I had never heard of the ‘Prisoner's Dilemma’ until recently. In essence, it is a fundamental problem in game theory that demonstrates why two people might not cooperate even if it is in both their best interests to do so.

A classic example of the prisoner's dilemma is presented as follows:

Both you and a colleague are arrested by the police. The police have insufficient evidence for a conviction, and, having separated the two of you, visit both of you to offer the same deal. If you testify for the prosecution against your colleague (gaming term is to defect) and your colleague remains silent (cooperate), you, as the defector, will go free and your silent accomplice receives the full one-year sentence. If you both remain silent, both of you will be sentenced to only one month in jail for a minor charge. If each of you betrays the other, you will both receive a three-month custodial sentence.

You must both choose to either betray the other or to remain silent. Each of you is assured that the other would not know about the betrayal before the end of the investigation.

If we assume that each person cares only about minimizing his or her own time in jail, then rational choice would suggest both detainees defect or betray, even though each one's individual reward would be greater if they both cooperated. (If I defect/betray, then I am guaranteed to spend no longer than three months in prison.)

The classical prisoner's dilemma can be summarized thus

How would you act?

Morality

Some of you reading this will have known Lee. For some years, he was a prison officer at HMYOI Hollesley Bay, before ‘escaping’ to work with young people in a personal development capacity. Lee finally succumbed to cancer in March.

Whether you knew Lee or not, I wanted to share something that is probably relevant to all of us.

Lee was not comfortable to be put in a position where he was addressing a large group. However, at our residential seminar back in 2003, he hesitatingly agreed to be a panellist and share something of his story. The topic was ‘Understanding Control, Power and Force.’ Lee’s contribution, that morning, was huge.

In the form of key points, I would like to share with you what came out of that conversation, under five separate headings.

Enablement

-         Power is generated through respect and must be nurtured.

-         My role is to help others to find their own power. I can't change others but I can help them make changes for themselves.

-         Where appropriate, give people control of a situation through developing their self respect.

Example

-         How I feel reflects onto others. As I do, others will follow. I therefore need to be aware of myself as a positive role model.

-         To witness the trust that another will show can change people's lives.

-         When one's words are the same as one's actions, then one is authentic.

Perception

-         There are many facets to every individual. Given the right conditions, hidden aspects of one's character will be revealed that will say more than 1000 words.

-         Power is within. When I am connected to my power, I have self control.

-         Empowerment in a prison system allows individuals to be 'under control' but not 'controlled' - there is still room for personal expression and uniqueness.

Clarity

-         An indicator of power or control is to ask myself.

-         ‘How does this leave me feeling?' Drained or empowered?

-         What is my contribution to any situation? What is my level of responsibility? My input can make a situation difficult or dangerous or it can make it easy and safe.

Motivation

-         We see the changes that we feel others need to make. However, there needs to be patience or there may be the temptation to do something that causes harm, not good.

-         Something will only work for someone when they are at a point when they are open to something else.

-         Force should always be the last resort and, even then, I should question my motivation each time. There is such a different energy when I control someone from the place of care and protection - a loving intervention - rather than when I control with punishment in mind.

-         When fear becomes the motivation, I lose touch with the desire for care and concern and balance is lost. Our own insecurity often means that we become aggressive and forceful.

-         To do something with love, is a transformative power

Empowerment; Motivation

Just over a year ago, when the ‘Arab Spring’ uprising began in Egypt, Barack Obama made a speech in which he said, “We need not be defined by our differences but by the commonality that we share…… Egyptians have inspired us and they've done so by putting the lie to the idea that justice is best gained through violence …… In Egypt, it was the moral force of non-violence, not terrorism, not mindless killing, that bent the arc of history toward justice once more.”

Everything indicated major change and radical restructuring in the region, through the voice of the people rather than through violence. That was before the resistance from Gadaffi and the ensuing battles within Libya between pro and anti Gadaffi forces.

The situation in Syria is a quantum leap down the road of violence towards genocide! The desperate situation within that country continues, seemingly little changed: indiscriminate shelling of civilians; bloodshed without cause; suffering and trauma. Sitting here in the UK, it is just impossible for me to conceive what people must be experiencing, what they must be feeling and thinking. The untold sorrow is one thing; the fact that there is no apparent end in sight amplifies the magnitude of this suffering.

