Mike Walsh, The Algorithmic Leader

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“Technology may have changed the hardware of your business, but culture is your true operating system.”

Mike Walsh

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I believe we typically discuss digital transformation in an inherently flawed way. We speak of it as a business objective and a business infrastructure. I know. I know. That sounds inherently reasonable. But. Yeah. This is a mistake.

Most often this business objective is all about maximizing what the business sees as ways to optimize specific business strategies, sometimes a mission. In doing so they then build a system and demand everyone to work the system and optimize the system. Once again, sounds reasonable, especially if a mission has already been defined and the people have bought into it. But. Yeah. This is a mistake.

It’s a mistake because nowhere in what I just stated is “optimizing people” (either in terms of the skills they already offer or potential they offer).

I’ll get back to that point but let me finish up on how basic digital transformation discussions are flawed.

Rarely does anyone point out, if every business approaches digital transformation as it is typically discussed, it becomes a race to “optimization commoditization” where the value can only be found in one of two places:

• Working the system better (kind of like training so you gain an extra .001 second in the 100 meter dash – this is actually a derivative of “differentiation through excellent execution” which is unsustainable as a differentiation point)
• The edges (continue to overdeliver against customers – which is a losing race because the expectations bar, and costs, continue to rise squeezing profitability more & more – or continue to squeeze production ‘inputs’ like suppliers, supply, etc)

Both of these minimize business potential to the narrowest in possibilities and possible results. In other words, approaching digital transformation in a flawed way makes the ‘differential potential’ minimal – progress & growth but restrained from full potential.

I do not mean to suggest there is no business value in digital transformation just that we approach it incorrectly. I believe the minimalist way, but an important way, to view digital transformation as offering structural value creation opportunity. It has the ability to lift the foundation of the business house so the people within it can “move on up” (to steal a Jeffersons phrase) within the same structure.

Where I believe most digital transformation experts miss an opportunity (beyond overselling a mis-defined structural value creation potential) is in how one should view digital transformation from a transactional value creation aspect. If you think through the transactional value opportunities, well, maximizing potential value has little to do with technology and the value potential resides more in people.

The reality is people represent the highest potential for business and highest differential (both of which optimize & maximize value potential).

Which leads me to –

People (the key to the transactional digital transformation value creation)

Technology should mold to the people, and their skills and potential and quirks, and not the reverse.

The pushback I get is “how can we do that, people come and go and I want to build the business for the future?”

First, I point out technology, or a digital infrastructure, is simply a means to an end. People are the future of any business, not technology.

Second. This question permits me to ask: “have you read Antifragile?” (my second favorite Taleb book after ‘Fooled by Randomness’). Your objective of a business digital infrastructure creates a fragile system. I should note this is similar to Goldratt’s principles that you should develop an infrastructure system flexible enough to adapt to changing context and dynamics in the marketplace.

A digital infrastructure should be flexible enough to adapt to changing people and the dynamics of individuals skills & potential. It should not be a ‘best practice system’ of which most of your people will use in a ‘less than best’ way.

Which leads me to –

Sensemaking and choice making

I can almost guarantee you that no one brings up sense making and choice making when discussing digital transformation which begs the question who will make sense of what digital offers and how will choices & decisions be made?

Far too often digital transformation experts will toss out “culture” and “skilling people” as a head nod to the role people play in the organizational success (and digital transformation), all the while suggesting the system is a “plug ‘n play” construct where people just plug into the system as if people are technology & technology is people. That sounds nuts to me.

What is really nuts is how no one seems to talk about how digital infrastructure can be used to increase better sense making and choice making. Basically, they talk about how people will learn to use the digital infrastructure instead of the infrastructure augmenting people. That seems ass backwards to me.

Maximizing business productivity, progress & profit resides in better sensemaking (ability to make sense of situation) and choice making (effective decisions within good sensemaking).

I mean, how do you use the benefits of a digital infrastructure if you cannot identify the right problem/opportunity (sensemaking)?

Oh. Digital infrastructure/transformation is going to do the sensemaking? (insert me laughing so hard my sides hurt).

If one cannot make sense of what is, or is not, happening then choice making is useless.

Oh. “Data” provided by the digital infrastructure will make the choices obvious? (insert me laughing so hard my sides hurt).

Data only informs, it doesn’t decide. Yeah. Some of those digital transformation people may say that, but it is most often said under their breath after showing a bunch of fancy dashboards showcasing how data can make the choice paths obvious.

It seems crazy to me to have to say this, but, digital infrastructure informs decision-making/choice making, data informs decision-making/choice making, AI informs decision-making/choice making and all simply inform context needed to make sense of what is happening (sensemaking). None make decisions. All offer possibilities with probabilities associated (assuming someone can assess the possibilities and apply some probabilistic thinking).

Most importantly, in the end, all will inform people. People will make sense of what they are informed by and inevitably make the most consequential decisions and choices. It seems like digital transformation people should be thinking about how people think. Maybe help them become digital/data/sensemaking literate (not experts, just literate).

But. That’s me. I think the purpose of business, and what you do to your business, is to benefit people. Yeah. And I think how digital transformation is discussed is inherently flawed.

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“There’s a beauty in all my imperfections and he’s the one who holds them up for me to see.”

Crazy/Beautiful

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“Nobody is perfect. Everyone has their own little idiosyncrasies. Some people call those imperfections, but no, that’s the good stuff. “

Robin Williams

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“A person who has good thoughts cannot ever be ugly. You can have a wonky nose and a crooked mouth and a double chin and stick-out teeth, but if you have good thoughts it will shine out of your face like sunbeams and you will always look lovely.”

The Twits <Roald Dahl>

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“الجمال لديها الكثير لتفعله مع الطابع

“Beauty has a lot to do with character.”

Arabic proverb

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Let me begin where I will end … there is beauty in imperfections.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Well.

That would imply being authentic is all about being as beautiful as you can be – imperfections and all.

Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Okay. That said.

Why the hell don’t brands, companies & marketers not only accept this, but embrace it. We talk about “authentic” and “being human” and, yet, businesses run scared of anything less than being some perfect droid of humanity <you cannot be a droid & human>.

It’s like they want something, but are not willing to accept what they want. Look. We’ve danced around this authentic concept in business for a while. Far too often it reaches some absurd levels of “how can I be authentic” which is weird. You are either authentic or you are not <and you shouldn’t have to be purposeful in doing so>.

** note: I much prefer genuine over authentic.

I believe the absurdity is centered on the fact businesses have an uncomfortable relationship with authenticity. They talk authentic/human, which means embracing imperfections & flaws, but are scared shitless of anything less than perfection & flaws with ‘customer service’ <or anything for that matter>.

In other words. They seek to be authentically perfect <an oxymoron>.

It is usually here where I pull out the 2012 Trendwatching Flawsome trend where they stated: “brands that behave more humanly, including showing their flaws, will be awesome.”

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While many trends are all about the new, it’s always worth remembering that success in business in the end is more about being aligned with consumer culture than just being aware of ‘new’ techniques and technologies.

While 2011 saw new levels of consumer disgust at too many business’ self-serving and often downright immoral (if not criminal) actions, stories of businesses doing good (Patagonia! Ben & Jerry’s!) remind consumers that personality and profit can be compatible.

In fact, in 2012 consumers won’t expect brands to be flawless; they will even embrace brands that are FLAWSOME*, and at large (or at least somewhat) human. Brands that are honest about their flaws, that show some empathy, generosity, humility, flexibility, maturity, humor and dare we say it, some character and humanity.

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I agreed with that trend then and I agree with it now. A Flawsome authenticity should be what every sane business should seek – internally with employees & externally with customers.

But they just can’t seem to get there mentally. Companies want authenticity, they want ‘human’, but don’t want the imperfections.

