Following on from the words of the great writer, reading sets us on the path of learning, and learning leads us towards freedom as a human being. For this very reason, reading has been considered a dangerous activity throughout history, and still is by many regimes who try to suppress it by means of censorship. In the Middle Ages a book cost the equivalent of three pregnant cows and reading was a punishable offence for the common man (or, to be more precise, if you weren’t a priest or nobleman), since it was deemed to make him ‘arrogant’ before God. If people are ignorant they are much easier to manipulate … both in the Middle Ages and today. In the past, eclipses of the sun brought out blind reactions based on ignorance, and in our days lack of knowledge gives rise to a huge number of prejudices in politics, economics and the workplace. And all of this, unfortunately, fills us with fear.

Being open to learning is an attitude (and a life raft when we have problems). And learning does not just come from reading; it comes from everything we do in life. The other day I met a manager who said that the thing that had most surprised him about his American colleagues was that when they came out of a conference or meeting, they were asked: ‘What have you learnt?’ It would be fantastic if we could make a habit of doing this after meetings or conversations. Any contact we have with reality is an opportunity to learn, and it’s our attitude which allows us to grasp the opportunity … or not. What’s more, having an open inquisitive attitude is what sets some people apart, and far beyond the realm of reading. Whoever dares to question themselves, whoever wonders why things are the way they are and is ready to listen to others, is well on the way to developing a learning attitude.

In the end, mental openness makes us free, leads us to respect others, and distances us from stereotypes, nationalisms, party politics of any hue or pre-established beliefs. It’s no good blaming the system, Internet, or looking for any other excuses to fall back on. Learning is an intellectual passion, as the philosopher Polanyi might have said, and it is completely our responsibility.

P.S. The film Precious which I saw yesterday on DVD provided the inspiration to write this post. I can’t recommend the film highly enough… It’s about a woman who manages to overcome extremely hard and fraught circumstances thanks to her willingness to learn.

However, the music of competition is beginning to upset markets and companies need to get with the beat in order to survive. That’s why they are now looking to tap into people’s hidden potential and are looking for John Travoltas rather than battery-driven Duracell bunnies. What’s more, fear has no place on this new dance floor.

Do you want professionals empowered to achieve ambitious goals? Then get rid of fear. Do you want staff committed to customers and with the ability to take decisions? Once again, get rid of fear. Or how about companies geared to a process of constant innovation in order to adapt to the ever-changing times? There’s no two ways about it: we need to stamp “Not admitted” in fear’s passport.

The choice before us is clear: empowerment or alienation? Which will be most beneficial to companies? Depending on your market and your vision of the future (and on your personal principles in some cases), you can either use fear as a cornerstone of your management style or you can throw it in the bin. The following may help you to decide…

Raj Sisodia, Jag Sheth and David Wolfe carried out a study of the management style and profitability of 60 cutting-edge U.S. organizations. According to the authors, those companies which are headed up by “CEOs who inspire respect, loyalty and even affection, rather than fear” had boosted their profits 758% in the last ten years, as compared to a 128% increase for the totality of Fortune 500 companies.

One more factoid: only 36% of professionals say that they use all of their potential at work. Imagine what results would be like if that figure were a lot closer to 100%.

“People are ready for a workplace without fear.”

Kathleen Ryan and Daniel Oestreich, Driving fear out of the workplace

1. Don’t deny your fear. Accept it as a normal emotion which is felt by everyone. We don’t usually speak about fear because it is considered a sign of weakness; however, never experiencing fear would be highly dangerous. Fear is part of the make-up of our brains, and is the emotion which has most helped us to get to where we are as a species. So, being alive means experiencing fear from time to time. Don’t try to avoid something which is a natural part of all mammals’ brains!

2. Cushion the impact of fear by looking at each situation calmly, and rationally. Define an action plan when faced with circumstances that induce fear in you. How many of our fears actually come to pass? I once read a study carried out in the USA which said that the figure is less than 5 per cent. Whatever the exact number may be, you only have to look back at your childhood and teenage fears to realize that they were greatly exaggerated. Fear is useful, but we have a tendency to be overly affected by it. A good technique which you can use is to imagine what you would do if your worst fears were fulfilled. A manager in a company once told me that at the beginning of his career, he was afraid that he would lose his job, and end up penniless and begging on the street. He took a brave decision to face up to this fear: he went to speak to some beggars and, although he learnt about the hard life which they led, he also saw that they were able to get used to it, and to find room for friendship and small pleasures in their lives. The experience gave him the strength to unmask his fear.

3. Realize that we all have the strength to face up to the fears which beset us. Don’t let fear paralyze you. Resilience is the name given to the strength which enables us to overcome difficult situations. I think that hardly anyone is fully aware of how resilient they can be. At the current time we are in the middle of an economic crisis. However, we should not lose sight of the fact that humanity has had to face up to far more difficult situations, such as war or epidemics. We need to see things in perspective, and trust in our innate capacity to face up to difficulties, and in our basic survival instincts.

4. Seek help. Speak to friends, family, colleagues, or specialists, and tell them about your problems. You don’t need to deal with your problems all on your own. If you’re going through a bad patch, tell others about it and don’t keep it to yourself. As Iñaki Gómez told me after confiding in a friend, your unshed tears stay trapped in your body. Or, to put it more prosaically, silence and isolation make us weak and more prone to fear. So, seek the support of friends and people you trust. Speak openly about what is troubling you and about how you feel, without blowing everything out of all proportion. There are some people who seem to positively enjoy painting a completely bleak picture of their situation. If you know someone like this, don’t be sucked in by their pessimism, but try to see the opportunities and alternatives available.

5. Look to the future, and set yourself motivating goals and challenges. In the end, the best way to get rid of fear is to look at the other side of the coin: your hopes, dreams and new plans. The past never comes back, but you can create your future if you fully embrace it. Learn to enjoy your new situation and to laugh about what has happened to you. Start making new plans, whether work-related or personal. All this won’t happen overnight but, little by little, by trusting in yourself and with the help of friends or people you admire, you can build a new future. In the words of Nelson Mandela: “The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear”.

NoFear will also be published shortly in Portuguese, and it’s already been translated into Brazilian Portuguese and Catalan. In addition, the original version in Spanish is now in its sixth reprint. The honest truth is that when I was writing the book I had no idea that it would prove to be so popular. I’d like to thank everyone who has read it and recommended it!