I don’t know how people cope! The only thing I can imagine is that a part of them closes down; the reality of their lives takes on an element of unreality, where boundaries to the individual’s thoughts are tightly drawn in. The nearest I can come to imagining how this might be comes from speaking to lifers, in prison. When I have asked them how they deal with the thought of being incarcerated for another, say, 20 years, and perhaps for not being with their children as they grow up, they respond by saying, “You live from day to day. You can’t allow yourself to think too much or you would tear yourself apart.”

Can you imagine? …. Think about it? …. Could you put yourself in the shoes of a Syrian mother or father in Homs, right now?

This week, a UN backed peace plan has been endorsed by all the members of the UN Security Council. Yet this still remains a long way from resolution as government forces, at the same time as the plan was being endorsed, continue to shell the civilian population. The UN says more than 9,000 people have been killed in the year-long uprising in Syria, while tens of thousands of people have fled their homes.

We have to find ways to address this carnage; to tap in to all means available!

Coping mechanisms

Following up on the previous entry, exploring whether good or evil is our natural state, it is interesting to consider the two opposing sides to this argument.

In recent years, there seems to have become a tendency for people, even those who never knew the victim, to express their grief very publically when someone dies violently. Giles Frazer, a lecturer in philosophy and Anglican priest, suggests that this identification with the victim may be a way of protecting ourselves from the realisation that there could be some of the perpetrators violence within us. This suggestion he makes in the context of the holocaust in the following passage:

“My worry is that the identification with the victims of the holocaust protects us from the much more disturbing thought that we may have something in common with the perpetrators. Placing oneself along side the victim may leave intact a fundamental complacency about our own potential for violence and hatred. The idea that we might catch a glimpse of our reflection in the face of the Nazi guard is a terrifying thought but is one that is more likely to lead to genuine transformation.

Often we protect ourselves from the thought of our own capacity for wickedness by describing wickedness as something foreign and alien. That’s the problem with our tendency always to use the Nazis with the default example of human evil. This encourages the thought that evil is done by people with funny accents and sinister uniforms, people who lived in the past, people very different from us.

One of the most terrifying messages of European anti-Semitism is that evil is perpetrated by apparently ordinary, respectable men and women with nice families and good taste in wine and music. In other words, people like you and me! Those who refuse to face it are often the most dangerous people of all.”

If we accept this, it would suggest that violence is a dangerous urge lurking within us all. However, to counter that proposition, Sudhir Khan, a philosopher and psychologist, proposes the following:

“If you are asking, ‘is violence a fundamental drive in human beings?’, then I would say no. But, if you mean we are all prone to violence, to do violent acts, then yes.

What we are prone to is what we would widely call love, which includes altruism and empathy: the fundamental aspects of human nature. We have pain networks in our brains that are activated when we see the pain of others. This shows that we are capable of great empathy. If an adult drops a toy, a little baby will pick it up and give it to him.

I believe that the religions which have postulated that there are two forces in the world, good and evil, have distorted the view that evil or violence is a fundamental part, as is the good. I believe that the good is fundamental and that the violence is a reaction to many things.”

If Khan is correct, this would suggest that, in order to connect to this deeper part of the self, there is a need to learn to control ones’ reactivity, to nurture our natural nature, our loving nature and to allow it to express itself. How? Perhaps, by looking to a more spiritual background for an understanding, we can both diminish that violence and accentuate the ‘benevolent self.’

If the inner violence is not addressed and resolved, it will have lasting, damaging effects in that the person becomes cut off from looking within; from any psychological, emotional or spiritual life. This results in a life of great poverty.

More and more, in a world in which reactivity takes the front seat, we need to create and encourage time and space for personal silence and reflection, both for our self and those we work with. Only then will we recognise, unequivocally, which is our true nature …. and the true nature of others.

Values | Benevolence | Good and Evil | Reflection

Following on from the previous blog entry on compassion, it is always inspirational to hear from others who have already embraced and idea and journey a bit further on the road less travelled.