Brands don’t find imperfections interesting, they find them concerning. Why? Far far too often we use imperfections to point out those things we so flippantly refer to as ‘flaws.’  Here is a thought. Maybe we should refer to imperfections as “beauty marks” and stop being defensive about them.

While I would argue there really is no such thing as perfection for the sake of today’s discussion, let’s say there is. I do so with Walt Whitman in mind:

“Do I contradict myself? Very well, then I contradict myself, I am large, I contain multitudes.”

Within the multitudes lies the most interesting imperfection of all — contradiction. More often than not we look upon ourselves as imperfections but something, or more often, some things simply contradict.

Our internal thoughts conflict.

Our opinions conflict … with each other as well as with others.

Our actions can contradict <nice at some point & not so nice in a similar situation>.

This creates a problem for a business.

In business, perfection, for some odd reason, seems tightly tied to consistency. Some tenuous smooth link between what we desire, what we are, how we act and what we think. And any time this smoothness is rippled in any way somehow imperfection has entered into the equation. And, there you go, that is a bad thing for most business people.

Day after day I remind any company, any brand, any CMO:

• We are large.

• We contain multitudes.

• We are human <because business, inherently, are made up of its people>.

And within this large multitude there are loud voices, quiet voices and silent voices. All of which speak to us and for us. All of which use perfect words, use perfectly sensible well intended actions, to perfectly fuck up our smoothness.

Yikes.

All that perfection still creates imperfection. If you want to be authentic, that is the overall thought everyone kind of needs to get their head wrapped around. In the circular world of imperfection, or perfection <because they are actually one and the same simply different sides of the same coin> the most interesting in us, and of us, is always something of a contradiction.

I purposefully used appearance-like quotes to open this thought piece and have purposefully avoided discussing appearance in discussing beauty, perfection & imperfection. I did so not to tritely suggest that ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder’ but rather instead to point out beauty is complex & simple and made up of the things you do & don’t do – not external looks & perceptions.

Authentic is complex in its make up of its largeness and multitude.

Authentic is simple because it resides in contradictions.

Even simpler in that it rarely, if ever, resides in some smooth unrippled feature – whether that feature be physical or within character. But maybe that is why imperfections are so difficult for us, as in sense of self, to manage. Contradictions are not easy. Interesting, but not easy. Not always easy to grasp and not easy to understand.  And in our unease we dwell on the imperfect feeling — on what is actually our perfect interesting aspect of who and what we are.

It is a battle, a debate, a whatever, I believe most everyone, most any businesses seeking authenticity, faces in some form or fashion.

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“Not in the clamor of the crowded street, not in the shouts and applause of the many, but in ourselves, are triumph and defeat.”

Longfellow

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 Look. There is always, and I mean ALWAYS, beauty in imperfections. It is sometimes not easy for someone to see because it is a contradiction – how can an imperfection be perfect <which equates to beauty>?

And, correspondingly, how can beauty be imperfect?

Well. All I really know is what I said before – all imperfection has some beauty.

I could also suggest that if you think of character, which is most likely the most important aspect of total beauty in a person <even impacting appearance>, that without some contradictions you will certainly be smooth, consistent & unrippled and less interesting <boring as a matter of fact>.

And who the hell wants to be an authentically boring business <or person>?

Anyway. I am done babbling. For what it’s worth <most likely not much>.

I believe contradictions are beautiful. Therefore wherever I see contradictions, within someone or in someone’s appearance, I see beauty. And I can honestly say that if you even want to tie your desire of “authenticity” to storytelling … I can unequivocally tell you that people are attracted to stories with some  tension and resolving some conflict.

There’s a set-up, a conflict, a villain that must be overcome and a resolution with a hero at the end. Using conflict creates the opportunity for a hero, even a flawed one, who can provide a solution <even with its imperfections>.

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“True perfection has to be imperfect, I know that that sounds foolish – but it’s true.”

Oasis

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Here is what I wish businesses would grasp about “authentic.”

Authentic is being who you are, not planning how you will be.

Authentic is, well, being Flawsome.

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“Thoroughly unprepared, we take the step into the afternoon of life. Worse still, we take this step with the false presupposition that our truths and our ideals will serve us as hitherto.  But we cannot live the afternoon of life according to the program of life’s morning, for what was great in the morning will be little at evening and what in the morning was true, at evening will have become a lie.”

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Carl Gustav Jung

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“If the world were merely seductive, that would be easy.

If it were merely challenging, that would be no problem.

But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world.

This makes it hard to plan the day.”

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e.b. white

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“I’ve always liked the time before dawn because there’s no one around to remind me who I’m supposed to be so it’s easier to remember who I am.”

―

Brian Andreas

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Plans.

Plans and planning are tricky things.

I tend to believe I could write a Life version of this and a Business version of this.

Today is Life.

I have written about ‘hard to plan a day’ before, this time I write more about scrapping plans and how difficult we make it to do so rather than discussing actually deciding what plan to have.

Let me begin with intentions.

We wake up.

We decide to head off to change, or impact, the world in any way we choose to. Yes, we may not ‘define’ our decision as impacting — it may simply be under the guise of ‘good shit to do today’, and because of this it also means, unfortunately, we do have a tendency to think of daily plans as ‘doing tangible things’ rather than possibly judging our plan completion under some heading like ‘teaching someone how to do things with grace & dignity & compassion.” I will note, by the way, that sounds like a frickin’ good plan.

Regardless. Let me approach scrapping plans in a curious way.

Curiosity is one of the three things I tell young people is the secret to success <the other two are resiliency and character>. I tell young people this because most older people just don’t seem to have time, or make the time, to be actively curious. Most older people, having inserted themselves into the daily grind and the ‘conserving institutions’ of which we call everyday Life, are less interested in curiosity and more interested in stability.

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“Society, community , family are all conserving institutions.

They try to maintain stability, and to prevent, or at least slow down change. But organizations are organized with the intent to destabilize.

Because its function is to put knowledge to work – on tools, processes and products; on work; on knowledge itself – it must be organized for constant change.”

Peter Drucker

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I say all of that because it means ‘improving the world’ often translates into swimming against the natural tide of ‘conserving institutions.’ I would be remiss if I did not point out swimming against that tide is not easy. And therefore makes it even tougher to scrap the plans for the day.

That said. Not scrapping plans for the day has a bigger repercussion to an individual.

I think the ripple effect for most of us is that we find ourselves waking up each day thinking ‘wow … I would love to improve the world somehow today’ <either consciously or subconsciously> and yet we end the day seemingly not even having nudged Life in a positive <improving> direction. In a weird, and unhealthy way, we have failed. Frankly, this struggle increases a feeling of negativity which can easily consume your life if you are not careful.

Between society encouraging things that don’t feel right for you, a ‘conserving’ environment, unhappy friends, media generating anxiety rating point by rating point by convincing us the world is going to end or intrusive trolls on social media, it can seem overwhelming negative as you view all of this versus what you felt when you first woke up in the morning.

Maybe that is why I love, and included, the Andreas quote: we wake up in the morning knowing ‘who I am’ without anyone trying to tell us otherwise. ‘

It is an odd, uncomfortable, struggle we face in scrapping plans.

In our heart of hearts I believe most people want to help others and make things better in their lives <and others>, but it is difficult to make a priority.

Especially if we even have inkling that we have some desire to enjoy the world that day.

Enjoyment, these days, can be found less in curiosity and exploring curiosity and more in stability and ‘things went smoothly <as planned>.’

Just like E.B. White suggests, we are not only torn each day by enjoyment and improvement, but as Drucker points out, layered on top of our own dilemma the world around us is conspiring to suppress any improvements or changes we may decide to try and apply that day.

It is a constant battle of ‘us versus them’ on a variety of levels.

Us versus society.

And.

Uhm.

Us versus others.

“…But I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day.”

Huh?

What if the one day I choose to enjoy the world and someone needs me <which forces me to scrap my enjoyment plan>?

What if I spend the day helping someone who can never really be helped and I miss out on some personal enjoyment?

