Notes, not received
An expected apology rarely makes things better. But an expected apology that never arrives can make things worse.
An expected thank you note rarely satifies. But an expected thank you that never arrives can make things worse.
On the other hand, the unexpected praise or apology, the one that comes out of the blue, can change everything.
It's easier than ever to reach out and speak up. Sad, then, how rarely we do it when it's not expected.
In search of your calling
I don't think we have a calling.
I do think it's possible to have a caring.
A calling implies that there's just one thing for you, just one thing you're supposed to do.
What we most need in our lives, though, is something worth doing, worth it because we care.
Yes!, please and thank you
Don't jerk people around
Here's a simple marketing strategy for a smaller company trying to compete in a big-company world: Choose your customers, trust them, treat them well.
Say yes.
Bend the rules.
Agreeing on the problem
Please don't tell us it's complicated.
Organizations, scientists and individuals always do better in solving problems that are clearly stated. The solution might be complicated, the system might be complex, but if we don't agree on the problem, it's hard to find the resources and the will to seek out a solution.
For a business, the problem might be that:
there aren't enough customers
The interim strategy
We say we want to treat people fairly, build an institution that will contribute to the culture and embrace diversity. We say we want to do things right the first time, treat people as we would like to be treated and build something that matters.
But first... first we say we have to make our company work.
We say we intend to hire and train great people, but in the interim, we'll have to settle for cheap and available. We say we'd like to give back, but of course, in the interim, first we have to get...
This interim strategy, the notion that ideals and principles are for later, but right now, all the focus and resources have to be put into the emergency of getting successful—it doesn't work.
The permanent rules
(They change).
Rules are rarely universal constants, received wisdom, never unchanging. We're frequently told that an invented rule is permanent and that it is the way that things will always be. Only to discover that the rule wasn't nearly as permanent as people expected.
We've changed the rules of football and baseball, many times. We've recognized that women ought to have the right to vote. We've become allies with countries we fought in World Wars. We've changed policies, procedures and the way we interpret documents and timeless books.
This is not weakness, nor is it flip flopping. Not all the changes are for the better, but the changes always remind us that cultural rules are fluid. We make new decisions based on new data. Culture changes. It has to, because new humans and new situations present new decisions to us on a regular basis. Technology amplifies the ever-changing nature of culture, and the only way this change can happen is when people decide that a permanent rule, something that would never, ever change, has to change. And then it does.
