Month: September 2018

When my daughter was young, she once complained to me about how one of my decisions wasn’t fair. I don’t remember what she asked for anymore, but I do remember my response. I told my daughter she should be thankful that life isn’t fair. Look around the world today and you see children starving in underdeveloped parts of the world, people being oppressed by cruel leaders, people suffering from lifelong disabilities, and all kinds of other suffering. Yet here, in America, we enjoy an incredibly high standard of living. Few of us die of starvation, we have a democratically elected system of government, and we have some of the best healthcare services in the world. I am thankful every single day that I have been blessed so greatly.

How does this apply to technology and business? As I run my business, I see how fortunate I am. I see that I am well paid, that I have freedom to enjoy life, and that I am the master of my own destiny. As I look around, I see that few others have that freedom. Even among the greatest nation on earth, I am among the most fortunate of people. As such, I have a moral obligation to make the world around me a better place. I am compelled to improve the community I live in, to better the lives of those around me, and to work to empower those I work with. I’m thankful life isn’t fair because it gives me an opportunity to make the world a better place. It gives my life purpose and meaning.

Making the world a better place should be part of the mission of every company out there. Is your business empowering employees? Are you making your community a better place to live? Are you serving more than your own pecuniary interest? Can you sleep at night with the decisions that you and your business make on a daily basis?

When we all work together, we can make the world a fairer place for all. We can work to ameliorate suffering and starvation. We can improve healthcare around the globe. Maybe, someday, the world will be a fairer place. Until then, each one of us – business and individual alike – has work to do.

It’s often said that “great minds think alike.” It sounds great, in theory. But is it really true? Just because I’m thinking the same thing someone else is, does that really mean we’re both great minds? I hardly think so. It’s not the employee who thinks the same as everyone else that brings value to the team, it’s the free thinker who has a different perspective. In the boardroom, when everyone thinks the same, we call it groupthink. Psychology Today says “In a groupthink situation, group members refrain from expressing doubts, judgments or disagreement with the consensus and ignore any ethical or moral consequences of any group decision that furthers their cause.” This hardly seems beneficial to the team. When I think of great minds, I think of the men and women who engaged in thought well outside the mainstream – brilliant men like Isaac Newton, Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, and Benjamin Franklin. If you want to be a great mind, think for yourself! Don’t let the people around you define your thought. Be willing to take risks and think outside the box. It’s those people who history remembers – not the people who think like everyone else.