What a reality is? Philosophical question, and for everyeveryone own. Reality changes as quickly as we change ourselves, it gets better or worse, but it depends on our desire. The Zhytomyr.Travel team talked about how the reality of the former military could change, with a change agent and an infinitely sincere young leader, Timur Abubakar, who mastered the new profession of Lean-manager
«My specialty is a Lean-engineer of a production or labor organization. In different companies differently, but in the West, they call it Lean-Po manager, although in its basis a Japanese philosophy is laid. I got my diploma for «Refa -engineer». It is the same structure, but German, that I studied at the International Institute of Business in Kyiv for a certified German program. Studied by Ukrainians who are certified by the German Refa Association. This program was advised to me by professor of the Kyiv School of Economics Sergiy Gvozdiov, who became for me a mentor in the world of business processes. I was interested in business processes while studying at the Kyiv School of Economics on entrepreneurship for veterans of ATO. It was there that I met the professor, and we developed several cases with him. I work alone by now»
«I started learning as soon as I got back from the army. It helped me a lot. Actually, because of what I studied, I started to enter into life immediately»
«I’ve always been interested in big systems. Ok, you will develop a small system. But how does a huge system work? And when I started studying, I learned the concept of «system», what it consists of, how to see big processes, analyze and, most importantly, how to improve, it became very interesting to me. There were many «why». The professor, who endured my «why»,said: «You need «solid» knowledge and you will get answers». I found the answers, but there were new «why»
«At the Kyiv School of Economics, I studied not only with the members ATO, but also with the volunteers and participants of the Honesty Revolution. Everyone has their own way: someone started their business, someone went into another sphere. Many of the boys and girls started their own businesses, many of them used to have it before, but everyone wanted to scale it and came to learn. But we all meet and talk at KSE events or just for tea. We are united by war and we trust each other»
«After my studies at MIB, I dive into systems. I was interested in the systems of nations and civilizations. It was interesting to know why we have a system like this, why a Western model, not an Eastern model, is successful. When you gain knowledge of systems, you have the opportunity to analyze them … The big thing is the mission of the system. It all starts with an idea, with the thoughts of certain people, and some reflections turn into systems. So I came to the books of Plato, Aristotle. We are still building systems based on the thinking of philosophers, though some of them lived even before our era»
«Am I a leader? Yes. I am definitely the leader of my life, and now I am forming an environment. I started living a year and a half ago when I came from the army. If we were talking when I was in the army, I would say, «Yes, I am a leader, because there is a position that requires leadership.» And now I shape the environment according to my principles. And maybe now it is small, so I understand that I need to describe my thoughts, carry them and see who likes it. Probably right now I’m at a stage or place where you need your thoughts to relay and connect with certain people as clearly as possible. For myself, I understand that my models work specifically for me. Now I test them to then say that they work not only for me, but for you, if you treat them properly and do the right thing. That is, I take responsibility for my life. Absolutely»
«It used to be a different life. I used to be a bully (Laughs). The army changed everything, and I became another during the war … First, I went into the army. Social ties with civilian friends completely disappeared during Russia’s aggression. Initially, at age 18, I went on to conscript service, then contracted, got into a peacekeeping mission after a year of service. The war caught us after four months of mission and we were brought out as a matter of urgency»
«I’ve been to the war twice. The first rotation is an artilleryman, the second is an infantryman. During the second rotation, our unit was given the opportunity to go to a peacekeeping mission, for me it became the second. The first one was in Kosovo, the Resort for the Military, which is what we called it. Second, in the Republic of Liberia. It is in Africa, and it is Africa that has shown me the other world. I always thought we were a poor country, and after Africa I realized that there are no extremes, but there are averages. And when we do not notice them, we fall into the extremes. Upon returning, I realized that I had exhausted myself in the army. I realized that the knowledge I gained in the war, in the missions, I can use in life»
«War is a structured thing: there is an enemy, there is you, there are rules. If you do not follow these rules, chaos begins. These clear rules of war must be observed by all commanders and required by their personnel … When you go to war, it is a fact. You can’t say, «No, it’s not me.» Then they will just shoot you. You accept the fact that you are at war. And one should not try to understand whose side is good, whose bad. There is a fact – you are here. He shoots you, you shoot him. If he came out with a white flag, you have no need to shoot, because it is a rule of war …»
«I have seen a different war … Artillery is not so full of war. Here the infantry fully feels the breath and smell of war. Particularly the smell»
«Everything is visible in the eyes right away. I was changed by the war: at first I had young eyes, but when I went into infantry, it changed very quickly. And the eyes have become different»
«I am now a military pacifist. I know that when you have peace, there is a chance to prepare. When I am asked why I play sports, I say that I am preparing for a great war. I have my own physical fitness, but I’m not an athlete. When I feel it is difficult, I stop. And when I realize that I will not be able to complete the tasks that I can be assigned to, I start preparing again»