The Charter for Compassion is a cooperative effort to restore not only compassionate thinking but, more importantly, compassionate action to the centre of religious, moral and political life. The Charter seeks to change the conversation so that compassion becomes a key word in public and private discourse. It is designed not simply as a statement of principle; it is above all a summons to creative, practical and sustained action to meet the political, moral, religious, social and cultural problems of our time.

Charter for Compassion

The principle of compassion lies at the heart of all religious, ethical and spiritual traditions, calling us always to treat all others as we wish to be treated ourselves. Compassion impels us to work tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of our fellow creatures, to dethrone ourselves from the centre of our world and put another there, and to honour the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.

It is also necessary, in both public and private life, to refrain consistently and empathically from inflicting pain. To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others - even our enemies - is a denial of our common humanity. We acknowledge that we have failed to live compassionately and that some have even increased the sum of human misery in the name of religion.

We therefore call upon all men and women to:

- restore compassion to the centre of morality and religion;

- return to the ancient principle that any interpretation of scripture that breeds violence, hatred or disdain is illegitimate;

- encourage a positive appreciation of cultural and religious diversity;

- ensure that youth are given accurate and respectful information about other traditions, religions and cultures;

- cultivate an informed empathy with the suffering of all human beings, even those regarded as enemies.

We urgently need to make compassion a clear, luminous and dynamic force in our polarised world. Rooted in a principled determination to transcend selfishness, compassion can break down political, dogmatic, ideological and religious boundaries. Born of our deep interdependence, compassion is essential to human relationships and to a fulfilled humanity. It is the path to enlightenment, and indispensible to the creation of a just economy and a peaceful global community.

Compassion | Respect

As 2011 drew to a close, the media looked back on the events of the last twelve months. A significant number of the notable events included elements of a lack of compassion expressed in one quarter or another, whether it be financial institutions towards society, governments or dictatorships towards the people; media towards individuals.

It could be argued that national institutions and governments, who by rights should be in touch with the people, have multiple layers that don’t allow for or facilitate them to hear the real vox pop.

But what is compassion? The Collins English Dictionary defines it as: a feeling of distress and pity for the suffering or misfortune of another, often including the desire to alleviate it. (latin: com – with; pati – to bear, suffer.)

So to really understand compassion, there requires to be the principled determination to put ourselves in the shoes of the other and, if you don’t walk a mile in another man’s shoes …

But surely, if we are to take decisions that influence other people, in whatever manner, be it wealth, health, well-being, or freedom, it is incumbent upon us to look at the facts from all sides; to understand where people are coming from. As individuals who work within the Criminal Justice System, it is almost certain that we already ‘walk that mile’ …. and often the extra mile. However, compassion is a quality the need for which is becoming more and more acute within society in general and it is our responsibility to demonstrate that to others. There is the expression, ‘As I do, others will follow.'

Recently, I was present when a colleague was asked what time was ‘calling him to do?’ His response, one which I resonate with, was to quote Mahatma Ghandi: "perhaps more than ever, time is calling us to be the change we wish to see!"

Compassion | Leadership

More than a decade ago, the then Industrial Society, now the Work Foundation, called for new approaches and 'liberated leadership' built on interconnected networks, mutual trust, values, integrity, shared beliefs and strong relationships. This was intended to foster real progress in personal and organisational achievement, by way of encouraging a greater focus on values based on human dignity rather than on the short term and the narrow values of consumerism. This vision has many parallels with the intent of the UK Criminal Justice System of the last few years.

In their Campaign for Leadership pamphlet, 'Leaders for Tomorrow's Society’, the Industrial Society suggested:

"British society as a whole and many groups, both large and small, within it, face rising alienation, cynicism and exclusion. Without a new, values-based approach to leadership, the risk of social disintegration is both real and urgent. The roots of the latent crisis lie in our failure as individuals, in organisations and communities; to realise our potential. This is sometimes because people don't recognise their own capabilities, sometimes because they are prevented from exploiting them. The result is a growing number of people who have lost their identity, purpose or framework for living. In addition, the response to global competitive pressures is a gradual decline into the realms of the unethical; in the absence of shared visions, society is increasingly focusing on the short term and the narrow values of consumerism instead of values based on human dignity."

