Psychonavigation by John Perkins

Author:John Perkins [John Perkins]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inner Traditions / Bear & Company
Published: 2010-12-10T16:00:00+00:00

6

Pichincha: Exploring a Theory

War had erupted in the Boston Headquarters while I was in Sulawesi. My company’s mainline business was providing engineering services to industries, utilities, government agencies, and emerging high-tech establishments. About 80 percent of this work was in the United States. Many of the company owners, who were also its managers, defended the status quo. However, another group—one of growing influence—stressed the importance of international markets, emphasizing the need to diversify by expanding what they referred to as the “soft profitables,” nonengineering disciplines with extremely high markups like management consulting.

My own future in the company was at stake. I was considered part of the “soft profitables.” Political in-fighting was a new experience for me, and I had to admit that the idea of taking up a sword had its own appeal; I decided to jump into the fray.

I actively pursued consulting jobs in foreign countries, especially in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and other newly rich OPEC nations. The timing was right; I brought in a lot of work, and had to hire people to help complete it. Fortunately, a ready pool was available from the universities in the Boston area. For overseas assignments, I sought out former Peace Corps Volunteers.

Twenty-nine months after I returned from Sulawesi, the president retired. My side had won. There were thirty employees reporting to me. By company standards, it was a magic number, enough to call a department. More importantly, as a department manager, I was eligible to become an owner. Later that same year my name was thrown into the hat, and I was elected into the hallowed ranks of American capitalists by the Board of Directors.

The period of corporate warfare and the years that followed were a unique education. My classroom was one few business professors will ever enter. The fact is I had created my job myself, although I probably would not have done so in a different political climate. Despite its obvious benefits, the job carried heavy burdens. I traveled frequently, but never stayed more than a week in any one place. The demands on my time did not give me the opportunity to meet people like Toyup or Buli, or to search out psychonavigational events.

Then, by chance, I met an amazing person.

His name was Julio Sinchi—a prominent Bolivian lawyer educated in philosophy and law at Harvard. I happened to sit next to him on a flight from Miami to a business conference in La Paz. At first, I saw him only in terms of what he could do for me; he was influential, and his friendship could help establish my company’s presence in his country. Soon, however, I began to value this man for very different reasons.

During the week in La Paz, Julio and I spent several evenings together. We visited cafés frequented by writers, politicians, artists, and journalists. On the weekend, he took me to out-of-the-way museums, and we wandered around the open-air markets.

He loved to talk, and was a skilled listener. He had never been to Indonesia, but he was fascinated by my tales of the Javanese and the Bugis.

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