«What am I? I think I’m real. I try not to hide … There is no point in making yourself who you cannot be. You may need to try to be what you want to be, but who you are not, exactly what you should not be. That way you will never attract sincere people to you, there will always be honest people near you»
«Honesty is a trust, and if a person trusts you, you can work with it. I am sincere and people do not fool me. Well, if they are fooling, then I am guilty. Once in Romania, I lost, well, to be more precise, my wallet was stolen. There was everything: money, ID. But I said, «Okay, so this person needs more … With people I try to be sincere, but I don’t have to think I’m naive»
«I may disagree with something, but I will not «drown» people who are doing something. Yes, I may not like something, but I’m ready to discuss it. The only thing I can’t discuss is the facts»
«We cannot communicate, and that is our problem. Even when we do interesting things, we present them for our people. However, they will understand you so, they will find a deep essence in the simple things you want to convey. We need to communicate to others … We are an immature society. It seems to us that communicating to people is easy because we see it. But in life it is not really so»
«I don’t want to do something «halfway». If done, there is a set of works that will have a definite result. Something might not work right away – let’s analyze. Then this is worked into the system, and I see only system changes. When they happen, we change all spheres of life, we change and we move to another phase level … My task is to build the system from the bottom, because I am here. There are people who have to do this from above. We expect that someone will build from above and let us down. We need to learn how to talk about the difficult and to listen to, we can still speak, but not to listen …»
«When I understand that I do not know something, I look for the person who knows. We cooperate, we come together with ideas. If I see that there are no such people, I start to understand myself»
«The mission, the goal, are important to me. I can’t tell a man to go there because I said so. Others also need to understand the purpose and mission. Yes, sometimes it is necessary to summarize, give an education, that list of knowledge that I have gained, the experience that I have. Or go somewhere to look for such people, connect with them. Because I want to do something where I live, I work here, I try to develop here where I live …»
«You can implement the project simply for the sake of the project. «Well cool project, let’s implement it! «Come on.» But what next? The project was over, someone had achieved short-term goals and we all ran. But I love long distances, and if we are already working with you, then we must move together, enrich each other. And in the social sphere, I am an advocate for people not managing their temporary needs or personal needs. I’m in favor of people wanting to do in the social realms»
«Maslow’s Pyramid is really upside down. I saw people dying who lost their faith in themselves. We all have an inner answer to the question of why we came into the world, what we do here. We, as a social structure, work so that each of us at every level understands our responsibility and our mission. For example, India, where there are castes. If you were born in this caste, you have to be there all your life. And this is their social structure. Or the example of the military. Man comes from war, begins to search in the world and does not find his place. Sometimes he commits suicide. At the same time he has something to go for, he has absolutely everything, but he does not understand what he is doing here, he cannot find the answers to simple questions, he is lost. The social structure should help…»
«Physiological needs are important. When I work, I have to think about a project, not how to meet physiological needs»
«I want to create a platform for ethical leaders. They need to be united by certain values that will be declared, together define the goals of this community and begin to achieve together! It is these communities that can bring meaning and disseminate them in society»
«I never get attached to the authorities. Power is one of the tools, but not final. There is business, there are activists, and we need to unite and talk about sustainable development»
«I love my city. Because it is mine! There are no more such Novohrad-Volynskyi … I am ready to transform it … Zhytomyr I do not feel so yet … In Novohrad I know the places where the energy lives. Such places should be made wider. I know people who live in energy, but they are not popular, they don’t make decisions, but they could. And then the energy of the city would change …»
«Zhytomyr is half full for me, and that special energy has not filled the whole city yet»
«I don’t like tourist cities – they are dead to me. I love cities designed for residents who feel the spirit of the city. For example, I liked Greece. You feel that this is Greece – it has its own identity. This is what we are called «little Switzerland», «new Paris», but not Ukraine. Where is the identity? How does Zhytomyr identify itself? Zhytomyr is unique, has a history, and needless to say, it is similar to other cities. It’s hard to work with it,it is needed to»
«It is very important when you are next to ‘your’ person. It is important here whether people are positive or destructive. It’s hard to talk to those who are destructive. We need to work with those who are ready to develop»
«I have one big project – I am interested in sustainable development. First in my city and then in the region. There are many stakeholders, but I understand that followers are needed. One project is to teach young people the basics of understanding how a project works, how to raise money, why it is important. Another project is aimed at strong leaders in the region who will be able to take responsibility. We are all different, but we all need development. Sustainable Development!»
