The Sage: The truth is enlightening
Looking for answers? Who do we instinctively turn to? A teacher, a scholar, a wise old man or woman…?
If so, then you are looking for The Sage.
Sages are those who are driven by the desire to know and to understand. They are relentless in their pursuit of knowledge, and in their quest for ‘the truth’.
Sages have been positioned as the ‘go-to’ sources of knowledge throughout history. The courts of Kings and Emperors always had one on hand to consult. Attaining enlightened from a guru has been the subject of pilgrimages since time.
Celebrated Academics like Sir Isaac Newton and Archimedes have, following relative mundane episodes involving falling fruit and bathing, brought such penetrating insight to bear that they transformed our understanding of the world around us.
Sages are also considered to be ‘beyond normal’. Their preoccupation with the ‘truth’ they are pursuing often results in them living an ascetic existence, removed from normal everyday lives (and distractions).
The Sage Archetype is aligned with the primary motivation of freedom. Sages ‘escape’ via knowledge, or find the act of research or learning diverting. In the case of The Sage, knowledge will set you free!
In modern times, The Sage is often used as a metaphor for organic or active learning systems or practices, or even research institutions or think tanks. Any agency or facility where collective grey matter is applied to pressing or complex problems.
The Sage archetype is subject to a few variations. These are savants, oracles and detectives.
The Sage: Savant
Astrophysicist Steve Hawking is a bonafide Sage Savant. His brilliant mind was offset by a crippling physical disability, Motor neuron disease. This created an unintentional barrier between himself and the rest of the world, which only strengthened his alignment to this archetype.
The first of these is the savant. The Savant is an individual with an exceptional intellectual talent or ability. Often this ability manifests itself in people who are compromised with a seemingly unrelated disability such as autism (think the film ‘Rain Man’).
The Savant’s talent is so overwhelming that people are often at a loss as to how it appeared.
Stephan Hawking and Albert Einstein would both be considered Savants.
Brands that fall into the Savant category must be so smart and so perceptive that they have become synonymous with truth, information and intelligence itself. Like Google…
Google has transformed the way that the human race searches for ‘truth’.
‘Google’ has now become part of the vernacular for finding information.
The Sage: Oracle
The Oracle provides spectacular intelligence from difficult or complex sources. The Oracle dimension of The Sage provides an exclusive conduit for prophecy or advice from highly credentialed or talented individuals.
Oracle’s abilities to tap into both science and science-fiction or supernatural to deliver timely advice or dire warnings. Yoda from the Star Wars franchise is a classic example.
Yoda is a Jedi Knight, instructor and serious advanced practitioner of all things positive of ‘the Force’. His unique ability to sense ‘the Force’ in the universe makes him a very handy prophet as well. Adapt at wielding both high tech and spiritual knowledge Yoda’s focus is on delivering a favourable outcome for the universe from certain prophesied events to keep the balance of good and evil stable.
Acclaimed living treasure and television environmentalist David Attenborough is also a living example of The Sage Oracle. David Attenborough and his team also demonstrate the unique qualities of being both immensely credible and knowledgeable, plus have the uncanny ability to be able to channel unique – almost spiritual – insights from ‘mother nature’, often foretelling or forewarning of the dire consequences of the human race’s impact on the natural world.
Brands that commonly reflect these qualities tend to promise a credible insight into the future. These can be financial, political, marketing or even weather services. They inevitably claim an ability to predict or prepare for future events or scenarios based on the credibility previously established.
Morgan Stanley Wealth Creation business trades on its superior insight as a Sage Oracle.
Morgan Stanley is one of the world’s largest retail wealth creation funds. Despite being tarnished somewhat by the events surrounding the Global Financial Crisis, Morgan Stanley continues to be one of the best-performing wealth funds in the world in terms of returns to both investors and shareholders. In short, it deliberately positions itself as a future-focused Sage Oracle.
Morgan Stanley leverages the credibility of its eighty-three-year experience. Plus, it positions its significant market resources and expertise to best prepare for every and any eventuality for investors.
The Sage: Detective
The Detective dimension of The Sage archetype applies a deep and expert knowledge to bear on a particular problem or event. Their intent is solely diagnostic. They are motivated to determine what or why something happened, and to add the finding into the collective pool of knowledge. These Sages are not driven to help or to solve a problem (although this might happen as a result) they are all about solving the riddle or cracking the code!
The CSI (Crime Scene Investigation) television program provides a good example of this. The program features a collective of aligned experts (pathologists, firearm experts etc.) that conduct forensic examinations of crime scene evidence to determine what happened and how.
This kind of meticulous, and forensic research and deductive skill is embraced in professional fields ranging from business accountancy, auditing and law. In all instances, knowledgeable practitioners conduct exacting (and non-emotional) investigations or research to deliver a factual conclusion.
True to the fundamental motivation of The Sage, these professionals are promising freedom. Freedom to make the right decision based on the facts.
KPMG Audit is the ‘CSI’ of the Tax world.
KPMG Risk and Tax Audit services may seem unlikely freedom fighters. They are, however, motivated to provide this advice based on the motivation that they are empowering clients to make better-informed decisions based on the information that they provide.