I expect that going forward, this blog, like life, will be a mix of philosophical musings and applied knowledge sharing.
Today is my first day home, after more than three weeks away. Granted -- the nature of my work the last 5 years or so has enabled me to be highly mobile, but this was different. Lots more packed into the time -- long solo car drives, plane trips, high visibility business settings, and some large non-business social events. All on top of ramping my consulting back up and trying to sell my home in today's less than booming market. But such is nature of the busy lives we all lead today. I admire those who do all that and more, while also having responsibilities for others -- be those "dependents" -- for lack of a better term -- be family, employees etc.
But I have to admit, I'm still a bit drained -- even with my "less complex" single childless person working as a free-standing consultant life. But I look forward eagerly to being fully back into the swing of things this week.
But on to today's topic...
For a very long time, I've been pondering the nature of how we all treat each other -- in business and other settings, and wondering why the zero sum game seems to be the model of choice. It's something one sees in reality TV and in much of business. Cooperation and support can be a more short-term approach toward ultimately being THE winner. Like they used to say in the Highlander -- "There can be only one..."
Yet ironically, unlike when I was in school -- longer ago than I care to admit -- we didn't have medals for everyone, every kid wins etc. It's like there's this disconnect, or perhaps that has reinforced the need to constantly feel like THE winner and the whole culture of celebrity.
Now I have nothing against winning -- I'm as vain and competitive as the next person. And I want that for others -- be they business associates, friends, family etc. And in many cases -- that's my personal value prop. Driving the success of clients/colleagues, nurturing/supporting friends/family.
A few days ago I had an interesting conversation with someone I met recently in a business setting, and we were following up on that interaction. I'll gloss over most of it, not really capturing its true essence, but certain ideas really energized me. Thoughts around taking intellectual cooperatives to optimize practices/processes while still turning that into a profit stream. While making the world a better place for us all, yet moving with changes taking place in society. Idealistic? Yes. But that's not a bad thing.
But where should the boundaries be? When does sharing your intellectual / emotional capital move from being a high ideals, team player to becoming a weak doormat? Over my life I have swung all over on that topic -- from Ayn Rand at one end, to assorted philosophers at the other. And obviously, while one may have a narrow range of variance one tends to stick to, each situation is its own case. It's a particular challenge in the intelligence field, where getting a leg up over the competition is [at least perceptionally] inherent in its definition.
What do you think? Since this is a new blog, not highly publicized yet -- it may be a bit before there's much volume of comments, but hopefully over time -- this is one of the discussions that will be ongoing here...
