’t “high ideals enough”. For a few this was a very accurate self-assessment and we congratulated them on continuing to work toward their goals. For others, it was just their fear based on a business culture that seems to spend more time disappointing / complaining than delivering /complimenting
We tried numerous things to get the business to be more successful, including moving from a “for profit” to a “not for profit” business structure, as we had been advised my many that people wouldn’t take us as a credible assessors of high idealism in action if we were making a profit from it.
Personally, I think that’s a bunch of bull and a convenient excuse.
Nevertheless, we gave it a try. However, the same three reasons for us not be successful as a for-profit business were simply exaggerated as a not-for-profit. And the few people consistently working ended up suffering “volunteer fatigue”.
In May 2011, the membership and the Board of Directors voted to shut down the business. It was also agreed that I would buy the High Ideals domain name and continue, in some way, to promote the High Ideals values of Integrity, Positivity and Impact in some way.
High Ideals wasn’t dying…just evolving.
If you’re a previous member of High Ideals and want to know what happens to your member benefits, access to the logo and certificates, I’ve prepared a document to explain everything for you and you can access that by clicking here.
High Ideals Values
Here are the original High Ideals Values, which for the time being the definitions will remain the same. As this website evolves, these values are likely to be expanded and enhanced.
Integrity
To represent oneself openly, honestly and to be genuine in all interactions; to treat others respectfully and fairly; and to have a reputation of responsiveness, reliability and professionalism in fulfilling one’s commitments. To have regard for the well- being of others on the broad and holistic level (the business community, societal and environmental)
Positivity
To engage openly and warmly with others; to be option and solution focused; to practise active listening and genuine exchange of ideas; to value and consider others’ perspectives; to embrace diversity and to consistently show positive regard and appreciation for the contribution of others.
Impact
To have a profound influence on others through one’s commitment to serving unreservedly with integrity and positivity; and through being a conscious and active example of the change we want to see in the world.
Demand BETTER!
This website is about demanding better, period!
If you were to try to look for quotes on “idealism” you’ll find that the majority of them talk about idealism as something you give up in favour of realism, and as you move from childhood to adulthood. Again, I think this is a bunch of bull and again, a convenient excuse for not trying harder or better.
We can demand better of:
- Ourselves – We all have the ability to increase our self-awareness, accept feedback well and action it, and strive to improve ourselves in all aspects of our lives. You are the only person who can do this for your life. No one else can improve you, or your life, for you.
- Each other – One of the greatest capacities of our society is our ability to help each other, either one person at a time, or a group or even an entire nation or culture. We need to pay attention to the most appropriate ways of providing help, where we have permission to do so, and to provide what others need as compared to what we simply find easy to give.
- Business – We can demand better customer service, ethical and social responsibility, authenticity and caring from business professionals and businesses in general. This includes all types of businesses, including governments. This includes all types of business professionals, including volunteers, front-line staff, management, consultants, vendors, regulators and union members. Role model ethical behaviour! Inspire and demand ethical, responsible and caring behaviour in others.
- Youth – Youth are the high idealists of tomorrow. Remember that every generation questions what the generation before them accomplished, the decisions they made, and the legacy they left. And every generation tries to improve on what the previous generation achieved. We can support this process by encouraging youth to truly explore and learn from the history of previous generations and to learn and apply the following key life skills better than any generation before them:
- Decision Making and Problem Solving
- Creative Thinking and Critical Thinking
- Communication and Interpersonal Skills
- Self-Awareness and Empathy
- Coping with Emotions and Coping with Stress
These ten skills are what The World Health Organisation ha identified are the life skills areas across all cultures which require more emphasis in child and adult education.
- Environment – There are many environments we live in, including the home, workplace, neighbourhood, community, region, country and of course the planet we all share. We can demand better from the people who live within, manage, and/or have any impact on the health of the environment. We have enough intelligence, tools and skills to measure whether an environment is healthy or not. That same intelligence, combined with creativity, innovation and purpose, means we can also improve ANY environmental situation. We need to demand this commitment to be made and followed through NOW. Please remember that an individual or organism can only ever develop to the extent in which its environment allows. Improve the environment, you improve the opportunity for those living within it to further develop and thrive
This website will post news items, articles, podcasts, videos…anything that helps raise awareness about the possibilities of living as a high idealist. You are encouraged to co-create the content here.
Please feel invited to send me material you’ve written, or links to other sites with useful and credible information.
This website IS NOT to be a place to simply gripe and complain about low-idealism. It MUST be a place to raise awareness and provide relevant information, which could inspire people to make wiser choices, which result in positively impactful actions for themselves, others and their environments.
I reserve the right to not publish anything I think isn’t helping promote High Idealism. All I ask of you, the readers and contributors to this blog, is to actively engage in conversations with whomever, whenever, where that conversation could promote the High Ideals Values of Integrity, Positivity and Impact.
You can contact me anytime through the contacts page on this website.
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