Engagement Energy
Just when one thinks no one is listening - or reading- one gets a couple of emails from friends as to why I have not published. First let me say THANK YOU. It is truly an honor for all of you to take the time to read what I write. At the risk of running into an existential wall, one is always questioning if there is true value on what one has to say and getting notes from some of you confirms that – well – perhaps there is something there. Thanks again for your time.
Life is busy and getting busier with all sorts of new demands on our time, a lot of them driven by new technologies. Dedicated attention is definitely becoming a paramount commodity which should be accorded its proper amount of respect. With this in mind, let us talk about “engagement energy”.
As is always the case – at least with my odd psyche- my insights are developed from multiple vectors and the two most relevant ones on this occasion occurred during a high performance driving (www.driversedge.org) school for teenagers that I attended with my son and, two, a speaking engagement that I did for Front End of Innovation on the subject of culture: general and specific corporate cultures.
Before going further, please let me take the time for a plug for the Drivers Edge guys; it is an amazing experience that all teenagers should attend. Drivers Edge is a non profit organization that travels the country and offers these events for free! A quick stat: The number one cause of death for a young adult between the ages of 16 and 25 is a car crash. If this statistic does not wake up parents to the perils of the road I do not know what will. These guys teach high performance driving and high speed control maneuvers and it is a must attend event for all teenagers and parents. I am a proponent if even further training which I am pursuing for my son. But let us stop here on this point.
As experts give us the time and attention we should do the same in equal doses. Moreover, if an expert with limitless experience in a specific subject that could save the life of your teenage son is giving their insights free of charge; our engagement energy should be ever more present, especially when it comes at no cost. As I sat there listening to Jeff Andretti, Pierre Kleinubing, and other auto racers with impeccable racing credentials, I could not help but notice the lack of energy from some of the people that were present; it felt as though some thought this was owed to them; a feeling most prevalent with the teenage lot. Perhaps it was just me feeling this or perhaps it is a Washington DC region thing (there is a reason they call this region the “Hollywood for ugly people” after all.) This brings me to the next insight: culture
In being asked to talk about Innovation (a new way of thinking, really) and culture, I was asked to comment on my own cultural background and the effects that it may have on my views. After all I have lived in four distinct cultures and worked in four distinct cultures. This self assessment (which I recommend to everyone) was very hard to do but it revealed some interesting insights that have radically changed the way I communicate. The most significant insight (lots of background analysis that we need not go into here) is that I attribute much more value to the time I spend engaging with other people be it for business or personal reasons. This causes asymmetries with others because my engagement energy is usually greater, particularly if it is with someone and/or something that I deem important.
In the final analysis there are at least two occasions where our engagement energy should be heightened: 1) when we are getting wisdom for free and 2) when we are engaging with others in matters of substance.
Life is busy and getting busier with all sorts of new demands on our time, a lot of them driven by new technologies. Dedicated attention is definitely becoming a paramount commodity which should be accorded its proper amount of respect. With this in mind, let us talk about “engagement energy”.
As is always the case – at least with my odd psyche- my insights are developed from multiple vectors and the two most relevant ones on this occasion occurred during a high performance driving (www.driversedge.org) school for teenagers that I attended with my son and, two, a speaking engagement that I did for Front End of Innovation on the subject of culture: general and specific corporate cultures.
Before going further, please let me take the time for a plug for the Drivers Edge guys; it is an amazing experience that all teenagers should attend. Drivers Edge is a non profit organization that travels the country and offers these events for free! A quick stat: The number one cause of death for a young adult between the ages of 16 and 25 is a car crash. If this statistic does not wake up parents to the perils of the road I do not know what will. These guys teach high performance driving and high speed control maneuvers and it is a must attend event for all teenagers and parents. I am a proponent if even further training which I am pursuing for my son. But let us stop here on this point.
As experts give us the time and attention we should do the same in equal doses. Moreover, if an expert with limitless experience in a specific subject that could save the life of your teenage son is giving their insights free of charge; our engagement energy should be ever more present, especially when it comes at no cost. As I sat there listening to Jeff Andretti, Pierre Kleinubing, and other auto racers with impeccable racing credentials, I could not help but notice the lack of energy from some of the people that were present; it felt as though some thought this was owed to them; a feeling most prevalent with the teenage lot. Perhaps it was just me feeling this or perhaps it is a Washington DC region thing (there is a reason they call this region the “Hollywood for ugly people” after all.) This brings me to the next insight: culture
In being asked to talk about Innovation (a new way of thinking, really) and culture, I was asked to comment on my own cultural background and the effects that it may have on my views. After all I have lived in four distinct cultures and worked in four distinct cultures. This self assessment (which I recommend to everyone) was very hard to do but it revealed some interesting insights that have radically changed the way I communicate. The most significant insight (lots of background analysis that we need not go into here) is that I attribute much more value to the time I spend engaging with other people be it for business or personal reasons. This causes asymmetries with others because my engagement energy is usually greater, particularly if it is with someone and/or something that I deem important.
In the final analysis there are at least two occasions where our engagement energy should be heightened: 1) when we are getting wisdom for free and 2) when we are engaging with others in matters of substance.
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