Thinking about scrapping plans for the day makes you start thinking about is it better if one just stopped caring for others — I don’t mean entirely just becomes secondary — and how would this effect Life <your own as well as others>.

By the way this ends up being more about ‘unintended consequences’ or ‘indirect influence’ on Life.

This may begin sounding selfish, but it is not.

It relates to an important nuance — serving others to benefit someone else or serving myself to benefit others?

 Does my plan for each day need to be a question of should I help myself or help others?

I think I have an odd perspective on this and it may sound selfish but hear me out.

I tend to believe if you focus on waking up and improving the world by helping others you are focused on the wrong thing. I would suggest if you focus on improving yourself and being better every day, being the best you can be as PART of the world, you will inevitably improve the world and inevitably help others. I know the difficulty in this approach is that you can lose out on the obvious ‘cause & effect’ feedback loop which helps feed our belief in ourselves and fights everyday negativity in that we have tangible proof we did something positive.

It takes some courage to approach it the way I suggest. And it takes a lot of steadfast resilience in the face of a ‘prove you are doing something meaningful’ world.

Here is another thing in my favor with this thought.

All of us pretty much understand that no matter what plans you make, something unexpected is bound to happen — especially if one of your plans to enjoy the day and improve the world is a commitment to curiosity <which implies plans will be scrapped at some point any way>.

The unexpected portion implies plans are relatively useless and, maybe more importantly, scrapping plans is almost standard.

And following that thought it also implies it almost doesn’t matter what you actually do <as in measured tangible output and checks against ‘things done today’> as long as you have created some positive change, some improvement, around you.

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“It doesn’t matter what you do,” he said, “so long as you change something from the way it was before you touched it into something that’s like you after you take your hands away.”

Ray Bradbury

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Look. Life isn’t easy. Planning isn’t easy.

We all know this.

And my thought on approaching Life every day is tough because its approach accepts that things may not get better by tomorrow, maybe not even next week, but at some point <in the future>. And while I don’t really embrace the whole ‘live in the now’ psychology I do suggest that really the only plan you shouldn’t scrap each day is improving yourself and doing the best you can every single day – kind of like “the now improvement plan”.

It is like improving the pebble being dropped into each day’s Life.

Anyway. Despite all the bullshit in this world the one thing you can control is your own self-improvement. The one thing you can actually DO every day is remain curious and pursue curiosity.

You have to keep that in mind because while your plans are your plans you need to beware that someone will always have tools to destroy them.

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“Even if you have built your walls higher than the sky, someone will have the tools to destroy them. “

via nothing-to-regreet

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Lastly.

The plans you like, feel comfortable with, and inevitably start putting in place more often. Let’s call this your personal ‘conserving institution’ for the sake of continuity in this post. The point here is what you feel comfortable knowing & doing. As you get older you will find a desire to do what you like doing and think what you feel comfortable thinking — more & more often.

As a result, you don’t see what I see <or someone else sees>. You see what you like. So you end up seeing information that supports your point of view and your plans become less based on pursing curiosity, but instead on stability & predictability <based on what you already know>.

You get stuck. Stuck knowing what you already know. Stuck making plans you have made before.

Curiosity is a deliberate decision and action <I always get a little vocal when someone says ‘I am naturally curious’ because I tend to believe it is more a decision and not some innate characteristic>. To improve yourself <and hopefully improve the world around you> you have break the existing routine of doing what you do and thinking what you think.

You have to force yourself to not only get a different perspective, but actually try and understand that perspective.

Even if you love your job you need to force yourself to learn new skills that increase your value to others <in business & work>.

You have to force yourself to look for something you would typically never read.

Inevitably you just have to learn to scrap the plan for the day if it means becoming better and I mean proactively, force yourself, scrap the plan rather than have the plan scrapped for you.

So go ahead, scrap the plan for the day.

I believe either you do it or Life will do it.

And maybe that is the biggest point.

Control your destiny or have Life dictate it. That is your choice when it comes to plans and your day<s>.

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“I don’t want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it.  I want to have lived the width of it as well.” 

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Diane Ackerman

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“Well, maybe it started that way. As a dream, but doesn’t everything.  Those buildings. These lights. This whole city.

Somebody had to dream about it first. And maybe that is what I did.  I dreamed about coming here, but then I did it.”

—–

James and the Giant Peach

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Ok. This is about dreaming and business.

Suffice it to say, someone needs to be talking about dreaming because dreamers have been having a tough time of it for a while. Shit. I could argue dreams themselves have had a tough go of it.

Pragmatism is the ‘watch word of the day’.

In business, ROI, optimal effectiveness & efficiency is more important than imagination, attaining fullest value & effectiveness.

Reach for the stars? No way.  You need to think “attainable.”

In addition the outside world seems to get crazier and crazier and more chaotic which encourages the majority of us to just hunker down and get shit done.  It encourages us to not only NOT think about dreaming, but even worse: “why dream? I just need to figure out a way of surviving.” It just doesn’t seem pragmatic to dream <note: it never has>.

All that said. I have two thoughts today.

The first is the increasing importance of businesses to an individual’s dreams, and dreaming, and the second is just about dreaming itself.

Ok. The first.

I believe the business world is going to start playing an incredibly important role with regard to the future of dreaming. In fact. I believe the successful business organization of the future will be a ‘dream incubator’ rather than the current, more pop culture popular, ‘purpose drive’ organization. And I say that as a ‘purpose driven organization’ believer.

Let me explain.

The outside world, as I have noted earlier, doesn’t really seem conducive to dreams and dreaming.

The inside world, your job and business Life, is becoming more and more focused on the daily grind and meeting the needs of the grind. In general we are getting squeezed, but dreaming, in particular, is getting suffocated.

This means there is little space in-between the outside world and inside world for dreams and dreaming. This is where I believe business steps in and maybe sharpens its elbows and creates some space for individual people to remember having dreams can be good and dreaming can actually be a good thing. Businesses can step in and remind people that there is big value in pragmatism and personal responsibility in doing a good job AS WELL AS there may be an equal value in placing a dream or two within the pragmatic ‘do what you need to do’ Life — it kind of adds some rich & royal hues to what could be a duller palette.

Now.

Let me address the practical aspect of business and how the idea of ‘dream incubator’ can fit because a shitload of shortsighted business people are going to suggest they have no desire to have their employees “dreaming” — they want them focused on doing their jobs.

Purpose was offered as a glue to hold together, and align, functional behavior <departments & responsibilities> of an organization while providing a deeper value to instill in attitudes & behavior. It certainly offered a version of a North Star from an ethical & moral standpoint, but its true objective was to take the place of ‘vision’ in a pragmatic business world seemingly devoid of anything but functional outcome driven behavior.

Good intent. Good objective.

My belief of ‘dream incubator’ is less functional driven, but rather attitudinally driven. My belief is that in a world in which dreaming is not being encouraged a business which encourages you to pursue your dreams WITHIN the business itself will be rewarded <attitudinally, functionally & profitability>.

My belief is that employees, in general, are not driven by their departmental function <which is actually more the ‘keep your head down and do what you need to do’ daily grind> but rather by their dreams which can come to life in a variety of ways — $, ideas, innovations, making an impact on the bigger world and … well … let me even suggest “perfection.”

<please note: this is a simplified version of a more complex organizational idea which I have shared elsewhere, in other words, I know there are more layers to this concept>

 ‘perfection.’

Perfection, in general, is a shitty concept. That said. Some people dream of operational excellence. They get frustrated with politics and missteps and the normal inefficient behavior of a normal organization. These are the ones who offer up the zany process changes which, as a manager, you look at, screw up your face and think “Jesus Christ, what a mosh pit this would be to implement.” And, yet, these are the same zany changes which the organization most likely NEEDS to do to step up from where it is currently running. They dream of process.

