Kung-Fu Panda4, Ancient Greek Religion, Procurement Risk Management and Transformation...

What can Kung-Fu Panda4 and Ancient Greek Religion teach us about Procurement Risk Management and Transformation?

I opted to go to the cinema the other day after a long long time. I rarely go to the cinema these days, but if and when I do, I make sure that my standards remain just as low as they used to be...if not lower ?? A macho man and many explosions is my thing usually, but this time I opted for a cartoon. I had watched Kung-Fu Panda part1 many years back and I remember enjoying it.

The movie had many great lines related to transformation:

• "A pit holds the promise of a tree, you just have to let it grow"
• "...if things stayed the same forever, sooner or later, they would lose their flavor"
• "When life gives you lemons, make pear juice and blow everyone’s minds"

The 'final boss', one that made it to the upper echelons of power through Machiavellian methods and without ever feeling fulfilled, adhered to the "rules of the streets" as she put it:

• "Never trust anyone"
• "Somebody has to get hurt and it should not be you"
• "No-one is interested about your feelings"

But I think the deepest thing about this kids movie was that prior to achieving transformation, the panda had to 'fight with himself' as well as give someone else the opportunity to grow.

Where does ancient Greek religion fit in I hear you cry? Bear with me...

Interlude: Quick Intro to Ancient Greek Religion

I like to think of the original Greek religion as "open source philosophy". Everyone, from the biggest bum, to the biggest thinker was contributing to storytelling in an open-source fashion, hence why its richness and resilience. Its teachings and representations of reality are timeless, resonating with us to this day.

My assertion is that ancient Greek philosophers drew inspiration and cherry-picked from this very rich tree of proto-ideas, further crystalising them and creating their own more consistent and refined systems of ideas (e.g Stoicism, Epicureanism, Platonism, Aristotelianism). They then popularised it among other philosophers and perceptive people. Much like a software company nowadays might take or get inspired by open-source code, put a wrapper around it and make it more 'digestible' to a specific segment of the market.

An important thing relevant to this article: In all religious storytelling, you are being taught representations and recipes on how things are or what they could or should be, a) between you and others, b) between others and c) strictly within you. The 'within you' interpretation is usually the most logically consistent, but its not like its math.

You can therefore think of all the characters involved as different manifestations of your own self. For example, the hero a.k.a your higher self, using a not so accidental methodology, ends up leveraging your 'lower self' to achieve transformation. You 'lower self' is not necessarily evil; it's a lever that requires acknowledgement.

Kung Fu Panda and The Myth of Perseus and Medusa

Medusa, a female monster having snakes for hair and that would turn mortals into stone upon a gaze, was killed by our hero, Perseus. In order to avoid being turned into a stone himself, Perseus used his reflective shield as a mirror to locate and ultimately behead Medusa. If both Medusa and Perseus are manifestations of the same person and Perseus used reflection as a means of taking action, what does this tell us?

"Transformation requires looking at yourself/darkside into the mirror"

Interestingly, the interplay between transformation/good and 'evil' are many times represented either through women or snakes or both, in many religious stories. Maybe due to the stereotyped uncertainty associated with them? If transformation is reBIRTH is there a more fitting analogy? Aside from shedding skin (i.e transformation) an interesting angle is that snakes are representing our impulsive 'reptilian brain'/dark side, which is not bad per se; but does require harnessing through increased awareness and self-reflection.

Back to the story now. Interestingly, the 'final boss' at Kung Fu Panda 4, was a female snakelike shapeshifter who before being defeated shapeshifted to our panda hero.

My brain hurts from all the combinations of explanations I could start throwing, but lets remember this is a LI article and stick to a recipe that helps procurement risk management and transformation

How does it all relate to Procurement Risk Management and Transformation?

1. Truthfully Look Yourself/Procurement in the Mirror: Just as Perseus used reflection to confront and defeat Medusa, procurement must engage in introspection a.k.a. monitor it's dark side i.e risk and other procurement metrics. Implement swift business intelligence projects and regularly assess your current state to understand strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Else be met with Karmic Retribution. Ok, we are confusing religions now :)

2. Dispose Reptilian Procurement Management: In the journey of transformation, old methods and mindsets may no longer serve. Just as the "final boss" in Kung Fu Panda embodies traits like mistrust and self-interest, organisations must let go of outdated practices. Trust your team and stakeholders, but remain firm in standards. Trust is not easy because it can be taken advantage of by weaklings. Being able to afford the luxury of trust hence potentially building lasting alliances lacking blind submission, does require strength and creative capacity in case of non-reciprocity.

3. Nurture Growth: Embrace the concept that "a pit holds the promise of a tree." Foster an environment where individuals and teams can grow and flourish. Recognise that helping others grow is both altruistic and self-serving; its the pathway to both personal evolution and organisational resilience. If you help someone but also go to the next level yourself, even if you lack creativity and think in terms of zero sum game, you 've lost nothing; just gained an ally. Again, everyone can talk the talk; aside from the capacity to evolve, this also takes strength, character and critical skill.

4. Seek External Perspective: Neither KungFu-Panda or Perseus achieved anything singlehandedly. You have to of course acknowledge the challenges of implementing the above principles in corporate environments and consider seeking external expertise to navigate complexities without being bound by internal dynamics.

External consultants can provide unbiased insights and creative problem solving. Paraphrasing the wise panda, when corporate life gives you lemons, external consultants will help you make pear juice and blow everyone’s minds!