Having grown up during the evolution of digital technology, I was fortunate to see the gradual shift in the way people interacted with technology and the devices to which they were given access. Today, device technology is so abundant that younger generations take this access much like we all wake up in the morning to sunlight. It has always been here, so why would it not be here tomorrow?
Relationship building in a technology dependant worldRead More »
The marketplace is filled with any number of product and service providers, all touting their brands to win consumers’ dollars. Does the brand represent its culture in the marketplace, or does it simply promote what it wants the marketplace to think about it? The next time you want to buy a product or service, look at not just the image branding but what the organization really stands for in the marketplace.
Tomorrow, we commemorate the United States Declaration of Independence, a pivotal historical moment requiring immense courage, faith, and perseverance. Our forefathers, at that time, had a strong sense of their actions’ significance, yet they might not have fully grasped the profound impact it would have on them, their families, and their colleagues. Over 200+ years later, the United States continues to shape the global stage, a testament to the enduring influence of this historical event on business culture and beyond.
With the 4th of July holiday a couple of days away, the word Freedom echoes around the country. It is a very important time to take a strong look at what freedom is and what it is not. Freedom is not the ability to have each, and every person do whatever they want whenever they want to do it. Freedom comes with responsibilities and discipline. It requires that individuals respect one another for the opportunity to pursue happiness. Freedom is not free of accountability. Freedom should not be based on one person or group of people’s selective views. It needs to stand the test of time and be ready to be tested and evolve when appropriate, but not based on subcultural desires. Our current freedoms cannot be taken for granted as they can and will be taken away if “We the People” are not careful with how we use our freedoms.
Take 30 seconds and look at news media. Yes, we realize that you just wasted 30 seconds, but you needed to be again exposed to the conflict in our world today. Conflict exists on many fronts: global, political, within the teams, and at home. The conflict that makes the news tends to be negative or destructive conflict. Not all conflict is destructive. There is the idiom of the Phoenix rising from the ashes.
We live in a time when alternate views abound. Everyone has a perspective on everything. The diversity of thought is excellent, but the absence of respecting each other’s views closes the door to true significant social improvement. It is not easy to pause and consider alternative views when we are so rushed by wanting our views to be heard and accepted as the new standard. All this creates more isolation and the collapse of creative and innovative ways to have a robust society.
Some years ago, Emotional Intelligence and its influence on business people’s success and challenges came onto the scene. At first, it was quiet as it stepped into the soft and fuzzy world of emotions, and business was all hard and rigid. There was no place for such considerations in the business world. The reality is that Emotional Intelligence was already in the business arena but was being suppressed.
In a self-absorbed society where individuals place themselves first in all matters, it becomes very challenging for relationships to mature when there is an absence of mutual commitment. Just the sound of the word commitment in our world makes people uneasy. When someone must commit, they must give up part of themselves for the betterment of the whole. This directly takes away from their own self-absorption.
There is a quote from the Bible – Exodus 5:7-8
“You are no longer to give the people straw to make brick as previously; let them go and gather straw for themselves. But the quota of bricks which they were making previously, you shall impose on them; you are not to reduce any of it.
Being authentically vulnerable in a relationship is a scary place to be and go. It will expose some of your deepest secrets and most embarrassing characteristics. Without that place of insecurity in the relationship, most of the time, all you are experiencing is transactions between two people. It is not a genuine relationship. When we are vulnerable to each other, we become fully present to each other and can give and receive each other completely.