$

It would be naïve to ignore the fact some employees are financially motivated and that their dreams are tied to more material aspects. They want money and things and your objective should be to inspire them to dream for more and be the organization which can enable their dreams to come true <within the construct of whatever is construed as ‘fair play’ within that organization>. They dream of some tangible things.

Ideas.

Some people dream of thinking … and thinking up ideas. Imagine a business which encourages the people who like t come up with ideas actually helps their ideas come to Life — even if they do not directly apply to the business itself.

Huh?

Here is a secret a lot of good business people know. While we love to talk about focus and ‘staying in our lane’ and the danger of less-than-strategic expansion, the truth is that a business can accommodate a shitload of different lanes if they are actually good lanes <and good ideas>. I know when I managed groups while I needed people to focus on what they needed to do … I always encouraged them think about new ideas and talk to me about their ideas – even if it didn’t have shit to do with what we actually did to earn our living. Why did I do that? I could offer a dozen reasons but suffice it to say that it offers them a valuable sounding board for whether they have a viable idea or not <which they liked & appreciated> and I would get the brain working on non-related shit <which invariably gets you thinking about your related shit differently — and I liked that & appreciated it>.

Plus. People like thinking about their dreams even if they can’t actually do them. They dream of intangible things (that maybe someone else can make tangible).

Innovations.

I don’t need to say anything about this. This is obvious. The best innovations are usually a reflection of smart dreaming.

Ok. The second. I believe we need to remind ourselves on occasion that it is okay to dream and dream often & big. Remind ourselves that relentlessly pursuing a dream can be inspiring, not discouraging.

Now.

Being a big dreamer doesn’t mean that you walk around with your head in the clouds. It means that you have a purpose.  A big purpose that makes your life bigger and fulfills some promise within you. Of course … as usual … the key is to find a balance. Think ground and clouds (I actually suggest feet in the clouds and head on the ground).

Maybe think about it as being pragmatic with no guardrails. A contradiction? Sure. But big dreams are a contradiction. As a practical relatively pragmatic human race we would never have them unless some of them defied the odds and actually came true.

Yeah. Some really do happen.

Anyway.

I like the thought of business accepting the role as a dream incubator and actually re-energizing the human spirit toward dreams and dreaming.

I like the thought of a business being a ‘dream incubator’ is fulfilling a role life & society seem to be abdicating.

Look.

I have always been a huge proponent that business should accept a larger role in driving societal norms & mores and, in this case, I actually believe that in doing so the business acumen & success is rewarded. As Drucker said, “In, and of, society.”

Whew.

Can you imagine how many resumes a business would get if it said “we want you to make your lives extraordinary, help you make your dreams come true, because if you do … we believe our company will be extraordinary.”

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Dead Poets Society:

“Make your lives extraordinary.” 

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Originally published June 2016

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“as pines

keep the shape of the wind

even when the wind has fled and is no longer

there.

So words

Guard the shape of the man

Even when the man has fled and is no longer there.”

–

Giorgios Sefririacles

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I do believe business can drive social change, but I don’t believe “consumers are demanding business to lead societal change.” In fact. It is articles like this, “Consumers demand business drive Social Change” which makes cringe.

First. In general people feel like business, & capitalism, is increasingly flawed and want something better. This will drive ‘business needs to change how they do things’ and consumers, in general, will flail about with ideas on how this can and should be done and, in fact, in their flailing they may suggest businesses will have more value to them if the business steps up to the plate. That seems valid. Unfortunately, most people want things and then need things. Need will overshadow want 90% of the time. Businesses would do well to keep that in mind.

Second. This thought has become misguided simply because of all the aspects being tossed around & poorly defined terms (all of which dangerously blurs this discussion).

• social responsibility
• environmental
• purpose
• ethics
• inclusiveness
• diversity
• political issues

Any and all are tossed out. Any and all are meaningful to discuss. Any and all, today, are thrown into this mosh pit of ‘social purpose’ of meaninglessness.

Let me be clear. Again. I do believe business SHOULD be involved in society. Ok. maybe I believe business should be aware of their role in society. The difference in those two sentences may define my issue with this entire discussion.

A business should reflect upon the ethics of their behavior (but not necessarily publicize it).

A business should reflect upon what they value and their principles (but not necessarily communicate them outside the walls of the company)

A business should reflect upon their impact on the environment (but not necessarily market it).

A business should reflect upon their diversity, inclusiveness, etc (but not necessarily publicize it).

A business should reflect upon whether they have a culture which enables individual Purpose and job meaningfulness (but not confuse that with a dubious business Purpose nor should they necessarily publicize it).

I am not going to talk about Purpose versus purpose today.

But I do think we need to talk about being genuine because that is at the core of this ‘business should assume some social responsibility.”

Genuine, just like sincerity and honesty, is not a value or a mission or a vision; it just is (or it isn’t). You are either it or you are not. That matters because it is the foundation for any responsibility for society a business decides to either take on or simply play a role on.

This almost becomes a business truth. Not an industry truth, but an individual business truth.

You look in the mirror and set your mind to who & what you are and what you are capable of.

I would suggest that this ‘Truth’ involves, and does not involve, not only a change in mind, in attitude, but also a change in behavior. Let me explain the ‘involve, does not involve’, thought.

It shouldn’t involve because it should simple be part of who and what you are. It cannot be ‘made up’ or ‘something I think we should pursue.’ This is part of the whole ‘it just is’ thing.

However.

It should involve because once you have decided you want to do something and want to be seen as someone who does something, consistency is the name of the game. In the beginning you have to be very cognizant of truthful behavior & actions. Behavior involves responsibility: responsibility for actions and words. In other words. Responsibility for the truth you may ‘genuinely’ embrace makes this genuineness become incredibly important because there cannot be any ‘true compromise’ of truth.

I will point out here that I believe compromise may be the biggest enemy of truth; not lies (including lies to yourself or to employees or to customers or, worse, to society your business extends out to).

Anyway.

My point is that your truth doesn’t move and yet it moves. Truth is in and of itself a rock. Steady and solid and with weight <gravitas>. And yet truth evolves with time simply passing through the different faces of the past and the future. Just remember. If you can replace your truths, or let’s say society can by picking them apart, they were simply lies.

———————

“The truth is not just something we bring to light to amuse ourselves; the truth is the axis munid, the dead center of the earth.  

When it’s out of place nothing is right; everyone is in the wrong place; no light can penetrate. Happiness evades us and we spread pain and misery wherever we go.

Each person, above all others, has an obligation to recognize the truth and stand by it.”

Jacque Silette

===

I worry this whole business social responsibility ignores the fact genuine truth is a burden. On the other hand. I believe society, culture and people are starved for genuine truth.

We don’t need a revolution. We need someone and someones to guide us back to it. And that is where business can play a role. And I would argue all businesses can play a role. I would argue this because it isn’t a marketing thing nor is it a public thing it is simply an extension of what Peter Drucker told us decades ago: a business is PART of society. It isn’t a thing you do or some initiative nor a marketing program (or, worse, some brand purpose or even a Purpose), it just is. It is recognizing that a business is part of the fabric & weave of society. It is recognition that what you ask of your employees should be something they should feel exhibits some genuine truths they can exhibit at the kitchen table. It is a recognition that behavior within the business walls bleeds out into behavior within society walls.

This isn’t brand purpose, this isn’t business purpose and this isn’t ‘inside out branding’. This is simply understanding the burden of responsibility a business bears a PART of society & community.

This also isn’t about some grand narrative or some grand gesture. For 90% of businesses this is simply the small gestures and genuine acts promised & delivered every day.

In the end.

We need two things:

A purpose to do, and, things we do are  good things

Truth & genuine heroes.

Purpose to do. Talk is cheap and actions should be measured relentlessly and ruthlessly.

Truth & genuine heroes. I struggle to remember the last time a business was called a hero or heroic.

Truth is a burden. It is a responsibility.

