Roots
They say that money is the root of all evil. I don't agree. I think it is more accurate to say, "Greed is the root of all evil." People are willing, even likely, to do some really nasty stuff to each other to acquire monetary and material wealth. I have coined a new adage that bookends with the observation on greed..."Arrogance is the root of all folly." Almost all of the major screw-ups made by people were the result of an arrogant mind. Arrogance comes in a variety of forms, including:
Thinking you know everything.
Thinking the things you don't know aren't important.
Thinking you know things that just aren't so.
Thinking that you know more than everyone else.
Thinking your authority means you are smarter than everyone who has less authority than you.
Thinking you can accurately predict the future.
Don't get me wrong. Anyone can make a mistake. That's what makes being human such a great adventure. It's just that mistakes of arrogance tend to much more grandiose because of the utter lack of caution in a supremely certain mind.
When you mix greed with arrogance you're really asking for trouble. Think about it. That combination is exactly what brought our economy down. I don't know why some people find it so difficult to understand that you can be ambitious without being greedy and you can be confident without being arrogant. The characteristics that separate good from evil are compassion and consideration. Great countries, great industries, and great companies are careful to bestow authority only on leaders who temper their ambition and confidence with compassion and consideration for the people whom they have been selected lead.
Let's hope we get more of that kind of leadership as we try to climb out of this hole the evil bastards dug us into.
Your comments remind me of our president now. Doesn't matter if you voted for him or not I don't think he is arrogant and many people from all walks of life should sit up and take notice, yes, even your boss....people (read: John Q Public) respond to that kind of thinking....lack of arrogance...helping you make your point even more fully.
Once again, you really get the feel for business Doc and the direction it should go in. Decision makers need to listen to you because I think you'd rather work with rather than for somebody and that in and of itself helps diminish arrogance.
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Thanks Kathy. If we don't minimize them, greed and arrogance will destroy our way of life. I don't know if you have read much Stephen Covey, but before he wrote The 7 Habits, he researched the history of self-improvement literature in the U.S. What he found was that for the first 150 years, self-improvement literature in the U.S. was all based on developing personal character. After that, a shift occurred and people started promoting what Cover calls 'smile training'. It became all about manipulating others to get what you want.
Covey also writes about the difference between the abundance mentality and the scarcity mentality. The abundance mentality is the belief that there is enough for all of us and if we work together we will all get more. The scarcity mentality is the belief that there is only so much and anything you get means there is that much less for me.You can see which of those mentalities breeds greed and arrogance and which one breeds compassion and consideration. The abundance mentality causes people to seek win/win outcomes. It is a character based way of life. The scarcity mentality causes people to view each other as opponents and enemies to be out-smarted and defeated. It's like telling the rest of the world, "I'm gonna get as much as I can, anyway I can, and screw the rest of you!" That philosophy shows a lack of character.
The scarcity mentality has been a problem in radio for decades. We've been so busy fighting against each other that we haven't found a way to work together to increase radio's total share of advertising dollars. The scarcity mentality also causes us to negotiate with our customers out of ego rather than finding an outcome that allows us both to win. Of course, many of our clients respond in kind. You know the ones I'm referring to. They're the ones that beat us up so badly every time we try to sell them something. And what do we do? We wind up giving the jerks the best deals because we're so afraid that if we don't some other station is going to get their money. We end up with more win/lose and lose/win deals than we do win/win. And the downward spiral continues...
It's become a habit. And now you are starting to see why Covey named his book The 7 HABITS. We need to replace our bad habits with good ones. More of the same will only get us more of the same. But getting other people to change habits is very difficult. That's why it is so much more effective to first change our own habits and then lead by example.
Thanks for being a regular reader. I appreciate your passion and your comments.
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