Applying Indigenous Wisdom to Leading in Volatile Change with Wade Davis

“The world in which you were born is just one model of reality. Other cultures are not failed attempts at being you. They are unique manifestations of the human spirit.” -Wade Davis 

Wade Davis is an anthropologist, ethnobotanist, writer, photographer, filmmaker and explorer. National Geographic named him as one of the explorers of the Millennium. Described as “a rare combination of scientist, scholar, poet and passionate defender of all of life’s diversity”, Wade’s work has taken him to East Africa, Borneo, Nepal, Peru, Polynesia, Tibet, Mali, Benin, Togo, New Guinea, Australia,

Davis holds degrees in anthropology and biology and received his Ph.D. in ethnobotany from Harvard University. 

In this conversation with Dawna Jones, Wade explains the mind-blowing (Dawna’s words) sophistication of indigenous skills to navigating across open seas without the instruments we rely on today.

Their conversation covers:

Perception: Is a mountain a hunk of rock or a deity that directs destiny?Science: Why race is a fiction and how we are all brothers and sistersEmpathy: The secret skill to working with different and diverse world viewsDiversity: A more elegant definition of diversity from an anthropologist viewpoint that HR can use to replace targets and quotasDescartes: How we became separate in our relationship with Nature, the high cost to all life and what we can do about itPsychedelics: The contribution of mind expanding adventures to seeing reality in a different lightCulture: How cultural myopia prevents us from seeing and hearing othersThe Great Hope for what lies aheadThe Great Lie Trump sold the middle classWhat leaders and entrepreneurs can learn from ancient Polynesian Wayfinding skillsWhy Wayfinding in complex environments is more accurate than navigating from Point A to B

The whole conversation was sparked by Dawna’s read of The Wayfinders: Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World published in 2009.

Intro music is from www.markromeromusic.com. Mark is the former CEO of a semi-conductor firm. His music generates coherence in listeners.

Your host is Dawna Jones: www.frominsighttoaction.com

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