Thoughts on Reductionism and Clicks...
What does it say when one's name is reduced to a letter? I am a Dale Carnegie graduate which in his teachings emphasized that a person’s name is one of the most important sounds one will ever utter in the process of making friends and influencing people. So what is one to do now, call people by their first letter? If so, then isn’t it presumptuous to assume that I may want to be addressed by the letter A. This is clearly some kind of trend that we can aggregate under the concept of “reductionism” driven – in my humble opinion- by our need to deal with the crushing amount of information being piped into our brains…I have seen this trend evolve over the last year and it seems to be gaining speed. Innovators out there: take notice.
On clubs and clicks- In our attempt to synthesize and filter reality, one has to look inwards at times and ask behavioral questions of ourselves. The other day, I did exactly that regarding my lack of interest with clubs. My adult life has been punctuated by joining clubs (Porsche Club, bicycling, soccer, Latin) and sticking with them for awhile but then losing interest. Why? The answer was surprising and while not representative of others out there perhaps, it is nevertheless an interesting data point. I lose interest when clubs turn into “clicks” which in turn breed the idea of “us vs. them” mentalities. This is instructive because it is what happens inside companies as well: sales vs. engineering, operations vs. marketing, PR vs. sales, Fixed vs. mobile, etc…
I am not an anthropologist (although I am wishing I was) but there seems to be something in our DNA that causes this pattern. Perhaps it is our need to reduce reality to a manageable level (that reductionism thing again), perhaps it is our need to feel liked by others, perhaps it is our need to belong to something, anything! Whatever it is (I invite anthropologists to tell me why), it is something that needs to be battled, especially as it concerns the ability for a company to be more innovative.
Interestingly enough this pattern does not seem to be happening in “social networks” such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc…Or is it?
I was in Chile last week and I was amazed as to how much closer the citizens of Chile live on the edge of danger as compared to the USA. They just have a different perception of danger, it seems. There were many examples but here are just a few: groups of people gathering and conversing next to roads and only moving away at the last minute as the car approached; the cyclist cycling in the city of Santiago in ridiculously narrow lanes without a helmet and with trucks whizzing by within micro centimeters from death; the pick up truck overloaded to the point that the suspension could break any minute; the small car stuffed with too many people, none of them wearing seatbelts.
If one thinks hard enough, there are plently of insights to be derived from this latest observation. One of them is that we must exercise our powers of observation wherever we are. Another one is that even the most hardened of concepts can still be the subject of interpretation. The last one is that in developing countries such as Chile, the perceptions of danger will evolve providing ample room for business opportunities like selling biking helmets.
On clubs and clicks- In our attempt to synthesize and filter reality, one has to look inwards at times and ask behavioral questions of ourselves. The other day, I did exactly that regarding my lack of interest with clubs. My adult life has been punctuated by joining clubs (Porsche Club, bicycling, soccer, Latin) and sticking with them for awhile but then losing interest. Why? The answer was surprising and while not representative of others out there perhaps, it is nevertheless an interesting data point. I lose interest when clubs turn into “clicks” which in turn breed the idea of “us vs. them” mentalities. This is instructive because it is what happens inside companies as well: sales vs. engineering, operations vs. marketing, PR vs. sales, Fixed vs. mobile, etc…
I am not an anthropologist (although I am wishing I was) but there seems to be something in our DNA that causes this pattern. Perhaps it is our need to reduce reality to a manageable level (that reductionism thing again), perhaps it is our need to feel liked by others, perhaps it is our need to belong to something, anything! Whatever it is (I invite anthropologists to tell me why), it is something that needs to be battled, especially as it concerns the ability for a company to be more innovative.
Interestingly enough this pattern does not seem to be happening in “social networks” such as Facebook, LinkedIn, etc…Or is it?
I was in Chile last week and I was amazed as to how much closer the citizens of Chile live on the edge of danger as compared to the USA. They just have a different perception of danger, it seems. There were many examples but here are just a few: groups of people gathering and conversing next to roads and only moving away at the last minute as the car approached; the cyclist cycling in the city of Santiago in ridiculously narrow lanes without a helmet and with trucks whizzing by within micro centimeters from death; the pick up truck overloaded to the point that the suspension could break any minute; the small car stuffed with too many people, none of them wearing seatbelts.
If one thinks hard enough, there are plently of insights to be derived from this latest observation. One of them is that we must exercise our powers of observation wherever we are. Another one is that even the most hardened of concepts can still be the subject of interpretation. The last one is that in developing countries such as Chile, the perceptions of danger will evolve providing ample room for business opportunities like selling biking helmets.
Comments