Testimonials
Of all of the one or two day courses I’ve done throughout my career, the two sessions with Rama Naidu were the ones in which I experienced the greatest personal and professional development. I have never come away from a workshop with so many tools that I will actually use, so many ideas that have changed the way I interact with the world and so much enthusiasm to effect change immediately. Rama created an incredibly safe, deeply insightful and highly interactive environment for us to engage with one another and I believe that, as a team of thinking partners and change agents, we have been catapulted to a higher level of solutions thinking and effective action. Rama’s extensive experience was evident in the way he lifted both workshops to a level that I have never experienced before. His humour and intellectual gems kept us hanging onto his every word. I would encourage every organisation to gift their leaders and employees with – at the very least – one workshop hosted by this remarkable man. Thank you Rama, from the bottom of my heart!
The Board and management of St Andrew’s School for Girls decided to completely refresh the schools strategy in order to set a clear path for the next 5- 10 years. We wanted to take an innovative approach and ensure that all our stakeholders had a chance to contribute to crafting the future. Rama designed and facilitated a process whereby we brought all stakeholders into the room and we have co-created a new, distinct and inspiring strategic path for the school. The process was energetic and instilled enthusiasm in all the participants. One year later we have a clear and understandable strategic vision which is being vigorously implemented by the Board and management in the day to day management of the school. Thank you, Rama
I had the privilege of attend a Community Building workshop facilitated by Dr Rama Naidu, March 2019, Cape Town. When he started off the workshop, he did not introduce himself as Dr Rama, just Rama, levelling with all in the room in a basic human way. Humbling himself by saying that we do not know much, we are not experts in anything, and the way to connect with others is not to show that we are right or that we are better or that we are experts in some way or another, but rather to connect and solve challenges together by acknowledging each contribution, allowing different stories into our own subjective views, without judgement and together create new stories of hope, love and community. His method of facilitation is never as the expert in the room, but rather to extract the ‘gold’ already in the room. He not only empowers leaders to use this way of facilitating to influence positive change in their communities, but at the same time facilitate immense change in every individual attending the session. As a result of what I learnt during the workshop I have become conscious, whenever I connect with others, to allow other stories in and finding new innovative solutions together. The ‘what if’ questions, opens up opportunities to view problems as a mosaic of possible solutions and rid the feelings; • of being stuck, • the pointing the fingers of who was responsible for the problem and who outside of ourselves is responsible to solve it, and • feelings helplessness and being the victim of your circumstances. My hope is that as many people as possible would experience this life changing ‘shift’ to become more tolerant of each other, to experience deep understanding, to become less judgmental and solve challenges as a community, in the most creative ways possible.
I attended two meetings with a wonderful individual, every story different every dream real, Dr Rama Naidu unpacked a box, each with the same gift, for everyone to take and use in conjunction with their unique abilities. We broke barriers that prevented success, we healed old wounds, years later I want to let Dr Naidu know, from a community dance school funded solely by my self and parents, I am now the CEO and founder of 3 International companies, I use the tools you have taught everyday, I have lifted my voice, I have changed the dynamics of my game plan. I sit across board room tables where my opinion changes the success of projects from failure to success. Understanding the power of yourself, comes when you know the time for teamwork is no longer about you but about the TEAM, WE Need to get to the end, Let them know you in the trench, but give them a shovel and say let us dig, the plan is simple, Yes I can, but I am going teach you how we can get the team to the finish line. I won’t take the victory, but WE shall share both the journey and the Reward.
6 Degree Shift: Our Journey Towards Community Building
All it took was two days
“Transforming self-interest in our communities INTO connectedness and caring for the whole ” Rama Naidu
Building strong and effective communities is crucial to our society, and it takes a special skillset to achieve this goal. Recently, four of us from The No-Stone Foundation – Heike, Jo-Anne, Gerswin, and myself – attended a two-day course on Community Building hosted by Partners for Possibility. This organization works with partnering business partners with school principals to develop community building skills. The course was led by Dr. Rama Naidu, who introduced himself simply as Rama, with no suggestion of lauding his accomplishments or education over us, although it was clear and evident in his depth of knowledge and interaction. Rama is a disruptor of conventional thinking, something I have always aspired to be, even if it has gotten me into trouble at times. The course focused on the idea that every person on the planet is a maximum of 6 connections away from every other person on the planet, which is thrilling. But the truth is, we have never been more disconnected. We are struggling more than ever with issues like patriarchy, racism, sexism, leadership, hierarchy, partnership, ethics, values, and culture – all aspects of connection. The greatest challenge of our modern time is to find ways to relate and interact deeply and sincerely in an ultra-connected world in which we have never been more fractured and distant. What made this course stand out was that the methods used were simple, yet effective, and had both the capacity and capability to traverse chasms that one would think not possible. I particularly enjoyed the entry point of “yes, but what if…” which encouraged us to think outside of our comfort zones and challenge the status quo. The methods taught were not new, as they have been around for eons, but the approach was refreshing and thought-provoking. As community builders, we found that the course provided us with valuable tools and techniques to build stronger communities. We learned about the importance of authentic communication, active listening, and creating a safe space for people to express their opinions and beliefs. The course also emphasized the need for partnerships and collaborations to achieve common goals, as well as the importance of recognizing and valuing diversity. In conclusion, we highly recommend the Partners for Possibility Community Building course to anyone who wants to learn how to build stronger and more effective communities. The course was thought-provoking, informative, and most importantly, fun. It was refreshing to be part of a group of like-minded individuals who are passionate about making a positive impact on the world. Thank you to Merridy for the invite, and a special thanks to Rama for inspiring us to disrupt conventional thinking and build communities that thrive.
