Decisions

Decisions

Nov 1, 2022 | Leadership

In an office, who makes the decisions?

Is it the manager? Supervisor? General staff?

Do these questions matter? Absolutely, because how this question is answered reveals much about how an individual views reality itself.

While a manager is responsible for the strategic direction of a particular unit of people, he/she cannot be responsible or privy to every decision made by staff.

Often times, a manager can become bogged down in the ‘what’ of something rather than the ‘how’ and/or ‘why,’ and the distinction between the two mindsets is not one of semantics. If a manager is to guide a team, this individual must lead by example as opposed to attempting to direct the behaviors and actions of those under his/her care.

It is an easy trap into which one may fall, however, as managers experience psychological pressures that differ substantially from those of general staff. Whereas managers often become enmeshed in the pursuit of tangible benchmarks for success — units sold, numbers served, etc — staff are more concerned with how to complete the tasks presented to them.

Whereas managers have some discretion to make any number of decisions, staff often are ‘forced’ into a decision based on sets of variables not under their control.

When making a decision, a manager should take into account several factors that have nothing — and yet everything — to do with the business problem at hand. These factors include the organization’s culture, general philosophy and the people expected to behave and perform differently as a result of the decision that has been made.

How will this decision impact my staff? Is it logical? Is it achievable? Does it make general sense?

When making decisions for others, it is important to recognize that what might make the most business sense may not make the most sense given available resources and human capital at hand…

The Truth

The Truth

Apr 20, 2022 | Power

The truth.

It is a fascinating concept and one that supports how many of us go through our everyday lives. There is some sort of ‘truth’ that supports our cultural values, approach to life, or how we build our business(es).

Really? Is there really such a thing as truth when it comes to something as nebulous as our very existence? Are we going to take control of our lives from that big, black, large universe that still begins even as it ends billions of light years away? Can we monetize this somehow?

There is something incredibly hollow about a life defined only by cultural rules and mores designed by others–namely, men. Culture is a construct. If you were born in India, your paradigm would be different. If you were born in 1953, you would be different.

If all we can do to answer a question is to reference cultural constructs–the very nature of which we purportedly are trying to bring down–then are we not in fact supporting their efficacy?

What do you think about yourself? What do you love? What are you? What are you at 9:45 pm at the end of the day and you feel as if you wasted another day in a life you would rather not believe is finite?

There is a wonderful beauty in allowing ourselves the opportunity to experience and fully digest the very real possibility that our truth may be that we simply do not know. When we bounce around purchasing products or another series of “Masterclasses” that provide us with canned sets of unoriginal, but beautifully presented ideas, we feed the machine we are trying to overthrow.

What is the machine? The machine is the voice in your head from which you seek your counsel. Yes, that voice. Is it the only voice in your head? Only you know that. Only you know your truth.

This does not mean there is no value in sharing your thoughts and feelings with others. Rather, it means there is a deeper context to reality we all sense, but rarely discuss.

We are all mortal and we are all going to die. That is a truth…

Selfies

Selfies

Mar 18, 2022 | Power

There is something unnerving about our reliance on presenting ourselves to “the world” through the use of ‘selfies.’ It is as if our ability to capture an image of ourselves with the use of a phone’s camera indicates something about our inherent power as humans.

How many people are out there explaining to us that all we need to do is X, Y, and Z, and we will somehow achieve our dreams? Must our dreams be quantifiable to the masses? Must we curate ourselves for an audience that for the most part really does not truly care for our struggles at all, but rather the image of “perfection” we instead project?

Is anyone else exhausted from the hordes of individuals peddling their senseless ‘wares’ to the masses, as if they have the answers alone? Must we suffer through one more pointless podcast that we immediately forget when we put down our phones and return to our real lives?

Let me qualify the above statement, as not all podcasts are pointless. There are incredible podcasts out there, but there are also a plethora of podcasts that reinforce our brokenness as a society.

The term, power, does not merely connote an idea of strength; rather, it also speaks of our fragility. We are born, we grow, we live, and we die. This universe is so vast that the word itself is empty, as worlds within worlds spin inside our molecules, while something we name dark matter is thought to make up nearly one-third of the matter-energy composition of the universe.

Maybe ‘power’ can be reframed as a feeling of self. For instance, perhaps power is something we feel by ourselves in the woods on a hike at a moment in which we simply feel “okay” for a moment to be our fragile selves. Maybe power is an emotion we feel as we watch our kids grow up only to realize (later) we must let them go – literally and figuratively. Maybe power is recognizing that nothing we do matters in a universe that is so vast that it is still beginning 13.5 billion light years away. Maybe power is the recognition that everything matters.

