How insecurity develops is a matter of psychology – quite frankly I don’t care where it comes from. What concerns me is the impact personal insecurities have on innovation, development, and progression. In a time when technology affords us the opportunity to exchange basic and complex information from seconds to minutes from one continent to the next as well as physically travel to those same regions within less than a day, for the life of me, I cannot understand why big businesses do not consider optimizing productivity potential beyond physical presence at a desk, behind a computer monitor, sipping gallons of coffee each day.
Part of the blessings (yes – I mean blessings) of technology is that it should free up people’s time to allow neurons and synapses to fire in different directions, expand brain capacity, and encourage creativity. Technology (laptops, iPhone®, Blackberries®, cars, buses, trains) should instill confidence in our capacities as human beings. Instead, people’s fear of technology has held the rest of us hostage to their insecurities and made us slaves (no disrespect) to an establishment that is afraid to embrace … dare I say it… yes – I will… embrace change. It’s like being an extra in your own reality t.v. show, a riddle wrapped in a Twinky®, Bizzaro to Superman – it doesn’t make sense!
Even more senseless are the salaries corporate fat cats make to keep the illusion going – particularly middle managers. They compound the insanity by celebrating mediocrity with big bonuses while utter stupidity is perversely excused and accepted. Do I really need to be chained to a desk listening to an earning’s call reiterating the same bleak economic forecasts of days before? Wouldn’t my time be better spent engaging in real scientific exchange that requires hours of research and contemplation that produces results? Perhaps such an exchange would add a little sunshine to the next forecasts…? But because I’m surrounded (quite literally) by the hypocrisy of an antiquated philosophy that impedes real work and progress (as well as an uncertain economy) I’m stuck between a rock and a hard place in a glass house built on quick sand.
Yet, I’m not giving up nor will I be fooled by misguided attempts to buy my personal ethic that craves intellectual challenge without being micromanaged.
Holly Tomlin
Blog 11
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2 comments:
I generally agree with what you are saying here.
If a business does not trust an employee to do his or her job, then that business peobably should not hire that employee in the first place.
In theory, the businesses that change and embrace new technology and ways of thinking should be the ones who prosper, while the outmoded models (and the companies who insist on practicing them) become relegated to the "scrap heap of history." However, we have created a society in which people and institutions are not allowed to fail, thus rewarding a lack of innovation, forethought, and conscientiousness. Today, we are giving failed business models essentially the status of government institutions. We, and our progeny, will be worse off for it.
I totally agree.
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