Being genuine is actually a burden. It is a responsibility.

Maybe its time business, while not ignoring the fact they are in the business of making money & profits, stepped back and maybe thought about heroic profit making – where heroism benefited society.

Regardless.

None of this is easy. The discussion or actually doing it. But. I tend to believe it is just the right thing to do. It isn’t the easy path, therefore, it is ultimately in the purview of few. And maybe that is my point. We keep talking about this in an “everyone” way when the reality is it will most likely remain in the hands of the few, the proud and the strong. And that’s okay.

Why?

As pines bend to the wind they maintain their shape once the wind has fled. Maybe the pines will show the forest what it means to maintain their shape despite the wind.

=====

“… it’s time for me to push you out of your comfort zone. It’s time for you to be 100% honest with yourself.

You’ve had your entire adult life to accomplish your financial goals.

I’m looking at your profile and you’re not even close to where you need to be, much less where you want to be.

It’s time you fix your broken plan, bring in Mr. Trump’s top instructors and certified millionaire mentors and allow us to put you and keep you on the right track. Your plan is BROKEN and WE WILL help you fix it.

Remember you have to be 100% honest with yourself!”

———–

Trump University Playbook

=====

“It is never hopeless. But sometimes I cannot hope. I try always to hope but sometimes I cannot. “

—

Ernest Hemingway

=============================

“Do you like living paycheck to paycheck? … Do you enjoy seeing everyone else but yourself in their dream houses and driving their dreams cars with huge checking accounts?

Those people saw an opportunity, and didn’t make excuses, like what you’re doing now.”

———-

Trump University Playbook

=======

Ok. Let’s address the elephant in the room. We all, all of us, believe we deserve some things.

Yeah.

Deserve.

Opportunity in Life. Keep what we have. Earnings for work and more earnings if we believe we are producing ‘harder work.’ Happiness. All of those things, plus, whatever you may want to add.

I state that as a Life truth so I can talk about the responsibility of a ‘promiser of things’ to us. Because if what I have outlined in the ‘deserve column’ is a Life truth, an accepted attitudinal thread in society, then someone seeking to tap into that thread bears a responsibility.

So let me talk about this responsibility.

An empty promise may be the worst promise someone can ever offer you.

I sometimes call it “false hope.”

** note: offering an empty promise can have different depths ranging from seemingly well intended (to inspire some positive action) to outright lie (snake oil salesman)

And let me be clear. Lots of people, myself included, find any promise of hope so attractive that it is incredibly easy to not look behind the promise to see if it is full or empty.

Inevitably, people receptive to empty promises are people most likely to feel a need. And when I say “feel” it can very easily edge into the personal “what I deserve” mental space.

This is also a very common space for a lot of people. We see the promise and look around us and, well, say things like:

“I am smart enough.”

“I am capable of this.”

And.

“I deserve this” as much as anyone else (particular the ones I am looking at who have it)

In the marketing and behavior world this is called “managing the need perception.” Conceptually, the higher someone drives up someone’s “I need” attitudes, the more likely they are see ‘something’ instead of ‘empty’ in the promise.

At its core this is not about risk in choices <the downside to my choice>. This is more about embracing hope <the upside of my choice>. And that is where ethics and morality come into play for the ‘promiser.’

I feel qualified discussing this because the majority of my business career has been all about ‘offering promises and hope for something.’

You learn very very quickly that as a promiser you can sometimes become blinded to the potential emptiness aspects of what you will offer and there is a natural allure to focusing solely on potential of the ‘better or best’ aspects of what you will offer. I imagine the decision on what to do with your promise is a combination of integrity and true business. Because, yeah, I want people to buy my shit, i.e., to see the promise that resides within what I have to offer. And, yet, experience shows you thru customer feedback and the retail clerks dealing with past buyers and online forums that not everyone you sold your promise to actually had their hopes met.

Those weigh on you.

Well. They weigh on you if you have any ethical compass.

The ones who have no, or little, compass are the ones who adamantly state one of two things :

• Some people are not happy with anything <”they are being unrealistic”> – i.e., “ignore the bitching”
• Look at how many people are not saying anything bad – i.e., “the sales justifies my behavior”

Look. I am not suggesting this is as easy as I just pointed out. As someone who has sat in boardrooms and looked at increasing sales and complaints and reviews it is incredibly easy to justify your own beliefs in your own products, services or company.

It is inherent in your business acumen if you are even worth a half a shit because part of what most likely makes you successful in business is belief in yourself, your business and your idea.

That said.

The best of the best business people constantly weigh how they manage what people think and what they are going to be asking someone to do when they make their personal commitment to your business, product & idea.

The majority of us business schmucks wander somewhere in the middle. Sometimes getting it right and sometimes getting it wrong <in the balance>, but inevitably our pendulum swings mostly in the middle of fairness, honesty and ethical.

The worst of the worst, the snake oil salespeople, never weigh what they are asking people to do and solely focus on ‘promise fulfilled’ … and damn the ones who didn’t, or couldn’t, attain the promise of what could be.

I admired the first group. They had figured out how to be steadfastly ethical and successful in business. Kind of the no compromise, in a good way, candidate.

I struggled to deal with the last group. They believed a sale was a sale, any profit was good and the burden of responsibility resided solely on the buyer.

All that said.

Trump is a snake oil salesman.

Just as a reminder, during the depression when times were hard people bought snake oil as a hopeful salve for whatever was troubling them.

They were con men dedicated to an unethical targeting of a slightly naïve, hard working, mostly struggling but good hearted people who desired some easy salve for some of their ills.

And, yeah, someone could argue “buyer beware.” But that is at its core … well … bullshit. Sellers actually have, and should have, more responsibility than the buyer. A seller, more often than not, knows what someone can afford and what they cannot afford as well as whether their hopes are even in the realm of possibility.

This means if as a promiser you see that they have little or no chance and that a bad decision on the buyer’s part would have a high likelihood of not only not delivering upon their hopes but actually could tangibly negatively affect their lives, the promiser has a responsibility, no, an obligation to do what is right.

Using Trump as the example I could suggest he is only really guilty of unethical opportunism. However, I would actually suggest he is guilty of 2 things:

<1> assuming his life objective should be the life objective of everyone <winning is all that matters>, and

<2> moral relativism – which he disguises within what he calls ‘not political correctness.’

All that said. Opportunism, at its core, is directly related to what we people believe we deserve. We people inherently build blocks on which we stand of things we believe we deserve.

The basics: food, health, education, place to live.

But it gets a little trickier once we actually get, and have, something. We believe we deserve what we work for and once we attain something that ‘level’ is the new normal for ‘I deserve.’ That is something psychologists call “hedonic adaptation.” And this happens at all income levels because anyone at any level can feel stretched or challenged economically <while still actually being rich beyond belief in terms of what is available to all of us 24 hours a day>.  All people are seemingly continuously seduced by the urge to acquire, and acquire more, and indulge <when the opportunity arises>. All people attach the thought of ‘deserve’ once they have acquired some level, some things or some status. You earned it <in your mind> therefore it is yours.

I don’t have anything against it. And I certainly understand the psychology of ‘once you have something not only do you not want to not have it anymore … but you want more’ <or the next step up>.

Money leads to lifestyle upgrades. But, once again, that is fraught with conflict. Once you achieve the income you desired … well … you go back to desiring more. And imagine if you become stagnant? Yikes. Our natural ‘adaptation’ anger kicks in.

But this also means that people inherently overreach because we try and reach out for ‘more than what I have.’ We inherently believe we are smart enough and capable enough to be better than what we are today.

Uhm.

If only we had the opportunity.

This belief, oddly enough, is exacerbated by failure <sometimes>. The more we fail when attempting to reach something we believe we inherently deserve, well, we will overreach even more to compensate for the time we didn’t have what we deserved <psychology research shows this>.

