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I am trying to keep my meeting today and still respond to these comments, so I apologize for the lack of clarity. Some people would consider a whole category o

by artpi 7y ago

I am trying to keep my meeting today and still respond to these comments, so I apologize for the lack of clarity. Some people would consider a whole category of "making fool of oneself" a risk and it has been in the past. Evolutionary, shame was a real threat and being left by the peer group sometimes meant death. So we carry this mechanism in our brains to avoid perceived failure, perceived risk, and perceived embarrassment. It is in all of us to an extent. I am no Seth Godin, but that is how I understand his concept of "hard work" - emotionally putting yourself out there. But in reality, those things are not really risky in healthy corporate environements. I have been making a fool of myself repeatedly and if people see it was an honest try and it took guts - they will usually respect you for that.

nathan_compton 7y ago
One might argue that a healthy corporate environment is one where someone is tracking dollars in and dollars out. In such an environment, an expensive employee who doesn't produce a lot of value over a period of time would be headed to the chopping block, whether they are respected or not. Companies don't run on respect, they run on profits. That said, I think in many situations what you say is true. Most people are not rational, even in a corporate context where you'd expect them to be. In those situations, being seen as a cool risk taker might be enough to keep your job.
jrochkind1 7y ago
Oh sure, if you're talking about "healthy corporate environments", I see what you mean. Those exist? Half-joking (or I'm not even sure if I am), but what portion of your readers might work in a healthy corporate environment, I wonder. You are definitely lucky if you've had a whole career of them. I would imagine in a healthy corporate environment going after the hard things isn't actually that unusual though? If the consequences of failure are lower, then the risk is lower, like Godin says the reason people don't do these things is the risk, if the risk is lower, I'd imagine lot of people would be doing them? Which is what you'd expect in a healthy corporate environment, I think...

by artpi 7y ago

nathan_compton 7y ago

One might argue that a healthy corporate environment is one where someone is tracking dollars in and dollars out. In such an environment, an expensive employee who doesn't produce a lot of value over a period of time would be headed to the chopping block, whether they are respected or not. Companies don't run on respect, they run on profits. That said, I think in many situations what you say is true. Most people are not rational, even in a corporate context where you'd expect them to be. In those situations, being seen as a cool risk taker might be enough to keep your job.

jrochkind1 7y ago

Oh sure, if you're talking about "healthy corporate environments", I see what you mean. Those exist? Half-joking (or I'm not even sure if I am), but what portion of your readers might work in a healthy corporate environment, I wonder. You are definitely lucky if you've had a whole career of them. I would imagine in a healthy corporate environment going after the hard things isn't actually that unusual though? If the consequences of failure are lower, then the risk is lower, like Godin says the reason people don't do these things is the risk, if the risk is lower, I'd imagine lot of people would be doing them? Which is what you'd expect in a healthy corporate environment, I think...