Trust without borders
10 years ago
Did you know that when you call Fed Ex Customer Support and get that voice-navigated menu thing and you say something that it tries to register it, it makes a quiet computerized blip (for lack of a better word) noise that sounds just like the noise the aliens made in Signs to communicate with each other. Not fun at 8:15 in the morning!
I have a point, I promise.
I used to hate election season. All the lying and cheating and scandal that goes on just never appealed to me. But lately, I've taken quite an interest in what's going on in the world politically, and I found out that politics is a way of life for Americans, and that's an unfortunate thing.
Think about politics. What comes to mind? Obama winning Iowa? Hillary winning New Hampshire? The fact that there's a Southern Baptist running again? (And we all know how great that turned out last time.) How they all have something very appealing that they are going to do once in office, although you know that it's more likely than not that none of what they promise will actually happen.
And that's the key right there. None of what they promise will actually happen. They make all these promises to get ahead and get the power they want. Why do they want the power? Maybe they have a secret hidden agenda. Maybe they want to be set for life. The point is, politics is not about running a nation or even running a business. Politics is about stabbing someone else in the back to get ahead for your own good.
Watching political debates makes me laugh. Why? Because they are arguing about running a country, but I can see similar arguments going down at work.
I guess that because we are all humans with a sinful nature, I shouldn't be surprised about what happens in the government, business, and the world. But, I am. Maybe I just am figuring this all out a little bit later than others.
When Tuesday rolls around, or whatever day your state's primary election is, you can vote for anyone you choose. Just remember, though, that it doesn't matter. Popularity is for all the wrong reasons and it's just a matter of time before everyone who voted for the person who won decides they don't like them and claims to have not voted for them in the first place.
It's just like business. Everyone is always covering themselves at no expense. For instance, let's assume that some guy from another company that you are doing a joint project with has been emailing and calling you and basically pushing work he should be doing off on you. Why? Because he asked someone at your job for one thing and they had told him to ask you to do it. So, he started skipping the middle man and sending request after request to you. When you started to get multiple demands rather than an occasional request, you say something about it. His response? Someone at your office had told him to have you do all the work. So not true! But, if it came down to losing the partnership, what were his options, really? Admit he was shoving work on you or cover himself at someone else's expense?
Every day, those are the kinds of things that get dealt with. When I was working at McDonald's, although I enjoyed the job, I craved a fancy business job where I could dress up and sit at a desk and do important things. Now I have that job. And, surprisingly, I enjoyed McDonald's much more. For starters, I was friends with the people I worked with at McDonald's. Why? Because it made the day better. No one really sticks around too long at McDonald's, so the politics of it all are far less than they are anywhere else. Sure, everyone wanted more, but if you made friends with your coworkers and managers, you realized that for that job, it wasn't worth the fight. And what happened? You enjoyed yourself.
But in business, things are totally different. You've got to "look our for number one!" Lie, manipulate, and complain your way to the top. That's what business is. You aren't friends with the people you work with in a job like that because, well, why would you want to be? They don't have your best interests at heart. So why bother? It's all about deceit and betrayal. Who would want to be friends with that?
Moral of the story:
Why am I spending so much time and money on a degree in business when, obviously, I can learn more about business from watching election coverage on TV?
I used to hate election season. All the lying and cheating and scandal that goes on just never appealed to me. But lately, I've taken quite an interest in what's going on in the world politically, and I found out that politics is a way of life for Americans, and that's an unfortunate thing.
Think about politics. What comes to mind? Obama winning Iowa? Hillary winning New Hampshire? The fact that there's a Southern Baptist running again? (And we all know how great that turned out last time.) How they all have something very appealing that they are going to do once in office, although you know that it's more likely than not that none of what they promise will actually happen.
And that's the key right there. None of what they promise will actually happen. They make all these promises to get ahead and get the power they want. Why do they want the power? Maybe they have a secret hidden agenda. Maybe they want to be set for life. The point is, politics is not about running a nation or even running a business. Politics is about stabbing someone else in the back to get ahead for your own good.
Watching political debates makes me laugh. Why? Because they are arguing about running a country, but I can see similar arguments going down at work.
I guess that because we are all humans with a sinful nature, I shouldn't be surprised about what happens in the government, business, and the world. But, I am. Maybe I just am figuring this all out a little bit later than others.
When Tuesday rolls around, or whatever day your state's primary election is, you can vote for anyone you choose. Just remember, though, that it doesn't matter. Popularity is for all the wrong reasons and it's just a matter of time before everyone who voted for the person who won decides they don't like them and claims to have not voted for them in the first place.
It's just like business. Everyone is always covering themselves at no expense. For instance, let's assume that some guy from another company that you are doing a joint project with has been emailing and calling you and basically pushing work he should be doing off on you. Why? Because he asked someone at your job for one thing and they had told him to ask you to do it. So, he started skipping the middle man and sending request after request to you. When you started to get multiple demands rather than an occasional request, you say something about it. His response? Someone at your office had told him to have you do all the work. So not true! But, if it came down to losing the partnership, what were his options, really? Admit he was shoving work on you or cover himself at someone else's expense?
Every day, those are the kinds of things that get dealt with. When I was working at McDonald's, although I enjoyed the job, I craved a fancy business job where I could dress up and sit at a desk and do important things. Now I have that job. And, surprisingly, I enjoyed McDonald's much more. For starters, I was friends with the people I worked with at McDonald's. Why? Because it made the day better. No one really sticks around too long at McDonald's, so the politics of it all are far less than they are anywhere else. Sure, everyone wanted more, but if you made friends with your coworkers and managers, you realized that for that job, it wasn't worth the fight. And what happened? You enjoyed yourself.
But in business, things are totally different. You've got to "look our for number one!" Lie, manipulate, and complain your way to the top. That's what business is. You aren't friends with the people you work with in a job like that because, well, why would you want to be? They don't have your best interests at heart. So why bother? It's all about deceit and betrayal. Who would want to be friends with that?
Moral of the story:
Why am I spending so much time and money on a degree in business when, obviously, I can learn more about business from watching election coverage on TV?
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