The Emerging Times

Why not agree to disagree?

Why not agree to disagree?

Last night I met a very smart gentleman who worked at a brilliant company called Google. Not exactly an idiot, right? But here's the thing, after a long and intense series of conversations, the one and only thing we actually agreed on is the idea that none of us really knows what it will take to solve or even change the real problems in the global world today.

He said, "Even if you really try to make change, it won't be effecive—simply because change is inevitable and will happen with or without your participation—and that's how it goes." My thoughts were that change to him seemed like a pre-determined science, an organisim, a part of an evolutionary process that 'I wouldn't or couldn't even understand'. (to put it his way)

While I found myself unable to disagree with his comments, internally I very much disagreed.

But isn't that the point? Shouldn't we all agree to disagree? Regardless of my disagreement, our intellectual debate enabled me to have an unexpected level of "knowledge-sharing" around the philosophies that he finds 'essential' or even factual in his world. And sometimes these facts are a very hard thing to dispute in another person's world. Why? Because beliefs are almost like a religion—they convice us all to belive in what we think is true.

I honestly don't even really know where all of this is going. Perhaps i'm trying to a that it's better to have a couple of intellectual debates on an average day than to have none at all. Each conversation, debate or intellectual 'banter' make us all a little bit smarter simply by gaining a perspective from other smart people's perspectives—even if we DO disagree with where they are coming from.

So what do you have to lose? Why not JUST listen to what others have to say? It might just pay dividends in the end and open your mind to another world of thinking that you never could have had on your own.

 

 

Square Peg. Round Hole.

For the majority of my career I've always felt like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Perhaps you feel the same way. So how can we spin this problem (or our perceived problem) to work for us?

What if for a moment I could convince you that we are all squares, and the world around us is actually what's round? We each have our own personalities and demeanor that make us very different from the person next to us. I believe these this unique and individual differences naturally shapes our own specific point of view and perspective on things, on our lives.

So why do some of us seem to be able to fit or squeeze into that round hole better than others? I wish I knew the answer of that question, I really do.

My best guess is that some of us are able to adapt to the world and organizations better than others. And some of us never seem to understand or grasp the concept of conformity. We look at that round hole and we want to run away and work with the other square pegs in the world. Why? Perhaps it's because the other squares are just as afraid of the round holes as we are. Being with them makes us feel as if we can be ourselves, it's more comfortable there.

Regardless of what shape you are (or think you are), each of us figures it out simply by trying. By going for it. And in the end all of us usually succeed when we learn how to make our own way.

So why not do exactly that? Make your own way.

{This is the advice I got a long time ago when someone noticed that I was a square peg trying to fit into this round hole of a world.}

Reminder Note

Here's a small note I wrote down and eventually hung on my wall yesterday.

When we make presentations most of us have all the same tools, data, Googles and research reports out there to our disposal. It's easy to make a logical presentation. Unfortunately, that's so expected.

I hope you agree.

What is your reminder note? Write your own. Send me one. Or even use this one.