** note: this entire concept gets exacerbated if one does not have money, tried to work, and, yet, seemingly opportunity is always slightly out of their grasps or they feel like opportunity may have once existed but no longer exists. this idea would be at the core of what some people call “white class victimization.”

And this is where the true slippery slope of unethical opportunism rears its ugliest head. What this means is that unethical opportunism is most often driven by digging into what we believe we maybe not deserve, but what we would naturally attain if given the opportunity <this is a sly version of ‘deserve’>.

Most of us simply feel we deserve a chance. Deserve a chance for something better. The ‘degrees’ of what someone feels they will deserve will vary by person. And suffice it to say there will always be a group of people who believe they deserve significantly more than what they have and because of it will roll the dice <although they will not see it as much of a gamble as someone else>

But the bottom line is that 99% of us feel we deserve something better.

Which leads me back to Trump. The Trump ‘promise’ sounds big and luxurious and exclusive, but it fails the majority and rewards the minority – the majority being the everyday American and the minority actually being the wealthy (or some specific niche segment of people because he is a transactional segmentation snake oil salesman).

Frankly. In a country in which maybe our most impending problem is massive inequality between the haves and the have nots that is a recipe for disaster.

At minimum … it is guaranteeing false promises to the majority.

And Trump gets a little worse in this scenario than the typical ‘empty promise’ seller. A president cannot simply promise people wealth, opportunity for growth if they invest in him, cash their check as they cash in on the ‘promise’ and then ignore their ultimate result <success or failure> while moving on to the next scheme or promise.

Well. He could. Shit. He has <in business>.

But that is not what presidents or good leaders do.

And it certainly is not what America deserves.

In the end.

When you feel like you are getting screwed or that the system is rigged in some way against you, your sense of ‘I deserve more & better’ is heightened.

We all do it.

It is difficult to fight that feeling.

And, you know what? Sometimes we will not be successful fighting the “I deserve” monsters in our heads.

And maybe that is my biggest point.

A good leader knows we will not be successful fighting them off all the time and will not take advantage of our weakness.

Trump, all his career, has fed off the carcasses of this weakness. I don’t mean weak people just the natural weak moments in human nature.

He is a taker.

The world will always have takers and the world will always fall for takers. That doesn’t make being a taker good. Nor does being a taker mean you would be a good leader.

=====================

“I believe the world is divided in three groups: givers, takers and the few that can balance both impulses. If you are a giver, it is wise to define your boundaries because takers will take what you allow them to; all givers must learn to protect that about themselves or eventually, there is nothing left to give.”

Tiffany Madison

=========

Look. Here is the biggest problem with trying to sell empty promises.

It builds cynicism and erodes hope.

While I could certainly highlight ‘lost lives’ I will instead highlight ‘killing hope.’ That is the biggest price we pay for buying empty promises.

And, I have to tell you, that is why I hate, abhor and despise people who purposefully, and knowingly, sell empty promises and false hope.

We all deserve opportunities. And we all deserve receiving something as a result of hard work.

We do not deserve empty promises.  And we certainly do not deserve someone who suggests a future in which the majority will most likely, eventually, sit back in their worn chairs and think: ‘sometimes I cannot hope. I try always to hope but sometimes I cannot.’

Remember. Someone seeking to tap into our thread of “I deserve” feelings bears a responsibility. That main responsibility is to our hope. Someone who steals our hope is not worthy of us, or our vote.

—-

“The line of life is a ragged diagonal between duty and desire.” –

=

 William R. Alger

—–

Well. I am not sure I have ever seen a more succinct explanation for Life as a struggle as well as Life is never a straight line.

Life truths?

Life is an ongoing struggle.

And Life is rarely a straight and narrow path.

Why are these ‘truths’? Because inevitably all lives are made up of choices.

A shitload of ongoing choices — small and large and every size in between. And these choices we make all tell us the path(s) our lives will take.

Now. I do not believe our Life, or destiny, is pre-ordained in a black & white definition. What I mean is that even if I did believe in a higher order <God has a plan for each and every one of us> destiny, I would tend to believe it was a map of possibilities. Therefore, we make choices aiming toward something in general <whatever your personal something is> … and amble down a path, or number of paths, that is not preordained but ones we choose.

But.

I like … no … love the thought that we get tugged by some sense of duty <right thing to do> versus desire <some type of self-gratification … spanning from full indulgence to full altruism> as we make all these choices.

What does is mean? A diagonal line.

Oh.

Nope.

A ragged diagonal line.

Should we choose one way … that is the way we will go.

Should we choose another way … we go that way instead.

This means Life consists of paths that branch out turning right and left, this way and that way, running straight and crooked, turning sometimes randomly & severely in a variety of angles.

Yeah. Surely some paths are more likely than others, but we can choose any path to take. And each choice begets more branches ahead — some seen and some yet to be seen. At the core of this thinking is that Life is less about following some planned path, but instead suggests that each choice is contextual – to the environment, to one’s experience & to one’s knowledge.

Now.

I imagine if one lives a stagnant unmoving life the choices may be simpler and the events affecting the branches are fewer. Yet <just in case ‘stagnancy’ appeals to you as an ‘easier life choice’> stagnancy or ‘hiding from Life’ doesn’t guarantee shit.

Why?

Because as your path crosses with others – others who are also making choices –  as you cross the choices of strangers, family, friends, enemies, whomever, their choices affect our path. And their choices sometimes force choice where choice never resided before … or if we even wanted to make a choice at all.

The more people we meet, the more paths & branches crisscross, and cross again. It becomes a tangled confusion of so many choices and paths and interlinked branches it becomes easy to think of it all as chaos. Especially if you think of people and events as threads and not dots in a moment in time:

——

“There is a trail of existence that follows everyone, threads of life that people spin out and leave behind wherever they go.

Threads cross all the time.

Threads cross and cross again – time and place if in no other way – even when the people appear unaware of each other. No one pays attention to others around them unless the overlap happens again.

Sometimes, people miss each other only by a few seconds, yet they are connected.

Sometimes place is the reason for the overlap but time is not.

Sometimes the overlap is purposeful other times happenstance.

The threads are there, no matter.

Ah. When they glow, they are one destiny.” 

Inspector O <james Church book character>

——

It is not chaos, but, your life is affected by these ‘trails of existence’ — impacted by what was, is and what will be. As I type that it can become easy to think you have no control <or simply throw your hands up in the air in frustration>.

Well. While we certainly can be impacted by others or ‘things out of our control’ what remains in our control, always, is the choice. Our choice. The choice to do what we may with the circumstances at hand.

The choice remains with us.

The choice between duty and desire.

In addition.

In each tangled chaotic web of events, threads and paths, it is all bounded by the practical. The practical aspect of what you can actually do, and cannot do, within the choices you make. I am not speaking of dreaming the impossible <because dreaming is good>, but the actual reality of what can be done.

note: the ability to pragmatically assess what IS possible within a given context and what is not takes experience and an eye biased toward some pragmatism.

Oh.

Back to duty & desire.

There is where free will seems to reside. The choices made by duty & desire.

Yeah.

This all sounds chaotic and impossible to navigate. But think about this. Look to the past and it appears to be a neat set of choices made and not made. This is the power, and danger, of reflection.

It all appears like a schematic of choices made of duty … and those of desire. And encounters of events and people who forced us to make choices. We make it all look a little tidier than it was.

Oh shit. Wait a second.

Now.

I imagine if anyone were to look to the future it would simply appear to be sheer chaos. A snarled thread of paths and choices.

Relax.

This is where the original quote comes back to play — our destiny resides in our choices between duty and desire. Period. Sometimes the choice is black & white and often it resides in the gray. Unfortunately, regardless of its hue or shade or color, the choice will place us on a path toward our destiny.

In other words … a ragged diagonal path through Life.

Well.

This all may make us uncomfortable — all this choosing amongst the snarled threads of Life wondering if each choice is somehow easing its way down the ragged diagonal path toward a destiny we either actually seek or one we will be comfortable with in the end or one we cannot even envision yet.