When we stop our lives to take pictures and tell the world how strong we are at that very moment, it is a wonderful sentiment, but perhaps it is misguided. Perhaps the energy we spend investing in our idea of the world might be best spent embracing ourselves so we may literally and figuratively embrace others.

There is nothing necessarily wrong with ‘selfies’ at all. It could be viewed as an invitation. I suppose the question here is what do we wish to project through the use of a ‘selfie?’ Are we projecting our very selves, or are we projecting a passing interpretation of what we think we might be? But for whom is this projection? Why?

Perhaps, a ‘selfie’ does not just refer to photography, but rather an intent to present parts of ourselves we feel comfortable sharing while omitting what we may consider ‘dark.’ What if we shared our darkness? What if we allowed others inside our brokenness?

A wise woman said to me recently that our brokenness is what makes us whole. As a man, I have always run away from my brokenness. Perhaps many of us run from it. Perhaps Smokey Robinson says it best in Tears of a Clown…

The Loneliness

The Loneliness

Feb 6, 2022 | Social Media

It has been reported that the feeling of loneliness may be correlated with the use of social media, and, even at face value, there seems to be merit in these reports.

It is rare–or does it even happen at all–when someone posts the moment of a sadness, the moment when something went absolutely wrong. “Wait, stay right there, let me grab my phone so I can take a picture of you crying at the news your grandmother just passed away.”

Such “moments” do not happen, because there is something patently absurd about stopping a moment to share it without fully experiencing it. There is something terribly isolating when one uses social media to the extent that it becomes embedded in one’s experiences of moments.

We are missing something out there, and technology can capture it. wait, we can edit the moment with a filter. We can edit reality itself, right?

Maybe we can. Maybe reality is turning into a digital experience. Maybe we are evolving, and love, hate, anger and sadness can all be adequately felt through a screen.

There just seems to be something so lonely about the experience of social media, staring down at a tiny screen, plugging into a matrix that mines your use of it for data that is then sold to companies that try to sell you. Social media is not all bad. There are wonderful moments captured on there that indeed are beautiful, raw, poignant.

Rather, we are referring to the rank and file, the ones who watch others on social media in abject silence. These are the forgettable people who are not worthy of being watched themselves. They are lonely, maybe even petty, possibly not. They are right, however, about one thing. They are forgettable–as are most people, which is a shame.

The Money

The Money

Jan 2, 2022 | Power

Ever notice that many entrepreneurs in this age bracket often resort to citing their own financial wealth as proof that others should follow their inherent “power” and step into their own proverbial “greatness?”

Honestly, there is something strangely endearing about such folks. They mean well, do well and generally are fine people, but there is a disconnect. Invariably, these individuals are talented in way society tremendously values, and it probably does not hurt that these people are very charismatic and physically attractive, which are traits that work well in social media.

Where is the 300-pound obese woman with a high school education on social media? She is inherently sweet, cares about others, but really possesses no talent or skill that will get her beyond her current station in life. Her value equates to $12/hr at a local fast-food chain, and it is the best she can do and she makes do with the little she has to her name.

What can entrepreneurs say to this woman? Maybe she is kind, mostly selfless with a heart if not of gold, then made out of silver. She is a woman we will never get to know, because she is removed from sight, hidden, shy and unattractive.

Moreover, she is poor — and in a society addicted to numbers, we cannot get past what she lacks. As entrepreneurs cite their 6 and 7-figure incomes, such individuals like this hypothetical, yet real, woman become marginalized, fictionalized and ultimately forgotten.

Do we want to know the truth? Do we value character, moral fibers, empathy? Yes and no.

If yes, we may be near December when we watch the Hallmark Channel and cry at the mere hint of the corny love we witness, but desperately crave in our bones. Of course, this is a fallacy, too. Some people are mean for many reasons, but let’s pretend that is not the case.

If no, then it is the rest of the year when we enter the grind and celebrate the “been there, done that” philosophy that explains too much around us. By explaining to others that we have already been where they have been and done what they have done, we render their narrative meaningless. In these cases, let’s just stand in front of the mirror and tell ourselves the stories we want to hear.

What is life about? It is about the money, and it is about everything else we feel, think, hate, love, forget, and manipulate each and every day.

Hey entrepreneur. Take your 6 or 7-figure income and shove it.