How the world has changed since 1999?

As we move into the New Year, this might be a time to reflect on the above vision as well as what my contribution towards that might have been and might yet be. One manner in which we might do that is by considering my New Year resolutions.

For example, what might our resolutions be for the next twelve months: to give up smoking; to follow a particular diet; to spend more quality time with the kids; to give two weekends a year to a charity cause? We each have your own. But how many of those resolutions benefit just me, how many my close family and friends, and how many the community I live in or society in a wider context? How many of these resolutions are on the basis of shared vision, on values based on human dignity and how many on the narrow values of consumerism?

Have I changed since 1999? Do I represent that new leadership, spoken of?

Leadership | Values

Young people tend to receive a disproportionate amount of bad press. Unfortunately, this can create a negative mindset for many of us who are of the next generation or older. The story that follows demonstrates how not everyone holds negative attitudes and how, in fact, positive approaches can profoundly change someone’s life. It relates to one act of kindness that befell British writer Bernard Hare in 1982. Then a student living near London, he tells the story to inspire troubled young people to help deal with their disrupted lives.

“The police called at my student hovel early evening but I didn't answer as I thought they'd come to evict me: I hadn't paid my rent in months. But then I got to thinking: my mum hadn't been too good and what if it was something about her?

We had no phone and mobiles hadn't been invented yet, so I had to nip down the phone box. I rang home to Leeds to find my mother was in hospital and not expected to survive the night. "Get home, son," my dad said.

I got to the railway station to find a train going as far as Peterborough that night but I would miss the connecting Leeds train by twenty minutes. I bought a ticket home and got on anyway. I had a screwdriver in my pocket and my bunch of skeleton keys. I was so desperate to get home that I planned to nick a car in Peterborough, steal some money, something, anything! I just knew from my dad's tone of voice that my mother was going to die that night and I intended to get home, if it killed me.

"Tickets, please," I heard, as I stared blankly out of the window at the passing darkness. I fumbled for my ticket and gave it to the guard when he approached. He stamped it, but then just stood there looking at me. I'd been crying, had red eyes and must have looked a fright.

"You okay?" he asked. "Course I'm okay," I said. "Why wouldn't I be? And what's it got to do with you in any case?"

"You look awful," he said. "Is there anything I can do?"

"You could get lost and mind your own business," I said. "That'd be a big help." I wasn't in the mood for talking.

He was only a little bloke and he must have read the danger signals in my body language and tone of voice, but he sat down opposite me anyway and continued to engage me. "If there's a problem, I'm here to help. That's what I'm paid for."

I was a bubbling cauldron of emotion and he had placed himself in my line of fire. Other than physically 'sending him on his way,' the only other thing I could think of to get rid of him was to tell him my story. "Look, my mum's in hospital, dying, she won't survive the night, I'm going to miss the connection to Leeds at Peterborough, I'm not sure how I'm going to get home.I'm a bit upset, I don't really feel like talking, I'd be grateful if you'd leave me alone. Okay?"

Okay," he said, finally getting up," and wandered off down the carriage. I continued to look out of the window at the dark. Ten minutes later, he was back at the side of my table. Oh no, I thought, here we go again.

He touched my arm. "Listen, when we get to Peterborough, shoot straight over to Platform One. The Leeds train'll still be there. As soon as you get on, it goes. I've just radioed Peterborough and they're going to hold the train up for you."Everyone will be complaining about how late it is but let's not worry about that on this occasion. You'll get home and that's the main thing. Good luck and God bless."

" I was suddenly speechless. "I, erm…" "It's okay," he said. "Not a problem." He had a warm smile on his face and true compassion in his eyes. He was a good man for its own sake and required nothing in return.

"I wish I had some way to thank you," I said. "I appreciate what you've done."

"Not a problem," he said again. "If you feel the need to thank me, the next time you see someone in trouble, you help them out. That will pay me back amply. "Tell them to pay you back the same way and soon the world will be a better place."

I was at my mother's side when she died in the early hours of the morning.

My meeting with the Good Conductor changed me from a selfish, potentially violent hedonist into a decent human being but it took time. "I've paid him back a thousand times since then," I tell the young people I work with and I'll keep on doing so till the day I die, “You don't owe me nothing; nothing at all. And if you think you do, I'd give you the same advice the Good Conductor gave me: pass it down the line."