Uncomfortable because we people like have to have an explanation that satisfies us.

And by having this attitude we run the risk of just not seeing it as it is … simply making choices in the moment between desire and duty.

Look.

I Know I am biased and have my own opinions on Life. Heck.

Many months ago in 2010 I wrote about the fact I love being “everywhere at once.”  It was in that piece where I closed my thoughts with: ‘Where do I want to be 10 years from now? Everywhere. All at once.’

Agree or disagree … but … it is a ragged diagonal path we live.

All of us.

I imagine if you define it simply as a shitload of choices made between duty and desire, the ragged aspect will not bother you as much because you are on a path toward a destiny that can be explained in the end — “I balanced duty & desire in my Life.”

Well. If that is measurement of how one made choices, or took control, of their destiny, I believe it would be a life lived well.

===============

“The most destructive thing I’ve ever done was believe someone else’s opinion of me.”

Teal Blue Jay

==============

  “I think it’s intoxicating when somebody is so unapologetically who they are.”

Don Cheadle

============

“I have sometimes sat alone here of an evening, listening, until I have made the echoes out to be the echoes of all the footsteps that are coming by and by into our lives.”

A Tale of Two Cities

====================

The game of “self” may be the most difficult, challenging, game one ever plays.

And, yeah, it is an “I” sport.

Yeah.

Your “I” wanders around the “we” world and interacts with “them” and gets a humongous amount of feedback from “everyone”, but, ultimately, this particular game really is an “I” sport.

That said.

Sifting thru what matters and what is said outside your own head is a tough, full time job. You cannot completely ignore what is being said & thought about you, but you also cannot live solely by what is being said & thought about you.

Well. I am very much a be yourself, be true to thineself, maintain your individuality, look inside rather than without type of guy.

Possibly to a fault.

I am this way probably because most of my youth I was told over and over again who I was supposed to be and how to act and what I was supposed to do <and I did not like it>.

Regardless.

Every once in a while you need to make sure you haven’t become a joke. Because often no one actually tells you that you are a joke, or even tell you the joke, or let you in on the joke.

Ok. That was harsh.

Maybe every once in a while you just need to check in with the rest of the world and see what life looks like through someone else’s eyes just to be sure you are playing your “I” game well.

Now.

“Sure you are playing well.”

This implies there are some nice neat rules & standards & milestones you can judge your Life game-playing.

There are not.

And because there aren’t … well … then inevitably you start scanning around for some external feedback.

Here is where it gets real tricky.

Life is playing its game <even if a business or other people are trying to ‘game the system’> and you have to figure out which player you are truly playing against. I am not suggesting you should avoid considering anyone who is actually in the game. Just who is more important than another.

Why?

Because you need to ask what is at stake in the real game.

Because the one and only answer is … you.

Yeah.

It is an “I” sport.

========== 

“Oh, don’t mind me.

I’m just silently outperforming all of you on my own terms.”

INTP Musings

===========

You are the one dodging, bobbing & weaving as you make your way forward. And you are doing all that because the world is a minefield of inconsistency and uncertainty which means you better fucking be able to adapt … or you are screwed.

You have to be able to adapt to and take advantage of changing circumstances.

Ok.

If I am trying to stay consistent to me <my sense of self> & yet adapt to an ever changing inconsistent world and there really are no established set of measurements to judge oneself against … well … I can 100% guarantee you will end up have to talk to your yourself about yourself a lot.

And, yeah, this means we all have a talk with our self when bad shit happens.

Unfortunately most times we have a talk with ourselves when bad shit has happened, we tend to have a shitty talk with ourself. The shittiness can occur in a variety of creatively destructive ways:

You can blame external ‘forces’ <”not my fault”>.

You can blame yourself <spanning lack of confidence to lack of skills>.

What I will tell you is that when the shit hits the fan you can get a startlingly clear picture of who & what you are. And sometimes it ain’t pretty.

====

“Some conversations are not about what they’re about.”

Anne Carson

==

And, even worse, sometimes the conversation you have with yourself aren’t the conversations you think they are. What I mean by that is when bad shit happens most of us, in the moment or near the moment, are thinking causally – stimulus response stuff.

At worst our conversation with yourself sounds something like “you stupid shit” <suffice it to say … poor self-esteem is an equal opportunity employer>.

These conversations are sometimes call ‘soul searching.’ I, instead, refer to them as ‘soul wrenching.’ Doubt, fears of being good enough, self-uncertainty … these are the assholes you sometimes have a conversation with when bad shit happens. And, unfortunately, they all went to a debate school and unfortunately they all lie to talk a lot when given the opportunity.

Here is what I have to offer <as someone who has certainly had his share of both bad shit happening and shitty conversation with myself>.

We spend far far <far> too much time in these conversations on comparison.

Yeah.

It is natural … I mean … well … how else can you decide whether you are worth a shit unless you compare yourself to someone who IS worth a shit?

But, frankly, most of our sins are borrowed — just echoes of what is around us. So when bad shit happens the conversation really should be about you and with you.

note: I do believe having good sounding boards, preferably not family, who are fairly good at seeing the forest through the trees is invaluable.

Look. We always think about what we deserve. I imagine I could just suggest here that bad shit happens, you have shitty conversations with yourself and that you should have these conversations with the non shitty aspects within you when it happens, but I kind of think what gets you through shit sometimes needs a little more ‘oomph’ to get you through it.

So I suggest something simple. It’s kind of a mindset. Not any ‘happy hippie shit Secret stuff’ just an attitude that can kind of get you through when bad shit happens as well as when you scan about for answers with regard to how you are doing:

========= 

“I didn’t come this far, to only come this far.”

Unknown

==============

The truth is that distance is relative and progress is almost always assessed by perspective when assessing one’s Life.

Within that perspective you can be guaranteed that bad shit happens in work and in Life.

But … you know what?

It isn’t really about shitty things versus non shitty things.

It isn’t really about judging yourself either through your own eyes or someone else’s eyes.

It is really about the fact “you didn’t get that far just to get that far.”

None of us do.

And sometimes you just have to remember that.

And maybe that is the point of why I used the opening quote “most destructive thing I have ever done was believe someone’s opinion of me.”

External opinions have a nasty habit of destroying destinations. Destinations as in “where I am going.” And the opinions are cleverly destructive in that they not only destroy destinations seen but also those yet to be seen. Opinions actually can destroy roads, highways & paths as to getting father than the ‘far’ you have gotten.

Anyway. Be aware of what people say & think but always, always, keep in mind that all that matters is, well, I did not come this far only to come this far.

note: corollary to “I did not come this far only to come this far” is “just because i have nor reached my destination (objective) doesn’t mean i am nowhere.”

If you do that, everyone else’s opinions just seem to matter a little less.

Mr. Magorium:

“37 seconds.”

==

Molly Mahoney:

“Great.

Well done.

Now we wait.”

==

Mr. Magorium:

“No.

We breathe.

We pulse.

We regenerate.

Our hearts beat.

Our minds create.

Our souls ingest.

37 seconds, well used, is a lifetime.”

–

Mr. Magorium’s Wonder emporium (here is the clip )

Well. 37 seconds … well used … is a lifetime. This is a big thought. Big enough that I think most people will balk at it.

We breathe.

We pulse.

We regenerate.

Our hearts beat.

Our minds create.

Our souls ingest.

Most people will balk because they can’t figure out how to do what they want to do even within 2 hours/7 days a week. In fact. I imagine most people think of ‘doing things’ in terms of … “oh, I only wish I had time to … bla bla blaaaa …”

Or.

“I wish i had more time.”

<followed by a wha wha waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ... that’s whining in case you need a definition>

Look.

Here’s the deal.

Everyone has the same amount of time.

We all get 24 hours in a day. We all get 365 days every year <except one year and it is really only one month anyway>.

