# 43: History, Nuns, and Powerplay
Story behind the Passage
There are periods when I really get excited about history. Right now, I am reading a book about the history of the suburb where I live. I had no idea that the monastery which once existed around the corner was built in the 13th century already. Today, there is only a tiny part of the chapel left. Actually, in my teens, I had this obsession about historical novels. I particularly liked the books about monasteries. I have always been fascinated with life behind walls; a life that people choose consciously — at least nowadays.
My thoughts about monasteries also made me think of the book Powerplay: What Really Happened at Bendix. I dealt with the author’s story in my last book. But the reason why I thought of it today is not so much related to the major topic of the book, i.e., power. I remembered that Cunningham was raised in a very pious Catholic family and that this really shaped her identity and decision making, even as she climbed the corporate success ladder and became Vice President to the CEO.
The book is no hallmark of business literature and this was most likely never a goal of Cunningham. She told her story to draw attention to the lasting problems women face in the business world. And she told the story to simply tell it, as she reveals in the book. Writing one’s story is part of the healing process that many people go through who have suffered from injustice or even self-afflicted violence. However, I am not focusing on the main story. When I thought of the book today, it was because of the connection to my historical readings and women in monasteries.
My Learnings
“As usual, I was rescued by my studies.” The passage is from a chapter in which Cunningham talks about her university education. She spent one year as an exchange student at the University of Oxford. As she explains, her social life was not much different from home — practically non-existent. Still, the academic part of the experience thrilled her. And it is exactly this obsession with learning and books that I remember most powerfully from the book.
Especially when imagining what it might have been like to be a nun in a monastery many centuries ago, I have these extremely mixed feelings. And Cunningham also explains these quite well throughout the book. She happened to become a powerful manager in the company but she was extremely shaped by her background in philosophy and her religious upbringing. This almost resigned insight of fleeing into books in order to be “rescued” is therefore quite characteristic.
Still, what I find so fascinating about this is the immense gap between the two extremes — between the nuns in a monastery who can devote almost their entire time to learning and spiritual growth and a manager who has no time for anything on a regular and hectic day. Since books are more than sources of learning for someone like her, how can one simply get rid of this ‘safety net’ made up of books?
I think, the world would really be a different place if we managed to force every person in this country to spend at least one hour per day with reading in absolute solitude. Of course, this is a fictional idea but I do see there is potential in it. And I wonder what the nuns would actually say if they were to give a talk on power and powerplay. I am pretty sure, many people would be surprised.
As far as I am concerned, reading at high speed and studying for many hours is something that I increasingly miss. It is nothing that anybody else can fix. It is simply me not taking the time to read as much as I want to. I will change this again. This is actually the reason why I intentionally keep my post rather short today. I want to continue reading tonight. And I am pretty sure that literature can do what Cunningham suggests — it can offer escape and protection.
For her, the inner strength she gained from her solid religious and philosophical roots was not enough to prevent her from truly being hit and hurt by the corporate powerplay she got to witness. Still, I think that the memory of living in one’s own imaginative monastery of books does not leave one. And I would even go so far as to claim that the future, especially the next decade, will see more of these untypical leaders of the Angela Merkel type — canny, well-read up to a scientific level, and highly pragmatic.
If that will happen,
only history can tell –
retrospectively.
Reflection Questions
1) Did you have a particular book series or an author that you were crazy about when you were a teenager?
2) Do you think that writing a memoir helps people cope with professional failture?
3) If you started a conversation with a nun nowadays — which question would you ask her first?