In praise of folly: on the fool and the jester in Flemish art

According to medieval theologians, faith is a deadly serious business. Humour and virtue are irreconcilable, because laughter is uncontrollable and escapes the control of reason. A modest smile is permitted. But laughing loudly, grinning and grimacing: these are the playing field of the devil – just as pernicious as other uncontrollable urges, such as physical love or the addiction of the gambler. That is the domain of the peasan...

Nepal, the cradle of AUM, the spiritual sound that travels on a breeze of the wind.

A pop-up storybook awaits with temples, snowpowdered peaks, emerald green lakes and forests with rumbling cascades of white-blue icings, incredible wildlife, mystic scents of a thousand candles, and endless happiness.

Yet, this book tells the story of a pierced heart, forever broken ...

I have tried to summarize all my encounters, experiences, and insights into this book. I do realize that this book is far from complete. Maybe there will be a sequel in which I can go into some topics more in-depth. First let’s see how this book is received. I know that especially through my men’s workshops, I have given people the opportunity to develop themselves further on a personal level. Those men see the world with completely different eyes after completing the training. With the m...

On average, mankind uses 1.7 Earths each year for raw materials, food and energy. Many countries even more. Most green initiatives call for action, but do not address the over-consumption and its causes. This manifesto shows our true escape: stop doing, degrowth and help Mother Earth to regenerate. Work with nature, not against it. The knowledge is still here.

People are doers and always call for action. But doing is exactly the root cause of the ecological problems we now face. All of our do...

This book is a spiritual biography. When I was 7 years old, some new playmates I just met almost buried me alive. When everything turned dark and I was lost in panic, my spirit detached itself from my body in order to find help.

Through experiments with hypnosis, out-of-body experiences and past life regression, it became more and more clear to me that body and mind are separate components, connected in a temporary way.

Besides this, I was fascinated to discover how by means of alternative...

HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

1 WORLD CLASS

1.1 CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

1.1.1 History of Lean and Six Sigma

1.1.2 Lean principles

1.1.3 House of Quality

1.1.4 Eight types of Waste

1.1.5 CIMM–framework

1.2 CUSTOMER VALUE (VOC & CTQ)

1.2.1 CTQ – Nursing home

1.2.2 CTQ – Implementation organization

1.2.3 CTQ – Ball bearing on shaft

1.2.4 CTQ–Flowdown – Baking pancakes

1.2.5 CTQ–Flowdown – Hotel room

2 POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT

2.1 POLICY DEVELOPMENT

2.1.1 Mission, v...

Design thinking is on the rise among managers. And for good reason: design-driven organisations have higher revenue growth, more loyal customers and a higher competitive advantage than organisations that mainly focus on control. They are promising organisations that are focused on opportunities rather than bottlenecks. But, within organisations, design thinking does not happen all by itself. After all, organisations are like living tissue, they are only partly makeable, and usually have a str...

Richard Gilman referred to How to Read a Film as simply "the best single work of its kind." And Janet Maslin in The New York Times Book Review marveled at James Monaco's ability to collect "an enormous amount of useful information and assemble it in an exhilaratingly simple and systematic way." Indeed, since its original publication in 1977, this hugely popular book has become the definitive source on film and media. Now, James Monaco offers a special anniversary edition of his classic work, ...