How we choose to spend that time is about prioritizing. Figuring out what is most important to us <and, yeah, I said ‘us’ and not someone else and responsibilities and stuff like that>

In fact I would argue how you spend the time is kind of irrelevant, it’s more the fact that you recognize you actually have a choice with what you do with your time and, well, choose.

In fact. Maybe even choose what to do with the next 37 seconds.

Anyway.

We make choices.

We live with the consequences.

Use your time for something useful <or don’t>.

That’s up to you.

Once again.

99% of the time the choice is yours.

99.9% of the time I would argue the next 37 seconds are yours to choose what to do with.

But, please, please don’t tell people you don’t have enough time. And if you want to argue you with me that it is impossible to do anything useful in 37 seconds I will argue with you that the best thinking, the best living, the best creativity, is done within constraints and 37 seconds may feel like a huge constraint, or conversely, it could be the hugest freeing amount of time you have ever had.

Just ponder.

Because 37 seconds … when well used … is a lifetime.

——

“It’s extremely exciting to know that planets with potentially Earth-like conditions are out there, but learning what they actually are like will require a great deal of fortitude, creativity and hard work.”

=

Gregory Laughlin of the University of California, Santa Cruz

—————-

“Every great advance in science has issued from a new audacity of imagination.”

=

John Dewey

———————

So. Several years ago I saw “Another Earth may be 500 light years away.”

No way.

Ok.

How awesome is that? <answer: awesome>

Then.

And I immediately thought: “inevitably we will show a failure of imagination.”

What do I mean ? Well. I should be excited but instead I am wary of how ‘we the people’ will move forward. In fact I envision no moving forward, no ‘trying to do what it takes to get there’ and no imagination to overcome the cries of ‘why waste money on something like this!”

Anyway. Let me get the ‘another earth’ detail out of the way first.

===

USAToday:

Some 500 light-years away, a little planet basks comfortably in the heat of its sun. It’s probably rocky – as the Earth is – and it’s probably just the right temperature to boast liquid water. In other words, it’s about as close to Earth as any planet we know of.

Unveiled at a recent meeting of the American Astronomical Society, the planet Kepler-438b may be the Earth twin that researchers have long sought. Other planets have made claims to that title, but Kepler-438b is more similar to Earth in both size and in the amount of energy it receives from its star than a celebrated runner-up, several scientists said.

That runner-up, planet Kepler-186f, might be called “a cousin of Earth,” the University of Puerto Rico’s Abel Mendez, keeper of a database of planets outside our solar system, said via email. But 438b and another recently discovered planet are “brother and sister-in-law. We are getting closer.”

Kepler-438b and compatriot planet Kepler-442 b “are the best candidates we have so far for Earth analogues,” said astronomer Willy Torres of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, a co-author of a paper in The Astrophysical Journal describing the new planets. Both were found with the help of NASA’s Kepler spacecraft, which launched into space in 2009.

Kepler 438-b is only 12 percent bigger in diameter than Earth, unlike the large number of “super-Earths” scientists have turned up outside our solar system. It has a 70 percent chance of being rocky, which scientists regard as a requirement for supporting life. And its surface receives roughly 40 percent more energy from its small star than Earth’s surface receives from the sun.

Kepler-438b “could be a perfect twin of Earth. We just don’t know, because we can’t pin down the measurements,” Torres said.

Sadly, Kepler-438b may represent something of an astronomical dead end. It is so far away, and its star so dim, that finding out whether it bears life or even an atmosphere is a daunting challenge, if not impossible.

“Discoveries of worlds like Kepler-438b are simultaneously satisfying and tantalizing,” planet-hunter Gregory Laughlin of the University of California, Santa Cruz, said via email. “It’s extremely exciting to know that planets with potentially Earth-like conditions are out there, but learning what they actually are like will require a great deal of fortitude, creativity and hard work.”

Unlike previously discovered planets outside the solar system, these candidates orbit stars much like our own sun.

“These candidates represent the closest analogues to the Earth-sun system to date,” said Mullally, “and this is what Kepler has been looking for.”

These new Earth-sized candidate planets in the water-friendly zone of their stars “are super-exciting,” said Lehigh University astronomer Joshua Pepper.

====

Ok <part 1>.

This is awesome.

I don’t care if it is 500 miles or 500 light years, it is a journey we should seek to take. It is a ‘task’ of which we should partake.

It is a task with an objective, but not the means < today> to attain the objective.

This is where we, the people, typically excel. When we are told it is not possible.

Ok <part 2>.

Now my concerns.

All this ‘another earth’ seems slightly impossible doesn’t it?

Well. Only with the failure of imagination.

The key thought in the words I wrote then:

===

We seem to have become the generation of measurement rather than the generation of imagination.

===

ROI, measurement, practical rewards & output, that is what we ‘do’ these days. This is how we conduct business and … well … lives.

We seem to have forgotten the value of unsought discovery. We seem to have culturally turned our back on imagination and the power of imagination. We seem to not want to risk any money or time without the certainty of “direct return” <that certainty is impossible>.

What if we were to send a ship with dozens of people and create a new civilization?

What if we could start a world from scratch?

Shit.

What if we found another civilization already residing on this ‘other Earth’?

Well. I am afraid we will never even get out of our solar system let alone explore the universe other than telescopes and unmanned probes.

It is because of a lack of imagination that we don’t see that actually exploring the universe would be the greatest journey of all for us as a species. In fact. The comments under that one USAToday article years ago unequivocally reflect a majority of “so what.” Or “why waste our time.”

===

… it simply makes no difference either way.

500 light years is far beyond our practical reach so long as the speed of light is an absolute limit.

While it’s interesting to fantasize about the possibilities in the future the fact is that it is very possible that we will never be able to bridge the incredible vastness of space to other potentially habitable planets.

===

Well. My main answer to this negative view of imagination <it’s not failure … simply the inability to envision ‘what could be’:

————–

“Imagination is the one weapon in the war against reality.”

Jules de Gaultier

——————–

Look.

I want to be careful here because I do not want to diminish the individual challenges many people have with regard to paying everyday bills and the day to day pressures of enduring a recession.

But we, as a society as a whole, need to think long term.

What makes civilization great is how we forge through crap like unemployment and recession and day-to-day challenges and get to ‘hope’ and imagination and innovation and find out what is beyond the next horizon.

I would also point out that the reaching for the horizon tends to solve unemployment and recession and the day-to-day hardships thru innovations and overall betterment of Life. I can unhesitatingly say that if America decided to ‘do’ this project, assume responsibility for reaching another Earth … we will succeed. Not by working harder than anyone else, but because we permit hope and imagination to prosper.

Ok. Maybe I am crazy.

But.

If I am, let me be content in my craziness.

——-

“Here’s to the crazy ones.

The rebels. The troublemakers. The ones who see things differently. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

Short version of an Apple Computer Ad

————-

I am no genius by any stretch of the imagination.

But.

I can recognize the value of imagination.

I can recognize the value of discovery.

I can recognize the value of seeking what is beyond the horizon.

—————–

“Imagination has brought mankind through the dark ages to its present state of civilization.

Imagination led Columbus to discover America. Imagination led Franklin to discover electricity. Imagination has given us the steam engine, the telephone, the talking-machine, and the automobile, for these things had to be dreamed of before they became realities.

So I believe that dreams–daydreams, you know, with your eyes wide open and your brain machinery whizzing–are likely to lead to the betterment of the world.

The imaginative child will become the imaginative man or woman most apt to invent, and therefore to foster, civilization.”

L. Frank Baum

—————————

Imagination fosters civilization.

Imagination fosters all that ‘could be.’

The search for the way to reach ‘another Earth’ is one big prosperous innovation initiative – assuming someone has the kahones to do it.

This could be the rebirth of NASA and science.

Shit.

This is the rebirth of imagination if we choose to make it so.