Attitude | Respect

The internet is such an amazing tool: if you don’t know what something is then ‘Google it!’ Information is at our finger-tips in seconds. This benefit of IT allows us to be educated about topics that we are all connected with – directly or indirectly, as well as to educate others.

I recently spent some time on a website that provides an insight into the considerations that are taken into account when an individual comes in front of the court. It even allows us, as members of the public, to ‘judge and sentence’ someone on the basis of information ‘heard in court’. Our judgement is then compared against the actual decision of the court, while talking us through the various guiding factors that pertain to this crime.

Crime and punishment do have clear, meticulous guidelines. However, we still hear in the press that, on occasions, ‘sentencing doesn’t fit the crime!’ or ‘the punishment is too lenient!’ On other occasions, we hear that so-and-so has received a longer than expected sentence to serve as an example to others, in order to persuade them that crime doesn’t pay. What a balancing act those that meet out the punishment have to play: to what degree is the punishment designed to encourage change in the offender and to what degree is it to send a signal to others to dissuade them from similar activity?

Let alone those within the judicial system, what about myself. To what extent am I level-headed or influenced, responsive or reactive, compassionate or emotional when I hear about crimes committed? Well the website I accesses provided some insight into that. So too will the following story.

A white-haired old Cherokee chief was sitting with his young granddaughter on a rocky outcrop looking out over the plain. He was deep in thought.

After a time he turned to her as said, “There is a fight is going on inside of me, a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf represents fear, hatred, anger, resentment, arrogance, and selfishness. The other wolf stands for kindness, compassion, respect, integrity, generosity, and empathy.

He then fell silent again. After a short while the granddaughter turned to the old man and asked, “Grandpa, which wolf wins?”

He turned to her and, with a smile that expressed all his accumulated wisdom, simply said, “Whichever one you feed!”

Of course, it is experience accrued over time that allows for clear-thinking in any such situation.

Lord Woolf recently stated, "It has long been my belief that judges should know much more about what happens and the consequence of their sentencing. Of course you wonder what's happening. Having been involved in Strangeways, you then realise just how important our prison system is to the administration of justice and to the protection of the public. You can either use it in a constructive way, or in a destructive way.’

Justice | Attitudes

I recently came across a story with Oriental origins that offered some insight into what makes for an excellent leader of an organisation. Before you click to another page saying ‘this doesn’t apply to me, then read on!

The CEO of a large international organisation was looking for an able and wise person who would take over the running of the business after he had retired. He earmarked the best managers from his own company and hired recruitment consultants and head-hunters to find him additional ones who might fulfil the required criteria.

On a particular day, all the possible contenders were assembled in the vault of the bank with which the organisation did business. The CEO addressed the assembly stating that he wished to set them a task to identify which among them had the necessary skills, acumen and wherewithal to play the role of guiding the company in the future. Indicating the huge vault door behind him, he invited the assembled individuals to open it, unassisted.

Some of the managers just shook their heads and withdrew. Others examined the door more closely, cited theories of problem-solving learned in business school, discussed aspects of leverage and mass but ultimately admitted that it was an impossible task.

However, one manager approached the door and gave it a thorough examination. He tapped it while listening carefully, assessed its dimensions and noted the hinges and their lubrication before applying his weight to the door. The door didn’t move. Once again he examined the door, its frame and the space around the door. There, trapped between the door and the floor, was a tiny piece of grit which was just enough to prevent the precision-made door from opening. Once removed, the door, despite its huge size and mass opened effortlessly.

The CEO had his successor.

Addressing those in the vault, the CEO said, “Success in industry depends on certain key things which you have just seen demonstrated! Firstly, rely on your senses to fully understand the reality of what is going on around you. Second, do not make false assumptions. Third, be willing to make tough decisions. Fourth, have the courage to act with boldness and conviction. Fifth, put your powers into action. Finally, do not be afraid to make mistakes.

If these are the keys to success as a captain of industry, then it begs the question as to how many people working with offenders also have the capacity to become CEO’s of an international organisation?

Leadership